Chef Vincent strikes again

Our lunch club reunion was long overdue and Ms Dyson 2000 and I thought Caprice would be an appropriate venue. We both love the place and had not been in a long time. Reviews have not been great of late regarding their new pastry chef, and even if I have not tried any of her creations yet, I have to admit I find the idea of wild strawberries in September quite disturbing. Not to worry though, with Jérémy and his humongous cheese platters, we stand no chance to make it to dessert anyway. I am having a sneaking suspicion he might be at war with the new PC too ;-)





Amuse bouche: Pine nuts & anchovies cannelé

Served warm. Round, mellow smell of toasted pine nuts (and I think maybe also a touch of olive oil) and perfectly discreet salty taste of anchovies. Pretty good.

  



Amuse-bouche:  Royale Cabanon Oyster (from Marennes, Oléron Island, France), flash poached and served on shallot cream, topped with yuzu granité and (what I thought was) thinly chopped candied yuzu peel

How elaborate for an AB! I remember having something pretty similar as a starter at Caprice last year, except that the oyster was then raw and therefore a lot more briny, so the flavours did not work as well as with this one - which was just perfect. The yuzu granité was very fragrant and full of this characteristic citrussy flavour only yuzu has, and the delicate flash-poached oyster was just as I like them (read: with a bit of bite and above all not too briny) and the shallot cream was sufficiently mild to pair nicely with the other flavours without taking the lead. Very, very good.

 

Crab Bisque with Sudachi Lime Zest and Shellfish Roll

 First came a whiff of crab as the dish neared the table, then came a distinct nose of ammonia - I knew I would love this the second the dish landed in front of me. The bisque had been made with crab, lobster and other shellfish and was perfectly creamy and packed with flavours, and came dotted with sprinkles of pulverised sudachi lime zest (so fine you would think it had been flash-frozen with dry ice, reduced to a powder and then thawed at the surface of the warm bisque). But what made the dish was the addition of the brown "roe" of the crab, which gave it this ammonia flavour I love so much. The bisque was served with a couple of slices of a (visibly handmade...) shellfish roll (lots of lobster, wrapped in nori seaweed, could not taste any crab) with a pickled carrot center. DE-LI-CIOUS !!



Australian Lamb Fillet with Pleurotes Mushrooms and Sautéed Potatoes in Irish Coffee Sauce

 Oh-my-gawd... where do I start on this one ?? The lamb came perfectly cooked (sous-vide obviously, I asked for medium - look at this beautiful pink!), veined with a bit of fat and collagen, and was very tasty. The pleurote mushrooms very nicely done, as were the potato cubes (nice browning!), which came in handy to mop the delicious Irish Coffee sauce. The waiter said Bailey's liquor was used with the lamb juices to make the sauce, which I doubt as Bailey's has cream which would have made the sauce cloudy - I would be curious to know what they really used (I would bet on lamb juices infused with coffee beans and a touch of whisky). I had a hard time picking my main course (as the Braised Wagyu Beef Shoulder with Celery Purée and Seasonal Vegetables in Red Wine Sauce looked terribly attractive to me too) and finally went for the lamb as I thought the lamb/mushroom/coffee/whisky combination would be interesting - I was right, this dish just "clicked" and the flavours worked perfectly together. So delicious. I can still return to get the beef shoulder ;-)

 


"Hi, my name is Jérémy and I am at war with the pastry chef" - the sequel

I was so distracted by the plate of goodies in front of me that by the time I realised I had forgotten to shoot it, the 1st slice of cheese had already been inhaled... Jérémy's cheeses need no introduction, and the selection above was at its usual perfection. I - literally - cleaned my plate.

In this pic (left to right, top to bottom): Chèvre affiné au marc (actually NOT in the picture lol), Pavé de la Ginestarié, Sainte-Maure, Beaufort d’été, Persillé de la Tarentaise, Coulommiers and THE 4-year Comté

 


Petites madeleines, chocolate-caramel sauce


Both served warm. It actually struck me this time that the sauce smells like an upmarket version of the caramel sweets I ate as a kid (Carambar): sweet buttery caramel nose, with chocolatey taste. I found the madeleines very good - I cannot resist the smell of warm vanilla and butter!