Food venture: Battle between The Bunny and The Bear (1) : PIED A TERRE

Its Bear's birthday this week. So we both cleared our time table and get ready for a nice cosy weekend together.

Then in order to spice things up, both of us are given the task to book a restaurant of our own, mine on Friday and his on Saturday. Its not a competition, but being a competitive rabbit as always, I tried a bit too hard just so tat i can crush bear's restaurant like a helpless fly. MUAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHA

Cool down bunny, it is bear's birthday, tat's the most important thing this week. Breathe, breathe.

Anyways.

So wad we r doing now is to go through wad we had for the two restaurants and have a bit of commentary.

So for my restaurant, I managed to book pied a terre (link to its website here).

Being totally not bias here, pied a terre is a FREAKING TWO STAR MICHELIN RESTAURANT!!! WOOTS!!!!!

For those who don really know about Michelin star rating system, its a annual universal rating systems for fine dining restaurants. The highest number is three stars. There's only 103 three starred restaurant in the whole world according to Wikipedia and UK only has 4. The Michelin guide is reviewed annually, restaurants have gain or lose stars, and it is a given that there will be significant impact on its success and growth.

So yeah, bunny just booked a 2 starred restaurant, which is one of the 16 two starred restaurant in the whole UK. I tried to book a three starred restaurant but you need to be on a 3 month waiting list. I managed to snag a place three weeks before the actual date, but the timing is a bit odd, but a well.

So now bear is here with me. and we shall go through the food. We tried the chef's menu, which is a ten course meal of the chef's best dishes. And it cost a freaking total of 145 pounds per person excluding service fees and drinks, yeap i know, my wallet really has burn a hole after tat night. But a well.

Bear: Hi.
Bunny: Hi dear XD (we are doing this online lol)

First: canapé: Oyster tempura and potato fritters

Bear: I like the oyster better but i also love the potato fritters. As in, for the oyster i think good deep down in my heart, for potatoes, it is good... but it is supposed to be good in a 2 star Michelin restaurant 

Bunny: I din even know its oyster after listening to that guy's thick french accent -.- , until i took a bite tat is. Its a bit soft for my taste, i expect tempura to be crunchy lol. Potato fritters.... meh. The mayo is nice. lol

Soup: Mushroom and Truffle Soup with cream orzo pasta, braised celery, and lightly smoked duck breast.

Bear: The soup is full of flavor, with very rich mushroom and pasta taste, not so much of the truffles, i think the truffles din really bring out the best of the soup. There is no hint of celery and duck breast at all. However i quite like the taste in general.

Bunny: Wa, dear, i din know u can be so pretentious in terms of judging the food (=_=) I DIN KNOW TAT"S TRUFFLE!!!!!! It looks like any yucky vegie. The presentation is sad, it looks like some one vomited onto my bowl lol. But the taste is rich i gotta say, like bear said, i cant taste the duck or the celery. 

Langoustines with Suckling Pig Glazed with Honey and Soy, Gremolata, Romaine Lettuce, Red Mizuna

Bunny: I LIKE THIS ONE!!! The pig's fat is not actually greasy, and i like it being not soft and melt-y if u get wad i mean. The languos-wadeva is so chewy~ I don understand the green sauce though. 

Bear: I liked the glazed pig, but i wasn't expecting chinese food in a french restuarant. The prawn is tender, and overall presentation is great. But i have to agree with bunny: the green sauce is dispensable.

squash and parmesan gnocchi with baby arthichokes, autumn truffle and iberico ham

Bunny: I have no idea wad is gnocchi until the person kindly explained to me. Some sort of a pasta. I don think this fits to be a main because there is no main star in the dish. Well... pasta isnt a main star in my book.

Bear: I can't comment much on this. i found a hair in it on my second bite, so the rest of the dish remained untouched.

Bunny: oh yeah, I rmbed tat!!! You actually jz wanna let this slide, but we r in a two starred restaurant, we expected top notch quality!!!! X(

Bear: Its okay. Lets not make a fuss abt it.

Bunny: at least he came back and apologised. But still tat is really unexpected from a restaurant of this caliber.z They should all kneel down and beg for our forgiveness. 

Bear: Dear, I said LETS NOT MAKE A FUSS

Bunny: I am not making a fuss, a kneel is the least they can do. Hmph. They charged us 40 pounds (RM200) for their service fee ya know!!! 

Line Caught Monkfish with Spiced Butternut Squash, Amalfi Lemon, Mussels, Coriander and Mint

Bunny: wad the hell is the difference by adding the word line caught =_=, is it nicer to know tat their fishes struggled before their demise? zz But I do like it, the fish is ssssoooo firm and compact with a tinge of bounciness to it!!! The curry made me confused though, if you tell me this is an Asian dish, i might believe you. 
Bear: OMFG the fish is AMAZINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. Tender and yet firm and flavourful. The curry-based sauce matches well with the coriander and the fish in general. Reminds me of the kuah ikan that comes with roti canai, but a high class version.

Roasted Loin of Venison with Poached Cascade Pears, White Onion and Sage Puree, mulled wine gel

Bear: Tasted exactly like beef. I like it though. Juicy and tender. But the pastry base kinda destroyed the dish. I don't think pastry in a main dish is justifiable! Its like eating cereal with vodka!

Bunny: Is tat pastry base?! I thought its pork skin or wad not @_@. To be honest it taste standard, i think i expect too much or something. I was hoping it can sprout rainbows. But one can only hope. ~_~
Bear: The cracker pastry would be amazing on its own, though
Bunny: So they are crackers now!? zz

Cheese board!!!!

the crackers tat come with it

Bunny: I HATE CHEESEBOARD, i sat this one out. They r kind enuf to let me switch it for another dessert which will be covered below.
Bear: Cheese board is great. A good selection but not as much as 21212.(another Michelin restaurant we ventured) I picked both mild cheese as I'm not feeling adventurous with my tastebud that night...
Buuny: But I gotta say, the presentation of the crackers are interesting.
Bear: The cracker is great: crispy and nicely presented. A nice combination with the cheese selection. I've started to like cheese being eaten in this way.
Bunny: ewww. Don kiss me with tat. 

Tasting of lemon, passion fruit and natural yogurt

Bunny: This dessert has an unexpected twist of flavour. The passion fruit oddly serves as the sweet base for this dish and the yogurt kinda brings you back from the generic sourness of the dessert. =D Yay no cheese board!!!

Pear Millefeuille with Cinnamon Mousse, Verjus Gel, Pain d'Epice Ice Cream

Bunny: The main body of the dessert is really refreshing! I guess it has to be, since it is made up of fruits. The pear had a great fusion with the cinnamon. It always annoys me when i try to cut millefeuille z. Ice cream wise.... not impressed. I don know the flavour and its name isn't helping. It is quite forgettable until i cant be bothered to google the meaning of its name z

Bear: Not 'cutting' friendly. The mousse is nice though... not a strong taste dessert, which is good for a first dessert dish. 

Bunny: do you rmb how does the fancy named ice cream tasted like z?

Bear: nope, i rmb the jelly though.

Bunny: the jelly? how does it taste like? I forgot z

Bear: like pure juice lemon agar agar

Bunny: D=

White Chocolate Tart with Macerated Blackberries, Toasted Almonds and Lemon Thyme Ice Cream

Bunny: Happy birthday!!! =D
Bear: I was surprised that mine came with a happy birthday message and candle! The ice cream is just... nahh... but the tart is great! Its like creme brulee made in a tart style! i liked it, though its a little heavy
Bunny: I know right?! The tart is heavenly. I can taste white chocolate seeping through my gums. it will suffer. hahahahahah I called them beforehand and ask them if they do anything special for birthdays, I guess this is their answer. Some restaurants gives free dessert though, ugh. 

Chocolate and Petite Four

Bunny: quiz time! wad are the names of those mini desserts! =D
Bear: a... there's a donut.
Bunny: wad is the name of the donut dish =_=
Bear: errr...
Bunny: =_=
Bear: sugar... SUGAR COATED DOUGHNUT!!!!
Bunny..... no, Its cinnamon doughnut.
Bear: I din try it! how i am suppose to know!!!! 
Bunny: the waiter mentioned it to us -,-
Bear: there's dark chocolate muffins, and chocolate coated coconut ice cream, and the petite fours. 
Bunny: To ppl who are confused now, the desserts we mentioned came with the tea. Now bear is suppose to name the four things tat is served on a rectangular plate as shown in the photo.
Bear:.... lemon tart...
Bunny: uh huh
Bear: mango jelly
Bunny: go on...
Bear: white chocolate
Bunny: white chocolate wad?
Bear: .....truffle.
Bunny:.... white chocolate cardamom fudge. and? The third one you conveniently missed?
Bear: err... i... i don know...
Bunny: Its salted caramel with chocolate cups. Bang!
Bear: Back to the commentary.... Earl Grey Tea is the besttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt ending for the amazing dinner. I'm too bloated to try the other petites though...
Bunny: they r quite good. I cant be bother to list out of them, but the cinnamon doughnut reminds me of home. The white chocolate fudges give me a sweet finish hehe. 

Other stuff
Bear: The services is great.. i mean, there's a keen waitress who serve bread to me non-stop, and the water cup is never empty. As for the price... thanks bunny for the treat~ <3
Bunny: yeah... A 350-pound-bill is nothing to joke abt zz. But it is alright just to ensure my victory, i mean, to have a memorable celebration with u dear hhaha. XD

Tomorrow(or the day after lol): Bear's restaurant.