| rev:text
| - Chef Stratta - I am a fan for life. I've never been to France but if this is a bit of the French Riviera, I'll be making a trip very soon.
Walking into Alex, you will descend a flight of stairs into an elegant restaurant. Lush drapery and grand classic furniture overlooking a nice view of the outdoor patio. We veered left to the private room in the back with a party of 10.
First the drinks. The grande dame champagne. Slightly pink and bubbly. And then the Chateau lynch bages from Pauillac 1989 which is so full and concentrated with flavors.
Then the amuse bouche: tuna tartare, mushroom bisque, fried mozarella, gruyere inside a tiny baked bread.
Throughout the course of the meal, a waiter carried a lovely display of breads, asking "would you like more?" And don't ever say no. They are all delicious. From the cranberry wheat bread to the cheese breads. I tried not to get too full on these but it never works.
Next, the oyster: a picture perfect art piece with astounding flavors. It had a sweet pineapple granité, which is a little slushy in texture and sweet in flavor, spanish caviar and topped with a crisp seaweed. A picture is worth a thousand words http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lQ9VmIWvM6v-rONPkYX8aQ?select=70fr9cmZlIHn7-odSh-Bo except my photo taking skills probably do this no justice.
The prawn: perfectly cooked, tender and seated atop an exquisite display of summer vegetables and an artsy display of fresh pea-jus.
The foie gras was out of this world. Wonderfully seared and complemented by a medley of plum, tempura cherry (stuffed with more foie) seated on top of almond sabayon (slightly foamy texture of egg) and aged basalmic. I will likely never have foie as good as this ever again.
The atlantic monkfish came as enticing as the rest, on top of a piperade (yep complete with peppers onions and tomatoes) with garlic pieces on top. They completed the piece by drizzling lobster broth and made a point to let us know there was saffron inside. The texture was extremely meaty and left some at the table wondering if they were indeed eating fish.
For the "entree" of the meal, we were given wagyu or duck. Since we had many at the table, we opted mostly for the wagyu and got a couple of the duck.
The wagyu was absolutely mesmerizing in the way only steak can introduce me into a trance. The wagyu was so perfectly marbled. It's a shame I didn't get a picture of this as I was in a dream state. It came with chanterelle mushrooms, delicious greens and had a plate licking bordelaise. And corn custard.
The duck breast also equally exacerbated all functions of my taste buds. It came with poached foie gras (yes more foie for me) and black figs which added another layer to the textures present.
Just when you thought you're done and that your life is complete: dessert. Not just one. But multiple.
The tapioca first came out in an equally stunning mini glass which makes the tapioca look like it is floating - in heaven no doubt. Atop the tapioca there are shavings of fresh coconut and a jelly made of calamansi, which was described as a citrus fruit from the Philippines. It was sweet and tart and added another dimension to the already gingery coconut taste of the tapioca. Think Yuzu but perhaps less mainstream current fad style.
Then came the 2nd. A vanilla bavarian napolean with strawberries blackberries and blueberries with a side of rasberry sorbet and slight hints of mint. Crispy, velvetty, sweet.
And when you're bursting at the seams, they tempt you with coffee, tea, and madeleines. The madeleines are definitely divine and airy. The tea selection is also extensive and upon exiting, the ladies also get a package of parisian macarons.
Alex was quite a nice journey of culinary flavors exceeded only by the great service and beautiful atmosphere!!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)