I have been meaning to check out Edulis for sometime, even before enRoute magazine named it the top new restaurant of 2012. However, my list of "must-try" restaurants seems to never die, but I finally made it.
There are several approaches you can take with the menu; such as a 5-course tasting menu for $50; or the larger 7-cousre menu for $70; or simply à la carte. We ordered 4 dishes, 1 dessert and 2 drinks (1 non-alcoholic) between 2 people and the bill came to about $120 including tax and tip.
It should be noted that the menu does not differentiate an appetizer from a main. The server explained to us that the size of the offering depends solely on the dish itself. This presents a bit of difficulty in terms of gaging how much food would fill you. I was comfortably full with what we ordered.
I must say that there was not one dish I did not like at Edulis. Everything we ate here was rich, flavourful, and a mouthful.
I started with a glass of housemade Szechuan Peppercorn + Ginger soda made with filtered Q water ($3) but found it lacking in either of the signature flavours. It could've been sweet tea for all I knew.
My partner in dine opted for a glass of Coat Albret Cidre Brut from Brittany, France which I thought was a great drink at $6.
A bread basket along with an olive amuse-bouche was brought out shortly after ordering. While I loved the crust of the bread, I did not care much for the almost injeera-like texture of the centre of the bread.
To start we ordered a plate of the Black Perigord Truffle Poached Lobster, Jellied Veal Tail ($32) which came with a fair serving of lobster meat, thin slices of veal tail and large shavings of truffles. This dish was served lukewarm and the lobster held up against the truffles. NB. Black truffles are less pronounced in flavour than their white counterparts.
Next up was the Octopus Croqueta, Rice Morcilla, Roasted Onion ($13) which I already knew would be good because the moment they set it down on the table the aroma of this dish filled the small nook by the window where we were seated. Lightly battered and the paper-thin slices of octopus were done perfectly (read, not overcooked and chewy).
My 2nd favourite dish of the evening was the Rabbit Porcini Boudin ($15) which was a housemade sausage that was very tender, extremely flavourful and had a nice smokey flavour to it. Yummy!
The highlight of the evening for me was the Roasted Duck Breast ($19) with braised turnips, Black Trumpets, white bean purée + wild cranberry mostarda. The textures and flavors just married together very well.
For dessert I opted for the Baba au Rhum ($10) with Chantilly cream and Appleton rum syrup. The cake soaked up the syrup and the Chantilly cream was a nice distraction from the boozy dessert.
Overall, I enjoyed my meal at Edulis. While the ambiance is not the most exciting or fun, it makes for a relaxing meal as the chef takes his time to prepare your dishes from course to course. When asked what style of cooking they would classify themselves as, the term Bistronomy was used and they prefer to think that they are a Continental European joint not being loyal to any one country's cuisine.
I would definitely come back if good food was the goal of my evening - I'd be extremely interested in coming back for the tasting menu as I spied some delicious dishes being served at the large group table next to us who opted for for the tasting menu.
P.S. If you don't like mushrooms, you probably shouldn't come to Edulis. I love mushrooms and so do they. Most of the dishes I selected tonight came with some sort of mushroom.