Prik Ki Nu

We were in Paris after all. How could we possibly not entertain some rich French food! The hotelier recommended Relais Louis XIII. A local restaurant in the St. Germain area with a well renowned Chef. Reputably a very traditional French experience.

In an upscale French restaurant there are usually 3 ways to go: à la carte where you simply choose individual items from the menu, Le Menu - which is a fixed course meal being able to choose a few choices of main course etc. Or Le Menu dégustation - or tasting menu, which is basically an 8+ course meal of whatever the chef decides to make. We opted for the shorter dinner menu, as the tasting menu sounded too much like death by food!

Menu dîner
Soupe Crémeuse de Potiron aux Langoustines
Terrine de Foie Gras Poêlés, Artichauts et Poireaux Nouveaux

Pigeon de Bresse Rôti, Carottes Confites et Jus Acidulé
Pièce de Veau de Lait aux Câpres et Jeunes Pousses d’Epinards

Sélection de Fromages Frais et Affinés

Fine tarte aux Poires et Crème Glacé Vanille
Soufflé Chaud à au Chocolat et Pistil de Safran

 

Round one, was a fabulous tomato gazpacho soup, with slivered peppers on top. Incredible! I’m not usually one for gazpacho, but this was spectacular.

 

Ding ding, Round two. In the left corner we have Nigel, Lynn and Theresa with a very fine looking lobster and asparagus appetizer. In the right corner, we have Brett with some Foie Gras with artichokes and baby leeks. 

Round three and out came some variety - Lynn opted for a Chef surprise of mixed vegetables, Nigel and Theresa opted for the roast pigeon and I went with the trusty old veal with a fine spinach-caper sauce.

OK, we’re fairly stuffed now, lubricating our stomachs with a few more swigs of red wine. But we’re not done yet…

Ding ding… round four… let petit fours. How I wish I had taken my camera with me now… Incredibly fine French miniatures pastries, four of each… the first with a very tart lemon topping, the next with some slight coconut hints, and the last - always the best for last, a miniature pastry volcano with an exquisite custard like texture.
One might expect that three small pastries would be enough… apparently not. Out came a second plate with small dark chocolates and a fabulous home made caramel of reduced fruits including mango and pineapple.

Once that was down, we were on to round 5 - the cheeses. Delicious stinky aged and soft cheeses from all regions of France. Served with a light bread made with dates.
 

 

For la grande finale! Chocolate soufflé! Not just chocolate soufflé, but exquisite French soufflé with a small side dish of vanilla ice cream infused with safron to slide inside the hole once cracked in the top.

Fabulously French, and unjustifiably expensive.
Bon Apetite!

by Brett

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 18th, 2006 at 11:39 pm and is filed under World Trip. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.