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I had been looking forward to the new desserts that Astoria and the team had been developing at
Caprice, and had the idea of doing a casual dinner at the Caprice Bar where I could try them all at once. I had to wait a few weeks until the new desserts all passed their internal taste tests, which was apparently done over last weekend. So I got myself a table for tonight, allowing me to catch Hairy Legs before he left for the summer.
Anyss greeted us upon our arrival, and he was pretty excited to show us the new cocktails and the presentation format. Since we're on his turf tonight, we decided to order cocktails with our dinner for a change.
Leaf - I expected to like the combination of
pandan and coconut, but there seems to have been a hint of anise in there, too... which I didn't care too much for. Nevertheless, this was refreshing on a warm day.
I figured we'd start with something savory, something simple from the bar menu.
Pata negra croque monsieur with four cheeses and black truffle - this is such a perfect bar snack! Finger sandwiches are the best way to nibble while you're having a drink or three.
Can't go wrong with
jamón pata negra when it comes to ham in a sandwich, with lots of cheese and of course, that little wafer of black truffle just made all the difference.
Hairy Legs had also developed some new dishes, and he was happy to show us one of them:
Homard bleu Breton et sa nage émulsionnée parfumée au yuzu, coriandre et sumac -
homard bleu is a mainstay at Caprice, as it should be, and I love seeing the seasonal variations. Since we are in the summer, it's not surprise that the accompanying ingredients reflect the warm weather and deliver a more refreshing experience. My olfactory senses picked up the scent of yuzu right away, and coriander added to the aromatics. The
nage had plenty of shellfish flavor, but nicely balanced with acidity.
The lobster was springy and crunchy, and I liked having the broad beans in the mix.
Then it was time for me to switch to the sweet stuff, and there were three coming my way.
Pêche pochée, biscuit amande et chantilly à la vanille - from the top one immediately sees a petal ring of
chantilly surrounding thin slices of peaches which were translucent after being infused in a green cardamom syrup. Of course, there was a little bit of gold. The peach sauce came with a little bit of ginger that was fairly subtle.
The side view reveals the almond biscuit at the bottom with some granola, along with fresh peaches surrounded by peach confit that was jelly-like. I love seasonal fruit desserts like this, and it doesn't get much more seasonal now than peaches.
Cotton - I knew I would like the combination of cacao and mint, but as I suspected this was a little on the heavy side... and felt like a mint chocolate milkshake. This didn't work well with the fruity desserts I was having, and I probably should have ordered it near the end as my third drink after something lighter.
Strawberry and yogurt mousse, vanilla flavored lemon cream, strawberry-vanilla ice cream - the
sablé at the bottom held up the strawberry and yogurt mousse, the lemon vanilla cream, fresh strawberries mixed with strawberry confit, a strawberry-vanilla ice cream, and strawberry sauce both on top and on the side. Astoria does a different version of strawberry dessert every year around this time, and this was just variations of strawberry and vanilla. I dunno why but I suddenly remembered the Very Berry Strawberry from Baskin Robbins in my childhood...
Soufflé à la pistache et sorbet framboise - Hairy Legs has always loved the soufflé from his kitchen but I seldom see it in front of me. The pistachio is a new creation, and apparently something Hairy Legs asked for. Even Anyss was very impressed with it.
The soufflé came with bits of pistachio as well as pistachio
praliné inside, and even the raspberry sorbet was not completely smooth because the liquid was not strained. The combination of the two was rich yet refreshing at the same time.
Quelle magie!
Astoria also sent us home with three tarts that she knew we would like. These would be launched shortly at the Gallery and we were getting a sneak peek. She made sure there was something very special here in this here box. We were, of course, too full and could only enjoy these the next morning.
Chocolate caramel tart - that caramel in the middle of the rich chocolate was so intense and satisfying! Loved this combination. And of course that big piece of gold foil on top just sang to me.
Raspberry and vanilla tart - beautifully refreshing and lovely to behold, featuring yellow raspberries from France.
Coffee tart - this was truly something special as always. Astoria knows how much Foursheets and I love the coffee tart here, ever since DaRC asked Hairy Legs to borrow the recipe 5 years ago. Amazing fragrance and flavors.
We were really happy, and very humbled and grateful to find that once again, the restaurant was unable to present us a bill. Apparently Hairy Legs thought I chose to dine at the bar instead of the restaurant because I was too poor and could not afford the real 3-star experience, so he took pity on me. Well whatever the reason, I'm grateful to have friends like the ones I have at Caprice.
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