Louise et maman

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I've been dining out a lot this week, with a total of 4 big dinners out, and I have a brutal schedule starting the latter half of next week, so I was kinda looking forward to having a quiet night at home by myself this evening. My digestive system and waistline could definitely use a break. But things don't always go according to plan, and Hairy Legs messaged me today to see whether I would be free for his collaboration with Jan Hartwig.

Well, I would have answer a foodie call like this from very few people, and Hairy Legs happens to be one of them. So the plans of staying home to eat my Nissin Mapo Tofu Cup Noodles went out the window, and I dutifully trekked over to Caprice for another big night out...

I played the part of the solitary gourmet tonight, sitting at a table all by myself. Meanwhile, a bunch of big shot chefs strolled in to the private dining room... so that's where most of the senior staff were tonight.

We started with the presentation of amuses bouches from both chefs, as Jan came to introduce his little bite:

Ah yes… the second ang mo chef to serve me kueh pie tee this week… The pie tee shell was made with poppy seeds and black garlic. The wagyu tartare filling came with slippery balls of sago that had been cooked in 2-year-old soy sauce, which explains why this tasted a little on the salty side. But the little dose of acidity from what may have been finger lime provided a nice balance to that, and there was also crunchy cashews in the mix. The chef also added Japanese leek oil, fresh coriander, wasabi, pickled ginger, and fresh myoga – although I wasn’t sure the last couple of elements were necessary. There certainly seemed to be a lot of elements packed into one bite, and many of those are very Asian flavors…

We also had the familiar Caprice boîte à bijoux:

Tomato essence with Parmesan cookie – this time the tomato was a little spicy, and I’ve always liked that Parmesan at the bottom.

Lobster and wasabi tart – crustacean jelly, lemon gel, basil gel.

Crispy roll with onions and anchovies - the filling inside feuille de brick was nice and sweet.

At this point a friend seated at another table very kindly sent me one of Caprice's famous Tomatini to go with the first course. Love that sprinkle of pepper on top.

My 2025 version of mom's tomatoes, by Guillaume Galliot - as Victor said, the “world famous tomatoes” from Monsieur Tomate et Maman. Different varieties like pineapple, green zebra, cœur de bœuf… The tiny little basil leaves were soooo nice, and the small little tuilles added just a little crunch.

With verbena and basil cream underneath. So nice.

Sea urchin "Louise", Kristal caviar from La Maison Kaviari, jellified ox tail and crème crue, by Jan Hartwig - this looks… somewhat familiar? This was the first dish Jan created after the birth of his daughter Louise some 19 months ago, and to him it’s tiny, delicate, and beautiful just like her. He’s looking forward to the day when she will grow up to enjoy the dish named after her and understand what it means.

One can see the jellified ox tail at the bottom, crème fraiche from France, and the greenish chive oil.

The flavors of the caviar tonight really stood out, got that nice fattiness and the taste of the sea. The Japanese sea urchin was very rich, and having the oxtail jelly, cream in the mix was very, very good. The little bit of finely diced chives really gives a nice hit, too.

You know what? I would LOOOOVE to see this go head-to-head with Richard Ekkebus’ sea urchin dish at Amber. They both got the sea urchin and caviar. One has lobster jello and the other oxtail jelly. One uses crème crue and the other cauliflower cream. One has gold and the other does not…

Pike dumpling, langoustine, currant bush oil, nori jam, celery and dashi beurre blanc, by Jan Hartwig - The smooth pike fishcake also contains 45% scallop, and is topped with langoustine tartare. There was a tower with layers of crispy and shredded raw celery on top.

The fishcake was filled with chive oil, which slowly oozes out when one cuts into the fishcake…

The langoustine tartare came with oil that has been infused with the scent of currant bush. We’ve got a beurre blanc made with dashi in lieu of white wine, and came with diced root vegetables and raw smoked pike. I thought this was a really nice dish, loved the cream and all the fragrance blended in together.

Brittany blue lobster, paimpol beans and saffron sauce, by Guillaume Galliot - with dill, lemon, and razor clams cooked in clam juice. Iranian saffron sauce brought along very familiar citrus orange flavors, with really fragrant fennel and crunchy buckwheat. The razor clams were pretty nice,

Pigeon breast, beetroot, purple curry and lovage-Parmesan-sabayon, by Jan Hartwig - we've got a few slices of black truffle on top, and a sauce made with pigeon jus and purple curry... something I've never heard of until today.

There was a chunk of pan-fried, salted foie gras that had been cooked perfectly. The slices of ceps were pretty nice.

The pigeon was simply beautiful... at perfect doneness for me. The skin was so crunchy and springy, and so full of flavor. Frankly, I was surprised that Hairy Legs didn't do the pigeon... but this was damn good, too!

Roasted Challand duck, bell pepper, dolce forte sauce, by Guillaume Galliot - yes... they actually printed "Challand" with a "D" on my menu. Not sure how that could happen after 20 years... but this makes it the second time I'm having "Challand duck" in my life after my first experience at another 3 star establishment in town. Anyway, this came with a calisson of bell pepper mousse and mango on top, as well as a chocolate and quincy vinegar condiment - all sitting in a dolceforte sauce made with duck jus and sole bones. The chocolate flavors were rich, while that quince vinegar added some lovely fruity flavors.

As the duck came very thick cut, maybe I would have wanted it a little more raw than the service staff suggested.

The next course was the collection of goodies from the Caprice cheese cellar, but I was too full and could only nibble...

Brillat-Savarin - I felt this was maybe a little more salty than usual. Still love the creaminess, of course, but this was really salty a little later on. It did manage to bring out the sweetness in the 1998 Grange des Pères.

Saint-Marcellin - very nutty, and a little bitter, with a lovely finish.

The pre-dessert uses figs as the main ingredient, with roasted figs along with honey oats at the bottom, followed by fig ice cream and topped with honey yogurt espuma. The figs were so intensely flavored, they were so delicious! I was, however, scratching my head when the waitstaff told me that those were honey "oak" at the bottom... even spelling it out for me. I wasn't aware that oak was edible, but he seemed convinced.

⟪Grand cru⟫ chocolate melting heart, yuzu condiment - so we have a chocolate shortbread, topped with a blue vanilla ice cream... sitting in an apricot and saffron sauce garnished with a few pistachios, which were nice. That ice cream made with Blue Bourbon vanilla from la Réunion was fucking good.

So the chocolate fondant is now "chocolate melting heart" thanks to loosely translating from the Chinese moniker "心太軟“ - coined in the 90s after a famous Mandarin pop song. <

Leclerc Briant Rosé de Saignée, dégorgée en Juin 2024 - the nose was a little caramelized, but otherwise it was kind of bland... Not very forward, although there were some minerals on the nose.

2021 Knewitz Chardonnay Reserve - this was more muted on the nose, not very buttery, and with some toasty oak. Leaner and more flinty. Waited a few more minutes and the butter side showed just a tiny little bit, but the palate was still lean and more acidic.

I was given free rein to bring bottles I wanted to drink, so of course I brought along Hairy Legs' favorite...

1998 Grange des Pères Rouge - first pour was about 20 minutes after opening. Big nose of leather and animal notes, bretty and medicinal, and definitely savory. After more than an hour in glass, the wine has now finally opened up and showed more fruit on top of the original profile. Second pour more than 1½ hours after opening, and this was even more open and fragrant. Drinking very nicely.

2021 Grange des Pères Rouge - served more than 8 hours after opening. Very lively, so fresh and minty with fragrant pine needles. So sweet, so fragrant, so beautiful!

This was a really great evening. I'm really happy to have been given a taste of Jan's cuisine, and now I'll need to find an opportunity to go see him in Munich.