USA 2008! Part 6 - Guy Savoy
yet another food porn post, this time on Guy Savoy.
*** in the Paris flagship
** in the Vegas one.
Interesting meal, this is a long one, enjoy!
The choice for a 'gala dinner' of sorts boiled down to 3 choices:
- L'Atelier du Joel Robuchon, the experimental and so called lower end but still incredibly expensive joint by JR (2 stars!),
- Joel Robuchon, the flagship JR restaurant in Vegas, and the only 3 star restaurant in the city, and
- Guy Savoy, also 2 star.
Guy was chosen primarily because;
(a) JR's L'Atelier in HK was quite awful when I went there about 2 years ago. And that was allegedly 2 stars.
(b) JR is retired from the kitchen, so his personal input for the dishes is perhaps questionable.
So Guy Savoy it was.
To begin, a little background on Guy Savoy the man from Gayot.com:
You have to know a little bit about Guy Savoy to situate and appreciate his cuisine. First, Savoy is the youngest and probably the last of the legends who invented "Nouvelle Cuisine." Younger than the Bocuses, the Guérards, and the Senderens, but completely sharing their enthusiasm and their new approach to cooking, taking advantage of their experience and their mistakes, he is most likely the only one who is able to interpret and amend the ten commandments of the “Nouvelle.” Second, Savoy is a kung fu master, adept in Zen philosophy. For him, whether in life or in cuisine, frills and flounces are unnecessary. Hence the Zen-like décor and the rare bill of fare.
The restaurant is run by Guy's son Frank, the manager, together with his wife Laura who appeared to be an Englishwoman. Guy Savoy apparently flies in on and off when he is not holding the fort at the mothership *** restaurant in Paris.
We made a 6.30 pm reservation as we were gunning for the degustation menu, called the Menu Prestige, a 9 course dinner, AS WELL as make a run for Cirque du Soelil's Ka
We barely made the show in time...
Salt, pepper and butter
When we sat down, before we even ordered drinks, we were given food. 2 starters to be precise. Can't remember the first one, but the second was a little mini burger on a skewer, can't remember if there was foie gras in it, but it was good. Excellent start.
There is apparently a 12,000 bottle wine cave somewhere, plus a wine encyclopaedia (that sits on its own table!) to order from. We did not fancy a bottle, so the tome did not make its appearance.
Some cranberry based creation by the bartender.
A nice vintage Krug recommended by the American Chinese sommelier who absolutely mangled all the French names. Talk about confused. Krug was nice. Only found out later that glass was $70. That's what you get for choosing the most familiar name from the (not so random) tub of bottles of bubbly from the trolley of house wines.
Epi bread
We went for the Menu Prestige. Damage: US$290 a head plus tax and tips. Ouch.
For every course, the maitre d' came by to introduce the dish and address any questions we may have about the food. The wait staff were impeccable, they really knew their stuff. Timing was also immaculate, periodically the staff checked on us to make sure that the timing of the dishes was perfect. I think they were also rushing the kitchen somewhat at times as they were keeping any eye on the clock given our appointment with Cirque du Soelil. There were also times when Laura came by to make small talk, which we only realised later was probably a cue from the Manager for her to keep us occupied whilst one of the dishes was still being prepared. Now this is what I call service!
First up, amuse bouche.
Amuse Bouche Part 1
I can't remember what soup it was, but we had to push the pepper on the right with our spoons into the soup. Cheap thrill but quirky and fun.
Amuse Bouche Part 2
This really put the 'amuse' in 'amuse bouche'. You lift the soup bowl(?) and a seocnd part is uncovered. I think it was either duck or tuna, can't remember. But clearly Guy has a sense of humour.
Oysters in Ice Gelée
Huîtres en Nage Glacée
Basically, the oyster was served in the mother of pearl, sleeping ontop of a layer of creme fraiche and under a gel made of seawater, and topped with roe, with the mother of pearl sitting in a bed of green and purple seaweed. Never thought I would be eating a gel made of seawater, but it was salty but refreshing, and certainly surprising.
Bread trolley
bread pairing with each course?! with a *bread* sommelier that comes by with every course? Surprisingly, it works. At this time I decided that they only make one loaf of each everyday, and most of their food gets thrown away daily, there were perhaps 15 small tables like ours, and only about 4 more were occupied at any time. d. claims the bread sommelier looks like Sylar from Lost Heroes.
Colors of Caviar
All i remember was that this was filled with different layers and topped with a generous amount of caviar. the white layer if I recall was sabayon that was scooped in at the table, right from a pot freshly made.
Crispy Sea Bass with Delicate Spices
Bar en Ecailles Grillées aux Epices Douces
Foie-Gras “en Papillotte” and Radish Bouillon
« Radis-Foie »
Interesting to have foie gras done en papillote which means in paper. Basically it was sort of steamed. the whole thing was brought to the table, and the paper was cut open on the spot and the foie gras served immediately from there.
Artichoke and Black Truffle Soup, Toasted Mushroom Brioche, and Black Truffle Butter
Soupe d’Artichaut à la Truffe Noire, Brioche Feuilletée aux Champignons et Truffe
Frank swung by during this time to explain to us that this was a signature Guy Savoy dish, which was in fact a treasured family recipe. Pity photos never do justice to soup, it was really rich and yummy, and as can be seen, topped with fresh black truffles and pecorino.
Mallard Duck "Poached-Roasted", Autumn Root Vegetable
Colvert Farce sous la Peau>, Racines d'Automne
Sélection de Fromages Affinés
There was a cheese trolley with about a dozen kinds of cheeses. No pix of the trolley (though I did nick one here) but here's what we each had:
d's choice
mine. can't remember the names of the cheeses but they were all very yummy.
palate cleanser
can't remember what this was called since it is not listed on the menu. Kiwi based with pineapple bits and small pieces of meringue, and topped with a slice of dried pineapple.
At this point we were absolutely stuffed, and when we were talking to Laura at this point she mentioned that Guy does not believe in serving heavy French food, but in small servings. I was thinking ' wah lao, yes small servings they were, and yes to the light touch for most of the dishes, but sheesh, I am stuffed!"
Citrus Salad
Salade d'Agrumes
We thought that this was the dessert, and were quite pleased with the alleged light touch. Different kinds of citrus fruits including blood orange served in different ways. The fruits was sitting on a tray and under the tray was dry ice. At the table camomile tea was poured over the whole creation, thus adding scent to the dish not to mention the dry ice effect.
Then we realised they were lying. There was more to come, and there was nothing light about the next course:
Chocolate Fondant, Crunchy Praline, Chicory Cream
Fondant Chocolat au Pralin Feuillete et Creme Chicoree
an extra sinful and heavy. Do not be fooled by the fact that it is a tiny slice. It was hard work trying to fit it into the stomach.
We ordered coffee after dessert, thinking it would perk us up after all the food.
We did not know they serve coffee with this:
We thought, finally we were done, perhaps just pralines for petit fours.
We were wrong
a seriously kick ass Petit Four trolley:
3 kinds of ice cream, candy on a swizzel stick, sour gummies, cookies, pralines, mashmellows, macaroons, more macaroons, another 2 or 3 kinds of chocolate cake slices, a lemon pie of some sort.
d's choice. The sorbet was quince based. can't remember what the rest was.
mine. At the far end you see a cake. This was some kind of black forest cake drenched in alcohol. the cake could not be seen from the trolley as it is on another *lower* tier to the trolley.
Once again, I thought - all this has to be made fresh daily, and most of it will be thrown away. Wow. That plus the fact I was wondering how many pastry chefs there were in the kitchen.
when we were leaving the restaurant, we were also given complimentary candies, this time it was caramels in a nice Guy Savoy box, for us to enjoy during the show. Oh, and (wrapped) chatreuse candies from a nice big bowl.
Total damage: almost a grand.
verdict: Well worth the money - the creativity, the food, the excellent service. And 9 courses that were more like 15. Liars!
If JR's 2 stars in HK are accurate, then at least a dozen restaurants in Singapore would also deserve one or two stars. And if JR's 2 stars in HK are worth the same as Guy Savoy's 2 stars here, then there must be a serious error somewhere. Next time, we would just go for a slower dinner, and forget about catching a show after. :)
the end.
ps: Another small victory of sorts, in choosing to come here over JR, we actually met the Man. Yep, Guy Savoy was in da house! Pity we did not take a photo with him, but he did come by to chat briefly at each table. Woot woot!
pps: for more reviews see here You can actually go for a kitchen tour. And there is a chef's table in there. Mmmmmmm.
*** in the Paris flagship
** in the Vegas one.
Interesting meal, this is a long one, enjoy!
The choice for a 'gala dinner' of sorts boiled down to 3 choices:
- L'Atelier du Joel Robuchon, the experimental and so called lower end but still incredibly expensive joint by JR (2 stars!),
- Joel Robuchon, the flagship JR restaurant in Vegas, and the only 3 star restaurant in the city, and
- Guy Savoy, also 2 star.
Guy was chosen primarily because;
(a) JR's L'Atelier in HK was quite awful when I went there about 2 years ago. And that was allegedly 2 stars.
(b) JR is retired from the kitchen, so his personal input for the dishes is perhaps questionable.
So Guy Savoy it was.
To begin, a little background on Guy Savoy the man from Gayot.com:
You have to know a little bit about Guy Savoy to situate and appreciate his cuisine. First, Savoy is the youngest and probably the last of the legends who invented "Nouvelle Cuisine." Younger than the Bocuses, the Guérards, and the Senderens, but completely sharing their enthusiasm and their new approach to cooking, taking advantage of their experience and their mistakes, he is most likely the only one who is able to interpret and amend the ten commandments of the “Nouvelle.” Second, Savoy is a kung fu master, adept in Zen philosophy. For him, whether in life or in cuisine, frills and flounces are unnecessary. Hence the Zen-like décor and the rare bill of fare.
The restaurant is run by Guy's son Frank, the manager, together with his wife Laura who appeared to be an Englishwoman. Guy Savoy apparently flies in on and off when he is not holding the fort at the mothership *** restaurant in Paris.
We made a 6.30 pm reservation as we were gunning for the degustation menu, called the Menu Prestige, a 9 course dinner, AS WELL as make a run for Cirque du Soelil's Ka
We barely made the show in time...
Salt, pepper and butter
When we sat down, before we even ordered drinks, we were given food. 2 starters to be precise. Can't remember the first one, but the second was a little mini burger on a skewer, can't remember if there was foie gras in it, but it was good. Excellent start.
There is apparently a 12,000 bottle wine cave somewhere, plus a wine encyclopaedia (that sits on its own table!) to order from. We did not fancy a bottle, so the tome did not make its appearance.
Some cranberry based creation by the bartender.
A nice vintage Krug recommended by the American Chinese sommelier who absolutely mangled all the French names. Talk about confused. Krug was nice. Only found out later that glass was $70. That's what you get for choosing the most familiar name from the (not so random) tub of bottles of bubbly from the trolley of house wines.
Epi bread
We went for the Menu Prestige. Damage: US$290 a head plus tax and tips. Ouch.
For every course, the maitre d' came by to introduce the dish and address any questions we may have about the food. The wait staff were impeccable, they really knew their stuff. Timing was also immaculate, periodically the staff checked on us to make sure that the timing of the dishes was perfect. I think they were also rushing the kitchen somewhat at times as they were keeping any eye on the clock given our appointment with Cirque du Soelil. There were also times when Laura came by to make small talk, which we only realised later was probably a cue from the Manager for her to keep us occupied whilst one of the dishes was still being prepared. Now this is what I call service!
First up, amuse bouche.
Amuse Bouche Part 1
I can't remember what soup it was, but we had to push the pepper on the right with our spoons into the soup. Cheap thrill but quirky and fun.
Amuse Bouche Part 2
This really put the 'amuse' in 'amuse bouche'. You lift the soup bowl(?) and a seocnd part is uncovered. I think it was either duck or tuna, can't remember. But clearly Guy has a sense of humour.
Oysters in Ice Gelée
Huîtres en Nage Glacée
Basically, the oyster was served in the mother of pearl, sleeping ontop of a layer of creme fraiche and under a gel made of seawater, and topped with roe, with the mother of pearl sitting in a bed of green and purple seaweed. Never thought I would be eating a gel made of seawater, but it was salty but refreshing, and certainly surprising.
Bread trolley
bread pairing with each course?! with a *bread* sommelier that comes by with every course? Surprisingly, it works. At this time I decided that they only make one loaf of each everyday, and most of their food gets thrown away daily, there were perhaps 15 small tables like ours, and only about 4 more were occupied at any time. d. claims the bread sommelier looks like Sylar from Lost Heroes.
Colors of Caviar
All i remember was that this was filled with different layers and topped with a generous amount of caviar. the white layer if I recall was sabayon that was scooped in at the table, right from a pot freshly made.
Crispy Sea Bass with Delicate Spices
Bar en Ecailles Grillées aux Epices Douces
Foie-Gras “en Papillotte” and Radish Bouillon
« Radis-Foie »
Interesting to have foie gras done en papillote which means in paper. Basically it was sort of steamed. the whole thing was brought to the table, and the paper was cut open on the spot and the foie gras served immediately from there.
Artichoke and Black Truffle Soup, Toasted Mushroom Brioche, and Black Truffle Butter
Soupe d’Artichaut à la Truffe Noire, Brioche Feuilletée aux Champignons et Truffe
Frank swung by during this time to explain to us that this was a signature Guy Savoy dish, which was in fact a treasured family recipe. Pity photos never do justice to soup, it was really rich and yummy, and as can be seen, topped with fresh black truffles and pecorino.
Mallard Duck "Poached-Roasted", Autumn Root Vegetable
Colvert Farce sous la Peau>, Racines d'Automne
Sélection de Fromages Affinés
There was a cheese trolley with about a dozen kinds of cheeses. No pix of the trolley (though I did nick one here) but here's what we each had:
d's choice
mine. can't remember the names of the cheeses but they were all very yummy.
palate cleanser
can't remember what this was called since it is not listed on the menu. Kiwi based with pineapple bits and small pieces of meringue, and topped with a slice of dried pineapple.
At this point we were absolutely stuffed, and when we were talking to Laura at this point she mentioned that Guy does not believe in serving heavy French food, but in small servings. I was thinking ' wah lao, yes small servings they were, and yes to the light touch for most of the dishes, but sheesh, I am stuffed!"
Citrus Salad
Salade d'Agrumes
We thought that this was the dessert, and were quite pleased with the alleged light touch. Different kinds of citrus fruits including blood orange served in different ways. The fruits was sitting on a tray and under the tray was dry ice. At the table camomile tea was poured over the whole creation, thus adding scent to the dish not to mention the dry ice effect.
Then we realised they were lying. There was more to come, and there was nothing light about the next course:
Chocolate Fondant, Crunchy Praline, Chicory Cream
Fondant Chocolat au Pralin Feuillete et Creme Chicoree
an extra sinful and heavy. Do not be fooled by the fact that it is a tiny slice. It was hard work trying to fit it into the stomach.
We ordered coffee after dessert, thinking it would perk us up after all the food.
We did not know they serve coffee with this:
We thought, finally we were done, perhaps just pralines for petit fours.
We were wrong
a seriously kick ass Petit Four trolley:
3 kinds of ice cream, candy on a swizzel stick, sour gummies, cookies, pralines, mashmellows, macaroons, more macaroons, another 2 or 3 kinds of chocolate cake slices, a lemon pie of some sort.
d's choice. The sorbet was quince based. can't remember what the rest was.
mine. At the far end you see a cake. This was some kind of black forest cake drenched in alcohol. the cake could not be seen from the trolley as it is on another *lower* tier to the trolley.
Once again, I thought - all this has to be made fresh daily, and most of it will be thrown away. Wow. That plus the fact I was wondering how many pastry chefs there were in the kitchen.
when we were leaving the restaurant, we were also given complimentary candies, this time it was caramels in a nice Guy Savoy box, for us to enjoy during the show. Oh, and (wrapped) chatreuse candies from a nice big bowl.
Total damage: almost a grand.
verdict: Well worth the money - the creativity, the food, the excellent service. And 9 courses that were more like 15. Liars!
If JR's 2 stars in HK are accurate, then at least a dozen restaurants in Singapore would also deserve one or two stars. And if JR's 2 stars in HK are worth the same as Guy Savoy's 2 stars here, then there must be a serious error somewhere. Next time, we would just go for a slower dinner, and forget about catching a show after. :)
the end.
ps: Another small victory of sorts, in choosing to come here over JR, we actually met the Man. Yep, Guy Savoy was in da house! Pity we did not take a photo with him, but he did come by to chat briefly at each table. Woot woot!
pps: for more reviews see here You can actually go for a kitchen tour. And there is a chef's table in there. Mmmmmmm.