Wow! This is probably one of the cheapest lunch menu offered in a Michelin starred restaurants we know. The 25 USD lunch menu (starters, main course and dessert) is a knock-out. Besides the prices, the setting is grandiose, the place can serve up to 150 guests at once. It’s located next to the famous Flatiron building.

Now, let's turn our attention to the food offered for our lunch on April 27^th 2015: the starters were all savory and refined, especially the Piri-Piri Shrimp and the Lashooni Gobi (Crispy floret and cauliflower with chili flakes and tomato chutney). The main courses we had were Murg Lababdar (Chicken Tikka), Lamb Kolhapuri (lamb simmered in spicy curry) and Chanda Pindi (stewed chickpeas marinated in onion and ginger) were tasty and elevated. The whole meal was served with incredible naan and Pulao Basmati Rice. The desserts, Coconut Pudding with Ginger Sorbet were perfect for a nice ending.

The wine list is amazing for an Indian restaurant, the list is very diverse and cosmopolite, it travels from Austria to Australia, from France to the USA, from Spain to Argentina, from Italy to New Zealand. They have also an incredible cocktail list and delicious lassies.

The service is extremely friendly and professional, the host made us feel right at home.

Vikas Khanna and his pastry chef, Shoukut Hussain deserved their first Michelin star and our praises.

Restaurant Jaan was named on the best restaurants in the world recently by the controversial magazine Restaurant.

We decided to make our own idea, so we made a decision to check it ourselves by going to lunch at  Jaan on Tuesday October 21^st. 

We were accompanied by our four years old boy, and graciously the restaurant and the chef Julien Royer made an exception to accept our reservation with our kid.

The setting was incredible; we had a table by the window, so we could admire one of the most magnificent views of Singapore and on Marina Bay.

The service was very kind, warmed, welcomed and very professional.

Our lunch menu was composed of several astonishing amuses-bouches like55’ Rosemary Smoked Organic Egg, Jaan Garden and Milk Poached White Asparagus; the meal continued with a modern version of the famous Gargouillou Salad by Michel Bras. It’s not surprising, considering that Julien was disciple of Michel Bras and is a native of Cantal in France like Bras himself.

Our main courses were Confit Rainbow Trout and Spring Barley ‘Comme Un Risotto’ were very light, extremely savory, and finally, the pre-dessert was the most original and was incredible in its lightness, It was a sort of aerial yoghurt composed of pearls of Japan and delicate cream of citrus and ginger, it was the wow effect touch that we were looking for.

Our desserts, a Strawberry Feuilles à Feuilles and an Exotic Pineapple, Banana Cheesecake concluded one of the best meals we had so far this year.

The price of this lunch was 68 Singapore Dollars per person; we can tell you that is one of the best bargains right now in Singapore and for that matter in the world for a high-end lunch. 

We want to congratulate Julien Royer and his second in command, Kirk Westaway for offering us this tour de force, for us their cooking is worth at least two stars on Michelin guide. By the way, we would like to advise the Michelin Guide to come to Singapore and check all the incredible talents that are blossoming right now and ready to explode through the planet.

Jaan is a must eat if you’re traveling to Singapore.

Jaan

Level 70, Equinox Complex
Swissôtel The Stamford, 2 Stamford Road, Singapore 178882

http://www.jaan.com.sg
Tel: +65 6837 3322 | reservations@equinoxcomplex.com

Eneko Atxa, the 37 years old chef of Azurmendi is really a magician; he made our visit to his restaurant into a wonderful discovery of his world. He will make you enter into his world in four acts.

The Azurmendi discovery begun  with the two Jon’s, first, Jon Willian Herrera (maître d’hôtel and sommelier) who told us that we were the first clients of the day and asked us if we wished  to speak in French or in English then he welcomed us into the atrium garden. He then served a glass of Txakoline wine and asked us if we want a tour to the greenhouse and the edible garden (located on top of the restaurant) where we will discover the first appetizers hidden between the plants, fruits and vegetables.

After consuming the appetizers in the garden, the aperitif is continued at the indoor garden at the entrance of the restaurant. A picnic basket is served. Then we proceeded to the kitchen to greet the kitchen staff and to see Eneko at work. We continue our appetizers, a homemade black sausage with a consommé of beans.

This discovery is one of the most thoughtful and nicest experiences that we got since Carme Ruscalleda at Sant Pau.

Before talking about our meal we would like to say a few words on his magnificent restaurant, the construction is forty per cent solar use and energy renewable. The view is spectacular with one regrettable note is the visitors have their wonderful view spoiled by the motorway just beneath the hill.

For our meal we chose the menu Erroak, tradition in Basque language. The menu is served in ten dishes, and it’s changed every day with the inspiration of the chef. The meal is thoughtful and beautiful, but for us it would be perfect if it was more balanced and lighter, for example, to replace the Royal Orange Duck with flower of orange tree with a lighter dish. This remark also applied to Kokotxas and potatoes.

The wine list is very interesting both in the varieties of countries, regions, name and pricing. For a three stars Michelin restaurant the pricing is fairly good like a Sant Vicente 2009 that we chose.

The property also has a vineyard with a wine cellar that is equipped with the latest technologies in oenology. The Gorka Izagirre wine cellar started with the idea to recuperate and expend the Txakoli wine.

The service is professional, competent and friendly, the two Jon’s make us feel at home.

Eneko and his team put out a great performance. Their restaurant deserves the best accolades.

Adresse : Legina Auzoa, s/n, 48195 Larrabetzu, Vizcaya, Espagne

Horaires d'ouverture :

Ouvert aujourd'hui · 13:00 – 16:00

Abac restaurant has two stars on the Michelin Guide for its inventive cooking in a beautiful setting.

The cooking of Jordi Cruz reminds us of the cooking of the Roca Brothers of El Celler de Can Roca in Gerona.  Ferran Adria certainly has a great influence on his cooking and technics.

Jordi Cruz has demonstrated his technical skills amply in his Season Menu of Spring 2013 which has been displayed in 12 dishes. There were three dishes that stood out and illustrated his creativity:

Mussels Curry with Combawa

SnowBloodyMarywith seafoodandmeats

Liquidparmesan gnocchi’s with mushrooms, walnuts and an infusion of water mushroom and lemongrass

But unfortunately for Jordi Cruz, his artful cooking was spoiled by a very bad service from the restaurant personnel’s. A two stars Michelin restaurant which has only one sommelier who could speak French and our table of seven persons where left in the hand of a very young, very arrogant, inexperienced and very rude server who couldn’t speak English very well.

Abac’s owner and Jordi Cruz must realize that having a five stars hotel and a two stars restaurant are not sufficient to make their place great. Their restaurant lacks soul and depth, the restaurant needs warmth and good vibe. If they don’t know how to infuse great service and warmth reception they should ask the chef and owner of Me restaurant in Barcelona, Mr. Thanh Pham for advice.

Abac
Restaurant & Hotel
Avda. Tibidabo 1
08022 Barcelone
Espagne
Tel.: +34 93 3196600
Fax.: +34 93 3196601
E-mail hotel@abacbarcelona.com
www.abacbarcelona.com

Me (mother in Vietnamese) could mean two ways for the chef owner Thanh Pham of his eponymous restaurant in Barcelona. It could mean a culinary heritage transmitted by his mother or it could mean the cuisine of his motherland, in anyway, his Vietnamese root is giving his cooking an edge in country where there have only thirty nine Vietnamese people that live there

Thanh Pham uses the best products with the best ingredients to translate his Vietnamese cooking, so Catalans and the others westerners could eat appreciate and understand. His cooking is not only savory but it has soul and depth.  The whole cuisine is a definition of East meet West with a Catalan twist. He’s probably one of the three chefs that know how to use and mix herbs, spices and exotics ingredients with talent and accuracy the others two are Tran Duc at the Mango Room in Hoi An and Didier Corlou at La Verticale in Hanoi, Vietnam.

On our passage on Friday may 3^rd, we were the last group of clients that arrived at eleven at night, and fortunately, we have Thanh Pham who sat down and took time to explain each dish to each of us and told us how he cooks and how he uses the ingredients for each dish while his barman was mixing great cocktails for the whole table.

Each dish we ate has received a “wow!” from all of us, especially his sashimi and beef tartare, Vietnamese style, and his dessert, the cheesecake with lemongrass and rosemary herbs is knockout.

Not only he’s a great cook but a very good sommelier that is rare enough to mention, especially for an Asian chef. We asked him to advise us to choose two bottles of Catalan wine to pair with our meal, one white and one red. He chose two incredible bottles, the white one is from Missenyora 2011 from Coste Del Segre and a red one is Como Vella 2008 from the Priorat’s region.

We wish we could have the same quality and counsel for our meal the next day at ABAC.

Mẹ is a modern restaurant that understood how to make its clients happy and satisfy with great cooking and drink, with its relax and personalized service, but not only, it has soul and personality .

We know a lot of restaurants in Europe and around the world should take Thanh Pham’s restaurant as a model to be.

Carrer Paris, 162.

Tél : 93 419 49 33.

Accueil de 20 h 30 à 23 h 30, du jeudi au samedi de 13 h 30 à 16 h. Fermé le dimanche et le lundi.