Being a mad foodie visiting the big apple, New York City, I just had to try a Michelin three star restaurant. Daniel was one of the restaurants with availability for the time we were there. I made a 6pm booking for my partner and I.
Upon entering through the rotating sliding doors, you enter into the lobby that is split into two levels where diners can wait to be seated. When making this booking, a set of dress attire rules were provided. The most important (besides dressing up nicely) is that gentlemen are only allowed to enter the dining area if wearing a dinner jacket. Luckily, my partner had packed his dinner jacket. The inside of the restaurant is beautiful. We were seated on a slightly elevated area with a full view of the entire restaurant.
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| Zoom in – the wine cellar |
We figured if we got the 6 course tasting menu ($195 with two options within each course), we would get both dishes in each course and share. So we really got to try 12 dishes!
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| Amuse bouche |
All the waitstaff were impeccably dressed in a suit, white shirt and tie and exemplified professionalism. We had two waiters who came out and simultaneously set down our dishes for every course. One would not set down a plate without the other. Everything was timed. These waiters knew everything there was to know about the food, could answer our questions and make recommendations. Their mannerisms were distinguished. I cannot praise the service enough. These guys are the professionals.
Course 1 – Duck terrine, and Mosaic of Quail.
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| Duck terrine with cubeb pepper poached rhubarb |
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| Mosaic of quail with pickled Hon Shimeji |
Course 2 – Fish. One of my favourites of the night – Trio of Hamachi – freshness and delicate flavours. Absolutely beautiful!
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| Trio of Hamachi |
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| Shimaaji ‘au vin blanc’ |
Course 3 – Abalone, and Ravioli. Loved the ravioli and especially the creamy sauce that was so full of flavour but not too heavy. I really wanted more…
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| Butter poached jade tiger abalone with sea buckthorn |
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| Fennel ravioli with Scottish langoustines |
Course 4 – More fish with Sea Bass and Arctic Char
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| Oven baked black sea bass with syrah sauce |
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| Bread crusted arctic char |
Course 5 – Duo of beef, and Veal
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| Duo of beef – braised Angus short ribs, carrot puree, seared Wagyu tenderloin, smoked bone marrow, potato confit |
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| Trio of milk fed veal – roasted tenderloin, braised cheeks |
Course 6 – Dessert! The coconut vacherin was light and fluffy. The warm Guanaja chocolate was nice and gooey in the centre and went well with the light milk sorbet.
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Tropical coconut vacherin – guava gel, mango-vanilla swirl, meringue
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| Warm guanaja chocolate coolant – liquid caramel, fleur de sel, milk sorbet |
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| Inside the chocolate coolant – gooey chocolateyness |
To our surprise, the waiter brought out another dessert for us ‘just in case you didn’t like the other 2 desserts’. I don’t quite remember what it was, but it was a nice thick rich chocolate cake with biscuit base.
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| Additional chocolate cake |
The waiter came out again, with a tray of petite fours. So cute!
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| Additional tray of petite fours |
After we thought that was the end of the meal, he brought out basket of freshly baked warm madeleines sprinkled with icing sugar on top. These were delicious! We regrettably couldn’t finish these off as we were so full.
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| Warm madeleines |
The waiter came out again, asking if we were full, and said we had to make room for one more thing. Both of our eyes bulged at this thought. We couldn’t possibly have fit in another dessert but were curious to see what it would be. The waiter came out with a platter of Daniel’s signature chocolates in various flavours. We each got to pick two chocolates which was more than enough by that stage.
I cannot commend the service here highly enough. This is the way you run a restaurant. The other staff included an attendant whose sole purpose was to brush away the breadcrumbs from each table. I actually thought the crumbs would fall into my lap or onto the floor, but the cool little contraption had a small catchment area so no crumbs were to be seen. Another member of the staff was pushing a little trolley with a diner’s wine selection. His sole task was to open up a new bottle of wine, pour a bit into a glass, swirl it around and ensure it was of a high quality before being served to the diners at the table. At the end of the night, our waiter provided us with a printed booklet of the entire menu and the date of our dinner as a souvenir.
The whole experience – food, service and ambiance was flawless. I especially loved the little surprises at the end. I’d highly recommend Daniel to anyone that has an appreciation for fine dining and impeccable service.
Foodgasm 10/10
