Upon arrival, we were welcomed with a glass of Roederer Brut Premier. We had pre-ordered Dieter Müller’s famous Amuse-Bouche Menu, five courses composed of 19 mini dishes. There was a suggested wine pairing to go along with this menu.
Even though we ordered the Amuse-Bouche Menu, we were offered an amuse-bouche of salmon with green pea purée and goose liver on minced pork. They also served us a cheese and egg white sauce for breads.
 |
|
Salmon with green pea purée / Foie gras on minced pork |
Cheese and egg white sauce |
The first course consisted of three foie gras dishes accompanied by three types of croûton. Foie gras terrine was the best among the three. The terrine was of the top quality with an incredible smoothness and richness in flavour, but the cocoa dusted on top was rather subtle. The cream brulée of foie gras was also delicious. It was just as smooth as the terrine, but much lighter. On top was a goose liver ball coated with pumpernickel, traditional dark bread originated from this region of Germany. The croûtons matched this dish better than the other two. The remaining dish was the sautéed foie gras with truffle sauce with beet root jelly hidden underneath which added another dimension to the texture of this dish. This course was paired with a glass of Riesling Kreuznacher Paradies 2001. It had an overripe green apple aroma and slightly sweet mouth feel.
 |
||
Foie gras terrine |
Foie gras crème brulée |
Sautéed foie gras |
The second course consisted of three seafood dishes. The one that stands out was John Dory, delicately wrapped with eggplant, zucchini and cucumber. The vegetable sauce was creamy, yet very light, paired perfectly with the fish. The second mini dish was pike with spinach and salmon wrapped inside, which in turn was wrapped inside a strudel, a traditional German pastry. It was interesting to experience how the lean and firm pike contrasted with the fatty and soft salmon. Unfortunately, the lettuce sauce was a bit tart and did not match well with the two fish. The last seafood dish was combination of monkfish, octopus and squid. Not only the monkfish had no taste at all, it was also overcooked. However, the mustard and saffron sauce had a nice exotic flavour. This wine, Chardonnay Weingut Künstler 2004, was rather dry and spicy which complemented the saffron sauce perfectly.
 |
||
JohnDory with Mediterranean sauce |
Pike strudel |
Monkfish / octopus / squid |