We had the 4-course lunch menu. Our server welcomed us with 18 choices of mineral waters and 12 varieties of bread – baguette, corn bread, bacon, walnut, and olive, just to name a few. The lunch menu included a half-bottle of wine per person, chosen from a wine list specially prepared for this lunch menu. Our sommelier suggested us a bottle of Domaine Le Clos des Cazaux 2004. This white wine offered a fresh and crisp palate with a good acidity.
Our amuse-bouche was a carefully arranged mixed salad. The plating was absolutely beautiful: so colourful, so meticulously positioned, so elegantly sliced… Needless to say how fresh all the ingredients were. Their simple and natural taste surprised my palate.
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Twelve varieties of bread |
Fresh mixed greens |
For the first course, we tried both the lobster in chestnut broth and the wild mushroom in herb butter. The concentrated lobster flavour, the tenderness of the lobster meat, the taste of chestnut, all made the dish a culinary delight.
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Lobster medallion in chestnut and pheasant broth |
Chestnut flour, wild mushroom in herb butter |
For the wild mushroom dish, it was covered with an interesting thin sheet made with chestnut and flour. Subtle chestnut flavour and earthy mushrooms combined with the garlicky herb butter resulted in another magnificent dish.
For the main course, we tried both the pan fried Mediterranean wolf fish and a young boar neck. Wolf fish is a very light fish with tender meat and a very clean taste. It was pan fried to perfection; the sauce was just mild enough not to overshadow the light taste of the fish.
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Fried Mediterranean wolf fish |
Young boar neck, polenta and broccoli |
A common criticism for boar is its toughness if not prepared correctly. But this boar was surprisingly tender, confirming the chef’s cooking technique. This dish comes with polenta as the side, a thick mixture made from cornmeal and milk, a common side dish in northern Italy.
Then it was a cheese course, with an abundant selection of highest quality of cheese from Bernard Antony, one of the best suppliers in France.