The other choice for the fourth course was soft shell crab sitting below a fried tomato garnished by a few baby arugula leaves. It was blue crab from Chesapeake Bay, one of the greatest seafood production areas in the US. The crispy shell along with the sweet fleshy meat combined with the ranch dipping was simply delicious.

Chesapeake bay soft shell crab Tomato “French toast” / Arugula salad / Ranch dressing	All-day brasised Hobbs Shore pork belly Green asparagus / Lettuce / Sauce gribiche

Our fifth course was pork belly, the best pork belly I have ever tasted! It was fully braised to be melt-in-your-mouth and fabulously tied together with its tangy-savoury sauce. Our meal was accompanied by a bottle of pinot noir, “Skewis Floodgate Vineyard 2003”. This wine has a clean aroma of cherry with a hint of earthy mushroom and long smooth finish. It went pretty well with the pork and the next course.

Our sixth course was a rectangular cut of lamb from Elysian Fields Farm with artichokes hidden underneath. I found it a bit odd because the lamb didn’t have the usual lamb taste. Our server then explained to us the specialty about the lamb from this farm. Chef Keller tried lambs from various farms. He found the highest quality and the tenderest lamb from this particular farm. We absolutely loved it!

Elysian Fields Farm roast lamb Caramelized artichoke / Espelette pepper sauce	Saint Nectaire Poached Bing cherries / Caraway seed vinaigrette

Our seventh course was a cheese course. Instead of allowing you to select your favourite cheese and cut it in front of you like in most of the Michelin Star restaurants, The French Laundry prepared this dish in the kitchen. The poached Bing cherries and roasted Savoy cabbage amazingly accompanied the Saint Nectaire cheese. What an extremely inventive, yet tasty combination!

Our eighth course was apricot sorbet topped by few crunchy almonds. The sorbet was very smooth and creamy with a concentrated apricot flavour. In addition, the almonds offered a nice change of texture.

Royal Blenheim Apricot Sorbet Marcona almond crunch / Fruit pit jelly	Valrhona Jivara chocolate-malt Bavarois cream Candied coco nibs / Malt ice cream

Our nineth course was Malt Teaser, Valrhona Jivara chocolate-malt Bavarois cream with malt ice cream. Needless to say, Valrhona chocolate is the best chocolate in the world!