Last week, as a nice going-away-treat, Melissa and I hooked up for dinner at Susur. She is VERY prompt and posted her photos and analysis the very next day. Me, not so much. But today, my friends, is the day I do so!
Now I love Susur and Susur's tasting menu because you never know what is going to happen. But, right up front, I have to agree with Melissa. This was not one of Susur's best -- I thought the courses ranged all over the map in terms of quality and good-idea-ness. I did the six course omnivore menu. From Susur's website:
Tasting menus are served backwards. The meal diminshes in both size and weight from the principal course.
On a table of two, neither person is served the same thing demonstrating fourteen different dishes throughout the progress of the meal.
The menu changes daily based on Susur Lee's acquisitions at local markets.
So, here we go ...
Amuse Bouche
This was incredibly promising. Three lovely little tastes. From left to right: tofu with a miso sauce, decorated with edible flowers; a puff of some sort with caviar and sauce; a little beet hat that covered a tasty bit of salmon mouse. Yum!
Course 1: Fillet Mignon with BBQ Sauce and Heirloom Tomatos
This was quite tasty. Some of the best beef I ever had. The BBQ sauce was very good, super-spicy and sweet. The squash wrap was filled with ratatouille and was excellent. I loved the heirloom tomatos, but I do find it funny that their tops are used as a decoration. This is something that would have scandalized our mothers ... "What?!? He put the top of the tomato on the plate! I throw those things out!!"
Fois Gras Course
This is where I started to get worried. Now, I love fois gras as much as the next gal. BUT I like fois gras on its own. Not wrapped up in beef with some truffle and then skewered on a chopstick that I am then supposed to stick in some boiling broth (I didn't get a pic of the broth). It was a little messy, the beef didn't really cook (might as well have just eaten it tartar .. would have tasted better) and the fois gras just disappeared as a flavour. This was a case of too many flavours. Also, there were two sauces: Miso and some other sweeter one. I don't feel these offered any benefit. Oh, the cucumber in the middle was quite tasty.
Fish Course #1: Salmon with a Trio of Potato Cups
This was one of my favourite courses. The salmon was great quality, though the glaze (miso?) took away from the original flavour, I think. I enjoyed the potato cups and their filling the most. One was a wasabi something. One was a gherkin and creme fraiche? And the last was something else yummy. And the caviar! Very tasty. I do think the potato cups could have been hollowed out a bit more because the potato tended to quash the delicate flavours, but I still enjoyed this very much.
Fish Course #2: Salmon Mousse and Crab Gelee
This was the worst course ever. In all my time at Susur. Ever. Both in terms of presentation (now this is not the best photo, but imagine these two mounds of wobbly, giggly glop showing up at your table) and in taste. The salmon mousse tasted like catfood (horrible chunky texture) and the crab gelee was just blecky. It has a little crown of spinach and an avocado ball. I liked the avocado ball. But the rest was terrible. Uck.
Palette Cleanser: Lychee with heirloom tomatos
I *think* this is when the palette cleanser came out. Presentation was pretty good. You can't see it in the photo but it had a small piece of dry ice underneath. Cool but a little wasted if your dish didn't come out from the kitchen fast enough (mine didn't). Now, I like lychee, but they are hard to eat all in one go. And all I had was a sorbet spoon. The tomatos were very refreshing. Now, you can call me old-fashioned, but I actually prefer a fresh lemon sorbet or ice as a palette cleaners. So, good marks for innovation, but I didn't really enjoy it.
Veggie Course: 8-ball Squash Stuffed with Other Veggies
First of all, how can you not love something called an 8-ball squash! However, I don't think I actually had this. I think I just snapped a pic of Melissa's. Heh. By this time in the evening, you start to get a little overwhelmed.
Veggie Couse: Artichoke Heart Steamed
This was my actual veggie course. It was excellent. A very delicate artichoke heart surrounded by a poached pear and topped with a lovely foam/sauce of some kind. I kind remember it exactly, but it was on the sweet side. I enjoyed this couse very much .. all the flavours were quite nicely balanced and a bit unusual (pairing the pear with the artichoke - genius!).
Dessert Course: 10 Delightful Tarts, Tartlets and Pasteries
This was incredible. A selection of all sorts of interesting flavours and combinations. Melissa and I split each of these. Ones that stand out: black tea mousse with blueberries, an orange mini-cake topped with chocolate and a coconut cream square. But these were all amazing!!
Fav Part of the Evening!!
But my favourite part of the evening was when Melissa gave me this! It's called Hello Kate (don't tell anyone, but I have a *thing* for Hello Kitty. Melissa made it herself and it will go perfectly on my new desk at Uniserve!
