So I had the privilege to dine at London's to restaurant a while back, thanks to a good friend, J.
This 3 ★ Michelin place, which was awarded Restaurant of the Year (2001) by Michelin, owned by renowned chef Heston Blumenthal is truly amazing and I loved every moment there. The service was impeccable and very friendly, as they served up the 14 courses of mind-blowing food. Each dish had a story behind it, and was full of theatrics, where eating felt like an art performance instead.
It was truly the best (and of course most expensive) meal of my (ahem young) life thus far.
Alright before I continue raving about it, let the pictures start talking!
We arrived at the place after roughly 1 hour of travel via the tube and cab, to a simple looking brick house of 1 storey:
And I love how quaint it looked, with a simple logo hanging outside. Look closer, do you realise each piece of the logo is actually a piece of the duck's body shaped into utensils?
I am impressed by how much thought has gone into the logo design and that set the expectations for our meal to come.
This was a permanent fixture on the wall:
The Fat Duck menu
It hasn't changed much since it was opened and that has led to some criticisms about it remaining stagnant but it was my first time so no complaints from me!!
An amuse boùche to kick off our gastronomical adventure:
It was a puff of horse radish cream and beetroot... I know, sounds disgusting right?
B.U.T... It.was.so.delightful.I.shut.up.
Even the plate also nice....
Just look at this beautiful bloodred ball:
The puff literally melted in my mouth, with a softness of cotton candy mm mmmm.
And the wasabi cream was light, sweet and refreshing!
It certainly whet our appetites for the amazing dishes to come.
Before the mains, we had Nitro Poached Aperitifs with a selection of:
1) Vodka and Lime sour 2) Campari Soda 3) Tequila and Grapefruit
And you can see the very obliging waiter posing for us while he was poaching our aperitifs:
I had the Campari flavoured one, and it was gone in a pop. I pressed the cold poached aperitif against the roof of my mouth and almost immediately, it disappeared as it released the signature fragrance of Campari; similar to fresh orange zest, very nice!
An edible science show for the audience; amazing.
Then, this magical truffle moss bed appeared on our table, with smoke flooding our table as the waiter poured water into it:
We were told to inhale deeply as the fog held the scent of fresh truffles and you could see me almost putting my head on the table and sniffing like a bloodhound haha!
This was what Fat Duck was about; where diners have their five senses brought to life...
Accompanying the moss bed were the Jelly of Quail, Crayfish Cream and Chicken Liver Parfait alongside an Oak Moss and Truffle Toast:
Heston oh Heston, you are really the father of molecular gastronomy...
This dish was wonderfully done, presenting an exquisite combination of textures:
It was a smooth and consistent chicken parfait, hiding a soft gelatinous layer of refreshing jelly, and that made it very very hard to stop scooping small spoonfuls after spoonfuls.
I only stopped to take bites of crunchy toast in between, which provided a nice swap of flavours, as I could taste the woody aroma of freshly shaved truffles on it.
With such a good first dish, I was really excited for the rest of my food!
*Rubs greedy hands in glee*
Up next was the famous Snail Porridge:
You know, those that you sometimes step on accidentally.... ok let's not go there.
The everyday snail was transformed into something spectacular here, with a fresh and sweet meat accentuated by the saltiness of the Iberico Bellota Ham in each bite.
This green "hulk" porridge you see was actually a risotto in disguise, made of pearl grains and oats, and the Shaved Fennel soaked in vinegar was a very good palette cleanser.
In snail, I mean, in all, this was one of my favourite dish, where every green bit was wiped clean.
Following this was the Roast Foie Gras, which was the best dish that day:
This has got to be the best fatty liver I've eaten.
#DIEDIEMUSTTRY
#CANNOTSHAREONE
Fat Duck uses cryogenically frozen foie gras, which gave the dish a very clean taste, so much that you forget it is mainly fat you are consuming. Together with the Kombu, crispy Crab Biscuit and Balsamic drops, the dish tasted very meaty; almost like creamy, smokey bacon.
The Rhubarb sauce on the side was very refreshing between bites, and that also made sure nothing was left behind... I swear life was complete then.
Then we were transported to Alice's Wonderland of with a Madhatter's Tea Party (c.1892):
As the waiter brought out a tiny suitcase containing gold pocket watches, ready to be dissolved one by one into our soups, we felt as if the Cheshire Cat was right next to us.
Just imagine our squeals of delight as we saw the gold dissolve into glittery bits in our soup:
It was a beef consumme with bits of beef, tofu and gold of course.
Taste wise, it was rather bland compared to the other dishes, but I still finished everything.
The experience was definitely more memorable, as we sat around chatting over sandwiches served in a two tiered tray:
The strange part was, it really felt as if we made a trip to Alice in Wonderland and back as we finished up our simple sandwiches of toast in between soft bread.
Did we really grow small and meet the Madhatter?
Each dish truly amazes me... the following dish was the "Sound of the Sea":
At first I was wondering, "How come got seashell ah?"
Then I realised that there was an Ipod inside it, filled with sounds of the sea. i.e.: waves crashing, noisy seagulls fighting for food, birds cooing.
And we were instructed to put them on and close our eyes whilst eating this:
Can you see it is a miniature version of the seabed, with sand and foam?
The best part? Everything was edible, with tapioca and salt making up the sand.
Of course, the sashimi were very fresh and enjoyable but I loved how I was transported to the seaside with this dish. It's almost like I caught the fish and ate them on the spot, fighting off big fat seagulls!
(Gotta love an active imagination...)
The Salmon poached in a Licorice Gel was next, and also one of my winners:
It was flanked by vanilla mayonnaise (and you can still see the crushed Pods inside!), pomelo , soft, juicy leek then topped with Golden Trout roe that pop luciously in thy mouth.
I mean, just look at the gorgeous colour of this fish! The sous vide method ensured an even cooking of the meat, where every mouthful of fish was firm yet flaked away into gorgeous pieces with a gentle poke. The garnishes were very good, especially the roe and pomelo, both making the dish's textures very interesting as they burst into a harmony of savoury and sweet together.
The Duck joined us at the table shortly after, in a splendid display of colours:
The cigar roll you see contains shredded duck stuffed with herbs, and it was very fun to eat!
On the side was a golden puree of mash so fragrant I was savouring every bit of it.
But the real deal was on this plate:
Duck breast, duck liver and blood Pudding.
This mess of a massacre was a delicious one.
Fresh sweet meat was coupled with the tangy pudding, making it very easy on the palette.
Whew! Nothing of the bloody and zingy taste...
Then the Hot AND Iced Tea arrived:
Look closer and you can see two different consistencies - one was cold and one was hot.
I was simply mindblown when I drank the sweet cool jelly concoction together with a refreshing warm liquid... what a nice prelude to desserts!
And finally the moment I had been waiting for:
The four courses of desserts!!
First we were all served the Rhubarb:
It was a pretty dish of Sheep's milk yoghurt and Bergamot, and very fruity.
A light and refreshing one, especially with the cold sorbet and tangy rhubarb jelly!
The amazing Botrytis Cinerea was presented next:
Here's some foodie trivia hehe:
- The Botrytis Cinerea is a fungus that attacks grapes and causes them to rot and shrivel up.
- If a whitegrape is attacked by this fungus, it has the effect of concentrating the grape’s flavour and sweetness and, if carefully controlled, can be used to enhance the sweetness and flavours of sweet white wines.
- When this fungus attacks red grapes, the rot simply ruins the grape.
- When it attacks white grapes, it is also known as noble rot or noble mould (in English), pourriture noble (in French), Edelfäule (in German) and muffa nobile (in Italian).
(Definition from Dictionary Central)
NO WONDER only got white grapes la.
In this dish, there were many different textures and flavours; from jelly custard to sorbet, very sweet and fruity notes to a smokey wine flavour...
I was sad to finish the last pop of round thing as this was such a delight to eat!
My friend who has been to Fat Duck a few times, requested for some desserts that were off the menu, and came this thing trying to pass off as an Hard Boiled egg:
"You mean it's not???"
"What.... it's a dessert meh?"
"Oh my god! It's totally an egg lor!"
"Yar got egg yolk somemore!!"
Those were the remarks of wonder and disbelief at the table as the Egg in Verjus, Verjus in Egg was cracked open to reveal the panna cotta inside its white chocolate shell.
The yolk was a marmalade, and the nest below it were bits of edible honey strips.
Totally cool.
And we finished everything.
He also got the signature Bacon and Egg ice cream:
We were first presented with "eggs" for inspection at the table, where the waiter really cracked them open and cooked "scrambled eggs" for us using liquid nitrogen.
Upon doing some research, I read that Heston changed his presentation style, where unfrozen ice cream is cleverly injected into empty egg shells, and then dramatically scrambled at the customer's table in liquid nitrogen, giving the impression of cooking.
And it tastes e.x.a.c.t.l.y like ice cream.
Seriously Heston... you the man.
We thoroughly enjoyed this dish, where it reminded us of Sunday brunch, with a very fun twist!
The meal was slowly coming to a sweet end, with us being given a plaque of Whiskey Gums:
They look like they can't be eaten can they?
Well, they can!
I was amazed and proceeded to pluck them one by one off the glass like a happy kid.
We were instructed to taste them by their numbers as they were indicative of the alcohol strength.
And I finally appreciated whiskey then, with my favourites being the stronger Tennessee and Jack Daniels. Gotta love the smokey after taste!
Happy kid:
We finished off on a truly sweet note, as we were all given a bag of sweet treats to bring home, aptly named, "Like a Kid in a Sweet Shop:
Edible Queen of Hearts (O.O):
It was filled with fruit compote and covered with white chocolate.
Very yummy I must say!
The waiter told us that the bag contained a scent developed by Heston, and it has the same name as this dish. I poked my nose into the bag and inhaled deeply.... and was greeted by a wonderful smell you can only find in a candy store.
Oh wonderful Heston!
And the rest I brought home to savour...
With this, I end my lengthly post and urge you all to try Fat Duck at least once, despite the price :/
It is simply unforgettable... and with the warm service and simple decorations, I can say that it is one of the most laid back fine dining place I've been to, where there are no frills or noses in the air.
The Fat Duck
High St
Bray
Berkshire SL6 2AQ
United Kingdom
+441628580333
For more information on bookings:
http://www.thefatduck.co.uk/Reservations/
Hope y'all enjoyed this post!
xx, wlf.
Ps. Photo credit to J for the nicer pictures!
