Monday, June 08, 2009

One O One

Felix finally completed his CFA Level 3 examination on Saturday, after countless weekends of revision. Woohoo! Well done, honey, on your discipine and hard work!

Weeks before the revered date, Felix was already planning his "Operation Action Hero" - a list of tasks and activities he wants to execute after he regains his freedom. One of them includes going for a nice dinner date.

For excellent dining locations in London, Toptable is the site one should utilize. It has a huge variety of great restaurants listed, sometimes offering many worthy discounts and special offers. The sample menus with prices and reviews are a great help too. After skimming through the seemingly-endless list, we randomly decided on the One O One Restaurant at Knightsbridge.





The One O One Restaurant is an apparently highly acclaimed fish & seafood restaurant located within the Sheraton Hotel, in Knightsbridge. The menu has been designed by a talented Head Chef, Pascal Proyart who specialises in the fish recipes from his native Brittany. A little cautious about the hype created by media, we visited the restaurant with some amount of skeptism.

However, the cloud of uncertainty gradually lifted as we arrived at the restaurant a good half hour before it opened. The waiter was friendly and helpful, offering us drinks and impeccable service, even before we were seated at our table.

The Les Pains included plain and brown bread - light, airy with a wholesome crust and suitably warmed. Felix was a huge fan of the Focaccia which was spongy and fluffy with black olive bits. The bread were accompanied by a duet of butter - one unsalted and the other mixed with salty seaweed. The latter did taste quite heavenly and not much was left after Felix devoured his fourth piece of Focaccia.

Amuse Bouche


The amuse bouche, literally translated as "mouth amuser" in French, is complimentary from the chef and consists of raw tuna bedded in a shot glass with couscous and coiffed with some kind of lemon mousse. (I didn't really remember every word of what the waiter was saying.)

Entrée


For starters, I had Red Tuna Tartar with Crispy Soft Shell Crab Tempura, Sushi Rice and Wasabi Sorbet while Felix decisively chose Scottish Smoked Salmon with Parsley Crushed Potato & Capers, Horseradish Cream Mouillette, Balsamic Jelly. Being a fan of sashimi, I love the fresh tasting red tuna pieces that have been cleverly mixed with a tangy, zesty sauce. The tempura was fragrant and crispy, with the crabmeat melting at your mouth as you chew. The most interesting part of this dish is actually the wasabi sorbet. It was cold, pungent and sweet - a unique blend of tastes I have not quite experienced before.

Plat Principal


Although the restaurant is famed for its fish recipes, I was feeling carnivorous last evening and opted for Roasted Spring Lamb Fillet with Olive and Rosemary Jus Garlic Confit Persillé, Ratatouille and Gnocchi. The lamb was one of the best-cooked lamb I have ever eaten - tender, moist and juicy. Felix had (after much great difficulty) chosen to indulge in Oven Baked Fillet of Wild Seabass with Niçoise Tapenade, Basil Crushed Potato, Mozzarella, Artichokes and Olive Oil Barigoule Sauce According to him, the fish has been cooked to perfection - light, extremely flavourful with the flesh dissolving at the tip of his tongue.

Dessert


For dessert, we shared the Cinnamon Poached Pear with Warm Chocolate Sauce, Meringue Stick, Almond Sorbet. The almond sorbet was heavenly and wonderfully paired with the poached pears drenched in generous amounts of chocolate sauce. It was so delectable, I swore we finished the dessert in less than 5 minutes. I even attempted to savour every drip of the chocolate sauce, with Felix trying to tilt that plate such that any remaining chocolate sauce can be easily ladled from the plate.

Throughout the dining experience, the service was timely, patient and warm. The waiters were friendly and rather knowledgeable, although their accents were sometimes difficult to understand.

What's more, the meal came with a 50% discount from toptable!

2 Comments:

Blogger Babe said...

wow, looks good! how much did the meal cost after discount!!

4:11 PM  
Blogger jellybeano said...

we gave some tip for the good service and it overall amount to 57 GBP with a discount of 46 GBP! Pretty good deal, no?

9:29 PM  

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