Trip to Europe (Paris-France-Fall 2011)...Dinner at Toyo

(Day 5)
We left Beaune around noon and drove to Paris. It took just about 3 hours to get to this busy city. The weather in Paris was so warm that I didn’t even need a coat.


We did some afternoon shopping. The store we found last year, CREMERIE, was open. We had a nice chat with the owner of this cute wine bar/ wine shop/ gourmet store. I bought a couple of nice Champagnes (not yet distributed in the US)!


The, we went to a dinner at Toyo (17, Rue Jules Chaplain 75006 Paris), which is a very popular restaurant, run by designer Kenzo’s former private chef, Toyomitsu Nakayama. I had to make reservations 1 month in advance. The chef creates haute-Franco-Japonaise cuisine.


It’s a beautiful restaurant with paintings of Kenzo as well as art prints, which were from his private collection. The restaurant has a long counter seating from where you can see all the actions in the open kitchen. We were a group of 6 tonight (including friends of Lloyd) and had a table in the private dining room.


Amuses bouches: Boudin maison et feuille de riz. Flan de soja et huitre (House made sausage and rice chip. Tofu flan with oyster).


1ere Entrée: Aile de Raje pochee(Poached skate fish and potato salad). My friend had Eperlan fish fry with tartar sauce.


2eme Entrée: Maquereau marines (Marinated mackerel). My friend had Seabream carpaccio with bottarga.


1er Plat: Encornet, crevette, champignons et legumes in bouillon (Squid, shrimp, and mushrooms, and vegetables in bouillon). My friend had Pan-fried scallop and daikon cake.


2eme Plat: Paella japonaise aux fruits de mer (Japanese-style paella for 2)…I shared the dish with CT. It was first presented in a pot and served into plate. The rice was cooked in Japanese dashi stock. Steve had Toyo-style curry with vegetables. Lynne had Limousin beef filet steak.


Dessert: Tiramisu au the vert (matcha green tea tiramisu). Other desserts were…Cream cheese soufflé and mandarine liqueur, and Tarte-like strawberry with salt caramel.


Wines were beautiful tonight, also. 2008 Simon-Beze et Fils, Savigny-les-Beaune blanc…from Serpantier vineyard. 2000 Bonneau du Martray, Corton-Charlemagne…rich and round, beautiful. 2009 Fougeray de Beauclair, Vosne-Romanee, “Damodes”…from right west of La Tache vineyard. “Old school” style Vosne-Romanee, so it wasn’t flashy but with luscious frits and spice. Excellent.

What a wonderful dinner it was! I loved EVERYTHING I ate tonight. Every dish was prepared with sensitivity with full of flavor. They were not only so artistic, but also very fresh and not heavy at all. I was so happy to be back in Paris tonight.

Trip to Europe (Bourgogne-France-Fall 2011)...Tasting at Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue

(Day 5)
It was our final tasting in Bourgogne in this trip. After the tasting, we were going to head to Paris.


The final one was what we all anticipated so much. We visited Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue and met the winemaker, Francois Millet.


Comte de Vogue’s property has a beautiful medieval architecture. It was build in 16th century.


Francois took us to a cellar and gave us 2010 barrel tasting. Here’s the lineup.

(2010 vintage)
Chambolle-Musigny village…September 25 harvest. From Les Fuees & Les Beudes (both 1er Cru) vineyards. Younger vines.
Cmabolle-Musigny 1er Cru…From Grand Cru Musigny vineyard. 10-25-year-old vines.
Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru, “Les Amoureuses”
Bonnes-Mares
Musigny

The tasting was so special, especially because we could listen to all the philosophy of Francois. He is a big thinker and his words were poetic. The wines were truly gorgeous, and he said as a wine maker, his focus is to bring terroir of each vineyards, so he never manipulates the wines.

Trip to Europe (Bourgogne-France-Fall 2011)...Dinner at Bistro de l’Hotel

(Day 4)
Our final dinner in Bourgogne was at Bistro de l’Hotel in Beaune.


The look of the restaurant and service is quite formal, yet this restaurant has a nice relaxing ambience. This is a popular restaurant among local winemakers, and they come casually.


After the amuse-bouche (veloute de celeriac), I started with Fricase de Langoustines, Encornets, Coriandre et Piment (sauté of prawn and squid, with cilantro and pepper). It was a nice fresh-flavored dish, and I was happy that the preparation was quite light. One of my friend’s Scallop linguine was nice, too.

So, we were wondering if the chef had experiences in restaurants in Italy at one point in the past…


My main course was Poulet de Bresse Roti de chez Mieral, Puree Maison (“Bresse” chicken roast with vegetables) for 2. This was the dish I was so excited about tasting at this restaurant! Bresse chicken is a AOC breed and it is a regional specialty in Bourgogne. I was happy to see the blue feet! Our server sliced the juicy chicken so elegantly and efficiently. Then, all the au jus were poured over the chicken. Decadent! Even the carcasses looked so nice...I wanted to make stock with it!


Voila. The chicken was served with potato puree and vegetable glasse. The flavor of the chicken was exactly I was expected and it was so gorgeous. And, I truly enjoyed the “natural” bite in the texture. Gorgeous.


Wines were nice, too. 1999 Louis Carillon, Puligny-Montrachet…orange/ amber color, hazelnut and butter in the nose. Fresh acidity, minerals, spice, lime, and earthiness on the palate. Long finish. 2006 Alain Burguet, Gevrey-Chambertin “Mes Favorites”…bright ruby color, spice, berry, and flower. Dark berry, smooth palate with acidity.


Cheese course included Epoisse, Citoux, Tarte du Poiset (local goat with white rind), and Delice de Pommard (triple-cream cows milk cheese, blended with brown mustard seeds). And, the dessert was Framboise Panna Cotta.

The chef came to our table and we chatted a little bit. He is originally fro Sweden and had lived in France for over 30 years. He said he has never worked in Italy, but Italy is his favorite country to visit and loves the food. So, that was his inspiration!