March 28, 2011

Food for the senses- Caperberry

There is no doubt about it; dinner at Caperberry last night was the most spectacular and exquisite meal I have had.






Before I even begin to describe the experience, I have to say that I was terribly sleepy during dinner. The reason for which is hardly one to be ashamed of. Brownie Points had an extremely successful sale at Soul Sunday Sante on Palace grounds. We sold out long before the crowds died away! It was most thrilling. Sleepiness was caused by mad baking session that preceded the sale.


So, back to Caperberry. Although the drowsiness weakened my eyes, my taste buds were very much alert.


We had the tasting menu. There were two vegetarian menus- the simple and the grand. Another unfortunate effect of my lack of sleep was that I didn't pay much attention to what each dish was called. Hence, my explanations are going to lean a bit towards the 'layman food vocabulary'. Apologies.


The meal:


1. Drink-Virgin Pina Colada- Smooth, not too strong, not too subtle and very creamy. (But you can never drink it all through the straw. I wish I could just use my fingers to wipe the glass clean. Alas, fancy restaurant etiquette!)


2. Chefs Compliments-Carrot Jelly with fig- Seemingly unlikely combination. But the two flavours and textures kind of melted in my mouth. As small as it was (1 1/2 cm in diameter), there was no shortage of 'mmmmms' around the table.


3. Table Munchers- Breadsticks, rolls with mayonnaise dip- enough to temporarily satisfy my empty stomach (hadn't eaten in 24 hours)


4. Appetizer course- 3 little works of art on my plate. Almost a crime to disrupt the perfectly arranged elements. Potato with tomato and green herb topping (I did apologise for lack of culinary vocabulary) on a zig-zag reduced balsamic. Rocket, cress and others salad. Deep fried caperberry and green olives. What stood out- colour and unique trio of textures.


Ooops, forgot one course and too lazy to change the numbers- Mushroom platter- ricotta stuffed morells on mushroom jelly on button and shitake in cream sauce. It was heavenly. Morells are my favourite fungus. 


5. Salad- Watermellon, Spanish cheese (texture of ricotta, tangyness of feta) with taponade. What a combination! Contrasts in colour, taste and texture that is difficult to pinpoint because it almost immediately dissolved as soon as it hit my palate.


6. Soups- green pea hot soup. Cold soup- green pea gazpacho and beetroot froth served with tuille.  I always thought of food froth to be like soap bubbles- undefined and lasting about 3 seconds. But not at all true- they held shape, sort of. I enjoyed it, despite my dislike of beetroot. Oh, sweetness of the tuille didn't quite go with the savoury soups.


7. Japenese entre- Sauted tofu on a bed of red peppers in a pool of soy sauce soup. Very very yum. Smoothness of tofu with spicy peppers combined with freshness of the liquid. Perfect.


8. Palate Cleanser- Pineapple sorbet. Well, it did more than just cleanse my palate. Delicate and snow-like.


9. Porcini pasta- Love those mushrooms. Served in a cream sauce with thin spaghetti-like pasta.


10. Main Course- Feta and cherry tomato filo pastry tart served with new potatoes and harricot beans. Perfecto! (By this time, my stomach couldn't accommodate much more, so packed half of it)


11. Cheese platter- (we all packed ours for breakfast this morning)- pepper-infused soft cheese, brie, crackers.


12. Dessert- This received certificate of 'wowness' in terms of appearance. Cinnamon churros, hot spiced chocolate, creme brule. These three was wrapped in a nest of light fluffy spun sugar. So exciting.


13. Cryogenic cranberry- spoonfuls of cranberry smoothie frozen in liquid nitrogen. What an event! All the swirls of vapour and the silken coldness melting in the mouth. 


14. Ending- which we brought home too- Chocolate cake (wait, that sounds way too ordinary) It was green cake sandwiched with cream and topped with ganache. It was accompanied with a ricotta biscuit.


15 parts of the extravagant, yet elegant meal. Service was impeccable. Ambience was tasteful. Experience was unforgettable. 


(It was also very expensive!)


Caperberry Website. I do not have pictures unfortunately. Google might help with some imagery but I can't find a picture of anything we ate. 


I left a comment on the website and got an surprisingly quick reply from the chef himself, Abijit Saha. :)


Definitely would loooovvvee to go back! :)

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