This post has nothing to do with wine, but when I spotted Pommes Boutique in Munich a few weeks ago I knew I had to mention it somehow. I really enjoyed this fast food concept which is actually a cool revival of the good old French fries stall. The owners are true niche players, meaning that they chose a small field where they try to excel. So you won’t get the generic frozen fries here but rather the genuine Belgian fries which are hand cut and fried twice to give it a good crunch. To get the right toppings you’ll then find this impressive sauce pump-station with a big selection of flavors for any taste. Of course fries alone would be boring, so they also prepare a small selection of “side” dishes: I had small couscous-lamb rissoles which were delicious. Oh, I shall not forget the home made ginger lemonade which was truly refreshing. So if you’re looking for a different kind of lunch on Amalienstrasse one day, you should definitely give it a try.




sauce mix

No one would guess that the small village Gonsenheim -a suburb of Mainz- would shelter such a gourmet restaurant. But I stumbled on it in the web and we found our way. Frank Buchholz is a young chef who among other stations worked at Tantris in Munich and Marquesi in Milano and has now settled down in this renovated peasant-style house. His cooking is modern, with Mediterranean influences, but also emphasizing regional ingredients like white asparagus or game meat.
The ambience is relaxed as is the staff, the light-flooded dining room creates a perfect frame for a great dinner. I could only advise you to give this restaurant a try, you won't be disappointed. The execution of the dishes was flawless and nearly every course delicious.


different kinds of salts for the bread


with compliments of the kitchen


scallop-carpaccio with truffle-vinaigrette and potatoe-mousse: fresh and earthy with a touch of acidity, the potatoes maybe a bit too creamy


pulpo-canneloni with ricotta-artichoke ravioli and balsamic olive vinaigrette. genuine pulpo taste in the canneloni and really loved the acidity of the vinaigrette with tomatoes and olives as a contrast.


First wine: 2007 Ruppertsberger Linsenbusch by Christmann and a direct recommendation - incredibly luscious of fruit and with a nice strucure - gotta visit the estate soon.


nicest neutralizer I had in along time: apple sorbet with celeri and mangoes


Maibock (deer) cooked in dough with purée of celery and peach crêpes - so tender


pre-dessert with compliments of the kitchen


Rhubarb 2 ways with strawberry sorbet and elder - yummy, especially with...


...this Pius Beerenauslese from Keller with a nice acidity to counterbalance the fruit

As we also made a weekend trip to Singapore, we decided to have a fine dining experience, simply because there are much more fine dining choices there than in Kuala Lumpur.

Thus we went to Belgian chef Emmanuel Stroobant’s French restaurant St Pierre where we all, in a congenial decision, opted to have the degustation menu with wine pairings.

From the printed menu we were handed, we concluded that a rather inventive cuisine would await us, bringing together French classics with Asian ingredients -actually exactly what I’d expect from a fine dining experience in Asia as a tourist from Europe.

The first dish though showed that too much inventiveness and creativity can result in somewhat confusing dishes. The “salades composées” was a wild mixture of seared tuna, edamame beans, egg mimosa, parmesan cheese, olives, tomato confit, Caesar salad, egg yolk, bacon chips, anchovies and capers. And all these ingredients didn’t really come together, the link was missing and thus, although every ingredient was of good quality, it was a rather poor dish that didn’t make much sense.



But where there is shadow, there must also be light. And there was light. Saumon fume au Thé Vert, green tea smoked Salmon with a terrine of leek vinaigrette (poireaux vinaigrette for you French brasseries visitors) was a dish with the exact right amount of inventiveness. Very harmonious with just a touch of creativity. And above that it came with an incredibly good wine pairing, with a smooth 2001 Santa Cruz Chardonnay by Ridge Vineyards.



The Boeuf a la Japonaise, Wagyu beef carpaccio marinated in lime and saffron came with grilled and smoked nasu, which is the Japanese word for eggplant. This was a more hearty combinations of flavours. I liked it, but I think I would also have loved to have a try of pure non-marinated Wagyu… another time maybe



The most inspiring dish to me was Terrine de Foie Gras aux carottes confites and also its original wine pairing. The foie gras was marinated with mirin- sweet Japanese rice wine, and came with carrot confit and a mango passion fruit chutney. This Eurasian combination of ingredients was perfect and full of sense. The sweet wine was a Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh from the well-known Château Montus maker Alain Brumont, a quite original choice and a good one too. The sweetness is not as overwhelming as Sauternes and the aromas of the Ruffiat grape are somewhat different.


Then came a green apple and nori sorbet which was a refreshing interlude and a good neutralizer before the final main course, Paella sans riz. This was a harmonious combination of yellow chicken leg confit with zucchini, tomato, chorizo chips and a milk-soubressade espuma. And in fact it was so good, that I forgot to take a picture...





A panoply of well-made desserts concluded the degustation menu. I particularly enjoyed the pairing of grandma Stroobant's flourless Belgian chocolate cake with a Dow's 2000 vintage Port. An always delicious classic.

Obviously we had a luscious fine dining experience that night. But the stubborn critic inside of me has to come back to the few flaws once again.The cuisine of St Pierre is one emphasizing creativity, not in a molecular cooking kind of way (although there are some influences) but with a goal to reinvent classic dishes. This resulted in both inspiring and confusing ingredient combinations. For some dishes I had particularly the impression that too many ingredients were used at once and I came to think that less is sometimes more. I asked myself if maybe this is just on purpose for meeting the expecations of Asian gourmets when it comes to fine cuisine?
But of course the restaurant has a also a lot of nice discoveries, where the inspirations of chef Stroobant just fulfilled all my expectations, and I could just recommend you to give it a try if you ever happen to be in Singapore.
Not to forget of course, the nice wine pairings. And by the way, if your goal is to spend a fortune on wines, the huge wine list of the restaurant gives you enough options.

Although I’ve been several times in Denia before, it is only OAD’s post that informed me about the existence of a gastronomic hotspot there. So one week after we’ve been to EL Bulli, we spontaneously went to EL Poblet - that’s the name of chef Quique Dacostas’ restaurant on Las Marinas road km3 in Denia - Soon to be one of the better-known culinary destinations of Spain and Europe. Quique Dacosta is known as a young, 35 years old chef who develops his own style of Spanish avant-garde cuisine but who is also known for his expertise in down to earth Valencian rice specialties (which he thoroughly analyzes in a special rice cookbook).
Since he also adopted some of the modern cooking techniques once established by the Guru of molecular cuisine Ferran Adriá, we were curious how the contrast to El Bulli would be. In particular we wanted to find out if Quique’s cooking style also affects the quality of the service and the atmosphere of the restaurant.
We had a very warm welcome from a very charming service crew who guided us to our seats.
Despite the modern architecture the discrete lightning of the tables created a cozy atmosphere. We were handed the menu, and quickly decided to order the Universo Local tasting menu which features a wider selection of Dacosta’s creations from the last 2 years. What was a definite plus is that wine is included in the price of the tasting menu, so we didn’t have to study the thick wine list (I glanced at it anyway, looks promising) and could lay back and relax, awaiting our menu.
Soon, a waiter came with a massive chrome bar shaker and poured us the aperitif which was a cocktail with lime, a Kaffir lime leaf and silver in it. It wasn’t only an eye-catcher but had a quite refreshing taste and fortunately didn’t contain too much alcohol (I think it was with Gin though).
Before our meal started, a waiter showed us a selection of olive oils from fruity to spicy from which we could choose. He poured it in a small plate on our side where we could then dip our bread slices.



The tasting menu started then with a Rum and Coke of Foie with a mist of lemon Zest and wild rocket. Some small toasted brioche slices were handed to us and we could basically just dip them in the foie cream which had a gelatinous layer of rum and coke on it in which came out small rocket leaves as if they were growing there. It was an excellent starter: The Rum and coke wasn’t too sweet, or just so that in combination with the brioche and the foie it created a perfect symbiosis.



Meanwhile our silver cocktail was refilled for the third time as we were served Crunchy Artichokes dressed on green olive oil with filaments of saffron gelatine and wild oranges. This again looked like a piece of art. The artichokes were standing on the plate and looked like the pickles ginger you would get at a sushi bar.
The wild orange came as an acidic powder which was positioned on the plate like a cocaine line (which I only know from the movies of course :=)).



The next course, The living Forest, came on plates which were covered by a cap. The waiter openend it and then we knew that these covers weren’t only for the visual surprise effect but they also retained scents which the chefs had put inside. A delicate scent of moss and forest came up to our nose and when we looked at the dish we saw a miniature forest made of mushrooms and wild herbs. Each ingredient adds another flavor-facet and gives the impression that it has been handled and processed separately before they were assembled to build this composition.
At this point we realized that this was more than just savouring food. It was an integral experience for all your senses (taste, textures scents, visual) Some kind of gourmet-food-adventure-park.



We also noticed that we had just right sized portions. Not too big, and not too small either. In comparison to EL Bulli, one could have the time to talk about the food while eating it and wouldn’t have to worry that the next dish arrives while you have barely internalized the last one.
Now, after a walk through the forest, a header into the sea should follow. The course was named Abstraction of the Sea, and had a somehow appropriate abstract design too. Its exact description is Seaweed and mushroom salad with rice vinegar on a layer of potatoes with almond aioli and a gelatinous seaweed veil; I assure you, the taste of it was much more harmonious than its description.



The Oysters inspired by the Guggenheim Museum were hidden in an edible golden shell. It was more and eye-catcher than a revelation for your taste-buds. At least for me.



Hoarfrost was again one of these holistic masterpieces. A waiter brings a plate, opens the cover, and an intense smell of burned wood would embrace you and transport you somewhere on the countryside. On your palate then it was a mixture of textures, temperature and tastes with some ice-cold green foam on top of warmer sweet shrimp.



Then, 2 Denia prawns cooked in 2 different ways were served. The first one, grilled just right, covered with flowers, the second one boiled. Both were excellent. I never had such tasty prawns I think. Its flesh had such intense umami sweetness and the broth was a perfect complement - Nothing too artistic in this dish, just perfectly crafted food.



The Cutlet from Denia wasn’t pork or beef, but a very tender piece of tuna belly flap. Grilled on the outside and juicy and tender inside. I had the impression it is a very fatty part of the tuna, which must be the reason it was so tasteful and melted in your mouth - Didn’t have such good Tuna-dish for a long time.



The Other Moon of Valencia was a course with several components, but all of them emanated from this cute little animal called sepia. Since it was all black and grey it really looked like a landscape at night with a small crunchy ball made of sepia ink representing the moon. It was a play on textures with crunchy rice, foamy foam as well as tender sepia pieces - All of the facets of sepia in one plate.



Sticky Senia rice on a bed of smoked eel with pearls of red fruits and wild rosemary flowers from Montgó was excellent. The rice is a variety coming from a village named Senia, explained the waiter; this made sense of course. It was very creamy rice linking perfectly the sweet smoky eel underneath with the sour fruity cherries and red fruit balls on top. The rosemary added a slight aromatic touch. This was really excellent.



The Hen from the golden egg. I only remember it as being very fluffy and light and of course impressed with its golden colour. Yes we have reached a certain level of “wininess” by now and my priorities switched from photographs to just..



..savour the food and the wine. That is why I don’t have any picture of the delicious Fregula Sarda with morsels of skin of Mediterranean monkfish and first choice peas with liquorice. Neither do I have pics of the succulent Lamb- a basic understanding of the lamb…sorry!
But this is maybe the right point to praise the sommelier who did a very good job. Not only did he choose excellent Spanish wine matches for our dishes including an excellent Spanish Cava which could compete with the best Champagnes and some excellent Spanish whites, but at one instance he also advised us about an interesting bargain in his wine-cellar; we couldn’t resist and he brought us a bottle of Flor de Pingus 2004, an excellent wine from Ribero’s star-winemaker Peter Sissek. The wine accounted for a dramatic yet elegant fruit explosion on our palates and a superb finish with an incredible length. It was perfect with the lamb. I guess this damn good wine was one of the reasons we forgot to take pictures of some dishes.

Now it was time for desserts. First came an apple dessert with Stevia Rebaudiana infusion, Stevia is also called sugar leaf in English and surprisingly Wikipedia says that it is forbidden as a food ingredient in the EU. Well the desert tasted very good anyhow, refreshing and no too sweet.



Aloe and violet was the second dessert. Violet ice cream and Aloe cream were a dream of lightness and at the same time very aromatic.



The Chocolate Panettone reminded me a bit the black sesame brioche at El Bulli with its structure and taste. But here it was bedded on a cream with intense chocolate taste - Beautiful hearty last course of the menu.



So was it better than EL Bulli? Hard to tell actually. The food was undeniably modern and avantgardistic, but it was a completely different style than El Bulli. Portions were slightly bigger, the menu had fewer courses (16 instead of 30-something at El Bulli) which I think is one of the reasons the dinner here was much more relaxed. On the other hand the excellent service also accounted for the relaxed atmosphere. At El Poblet, the waiter would be genuinely friendly and try hard to explain you something, even if his English isn’t perfect - he seems passionate about the food. At EL Bulli, the service crew just seemed stressed and had a forced friendliness. The sommelier at El Poblet, a young Belgian speaking several languages earns a special praise of course. He did a very good job choosing interesting wines and created perfect matches several times. But back to the food: I think Dacosta understands perfectly, not only to create interesting new taste combinations, but also has a very good hand for contrasts in textures, temperatures and in several dishes adds a new dimension with scents..
As Adriá, Dacosta focuses a lot on the usage of regional produce of highest quality such as Fish and Seafood from Denia, wild herbs and oranges from the surroundings or particular Valencian rice varieties. But at the same time he doesn’t push molecular cuisine as far as Ferran Adriá and only uses tricks where it really makes sense.
The Food at EL Bulli is undeniably genius and maybe not really comparable in the end to Dacosta’s who rather offers alternative molecular cuisine which is a little more compatible with comfortable dining - Still adventurous and thrilling, but also tangible.
Anyway, El Poblet has recently been acclaimed by the Michelin guide with a second star and from now on I’m really curious how this restaurant will develop in the future and in particular how other people see it in comparison to El Bulli.
I can only recommend a visit at El Poblet: Quique Dacosta creates multidimensional food experiences which are really worth the trip to Denia.

El Bulli has what one would call a “serious” wine list, which means that it isn’t only a long list but also very diversified. From French Champagne to German dessert wines, everything needed to fulfill a wine-drinkers dream is featured. For us though, it was clear that we only wanted Spanish wine specialties. Since the list was too long and my knowledge for Spanish wines quite limited, we gave the young sommelier with the “El BulliVi” badge on the jacket a wildcard. My only whish was to have a dry Sherry as a starter and a sweet Sherry at the end.

So I started with a glass of Manzanilla La goya from Delgado Zuleta (D.O. Manzanilla de Sanlucar). It reminded me a bit of aged dry Riesling, but still different, nearly had a salty edge to it, which is actually good for an appetizer. (Sherry wines are a whole different science, gotta work that knowledge out one day since there must be plenty of thins to discover still)

We also had a glass of Brut Nature Gran Reserva from Agusti Torello from Cava which was quite elegant.

Then we had a first white wine: Emilio Rojo 2005 from D.O. Ribeiro. It is a cuvee of five domestic varieties from Galicia which are Treixadura, Albariño, Loureiro, Lado and Torrontes. I remember it to be a very elegant and smooth wine with a nice balance (I didn’t take any serious notes unfortunately).



Our second bottle of white was a Nun Vinya dels Taus 2005 from Vinifera D.O. Penedes. It is also made from a domestic grape from Penedes called Xarello and the winery only cultivates a 0.9 hectare parcel of it. It was aged in New and old oak barrels and hence had a quite oaky nose, which is normally not my preference. But together with the food it was quite a good match.

We also had a glass of red wine with the hare and lamb of course. It was a 2004 Corullón from J. Palacios in the D.O. Bierzo. It was fruity with a hint of wood only and also a slight freshness. A little astringency though showed us that it was still a bit too young to be drunk.

The not too sweet Moscatel MR 2006, also labeled as “Mountain Wine” from the very famous Telmo Rodriguez stems from the D.O. Malaga was a good pre-dessert wine.



A terrific glass of Oloroso Dulce Matusalem from Gonzalez Byass closed the meal in a superb way.

PS: If you ever plan to go to El Bulli and want to chose the wines on your own, it is quite advisable to check the online wine list on the website since you won’t have that much time at the restaurant and the list is quite big.

A culinary dream came true. And therefore first thing… I got to thank my parents who generously invited us for dinner. This is a birthday present which will last an eternity since they allowed us to have a dinner at the most talked about restaurant of the globe. The reservation of course had to be taken far in advance in September for a table in August; thus it was quite a long wait with enough time to build up high expectations. Will they be fulfilled? Here’s my report of an unforgettable evening.



It was a nice start. One of the many service crew members welcomed us and instantly walked us to the kitchen; let us shake hands with a very charming, always smiling Ferran Adria. Behind him, some 40 cooks were in the preparations for the evening, washing, peeling and cutting ingredients. We took some pictures. Ferran Adria threw goodbye kisses to us and we went back to our table on the terrace where we awaited the first creation of the master!
And it was a whole avalanche of courses coming down on us.






We started with a very tasty hibiscus flower margarita, which was a purple acidic drink topped with light flocks of hibiscus powder I guess. At the same time we were being served the “El Bulli snacks”, composed of spherical olives (filled with olive juice, a really intense olive taste which I liked a lot), golden nuggets, beetroot and yoghurt meringue (also very nice), salty chocolates, nori leaves with sesame (kind of banal) and parmesan airbag.

Now we were asked to take place in the inside of the restaurant were the first starters followed; still small and handy portions but a little more elaborate than the “snacks”.




The tangerine bonbons with peanut and curry had a nice “peanut-sweet” and salty taste which went perfectly with my glass of Manzanilla.
Then the pistachio sponge cake with acid milk mousse didn’t bring much taste but was a nice neutralizer: maybe it also was its purpose? (The explanation of the sense of each dish was maybe something that was missing).



One of my favourites came now: the sesame sponge cake with miso. It looked like a black sponge with a small dot of miso crème on top. It was a perfect trick since the black sponge actually tasted like brioche and was a nice combination with the miso!
Raspberry fondant with raspberry vinegar was again a nice neutralizer, more fruity and acidic though. The shape of the fondant was really beautiful and reminded a raspberry.




Watermelon with blackberries caviar was refreshing. It was a small container made of frozen watermelon filled with little blackberry balls. We had to eat it fast before it melted.
Then Mejillones were served with 3 dots of different kind of powders. One was lemon; one was fennel and the third? Hmm..can’t remember the third one but I liked fennel most anyway.
Next were Pistachios with its honey and Roquefort. They came on a small spoon and looked like small peas. Nice combination.
Haricot bean with Joselito’s Iberian pork fat wasn’t a unanimous winner. It had the shape of a giant bean and was filled with some kind of bean cream. It taste quite hearty and good but some thought it didn’t look very appetizing. What do you think?





Then came oysters yoghurt with PX in tempura. The PX in Tempura is liquid Pedro Ximenez sweet wine in tempura batter which one had to eat in combination with the warm oyster yoghurt soup in the glass. The oyster soup had a natural oyster taste, but wasn’t my thing really. I have to admit that I’m not a big oyster eater, and I’d rather have them fleshy with shallots and vinegar. On the other hand the PX in Tempura was delicious.
Then there was anchovy and ham with yoghurt yuba. Anchovies are a specialty from Rosas, so this represented the superlocal touch of the whole menu I guess. As for the taste: fresh and good of course.



Parmesan frozen air with muesli was a fish substitute for my mom. It came in a big Styrofoam box reminding fast food packaging or a big ice-cream box. Inside was really light foam with intense parmesan taste. It really was like air. Funny interlude.




Gorgonzola shell, walnut celery and apple was a true beauty. The frozen gorgonzola shell cracked open like an egg when hit with a spoon and the other ingredients were hidden inside. The combination of gorgonzola with apple and nuts is a true classic and the addition of celery and the cold of the gorgonzola added a true freshness. A really fantastic dish, a reinvented classic.



Tomato couscous with oil olives basil and parmesan cheese was again a beauty, a true colour explosion. The tomato couscous was a very intense and crunchy powder with tomato taste and the basil came as ice-cream. It was spicy and refreshing, Mediterranean and Oriental. Superb combination! Excellent!



Gnocchi of polenta with coffe and safran yuba, were tender and creamy but definetly not one of the highlights of the menu.
The Padron ravioli were transparent ravioli filled with seeds of the Spanish Padron-pepper. Maybe a reinvention of a typical Spanish tapas-bar dish. It wasn’t one of my favorites but undeniably had an ironic edge to it!






The Navajas with seaweeds were served cold. The seaweeds were crunchy, the navajas fleshy, but I preferred them warm a day before at Can Rafa in Rosas (report coming soon). Next, Fresh Walnuts, The next one I’m not sure anymore what it was, maybe someone could help me? Then came garlic with coco (the black garlic clove was cooked, Japanese style and had a teriyaki taste), Then snails a la llauna which were apparently snail eggs but evidently played on the resemblance with caviar.





Hare juice was a very tasty sauce or reduction of hare meat with a fruity gelatine inside. This was practically our first meat dish; nothing to bite into, but still tasty.
My mom (who doesn’t eat any fish) had another meat course which was lamb tail with yoghurt Cantonese style. I tried it and it was very tender lamb pieces in a refreshing yoghurt sauce. The meat had this typical Cantonese flavor but the yoghurt was rather a tribute to Indian cooking for me.




This was the eel course: it was at the same time beautiful and tasty, but I don’t remember the exact name.



This picture shows the wool 2007, and I really can’t remember how it tasted, but it definitely looks interesting. There were so many interesting and surprising dishes until now, that my brain only memorized the most distinctive from now on.



The Trufitas were also a surprising dish. One waiter brought a tablet which was filled with a powder like ingredient. It was maltose. Here and there inside this maltose sandbox were hidden soft tamarind candies. And it tasted very good too: a sweet maltose outside and a fruity acidic inside with a creamy consistency.





Finally, there were these 3 desserts. The first one was called Albarizas and represented a vine planted on the white albariza soil of Jerez. Very beautiful isn’t it? But here again, can’t remember the taste really! The next 2 desserts were called morphings and were not only nice eye-candy, but also yummy.

The meal has ended now and we are finishing our Pedro Ximenez glasses and had finally a moment to relax and to assort our thoughts and feelings. We had gone through one of the most creative and surprising dinners in our lives and it was time to ask ourselves if we were totally satisfied. The Food was flawless, but a feeling of full satisfaction wouldn’t come up! And if it wasn’t due to the food then it must be the way it was served.
I am sure that the cooking style of Mr. Adria only permits a very precise logistic, since every dish has to be prepared a la minute in a certain way and then the service crew has to run it to your table before it melts or vaporizes somehow. This creates an incredible fast pace. Such a fast pace that you couldn’t relax in between the courses. Such a fast pace that you felt like being on an assembly line at a factory, a victim of Taylorism (Such that I couldn’t remember some courses! It is only now that I write this post that I realize how stunning all these courses were). Usually, in a restaurant were you qualify the service as being excellent, it is such that the guest must have the feeling that he sets the pace of the menu. Here it was the other way round. You felt like a pressure to eat fast because soon the crew would throw the next course under your nose. Furthermore the whole pace also translated through a very stressed and nervous service crew. Hard to find a smile in ones face, hard to transmit honest friendliness under such stress conditions I guess.
And sometimes this stress nearly felt like rudeness: Sometimes the explanation of the dishes came so fast and in such a severe tone that it felt like a military command -“ok, this is spherical olive, ok, eat in one bite ok!”, is just one example.
I understand that all these waiters weren’t native English speakers, but I didn’t expect perfect English but at least friendliness or engagement.
Plus, there were so many waiters running around, standing around, and staring at you all the time that one had the feeling to be observed permanently. I would be interested to read other opinions about the pace of the service and the service in general. Is this a 3 star restaurant without 3 star service?

PS: We’ve seen a week later in another Spanish avant-garde restaurant that modern cooking can be done in a relaxed atmosphere, where waiters, even without perfect knowledge of the language, appear friendly and passionate, searching the dialogue with the guest instead of running away from them! (Review will follow soon)

Varoulko is the first Greek restaurant ever having been awarded a Michelin star (in 2002). Chef Lefteris Lazarou is renowned for creating and reinventing Greek fish dishes on a very high level.
The restaurant is located on the Piraios road where several bouzoukia are located.
The restaurant building and its interior have elements which remind the design of a boat, like wooden walls or scuttles. It is quite modern on the inside and the spacious dining room is built so that every table is well spaced and the guests can concentrate on the most important: the food.
The first impression is very positive as the service crew is friendly and appears experienced.
The waiter explained us that at Varoulko there is no menu. The chef would make us some suggestions and we could switch some dishes if we wish alternatives. The proposed menu sounded very good, since it also included the 2 signature dishes of the restaurant we had heard of before, but honestly, since we’re not informed well about the other specialties of the chef, we couldn’t think of any alternative we could have asked for. So we sticked to the 5 course proposal of our friendly waiter.
Then the very qualified sommeliere explained us in a very precise manner her wine recommendations for our menu. She suggested a wine from Santorin made from a Greek autochthon grape called Assirtiko, it would have a nice mineral earthy note which would go well with the truffle sauce we would have in one of the main dishes of the menu.
The pleading was convincing and we chose not to look at the wine menu ourselves and took the 2004 Sigalas Assirtiko from Santorin.
We were now ready for our menu to start and patiently nibbling at the olives and the bread with olive oil which were standing on our table. We were curious what kind of amuse the cooks would prepare for us. And we didn’t have to wait long. But to our surprise the dinner directly started with the first course of the menu. It was one of the signature dishes, the ink soup with grouper cheeks. It was a black soup coloured with sepia ink. It tasted delicious. The flavour was quite original and I think I couldn’t describe it, and it was also the first time I had liquid sepia ink. The consistency and texture of the soup were nice and creamy, and the tender bits of grouper in it had a mild, slightly sweet taste which marked light contrasts to the soup every time you would bite on one. Also some crunchiness was added to the soup in the form of fine stripes of white asparagus. You couldn’t have enough of the soup although the portion was quite generous. The next course was fried anchovies with oregano. They tasted tender and sweet, probably marinated in a tomato sauce, they also had a zesty lemon flavour and the oregano was enclosed with perfect dosage, not too few, not to overwhelming. But here again, we had at least 12 little anchovy fillets on our plate, which is quite a big portion (don’t get me wrong, they tasted very good, but you have to leave some room for the other courses).
Next was the second signature dish in our menu simply called: “calamari with pesto on a bed of French fries”. This dish could also have been created by the illusionist Ferran Adria, I guess. The calamaris were cut in fine stripes and had the shape of curled noodles. Presented with the pesto sauce, it really had the look of a pasta dish. And the great thing is it also tasted delicious. The calamari had a soft consistency, softer than pasta al dente, and tasted indescribably good; the pesto was mild, not harsh and went perfectly well with the calamari. The French fries were actually a nest of very thin crisp potato, like angels hair and gave the dish crunchiness which contrasted with the consistency of the calamari. It was an amazing dish. The best calamari I ever had and I doubt that I will ever taste a better one. This is truly a signature dish made to last and to be remembered.
At this stage of the dinner also came the point were the hunger slowly disappeared and you could only count on your appetite for eating more delicacies.
Our fourth course was the reinvention of a Greek dish called peinerli, which is usually something like a filled calzone pizza served in snack places. Lefteris Lazarou’s interpretation of the dish was a pizza dough with the shape of a boat topped with grouper and truffle sauce. This dish had a little bit too much pizza dough in my opinion. Also one would have expected fresh truffle flakes grated over it. The dark sauce had only small bits of truffle in it and had an earthy truffle aroma, but one could also suspect some mushrooms in it for magnifying the taste. The filling tasted nice anyway and accordant to what the sommeliere promised the earthiness and minerality of our Assirtiko wine matched very well with the truffle aromas of the sauce. The wine was furthermore very dry, with a nice acidity. It only had a light fruitiness and a very special discreet iodine note which is apparently typical for the Assirtiko variety. The wine accompanied very well all other dishes and was a nice discovery for my palate used to more western grape varieties.
At this stage we weren’t hungry at all anymore, but the fifth course was still to be served. We had a only a little pause when the waiter arrived and presented us a huge slice of grouper fresh out of the oven, he took it with him again to put it on the plates and we were served 2 big steaks of grouper each. The accompanying sauce was based on carrots and white wine. It was a tasty creation but we were so full at this stage that the grouper couldn’t mark another highlight to our dinner. And I would say that after having the ink soup and calamari, even if we were still hungry, it would have been difficult for any dish to keep up with it. But honestly this is a challenge a top gourmet restaurant has to master, so maybe it is a little disappointing that the fourth and fifth courses could not keep the pace.
Also it was too bad that the portions were so big. I have never had such portions in a gourmet restaurant before. I was told that the desserts should be succulent, but there was just no room left for it unfortunately. My humble recommendation would be to reduce the size of each course and add some amuses in front or in between the courses. So here are one or two things which could be ameliorated on the way to the second Michelin star.
But I don’t want it to sound as if I draw a black tableau of Varoulko; the service was friendly and competent and this dinner was still one of the best fish dinners I ever had: the ink soup and calamari on there own are worth the visit to Varoulko. We left the restaurant with a great feeling of satisfaction and I would recommend any gourmet to go there and experience it himself.

Feb. 2008: There's a great Varoulko review with pics on "An American in London" here. Mmmh, when I see these pics of the Calamari Pesto...

Wer öfter nach Paris reist und ein Faible für Wein hat, sollte sich Lavinia nicht entgehen lassen. Lavinia ist eines der grössten und schönsten Weingeschäfte Frankreichs und wahrscheinlich auch Europas. Die Auswahl ist enorm, und es lohnt sich einfach nur mal reinzuschauen und sich überraschen zu lassen. Alle Regionen sind vertreten, sogar mein beliebtes Languedoc ist gut repräsentiert, doch der Blick auf eine Vielzahl von Raritäten wie uralte Château d’Yquems und eine Parade von Mouton-Rothschild Jahrgängen erwärmt jedes Kenner-Herz. Am interessantesten für den Einkäufer ist jedoch die grosse Auswahl an Weinen zu kleinen Preisen (für Pariser Verhältnisse versteht sich); das Team von Lavinia hat einen enormen Fundus an Geheimtipps. Wären die Versandkosten nach Deutschland nicht so extrem hoch, würde ich dort jede Woche einkaufen.
Doch das i-Tüpfelchen ist das Bistro im ersten Stock des Geschäfts. Dort kann man leckere, zum Teil kreativ-rustikale Gerichte bestellen und jeden der ca 6000 Weine aus dem Geschäft zum Ladenpreis als Essensbegleitung wählen. Natürlich gibt es auch offene Weine für den kleineren „Durst“. Meine Begleitung und ich haben Foie Gras auf Linsensalat, ein Steak-Tartare (originelle Version mit Tomate angerichtet), ein Lammcarrée sowie eine Tarte-Tatin mit Salzkaramel-eis bestellt und dazu dann zwei Flaschen Wein aus dem Geschäft geholt: einen Clos Marie Rotwein und einen Dessertwein von Olivier Pithon, beide aus dem Languedoc.
Das Essen war auf gutem Bistro-Niveau und genau das richtige um gleichzeitig Wein zu geniessen. Übrigens haben wir die 2 Flaschen nicht ganz getrunken, sondern haben einen Plastikverschluss bekommen um das kostbare Gut mit nach Hause nehmen zu können.
Anm: Das Restaurant ist nur tagsüber und nicht am Abend geöffnet.

The Silk Bed Restaurant in Frankfurt is made employing one of the most modern restaurant concepts, although reminding one of the most ancient: Eating while lying on a bed like ancient Romans. Nevertheless, Silk at the Cocoon night Club has developed a truly avant-garde version of this concept. The interior of the restaurant is all white, giant white leather beds are incorporated in the sides of the room which has slightly vaulted (white) walls (reminding the shape of a cocoon). The whole interior is warmed up by a dynamic light concept which emits shades of pink with varying intensity; following the rhythm of the “loungy” music mixed by the restaurants own Dj.
The whole architecture, the sound and light concept create a relaxing atmosphere on its own.
When we arrived, we were invited to take off our shoes and put them in a drawer underneath our bed. Another drawer contains Japanese sandals, which a guest can borrow in case he wants to reach the bathroom. So we lied down on this huge leather bed made for 10 guests (we were a party of 4, another party of 4 and a party of 2 were lying next to us on the same circular bed) and put some cushions under our backs. The waitress, who is by the way also dressed up all in white, offered us a glass of champagne inaugurating a succulent dinner. All guests of the restaurant are served the same menu at the same time, reducing the logistical burden for the kitchen team. We also chose the accompanying wine menu option which includes the champagne, 2 different white wines, one glass of red wine and one glass of dessert wine.
Then the dinner started.
The staff brought us at first a small cornet (waffle) filled with crab cream and horseradish which was an elegant appetizer. Then in the manner of Ferran Adria, we were being handed a Pina Colada mousse, shaped as an egg with 2 spoons and shortly frozen in liquid nitrogen in front of us. It was frozen on the outside and soft and creamy in the inside. The smoke of the liquid nitrogen made a good show but at the same we also realized that it was more than a gimmick since it was tasty. In another restaurant we were served a tonic lemon version of this dish, which didn’t have much flavour, but on the other hand we can’t compare since there it was served as a trou normand for neutralising the palate between 2 courses. The amuses parade continued with foie gras, Pata Negra and Périgord truffle. The first white wine, a Sauvignon Blanc from Austria was fitting well with all the small portions.
The one hour Organic egg with mushroom and rucola-gnocchi, served next was actually cooked during one hour at 62 °c, explained the waitress, and it had in fact a truly different texture than any egg I’ve eaten before. The yolk as well as the white had both the same melting consistence and although one would have thought that this was a gimmick too, it was truly a revelation.
Then came 2 fish dishes: hamachi, which is a yellowfin amberjack fish with cantaloupe and ginger sauce and loup de mer on wild spinach and wodka caviar sauce. Both plates were again convincing and cooked in the manner of a star-awarded restaurant. The second white wine, a 1998 Vouvray made of 100% Chenin Blanc with a nice fruitiness went well with the flavours.
Now we were ready for some meat. The Irish lamb (saddle of lamb from an Irish lamb) was cut in tiny slices, which you could easily handle with a spoon. The meat was tender and harmonized exceptionally well with the exotic tamarind sauce.
The red wine, L'Espill criança Celler Cecilio 1998 from the Spanish Priorat region was concentrated and flavoured, but maybe a tick to strong in terms of alcoholic taste for being in perfect accord with the meat.
Finally the desserts were a class of its own. Generally, desserts don’t have the potential to keep up with the high level of entrees in terms of creativity. But these desserts truly marked another highlight of the dinner.
The first one, rhubarb with sour cream and mint, was a harmonious build-up of tasty products, which neutralized our palate. The second one, called corn, white chocolate and raspberry gratinee, was a real stunner. The combination of the corn, which was in fact popcorn, together with a white chocolate cream and a crunchy raspberry taste was a true revelation, or I would rather say a masterpiece underlining the capacity of Mario Lohninger for creating innovative and delicious dishes.
Then fennel, grapefruit and white tomato sorbet was also a nice play with flavour and textures as the fennel was served dried or baked like a crunchy chip and contrasted well with the sorbet. Also the sauvignon Blanc Beerenauslese from the Austrian winemaker Tschida, was a discovery for my palate and accompanied all the desserts perfectly.
In the end we received, as a final reminder of the kitchen’s creativity, the cocoon lollipop which was a small piece of nougat ice cream on a stick surrounded by cotton candy with crunchy pieces of roasted almonds.
As a conclusion I must first say that all our worries of how it would be to have dinner while lying on a bed have been dissolved. After half an hour you wouldn’t think of the “eating position” anymore. Also, all dishes were served either as a bite sized portion, or in a manner that you could easily eat it with a spoon; cutting with a knife wasn’t required.
All in all we were lying more than 3 hours on our white leather beds, enjoying a really creative and high level cuisine in an ambiance which liberated our minds from anything else and let us concentrate on the flavour-compilations of Mario Lohninger.

New York is known for bringing up inventive restaurants in a very regular pace. Sumile is one of them. Sumile understands itself as an Asian-Western fusion restaurant, which uses finest Asian ingredients (some of which are flown in daily from Tokyo) and presents them in a new way.
The first impression is very positive. Although the restaurant isn’t full at that evening, the bright and cool design (modern lightning and furniture), which at the same time has warm Asian elements (such as candles, dark wood, rattan chairs with lots of cushions) makes one feel like immersed in a new and cosy atmosphere.
After we sat down, the waiters immediately put on the table some thin rice-flour crakers, which have been sprinkled with black powder made of nori-sheets (They taste a little salty and enhance one’s appetite). A creative idea which immediately announces the style of the restaurant. They make one crave for more innovative food of Sumile.
And one doesn’t have to wait a long time for getting its appetizer, and they are again very inventive. Anago for example, which is a Japanese eel breed, is served smoked and rolled in a nori sheet together with young fresh arugula leaves and a very tasty marinade (called “sansho glaze”). This plate truly is a revelation: the eel tastes surprisingly sweet and tender (especially for my German palate which is used to the heavy fatty smoked German eel) and the interaction of textures as well as of flavours is close to perfection.
Also, the Dungeness Crab with avocado, pear gelée and caviar on top is more expensive then the other appetizer but worth each cent of it.
The entrées are as persuasive as the starters. The cod had a perfect consistence, not to cooked but tender enough to be savoured, and presented in a very appetizing manner. The raw salmon melted on the palate and the grilled duck leaves nothing to be desired. And all these plates were modern interpretations that didn’t disappoint or fell into culinary kitsch.
Even the sorbets at the end will stay engraved in my memory, like the bay leaf sorbet or the inventive black sesame paste sorbet, which were both luscious.
The only little deficit was the inability of the waiter to explain the wines which were on the list. Finally he poured 2 white wines to taste. The one we chose was a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc which had so delicious passion fruit notes that we quickly forgot this lapse.
Finally we also have to point out that this restaurant is also a true bargain in New York. The starters are all around 12 USD, and the entrées around 20 to 30 USD, but can be ordered as half portions, which is great as you can taste more of the unique creations of Sumile.

Other blogs or articles about Sumile:
Steve Plotnicki rates Sumile a B- in his blog "Opinionated about Dining"