Geranium, Copenhagen

Geranium, Copenhagen (2600 DKK, 8/9/2019, 16-Course incl. VAT)

Geranium is co-owned by Rasmus Kofoed (executive chef) and Søren Ledet (restaurant manager/sommelier). They originally opened Geranium, was awarded with its first Michelin star in 2008, while in another location. After re-organization, Geranium relocated to current location on the 8^th floor of the Telia Parken Stadium, the home of FC Copenhagen. In 2012 Geranium regained its 1 Michelin star, and in 2013 it was awarded with its 2^nd Michelin star. In February 2016, it made history to become Denmark’s first 3 Michelin star restaurant. Chef acknowledged that the reorganization has enabled the chef to be totally in charge of making a full, complete and comprehensive menu. Chef Rasmus Kofoed has won the renowned international Bocuse d’Or cooking competition three times – bronze award in 2005, silver award in 2007, and gold award in 2011.

The current Tasting Menu is called “The Summer Universe Menu”. Geranium did not offer Amuse Bouche, it served according to the 3 categories on the menu – Appetizers, Dishes and Desserts.

The restaurant can accommodate approximately 30+ guests, with an open kitchen. It was a happy surprise that we were offered the table right next to the kitchen so we could observe the chef up close.

Appetizers

1.”Crispy Jerusalem Artichoke Leaves” & Pickled /Walnut Leaves

When I saw these two plates presented on the table, I thought they were for display. They were esthetically adorable.

Crispy Jerusalem Artichoke leaves were placed along the edges of the plate while center was filled with multi-colored micro flowers. These artsy looking artichoke leaves were cooked, puréed, molded and dried in low heat. Our server suggested to eat crispy leaves with the dip in the other plate.

The dip/emulsion was made of mayonnaise, parsley oil (in green color) and pickled walnut leaves purée (in brown color). Two types of purée were swirled in to create artistically pleasant pattern.

Together, they were a delicious combination of earthy-sweet Jerusalem artichoke and refreshingly flavored dip brightened by the pickle walnut leaves.

2.Soup from Smoke Cream Cheese & Tarragon with Snail Eggs

There were three bowls brought to the table – one with snail shells, one with snail eggs and an empty one. I have never seen any snail eggs before. Our server informed us that snails were farm raised, eggs were hatched, cleaned and smoked in house. Our server served a dozen eggs to the empty bowl before he poured soup onto the eggs. Soup was made out of cream cheese and swirled with tarragon purée.

It was amazingly sumptuous. The smoke flavored eggs with the tarragon were so well balanced.

3.”Razor Clam” with Minerals and Sour Cream

It was unreal, but it was real. Two razor clams, with man-made shell, were served. Edible razor clam shell stuffed with a filling of chopped raw razor clam, sour cream seasoned with tarragon, parsley, dill and lemon zest. Shell was made of flour dough, molded, dried, painted with charcoal and algae, then packed in oil in vacuum to make the painted color stay long lasting. It took the chef 6 years of continuous refining to complete the processes for preparing this course. It is a signature dish.

It was an exquisite, with sophisticated flavor and delicate texture.

4.Grilled Lobster & Milky Cheese with Juice from Fermented Carrots & Sea Buckthorn

As we entered the restaurant, I noticed a plant with some orange color berries on the desk. It was a Sea Buckthorn plant. I had a bite of the fruit; it had a bit sour and tardy taste. I had no idea of how it will be prepared in the dishes until this moment.

Lobster (claw and tail), from Limfjorden in west Denmark, covered with a layer of creamy cheese and some bright orange color of fermented carrot juice (presented in thin disc) and topped with a few drops of sea buckthorn oil. Fermented carrot juice offered lovely savory-sweet flavor, complementing the lobster. In addition, the sea buckthorn oil had a little kick of mild sourness to make a perfect overall balance.

Dishes

1.Scallop “Red Stones” & Horseradish

Sea scallops were from Northern Norway. Their size was not large because they grew very slowly in cold water. However, they were fresh and succulent. Scallops were dipped into beetroot sphere, looked like red jelly balls. Chef called them “Red Stones” because they looked like stones and were sitting next to the real chilled stones in the same plate. Each of these stones were garnished with cute little bee honey flowers. Equally fabulous was an accompanying dish with horseradish cream. The slightly sweet beetroot, the subtle kick of horseradish and delicate scallops made a well-balanced dish. It certainly pleased your palate as much as your visual fulfilment.

2.Lightly Pickled Celeriac with Söl (dulse), Dried Mussells & Aromatic Seeds

Söl is seaweed from Denmark, they are red flakes shown in photo. There were two plates in this course – one with mussel sheet and Söl sheet (more for display), the other the main dish with the actual food to eat. Dried mussel sheet was cooked, mashed with flour, molded, and dried in oven for 2 days at 70-degree temperature. It was edible and tasted like mussel. The main dish was comprised of Söl in jelly form disc. Toward the end of the meal, we were invited to visit the kitchen (open kitchen as well as the back operation). We found out how Söl was first made in jelly sheet. Then, chef used a cutter to make many small disc. The colorful and pretty discs were arranged in plate before serving. In addition, light pickled celeriac soup was served along with amaranth, mustard seeds, oxalis, thyme. It was a very sophisticated dish. Pickled celeriac soup, with its unique flavor and taste, really provided a very harmonious savor with seaweeds.

3.”Marbled” Hake, Caviar & Buttermilk

A plate of marbled fish was presented first before our server finishing the course with garnishing (caviar) and soup.

Hake was salted and dry marinated with slow-roasted parsley ash, then smoked. The cured fish filets were layered, chilled and cut cross-wise in thin slices to display the marbleized appearance. The marbleized fish filets did not require stove top cooking, they were slow-cooked by the hot soup (buttermilk) pour into plate shortly before serving. Two types of caviar were served on top of fish – the tiny pink color ones were Kalix löjrom, out of Vandance, from Northern Sweden, the black color ones were out of Sturgeon farm in Belgium.

Kalix löjrom ("Caviar of Kalix") is the king of Swedish caviars. It is the only Swedish product with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, issued by the European Union. It is a prized delicacy which is served at special occasions such as Nobel Banquets, Royal Weddings and other celebrations. It is the only type of caviar can freeze and defrost without changing its texture.

On top of this visually presentable layer of fish, a thin disc of translucent tomato jelly (made of strained tomato juice) was placed before caviar was served and finished with a spoonful of crunchy fish scales.

This course was made with a sophisticated series of textures, beautiful visual effect, the right touch of creaminess and smoothness and longer lasting finish from the caviar. This is a signature dish by the chef, everything is in perfection.

4.Crispy Grains, Bread with Old Grains & Bread with Seeds

There were 2 types of bread and leaf-shaped bread sticks – gluten free rolls with pumpkin seeds (in round shape), sourdough rolls with old grains (in oval shape) and cheese-flavored crispy grains (in elegant leave shape). They were accompanied by butter with buttermilk and caramelized buttermilk powder (in red dot shape).

Making caramelized buttermilk powder is a true practice of patience. Started with using one portion of butter and one portion of buttermilk, continued cooking until oil and buttermilk separated. Stained oil out and condensed the remaining buttermilk in the pot. Then, dried buttermilk in the refrigerator for 2 days and grinded them into powder after they were hardened.

Caramelized buttermilk powder tasted less sweet than caramel, however, it had the roasted milky taste and went along nicely with the bread. To satisfy my curiosity, chef was kind enough to bring out a small plate of powdered caramelized buttermilk powder.

5.Salted & Creamy Trout with Juniper & Lemon Verbena

There were two plates – one with smoked (by cold smoke, salted) trout with juniper berry and lemon verbena, the other one with trout mousse (creamy) with mussel stock, green apple, trout caviar and radish balls.

From the size of the smoked trout filets, I could guess it was a small-medium size of fish, meat was tender, I can taste the intense and smooth smoked flavor from cold smoke process. Lemon verbena provides a refresh and acidic taste. Mousse was tender in texture and rich in flavor derived from mussel stock and fish stock.

The inclusion of juniper berry and lemon verbena made this flavorful course well-balanced.

6.Oyster “Tartlets” with Cucumber & Truffle Seaweed                  

To start there was grilled oyster (half-raw) with diced cucumber and juice, in a small tartlet made with spring roll sheet. Oysters were from Limfjord, Aalborg. The Limfjord is notable for its tasty mussels and oysters. Gourmets appreciate its oysters which are to be considered of extraordinary quality. It was a beautiful dish with warm flavor, garnished with truffled seaweeds (threaded seaweeds), fried cod skin (in off-white bit) and oyster flower (in green color). While cucumber complemented the refreshing taste, the truffled seaweeds provided a supplementary sophisticated overall flavor.

7.Lightly smoked Peas, Onion Plants, Dried Egg Yold & Melted “Vesterjavs” Cheese

Chef Rasmus Kofoed himself prepared this course, brought all semi-finished ingredients to our table. It was a vegetable dish with smoked peas (house-made oakwood cold-smoked tender baby peas), nasturtium, onion flower, yellow step-mother flower, purple step-mother flower, dried quail’s egg yolk. All varieties were fresh, complemented by a delicious, acidic Vesterhavs (Danish blue cheese) sauce. The combination of warm flavor with the delicate but intense cheese, and the richness of the egg yolk and subtle spicy of onion flavor (from the black seed form) made this vegetable dish a perfect transition course from seafood to meat.

8.Lamb, Aromatic Herbs, Truffle & Pickled Pine

The piece of steak was reconstructed by blending lamb tenderloin, lamb sirloin and heavy cream together, then, shaped and broiled like a steak. I did not quite understand the total picture until I toured the kitchen and back kitchen operation at the end of dinner. The reconstructed lamb was torched like a crème brûlée with precision to make the perfect texture, coloring and appearance. Steak was garnished with generous slices of Australian truffles, savory aromatic herbs, thyme and bee flowers.

Sauce tasted extraordinary, with a bit sharp but not overwhelming sourness. It tasted so delightful that I could not help asking what was the origin. Chef informed me it was from picked pine leaves, derived from soaking pine leaves in vinegar. It was a real creative plate in terms of all the interesting ingredients used and all the sensation it created. This was the end of savory dishes and I was ready for deserts.

Desserts

1.A Bite of Beetroot, Blackcurrant, Yogurt & Tagetes

It was a beetroot sphere came with smooth yogurt mousse filling, dusted with freeze-dried blackcurrants and garnished with tagetes (in the sunflower family, like marigold) flower (in green color) and sage flower (in red color). While tagetes leaves had a pleasant citrus taste, blackcurrants had a mild sweet and acidic berry taste, complementing each other and further enhanced by the sour-sweetness of beetroots. This was a delicious and refreshing flavor sensation to open my desert palate.

2.”The Forest” Wood Sorrel & Woodruff

Chef brought all the layers required to the table. Once he finished assembling all the layers, this course looked like a piece of art work, visually stunning. 

Started from the very bottom, there was woodruff infused white chocolate mousse, covered with a thin layer of wood sorrel jelly, topped with iced wood sorrel granita (the beautiful green rose) and a beautifully made crispy “twig” from caramelized prune. Customers were encouraged to break into the twig and combine with the cream. The layers were served with wood sorrel juice and garnished with bits of green strawberries and gooseberries. I could taste an extra delightful sourness in the sauce and was informed by the chef it was from the pickled pine cone.

The mousse delivered a comforting taste along with the touching wood sorrel granita.  This course was so refreshing and delightful.

3.Ice Cream from Beeswax & Pollen with Grilled Rhubarb & Blueberries

They looked delicate almost like soft ice cream, which was finished with a sprinkling of pollen dust. It was garnished with grilled rhubarb and blueberries. Grilled rhubarb and blueberries delivered a more pungent and powerful acidic taste to harmonize the sweetness of beeswax. In another bowl, compote of rhubarb and blueberries complementing with a more refreshing taste. A very creative way of making a well- balanced course.

4.Caramel with Roasted Grains & Frozen Chamomile Tea

This course had multi-layers. At the very 1^st layer inside was a caramel mousse, covered by caramel sauce, coffee powder and cocoa powder as the outer layer. It was garnished with roasted grains, grain coffee juice and Isomalt sugar (the long sugar thread).

Isomalt sugar is a fairly new molecular gastronomic tool to create fancy deserts. I had it a year ago at the famous El Celler de can Roca. Isomalt is a sugar substitute. It has little to no impact on sugar levels and does not stimulate the release of insulin.  In addition, it can sustain high temperature up to 165°C. Chef can dissolve Isomalt sugar and then blow bubble to the desired size. You bet; everyone will love it. Can you believe this Isomalt sugar hardly has any calories?

Chef also made some chamomile tea granita on the side. It was another visually pleasing and palate satisfying course.

At the end, we had a celebration cake. It was a sea buckthorn mousse cake (in orange color) with a layer of chocolate cake, strawberries compote and chocolate filling. It was adorned with elegant chocolate lace, a fresh red rose and cocoa powder. It was an uncommon combination with extraordinary efforts and creativity. We truly enjoyed it.

We were invited to visit the open kitchen and back-operation kitchen where preliminary works were done before moved to the open kitchen. Chefs were all very hard-working, professional and proficient. Since we sat right next to the open kitchen, I noticed that Chef Kofoed does not favor practicing Molecular Gastronomy. He acknowledged that he prefers the traditional way of preparing food.

I have visited all three Michelin 3-star restaurants in the Nordic countries. I visited Maaemo two years ago. I remembered I inquired the alternative of other deserts other than the one on the menu “Norwegian Waffles”. The answer that I got from them was there was one desert only because the restaurant practiced using “local produce”. I admired Chef Kofoed’s creativity, technique and skill to make so many stunningly pleasing dishes. In addition, I also felt in addition to the quality of impeccable service, the staff at Geranium are friendlier. We surly had a wonderful meal and wonderful memory.

We were offered two types of petit fours. They were cute and adorable. 

1). Green Egg with Pine

Chocolate ganache was filled with liquid caramel, infused with pine. Then, the egg was dusted with pine powder. The refreshing and delicate taste of green pine well-balanced the sweetness of chocolate.

2). Marshmallow with Rosehip and Dried Strawberries and Strawberry Mint Flowers

Marshmallow was Rosehip tea flavored and decorated with dried strawberries shaped like flower pedals. Dried strawberries had a slightly more intense taste and made the overall taste harmonious.  

After I finished the two little bites, I wished I could have more.

Le Palais, Taipei

Le Palais Restaurant, Taipei (NTD 3278, 4/3/2019, 8-Course incl. Taxes & Gratuity)

頤宮 (yee gong) is the Chinese name of Le Palais. The 1^st character means “nurturing with healthy and tasty food” and the 2^nd character means “the palace”. Together, they mean “the Palace of Nurturing”.

Le Palais is on the seventeenth (top) floor of the Palais de Chine hotel, nearby Taipei Train Station, in the Datong district of central Taipei. Despite its French name it has a broad a la carte menu serving dim sums, chef’s specials, Abalone and Bird’s Nests soup (an ultra-pricy item), Cantonese traditional and fine Cantonese banquet dishes with an emphasis on nurturing health, flavors and fine ingredients. In addition, there are 7 sets of Tasting menus ranging from NTD 2948 to NTD 16280, the two most expensive Tasting menus are named special Michelin 3-Star Set Menu and distinctively marked with 3 Michelin stars on the menu. Each of these Tasting menus has different price and with one or two dishes different from what on other menus. There are a couple of Le Palais signature dishes that need to be pre-ordered – the Cantonese style Crispy Roast Duck, Crispy Roasted Baby Duck, Barbecue Pork and Crispy Deep-Fried Chicken.

Helmed by head chef Ken Chan, originally coming from Hong Kong and became head chef in 2010, and hotel executive chef Matt Chen who joined Le Palais in 2017.

After being in operation since 2010, Le Palais was awarded 3 Michelin Stars in both the inaugural Michelin Guide Taiwan 2018 and 2019. There was suspicion of Michelin’s inaugural guide for Taipei because it taking sponsorship from the Taiwanese government.

Le Palais resembles a tastefully created East-meets-West design set in royal purple accentuated by emerald and black, and lustrous brass, dark steel, golds and mirrored ceilings. In its opulent ambiance with traditional touches of oriental ceramic arts, calligraphy and Chinese paintings, the place looks chic and classy, and high class. It reminds me of “Sketch” in London decorated in a more westernized flavor.

The interior of Le Palais was set up with private rooms and public dining room. Private rooms are around the perimeter monopolizing the exterior view, while the public dining room inside has no real exterior view. However, the interior designer cleverly made each table set in its own screened off area and devised a window behind each table which provided an illusion of an exterior view. The restaurant does not use any tablecloth, instead sets the table with placemat which are matched by the Chinese painting and calligraphy on the table wares.

I have studied all Le Palais menus three times before I came up with the decision to choose the 8- Course Tasting Menu priced NTD 2980 + 10% because it offered the best value. I inquired my server; he agreed with my conclusion. Throughout my 20 years of fine dining experience in Europe and US, I have not come across any Tasting Menu with a base price > $500. I need to convince myself of the worthiness at Le Palais by trying out a more moderate set menu initially. As I was ordering, I also found out that Le Palais’ set menus didn't offer any Amuse Bouche.

Before the 1^st course started, there was a small glass of red-orange color of tea served. It was Roselle-Hibiscus tea, sometimes people called it vinegar because of its sour taste. It was served to help guests to open the palette.

1^st Course – Roast Suckling Pig

I had Roast Suckling Pig in Northern Spain a few times. But I have never had such a cute portion of Suckling Pig. I noticed the cracked line on the skin, I knew right away this would be a succulent and crispy piece.  It was comprised 3 parts – skin, meat and sauce, and steamed pancake (陈饼).

My server informed me the prep work started the night before, requiring marinating the whole pig in the special house-made sauce overnight. Then, roasted on charcoal tank/oven for about an hour until the skin was golden brown. Chef preferred to use piglet weighed no more than 9 kilo.

When the dish was ready to serve, removed the excess fat under the skin and placed a good piece of lean meat under the skin.

At the bottom of the serving, there was a small steamed pancake made with white flour slightly fermented by natural yeast.  

Decoration was minimal, with rocks at the bottom and bamboo leave nicely slanted on the side of the bowl. Sauce was house modified by thinning out soy bean paste which often used for the duck sauce.

Skin was the best part, delicious and crispy. The overall taste with the sauce and piglet’s tender meat was a real treat.

2^nd Course – Chicken Soup with Fish Maw

It required two lengthy preparation for this dish – the soup part and the fish maw.

Soup was made of brown rice, dry scallop, old chicken and the Brazilian mushroom.  Although the medicinal mushroom was originally from the Brazilian rain forest, it is currently cultivated commercially for the health food market in Japan, China and Brazil. It has been shown to have the anti-infection, anti-tumor, anti-allergic/-asthmatic properties in mouse models, in addition to anti-inflammatory effect in inflammatory bowel disease patients. Broiled soup for 4 hours until rice grains dissolved. Strained other ingredients and kept the healthy thick and smooth soup.

Separately, prepared fish maw which is the dried form of fish air bladders, preferably deep sea large fish like croaker and sturgeon. It has no fishy taste and absorbs the flavors of other ingredients. It is graded according to sex: male bladders are better than female ones. Fish maw contains rich proteins and nutrients such as phosphor and calcium. It nourishes “yin”, replenishes kidney and boosts stamina. It is effective in healing weak lung and kidney, anemia, etc. The preparation started with soaking fish maw for about 2 hours and boiled for 2 hours before mixing it with the brown rice-based soup. Half an hour before serving, adding a good piece of boneless chicken meat.

This hearty soup was made with a goal of nurturing on health and taste, just like its Chinese name 頤宮stands for.

3^rd Course – Stir-Fried Prawns and Scallop Muscles

Scallop was from Hokkaido, Japan. It was seared first before broiled to half-done. It was succulent, fresh, sweet, tasty and tender.

Prawn was a good size, farm-raised. It was peeled, poached, then stir-fried in XO. Still scallop was tastier because it was wild scallop from Hokkaido. I wish Le Palais has chosen prawn from Costa Brava region of Spain.

Asparagus was from US, poached then sautéed. Together and adorned with a piece of red pepper.

4^th Course – Braised Abalone (6 head) with Shitake Mushroom

There are three grades of abalone – 1^st being the dry abalone requires soaking; 2^nd being the canned abalone; 3^rd being the fresh/frozen ones. In this course, it was the 2nd grade abalone. There are three grades of mushroom - 花菇, 冬菇 and厚菇 (They look almost alike except the appearance and fragrance). The type being used in this course was the 2^nd grade. “6 head” abalone refer to the size of abalone, the size served in this course would fit 6 heads in a can.

The preparation started with braising abalone in soup made with old chicken, pork, chicken feet and house-made ingredients for a few hours until abalone was tender enough to serve.

Chef came to the table side to deliver the final touch by making the special house-made sauce incorporating oyster sauce and other ingredients. In addition, a cute looking diamond shaped, two-color toned cauliflower adorned the dish.

Abalone was delicious, tender and with the right texture. In Asian culture, abalone has long been appreciated for its healthy benefits, including healthy eyes and skin.

5^th Course – Steamed Grouper with Ginger and Sea Salt

The type of fish serve in this course was very special, it was a hybrid of Giant Grouper and Brown Marbled Grouper, farm raised. The Giant Grouper, being the largest bony fish found in coral reefs, has been famous for its smooth and elastic-tasting skin and the Brown Marbled Grouper has been famous for its smooth and elastic-tasting flesh. Therefore, the hybrid offers both. If you know how blue fish tasted like, you know blue fish’s flesh and skin are both not elastic-tasting.

Fish was steamed with 80% done, nicely moisture and tender, garnished with chopped scallion and finely chopped ginger which added a nice touch of sharpness. At the bottom of the plate, it was a piece of turnip cake. This was a rather unusual combination. Turnip cake has been a traditional dim sum item, and usually served in pan seared style. However, it was very tasty and flavorful in this course probably due to its fine quality ingredients including cured Chinese ham, dry shrimp, julienned daikon, daikon juice and rice powder. In addition, lightened brown sauce was prepared in conjunction with steamed fish sauce and turnip sauce. It was a well-balanced dish.

6^th Course – Braised Spinach with Salty Egg and Preserved Egg

Firstly, spinach was sautéed with garlic, I noticed the slightly browned garlic in the bowl. Only the yolk of the salty egg was used probably the egg white part often was too overwhelmingly salty. But, the whole egg of preserved egg was used. Eggs were diced and mixed with spinach before the thickened scrambled egg white sauce was sprinkled right on the top. It was a dish for palette transition. In addition, a similar dish using watercress was made into dumpling on the dim sum menu.

7^th Course – Daikon Radish Puff Pastry

Traditionally, daikon radish pastry requires two types of doughs, one oil based and the other water based. Chef at Le Palais went extra step to refine the texture by using two different types of flour as well as two different bases for the doughs – one low-glutton flour and one medium-glutton flour. Each of the two types of dough were rolled flat, placed intersperse and rolled flat again. Repeat the process at least twice before making individual wrapping. The crust in this course was super crunchy and flaky probably because of the impact of different types of flour and chef’s technique.

The traditional daikon radish pastry usually contains filling on the dry side because extra sauce would make the exterior crust soggy. However, the daikon filing in this course was so tasty and moisture and crust was so flaky. The best radish pastry brioche that I have ever had.

8^th Course – Almond Milk with Sesame Rice Balls

Almond milk was made from three different types of almonds – Northern almonds (bitterness), Southern almonds (sweetness) and dragon king almonds (fragrance). The manager emphasized that the portion of each type of almond used was a house secret. In general, the Southern almonds have a bit sweet taste and the Northern almonds have a bit bitter taste. Almonds can help suppressing coughs, cleansing intestinal system. However, it is advisable not to eat too much of the Northern almonds.

After each of three types of almonds were grinded into milk and boiled, almond milk was served with a cooked gluttonous rice ball filled with molten lava-type black sesame fillings. The richness of almond milk and the black sesame fragrance on my taste bud made me yearning for more. It was a wonderful desert. 

Le Palais’ menu configuration is rather unconventional, different from all other European Michelin 3-Star restaurants. The European Michelin 3-Star restaurants usually do not mark any particular set of Tasting Menu with Stars. I have made inquiries of the significance of the “stars” marked on two sets of menus, the management dodged my question and elusively replied “due to the different ingredients used and the different customer needs, there is a difference in the menu name and price.”

Although Michelin stars are only awarded for the food on the plate, the interior décor, service and table setting have a profound impact on our perception and enjoyment of the meal. In this regard, Le Palais is definitely a unique experience.