as such, husband made reservations at le triskel, a french restaurant listed in the hiroshima michelin guide (listed, not rated). i'd seen the place before and had had my eye on it, but completely forgot until we actually arrived.
it's on the second floor of an old building in nobori-machi. the interior is well-lit with about 5~6 tables. lunch is course only (i think there were 3 courses to choose from, varying in price) -- he reserved the gourmand course, ranging from amuse bouche to dessert. here's the run-down.
amuse bouche
foie gras crème brûlée
beneath a crunchy layer of bittersweet burnt sugar lies a thick, yet light foie gras mousse. the combination of sugar and salt was great -- it was unlike anything i've tasted to date, that's for sure. there was also a hint of rum in the mousse, which just added to the overall taste experience.
second course (salad)
kadaif-wrapped hamo (daggertooth pike conger... what?) with zucchini fondant and red pepper sauce
hamo is a popular...fish? conger? ingredient. to use in the summer in japan. it's very much like a light white fish in texture, melting in your mouth. by wrapping it in crunchy kadaif, it gives a kick to the hamo in the texture department. the vegetables in this salad are local and very flavourful -- they're also kept as raw as possible, even the kabocha squash is raw (which i haven't had before -- crunchy!). really goes to show you how much faith they have in their vegetables. the zucchini fondant was also a first for me -- it was light, like a mousse, and captured the flavor of zucchini along with vegetable stock to give it a slightly salty punch. the sweet red pepper sauce and extra-virgin olive oil drizzled alongside brought a refreshing sweetness to the whole salad.
third course (fish)
koshoudai (crescent sweetlips, which, btw, is a GREAT name for a fish) and scallop sauté (the scallop is underneath -- i really should have gotten a better picture of it. why? you'll see) in a white wine sauce.
first, the koshoudai. the skin was perfectly crisp and the flesh was tender -- not overcooked, not undercooked, just the right amount of ...hagotae.
damn it, hagotae is one of those words that i really can't put into one english word. it means like when you bite into something, it has just the right ...density? consistency? so that you feel like you're biting into something (as opposed to having it like...mush in your mouth) but it's not like you're biting in rubber or something unbelievably hard.
it's really easy to ruin white fish when you sauté it, but they nailed it.
but the star of this show is NOT the koshoudai, it's the scallop.
had i had known how life-changing this scallop was going to be, i would have taken more pictures because OMG BEST SCALLOP EVER.
it was actually "compliments of the chef" because it was my birthday, but sweet holy moses, might be one of the best gifts i've ever gotten. the scallop was sautéed in butter, the top slightly crisp and browned. i cut it in half -- the center is still slightly raw so that the scallop has just the right amount of hagotae when you bite into it: soft, yet firm. it's incredibly flavourful --- i would guess that these aren't frozen scallops, but raw ones (i didn't ask -- i should have). you can taste the ocean when you close your eyes, and then the butter hits, the wine sauce hits, and it's like this beautiful explosion of seafood.
life. changing. scallop.
that's all there is to it.
fourth course (meat)
beef cheek red wine ragu with komatsuna sauce
damn it, hagotae is one of those words that i really can't put into one english word. it means like when you bite into something, it has just the right ...density? consistency? so that you feel like you're biting into something (as opposed to having it like...mush in your mouth) but it's not like you're biting in rubber or something unbelievably hard.
it's really easy to ruin white fish when you sauté it, but they nailed it.
but the star of this show is NOT the koshoudai, it's the scallop.
had i had known how life-changing this scallop was going to be, i would have taken more pictures because OMG BEST SCALLOP EVER.
it was actually "compliments of the chef" because it was my birthday, but sweet holy moses, might be one of the best gifts i've ever gotten. the scallop was sautéed in butter, the top slightly crisp and browned. i cut it in half -- the center is still slightly raw so that the scallop has just the right amount of hagotae when you bite into it: soft, yet firm. it's incredibly flavourful --- i would guess that these aren't frozen scallops, but raw ones (i didn't ask -- i should have). you can taste the ocean when you close your eyes, and then the butter hits, the wine sauce hits, and it's like this beautiful explosion of seafood.
life. changing. scallop.
that's all there is to it.
fourth course (meat)
beef cheek red wine ragu with komatsuna sauce
komatsuna or "japanese mustard spinach" is a leafy green vegetable that i kinda associated with having a bitter taste. so i was a little wary of the rich green sauce -- but of course, i was wrong. but first, beef cheeks!
beef cheeks, or hoho-niku, are one of my favorite cuts of beef. admittedly, it's a pain in the ass to prepare since you have to stew it for a long time to make it tender and delicious, but when it's done right (and it was), it's just gorgeous. thick cut and tender, you could cut it in half using your fork -- no need for knives with this little beauty -- the meat was so tender it was practically falling off by itself. the sweetness of the red wine paired with a salty tones of the komatsuna sauce brought out the best in each other and i've hardly chewed the meat before it practically dissolves in my mouth.
the vegetables paired with the meat (broccoli, golden potato, red onion, toumyou or green pea sprouts) are all local grown and packed with flavor. toumyou has that earthy bean taste without being astringent, the broccoli was brilliantly and decidedly green in flavour, and the red onion was roasted perfectly, bringing its own sweetness to the plate. and that potato -- fried until slightly crisp with its own mild sweetness -- it went exceptionally with the sauce.
it was a meat lover's dream and a vegetable lover's dream at the same time.
fifth course (dessert)
terrine chocolat with mango sorbet and fresh fruits
because it was my birthday, they made a special dessert plate for me. brought out on a chilled stone plate, the first thing that catches your eye is that vibrant golden mango sorbet. underneath is terrine chocolat, which is like a rich and dense chocolate mousse. the intense sweetness of the mango sorbet (it was like eating mango puree, in a good way) accented the rich milky chocolate, and the raspberry sauce underneath it all provided just the right amount of sanmi ("acidic sourness" -- sourness?) to complement the sweetness.
they also wrote "bon anniversaire" on the plate in chocolate <3
an excellent and carefully prepared course using local ingredients well-deserving of its price.
i don't know what more you can ask for.
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le triskel
nobori-machi 5-7
naka-ku, hiroshima-shi
082-511-5031
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