Restaurant La Verticale @ Hanoi, Vietnam

Didier Corlou is one of the few special chef that has the ability to create new dishes by amalgamating French ingredients with Vietnamese tastes. Opened in 2007, La Verticale was ranked one of the top 100 world best new restaurants by Conde Nast magazine in 2008.

The former executive chef of Sofitel Metropole hotel has more than 35 years of culinary experiences. La Verticale, Madam Hien and DC Bistro Boutique are his notable cooking arena in Hanoi.

La Verticale was housed in a four story French villa located behind the French Embassy. 

At the ground floor, you will be dazzled by all sorts of condiments, ranging from sea salt to bowls of loose star anise. 

Located on the first floor, the dining room was tastefully decorated with less than 15 dining tables. 

Didier Corlou's homemade condiments. 

Amuse bouche - Scallop + vinegar fish drink + cucumber

Grilled scallop - The scallop was cooked to perfection with truffle vermouth adding depth and taste to the bivalve. 

Chili Salt - Playfully briny with a spicy kick. These tiny red chili are sourced from Center Vietnam and you can bring it home for US$3.5 per 25g.

Clam soup infused with lemon grass (bottom) and watercress soup (above) layered with dry rice and some condiments. Both soups were creamy and yummy.

Flowery Clams - Artichoke pluck with venus clams, extra flat nem and halong curry. The clams were a tad overcooked, making it rather chewy.

Red Tuna - The red meat was acidulated with passion fruit and lemongrass before hitting the grilling pan. The finish product was rather interesting with sweet and sour notes.

Lobster - This sea giant was fresh, infused with vanilla and turmeric

Foie Gras with Dalat wine, accompanied by Hanoi 5 spices, pears and figs. The foie gras was absolutely gorgeous!

Muscovy Duck stuck between a succulent foie gras and baguette. Meaty, fatty and totally satisfying!

Chocolate cake topped with vanilla ice cream and grated cinnamon. 

Puff pastry laced with heaps of chocolate sauce and roasted almonds.

I was totally smitten by this cheerful passion fruit in warm clafoutis. The Halong curry ice cream sung beautifully with the tutti fruity soup.

Smitten Dishes:
1. Foie Gras of duck with Dalat wine
2. Muscovy Duck
3. Passion Fruit in Warm Clafoutis


Verdict : TOTALLY SMITTEN 


La Verticale
Address: No. 19 Ngo Van St. Hanoi
Telephone: 04 3944 6317
Opening hours: 11am to 2 pm, 6pm to 930pm.

Nguyen Sinh Pate @ Hanoi

Nguyen Sinh looks and feels like a typical Vietnamese shop. But the resemblance stops there. Founded in 1950, Nguyen Sinh has successfully kept alive the art of baking bread and cooking French food. At first glance, the menu was confusing with the abundance of choices and foreign languages. But once we gathered our composure, we knew what we wanted.

Nguyen Sinh is located right opposite of Pho 10. 

This reasonably priced deli was the cause for carnivorous jubilation.

Baguette (5,000 VND ~ RM0.72)

Pate Foie Gras (50,000 VND ~ RM7.2) - The spreadable pate had a subdued liver flavor with an unctuous texture. The photo may not do justice, but believe me, the pate was out of this world!

Assorted Cold Cuts (70,000 VND ~ RM10) -  A beyond reasonable RM10 landed us with an  assortment of fresh salami, precooked sausage, beerwurst, bologna and pate. The smooth pate coupled with some cold cuts was simply delicious when spread on a warm baguette.

Pate Omelette (70,000 VND ~ RM10) - The fatty pate was lightly seared then tossed onto a sizzling pan with eggs. The texture of the pate changed when cooked, but it was equally tongue tingling. Each bite was delicious, pleading for a bottle of Hanoi beer. 

The warm baguette and fresh pate had us coming back for more. We were back the next day and we actually bought additional pate to bring back to Malaysia. This is by far the best pate I've tasted.  =D

Verdict: TOTALLY SMITTEN

Nguten Sinh, Hanoi

Address: 17-19 Ly Quoc Su, Hanoi

Tel: 04-38265234

Operating Hours: 7am to 10pm

Ahwahnee Dining Room @ Yosemite National Park

The magnificent Ahwahnee Dining Room was lavishly decorated with a 34 foot high beamed ceiling and large sugar pine trestles that complement the room's granite pillars. It was dressed with huge picture windows, chandeliers and medieval paintings to create the perfect ambiance for diners. Despite the luxurious decors, the 2 pages menu was rather disappointing with very limited choices.

Dungeness Crab Cakes (US$17) - The Bricked dough crusted with apple was very unique with rum and pecans dressings.

7oz Grilled Tenderloin (US$49) - The tenderloin was served together with root vegetable pave, veal sweetbread and porcini jus

Pan Roasted Steelhead Trout (US$33) - Hmmm.... the fish was overcooked and the sauce did not jived with the fish. What a pity.

9oz Angus Beef Prime Rib (US$46) - Palatable. Period.

Rotisserie Chicken (US$45) - The chicken was tender. Period.

Apple Pie (US$11.25) - Nothing great.

Apple Fig Tarte Tartin (US$11.25) - The crust was tough and the apple fig was extremely sour. The ice cream was the only delectable item on this plate.

What more can I say? Ahwahnee Dining Room desperately need a new chef. 

Verdict : NOT SMITTEN

Bouchon @ Santa Barbara

Bouchon is where fresh, local ingredients meet excellent culinary skills. The restaurant is also passionate about wine (Bouchon mean wine cork in French), offering some of the finest wine from the California's South Central Coast. The Seasonal Wine Country Cuisine dinner menu was a great way for us to savor Chef Greg Murphy's French influence with California produce.

Some bread to start us off

Butter Spread

2007 Vogelzang Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Ynez. The aromatic fresh berries and sweet oak created a rich mouthfeel.

Dungeness Crab Cake served with fennel puree, celery, micro green salad coupled with grapefruit aioli and fresh local avocado.

Exotic Mushrooms came with roots farms carrots and black truffle potato gnocchi. Finishing off with truffle salad and carrot puree.

Shepherd Farms Mixed Organic Field Greens tossed together with spiced quince, Marcona's almonds, goat cheese and quince verjus vinaigrette

Prime Rib Fiorentina placed on top of some horseradish whipped potatoes, carrots and asparagus.

Fresh Pacific Ahi Tuna which are lightly smoked, crusted with Shepherd Farms' fine herbs and seared rare.

Maple Glazed California Duck Breast; Confit of Thigh - Succotash of sweet corn, fava beans, applewood smoked bacon and Windrose Farms' butternut squash.

Char Grilled Rack of Lamb served together with root vegetable gratin, petite onions, broccolini and Banyuls jus

Blueberry Lemon Upside Down Cake topped with McConnell's California Lemon Zest ice cream

Creme Brulee

Warm Santa Barbara Molten Lava Cake - with McConnell's Cappuccino Ice Cream

The dinner resembled a tour of the region's best food and drink combinations. Bouchon is truly in a class by itself at Santa Barbara.

Verdict: TOTALLY SMITTEN