A special Christmas season calls for a special Christmas dinner and I've made arrangements for my mum, my sister and me at Jacques Reymond. That night, the Melbourne weather wasn't cooperating, and we were like little wet chicks when we arrived at the restaurant. Even though we were early, we were allowed to go in and soon, everything was well-taken care of.
Our waiter was gracious, as usual, and we decided on what to order. The funny and best thing about the A la Carte menu was that there were 12 items on it. My mum and sis had the 3 course menu and I had the 4 course. Our waiter arranged the entree and mains on which entree would go well with which main, so we didn't have to worry about it.
Two tastes of scallops with seasonal flavours
a ceviche with swede, artichoke chips and lemon myrtle, seared scallops with beetroot, apple and cider emulsion. This is my favorite dish. The scallops are perfectly cooked, the crust formed on the outside and inside was meltingly sweet. Another element that amazed me was the beetroot and apple combination. I can't imagine beetroot and apple going so well together but Jacques Reymond made it possible.
Hare and black pudding
saddle of hare gently seared with sancho spices, witlof and orange, infused tonka bean oil with smoked sweet peppers and apple, devil black pudding. I haven't had hare and black pudding before. The hare surprisingly tastes so much like beef but softer. There was not gamey-ness to it whatsoever, just a smooth, delicate taste. The black pudding however, was another story. I know that this might be top-knotch black pudding but still, it's black pudding and it would depend on the person's preference. It's does not have a bad taste but texturally, it's a cross between a sausage and sponge.
Roasted snapper, espelette pimento and mustard seed butter
a white onion tart, fluffy parsnip and yabbies, textures of enoki and Australian pure virgin olive oil, a green lettuce emulsion. The flavors are predictable but the snapper was perfectly cooked.
The delicacy of milk fed veal sweetbread
the sweetbread is golden roasted in corn syrup and lime, natural sweetened salsify and lemon pulp, baby turnips and campari, corn and chilli pop corn. This, for me, is also the highlight of the evening. I can't remember having sweetbread but I've heard good things and bad things about it. First, when overcooked, not bother to eat it. But undercooked, it can also be a disaster. Knowing the skill of Jacques Reymond, this came out as a perfect dish. The outside was firm but inside was creamy and a bit bouncy. It was deliciously seared then cooked in butter. There were several lovely elements on the dish, namely the baby turnip (cooked in campari) which was both sweet and bitter and the melange of corn, popped and cooked.
We had a bottle of sparkling wine to go with all our dishes. We finished with coffee and petit fours. Overall, we had a wonderful evening, thanks to Jacques Reymond. Merry Christmas!
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