Post 1000 on this app and very happy that it fell on a @rogan_simon restaurant as he is certainly one of my favourite chefs and L’Enclume his flagship restaurant sits snugly in my top 3 meals of all time .
To me the taste profile of Rogan food is its signature , with umami , acidity ( usually not from citrus) , creaminess ( usually not from cream) and a yeasty nutty notes usually playing predominant roles .
The meal @roganichongkong hits on all those characteristics.
My favourite course was the Yunnan potatoes cooked in chicken fat , pickled walnut , ransom oil and chicken skin . Rich but not cloying the chicken fat balanced the dish beautifully.
Yuniu young tomatoes with picked mud crab, Sunflower seed, roast onion broth and sugar kelp was the opening course . The Taiwanese cherry tomatoes were given various treatments and it’s a nice savoury starter .
Barbecued hen of the woods in miso butter, fermented horseradish and lemon thyme rounds out a trio of Vegetable forward dishes to start the meal .
Scallops from Hokkaido with chamomile, buttermilk and smoked pike roe is a favourite from the kitchen team , the room temp scallops are formed into a puck along with some scallop skirt mousse and gently warmed by the buttermilk sauce , dill and fish roe provide the herbal notes and the seasoning .
Local Spanish mackerel with Mr Lins white asparagus, salted plum and pickled mustard seed . The fish from an Aberdeen day boat fisherman is a staple on the menu with the garnish rotating thru the seasons .
Duroc pork loin with preserved haricot beans, Sanxing onion and fennel pollen, this is the only dish that didn’t hit for me , the pork loin is served as a ballotine and I didn’t love the texture , the jus which packs a punch with local flavours including Chinese black vinegar also lacked a little harmony .
Aerated Perfume lemon from Kam Je, frozen yoghurt infused with fig leaf. Lovely pre dessert , perfumed citrus was floral and the yoghurt gave a savoury note .
Zen Farm guava with 100 flower honey, cream infused with chamomile. Don’t see many guava desserts but honey and guava is a great combination . Nice finale
