Address: 538 Manning Avenue
Type of Meal: Dinner
Ici Bistro has a chef that certainly sounds French – Chef Jean-Pierre Challet. Having been born and raised in Lyon, it’s refreshing to eat creations from individuals who have actually lived and breathed the lifestyle. At Ici, the menu offer classics with a twist of fushion – think flavourful sauces and rich ingredients synonymous with French cooking but also additions of guacamole, ginger and Asian pear.
To begin, an
amuse of salted cod and butternut squash fritters were presented. Served warm, the fritters were soft, doughy
and had a nice brininess from the fish.
My starter of
avocado fritter, crispy squid and guacamole ($15) was very tempura like with
the various nuggets of fried goods. The
guacamole was extremely citrusy but leant itself to being paired with the fried
squid helping to cut through some of the oiliness. The avocado “fritters” were actually just
pieces of avocado battered and fried so I wouldn’t actually consider them
fritters. They were okay, but a bit much
when there’s already guacamole on the plate, a different vegetable would have
been preferred.
In tasting my
friend’s lobster bisque ($16) I found it was very gingery from the minced
pieces they put in the oil topping the soup.
It was calmed down once my friend had the chance to mix it into the
bisque. The presentation was nice with
the crème fraiche foam (?) and the fried shrimp on top.
Duck is one
of those proteins I love but never cook at home. So, when I’m out and it’s on the menu I love
to get it. The breast in Ici’s duck magret
($22) was rendered well giving it a thin layer of toasted skin while the meat
was a nice medium and tender. The cherry
wine sauce covering it was tarte and delicious, I just wished everything could
be hotter (although it’s likely because they had to rest the duck prior to
cutting). On the side, was a plump duck confit ravioli, though based on the
thin wrapper is more like a dumpling, which was filled with flavourful confit
meat. Another strong tasting element was
the truffle croquette; as soon as you broke through the bread crumb coating an
ooze of chopped up truffle with cheese/cream flowed out. The creamy truffle mixture actually went well
with the slices of potatoes and green beans, the sole elements of the dish that
were more neutral tasting.
My friend’s
scallops ($36) were exquisitely presented in a tower form, cut in half with a
layer of king crab in between then sandwiched in slices of crispy Asian
pear. Overall, was delicious with the
scallop cooked well. I found the pear
accompaniment intriguing but the scallop’s flavour was masked by the other
ingredients. On each side of the scallop
were a poached lobster claw and a potato and spring onion (?) risotto.
Having been
slow cooked for four hours, the braised beef ($21) was tender despite the lean
cut of meat. Sitting on a bed of mashed potatoes with a vegetable medley on the
side the small portion was still quite a substantial meal. Little nuggets of deep fried bone marrow
mixed with slivers of beef were intense despite their size – I had a quarter of
one and as soon as it hit the tongue a beefy fat flavour flooded everything (so
watch out before you pop an entire one into your mouth).
For dessert
we ordered two soufflés ($16 each) to share - grand marnier and chocolate
griottine. They were beautifully risen
and each served with a sauce to pour in - vanilla custard for the grand marnier
and a dark chocolate ganache with the chocolate griottine. The only bad element was the pieces of fruit
inside the batter - big pieces of orange rind and drunken cherries. Personally, I hate fruit in desserts (with
the exception of sponge cake, cheesecake, pies and crumble). Especially with
the light bubbliness of a soufflé, the harsh pieces of fruit somewhat ruined it
and I had to pick them out.
Despite
having a relatively lean staff, service was friendly and attentive. The only
strange occurrence happened when we asked the server a question about the menu;
she had to revert to the lone waitress to answer that instead. Really, everyone
who works for a restaurant should really know what they are serving. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the experience and
left full and sedated.
Overall mark - 8 out of 10
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
