Nowadays, chefs have a number of options to become an entrepreneur,
beyond the typical work-and-save or partner with an investor options to open a
brick and mortar location. Food trucks keep some roaming and mobile, but my
personal preference is the “pop-up” type meals where chefs take over another
restaurant.
The newest entrant is Chef Ken Yau, who’s Monday night K
Dinners take over Café Fiorentina, a day when the restaurant is normally
closed. With seatings at 6:00pm and 8:30pm, a communal table about ten people will
gather to break bread over 7-courses of seafood ($80).
Chef Yau touts England’s The Fat Duck as an inspiration for
his menu. The famed Michelin star restaurant by Chef Heston Blumenthal is known
for their molecular gastronomy using modern equipment and techniques to create
one-of-a-kind dishes.
The influence was best showcased in the amuse bouche and
first course. For the starter, a truffle-sized orb is perched on rocks and you’re
advised to delicately place it inside your mouth, whole. Bit through the thin
chocolate-like shell and a flood of sweet pear juice augmented with citrusy yuzu floods the mouth, further
contrasted with a salty relish on top.
This is followed by fried fish skin dusted with salt and
vinegar sushi rice, which puts any extreme flavour chip to shame, and green tea
powder that’s supposed to bring bitterness to the fold (although you really
couldn’t taste the matcha since it
was drowned out by the vinegar).
As a plate of mussels are brought to the table, Yau explains
he works with a company that can cultivate them in small batches with
customized flavoured growing environments. This batch of PEI oysters were grown
with yuzu so no condiments are
needed.
Sure enough, as one’s brought to the table, the typical
sea-like aroma is replaced with the light scent of lemon. As it hits the
tongue, the oyster’s juices are all at once citrusy, briny, and sweet.
Refreshing elements continue with a squid salad. Pickling
the squid makes it a bit chewy but the firmer texture and sour flavour is
rather interesting. Sitting in a bed of saffron clam sauce, the savoury creamy
condiment helps add a touch of richness to the otherwise summery course. Meanwhile,
the salad was everything but lettuce: juicy tomato slices, tomato water mixed
with Riesling and juniper jelly, crunchy fava beans, and crisp radishes.
The following seared scallop was one of my favourite bites
of the evening, the meaty seafood wonderfully cooked so that it remained
delicate and sweet. Crumbled segments of finger limes (citrus caviar)
transformed the cauliflower purée into a smooth and crunchy concoction that
made me yearn for another spoon.
At the centre of the table, on a salvaged piece of wood, sat
a lemon, morels, bunch of herbs, and a dark liquid. It wasn’t until the middle
of dinner these were combined into a carafe filled with rocks and caramelized
onion consommé (prepared over four days) and steeped to create an intensely
flavoured French onion soup with a tom
yum flair thanks to the white soy sauce, Madeira wine, and sherry vinegar.
With the rich broth came warm crusty bread and a generous
portion of whipped brown butter flavoured with capers, anchovies, and sherry
vinegar for spreading onto the bread. We all agreed that we should have stuck
with one slice (boy were we full at the end), if only the butter wasn’t so
enticing.
The following seafood risotto was another one of my favourite
dishes of the night. In Chef Yau’s version, in lieu of rice the risotto is made
entirely from finely diced seafood (halibut, clams, prawns, etc.). Starch is
added through pieces of fried potatoes, which also help add a bit of crunch to
the creamy dish and everything is further enhanced with a thickened lobster
sauce. It was wonderful, but a tad salty so would be even better if the seasoning
was toned down.
After such an amazing risotto the poached halibut was a mediocre
ending. While I enjoyed the beurre blanc
sauce dotted with plump mussel and crispy duck and chicken skin, the flavours
were too close to the previous risotto. Moreover, the fish was left resting too
long and the temperature lukewarm at best.
Chef Yau should consider re-ordering the dishes (serving the
halibut earlier on) or changing the fish’s accompaniments to something fresher and
brighter. Regardless, in either case, the halibut needs to be hotter and the
seafood risotto should definitely be the last dish.
There was a sense of weariness when the dessert was
presented, already Chef Yau prefaced the dish by stating desserts aren’t his
thing. One taste and I agreed – there was too much going on in one dish: braised
cherries, granite, creamy mascarpone, and thyme. Also, while sherry vinegar was
already used throughout the menu, this favourite ingredient even made an
appearance in the dessert and completely overpowered everything.
I understand, chefs cannot be good at all things – after all,
pastry chefs often dedicate their whole careers to perfecting desserts. If this
isn’t your forte, just keep it simple (one friend commented how grilled peaches
with ice cream would have been a great ending) or outsource the course to
someone else (Japanese cheesecake anyone)?
Renegotiating the seating arrangements with Chef Fiorentina are
also required. Despite the restaurant being closed, the table was set in the
basement on a table with bar stools. After three hours, the room became stuffy
and warm and stools are best suited for a quick sandwich or ramen, not a long
multi-course dinner.
Despite the somewhat rocky ending, I was pleased with the
overall experience at K Dinner. Having eaten at his premiere meal, I’m sure the
kinks will be worked out as the operation matures. In speaking to Chef Yau, his
word-of-mouth advertising is a success with his Monday dinners are already
booked into mid-October. Small private dinners are coming to Toronto and eaters
are devouring it.
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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!
Is That It? I Want More!
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