Chef Walter Manzke (former executive chef at Church + State and Bastide) has created a special Around the World tasting menu for his guest appearance at last month’s Breadbar Hatchi Chef series. Hatchi means Eight in Japanese, which means there’re 8 dishes on the menu, each price at $8.
My friend reserved a table for this highly coveted foodie event, I was lucky enough to tag along at the last minute. After a bit of a wait, we were finally seated. I think most of the patrons there were fellow food bloggers.
First we got Breadbar’s gem: Foie Gras Butter $3 Delish! I can eat this alone all night.
Each of the item on the Around the World menu is named after a country (can be seen here). While we were waiting for our food, two of them sold out (France’s Tarte Flambe and Italy’s Sweet Pea Ravioli).
Mexico : Yellowtail Ceviche with Jalapeno, Tomatillo Sorbet. Not citrus acidic like the usual ceviche, the dressing was sweeter and the yellowtail was sashimi-like, very good.
Thailand: White Corn Curry Soup, Mussels, Coconut Tapioca. The flavors were lighter and more subtle than it sound, so the mussels’ natural flavors weren’t overwhelmed.
Spain: Santa Barbara Spot Prawn, Garlic, Sherry. Simple but flavorful. The sauce enhanced the sweetness of the Prawn. The little sprinkling of garlic and chili stimulated the aroma and taste.
Vietnam : “Banh Mi” Pig’s Feet Sliders. The pig’s feet were chopped up into a gooey gelatin fried patty, I love it! I’m surprised at how well it went with the pickled radish and carrot.
Japan Chocolate fondant, Bing cherries, black sesame ice cream, green tea. I loved the black sesame ice cream, though it melted too quickly on top of the melty fandant.
Philippines Leche flan, pandan, coconut sorbet. The pandan added a nice coconut-y, fresher flavor to the egg-y flan.
It’s a great pity that we weren’t able to try the ravioli and tarte flambe, since I enjoyed every single dish a lot. Our next door table of 2 had two orders of the Tart Flambe and they barely ate them. We had strong urge to grab the leftovers from them. I’ve seen similar version of these dishes at other LA restaurants, but Manzke’s execution are much finer. I think this menu captures the vibe of Los Angeles nicely, this is what SoCal cuisine is about.
I can’t wait for Walter Manzke’s own restaurant.
Breadbar
Century City Mall, 10250 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles
Tags: bread, Foie Gras, tasting menu
ooo.. you were there? wait. everyone was there. I grabbed my next table neighbor’s foie butter, so it’d be totally ok to grab the tarte flambe. I think.