Last post of 2006 is the report of our big Christmas dinner at Bistro K, a tiny French bistro next to a theater hiding at the South Pasadena suburb. I’ve heard about this place for quite some time for their creative dishes and tasting menu. Can’t resist, the four of us decided to try the 8 Course Tasting Menu ($75). The courses are so fine and unique that frankly the name ‘bistro’ is quite misleading~~ ^^:;
I tried very hard to remember what ingredients each course contains (no written menu, though the brilliant waiters recited each course many times throughout the night): (slight difference in the line up but with the help from Bistro K entry on Best of LA, I fixed some of the menu)
1st: Scrambled Egg, Vodka Cream Scented with Jasmine, Topped with American Sevruga delicious runny scramble inside the eggshell.
2nd: Sautéed Duck Foie Gras, Eel with Caramelized Green Apples and Xeres Vinegar and 3rd: Lobster in lobster bisque with tapioca (!). Both are fantastic.
4th: Oxtail with crispy puff, hazelnut mash and beef tendon pastry, the light sweetness of the hazelnut mash compliment the oxtail with strong sauce. I also love the tendon pastry. 5th: Sea Urchin, Green Tea Sabayon, Panna Cotta, Scallop muscle with soysauce. The 5th course was a ‘secret’ one, I was pleasantly surprised by the sea urchin. When eaten together, the Green tea yogurt mousse made the fresh sea urchin shockingly SWEET! *q*
6th: Pastries (Forgot what’s inside), Sautéed Veal Sweetbread on parsley mash with Date ragout, The date is sweet and dense. The Sweetbread‘s texture is so smooth and taste so…’young’ (a strange feeling), I feel like I’m eating something very delicate.
7th: Fresh Hare From Scotland, Charlotte of Braised Cabbage with Chanterelle Mushrooms and Pondichery Peppercorn, Huckleberry Infusion. Topped with the sweet red wine glazed pastry. The hare was very tender and not too wild tasting. Very enjoyable~
8th: Beignets with chocolate sauce. Very soft and smooth. By the end, we were soooo satisfied.
On top of every courses are delicious, every bite gave you different flavor and texture, the entire course is full of surprises. Some courses are more complicated than others (I appreciate the ease-in curve ^^;;). The combination are well designed and ingredients are really interesting (tapioca!). It’s such a really delightful experience. Their menu changed all the time, so it’d be worth to go back often. Reservation is a MUST for this place as there were only 7 tables. Oh what an experience!
btw Bistro K doesn’t have liquor license, we brought our own wine. There’s no corkage fee~
BISTRO K
1000 Fremont Avenue., South Pasadena, Ca 91030
626 799 5052
Tags: Foie Gras, French, Haute Cuisine, Prix fixe
Happy New Year!!!!! \(^0^)/
You saved the grand entry for NY?? ^^;;
Caviar, foie gras, lobster, uni….a course consisting of all these will probably cost double in Japan~ Especially the caviar egg!(mouth-watering…)
The dried scallop muscle is served with soy sauce? ^^;;;
oh my! good eats, for sure! i didn’t feel brave enough to bring out my camera to take photos with flash at this little bistro… i’ll have to link my blog to yours to show some of the dishes i had there!!! 🙂
happy new year!
Happy New year!!!
Oh Kristy thankfullly you got the menu down in the details (lemme fix mine ^^;;). With the exception of the course #3 and #4, it’s almost identical. I know what you mean, the place is tiny and so dim that you MUST flash your camera. I tried not to flash but it just won’t do. But I thought they were so friendly and down to earth that flashing might not be a problem, especially with the holiday celebrating vibe every table is flashing photo of each other.
Seat, I’m so surprised by such fine and luxury ingredients used in a ‘bistro’ too! Yes the dried scallop muscle is served with soy sauce. Being so Cailfornian ^^;;; the menu is creative in fusing Asian and Mexican cookings~
I heard so many good things about this restaurant. The tasting menu looks delicious. But I don’t know if I can eat… rabbit… >_
Hey Eileen, don’t worry about not able to eat rabbit because their tasting menu change all the time! If not, I think you can substitute with other type of meat too.