tiger grouper – steamed – Lei Yue Mun, Hong Kong. A recipe everyone knows, but they do it right…
Hi guys,
I have a lot of catching up to do from the past few weeks, and I’d also like to write about the near future in posts to come.
Briefly, I wanted to outline some of the meals I had in NY in a general sense (a slight food rant) and get into the nitty gritty in the future. All of the simple dishes, namely the appetizers were standouts. Homemade mozzarella with garlic bread was the perfect texture and seasoning. The dish sounds mundane…it was far from it. It was so profoundly awesome. I thought it was sprinkled with MSG or its close relative. And I could tell the kitchen cared so much about the execution of this dish it gave me the goosebumps. Think of the dedication of Jiro…then half that, and then have bread and cheese. That’s about the general equation…
Another great dish was a fried japanese eggplant with peanut and fish sauce. Simple flavors, just, the best I had had…from an American chef who studied under Alain Ducasse…
Yet, sadly, even with extremely strong introductions through the appetizers, the mains suffered from strong execution failures …(seems to always be the proteins even at michelin starred restaurants and 3 star + NY times reviewed places) (overcooked, underseasoned, or just plain stupid. $35 for a plate with a 3/4″ x 2″ piece of lamb chop with an eggplant sauce and some silly flowers. Are you serious man?
I’m really critical of the proteins (fish, meat) that get served in restaurants and popups. Something died. Respect it. If you don’t, read the ABOUT and “Thomas Keller’s – The Importance of Rabbits” Don’t overseason it. Don’t underseason it. and definitely don’t overcook it. Nowadays you get a $35 dish of 3/4 inch x 2 inch piece of lamb chop, a few crappy sauces, a few leaves, a few flowers and dots and that’s a dish. I could put salt and pepper on a whole rack for that much and cook it better. I know, I know, NY isn’t really known for its value when it comes to food, save Prosperity dumpling, Halal cart, or a number of the handpulled noodle places.
Now, it is a bit of a rant, but really, to get 1/3 of a chop for that price is robbery.
THAT SAID, I got on this because I highly value simple, well executed, DELICIOUS food, over the silly stuff. I seen chefs who tout themselves as awesome buy their meat from a regular grocery store from animals filled with hormones. You can do better than that. In sports, do the fundamentals, do them unbelievably awesome, then add dimensions to your game. But before you have the fundamentals, those silly trick shots are prayers.