Marche Moderne

Marche Moderne is in South Coast Plaza (a mall, but a shopping fashionista’s dream, if there ever was one). Ever since this place opened, I’ve been meaning to try it, especially since there is a paucity of French restaurants in Orange County. The restaurant isn’t traditional French cuisine (I would suggest Pascal’s if you’re in the OC and are so inclined), but instead reinterprets many French classics in a modern setting.

A pre-dinner aperitif.

Our appetizer: a quail and foie gras terrine. The modern french interpretation is very evident in the presentation of this dish; a clean, white dish with the appetizer in its deconstructed form, sort of sparse and minimalist.

A beet salad (technically, a “Santa Monica McGrath Family Farm Beet Salad”), with pine nuts, orange, goat cheese, and basil. This was one of the highlights of the meal: the beets were extremely fresh (yay, Santa Monica farmer's market), and the goat cheese did not have much of the pungent or strong flavor that I usually associate with goat cheese. Delicious!

My main course: a rack of lamb, with a terrine of buffalo mozzarella, eggplant, and bell pepper. I found the deconstructed lamb rack, with slices of lamb placed around the dish to be an interesting take on presentation.

Jen’s main course: a roasted duck breast with brussel sprouts.

Dessert – sorry, I don’t remember what it was…as it sometimes happens, I order and eat dessert without writing it down! =P

Fleur De Lys - Las Vegas

While we were in Las Vegas, we took the opportunity to eat at Fleur De Lys at the Mandalay Bay resort. (A random note: the seating in the restaurant definetly needs to be improved...when we went, there were way too many tables for the space, and the seating felt really crowded...) Lucky for us, Chef Hubert Keller (of Top Chef: Masters fame, for anyone that follows the show) happened to be at the restaurant that night (he is usually at the Fleur De Lys he first established in San Francisco), and we had the chance to enjoy an extremely creative and beautifully presented meal.

Our first dish was a raw Kumamoto oyster (Jen’s favorite!), with a topping of an apple granite. I especially loved the pop of green in the presentation. When a chef starts out with something this beautiful as an apertif, you know you are in for a good meal!

Next was a foie-gras cappuccino topped with a porcini mushroom. The description makes it sounds kind of odd, but it was actually a foie-gras soup with a foamy top to imitate a cappuccino without no actual coffee flavor. I was quite fascinated by the presentation, actually – and the foie gras cappuccino had a deep, warm flavor to enjoy.

A tuna tartare with ginger ponzu sauce.

Apologies for the poor framing of this next photo (yes, I need to take a photography class =P!). The fourth dish was a foie gras terrine with brioche (the bread you see in the background). Unlike the previous foie gras dish, the flavor of the foie gras here was much denser, but equally as enjoyable.

A slow-cooked salmon, with julienned vegetables. The texture of the salmon was quite interesting - not flaky, as one would experience if the salmon was baked; it more closely resembled the raw form of salmon in texture (softer and springier, I suppose), but it was fully cooked through.

A wonderfully tender seared duck breast, with duck confit and some baby bok choy. I always appreciate a well-prepared dish like this, with thicker cuts of duck breast; simple, but delicious.

Next, a dish before the desserts, to cleanse our pallets: fruit, topped with a basil ice cream. I would never think of making (much less eating) a basil-flavored ice cream, but it turned out well, with just enough of the basil essence to make it interesting without being too overwhelming.

The first of two desserts: a chocolate feast. I love variety in general, and this was perfect way to enjoy chocolate in its different forms: clockwise from top, a chocolate pot d’crème, a chocolate macademia tart, a chocolate mille fieu, and a chocolate cake. In the center is a chocolate sorbet.

We ended with a set of freshly baked mandelines with chocolate sauce. Bravo, Chef Keller! =)

Napa Trip - Etoile at Domaine Chandon

The final day we stayed in Napa, we decided to go drive through some of the wine country on our way to the winery we had lunch at, Domaine Chandon. Yes, it was middle of winter, so the the scenery wasn't quite as beautiful as it could have been. But I think it was still picturesque, nevertheless.

So, before I start the substance of this posting, let me tell you a small story. Since Jen and I had so much rich food the past couple of days, I was actually looking forward to some light food. I figured that we could find something light, like a baguette sandwich, at one of the wineries. Little did I know that the only eatery at the winery would be the only four star restaurant in any of the Napa wineries! I didn't plan it that way, I swear! So, with bloated stomachs, we proceeded to Etoile...

A glass of wine we ordered at Etoile. Sorry, I'm not a wine enthusiast, and I don't remember what it was. In fact, just to let you know: I am allergic to alcohol, so I couldn't drink the wine.

One of the main dishes we ordered: a stuffed chicken breast wrapped with prosciutto (I think). It was actually very good, even though I was extremely full of rich food from the past two days.
Apologies: This was a stuffed pumpkin ravioli, with shaved truffle on top. Very light, and a bit sweet.
They offered Jen a selection of two different wines to try with the food we ordered. The one on the left was a champagne, I believe.

So, we actually did not order this dessert, but they mistakenly brought this banana tart out.

This was the dessert we ordered: a mango crepe, with cut mango on top. Quite delicious, but hard to enjoy, simply because I was so stuffed. *ugh*

Napa Trip - Julia's Kitchen

Sad, this place is closed now. =( But, here is my post about the restaurant, which I enjoyed very much! (Maybe they'll bring it back again!) So, the next night, Jen and I went to Julia's Kitchen at COPIA, a restaurant inspired by Julia Child. Awards given to Julia Child over the years...as many of you know, she is the cook who introduced the art of cooking french food to the American masses!
Jen loves oysters, so we ordered half a dozen kumamotos and skookums.
A foie gras appetizer on a toasted brioche, with fruit and a light balsamic vinaigrette. It was kind of sweet, and I didn't like it much, to be honest - because I like my foie gras simple, with just some salt and pepper. I personally don't like foie gras mixed with a sweet flavor.
Jen's main course: A whole roasted quail, stuffed with wild mushroom stuffing, sitting on a bed of mascarpone polenta, with a side of bacon encrusted brussell sprouts. The polenta was excellent, very light.
I ordered milk-fed lamb, with butternut squash gnocci and organic winter vegetables from the COPIA garden. Delicious!

And to start off dessert: a capuccino, for me =). I loved the rock sugar stick to stir with, that is simple, but pure genius.


I've had a lot of desserts in my time, but this apple tart was absolutely superb. It was the first time I had our waitress compliment the pastry chef. It was quite simply perfect - the pastry was light, warm, and flaky, the apples were just sweet enough, and with vanilla ice cream a la mode, who could resist? We couldn't...and we dug into the dessert, without taking a photo first. One of the best desserts I've had anymore, bar none.

Napa Trip - Celadon

Celadon - I have pretty fond memories of this place, even all these many months later. Zagat said that this restaurant was the place that the locals went to instead of French Laundry. And since I promised myself that I would only go to French Laundry after I have at least another 15 years of food experience under my belt, I decided that this would be the place to go.


It was a pretty chilly January evening our first night in Napa, so when we arrived, we were looking forward to this meal...



As an appetizer, we ordered a small plate of of baby spinach and duck confit with dates and petit basque cheese, drizzled in a truffle vinaigrette. We also ordered another appetizer, the quail...but, the pics dissapeared! =(.



As a main dish, Jen ordered the apple cider-and truffle-glazed duck breast sitting on a bed of sweet potato purée and brussels sprouts. The duck was excellent - a mild, yet slightly smoky and sweet flavor imparted throughout the duck, and the duck's texture was tender and juicy.

I ordered the scallops, which came on a bed of polenta. The scallops were excellent - large, fresh scallops which were very juicy. I didn't like the polenta as much, but mostly because I am not a strong fan of strong cheesy flavors.

Now onto dessert:

Jen ordered a gingerbread dessert, with huckleberry sauce and a side of vanilla ice cream, a la mode.

I ordered chocolate and hazelnut bars. I personally loved my dessert the best, but Jen's was good too =). Yes, for those of you that know me, I do love desserts, enough to order two of them.

And I always get a cappucino with my dessert, if I can...very nice presentation. A fine end to the meal.