It was Boxing Day and we were booked on the night flight. So we took the opportunity to end the trip on a high by treating ourselves to some serious good food. And end on a high we did. It turned out to be the best meal I had over there :)
Eleven Madison Park is a 3 Michelin-starred restaurant featuring Chef Daniel Humm. It offers a fixed menu at 195usd per person. I'm going to say it's value for money considering we were fed a total of 16 courses (might have been more actually)! Service is top notch. Very attentive and personable. Almost feel like you could be friends with them. Every element of this restaurant (the people, the food, the ambiance, the experience, the decor...) works together so harmoniously that diners, in my opinion, would find their time here memorable. I can't remember the exact taste of each course but I can say I love all of them. Let's begin.
CHEDDAR Savory Black and White Cookie with Apple
OYSTER Glazed with Wood Sorrel and Mignonette
CRANBERRY Snow with Beets, Goat Cheese, and Caraway
SEA URCHIN Custard with Baby Squid, Bay Scallop, and Apple
Can't rmb what's that eggy thing. Next was hands down the highlight:
STURGEON Sabayon with Chives Smoked with Everything Bagel Crumble, Pickles, and Caviar
It was served in a dome-shaped jar all smoky and cloudy... which is so visually exciting because you know it's something damn good but you can't see it. Teaser. We were also supposed to leave it there for awhile and wait for the goodness to soak in. When the cover was finally lifted, smoke poured out and the prized sturgeon (a fish) was revealed. Very much like a magic show.. 1 2 3... poof! Awesome. Pair it with caviar and it becomes pure heaven.
Just when I thought it couldn't get better than that, a waiter approached us and said, "Since it's your last day in New York, we'd like to better this experience and invite you on a private tour of our kitchen." Like wow. Cool. Super cool. How often do you get to tour the kitchen of a 3 Michelin-starred restaurant? Note: S had an email exchange with them beforehand so they must have made advance arrangements. So don't go there expecting to get a tour just because.
He gave a brief description of each section and introduced some chefs. It's honestly smaller and calmer than I expected. Watched too much Hell Kitchen and thought it would be the same madhouse. Cherry on top - chef prepared a alcoholic sherbet for us right there and then using liquid nitrogen. Yums.
Moving on..
SALSIFY Roasted with Bulgur Wheat, Mangalitsa Ham, and Hazelnuts
CARROT Tartare with Rye Bread and Condiments
The carrot course was fun as well. He came with this silver thing and clamped it to the table. Then he started to put the carrots in and grind them manually. Not really grind but I can't think of the correct term. Anyway, carrot tartare came out the other side. And we mixed the small plates of condiments together to form the dish. Interactive? Check.
As we were busy with our food, I had a sudden impulse to look to the side (as if someone told me to) and from the corner of my eye out the window I saw something move. I took a closer look and there it was, the snow everybody knows I've been waiting for the entire trip! This was a really sweet surprise and a perfect ending. I don't know how I sensed it but I was the first in the restaurant to notice. Couldn't contain my excitement and went out (without grabbing any coat) to take photos. Didn't last long but at least it came :p
LOBSTER (my 5th one hohoho) Poached with Leeks, Black Onion, and Shellfish Bisque
PARSNIP Roasted with Sesame, Parsley, and Millet
BEEF Grilled with Mushrooms, Amaranth, and Spinach Braised Oxtail with Potato and Foie Gras
GREENSWARD Pretzel, Mustard, and Grapes. Contained in the picnic basket I think. From this point the memory's getting a lil fuzzy :D
MALT Egg Cream with Vanilla and Seltzer. Prepared on the spot by our lovely waitress. She followed this with an entertaining card trick. Talk about having fun.
PEAR Poached with Honey and Acorn
WALNUT Sheep's Milk Cheesecake and Port
PRETZEL Chocolate with Sea Salt
It's not on the menu but a bottle of Apple Brandy came with the pretzel. We were free to finish it. Maybe they love us. Who knows. A and S seem to be extremely proud that they were the ones to polish off a good chunk of the bottle (which led to S not even remembering that she paid for the meal!).
CHOCOLATE Sweet Black and White Cookie with Apricot. Looks exactly like our 1st course except that it's sweet instead of savory. Packed in a box for us as we were obviously too full. We were also each given a jar of EMP muesli to take home as gift. Aww. We love WP's idea to send them a big thank you card when we return to Singapore. And she did just that. Hurray to an excellent lunch affair and to the end of our US trip!
Location: 11 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Expenditure: 350usd pp, incl. 2 bots of wine shared among 6
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