So when you first think of tasting menu, most foodie torontonian would think of the name, Splendido. They have recently revamp their menu with lots of japanese influence dishes, but comes with a steep price of $180/ person.
We arrived shortly before our 6pm reso and looking forward to our 4 hour meal!!
We were kindly greeted by their captain and seated with a sparkling white to start. The bubbly was a great touch to start the meal.
Our first finger food (left to right) was a truffle chicken mousse, a chestnut mustard sorbet, and avocado mousse. I took the first bite into the truffle mousse and was immediately reminded me of the familiar taste of chinese bakery chicken mushroom pie!!!!
Next is cavier paired with a dark and milk chocolate mousse. The saltiness of the cavier was perfectly paired with the sweet and bitterness of the chocolate. Never have I thought that such combo is possible.
This is a cured mackerel with a creme fraishe. The mackerel isn't your typical Aji or Saba. Not fishy at all but retain the buttery and richness you would expect of mackerel.
This was by far my favourite dish!!!!! Nom nom!!!! It blew my mind and might have been the best Uni I ate outside of Japan!!!!! The bc uni is placed on top of a nori (seaweed) squid ink brioche!!!! The Uni is much more buttery and sweet than what you expect!!!! Not your typical briny texture and taste!!! Omg I have no words to describe this especially of my love for al thjngs uni!! Mr. E had to spare half of his portion.
A twist to the classic chawanmushi (steamed japanese egg custard). It has the sweetness of dashi but much more buttery. Top with bitterr poached lobster. Match made in heaven!
Another amazing finger size bite food! This is another cured ma latel on top of a brioche like bread. It reminds me of Spanish tapa with bold in your face flavours.
Very simple seaweed consume. The umami of the seaweed is refreshing after a few heavy dishes. Almost like a palette cleanser.
Perfectly poached rainbow trout with crispy fried skin (like pork rind). Mr. R favourite dish by far. But wait there is a second part to this dish.....
Part two of the trout is paired with the bone reduced consume jelly and cured trout eggs! It is like mini Ikura but sweeter!!
This is literally mash potatoes with heirloom tomatoe. The mash rivals that of Joel Robuchon famous mash dish!! So buttery and creamy. Couldn't get enough of it.
Finally, we get into the main (larger portions) of the menu. We started with season tomato steak garnish with pickled Pearl onion and local greens. I have the say this is probably by far the weakest dish.
Next is a triple glazed carrot served with granola. The carrot is glazed every 15mim and baked for 5 hours. I feel for the chef who is in charge of the dish. But that being said, the carrot was super tender and the granola added great contrast to the texture of the dish. Overall smoky, crunchy, tender. Koodos to the chef.
If I have to rank, this is probably my 3rd most favourite dish. It is grilled matsutake mushroom with a truffle mushroom juis. My god the Unami just hits you in the face. The mushroom is
I have to say for special occasions, totally worth every penny. You get really high quality ingredients for your money's worth!!!!
