Fat Duck, London
This is a famous restaurant in London. It was a good show; however, I personally do not think it is my preference. I would rather have a relatively quiet or limited interaction but focus more on the ingredients, seasoning and more importantly cooking skills. However, I am sure it will be very impressive, and I will do the same, if it is for a special someone or a special event.
The menu was given dish by dish and put inside a round lighting box. It is an interesting way to present the menu, well, only at the first glance. The problem here is, I cannot read! All the words were just shadowing each other, because it is printed in semi-transparent glossy paper, with an awfully small font, and let’s not even start talking about the very dark lighting inside the restaurant. In fact, when I was writing this post, I had to read from the souvenir menu to actually read it properly.
Menu plate
Many dishes here came with some version of show or customer engagement. For example, in the “Sound of the Sea”, I was offered some music. The food itself was actually fine with pretty much no seasoning, focusing on the fresh flavour of sea food, though the music is just the common background music one might hear by the sea: some ocean wave and seagull. I failed to see the point, even if the waitress explained it wants to show us the sound might change our perception of food; for me, nothing changes.
Sound of the Sea
The next two dishes were actually my favourite amongst all. They were called, together, “Walk in the Woods”. The first dish included mixed of mushrooms, beet and blackberry. I really enjoyed earthy and sweet seasoning. The show part is, a perfume or fragrant while I was eating, which did make me curious but nothing more.
Walk in the Woods
The second dish is a soup or a “tea”. I was asked to put a jelly in the shape of a water drop into a pot of soup base. I cared little about the activity. The flavour of the soup was very interesting: it tasted like very old woods, which contrasts the sweetness from the previous dish.
Tea
The main dish in the set I got is beef. Though before the main, the waitress brought me to a wine cellar on the first floor (above the ground floor). I was offered some wine in a very loud background music of Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven. She asked me if it changes the flavour of wine, but all I was thinking is “what the f**k is this?” First of all, I clearly told them I do not drink but I do not mind if there are wine in a dish. However, this does not count as a dish to me, and second, how could I taste any different if I do not drink!? In fact, I tasted no difference but only alcohol, yet I lied that the wine feels drier to make it less awkward. Anyway, I would rather move back to the food. I liked one of the desserts, “Cheese and Grapes”. Despite the name, the “cheese” part is made from ice-cream. It gave me the feeling of cheese, creamy and rich, but also brought freshness.
Cheese and Grapes
So do I think it is a 3-star place? I am not sure, maybe if I include the show part, or the show-off part. However, to put it fairly, I am an introvert who only wants to enjoy the dishes and do not care much on the show. Although it seems to be a big part of this set: how other senses, e.g., sounds or smell, can affect your taste. My answer to that was sadly not much.
🐼 Score: 1/5
