A.Lallement *3 Michelin Stars*

Quaint lil restaurant at a beautiful property, set in an old mansion with old charm
Assiette Champenoise is also a hotel, listed under the Chateau and Relais it is one of the must-stay place :))))

I guess our main focus was the food at its 3 michelin starred restaurant
the above pic was taken from our room
JS booked us into a large suite and what a change from Paris. Quiet, green, friendly, calm were the words used to describe this place.

Arnaud Lallement is really a young, capable and established chef.
The business of this hotel and restaurant was handed to him by his beloved father while he was 26. Such huge responsibility at this age huh? I guess I was still finding myself at 26 >.<

under the watchful eyes of his father, Arnaud earned his first michelin star after 4 years in the kitchen. But I dunno why in life, happy event follows sad ones *or either way*, and the Lallement Senior passed away just after a few months enjoying the fruits of hard labour by his son.

In order to maintain the tradition and values the father has achieved since 1975, most of the buildings and mansions and gardens and trees and statues of the properties were maintained. We just love it here :))))

So I guess it was totally worth cancelling Les Crayeres to stay here huh?
well life is short, I've only got a week here in Champagne so I must fully utilise all the opportunities to stay and dine and try all the good things offered here.

Canapes with aperitifs = a glass of KRUG cuvee what else :)))))
such petite and meticulously assembled lil bite size yummy goodness
that "ball" rolled out of its position, not the waiting staffs' fault....it was either JS or mine as we were pushing the plate around for photography....even when it rolled out of position, we can still accept the standard of the pic and its merchandising of subject -_-
Guess our tummy were rumbling to care so much

Lallement strived to achieved a balance of exciting taste and texture
so these petite canapes were very well thought of - tantalized anyone's taste buds :))))

DANGER!!!! crusty yummy bread!!!!
don't fill your stomach with it...but it proved too good and too difficult to resist


esp with its top quality butter
salted vs unsalted
we were contemplating about carrying gourmet butter home to Malaysia but it's just too hassle. 
but the butter was amazing....I finished the above platter on my own >.<told ya the bread spells DANGER!!!
I had another different one....just so good~~~~
the moment u tear them apart, the crust broke beautifully with a crunch, unveiling its soft airy bread
if preparing my own sourdough and feed them for ages in the fridge will produce such high quality bread, I will consider getting another fridge at home just to store the sourdough/levain.

our amuse bouche - sorry after one month I totally forgotten what it was.....

I have stopped taking notes during dinner bcoz it scare the shit outta the restaurant
usually it's me writing and JS snapping pics
and the Maitre D will enquire if we were from some form of publication or food critique...

then I resorted to typing and taking notes with my iPhone and it was deemed too rude to use your phone on the table esp in France.
-_-"

so these days, JS will utilise his small little "non-evasive" camera at the restaurant
*that cost 6 arms and 6 legs, prollie I only make about that much a year*
and me relying on my deteriorating memory due to alcohol consumptions.
Please bear with us.

pan seared St Jacques scallops  served on top of caramelized beets
the beets were cut to resemble leaves then caramelized with balsamic

Emulsion of vegetables and pumpkin
autumn is the season for pumpkins and other root vegetables
think Halloween!!! hehehehehhehe

I don't know how he did the fish, the outer part was so crispy while its meat was just cooked
moist soft sweet~~~

Arnaud Lallement trained under the belts of France's great names in the culinary world
I guess when u were trained young this way, you have more years to explore and execute your potentials


Great food needs to be paired with excellent wines and champagnes
I did not expect JS to order this bottle....
KRUG Clos du Mesnil 1992
this was only my 2nd experience, what a luxury and how lucky!!!

the 1st time, it was for someone's very important and big birthday --> GOE
that was back in 2010
not everyday u can pop this bottle

Later once we finished the bottle *surprisingly it was gone really fast*
the sommelier displayed the bottle next to our table by this cleverly designed pillar
now the whole restaurant knew we popped this -_-"
not to show off but we Asians prefer to be low profile.

Arnaud Lallement and Olivier KRUG has a long standing partnership *about 12 years*
the restaurant prepared dishes that perfectly match KRUG's champagnes

the much anticipated main course came
BLACK PIG!!!!
oh yummms~~~~
the best pork in the world!!!!!

just a spoonful of sauce only, you don't want to drown it right?
served with carefully prepared root vegetables and beets
well done!!!! very well executed with the pairing of ingredients, texture and taste
finally the presentation was so fine
I mean you don't expect this kind of food in a small town right?

Next artisan cheeses from Phillipe Olivier
there were so many types and as usual by the time he was describing the 5th one, I've forgotten what's the first....

but he was very patient with us....and repeated it over and over as he go round the table to serve the four of us~~~~~

my tummy can only accommodate one type of soft and one hard cheese
and so I had my favourite creamy epoisse and an aged hard cheese
*I had epoisse last nite after dinner too :))))*
both were served with a dried berries rye bread

nobody can beat this bugger - Dinos the Great
indeed he's the great when it comes to cheeses

a selection of 3 types of cheese is pretty standard but he had more than 12???
in fact he needed 2 plates
luckily we didn't need to wheel him outta the restaurant after the meal
hohohohohohoho

100% chocolate
looked like an UFO rite?

Sinful but awesome!!!!
the plate was dusted with cocoa powder so evenly
talk about meticulous, this chef is a perfectionist

Passion
soft egg white with sugar almost souffle-liked, served on thin waffle
actually this was really souffle interpreted differently
how the hell do u actually cut a souffle this way???

Pear
Pear is an intricate construction from the fruit
the thin jelly, the caramelized pieces.....
all the hardwork for something I chomp down easily

then came every gal's fav course - petit four!!!!
it was an elaborate ones
Chef created famous petit four from all regions in France but with his own interpretations
the above in house chocolate was presented in a silver Cocoa-liked tray with a cover

Biscotti with lemonie delight on top
he dusted it with kaffir lime zest
elevated it to the next level
I noticed he alwiz gave more instead of according to head count so his guests could enjoy more

Caneles!!!!

OOOPPPSSSSSSS
I was caught in the action, not with one but 2 candy floss!!!!

Never eaten such candy floss BECAUSE......it wasn't sticky at all!!
it was light and very very enjoyable
I can't describe...I wished there was more, even though I was given two
lick left lick right
heeeeeeeeeeee :)))))))))))))))

Truly another eye opener experience at A.Lallement
I have expected differently at this place, maybe I've been setting the bar too high. Hope to return here again :)))))))))

A.Lallement *3 Michelin Stars*
40 Avenue Paul Vaillant Couturier
51430 Tinqueux,
France.
Tel: 06 2684 6464
www.assiettechampenoise.com