Le Jardin Brasserie

our KRUG hospitality experience did not end the moment we bid farewell at the doorstep
Julien our host who rushed down from Paris to Champagne brought us to Le Jardin for lunch
:))))))))))))

we've alwiz wanted to try Le Jardin Brasserie under the same umbrella of Les Crayeres
instead...we alwiz skipped Le Jardin for Le Parc
Le Parc has got to be the best restaurant in the town of Reims, Champagne
now let's focus on Le Jardin and don't steal her limelight :))))

it was a short 5 minutes drive from the KRUG factory to the property of Les Crayeres
initially we've booked our accommodation here at Les Crayeres before switching to another outstanding hotel - L'Assiette Champenoise which I will blog another time
Gosh so many pending postings on my side -_-"

Anyway there's alwiz another time to stay in Les Crayeres :))
in another 11 more months perhaps?

don't u just lurve the colors of the autumn leaves and the trees?
I was so mesmerized by it

the view from the restaurant with a lone wooden bench
Le Jardin means The Garden
while its restaurant Le Parc means The Park

so technically there should be "a garden" for Le Jardin
and it was a beautiful herb garden
we had a lil fun identifying the herbs from sage to thyme etc

crusty wood oven bread dusted with semolina
we lurve rustic bread. I don't know what's the secret to their awesome bread....must be the hard water and sourdough starter....

I've learnt in artisanal bread making class that it's guaranteed to produce excellent awesome bread, my only problem is I do not have the space to feed my starter and to continuously keeping them inside the fridge. Well it's basically flour, water, and yeast....which will become your starter dough or levain. So u just continue to feed them and keep them alive in your fridge...some artisanal bakery actually kept their levain for generations, passed down from father to son.

hmmm sounds like how the Chinese makes Bak Kut Teh, they don't finish everything, but keep it and make more out of its base the next round. This also applies for Black vinegar pork trotter with ginger.

Saint Veeny and Dinos the Great joined us for 2 weeks in this trip

all the way from Cyprus :)))

at Le Jardin, we popped up more champagnes
thank you KRUG :))))))))))

amuse bouche of seafood bites
good texture and balanced taste

heart warming seafood based with saffron soup
really comforting during cold months like this :)))))
Most chefs used a lot of autumn vege and seasonal game meat around this time of the year
this is when chestnuts, root vegetables and game meat like birds are available

a sharing portion of foie gras with berries compote
since all of us were so stuffed from champagne degustations, we shared almost every course

While Monkey and Saint Veeny shared a starter of poached eggs with ham and champignon mushrooms which was also in season.
eventhough it's a sharing portion, each of us got the above....one egg each!!!! so 2 plates of the exact size as per picture. Very generous

break the yolk to bind all the fragrant earthy mushroom together
we can never ever get fresh champignon back in Asia
the earthy nose balanced so well with the smoky ham in terms of saltiness and length
JS kept on commenting that the eggs has got to be sous-vide to produce such "sticky" texture.
Yes boss we all know~~~~~

Please pardon my husband....he's a walking wikipedia and knows everything and I managed to capture his LCLY face here....didn't know holding a glass must be in a refined way

Julien here was talking about the grapes, the growers, the products and the marketing of the champagne business. I supposed one needs to have deep knowledge and passion in their jobs here. I see that all the time even from a waiter, they love and value their career.

Julien didn't start with wine business, he was from fashion working for Bottega Veneta and John Galliano before venturing into his current career path. He didn't even start with fashion merchandising or wat...he was from finance :)))))

just like notti monkey here....I should be a Financial Engineer
but here I am today :)))
instead of applying stochastic process into valuation and financial models to give the exact calculation of how much any insurance company should hedge on....I am applying makeup on my face daily and makes money just by talking :P and eating...and yes drinking....:P

I know I'll make way much more money doing the first choice but in life one must have passion in whatever they do and truthfully I don't want to be stuck in the world of trading and finance wearing a geeky glasses. Wuahahahahahaha. No offense but it's just not my cup of tea anymore.

for my main, I shared an excellent turbot fish with Saint Veeny and yes this was my portion alone....can u imagine if we ordered one full portion??
the thing I like about it was, the dish was served with its bones and all~~~~
hate it when they deboned everything for you. I'm not a child.
the fish was so tender, all the sauce were mopped clean by the end of lunch

JS had mixed tripes stew....he was really really ambitious to try that but surprisingly it was so juicy, melts in ur mouth. I guess the type of tripes they used matters because it has got no smell, just good texture.

a simple sesame spinach salad, we really needed fiber coz during autumn months, there isn't much leafy vege available.

the interpretation of mille feuille by Le Jardin and chestnuts cream with roasted chestnuts thrown in
our short quick business lunch was so filling and we left with contentment
we even had to cancel our dinner reservation that evening with Le Parc :"((
as I've said earlier, there's alwiz another time.

Read about our last year's dining experience with Le Parc *here*
oh by the way, Le Parc achieved their 2nd Michelin stars already

Le Jardin Brasserie
Chateau Les Crayeres
64 Boulevard Henry Vasnier,
51100 Reims, France.
Tel: +33 03 2624 9090
www.lescrayeres.com