Le Saint James *2 Michelin Stars*, Bouliac

JS booked us at this exceptional property for dinner....yes just for dinner...
if we are staying here that would be perfect HO HO HO HO HO

no I am not asking for the sky, this place is beautiful!!!! Situated about 20 minutes from the capital Bordeaux, it overlooked the Garonne River over to Bordeaux. Listed under one of the exceptional property by Relais & Chateau.

We have only stayed at a few Relais & Chateau properties before....each and every property was charming, very personalised, discrete and oh-la-la-la-la...makes u felt so so pampered.

That reminds me, I have yet to blog about another Relais & Chateau hotel we stayed in Champagne a few months ago....super nice...they even have turn down service for my lil hobbits. :)))))))

The view!!!!!
see wat I meant!!!! sparse green land of beautiful vineyard....the Garonne River...then u can spot the taller buildings such as the cathedral.

we spent the evening watching the Sun sets :)))))))

We got a really nice and beautiful table by the window, with no obstruction at all. Therefore u can have such spectacular view.....aaaaaAAAaaaaa...plus the sun sets at 9.08pm so we have the entire evening to watch the playful lights of dusk.


when such playful Amuse Bouche was presented, what do u have in mind?
usually it's the break it or make it impression thingy. Since amuse bouche is the first dish/tantalizer you gonna serve to ur diners, it has to make impressionssssssss...
so does dessert...the first and the last usually leave very deep memories in your palate and mind.


It was rather impressive but then again it's all about taste....
the goat cheese lollies was cute and no one on the table knows how to consume it.

Monkey: "U just lift it up and push it!!!! Don't tell me all of u never have that Lolly which u can blow whistle on?"
All of them gave me blank faces.

Monkey: "Ok confirmed u people are not 80s babies!!!!"
I had so much of those while growing up....:P


When it was first presented on the table, I thought the lil white tube was a fake prop stucked onto the plate....it looked like my Shu Uemura glue for my lashes :P

Later we were told to squeeze it into our food
really playful but in terms of taste it was full of Umami-ness....this is definitely confirmed Modern French :)))))))))))


A beautiful appetizer on a glass bowl
not only it looked beautiful...it was very yummy!!!!


Underneath all those yummy foam were fresh peas
I can't tell you how delicious fresh peas are...it's a revelation!!! Guess spring time is alwiz about fresh green produce huh? :)))) there was a tiny bits of thin bacon, wished there's more...I can alwiz substitute popcorns for movies with these crispy bits.


Scampi prepared 2 ways....lightly battered and lightly fried like a tempura
it was so delicate that when u sink ur teeth in, the jus and roe were bursting in ur mouth. With freshness from green apple jelly and caviar inside!!! What a lovely surprise.

That brown colored dollop was sauce was so intense and it tasted exactly like prawn head roe...oh it must be it!!!!


There were a huge selection of bread and this round one was so so so so so yummy
I Ching chose it first while I took the black olive bread. She let me tried some and it was like eating Twisties Curry flavour, with crunchy corn bits!!!! before I was done chewing the only bite stolen from I Ching, my hands were raised asking for the bread basket to be delivered again to our table...so I can have one piece on my own...hahahahah



I couldn't remember the name of the fish that we had...but it was so delicately done!!!!
EXCELLENT!!!!
all doused with seasonal mushrooms it was pretty earthy. Paired so well with the wines.

It's alwiz a treat to have these babies :))))))
We had the privilege to visit Chateau Haut-Brion, one of the 5 First Growth in Bordeaux. JS will blog about this visit soon :)))))

the Main course was PORK!!!!
we went ecstatic hahahahhaaha....when the special gastronimique menu was chosen - meaning you eat wat chef cooked...the Waitress asked if we were allergic to any kind of food...and our usual answer would be....fingers pointing at JS and said...he doesn't take Chicken/Duck/Birds/Pigeon/Patridge etc

-_-"

anyway back to the pork...look at the fats lining the meat....
the carrot was so straight and symmetry. we then analyzed that they must have cut it with a tubular cutter to make it this perfect.


the cheese cart looked so tempting....but our other dearie friends don't take cheese...so we'll skip it this time around. Bcoz they can't stand the smell.

anyhow we bought so much of cheese back to Malaysia.....both JS and Monkey have been enjoying them everyday after dinner. It's definitely better than eating Durian LOL!!!!!

the first installation of many desserts to come. This one was made from cheese...hahahahha

Meringue with exotic fruits gelee
really refreshing :))))))))))

You know it's so difficult to make desserts this detailed and fine
I didn't wanna eat them bcoz it's so pretty!!!!!

a deconstructed Mille Feuile
oh so light and yet complex. Lurve the crunch, texture and taste :))))
all of the desserts came in small bites.

sugar for coffee in Canele form!!!! so cute!!!!
Where can I get these?
I don't see them at the usual gourmet sugar supplier - Canasuc

and our petit four was served on this lil wheelie white dish
lemon bites, chocolate mousse and creme puffs
U have no idea how tiny and cute they were...how on earth do u make these so effortlessly?

after dinner, we had a sneak peek of their kitchen. But it's already almost midnite and everyone's cleaning their work station. It's not big but it's so complete and tidy with jars of condiments and spices.

Le Saint James have got a cooking school too if you are interested :)))))))))

its corridor was decked with art pieces from a french artist :))))))))
such novelty of staying here :))))))))


we had lil souvenirs to be brought home too
:))))))))))))))))

Anyway we were staying at a really nice hotel as well back in Bordeaux
it is the best and grandest but what we love most was its LOCATION!!!! bahahahaha. Right smack in the centre dot of the city. Everything was within walking distance - to the park, to the river, to the bazaar, to the main sights and attraction, to the other restaurants and main attractions.

Thank you to Flatmate Amy for booking us here. :))))))))) U are such a lucky gal to stay here for WORK!!!! Don't think my boss will enjoy looking at my bills if I stayed in fancy hotels like this for work :P bahahahahaha

Le Saint James Restaurant *2 Michelin Stars*
3 Place Camille Hostein,
33270 Bouliac,
Bordeaux, France.
Tel: +33 (0)5 5797 0600
www.saintjames-bouliac.com

Lovely Sunday Surprise :))))

a lovely pot of Fuchsia orchid, my favourite color
I can't believe it, at this age I still got conned at times, or maybe I am just too naive at times. But that also depends on who. Especially from BCBG Amy

she called and informed that she's just around the corner and would like to return my cookie jar. And guess what I was baking at that time.....so I thought GREAT!!! I can pass more cookies to her. KEKEKEKEKEKEKE.....

when I got down to see her, she was gleaming with a wide smile. Me in a mess with flour on my hair and face *I think* and smelt like errrrr cookies? hahahahhahaaha

of coz I was surprised, she drove all the way to send me my birthday gift. Thank you my dear!!!! I really LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!!! now I'll learn to care for this beautiful plant....

Our very first plant @ home :))))
we gonna give her a name soon :)))) hehehehehehehe

Birthday Celebration

Munchy, Monkey and Brian C
this was a test shot to set the right ISO and white balance for the camera, but for the sake of fun, I've posted it here. Most of the test shots were of me doing monkey faces :P >.> T_T ~.~

JS gathered all these lovely ppl for Monkey's Birthday celebration. There's been many many celebrations, I will try to post as many as possible :)))))Thank you all my dearie friends for the wishes, calls, messages, presence, gifts but most of all your friendship which have enriched my life so much :)))


Peakie D bought a bouquet of beautiful stargazer lilies and a mixture of other flowers in my favourite pink + fuchsia colors. The smell was really intoxicating :)) They are now sitting pretty on my Armani dining table :)))


They were late for dinner and.....hey where are u?
Peakie D: "Damn the car wax boys took too long!!!!"
Monkey: "I just wanna see u not your car!!!!"


Soon everyone settled down before the first drink was served....
JS took all the efforts to prepare the wines lineup for the evening. Plus wine notes. Yeah I know, I will soon enroll him into a sommelier class.


When the actual Sommelier Guillaume presented the bottle, Peakie D let out a scream so sudden that the bottle almost dropped. Phewww...of coz it didn't drop, don't worry.

KRUG Clos d'Ambonnay 1996!!!!!
my first!!!!
JS's first!!!
in fact it was everyone's FIRST!!!!
WAHHHHH we are no longer d'ambonnay virgins!!! wuahahahahahha

wat a special treat to have this ultimate champagne
single vineyard single vintage from the house of KRUG
I am still rubbing my eyes, was it a dream that we had this bottle???
did we??????

d'Ambonnay 1996 is very very rare
its grapes were harvested from a single tiny plot of land, 0.685 hectares only!!!


oooohh la la la la J'ADORE beaucoup!!!!

the nose was slightly tight when it was fresh, over the evening the champagne evolved and was more opened up with such richness + umami-ness. The finish was seriously long, rich, deep and intense. Definitely not your everyday kind of champagne. Thank you to JS for being so generous :))))


Sakuramasu with radicchio tardivo
it's a slightly smoked cherry salmon served with the bitter radicchio and topped with bottarga pieces
So beautiful and delicious :))))))))




Angel prawn with Hanabo, was so so so sweet and fresh.
We were amazed with all the wine and food pairing. JS gave Chef Kimura the wine list earlier to create a menu accordingly.



Capellini with Hotate and Sakura Ebi
this was a new dish which all of us adored so much. The texture of the pasta was further enhanced with crispy seaweed and sakura shrimps. Could taste some mentaiko as well. This all of us agreed in unison that JS can replicate :P But he will definitely needs a lot of trial and errors. OK I don't mind to be your guinea pigs at home....as always.


Akkeshi oyster with summer truffles
this was so so so so yummy
and at this juncture we were moving on to the only single white wine - a Pugligny Montrachet


Munchy was still so stunned from the champagne
he rubbed his eyes in disbelief so much, that they were red by now.
HO HO HO HO HO HO


Landes white asparagus with petit pois
white asparagus are in season now...the best ones are usually from Germany. *I think*
anyway I have been having white asparagus since a month ago in Switzerland until today. HO ho ho ho ho ho ho, yes I'm a lucky bitch so I won't complain :P

the lil peas were really fresh, paired with thin sheets of parmesan crispy. Excellent spring dish :)))) I can eat this everyday.


My hiking Si Fu Brian C was deep in discussion
everyone will usually give him the mouth-wide-open-jaw-dropping look when his age is unveiled. Yes that's why he's my hiking si fu after I found out that was his secret.

So folks, come join us and hike up mountains if u wanna look good, youthful, with beautiful skin like him :))))))) also eat all u want and still able to maintain a slim body :)))))


Bamboo fish with artichoke Barigoule
this fish is really ugly looking but its meat is so rich, fat and delicate.

Tourte of Unagi and Foie Gras
hmmm JS snapped the not so nice looking plate. In fact my dish was perfectly cut with a huge chunk smooth lookin foie gras in the middle.

Chef cleverly sandwiched the foie gras and soft sea unagi. Yes it's sea unagi coz the meat was really white and fleshy. Amazing dish....applause!!!!!


I gave half of my dish to Munchy who will never refuse food. hahahahha coz I wanted to save space for many more dishes to come....and the wines :))))))


JS photo-bombed this pic....hahahahahaha
how can u appear in between a lovely couple?? tsk tsk tsk ish ish ish, this I must teach u.
hahahahahahaha

Chef Kimura came in to thank us for the wines, he had to come out from his kitchen in between bcoz he was so amazed by this glass - a Richebourg, one of his many favourites.

But when asked for a pic, he was so shy, he kept refusing. I guessed he didn't wanna appear in between us....kakakakakaka.

Finally our main came, a roasted Saga beef with Kyoto Shimeji
this dish was very very well executed.


Creme d'Anjou was really refreshing. With meringues and raspberry, plus some lime zest.

and the Birthday Cake part came.....Maitre D Puji was being very careful here with the candles...
I was glad there's only one candle :P


it actually wrote "Eppy Birthday Notti Monkey"
aiiikkkssssss shy....
now I know the entire team at Cilantro read this blog *shy* ~.~

THANK YOU CILANTRO!!!!!
:))))))))))))))))))


Too many wishes to make but I have too many cakes and too many candles for the last few days
so I guess with the number of candles I blew on each cake, it was sufficient to make different wishes at each go. Wuahahahahahahahaha.


"Chef!!! You are back again!!!!"

This time, chef cannot NOT take a pic with ME hahahahahahahaha



My Hiking Si Fu Brian C


Monkey and Peakie D
I lurve her customized clutch with all the Champagne CAPS!!!!
I WANT ONE!!! but if u have time, I don't mind 2. HO HO HO HO HO HO.

This was a delicious mango cake
so light and soft and yummy!!!

our wines lineup for the evening :))))))))
all were superb and I guessed the only bordeaux wrong!!! -_-" yes I know, especially after the trip home from Bordeaux, of all the wines, I guessed that one wrongly....hahahahaha It was a good Latour nevertheless.


a deconstructed sweet potato Mont Blanc with bitter chocolate ice cream
very very clever :))))))))))))


No dinner is completed without petit four
we wanted more caneles but they ran out of stocks!!!
but it was also my fault bcoz I forgot to buy some at Bordeaux. Canele originated from Bordeaux.

Thank you folks for the great time and friendship.
I had a smashing time last weekend.....
Love u all heaps :))))))))))))