More Nouvelle Cuisine

The gang decided to go for posh food together so we chose Gary Rhodes's Rhodesd7 this time since E was raving about it (after having a taster at the Dublin Tastefest) and I was raving about L'Ecrivain since last week, so we thought why not? and it didn't disappoint. Or atleast that's what I could surmise from the various ooohs and aaahhs round our table. We all had three courses and the value for money was excellent. Of course for maybe a tenner less we could be eating anywhere else in Dublin but eating extremely poor quality food.


J, A and I got the asparagus soup, JL got the beef starter and K got tuna. For mains J and I went for the Most-Amazing-Salmon-Ever, (having upgraded to being pescetarians now) grilled to perfection on a bed of caramelised shallots, with capers, olives, rocket leaves and a yummy hollandaise sauce (one of the best salmon I've ever had, the other being in that small restaurant opp. the epicurean food hall). J totally agreed.


E got the RD7 Ploughmans: Cashel Blue quiche, baked ham, smoked salmon, Irish Camembert, rabbit & foie gras terrine, just so he could have a taste of everything, A went for the duck: Crispy confit duck leg, foie gras, orange & hazelnut salad. Totally yumallicious while K went for the lamb, so all kinds of animals were represented around the table: fish, duck, sheep, cow etc... We only thought it was fair.


Didn't have the guts to dust off my camera and take some pics being in Rhodes n all, but J insisted, so by the time dessert came, the camera was out and we managed to take pics of the superb passion fruit panna cotta cheesecake, mango & vanilla salad & ginger shortbread (which J and JL got) and the icecream plate which the rest of us got: three scoops of ice-cream, the heavenly Coconut sorbet with (I have to say the best, transport-me-to-Hawaii) roast pineapple (ever!), chocolate ice cream with pear jelly (good but very bitter chocolate however the pear jelly combo was totally unique) & banana ice cream with rum raisins (we were all giddy with delight afterwards. I'd say it was those rum raisins)

One word: AMAZING

Few points to note:
A) Not a great menu for fundamentalist-vegetarians. Maybe like one main option.
B) Service better than what is known to be the usual Irish service but that still doesn't say much in comparison to international standards.
C) Decor and layout pretty bare, industrial-looking. Had some diner-esque seating which is kinda odd for a place like this, and the art was pretty, um, weird with huge cow faces staring down at you while you stick in to your 10 oz rib-eye steak. Our round table was perfect for conversation but quite big for 6 people so huge gaps between each person and still had to lean in to hear what the others were saying. (See K leaning in to get into the frame)
D) Oh and I'm going back for dessert, I had to try the icecream but someone told me their warm almond cake with glazed cider apples & blackberry ice cream is to die for.

Posh French Food

I usually avoid French food and places that serve french food, cos basically, well, I like food in a warm, congenial atmosphere, and I love food that covers most of the plate and fills most of me.
So, when I was told I had to go to to lunch at L'Ecrivain for a meet n' greet with the Cali Tourist Board, it hardly filled me with joy, unlike any opportunity to consume food often does. Although, I was totally psyched to meet the Californians. I feel me and Cali are a kindred spirit.

I would have preferred you're odd mainstream restaurant, I'd even have done with Italian (see my fanatic dislike for Italian food in the post below). Anything to avoid this. But I have to say L'Ecrivain did not disappoint. It is famous for some reason and yes it is their superb food.

I was so busy telling the Californians how much I hearted their state and how I was meant to be born there and live there that I barely would have paid any attention to the tasty morsels going through my mouth if it weren't for ...erm...those very tasty morsels. (See my total obliviousness to food when it comes to conversation. I got my priorities straight. Convo 1, Food 2...)

Anyway here's what I got:
Soup: Wild Mushroom
Starters: Goat's Cheese thingy with mango chutney
Main: Fresh cod with asparagus, and a sweet orange sauce
Dessert: A mocha mousse thing

I'm afraid I can't remember all the proper names and ingredients of the dishes. But I remember the taste. And wow hat's off to Mr Derry Clarke! The soup was delish, the goat's cheese the softest, warmest I've ever had, the cod flavoursome and the dessert just right. Plus the portions were not bad at all, the table we were sitting at was big enough to place the big plates on.

One cool thing I realised was that the sweet sauces for both the starters and the mains added a perfect kick to the dishes, which for an Asian person is a slightly odd concept, as we're used to more savoury dips, hot sauces or tangy yoghurts to bring out (or tone down even) the flavour of food.

Oh and I couldn't take any pics, (which is a shame cos the presentation of the food was so pretty) I thought it may look a bit crazy, me dressed in my best, whipping out my Sony DSC-H5 and taking pics of my plate in front of Arnie's people...