We decided to go with wine pairing with the Chef's menu.

GLUP NARANJO 2020

Note from wine maker: crafted from a premium selected vineyard parcel in the Valley of Itata. A true expression of terroir with a breathtaking intensity and elegance. Yellow in color with golden edges. The intense aromas are of white flowers, spices and ripe fruit. The wine is well structured with lots of character.

Course 1: Semi-cooked tuna, white asparagus, tomatoes, shallot pickles, tosazu broth & sexy cigarettes stuffed with tuna tartar and aioli sauce.

The tosazu broth is poured at the table.  Beautiful presentation.

All the vegetables are great with the tuna and I also love the Tosazu broth (lots of umami). Tosazu is made with bonito soup stock, kombu seaweed, honjozo shoyu (soy sauce) and hon mirin.

The cigarettes stuffed with tuna tartar and aioli sauce is absolutely delicious.  The outside is crunchy filled tuna tartar witch is delicious, and the aioli is creamy and very flavorful.

Les Isles Domaine Courbet:

Note from winemaker: Medium+ intensity nose of peach, cantaloupe, honeydew and some unexpected white flower notes. Medium alcohol, high acid, and a medium+ body. The same notes on the palate as there are on the nose. This wine is definitely on the riper side of French Chardonnay, and feels like a wine that would appeal to a wide audience.

Course 2:Asparagus from Roques-Hautes,  onion purée from Cévennes with mustard, morels in yellow wine & wild garlic Viennese which hides a runny egg yolk confit in smoked oil.

The sauce is also poured at the table.

This is our favorite dish! We love the asparagus, the morel and the egg oozing out once you make a first cut.

Simply delicious.

Next pairing is a sake

Course 3:Turbot, coconut, green curry and a variation of yellow and green zucchini in a checkerboard pattern, mashed potatoes and juice.  It is also served with a tempura zucchini flower

Beautiful presentation but I though this dish was pretty bland.  I did not enjoyed the sauce and the fish did not have a lot of flavors.

Zucchini flowers in tempura, smoked cod egg tarama & chive oil

The sauce is delicious, fresh, light and perfect with the crunchiness of the tempura.

So yummy, we are enjoying this for sure!

Chateau Dutruch Grand Poujeaux:

Note from winemaker: A nice, finely wooded wine with charm. Tannins are fine, the finish is nicely spicy. The wine has ripe fruit, vanilla and cocoa aromas.

Course 4: Iberico pork two ways: roasted and fried, carrots emulsion, steamed bok choy, parley oil, in a bone sauce.

The sauce is poured at the table.  The iberico pork was tender and flavorful.  The vegetables played a second role and were just okay and the sauce was very salty.

On to desserts.

Course 5: Coconut shortbread, coconut mousse, strawberry jam filling from at terroirs d'avenir, coconut shavings and wild strawberries served with a crazy coconut, green lemon, and  lemon grass sorbet.

Beautiful presentation.  By the time we got to dessert, we were pretty full!

I love the coconut sorbet!  I also really enjoyed the crunchiness of the coconut shortbread and everything else.

Course 5: Millefeuille rhubarb and pistachio, dried rhubarb leaves, pistachio diplomat cream, compote and rhubarb sorbet.  Unfortunately, we were too full to eat it.  I took a bite and did not like it at all.

Last wine pairing is a Bulles Rouge de Madone.  It is a sparkling Rose and Hoa did not like it at all.

Mignardises: madeleines & chocolate

Impossible to take another bite as we were just too full.

As we were leaving the restaurant, there are still a lot of people waiting to get in Frenchie Bar & Wine.

It starting to rain and people were dispersing quickly.

So just to put in perspective, as we were riding the Metro, on our way to the restaurant, Hoa's phone was grabbed out of his hands by a thief, so both of us were a bit shaken and we were not completely ourselves.  I am not sure if that affected our dinner at Frenchie  but we were disappointed as the meal did not meet our expectations.   All the press reviews gave it such a high mark so I expected a lot more.  Most of the dishes are a bit too salty for my taste and there is not a single dish that wow us.  Overall, the service was very good, nice ambiance, beautfiful presentation but the food did not shine like I though it would.  We probably will not come back but I'll like to try Frenchie bar and wine the next time as it looks like a lot of fun.

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