My first Michelin star

Yes, I know it's no big deal but fine dining has never been part of my life style. I mean, of course I won't say no to it, but to have to fork out that much money, I rather be sitting at the mamak stall having my roti prata (yes, I miss it so much! teh-o-ais satu tauke!! :P)

Well, for those who are not familiar with Michelin stars, allow me to enlighten you. The Michelin guide's restaurant ratings using Michelin stars are probably the most recognized and influential gastronomic ratings in Europe. The guide awards one to three stars to a small number of restaurants of outstanding quality. Stars are awarded sparingly; for instance, in the UK and Ireland 2004 guide, out of 5,500 entries, there are 98 with one star ("a very good restaurant in its category"), 11 with two stars ("excellent cooking, worth a detour"), and only 3 with three stars ("exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey"). Michelin stars are taken very seriously in the restaurant business, where the addition or loss of a star can mean a difference in turnover of millions of euros. Some three-star restaurants are able to charge hundreds of euros for a meal on the strength of their reputation.

Back to my original story. There's a tradition in PwC AIMS whereby every group has their own group Christmas meal on top of our department-wide Christmas dinner. And my group has always been known for its expensive taste when it comes to this annual affair. (Yes, that's because everyone in my group is really senior. Most of them are senior consultants and/or qualified actuaries!! From the gossips, I heard that there was this year when my group actually had truffles and vintage champagne!!!) So, to keep up to our tradition, this year we went to a one Michelin star restaurant when some groups are only going to Nando's or Strada!!

The restaurant that we went to was a French restaurant in Soho called L'Escargot. (French, my current fav :) hee hee hee)

Here you are, the Moore group (the power group) - one look and you'll see that I'm one of the youngest member!! And I think they must be thinking what the hell am I doing, embarassing them by snapping pictures repeatedly :P

The menu was so “cheam” that the waiter actually offered to explain it! For example, what I had:

Starters – Escargot en Coquille “Bordelaise” (in lay man terms: snails in red wine and shallot sauce)

Sorry, forgot to take a picture. It looks a lot better before I ate it!!

Main – Confit Leg of Duck & Roast Magret Breast, Cassoulet with Toulouse Sausage & Parsley (in lay man terms: duck with bacon, white beans and sausages)

The meat was tender and juicy while the skin was crispy! Not a big fan of beans, but the white beans turned out to be not too bad.

Dessert – Baked Yoghurt & Blueberry Cheesecake, Cinnamon Tossed Vanilla Custard (in lay man terms: blueberry cheesecake)

Ah, cheesecake. My favourite! :)

Just look at the number of glasses that I have - that's a sign of fine dining. You have different types of glasses for champagne, starters, main and dessert wine. Plus, you have loads of different cutlery as well!! How am I supposed to know all these???

The food was absolutely fantastic – can't think of a suitable expression to describe it and there was absolutely no reason to fault it! Hmm... which makes me think, if one Michelin star is that good, how would I find those with three Michelin stars!! Perhaps, it's time to upgrade myself! Would anyone care to join me for the“special journey”? (Well, I guess in between all those roti-pratas and char keoy teow, sometimes it's good to indulge in fine dining and experience what the rich and famous are accustomed to! :P)