We started off with Buck a Shuck, a variety of oysters. Lots of horseradish, mignonette, and cocktail sauce. The freshness of the oyster is unmistakeable, and Oscar the oyster shucker did a fabulous job. A wonderful first course to start dinner, that's for sure.
Once we left the bar, we sat down and started dinner. After our first course, our second was the amuse bouche of a Crab and Prawn Fritter. The outside is crispy and the little ball had more crab than you would expect, no filler, all seafood. It's a little ball of deliciousness!
Our third dish was a Halibut Karaage. The little bites of halibut were served with an apple slaw. The fish was delicately breaded, and the coating was nice and salty. The fish was flakey and very moist. No tartar sauce needed here, just a squirt of lemon and you're all set.
We also got some sushi rolls for our fourth course, the first is a Negihama Roll, with chopped hamachi and scallions. We also tried some Fish and Chip Cones, with tempura cod inside, as well as some Japanese tartar sauce. It was nice to have something fresh, after two courses from deep fried foods!
Next up, Grilled Scallops, made up our fifth course, accompanied with a Steamed Mussel. These scallops were gigantic as you can see in comparison with the slice of lime. There isn't really much you need to do to these, better to leave them simply seasoned and just grill them.
As a palate cleanser and our sixth course, we had a Chopped Salad, with shredded fuji apples on a bed of butter lettuce. There are also dates and pecans for crunch and some parmesan shavings for a salty touch. We all enjoyed this really refreshing salad.
For our seventh course, we were served a seafood course of Grilled Halibut, a King Crab Leg in a bed of Cucumber Gazpacho. The halibut had a rich sweetness, further enhanced by the crisp flavours of the cucumber. The crab leg held tons of meat and was well worth the effort of extraction.
At this point, we were very stuffed but we realized that we missed out on the Crab Stuffed Twice Baked Potato, so we reminder our server. Well, we knew something was up when he brought over steak knives (we were full, not stupid). Turns out the Chef had one final surprise for us, and that was a serving of the Baked Potato, with a side of melt-in-your mouth Beef Striploin for our eighth course. Totally over the top, but delicious! Don't get me wrong, the beef was amazing, cooked to a medium rare (just the way I like it), but the baked potato, crammed with lots of crab meat, cheddar, scallions and capers was super decadent. It was our only carb of the night and we inhaled it.
Realizing that we had overlooked the veggie department, we amended this by ordering the Spring Gratin, with broccolini, mushrooms and tons of parmesan. As this is a "side", I'm not counting it as a course, but if you're keeping tabs, this would be eight and a half courses. There, all food groups have been represented, some to excess, extreme excess.
Alas, I spoke too soon...dessert IS a food group, right? In the back of the plate are the Cocoa Nibs, which are essentially homemade chocolate covered honeycomb nibs. We also got some of their Red Velvet Cheesecake, paired with a mango puree. There were more goodies on the plate, but I couldn't give it a try, since I'm allergic to cherries. This was a perfect end to a decadent dinner of 9 or 10 courses, depending on how you slice it.
Take Note:
- Give them a ballpark figure for costs to help them craft your menu
- If you have allergies, tell them, they can and will accommodate
- Buck a Shuck oysters available 3-6 Monday to Friday (varies on weekends)
how much was this 9 course meal?
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