Three-Michelin Star Dining: French Master Chef Muller Makes Magic
Not often do people get to eat a gourmet meal prepared by a three-Michelin star chef (there are less than a hundred restaurants worldwide with this rating). Even more rare is the chance to do so in Beijing. This week (Oct 13-19), Le Pré Lenôtre is hosting guest chef Christophe Muller, who is executive chef at L'auberge du Pont de Collonges, the French restaurant founded by legendary French chef Paul Bocuse.
It’s a worthwhile experience for the sauces alone. The three-course lunch I enjoyed was classic with a few surprise twists, and perfectly delightful. The amuse bouche was a poached egg perched on crostini, topped with the first of the truly marvelous series of sauces. Superb Sauce #1 was plum-colored wine béchamel (I’m guessing) highlighting the tartness of red wine, but still wonderfully rich and fluffy. The slivers of bacon made this a perfect gourmet eggs benedict.
The duck liver royale was, simply put, amazing. This foie gras mousse was topped with chunks of crawfish, almonds, and Superb Sauce #2 – a beurre blanc flavored with herbs and liquor. The mousse itself was whipped up and steamed to magically airy perfection, which balanced out the richness of the liver. All the joy of foie gras, with none of usual mouth feel of grease or fat. (RMB 188 a la carte)
Superb Sauce #3 was spooned atop a sesame-encrusted seared duck breast. The apicius sauce was a lick-the-plate delicious balsamic glaze. This ancient roman cooking style uses many spices, and indeed, among the dozen spices I was told were in the sauce, I could taste hints of ginger, cumin, cloves, star anise, peppercorns, and orange peel. The duck was rich, medium rare, and almost gamey. While raised in China, these are French-breed ducks are produced by the French company Rougie. Their size, chewy fat layer, and meaty texture makes our beloved Beijing roast ducks seem almost like a different animal. (RMB 198 a la carte)
For dessert, I encountered my enemy, the profiterole. I rarely, if ever, order these cream puffs that always seem soggy from being filled with ice cream and topped with hot fudge. The puffs here though, were balanced atop a small scoop of ice cream, and the chocolate sauce room temperature and nicely bitter. The puffs retained their puffiness, and as a bonus, were crunchy from a layer of baked chocolate. As far as profiteroles go, they were rather great, but the other dessert items, such as Chef Muller’s signature tarte tatin and the Granny Smith apple tiramisu, looked far more intriguing (all are RMB 138 a la carte).
The prix fixe menus (RMB 668 for five courses, and a seven-course degustation menu for RMB 1088, both at lunch and dinner) should be considered a real steal for those Beijingers wishing to indulge in a meal prepared the chef of a three-Michelin star restaurant. However, those expecting the culinary fireworks you'd think a three-Michelin star meal would deliver may be a bit under-whelmed. The food was quite excellently prepared, but only the duck liver royale was spectacular. To be fair, the menu prepared for this event contains a number of intriguing dishes I did not try, such as Paul Bocuse’s signature truffle soup, and a famous daurade served with vanilla-infused butter. Chef Muller is one of the world’s true celebrity chefs (i.e. based on skills, not TV shows), and Le Pré Lenôtre remains an impeccable 5-star hotel restaurant with graceful service. Those longing to experience some French Michelin-star fare for a (relative) bargain should visit Le Pré Lenôtre before Oct 20.
Le Pré Lenôtre. Daily 11.30am-2.30pm, 6.30-11.30pm. 6/F, Sofitel Beijing, Bldg C, Wanda Plaza, 93 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang District (8599 6666 ext 6528)
朝阳区建国路93号万达广场C座索菲特酒店6层
