This little piggy...

... went all the way to fcking town :D

Our pre-dinner "snacks" and aperitif:

Waterside Inn - IMHO, makes a statement: "Fck off Gordon Ramsay @ Claridges" *grin* Okay, to be fair, Claridges is only a one star Michelin. Waterside Inn is a three star Michelin. However, it's all I've got to compare in Rondon :P Value for money, from what I remember, I paid 80 squids for a very _very_ average meal at Claridges. Degustation at Waterside Inn sets you back 91 squids. That's not much more for a full force, you're-ready-to-explode-from-happiness experience :D You'll get the full service. This includes umbrella coverage ten steps from the cab to the restaurant door, to me getting to personally meet the chef, Alain Roux :) I have never felt so looked after at a restaurant in my life.

Our mackeral amuse bouche:

Where to start? Admittedly, C picked better entrees than me. His foie gras terrine was sooo deliciously smooth. You know what put me off foie gras terrines? Gordon Ramsay's at Claridges. After GR's terrine, I've avoided it at all costs. My mistake tonight, because OMG, Waterside Inn's was kickass and I could've eaten it all. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of it. I do have a picture of my yummy flaked Cornish crab though:

Next up, my scallop vs C's lobster medallion! Scallop delish, but lobster divine:

Rose petal sorbet to cleanse our palate:

Then comes the main course of Roasted Challandais duck with a lemon and thyme jus potato and garlic mousseline! Here's a vid of the duck carving. With the background dinner conversation between me and C edited out *grin*

The end result:

And bl00dy hell, that garlic mousseline, T, you'd step on D's back to eat it ;) Almost there, only the dessert of raspberry souffle and bottle of gerwerztraminer, followed by tea with petit fours to go! :) I wish I wrote down the gerwerztraminer maker and vintage. It was seriously beautiful to drink. Really fragrant, and not too sweet.

You can't tell, but the waiter poked a hole in the middle and filled the souffle with raspberry sauce. It made the souffle rise :)

When you take crap photos, just make em black & white :P

The finale, here is my personalised menu from Alain Roux :) Okay, so I was really tipsy and sent back the message, "I had a really awesome (double underlined) meal!" to the kitchen *lol* I wasn't in top form ;) I really hope Chef Roux and his team understood the compliment:

Petit fours

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Originally uploaded by risque.

Gordon Ramsay style

Edit 24042006: I guess I should elaborate more on my Gordon Ramsay @ Claridge's experience. For those who know me well, you'll know that I love to eat good food. If I was broke, I'd sell my Wuv Muffin's left kidney for a fine dining experience *grin* So I was quite disappointed when I blew a wad of quids at Gordon Ramsay's for a pretty average meal.

Don't get me wrong, the quality of produce is excellent, and the food is good. Just not very exciting. No *wow* factor. The watercress veloute amuse bouche was a nice opening to dinner. However, the entree of pressed foie gras (terrine?) with brioche was pretty plain and boring. For the first time in my life, I left a slab of foie gras on my plate :P The main was pork cheeks with grain mustard pomme mousseline. The pork cheeks were tender, but that's about it. I'd describe the meal as "nice" but not "tasty". I was kinda hoping for an experience like the time I had Becasse's daube of wagyu beef.

Anyway, there's also the theory that I've been eating out too much and my tastes are just too picky these days. It takes a lot for me to be impressed by food these days ;)

Gordon Ramsay: 60 quid for 3 course meal, plus 2 glasses of wine (2 bottles between 8 people) = 80 quid or approx AUD$190.

My opinion: Save the money for Tetsuya's 9 course meal (AUD$180). Of course, it'll cost you a bundle to get to Sydney to try it :P No regrets about going to Gordon Ramsay's though, it had to be done. Just wish more effort was made with making the food distinguishable from other restaurants. 60 quid is a lot to pay for an average food experience. Am I expecting too much from a one-star Michelin restaurant?

Rating: 3/5