5/5 Vincybie L. 1 year ago on Google
We
hadn't
planned
on
La
Maison
1888
for
our
14th-anniversary
dinner.
That's
because
of
our
previous
"not
so
great"
experience.
However,
the
team
at
the
club
lounge
insisted
we
give
La
Maison
another
shot
and
promised
it
would
be
different
this
time.
They
took
the
liberty
to
secure
a
reservation
for
our
special
day
before
we
agreed
to
go.
They
went
as
far
as
to
arrange
for
La
Maison
Manager
Florian
Dabezies
and
Head
Sommelier
Jimmy
Chang
to
personally
meet
us
and
present
their
current
set
menu.
As
we
don't
eat
beef,
we
suggested
some
lamb
or
fish,
namely
Dover
Sole,
which
would
be
lovely
to
have
as
a
main.
However,
we
wanted
to
cancel
the
reservation
after
Florian
presented
the
set
menu
for
the
evening
and
when
fusion
Vietnamese
dishes
popped
up.
We
didn't
want
to
be
disappointed
for
the
fourth
time.
Our
preference
was
quite
simple
for
a
fine
dining
restaurant
featuring
a
celebrity,
Michelin
Starred
chef
Pierre
Gagnaire.
We
wanted
authentic
classic
french
cuisine.
On
my
first
visit
to
La
Maison
in
2015,
we
wrote
about
our
experience
with
Pierre
Gagnaire's
French
fusion
(confusion)
cooking
style,
which
incorporates
many
local
flavours
and
ingredients.
It
would
be
great
if
the
flavour
profile
worked
and
the
presentation
didn't
look
like
it
came
from
a
food
cart?
We
argue
that
if
we
wanted
fine
dining
Vietnamese
food,
we
would
go
to
an
excellent
Vietnamese
restaurant
that
specialises
in
the
local
dishes,
not
a
famous
french
chef's
version
of
the
same
thing.
But,
of
course,
he's
renowned
for
a
reason.
Plenty
of
people
love
Chef
Gagnaire's
food,
and
he
doesn't
need
to
prove
that
to
anyone
at
this
stage
in
life.
After
three
tries,
we
were
somewhat
sceptical
that
La
Maison
could
not
create
the
taste
of
France
we
were
dying
for
or
couldn't
convince
Chef
Gagnaire
to
allow
them
to
create
a
menu
that
suited
us?
But
Florian
and
his
team
persisted,
pulled
no
punches,
and
completely
changed
our
minds.
From
the
excellent
service,
we
got
from
Toan,
Florian
to
Chef
Pierre
Emmanuel's
interpretation
of
the
classic
French
meal
he
prepared
and
served
tableside.
Not
to
mention
the
beautiful
bouquet
they
gave
us
to
celebrate
our
special
night.
It
was
what
we
wanted,
simple
and
elegant
in
both
flavours
and
presentation.
He
told
us
that
he
enjoyed
the
challenge
presented.
Was
it
like
Chef
Pierre
Emmanuel
just
cooked
from
the
heart
and
his
childhood
memories?
To
our
surprise,
Chef
Pierre
Emmanuel
was
a
pastry
chef,
but
he
was
a
master
that
night.
Appetiser
was
a
Terrine
of
French
duck
foie
gras
with
a
fig
sweet
onion
chutney
and
toasted
brioche.
Can
you
get
more
French
than
that?
The
next
dish
was
a
delicious
Pan-sautéed
Langoustine
paired
with
Paris
mushrooms
duxelle
and
white
butter
sauce
with
truffle;
doesn't
that
sound
sexy?
For
the
star
of
the
night,
the
mains.
We
had
the
Turbot
meuniere
with
mashed
potatoes,
and
caviar
osciètre.
The
other
main
was
a
double-cut
lamb
chop
with
potatoes
and
garlic
croquettes.
Can't
complete
the
meal
without
the
chef's
specialities,
dessert!
A
duet
of
soufflés,
decadent
Chocolate
and
naughty
Grand
Marnier.
Just
describing
the
dishes
made
us
salivate
all
over
again.
Thank
you,
Chef
Pierre
Emmanuel,
for
taking
us
on
a
culinary
journey
through
France.
And
thank
you,
Chef
Gagnaire,
for
signing
off
on
our
special
menu.
Finally,
we
can't
forget
the
great
wine
recommended
by
Jimmy.
No
French
cuisine
would
be
complete
without
a
great
bottle
of
wine.
He
chose
a
2014
Margaux
for
us
that
paired
exquisitely
with
the
Lamb.
After
reading
my
review
on
TripAdvisor
in
2015,
Seif
Hamdy,
who
at
the
time
was
the
F&B
Director
at
the
hotel,
personally
contacted
us
and
expressed
his
apologies
for
our
experience
at
La
Maison,
he
invited
us
back
to
try
a
new
menu
prepared
just
for
us.
Seif
is
now
the
hotel's
General
Manager.
If
it
weren't
for
Seif
convincing
us
to
come
back
and
give
it
another
try,
we
probably
would've
ended
our
Intercontinental
Danang
experience
on
that
first
trip
in
2015.
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