MASA San Francisco

I decided to mainly talk about food in my blog entry from now on. Since I try a lot of restaurants and cuisine (not that I like all of them), it'll probably be a good idea to keep track of what I liked and disliked.

I'll start off with Masa in San Francisco for my 31st birthday. My first time at Masa was a wonderful experience and I always wanted to come back and see if my memory was tricking me or if it was really better than French Laundry. Unfortunately, I felt French Laundry was better than this 2nd try. In my memory though, my first time at Masa was better than French Laundry. The first time I was at Masa, the chef did an excellent job of proportioning the food. I left there feeling full but not exploding. It was just right. This time though, I was quite full and thought the portions could be a bit smaller.

Lih and I ordered the 9 course meal which was called The Love and Decadence Menu. Most of the courses had two preparation which made it ideal for couples. I guess they kept the name from Valentine's day?

Pre-Meal - Similar to French Laundry (the Chef did train under Thomas Keller so they offered the Gruyere cheese puff pastry and a Beet soup. I forgot to take the picture :p haha.

Wine - Lih spoke to the Master Sommelier and since he prefers robust and strong wine, the Master Sommelier recommended 2004 Buccella from Napa Valley. It was robust all right. It was a bit overwhelming for the first 1/2 of the meal.

This wine cost Lih $240!

FIRST COURSE - CAVIAR

Siberian Osetra Caviar fanny bay oyster soufflé

It was placed on top of a bed of rock sea salt and star anise. The aroma was wonderful. I didn't eat the oyster but the caviar and the foam was good.

California Golden Osetra Caviar sea urchin “flan,” meyer lemon crème fraîche

The flan balanced out the caviar perfectly. Maybe a bit more flan would do the trick. I don't usually enjoy sea urchin (uni) but the flavor was subtle in the flan so it was good. Overall, this was an excellent first course.

SECOND COURSE - SASHIMI APPETIZER

Hamachi “Tartare” edamame, hearts of palm, kiaware, tsume glaze

The hamachi tartare was chopped and mixed with cucumbers. It was accompanied by a soy-based sauce.

Hamachi “Sashimi” poached ruby grapefruit, grapefruit mousse, wasabi oil
My preparation was hamachi sashimi with wasabi-based sauce. It sat on top of a slice of grapefruit. I always enjoy the combination of saltiness with a dash of sweetness. Lih thought the choice of grapefruit was not the best because he felt it had a bitter after taste. I didn't taste the bitterness though.

THIRD COURSE - SHELLS

Sautéed New England Diver Scallop
perigord truffles, black trumpet mushrooms, miner’s lettuce broth

Shredded black trumpet mushroom sat atop a lightly seared scallop. The black sauce had a slight hint of truffle but probably not much. The black trumpet mushroom is quite strong in flavor so it sort of overwhelmed the scallop a bit. Not my favorite.

Butter Poached Maine Lobster perigord truffles, melted leeks, sunchoke essence

I love lobster. So of course this was one of my favorite dish. But the lobster was slightly over-cooked so it was a bit chewy. Compare to French Laundry, this lobster dish has some ways to go.

FOURTH COURSE - FISH

Whole Roasted Chilean Turbotine california green asparagus, sauce mousseline

The server originally came out with the fish on a skillet. It had a golden crispy skin. Then the waiter took it inside to have the chef prep it. When it came out, this is what it looked like. It was pale and color-less. I was actually looking forward to the crispy skin combined with the flaky meat inside. But unfortunately, no skin. The fish also wasn't very hot. AND my asparagus was a bit old...it was those big fat asparagus and not the smaller young ones. This was the worst course for me.

FIFTH COURSE - FOIE GRAS

“Gâteau au Foie Gras” chilled artisan foie gras layered with fuyu persimmon cake, persimmon purée, pistachio “aigre-doux”

Lih had the chilled foie gras. It came with the brioche. The portion was just right though. Many places that we went to usually serve a bit too much foie gras spread. Lih's only complaint (compared to French Laundry) was that they didn't bring out the brioche immediately but had to ask him if he wanted more. I like this more than my seared foie gras because the taste was more subtle. Considering I don't really like foie gras, I would say this is a compliment.

Seared Sonoma Artisan Foie Gras baby turnips, wild huckleberries, baby mâche

My foie gras was seared. I personally don't really enjoy foie gras. The taste is a bit too "gamey" for me. Maybe I have to eat it more to acquire the taste for it? I actually like the chilled foie gras more since this seared one had a stronger aroma. I guess for foie gras goes, this was pretty good.

SIXTH COURSE - GAME

“Saucisson de Lapin” poached rabbit sausage, ragout of black eyed peas, braised fennel, fennel oil, rabbit sauce (I think this is wrong - I got this from the website but I think we didn't have rabbit)

The server came out and said rabbit. Then he said it was guinea hen. I think it was hen. Maybe they ran out of the rabbit. Based on the menu, I would say rabbit but note that the preparation on the menu does not match the preparation in the picture. The "rabbit sausage" obviously wasn't poached. It was made like a crab-cake. I admit I couldn't tell the difference after eating it.

Poached Breast of Grimaud Farms Pintade "ragout” of chestnuts and anjou pears, poultry jus

The name above seems wrong to me too! I think this whole game course does not correspond to the online menu. This was definitely chicken. It was very tender and juicy. But uninspiring.

SEVENTH COURSE - MEAT

Kobe Beef - since this dish was not listed on the menu online, so I'm not too sure what's in the preparation. Looking at the picture, I think that the top was a few slice of pear with au jus sauce. I notice that kobe beef is the latest fine-dining craze. Most have it on the menu as the meat course. I personally do not really like it because it's too fatty. I put it in my mouth and all I taste is fat. This particular kobe beef was not too marbelized so it wasn't too fat. But still filling.

EIGHT COURSE - SORBET

Petit Sorbet pear sorbet, lemongrass jus
Petit Sorbet tangerine sorbet, cardamom syrup

I forgot to take pictures for the sorbet. It was the usual spoon-scoop size. It was really really good though!!! It was especially refreshing after eating that fatty kobe beef. Lih and I both wished that they had more sorbet.

NINTH COURSE - DESSERT

Apricot Custard Paquet puff pastry, rum soaked apricots, warm sour cherry sauce

Last but not least, we had dessert. This was lih's dessert. He liked it. I'm not too fond of apricot custard. I thought it could be sweeter too.

Warm Truffle Cake valrhona dark chocolate, crème fraîche

Yeah! My birthday cake. There was a candle there but my hair blow it out! Good thing it didn't completely caught on fire! HAHAHAHA...

~Prepared for the Table at $150 per person~

That was the price. The first time we ate there with Lih and Shang, it was $125/person. So I guess it went up a bit. Still, when compared to FL, it seems "cheap."

Here are a few more photos from my 31st birthday dinner @ Masa:

The bill here said "You have been served by: Pepe" haha..