Le Crocodile

Long long time ago when I first started trying to learn what 'fine dining' is like, I decided the only way to learn is go to the fanciest place in town and start eating.  So I went knowing nothing about french food.  I remember feeling disappointed as I imagined french food was supposed to be plates and plates of little tasting bites but that wasn't what was served.  It's been over 5 years since then and I've grown a lot in my knowledge and understanding of food, so when one of my good friends who accompanied me to the first Le Crocodile meal was celebrating her birthday I decided it'll be fun to go back and try the restaurant again!

Crab Tart

For our amuse bouche, we were served a crab tart.  The crab tart was very good.  Creamy.  Savory.  Rich.  But not crabby.  What? A crab tart not crabby? Nope, not this one - couldn't taste the crab.  But it was good though!  If I never knew it was called a 'crab tart' I would have thought it was outstanding.

Dungeness crab cake, baby lentils, pickled red onion, tobiko, olive, spinach & basil aioli.

This was served to my friend (the birthday girl!)  She says it was full of crab meat without a lot of bread crumb filling.

Pan Seared Fois Gras in Reduced Red Wine Sauce topped with a scallop

I liked the sauce on this dish the best.  This fois gras was from Quebec duck livers and not from forced fed geese.  It still had a offal taste that I wasn't a big fan of.  Maybe forced fed geese taste better?

Escargot in Garlic Butter

The garlic butter sauce served with the escargot was sooooo good!  It's served in these very light and delicate pastry cups.  The escargot were perfectly cooked - not rubbery at all.

Oysters in a half shell with shallot Mignonette

I didn't get a chance to sample this but my friend who had this enjoyed it.  It was his first time eating fresh raw oysters too!

Chilean Sea Bass in Lobster Bisque sauce

This was one of the specials that was offered.  I've read a lot about Chilean Sea Bass.  It's supposed to be even more tender and soft than my favorite protein: the sablefish.  And it didn't disappoint!  This fish was so soft and succulent it had the texture of soft tofu.  Not to the point of mushy though.  Lots of flavour and very yummy.  

Steak Au Poivre

Steak in peppercorn sauce is such a classic french dish.  It's actually one of the first french dishes I've ever learned to make.  Although this wasn't my entree I got to sample it - and it had a way more stronger peppery flavour than what I'm used to.  The steak was also supposed to be medium and was more to the medium rare side.

Caribou

This was another special that's normally not offered on the regular meu.  The caribou meat was sooo tender!  I have no idea what they did to it as wild game meat is usually pretty tough.  The gamey flavour was slight but there.  If you don't mind the gameness I would definitely recommend this dish.

Palette Cleanser: Pear Sorbet in Pear Liquor

Very refreshing and delicious.  Sets us up for the dessert course of our meal very nicely.  My friend who's birthday we were celebrating actually remembered it from the first time we ate at 'Le Crocodile'.

Tiramisu

This was for the birthday girl.  I didn't get a chance to ask her how it was - I hope it was good!

Grand Mariner Souffle

The souffle was good but I prefer the souffle at Bigga at the Banks.  Not quite as light and fluffy.  

Crème Caramel

My friend who ordered this dessert did so because I recently made this for her.  She says mine tasted better.  hehehe.

Hazelnut Crepe

My friend who ordered this dessert seemed to like it except for the ice cream that accompanied it.  I can't remember why but for some reason he didn't like it and left it on the plate.

Overall I thought it was a great dining experience.  It's interesting how much more I appreciated the food there now that I'm a lot more educated in fine dining.  And I hope the birthday girl had a great meal too!