Bistro K: my 8-course tasting menu culinary adventure

Picture taken from Bistro K website

* BEWARE: This is a long post as it was a long dinner out. *

I first heard of Bistro K from a college friend who recently got engaged. He had his birthday and early celebratory dinner there, and raved about it. So when GT emailed me to have dinner at this same very restaurant, I was giddy and knew that it would be a night to remember.

So when it was time to head out for dinner in primetime rush hour (and LA traffic is such the nightmare), I tried some seemingly shortcut routes to Pasadena from work - only to get lost and make a huge circle around Downtown LA. The 110 Freeway was not so forgiving as my friend, and I was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Once in South Pasadena, I passed the little nook of a restaurant by the church and had to make a quick u-turn on a side street. There's free parking behind the restaurant but I didn't know that until I passed it. GT was also stuck in traffic so we both were right on time for our dinner reservations.

Two servers graced this little restaurant - one who sat us at our table and who was extremely friendly and knowledgable of all the dishes, and another who was just friendly as well. The former introduced us to the menu and suggested we try one of their signature tasting menus - either the 5-course menu for $50 or the 8-course menu for $75.

I was famished that night, having worked through lunch on only a cup of fair-trade coffee. So we decided to go with the grand-daddy menu. And with a no corkage fee, we had a bottle of red to go with our meal.

Boy, was I in for a culinary adventure!

Here was the play-by-play:

1. Scrambled Egg, Vodka Cream Scented with Jasmine, Topped with American Sevruga
   (The sevruga is one of the most expensive types of caviar, and hails from the Caspian Sea - I learned these interesting facts from a wikipedia search.)
   
   This was my first experience with the rich, salty taste of fish eggs - minus the more familiar tobiko (small orangish fish eggs) that comes with my sushi. My tastebuds had to get used to the warm, creamy, and softly scrambled egg, but after several tiny spoonfuls, my eyes popped in curious delight as I finished the egg.


2. Sautéed duck foie gras with lightly smoked eel, caramelized green apples and a splash of Xeres vinegar
I am not a fan of foie gras. At all.

But one bite of the foie gras at Bistro K, and I am sad to say that it was really good. Really, really good. Sweet and earthy flavors of the foie gras mixed well with the tenderly cooked eel and fruit.


3. Seared Diver Sea Scallops served with House “Tripes” and Cumin Crisp
   This was my favorite dish of the night - delicate and mild. I think the next time I visit Bistro K, I will be getting a plate full of scallops for dinner!


4. Monkfish Tail Cooked on the Bone, in a Guajillo Infusion with Harrissa Paste and Ras el Hanout
   The monkfish was a little tougher and overcooked than I thought it would be, and was somewhat unmemorable.


5. Sea Urchin, Green Tea Sabayon, Panna Cotta, Fig Chutney
   This was the chef's Intermezzo surprise dish. Again, I'm not a big fan of sea urchin. I've tried it a number of times at different sushi restaurants when friends and family have convinced me that somehow, it's really good. And I've never been convinced.
   
   Until Bistro K.
   
   Smooth, silky, and sweet - the uni was delicious after a couple of bites. The green tea sabayon combination made your mouth pucker in delight! The best part was the balance of uni richness with the mild and creamy panna cotta - a definite palate cleanser, getting ready for the rest of the tasting menu.


6. Chausson of Veal Sweetbreads, Black Trumpets mushrooms, Braised Parsnips and Bergamot Demi Glace
   For some reason, I thought I heard "sweet brits." Not knowing what I would be eating, I asked our server for the name of the dish a second time. She replied, "Sweetbreads are the most delicious things ever! They are my new favorite on the menu."
   
   I was sold, but still had no idea what was a sweetbread. Apparently, I wasn't alone. GT and I blissfully devoured the entire dish in ignorance!
   
   At home, I googled it and learned that I was eating either thymus or pancreas. Definitely, not something I would have ordered on my own and another one for the books.


7. Fresh Hare From Scotland, Charlotte of Braised Cabbage with Chanterelle Mushrooms and Pondichery Peppercorn, Huckleberry Infusion
   Now this was my very LEAST favorite dish of the night. The hare portions were huge for what I thought a tasting menu would be, and I was already quite full.
   
   I had my first taste of sweet rabbit at Drago Ristorante, and absolutely loved its tender flavors. But the hare here was everything I thought rabbit was supposed to taste like - gamey. There seemed to be a mix of ground and chunks of rabbit meats, and it was just overwhelmingly too heavy to be the seventh course of the dinner. I would have gladly passed on this dish, but ended up eating the entire thing.
   
   (Asian guilt makes me eat everything on my plate.)


8. Chocolate Truffle & Avocado Mousse with Red Wine Tuille
   Our dessert for the evening was served on a raised glass platter, and was a great end to an interesting and adventurous dinner out. The mousse tasted more like a kiwi sorbet to me, and the tuille was a nice, crisp cookie-like treat. The truffle was initially ice cold and hard to bite into, but softened with a little time and was deliciously rich and not too sweet.

After almost three hours of what seemed to be non-stop eating, I was completely satiated and exhausted. I never thought I'd eat caviar, foie gras, sea urchin, veal sweetbreads, and rabbit all in one sitting. But I did. And I'm so happy I dared to try something different and proud that I consumed them all.

I can't wait to go back!

* Rumor has it that they will be moving to another location soon...

Bistro K
street: 1000 Fremont Avenue | South Pasadena, CA | 91030
tel: 626.799.5052
dinner hrs: W-Sa / 5.30-9.00p
(m, tu, su dinners available for private parties only)
* They only take 45 reservations a night because of their small space.
web: www.lqmanagementservices.com