Review: Foliage

It was supposed to be a surprise. I was led, down into the bowels of the tube, along the blue Piccadallian line, and then surfacing back up into the cool winter's night of Knightsbridge. Oh, that's the Mandarin Oriental Hotel over there. Are we having dinner at... *squeal*. Yes, the boy said with a grin. It's my favourite... *squeal again*. Yes, the boy said. Now how shall we cross the road? With brute force, I answered determinedly over my excitement. And so we ran hand-in-hand towards the beckoning christmassy lights and into the ushered halls of my favourite restaurant in the whole of London.

Dinner was, what's the word?, sublime. Sublime, I tell you.

The menu:
~ Pan fried West coast scallops, ceps, walnuts and pickled pears ~
~ Duo of foie gras, 'Bavarois' in apple jelly, salt cured carpaccio, pain d'epice, apple and celery salad ~
~ Pan fried fillet of line-caught sea bass, toasted almond puree, butternut and chorizo, sweet and sour Ruby endive ~
~ Fillet of Yorkshire venison, wild mushroom 'Pain Perdu', braised red cabbage, smoked artichoke puree ~ **
~ Mango and basil salad, natural yoghurt mousse, white chocolate and passion fruit sorbet ~

** I substituted this with White Alba truffle risotto, which was absolutely my favourite dish of the evening. Unlike some, I'm not obsessive-compulsive about truffles nor do I go around sniffing at its provenance. But, once in a while, its pungent heady aroma gets my heart racing. Plus, I love risotto, well done.

The amuse bouche was made up of a trio of hummus, artichoke(?) foam and various flavoured breadsticks. I thought sea bass and chorizo was an interesting and bold pairing, otherwise it was a pretty straightforward menu. Surprisingly, Aa liked the foie gras (although after having foie gras with peking duck at the New Majestic restaurant, that would be hard to surpass for me). I enjoyed the way the richness of the foie gras was balanced by the light fruitiness of the jelly and salad, the shrinking saltiness of the carpaccio, and the crunchy texture of the pain d'epice - a playful variety on the tongue. The scallops were done to perfection, nothing to fault here. Oh, and did I mention? I loved my white truffle risotto.

Everyone fusses over you at the Foliage, without being too fussy. I like friendly but professional service, unlike the European snootiness of places like La Gavoroche. There's a lightness in Foliage - maybe it's the lighting, or the garden leaves brought in every morning by the staff. But on a cold winter's night, to be in yellow warmth, with the tinkly sound of crystal and cutlery soothing one into a state of complete peace like a lullaby, eating with someone I love and respect - I looked through the rose-tinted glass of my kir royale, and my heart was suddenly warmed. I realised how very lucky I am. Dinner with Aa is always lovely. Tonight, it was especially magical.

Blessed christmas, my darling.