Been a while since we've gone somewhere nice for dinner. Been meaning to check out the upstairs restaurants at the new Eslite XinYi flagship store. The Chinese place was packed and not really suitable for a two-person table. Wasn't hungry enough for the all-you-can-eat buffet, no matter how upscale. The medium-priced Western restaurant would've been good except it was booked for a private event. Meanwhile, Burgundy sat empty of diners, although a quick look at the menu showed that the lack of popularity was most likely due to sticker shock rather than any deficiencies in the food. But the fancy menu certainly looked good enough to eat, and we were coming from work and not totally under-dressed, so what the heck.
There is the choice table next to the window looking out into the Xinyi night scene, but it was reserved for later by a fancily dressed couple out for a special date. All the tables in the small space are perfectly nice though, and the restaurant even featured some private rooms to satisfy Asian sensibilities. The room did fill out but never crowded as the night went on. Could've got more value and more food with the prix fixe selections, but didn't feel like that many courses so we ordered a la carte. GF ordered Beef Consomme for the starter with the Seafood Risotto main, and I had the Spinach Salad (with organic spinach, yes I know) and a duck-plus-fois main. With a name like Burgundy, the wine list is obviously a selling point, and I flipped through the weighty tome many times before picking a half-bottle Burgundy red which was good but a bit young (2001 Nuit-St. George, "Les Didider"), not to mention extravagantly marked up, but then so was everything else on the list. The wine was decanted (kinda silly with a half-bottle but what the heck) and served in high-quality Schott crystal. The silverware was also fancy German, too, in WMF.
The server was with it enough to be able to express the special points of the dishes as we dithered, and was properly apologetic when he told us the seafood risotto was unavailable due to shortage of fresh shrimp. GF switched to the mushroom risotto, but expressed her disappointment and the server was smart enough to throw in a giant scallop on top of the 'shroom risotto for a bit of seafood goodness. Many bonus points for the service there.
A clear soup isn't what we'd normally order but GF skipped the seafood soup because she thought she was getting it in the risotto. Nevertheless it was a good opportunity to sample something which appears simple but is actually hard to do well. And there's nothing wrong with a hot bowl of soup on a blustery day, with the scent of a few drops of brandy added at the end to stimulate the appetite. The spinach salad was simple, maybe a bit too simple, with just spinach leaves and some shaved parmesan cheese dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette made with mellow aged balsamic vinegar. Good stuff used well, but for a high-end place I was hoping for a bit more creativity.
The mushroom risotto was a bit of a brown lump sitting on the plate, but even without meat it was rich and toothsome. Maybe a bit too toothsome as I thought risotto should be a bit softer. My main was a pretty fan of sliced duck breast accompanied by a luscious hunk of seared fois gras. The duck was lean but the fois more than made up for that, oozing rich fat as soon as I cut into it, perfect with the duck and a sip of the Pinot Noir or to be sopped up with the bread (the server was happy to bring extras), although the bread already came with a spicy Spanish olive oil for dipping.
Ordered our dessert off the get-go because the menu warned that the souffle took some time to make, and our foresight was rewarded as the fluffy confection came soon as we finished the entree. Poked through the perfect golden brown skin and poured in the vanilla cream sauce. The fluffy insides soaked with cream was like a warm pudding, which went nicely with a good cup of coffee.
Paid the bill (ouch) and still felt like we had enough appetite to hit the night-market for some squid balls and stinky tofu. On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with paying good money for a good meal without having to blow out the gut every time. Not as if I was saving any calories by soaking in all that fois fat. Far as fats go, fois gras fat definitely rank higher on the tasty scale than the night-market mystery vat.
Burgundy
台北市信義區松高路11號6樓
(誠品信義旗鑑店)
02-87893388