1st Course

I selected the Truffle Hamachi tartare with Avocado, lemon, Pea shoot emulsion.

This is a really nice presentation of the dish.

Can't go wrong with a Hamachi tartare as long as the fish is fresh and it was. 

I thought the pea shout emulsion compliment the Hamachi very well and I enjoyed the dish. 

Raj selected the slow poached lobster (additional $10) with Lemongrass, sweet basil, tamarind  gel.

Raj love this dish!  He closed his eyes and kept making "Oohh's & Aahh's" sounds..

I  had a small piece of the lobster and it was pretty good.

I selected the Parnisp Soup with duck royale and truffle.

I looked for truffle but did not see any so I assume the black spots you see on the soup are truffles.

My friend Maily makes a mean Parnisp soup and this one is good but not as good as hers.

Raj decided with the Sugar snap pea soup was brought out with a appetizing bright shade of green. The soup was sweet and creamy with roasted chuck of shiitake mushrooms in it as savory counterpoint and a few whole peas for added texture.

3rd Course

Sturgeon Wellington, Black Chanterelles, red wine-miso, and potato mille-feuille.

Our waiter was explaining that the chef wrap the Sturgeon in Swiss chard leaf, added a layer of chopped chanterelle mushrooms,  wrapped the whole thing in brick leaf and it is roasted in the oven.

The red wine miso sauce was very good, the sturgeon was excellent and I enjoyed this dish. Portion here a rather large so I only ate one portion of the fish and Raj helped me with the remaining pieces. 

Swordfish, grilled with soy-verjus reduction, Scallions, Risotto croquettes.

I only had a bite or two of the Swordfish and it was tasty.  The Risotto croquettes were delicious and Raj loved everything on this dish.

4th course- Desserts

Soufflé Grand Marnier with Fresh Berries.

This is really weird how they served their soufflé!  Our waiter come out and rushed over our table to show us the hot soufflé still it a mold and told us to take a look before heading back to the kitchen to plate it.  When he came back the soufflé became a big blob on a plate! 

What a disappointment!  That's is not how you supposed to serve a soufflé!  Soufflé should be served right off the oven when it is risen in a mold, the top is then cracked and the sauce is poured over.  It would be a spectacle just to watch the whole process... Not here I was totally cheated out of seeing my soufflé,  Oh well! 

The soufflé was just okay it tasted like a blob of eggs.

Chocolate-Coconut Terrine with Chocolate and Crisp Caramel

I was too full to even taste it but Raj love it and ate both of them without any hesitation.

The only reason I came back to Le Papillon is because of the gift certificate but I have to admit was nicely surprised that food has improved a lot since my last visit.  What worth noting is that Executive Chef Scott Cooper who joined Le Papillon in 1992 as a dishwasher, and moved up to bus boy, prep cook, pantry, line cook, and many other positions, before becoming the Executive Chef.  It shows that if you really apply you can move up the latter.   Chef Copper's did an excellent job at the presentation of his food, there are a few hit and miss but overall it was better than the last few times I had dinner here.  Compare with to La Forêt, a sister restaurant, Le Papillon is at least 10 times better but in order to take it to the next level the restaurant needs to have a face lift and they have to add a hip bar to attract younger clientele. 

Filed under: Restaurants