Chambar
I went to Chambar tonight with KH. It was supposed to be my birthday dinner, but I haven't had time for it. I've been to Chambar once before during Dine Out, and from what I remember it was pretty good. So I suggested this place and made a reservation for 8:15 pm since that was the earliest time slot available after 7 pm. We each had a beer to start. Chambar has a very extensive Belgian beer menu. I'm more into dark ales, so I got a Petrus Dubbel Bruin ($6.50), a "smooth, malty dark ale, with a touch of caramel finish". KH preferred lighter ales, and got a Petrus Speciale ($10) with a "crisp flavour evocative of green grapes with a gentle touch of copper". My drink was surprisingly quite sweet, with a strong malty taste.
We started our meal with bread, paired with smoked paprika butter ($3). The butter reminded me of smoked salmon and tasted amazing. KH actually wanted to buy some to take home :D For our appetizer, we had the yellowfin tuna carpaccio ($15). It was topped with smoked herring caviar and cheese, and a cucumber salad in the middle.
Then we shared mussels cooked in a white wine broth, with bacon lardons and spring onions ($22). The mussels were juicy and well-flavoured, and KH claims the broth was addictive. This dish was a lot larger than I'd expected for $22, and it also came with fries. Pretty good deal!
Next was the canard Chinois, duck breast Chinese style ($29), though I didn't think there was anything Chinese about it. Contrary to the mussels, this dish was a LOT smaller than I'd expected for $29... It was good, but not good enough to justify the price.
Finally it was time for dessert! KH passed on this since he was on a diet. Oh well... his loss! I ordered a pot de creme au chocolat ($11), as I still fondly recall the vanilla pot de creme I had here last time. My dessert came with ganache-filled biscuits on the side. The pot de creme was very smooth and creamy, with a delicate hint of chocolate. I was not disappointed :)
We started our meal with bread, paired with smoked paprika butter ($3). The butter reminded me of smoked salmon and tasted amazing. KH actually wanted to buy some to take home :D For our appetizer, we had the yellowfin tuna carpaccio ($15). It was topped with smoked herring caviar and cheese, and a cucumber salad in the middle.
Then we shared mussels cooked in a white wine broth, with bacon lardons and spring onions ($22). The mussels were juicy and well-flavoured, and KH claims the broth was addictive. This dish was a lot larger than I'd expected for $22, and it also came with fries. Pretty good deal!
Next was the canard Chinois, duck breast Chinese style ($29), though I didn't think there was anything Chinese about it. Contrary to the mussels, this dish was a LOT smaller than I'd expected for $29... It was good, but not good enough to justify the price.
Finally it was time for dessert! KH passed on this since he was on a diet. Oh well... his loss! I ordered a pot de creme au chocolat ($11), as I still fondly recall the vanilla pot de creme I had here last time. My dessert came with ganache-filled biscuits on the side. The pot de creme was very smooth and creamy, with a delicate hint of chocolate. I was not disappointed :)
No comments: