One week goes and another week comes! With this being the last week of my absolute freedom, it is only sensible that I do what I enjoy best! Eat and Blog my heart out :)! In this post, I have a place that is slightly romantic and well-suited to special occasions. Last week, I was lucky enough to celebrate my sister’s birthday with her at Chez Pierre in Nedlands, an established French Fine Dining. While its ala carte menu tips the scale similar to Rockpool, and Balthazar, Chez Pierre has created a weekly menu called the Taste of France, a 3 course set menu for $58.50. Complete with bread, amuse bouche and palate cleanser, the menu visits a province in France each week and put some of Perth’s freshest ingredients to the test. This week was Lorient.
Chez Pierre’s crusty bread was one of the best in town with my sister commenting that it was better than the one she had in Print Hall the night before. The constant chomping of the bread around the table was a constant reminder that my sister was probably right. Soft on the inside, along with its crusty outside made it a joy to eat. Now, if only the butter was up to scratch! Hmmm! As for the amuse bouche, we had a roasted tomato gazpacho, a refreshing start to the meal that she liked too!
First to hit the table was a dish inspired by the Lorient region. Seared Tiger Prawns, quinoa, summer vegetables and a beurre blanc sauce.
The dish got mixed reviews around the table with my sister and fishman feeling that the prawns were a tad overcooked leading it to being tough . But I was less judgmental and suspected that the toughness in the prawn’s flesh were more of a size factor but the cooking was undeniably mildly-flawed too. After all, the prawns were huge ass! I like the textures of the quinoa which reminded me of how flexible this ancient grain was! Beurre blanc sauce very light and creamy but I wished for a bit more flavor in there. Speaking of quinoa, I totally am missing the awesome one served at Sepia last May!
After finishing the appetizers, our palate cleanser came. It was your typical sorbet drizzled with sweet wine. The end product felt somewhat like a Limoncello sorbet topped with Ribena haha. It was nice to eat but as a palate cleanser I am not sure whether the strong overbearing sweetness helped.
Then comes my personal favorite for the night, the Amelia Park Rump of Lamb. 
Its cooking style was minimalistic and brought the best out of the lamb. It was cooked spot on with some parts just melting in your mouth. XL who does not normally eat the gamey meat was amazed by the quality of the rump and eventually polished her plate clean. The fricassee which the rump rested on was sautéed to perfection with all of its elements cooked just nice with the lamb jus. Yummy!
Last but not least was the dessert, a slice of Pistachio & Strawberry Frangipani Tart with Crème Anglaise & Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream.
While I am not the biggest dessert fan, I have a few criteria for a good one which includes having a dessert that is no ridiculously sweet. In this instance the tart did not taste sweet and the accompanying Crème Anglaise was silky smooth. However, I was not the biggest fan of the tart mainly because there was a lingering almond meal taste. Something I really dislike. Saying that, this is a matter of personal preference. Jim had absolutely no problems and polished it clean along with XL and YH. It had to be pretty decadent for them to like it!
I have a few places where one can dine and impress without blowing a hole in the wallet and this definitely gets onto that list. Kanta, Bonsai, Nine Fine Food, Cantina 663 and Old Crow are a few names on that list too. Without drinks they all cost below $60 (or $30) for a very yummy meal that portrays sufficient technique and flavor to make one’s evening memorable. Chez Pierre in Nedlands along with its Flavors of France promotion is definitely a great way to taste a slice of France without being left to feel poor after. Over all it was pretty good. Memorable? Maybe in between? Oh and I almost forgot, the service was good too!
WenY
