Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Day 5 Restaurant Week - Le Colonial

  Day 5, my bff Trixie and I dined at Le Colonial, an upscale French-Vietnamese Restaurant. She recommended this place, and thought I might enjoy the cuisine. As we entered the dining room, I really felt a romantic vibe a bit dark, but lit up with votives. 





We started off with a Shiraz Viognier Y Series 2009 - a medium bodied wine with a fragrant bouquet of raspberries and blackberries and a light oak finish. Later in the evening, we also tried Babich Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 a very fruitful taste. 


Appetizers


GOI BO - Cold, spicy beef salad with chili, lemongrass, basil, and chili garlic vinaigrette.

The beef was cooked to perfection and very tender. It was also still warm when we received our dish. I liked the fresh veggies especially the bean sprouts and cucumber. The vinaigrette was subtle not too overpowering. I loved the spiciness of the dish too. We both enjoyed it!




PHO - Hearty oxtail soup with rice noodles, beef tenderloin slices, & aromatic herbs
The broth was well seasoned, but the noodles were a little overdone. I had better in Argyle, but still a nice decent soup. 


Main Courses
GA XAO XA OT - Wok-seared lemongrass chicken breast strips with portabella mushrooms and a basil chili sauce. 
Although we had a generous serving, we both felt the chicken was very dry. We ate a few pieces and then split the mushrooms. Mushrooms were the only good thing on the plate. 


CARI TOM - Sautéed jumbo shrimp with Japanese eggplant in a coconut curry sauce.
Trixie and I love curry, so we were looking forward to the dish. As we took a bite and we both felt like the seasoning was the same as the chicken dish. The jumbo shrimp was also tough, because it was overdone. Again we only ate the veggies. 



At this point, we tried to get the attention of the waitress, but we ended up getting the attention of the Manager. We told him that the waitress never really checked back with us after the entrees were delivered. We also mentioned that we were very disappointed in the main dishes. I also added that both dishes were probably cooked in the same wok, considering the flavors were the same. He was receptive of our comments and was so kind enough to let us choose another dish. 

Before we had our dish, he brought us a coconut sorbet to cleanse our palette. Nice and refreshing! 


CA BAM XUC BANH TRANG - Wok-seared monkfish with chili, turmeric, lemongrass, peanuts, & crisp toasted sesame crackers.
This was our favorite dish of the night. The flavors worked well together and the sesame crackers were perfect with the dish. It was very delicious!



Desserts
Banana Wonton with creme anglaise and dark chocolate sauce. Beautiful presentation! The wonton was crispy and the banana filling was delicious. A very yummy dessert! 
Along with our desserts, we had M. Chapoutier 2007 Banyuls Red Dessert Wine and 
2005 Chateau D'arche Sauternes Bordeaux Wine - a very crisp, clean taste. I can taste a touch of orange and a hint of peach, This maybe my new favorite dessert wine. Loved it!



Le Colonial Macaroon - Vanilla ice cream in a coconut macaroon shell drizzled with dark chocolate sauce. 
This was my favorite dessert. We both loved it and what a way to end the meal. 


Overall rating, I am giving this restaurant a 3.5 stars. The dining room was beautiful, romantic and it had a very relaxed atmosphere. I wished the service was little bit better, but the Manager made up for the mishap. The appetizers were wonderful as well as the desserts. I do not mind coming back here for a few appetizers and drinks.

1 comments:

{debbie} said...

Despite you only rating it a 3.5, the pics make everything look SO appetizing!! Getting hungry here!