Crustacean Beverly Hills

we were treated to a very special dinner in honor of my brother's graduation at the chef's table at the newly RENOVATED crustacean restaurant in beverly hills.  i have never experienced a chef's table before so i was very excited about this, plus the fact that i had not been back to CRUSTACEAn for over 10 years.

to start off we had an amuse bouche of asian pear with smoked salmon wrapped in egg roll wrapper.   the amuse Bouche was tasty it had a nice combination of sweetness from the pear, a creaminess from something inside and a crunch from the egg roll wrapper.   a very tasty first bite.

the first dish was the karate salad of kohlrabi, truffle vinaigrette, and crispy potato from idaho.  the salad tasted like an extremely fancy version of a bag of potato chips.  A bit sour, crispy, crunchy, salty, earthy with a touch of freshness from the shredded kohlrabi.  it was a delicious starter with a good combination of flavors and textures.

the second dish was the wagyu beef on pea toast, pureed avocado and pineapple sauce.  this was so good, i wanted to have another bite or two.  the wagyu beef just melted in your mouth.  it was such A small bite but packed a whol lot of flavor.  We saw the official certificate for the wagyu beef, which even had the nose print from the cow.  

the third dish was a vegan crab cake of hearts of palm with spicy AIOLI.  this had the texture of a crab cake, the hearts of palm could have fooled anyone in texture maybe not the taste of crab.  it was also a very interesting presentation as they had used the whole plate as part of the dish.  this was one of my favorite dishes as the texture, taste, and presentation was beautifully executed.

the fourth dish was a tom yum soup with lamb dumplings and calamari.  what a flavorful soup, the fried calamari was a nice touch for some added texture and flavor.  

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the fifth dish was a duck dumpling with lobster and bone marrow.  the duck dumpling was delicious, the duck was very tender but Unfortunately the lobster was a bit overcooked.  i really liked the addition of the breadcrumbs as it gave some crunchiness to the dish. 

the sixth dish was suckling pig with woven vermicelli.  this dish tasted like vietnam, both sauces on the pork and the vermicelli had elements of vietnamese flavors such as fish sauce and lemongrass.  the crispy skin and the fattiness of the pork belly was of course delectable.  we asked about the woven vermicelli as we have never had it or seen it before in the supermarket and we found out that it is completely handmade, still not completely sure exactly how it was made but we could see that it was very labor intensive.

the seventh dish was dover sole with fresh peas and fava beans with "butter" rice.  The fish was cooked perfectly, the fresh peas and fava beans tasted as they should when they are fresh.  but my favorite part of the dish was the "butter" rice, we had asked what was in the rice as it didn't taste like normal rice and the chef just said that they added a bit of butter but you could taste some seafood in the rice, so maybe they added some lobster or crab broth.  either way it was delicious.

the eight and final dish was the famous garlic noodle with crab and it did not disappoint.  the noodles although garlicky also had a slight sweetness to them, the crab too had a bit of a sweetness.  apparently this recipe is still a family secret that only mrs. an knows, there is even a secret kitchen within the main kitchen where only certain secret dishes come out of.  

 

finally for dessert we had the DECONSTRUCTED upside down pineapple cake.  as we were sitting right in front of the dessert station, we got to see how the plate was assembled and saw what ingredients and elements were added to complete the dish.  it did taste like an upside down pineapple cake with all its elements but in different states and textures.  but i would want to come back to try the coconut cake and beignets we saw them being made and they looked good.

You can see the sign for the secret kitchen in the back as chef Tony Nguyen prepares our food.

what an unique experience, if you are at all interested in food then i would recommend doing a chef's table by the kitchen.  you will get to see first hand the inner workings of the kitchen, how it operates, the different stations, the plating techniques and just how the whole kitchen works together (all kitchens are not like what you see on tv like gordon ramsay).  you are also able to interact with the chef and kitchen staff which you would not normally have the opportunity to, as they want your experience to be interactive.  learned quite a lot just by observing as much as one can while not being too distracted by the food in front.  tony nguyen is the new chef on board who is trying to modernize some of the classical dishes, many of them don't seem particularly vietnamese but more of a mix of different asian and western flavors.  a must try for the new dishes but also for the classics like the garlic and crab noodles.  as it just reopened it was quite busy and very sceney which is common for newly opened places.

Crustacean Beverly Hills

9646 S Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 

http://www.crustaceanbh.com/

los angeles, eat, dinner, beverly hillsJackie Wongcrustacean, garlic noodle, crab, wagyu beef, vegan crab cake, hearts of palm, tom yum, suckling pig, duck, dover sole