Friday night was arguably the most gluttonous night of I ever had – a pre-dinner tasting at P*Ong, a full blown tapas feast at Alta and post-dinner desserts at the Dessert Truck. I don’t know how I actually survived but it was pretty darn awesome, especially with a group of good friends to enjoy it with me.
As a fair warning, some of my photos will be blurry due to a variety of reasons that cause camera shake, mainly the poor lighting, so just bear with me on several blips and hopefully your vision is still intact from figuring out the images before you…
P*Ong
I planned the pre-dinner outing at P*Ong with Ariel and Jessica for being curious about pastry chef Pichet Ong’s food and the location since it’s so close to Alta. My intention really was to get a small tasting flight and move on to the actual dinner.
Interior
The interior is very sleek and minimalist, pillows strewn along the banquette seating. The bar is where most of the action takes place where two chefs actually create dishes in this small setting.
Once we were all seated and took several minutes thinking about what to eat – we ended up choosing a dish for ourselves and share a nibble or two. Ariel ordered the chocolate foie gras taco, I ordered the Stilton soufflé and Jessica wanted the kabocha bread pudding. It took a long time for the kitchen to produce our dishes since we all talked a while and Ariel commented the fact that he’s getting hungry and the kitchen’s taking their time getting our food out. But in good time, they finally served it the moment after Ariel said it.
Foie gras tacosAriel’s chocolate foie gras taco sounded like the weirdest thing on the menu, hence his reason to choose (besides his love for foie). Somehow, the odd combination of chocolate, foie gras, pineapple, and cognac all worked so well like a well composed symphony that it blew our minds. The sweet, slightly acidic pineapple lightened the dense flavors of the foie; the chocolate taco shell added a delicate, earthy, bittersweetness; and the cognac well…added a faint hint of citrusy booze. The condiments emphasized the greatness of the foie gras. Ariel and I agreed in vague terms that this dish was an aphrodisiac. Long live the fatty duck liver.
Soufflé…de-puffed
Kabocha Bread PuddingJessica’s kabocha bread pudding was not what I would normally think as bread pudding. The bread pieces in this pudding is diced so finely that it doesn’t gel like bread pudding normally would be – it’s all mush. In terms of taste, it’s balanced nicely with pumpkin and spices of nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice but nothing really struck me as great as the foie gras taco. The ricotta ice cream that accompanied the bread pudding was fine albeit it tasted more vanilla-like than ricotta.
(Blurry) blondies served with the check
After we finished our food, we asked for the check since we have to hop over to Alta for the actual dinner. Technically, this check almost equivalate to how much we all paid at Alta (that post is going to be written soon). We were served small chunks of blondies with the check. I’m not a fan of blondies just because it’s not intensely chocolate-y as a brownie. Since a blondie is the opposite of a brownie but I ate it anyway. It’s moist, warm and the chocolate used in it was of good quality.
Do I like P*Ong? I’m in ambivalent since I love that foie gras dish and the lukwarm reception to the rest of the dishes. I would give them a second chance.
Please stay tuned for the remainder of the evening…
Address:
P*Ong
150 W 10th Street
New York, NY 10014
February 14, 2008 at 10:26 pm
I enjoyed Pong immensely. But I think it’s a little like WD50. You need to go the tasting menu route. Some things are great, some are not so great but very interesting. The one major letdown for me was the stilton souffle as you mentioned. It’s a boring dish compared to everything else. Definitely go again.
February 15, 2008 at 11:18 am
Tony: In regards to your comment about WD-50, that would be in the savory courses since the time I tried out their food back in December, there were hits and misses. However, I loved every single dessert I had at WD. I’ll try P*Ong again sometime soon.
February 16, 2008 at 1:21 am
i went when they first opened and i wasn’t inclined to return. if i lived in NYC, i might, hoping they improve.
i think Tailor, different but in the same school, executes much better (despite the lack of praise for the place.)
- chuck
February 16, 2008 at 8:54 am
Chuck: I do hope P*Ong does improve within a few months. I do agree that both chefs are from the same school – mingling the sweet and savory flavors in hopes to produce something profound.
I was thinking about going to Tailor but I’m postponing this particular place since I have reservations to a different restaurant next weekend.
February 18, 2008 at 1:51 pm
[...] of saving you some of my dreadfully blurry photos. This post is continuing on the evening after the “amuse-bouche” at P*Ong (as Ariel called it) and moving on to the real dinner at Alta. So, here we [...]