A group of 6 of us went to try Chanto out on Friday night at 7pm. The place was quiet, with only the few tables around us filled . However, I did not check out the 3rd floor, where the main dining room was, so there may have been more people there. The room is beautiful though. The total came to about 350 for the 6 of us, including drinks, tips and tax. I made it a point to try out some of the items Sethro recommended. The Tebagyo ( teriyaki chicken wing stuffed with pork dumpling) was very good. Crispy on the outside and juicy inside. Upon biting into the stuffed portion, the juices from the pork dumpling flowed out (much like the liquid in xiao long bao's, chinese steamed pork dumplings). Very tasty. The King of Kimchee was also very good. It is basically sashimi mixed with some seasonings/herbs (I forgot what it involved, had pine nuts), then wrapped with a thin layer of kimchee. Originally came in a ball shape, then cut up into four. The seasoning tied the different components together, while the texture of the fish and the kimchee provided an interesting contrast. I'd recommend this. I also had the Teriyaki Foie Gras. It was served over a lotus root pancake that was very interesting. It was crispy on the outside (fried), and mushy on the inside. But upon chewing it, you could taste and feel the crunchiness of the lotus root. Unfortunately, I thought the Foie Gras was a little undersized and plain. I got to sample some of the Sautéed Miso Marinated Black Cod and I'd say that while the fish was perfect, the sauce (I don't know what it was - white, creamy, almost citrusy) was a little too acidic and didn't go well with the fish. My two friends also complained of this and did not seem to enjoy the Black Cod that much. On to the desserts, we tried the Sticky Coconut Cake, White Sesame Tiramisu, and the CHANTO Chocolate Fondant. Sethro was kind enough to come out and greet us and present another dessert for us, something I never got the name of. The desserts were overall very good. Better than the food, a few of us mentioned. The tiramisu was light and tasty. The Coconut cake went very well with the watermelon "dumplings" and the condensed milk gelato. The chocolate fondant was very rich, but well balanced by the plum wine jelly and vanilla ice cream. The most interesting was what Sethro brought out. It was a plate of sesame sweets (?) and strawberries, along with a cup of cold soy soda, with a scoop of caramel gelato(?). I really couldn't tell what it was, but the drink was very refreshing. It was slightly fizzy, not too sweet, with hints of the caramel gelato, and tasted like soy milk. The 3 course prix fixe came with some other complimentary items, such as a baby vegatable appetizier (raw baby veggies, with a anchovy/olive/miso? dip), ginger/plum sushi (to clean the palate apparently, the ginger was a little too overwhelming for me), and an orange/sorbet type dessert (again I missed what this was, but it was good). Overall, we left happy and will probably return again to try some of the other items on the menu. Thanks Sethro for coming out and saying Hi.
