Paulbrussel and UE, big thanks to you two. Five nights in Belgium, we went to all three 3 Michelin Star restaurants in Belgium, a 3MStar in Netherland and a 2MStar in Belgium: Comme Chez Soi, De Karmeliet, Hof Van Cleve, detour to Netherland for Oud Sluis, and Sea Grill at last. UE, we did print out your review on HvC and OS to read before the dinner just to get an expectation of the meal. They were very useful reviews. Paulbrussel, you are right, CCSoi is the most expensive and the worst among these five restaurants.... I should have listened to you. But I did try Sea Grill's Pressed Brittany Lobster as you suggested, it is very interesting.... also very very expensive!!! (See below.) Comme Chez Soi (3 MStar; World Ranking 49) It is a very small restaurant. I sat closer to the person in the next table than to my fiancee. (That's why we ended up talking to the table next to us throughout the meal. The worst 3 MStar that couple has been to is ADucasse in MonteCarlo. They said it is way over priced. Any of you have been there?) Our meal at CCSoi was good, but not good enough for our expectation of a 3 MStar. It reminded us of our experience at Gordon Ramsay, nothing impressive. The service wasn't up to standard either. There were many times that our glasses were empty and dishes were placed on our table without explanation of what there were. Because the tables were put one next to another, whenever my fiancee wanted to go to the toilet, our table had to be moved either by the waiter or by ourselves, disturbing our neighbors. De Karmeliet (3 MStar; World Ranking 47) Brugge is a very nice old town, which is a big contrast when we entered into this 3 MStar -- modern design, which is what we like. We loved the lounge area where they served us champagne and amuse bouche. It has a view of its beautiful garden. After a taste of the amuse bouche, we knew we would enjoy the dinner much more than CCSoi. And we were right! Menu Brugge Die Scone: Carpaccio of tomatoes, lobster and cream of coral Frog's Legs, crayfish and sweetbreads Coconut and curry King Prawn, pan-sauteed foie gras Bass, cuttlefish and basil oil Baked Pigeon, slice of pork with spices Hot Chocolate Dessert Hof Van Cleve (3 MStar; World Ranking 23) The restaurant is in the middle of nowhere... it is farmland everywhere. Good that we are able to find it without any trouble. After our wonderful experience in DK the night before, we really had a high expectation for HvC because it sounds more interesting from many reviews. And yes, Chef Goossens did deliver more than what we expected. We really did enjoy every course of our meal. A well deserved 3 MStar. Oud Sluis (3 MStar; World Ranking 19) We had to drive into Netherland just for this restaurant. We were late for an hour since our mapquest instruction didn't quite work for this remote area. Finally, we did arrive at this small town and drove into a crowded small town square where people don't care even if you run them over. (We weren't sure if we can drive into that road full of people until we confirmed with few locals.) The meal was interesting as it was Fat Duck style - molecular gastronomy, but I have to say Fat Duck is definitely better. Sea Grill (2 MStar) This is the place where we had, and probably will ever have, the most expensive lobster in our life. $22 Euro for 100g of lobster. I thought I can order 300g, but no, you have to get a whole lobster and they brought out a small live lobster which is 1.3kg!!! Since there are only 4 Lobster Press in the world, we had to try it. The lobster dish was extremely good, but I don't know if it is worth that much. Well, I guess it is for the experience in seeing how they use the press and prepare the lobster in front of you. What is more important is that we made good friend with the director. He was impressed that we had four 3 MStar in four days. So we had a long conversation about other 3MStar restaurants in Europe. He has been to all of them. We traded business card and he asked me to email him anytime if I need help in getting reservation in restaurants in Europe. He has really good connections. (Btw, he also did not recommend going to ADucasse in MonteCarlo.) Paulbrussel, thanks again for suggesting Sea Grill. For starter, we had "Lobster and Sweetbread with Honey and Spices", and "Dublin Prawn and Pan Fried Goose Liver".
