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Susur 2005


GordonCooks

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It’s been about a year since my last visit to Susur Lee’s eponymous restaurant on King St. After a dozen or so visits with excellent results, one has to wonder how a restaurant can remain so consistent for so long. Apparently, things start changing around the twelfth visit.

Upon arrival, we were promptly seated and presented with wine list and menus. Every visitor gets the 30-second dissertation regarding the restaurant’s philosophy. Our server seemed new, which may explain a few minor missteps in the meal. The amuse hit the table while I was deep into the wine list and I didn’t catch the description. It tasted good but I couldn’t tell you what it was by flavor. The server offered a couple of wine suggestions; I gave her an order similar to my last visit, which worked fairly well (a CNDP, a Zweigelt, a Gruner Veltliner, and a Huet Vouvray Molleux.) The wine order was given and repeated back to me incorrectly (twice) – I made the correction and we were off. The descriptions for the meal are incomplete due to the fact that I made a point to ask the server if I could have a list of the course descriptions with the check - a request that was forgotten about.

The first meat course was the heartiest and clearly stated something to me – for the first time since I’ve been eating there, Susur was not in the house. The perfect beef was topped by a charred piece of foie gras that must has caught fire it’s own fat in the pan. The Foie’s charcoal flavor and crust over powered an otherwise perfect piece of beef.

Lee2.jpg

The Cornish hen was succulent as always but very familiar. Save for the roasted turnip and croquette, the dish tasted basically the same from the previous trips (not a bad thing considering the tasty spicy green curry)

Lee1.jpg

Next came some beef carpcaccio with thin slices of foie terrine on the top and slow cooked pork loin with two sauces. The carpaccio was quite good but seemed to need one more element to balance the dish or maybe something taken away.

Lee3.jpg

The pork was the biggest surprise – usually one of the high points of any Susur trip, this pork was rather tough and chewy.

Lee4.jpg

After an intermezzo of passion fruit gelatin,

Lee5.jpg

the first fish course arrived: Sablefish

Lee6.jpg

and Sea Bass.

Lee7.jpg

Both were quite good with excellent sauces.

Next came a Crab croquette wrapped in potato

Lee8.jpg

and a seared scallop with I don’t know what.

Lee9.jpg

The croquette was excellent and something I didn’t remember having. The green dome was wasabi mayo and the dark sauce was squid ink. The soup was a hot & sour broth with spinach dumpling.

Lee10.jpg

Maybe my favorite of the night – a perfect broth spiked with rice wine vinegar, mirin, and copious amounts of white pepper – I would have taken a big bowl of broth and some noodles. Desserts were more of the same – a rhubarb sorbet that didn’t tasted like rhubarb, a saffron panne cotta that didn’t taste of saffron, a banana cake that tasted like chocolate, a passion fruit tart, a so-so crème caramel, at least the sugar dome tasted like sugar.

Lee11.jpg

Lee12.jpg

All in all, not the best effort the restaurant has put forth. In their defense, they had a rather raucous 12 top and two sixes during our turn which can put a stain on a kitchen. Maybe some of the staff is new as well – many of the faces were new save for the manager & Kelly Kwan (did he come with the furniture?) Maybe in Kelly’s section, we would have not gotten served an amuse twice (and refused), asked how many courses we have had so far (I think we missed a course as well; or maybe the intermezzo has been promoted to full blown course status) It was also the first time we were not served a dedicated foie gras course – something I would have like to have been told when I ordered the Vourvray Molleux to pair with the foie gras. Taking the missteps into consideration – this would still be a great meal for many a restaurant; But for Susur, this meal was not up to their usual standard – not even close.

Edited by GordonCooks (log)
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Thanks for the review, Gord. I have heard this a couple times lately, from people who were there for the 5, 6 or 10 visits. We had been contemplating going back soon, but I think I'll hold off for awhile and see what transpires....

Barbara Laidlaw aka "Jake"

Good friends help you move, real friends help you move bodies.

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Thanks for the review, Gord.  I have heard this a couple times lately, from people who were there for the 5, 6 or 10 visits.  We had been contemplating going back soon, but I think I'll hold off for awhile and see what transpires....

Sounds like the smart thing to do - Lee is doing big $$ I hear (more then Susur) and probably occupying more of his time. I'll assume then he goes to the all tasting menu format (at Susur) - things will improve

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Great review, Gordon. Thanks very much. Did you make it to Avalon this trip, as you were contemplating earlier? I'm curious to hear what you thought.

Simon

P.S. It sounds like you feel that Susur has lost the culinary edge that many would argue he once had over the rest of Toronto. To whom do you think the torch has been passed?

Thanks for the review, Gord.  I have heard this a couple times lately, from people who were there for the 5, 6 or 10 visits.  We had been contemplating going back soon, but I think I'll hold off for awhile and see what transpires....

Sounds like the smart thing to do - Lee is doing big $$ I hear (more then Susur) and probably occupying more of his time. I'll assume then he goes to the all tasting menu format (at Susur) - things will improve

Edited by sgfrank (log)
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Great review, Gordon. Thanks very much. Did you make it to Avalon this trip, as you were contemplating earlier? I'm curious to hear what you thought.

Simon

P.S. It sounds like you feel that Susur has lost the culinary edge that many would argue he once had over the rest of Toronto. To whom do you think the torch has been passed?

Thanks for the review, Gord.  I have heard this a couple times lately, from people who were there for the 5, 6 or 10 visits.  We had been contemplating going back soon, but I think I'll hold off for awhile and see what transpires....

Sounds like the smart thing to do - Lee is doing big $$ I hear (more then Susur) and probably occupying more of his time. I'll assume then he goes to the all tasting menu format (at Susur) - things will improve

We ate at Canoe on friday and are happy to report that Anthony Walsh's food keeps improving with every visit. I feel that Susur is still one of the top tables in spite of some mis-steps. It seems more like growing pains with LEE taking up time and staff. Look for an overhaul in the upcoming months when they get the tasting menu only set and some fresh faces in there.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Great review, Gordon. Thanks very much. Did you make it to Avalon this trip, as you were contemplating earlier? I'm curious to hear what you thought.

Simon

P.S. It sounds like you feel that Susur has lost the culinary edge that many would argue he once had over the rest of Toronto. To whom do you think the torch has been passed?

Thanks for the review, Gord.  I have heard this a couple times lately, from people who were there for the 5, 6 or 10 visits.  We had been contemplating going back soon, but I think I'll hold off for awhile and see what transpires....

Sounds like the smart thing to do - Lee is doing big $$ I hear (more then Susur) and probably occupying more of his time. I'll assume then he goes to the all tasting menu format (at Susur) - things will improve

We ate at Canoe on friday and are happy to report that Anthony Walsh's food keeps improving with every visit. I feel that Susur is still one of the top tables in spite of some mis-steps. It seems more like growing pains with LEE taking up time and staff. Look for an overhaul in the upcoming months when they get the tasting menu only set and some fresh faces in there.

may i suggest that you consider splendido and thuet the next time you are in toronto.

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Great review, Gordon. Thanks very much. Did you make it to Avalon this trip, as you were contemplating earlier? I'm curious to hear what you thought.

Simon

P.S. It sounds like you feel that Susur has lost the culinary edge that many would argue he once had over the rest of Toronto. To whom do you think the torch has been passed?

Thanks for the review, Gord.  I have heard this a couple times lately, from people who were there for the 5, 6 or 10 visits.  We had been contemplating going back soon, but I think I'll hold off for awhile and see what transpires....

Sounds like the smart thing to do - Lee is doing big $$ I hear (more then Susur) and probably occupying more of his time. I'll assume then he goes to the all tasting menu format (at Susur) - things will improve

We ate at Canoe on friday and are happy to report that Anthony Walsh's food keeps improving with every visit. I feel that Susur is still one of the top tables in spite of some mis-steps. It seems more like growing pains with LEE taking up time and staff. Look for an overhaul in the upcoming months when they get the tasting menu only set and some fresh faces in there.

may i suggest that you consider splendido and thuet the next time you are in toronto.

Both are on the agenda - when Marc was at 'The Fifth" it was my favorite Toronto restaurant at the time.

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  • 2 months later...

Two friends and I visited Susur in late June of 2005, and we all agreed that it was one of the most spectacular meals we’d ever had, on both a food level and as an overall experience. Despite what looked like a bustling crowd next door at Lee, Susur was most definitely in the house, poking his head out of the kitchen for brief reconnaissance of the dining room, and even chatting with us later in the evening when things had slowed-down. The food’s execution reflected his presence, everything was beautifully plated, interestingly conceived, carefully customized, and most importantly, vibrantly delicious.

We were quite impressed with the ability of the kitchen to adjust to food preferences. One of our party is a strict vegetarian, but will eat dairy. I had assumed he’d most likely have to order a vegan tasting menu like I had seen on the Susur website, but in fact they’re ready to do non-vegan vegetarian, and made excellent use of cheese and custard and crème fraiche. In fact, even as an omnivore, I would have been perfectly happy eating that vegetarian menu, it was diverse and stimulating, and a bargain at under $60 (for 5 courses).

The other two of us had the regular 5-course menu, and were glad we opted for that smaller scale, we couldn’t imagine trying to eat the full 7. We had originally planned on having wine parings, but our unintentional over-indulgence at Crush on the stroll down King Street made that option seem a bit less attractive. A bottle of sturdy Alsatian Gewurtz did yeoman’s work, hanging-in with the heavier courses without trampling the lighter ones.

It was too dim where we were sitting for natural-light photos, and I’m just too timid to use a flash in dark restaurants, so sadly, I have no visual aids. Several of the courses looked very similar to Gordon’s excellent photos posted above, even while differing in specific components or sauces. The runners’ descriptions of the courses varied widely in detail and comprehensibility, and although our server made a valiant attempt to write down everything we’d had, it proved impossible to keep track of every nuance. I’ll do my best to recall what all three of us had.

Service was very good, with the exception of some rough spots with delivery of the right plates to the right person. This is usually no more than a minor inconvenience, but with such novel presentations, it was occasionally hard to be confident that the vegetarian diner was indeed getting the vegetarian plate. And indeed he was served an amuse that included a slice of chorizo, but we managed trade plates amongst ourselves to straighten it out. And I had indicated that I couldn’t eat shrimp, but was served a large prawn as part of my final savory course, again easily rectified by swapping plates with my friend across the table. A few of the runners were a little shaky with their descriptions of what we had been presented, but overall, service was nicely paced and professionally executed.

Through the haze of wine, time and over-indulgence, here’s what I can recall of our meal, with the aid of some helpful, but incomplete, notes from our server.

Amuse: I had a small dish of lobster in a sweet gelée, a tiny blini with crème fraiche and something else good…. And sorry, my companions’ offerings looked similar but were gone before I could catalog them!

1st course:

Ostrich with coffee/foie gras sauce.

As fits Susur’s reversed style, this first offering was big and bold. Two large medallions of rare ostrich meat, by far the most tender I’d ever encountered, were seated in an intense, dark sauce. We couldn’t help laughing about the image of over-caffeinated ostriches racing around the kitchen a few hours earlier, but we wouldn’t be surprised, the bitter edge of the coffee melded so nicely with the rich meat that the birds themselves might have been hopped-up on joe.

Roasted Squab, Apricot Sauce, Swiss Potato.

We surmised that some statement might have been inherent in the contrast of the very large ostrich and the tiny squab, but we’re not sure what it is. The squab’s breast meat was tender and flavorful, but was upstaged by the crisp, slightly fatty, much deeper-flavored meat from the leg. That rich, somehow almost bacony flavor from the leg contrasted beautifully with the tangy apricot sauce and crescents of the poached fruit. The swiss potato, which reappeared in one of the vegetarian courses, was a perfectly roasted small spud, split and placed atop a fried potato cake.

Gnocchi of taro/chestnut/wild rice, with Three Cheese Tomato Sauce.

I’m not sure I could pick out taro, chestnut, or wild rice (but this is what our server wrote down for us) but from the small taste I stole, these were fluffy, light gnocchi, in a rich tomato sauce, stringy with cheese. A few leaves of crisp parmesan frico protruded from the deep metal bowl in which the gnocchi was served.

2nd course:

Bison Carpaccio with Torcheon of Foie Gras.

This is very similar to the dish Gordon photographed above, but without the pork loin, the thin slices placed over lacy fried Chinese noodles. Despite the luxe ingredients, this was relatively light and refreshing. It was quite tasty in a completely different way from the corresponding foie course.

4-way Foie Gras: Tourchon on Brioche, Cannoli with Pistachio/Foie Gras Mousse, Seared Foie Gras on 5-spice cracker, Chocolate Foie Gras Flan.

Ironically, I have been complaining about what I thought was excessive, pointless use of foie gras at some restaurants recently, which has given me a reputation as a foie grump. If there’s a course to cure that cynicism, this is probably it. Each one of these bite-or-two-sized portions was head-spinningly decadent, yet never too-much. The cold torcheon on a tiny toasted wafer had a completely different taste and mouth-feel from the warm seared cube’s caramelized edges and crunchy cracker. The cannoli’s sweet, crisp shell giving way to the runny, buttery, nutty filling was almost the ultimate expression, but was edged-out by the shotglass full of buttery richness capped with a soft bittersweet layer of chocolate. Wow.

Ricotta/Spinach Tart with Tomato Jam.

This was one of the highlights of the vegetarian track, an artful mélange of hot and cold, sweet and savory, creamy and firm. The central cheesy tart was set above a cool tomato sauce, thinly-sliced, tomatoes shingled around the perimeter, a layer of potatoes skirting the tomato, some leaves of summer truffles sprinkled around. The contrast of temperatures and flavors really enhanced these ingredients, we all marveled at how well this worked despite how it seemed that the elements might clash.

3rd Course:

Salmon Roll, Ume, Mustard, Wasabi sauces

This was effectively thin slices of a light, refreshing Maki, with egg taking the place of the rice one would expect in a traditional sushi roll. Dots of sour purple plum sauce, yellow mustard and green wasabi made for an attractive plate.

Sablefish in Miso Sauce, Lilybulb Purée, Fried Leeks

This closely resembled Gordon’s photo above, perfectly moist, almost falling-apart fish, with a nice crusty, broiled surface. No curry this time, but the sauce tinged with white miso dovetailed beautifully with the sweet, starchy lilybulb.

Swiss Potato, Chickpea puree, Mushrooms

It’s hard to believe that a roasted potato and potato croquette could sustain a whole dish, but it did…

4th course:

Scallop Cake, Cuttlefish, Prawn, Dill Spinach Flan

We were really getting full by now, and I sincerely wonder if we might have found this more interesting earlier in the meal. But the slightly dull shellfish mousse, re-formed into a small scallop-looking disc, was paired with an intense, weird, dark sauce we couldn’t identify, and might have been the only thing none of us liked. The small piece of cuttlefish and large prawn were fresh and simply prepared, quite tasty but not especially thrilling.

Soft Shell Crab, Tropical Salsa, Mint puree, Chipotle, fried chile pepper

The crab was breaded in a light tempura-like batter with a spicy edge, and would have been quite tasty on its own, but a dice of mango and a deep-green herb puree that was mintier than seems physically possible exposed new dimensions of the sweet crabmeat. A small slice of roasted chipotle, and a deep-fried chile sounded the opposite flavor notes for contrast.

White Asparagus Salad and White Asparagus Vichyssoise.

This crisp, cool salad of thin white asparagus and apple, accompanied by a creamy cold soup was well-liked, even though that diner doesn’t normally care for asparagus in any form.

5th course:

There was such a dizzying array of desserts between the three of us, I’m afraid that I can’t remember them all. I really enjoyed an intense passionfruit flan and apricot tart, but the strawberry ice cream was a bit blah. A broad stripe of strawberry sauce was quite good, but a little superfluous, except to make a dramatic visual statement. Across the table, a two-tiered display of small offerings was quickly devoured. For an instant or two it featured a tiny skewer of blueberries with a drizzle of sauce, a strawberry dipped in white chocolate, and stuffed with vanilla pudding, a chocolate-walnut tart, a layered opera cake, a tiny cannoli, and a shotglass of coffee-flavored custard. And that was for one person…. I’m sorry that I don’t recall details of the third plate, but I do remember that it included a subtle pannacotta-like custard that quietly transformed: not too exciting at first, but really delicious by the end.

Overall, we thought this was a masterfully-executed meal, and even the one or two things that failed to thrill were interesting and well-made. The sheer variety of the several components of five courses of three completely different menus boggles the mind. And none of those elements seemed like afterthoughts, each piece felt carefully-considered and meticulously constructed. This was a consistently interesting and pleasing succession of flavors and textures.

I’m not sure what to make of the reverse tasting concept, our courses got a little bit lighter, but not much smaller as time went by, and I suppose we were relieved that we weren’t completely stuffed by the time the heaviest plate arrived. But I think I’d be happy to eat this food in any order at all.

At the end of the night, all three of us were trying to devise excuses for a return visit to Toronto, purely to eat at Susur again, so I guess that says all one needs to say! I suppose there’s always a concern about the level of oversight a jet-setting celeb chef with multiple kitchens can provide, but I can say from one visit that, at least when Susur’s in the house, his restaurant can provide a very exciting and enjoyable meal. I can’t wait to go back.

Edited by philadining (log)

"Philadelphia’s premier soup dumpling blogger" - Foobooz

philadining.com

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  • 2 months later...

Susur's prices for tasting menus can change depending on what you request (e.g. insisting on a foie gras course puts the price up). I've had a 5 course at $85 and a 9 course at $150. I typically choose my price point and accept the # of dishes that arrive! I'm rarely disappointed.

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We did a five-course in June, and it was a little over $100 if I recall correctly. There was a foie gras course, we didn't ask for it specifically, but were happy with it when it came! And as described upthread, one of our party had a pretty spectacular 5-course vegetarian tasting for about $60.

It is odd, there's no reference to cost on the website, and even at the table, the prices weren't mentioned in the descriptions of the options. Of course we could have asked, but we decided that we didn't care, and only went for the 5-course because of the amount of food we wanted, rather than concern about expense. Next time, I'll do 7, just out of curiosity, but we didn't leave hungry after 5.

"Philadelphia’s premier soup dumpling blogger" - Foobooz

philadining.com

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  • 9 months later...

I suppose this doesn't quite belong in the topic Susur 2005, as it recounts a dinner in June of 2006, but for the sake of keeping the topics together, I'll just tack it on...

There seem to be a lot of Susur skeptics in this forum, and I won't argue with anyone else's impressions, but mine have been overwhelmingly positive. This was my second dinner there, each time our table ended up with three separate tasting menus: one vegetarian, the other two the usual alternating anything-goes.

Kelly Kwan promised to send me a more detailed list of our dishes, so I'll update with more accurate descriptions when I get them, but in the meantime, here are some pics, and basic descriptions. (Apologies for the image grain, it was very dim, and I didn't want to annoy anyone with the flash...)

Vegetarian amuse:

gallery_23992_3043_1565.jpg

(The bowl held a gelée of Gazpacho, the stack on the end had goat cheese, hazelnuts, beets, and something else... )

Amuse (each got all three)

gallery_23992_3043_14053.jpg

gallery_23992_3043_79942.jpg

gallery_23992_3043_53044.jpg

I have already forgotten what the little scallop-looking thing was, except that it was delicious, but the others were an impossibly creamy lobster mousse, surrounding lobster meat, on an herb sauce; and a refreshing slice of citrus in gelée.

1st Course

gallery_23992_3043_39226.jpg

Roasted Artichokes, Baby Leek, desiccated tomato

gallery_23992_3043_20204.jpg

Cornish Hen v1

gallery_23992_3043_54959.jpg

Cornish Hen v2

2nd Course

gallery_23992_3043_52447.jpg

Belgian White Asparagus, Morells

gallery_23992_3043_40755.jpg

Foie Gras wrapped in Beef Carpaccio

to be dipped in hot broth:

gallery_23992_3043_3601.jpg

gallery_23992_3043_2561.jpg

Seared Foie Gras with wine reduction and grapes, Fried Vermicelli cage

gallery_23992_3043_5148.jpg

3rd Course

gallery_23992_3043_4239.jpg

Fried Tofu with spicy Thai sauce

gallery_23992_3043_83974.jpg

Sablefish with Crab Sauce

gallery_23992_3043_34678.jpg

Sablefish with sweet corn sauce, corn cake

4th Course

gallery_23992_3043_78734.jpg

Vegetable Tempura

gallery_23992_3043_36627.jpg

Softshell Crab Tempura

gallery_23992_3043_130292.jpg

Grilled Prawns (several of them....)

5th Course

gallery_23992_3043_25197.jpg

Tomato Soup, Roasted Onion, Black Olive oil, Tomato Gelée

(2 of us got this)

gallery_23992_3043_30821.jpg

Another appearance of the white asparagus (for a different diner)

6th Course

gallery_23992_3043_41388.jpg

Strawberry Sorbet, Rhubarb compote, over dry ice

7th course

Too many desserts to count... there was a whole tier i didn't photograph...

gallery_23992_3043_2349.jpg

gallery_23992_3043_1218.jpg

It was an exciting, surprising, and most importantly, delicious meal. Last year i encountered a couple of things that were interesting, but not all that pleasing, but this time, every bit of every course was extremely tasty, in addition to being stimulating and attractive. The patterns of plating were interesting, with visual echos between many of the plates, a few common ingredients, but always recontextualized, rather than simply repeated. The dish that appeared twice, the asparagus, was so delicious, just about singing with a tarragon-righ creamy sauce, I wouldn't think to complain about redundancy. I hadn't had a chance to taste it, only heard how great it was, so I was thrilled to have a plate of it myself later.

Service was paced perfectly, Kelly made some excellent wine suggestions, and kept everything running like clockwork. I hope he didn't see us joking about his smooth, balletic rearrangement of our glassware and place settings between each course, we appreciated it, it just got increasingly humorous. I'm sure he was making the proper space for the next course, but we suspect just a touch of obsessive-compulsive desire for symmetry...

Our impression was of absolutely top-notch, scrupulously fresh ingredients, imaginatively conceived and skillfully prepared. A few of the servers delivering plates had pretty thick accents, making the fairly complicated descriptions a little tricky to follow, but we just listened more carefully.

Overall, as last year, one of the most interesting and satisfying meals I've ever had. And outside of Per Se and the French Laundry, one of the few vegetarian menus I've seen that accomplishes this level of artistry and sophistication.

7-course vegetarian menu - about $75

7-course full menu - about $125

worth every penny, if you ask me.

more details about the menu as I get them.

Edited by philadining (log)

"Philadelphia’s premier soup dumpling blogger" - Foobooz

philadining.com

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As always, nice report and great photos! I am very happy to see that Susur is not losing anything as I had one of the better and more memorable meals of my life there so far.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

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That looks surprisingly fabulous and better than I recall from my visit years back. Your views may have just precipitated my return. :biggrin:

Edited by mkjr (log)

officially left egullet....

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I suppose this doesn't quite belong in the topic Susur 2005, as it recounts a dinner in June of 2006, but for the sake of keeping the topics together, I'll just tack it on... 

There seem to be a lot of Susur skeptics in this forum, and I won't argue with anyone else's impressions, but mine have been overwhelmingly positive.  This was my second dinner there, each time our table ended up with three separate tasting menus: one vegetarian, the other two the usual alternating anything-goes.

Kelly Kwan promised to send me a more detailed list of our dishes, so I'll update with more accurate descriptions when I get them, but in the meantime, here are some pics, and basic descriptions. (Apologies for the image grain, it was very dim, and I didn't want to annoy anyone with the flash...)

Vegetarian amuse:

gallery_23992_3043_1565.jpg

(The bowl held a gelée of Gazpacho, the stack on the end had goat cheese, hazelnuts, beets, and something else... )

Amuse (each got all three)

gallery_23992_3043_14053.jpg

gallery_23992_3043_79942.jpg

gallery_23992_3043_53044.jpg

I have already forgotten what the little scallop-looking thing was, except that it was delicious, but the others were an impossibly creamy lobster mousse, surrounding lobster meat, on an herb sauce; and a refreshing slice of citrus in gelée.

1st Course

gallery_23992_3043_39226.jpg

Roasted Artichokes, Baby Leek, desiccated tomato

gallery_23992_3043_20204.jpg

Cornish Hen v1

gallery_23992_3043_54959.jpg

Cornish Hen v2

2nd Course

gallery_23992_3043_52447.jpg

Belgian White Asparagus, Morells

gallery_23992_3043_40755.jpg

Foie Gras wrapped in Beef Carpaccio

to be dipped in hot broth:

gallery_23992_3043_3601.jpg

gallery_23992_3043_2561.jpg

Seared Foie Gras with wine reduction and grapes, Fried Vermicelli cage

gallery_23992_3043_5148.jpg

3rd Course

gallery_23992_3043_4239.jpg

Fried Tofu with spicy Thai sauce

gallery_23992_3043_83974.jpg

Sablefish with Crab Sauce

gallery_23992_3043_34678.jpg

Sablefish with sweet corn sauce, corn cake

4th Course

gallery_23992_3043_78734.jpg

Vegetable Tempura

gallery_23992_3043_36627.jpg

Softshell Crab Tempura

gallery_23992_3043_130292.jpg

Grilled Prawns (several of them....)

5th Course

gallery_23992_3043_25197.jpg

Tomato Soup, Roasted Onion, Black Olive oil, Tomato Gelée

(2 of us got this)

gallery_23992_3043_30821.jpg

Another appearance of the white asparagus (for a different diner)

6th Course

gallery_23992_3043_41388.jpg

Strawberry Sorbet, Rhubarb compote, over dry ice

7th course

Too many desserts to count... there was a whole tier i didn't photograph...

gallery_23992_3043_2349.jpg

gallery_23992_3043_1218.jpg

It was an exciting, surprising, and most importantly, delicious meal.  Last year i encountered a couple of things that were interesting, but not all that pleasing, but this time, every bit of every course was extremely tasty, in addition to being stimulating and attractive.  The patterns of plating were interesting, with visual echos between many of the plates, a few common ingredients, but always recontextualized, rather than simply repeated.  The dish that appeared twice, the asparagus, was so delicious, just about singing with a tarragon-righ creamy sauce,  I wouldn't think to complain about redundancy. I hadn't had a chance to taste it, only heard how great it was, so I was thrilled to have a plate of it myself later.

Service was paced perfectly, Kelly made some excellent wine suggestions, and kept everything running like clockwork.  I hope he didn't see us joking about his smooth, balletic rearrangement of our glassware and place settings between each course, we appreciated it, it just got increasingly humorous.  I'm sure he was making the proper space for the next course, but we suspect just a touch of obsessive-compulsive desire for symmetry...

Our impression was of absolutely top-notch, scrupulously fresh ingredients,  imaginatively conceived and skillfully prepared.  A few of the servers delivering plates had pretty thick accents, making the fairly complicated descriptions a little tricky to follow, but we just listened more carefully.

Overall, as last year, one of the most interesting and satisfying meals I've ever had. And outside of Per Se and the French Laundry, one of the few vegetarian menus I've seen that accomplishes  this level of artistry and sophistication.

7-course vegetarian menu - about $75

7-course full menu - about $125

worth every penny, if you ask me.

more details about the menu as I get them.

Looks like Susur is back and in a big way - Kelly Kwan is the only way to fly when dining there. Did any of you spill a drop in the table? It's always an instantaneous napkin covering the offending droplet :laugh: Did you photoshop those pix or is there way more lighting in the dining room now?

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Service was paced perfectly, Kelly made some excellent wine suggestions, and kept everything running like clockwork.  I hope he didn't see us joking about his smooth, balletic rearrangement of our glassware and place settings between each course, we appreciated it, it just got increasingly humorous.  I'm sure he was making the proper space for the next course, but we suspect just a touch of obsessive-compulsive desire for symmetry...

Looks like Susur is back and in a big way - Kelly Kwan is the only way to fly when dining there. Did any of you spill a drop in the table? It's always an instantaneous napkin covering the offending droplet :laugh: Did you photoshop those pix or is there way more lighting in the dining room now?

we were very impressed with Kelly as well when we were there. I can approve of the obsessive-compulsive pursuit of perfect symmetry (mostly because I empathize too).

there was also a point where he was at the table clearing with 2 other servers; all 3 made eye contact and each lifted a plate simultaneously, on Kelly's cue. 2 of us smiled about it (it _did_ look a little funny if you were paying attention), but the rest of our 6-top didn't notice and I'm sure it became part of the "background perfection".

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oh, those photos look great! I'm drooling at the thought of softshell crab too... and so many desserts! *__*

I've been to Susur a couple times now and I've had a great meal both times. I have some photos from hmmm.. 2002 (I think), and from New Year's Eve '04 too. From what I can tell, the plating has gotten more elaborate since!

Maybe it's time for a trip back... !

foodpr0n.com 11/01/17: A map of macarons in Toronto // For free or for a fee - bring your bottle! corkagetoronto.com

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Looks like Susur is back and in a big way - Kelly Kwan is the only way to fly when dining there. Did any of you spill a drop in the table? It's always an instantaneous napkin covering the offending droplet :laugh:

Agreed, I don't mean to poke fun at Kelly, he was great: extremely professional, without being stuffy, in fact he was very friendly and funny. And yes, we had a slight drip on our tablecloth, which was covered by a napkin about 37 milliseconds after it was revealed...

Did you photoshop those pix or is there way more lighting in the dining room now?

No, it was pretty dim, so these pix are the result of some slow exposures with a wide-open fast lens, in RAW mode, and some Photoshop tweaking. Oh, and one flash for the dry-ice, the dining room was pretty empty by then. So the plates were even prettier in person! Edited by philadining (log)

"Philadelphia’s premier soup dumpling blogger" - Foobooz

philadining.com

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:wub::smile: My oh my, it makes one want to call for a reservation. Really when you think what this quality of food and service would cost elsewhere, it is very reasonably priced. BTW just for future reference what was the cost all in (food wine, tax and tip)?
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:wub:  :smile: My oh my, it makes one want to call for a reservation. Really when you think what this quality of food and service would cost elsewhere, it is very reasonably priced.  BTW just for future reference what was the cost all in (food wine, tax and tip)?

I agree that it's an excellent value for the quality of the food and experience overall.

My companions were not big wine-drinkers, so we were pretty conservative on the grape consumption, sharing a bottle of Cave Springs Gewurtz for most courses. I expressed an interest in something red for the earlier (heavier) courses, and Kelly graciously arranged short pours of some very nice Rhone for two of us, effectively splitting a glass.

Again, more testimony to the professionalism of Kelly Kwan: I didn't know what food was coming, which made it a little hard to anticipate what wine matches might be appropriate, he could have easily sold me a bottle of something, but he accurately gaged that we didn't need lots of heavy reds for this menu. But we did need a little... And he steered us to a Gewurtz that was complex enough to be a good companion for the food, yet approachable enough for my friends to enjoy (they were out of my first choice).

All-in, three of us spent about $500 CDN ($160-ish per person), it was just over $400 before tip. But remember, one of us had the less-expensive vegetarian menu, and we didn't drink much wine, and what we did drink was very reasonably-priced.

"Philadelphia’s premier soup dumpling blogger" - Foobooz

philadining.com

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