Food Heaven: Gordon Ramsey's The London

I am still mourning the departure of Sonu and Johan from NYC (as well as the departure of all that moolah from my bank account this weekend!). Thankfully there are sweet sweet memories of great times and excellent food to keep me warm!

Friday night we celebrated Sim's and Johan's birthdays at Gordon Ramsey at The London. It was an exceptional experience from start to finish. The service at this restaurant is truly impeccable. I was once in the service industry myself, and I appreciate the undivided attention the staff gives their customers. They have this amazing way of being nowhere and yet everywhere all the time. What I mean by that is, they are so discreet that you feel you have all the privacy you want. And yet, they never stop looking after your needs. When you get up from the table, they are at the door to open it for you in a flash. And when you return, you'll find the napkin you tossed on the chair folded and placed on the table, awaiting your return.

And the meal! Wow ... we started off with some sparkly. I picked a glass of Aubry Rosé which was priced at $26 (good and thankfully not as hard on the pocket as the Brut the boys picked for somewhere around $40 per glass!). We were also presented with some delicious amouse bouche to get our palates ready for the gastronomic onslaught.

We took a looooong time pondering over the menu, as everything seemed so good! I knew what appetizer I wanted right when I sat down and took no time settling on the roasted Hudson Valley foie gras with caramelized plum, preserved black walnuts and green bean salad. I was in pure bliss when I bit into a stack of warm brioche topped with subtly sweet caramelized plum and a wedge of perfectly roasted foie gras. Still gives me mini food orgasms to think about it! I give The London props for not being stingy with the foie gras. There were two very fat slabs on my plate, plus a scoop of foie gras flavored ice cream! I had a love-hate relationship with that ice cream. I'd take a bite and be like, "Oooh that's too much!" But the instant it melted in my mouth, I wanted another bite! Food schizophrenia I tell ya ...

For my entree, I picked pan fried seabass, hearts of palm with bone marrow, confit leeks, sea urchin and vanilla emulsion. It was the mention of uni that got me to order it, but when I got my first bite, the genius of the dish was in the vanilla emulsion. What an amazing sauce that is! The flaky seabass was very good on its own, but smothered in vanilla emulsion, it was on a whole other level of deliciousness! The hearts of palm with bone marrow was so-so; the confit leeks and sea urchin added a welcome bite of freshness to the dish.
Other standout entrees were the roasted breast of duck with red wine glazed figs, sweet corn, and chicken liver rillette and the fillet of Canadian beef with braised short rib, cipollini onions, baby beets and red wine sauce. The duck was delicious but not overwhelming to the arteries in greasiness the way duck typically is. The beef was perfectly medium rare, and was very tender and flavorful.

After the entrees, we cleansed our palates with some sorbet. Then, on to the final indulgence: dessert! The London has an amazing dessert menu that had us pondering for ages it seemed, unable to make a selection. I finally settled on a chocolate mousse (I believe the menu mentions the ingredients being from a single origin, Venezuela, which is quite cool). What a winner dessert that was! I don't have such a sweet tooth so the bitter chocolate has always appealed to me. There was a fruity gellee (passionfruit, I think) that came with the mousse and a light ginger cream. Another very interesting dessert, which Sonu's husband Sim ordered, was the pineapple soufflé with Thai curry ice cream and toasted coconut. He enjoyed it, and I am definitely ordering that the next time I go!

This heavenly dinner came with a $100 price tag (plus drinks, taxes and a much deserved 20% gratuity). Although it will have me subsisting on Top Ramen for the next week, it was well worth it! I would go again!

Where: 151 West 54th St., New York, NY 10019. Tel. (212) 468-8888