Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Kei (Paris, France)

There is buzz around Paris about a young Japanese chef who is making waves in the French gastronomic world.  All we have read about him and his cooking is that the young chef is absolutely making outstanding French food.

The name of the young Japanese chef is Kei Kobayashi and the name of the restaurant is...Kei. Chef Kei has perfected the discipline of the finest traditions of French gastronomy.  He has been in France for twelve years; first cooking with the famous chef Gilles Goujon's three star Michelin Auberge du Vieux Puits in the Languedoc.  And recently he was cooking with the world famous Alain Ducasse a the Plaza Athenee.


The ambiance of the restaurant is very chic & hi-end...yet; the Japanese staff were very nice and welcoming the moment we walked in the door.  The decor of the restaurant is chic minimalism with a touch of Dior...pearl white walls with no paintings, white table clothes with the finest cutlery & wine glasses and grey carpet to cut the monotonous of the white.  

There are only two menus offered for dinner; Menu 1 for 90 euros and Menu 2 for 110 euros...we of course took the 110 euros menu...we decided to splurge a little bit.

(Since; there were so many dishes and they were so intricate in design and ingredients...I will give my overall thoughts at the end...please enjoy).


The amuse bouche was Mille-fuille fois-gras.  


The first dish was Onion ice-cream with green asparagus powder.  


The second dish was Seasonal salad.  


The third dish was Morels in bouillon.  


The third dish was accompanied with Pata-negra ham on toasted bread


The fourth dish was Seabass.  


The fifth dish was Lobster.  


The sixth dish was Pigeon.  


The seventh dish was a selection of Cheese from a cheese trolley


The eight dish was Seasonal fruit sorbet with seasonal fruits.  


The ninth dish was Chocolate mousse with madeleines.  


The tenth dish was Chocolate mousse with chocolate ganache & chocolate roll.

Overall; WOW!  Stunning!  Amazing!  This was the one of the best meals we have had in a long time in Paris...we are even discussing between ourselves, "was this the best"?  Each dish was a work of art; for example...the garden Zen art salad.  The salad most beautiful dish we have seen in a very long time (my photo does not do this dish justice)...it was so absolutely stunning with vibrant colours and textures from the different seasonal leaves & vegetables.  Oh, and it tasted wonderful.

The ambiance is hi-so, a bit hush hush (people were talking very quietly) and one could even say up-tight.  But; I thought it was very relaxed just because of the very friendly Japanese service staff.  So attentive and helpful.

At 110 euros per menu; that was splurging, but it was so so worth it.  Warning!  The wine list is one of the best wine list in town; however, it only has the BEST labels of France.  That means there was only (if I remember correctly) two wines under 100 euros...OUCH!

Chef Kei's Japanese sensibility in minimalism and design with the combination of his true understanding & perfection of French cuisine.  Chef Kei has delivered an experience we will not forget for a long time.  

Address:  5 rue Coq Héron                
                75001 Paris


Telephone:  01.42.33.14.74


www.restaurant-kei.fr

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