Benu

22 Hawthorne St
(at Howard St)
San Francisco, CA 94105

Occasion: Celebrating Henry's birthday and his first day at his new job! We both decided to go for the 16 course tasting menu. 02.22.12

*2 Michelin Stars*

I appreciate restaurants with decor that is more classic, cozy and old fashioned, the bf is completely opposite.  He likes and appreciates restaurants with very chic and modern interior designs, which is why Benu was the perfect place to take him to celebrate.  The bf was more than excited to be dining at Corey Lee's restaurant and see what he had to offer, since he was the Chef de cuisine at The French Laundry prior to opening Benu.

Coming from a 3 Michelin Star rated restaurant, expectations were high, but I was a little skeptical.  I mean how could someone from French Laundry open a restaurant specializing in Asian Fusion Cuisine.  All doubts were taken away after the first course came and by the end of the night, I was blown away by each and every dish that was served to us.  Each dish was not only unique, but also very creative.  It was definitely an unforgettable experience.

Pinot for me and Cabernet for him

Nori buckwheat lavash with sesame seeds

Most restaurants serve complimentary breads, some serve other knick knacks.  I was intrigued with this lavash, that looked quite simple, but so full of flavor.  It was light, crunchy and not messy at all.  Almost like a healthy version of chips. Just check out the detail on the lavash.

Thousand year old quail egg, potage and ginger

I know the idea of quail egg might steer people away from this dish, but I basically grew up on this stuff so it doesn't scare me.  It pretty much has the same texture as chicken eggs, but so much more flavorful.  The creamy soup base had finely chopped ginger pieces that not only added texture, but also a nice sweet spice to the dish.  This dish definitely showcases a twist of your classic Chinese porridge into something completely fusion.

Oyster with pork belly and kimchi

Creative, innovative, beautiful and phenomenal tasting dish.  A time sensitive dish that should be eaten almost immediately after serving because of the way it is prepared.  Such a small bite, but full of delicious flavors.  The Massachusetts oyster was plump, juicy and sweet while the pork belly was flavorful in a ground up form.  I knew I tasted the kimchi spice, but I wasn't sure where that element of the dish was.  I was told by our waiter that the delicate bowl that holds the pork belly and oyster is actually made with a kimchi reduction.  The texture of the kimchi reduction bowl reminded me that of rice paper; the second it touched my tongue, it melted and the marriage of flavors all exploded in my mouth. He described in full detail the process in which it takes to create that one element of of the dish; which takes a few days.  I was so intrigued by the amount of work put into this dish and was nothing less than impressed.

Monkfish liver, sour cherry, pistachio, cauliflower and cherry blossom brioche

Brioche was warm, flavorful and delicious.  The tart sour cherry jam complemented the rich flavor of the monkfish liver perfectly.  There was definitely a play in textures in this dish; the creamy texture of the monkfish liver and the pistachio cauliflower butter went really well as a spread over the slightly crispy brioche.  Shaved pieces of cauliflower also added a crunchy texture, complementing the creaminess of the monkfish liver and the pistachio cauliflower butter.  Another well thought out and executed dish by the chef.

Eel, feuille de brick, creme friache and lime

Another favorite dish of the night.  Interesting technique used where the eel was wrapped with a pastry sheet.  It was served warm.  It reminded me of those Chinese wafer cookies, except stuffed with delicious and flavorful eel meat.  The creme friache with the hint of lime flavor really complemented the eel very well.  It looked so simple, but tasted extraordinary. I was again impressed with the creativity of another one of his dishes.

potato, egg white, caviar and bonito

Another beautifully presented dish that came out in what looked like a glass cup.  The base of this had the taste and consistency of mashed potatoes and it was topped with diced up chunks of egg whites, caviar and bonito.  The creaminess of the mashed potatoes with the gelatinous egg whites and the caviar popping in my mouth with each bite, just went very well together. Unlike the previous dish, it came out as more of a cold dish. Oh did I mention that gold flakes were sprinkled on top as a garnish, which definitely added to the presentation of the dish.

Carmelized anchovy, lily bulb, peanuts and pickles

My anchovies made a heart shape, how cute. Doesn't the ingredients of this dish sound interesting? I'm going to be honest.  I was quite skeptical of this dish, but once I tried it my mind was changed.  The carmelized anchovies, had a hint of sweetness to it that was not too much.  The pickles were house made and complemented the sweet lily bulb very well.  From what I can recall, it seemed as though the peanut chunks were inside the lily bulb which had a gelatinous texture. Simple, but still flavorful.

hearts of palm, date, chicken- ginseng jelly

We both agreed that it was our least favorite dish of the night.  My favorite component of the dish were the pieces of hearts of palm, which I enjoyed by itself.  The chicken-ginseng jelly was just a little bit weird for me.  I grew up in a Chinese family who made a lot of those Chinese herbal ginseng soups.  I appreciate the chef's attempt to recreate chicken ginseng soup in another form other than liquid, but the taste and the texture, just did not work well for me.  The dates were overly sweet and the ginseng jelly tasted herbal, with an overpowering sweetness from the dates. One dish, I wish I didn't try.

Salt and pepper squid

The black chip is made of tapioca starch with squid ink mixed into it, giving it it's black color. It was deep fried, crispy and reminded me a lot of those Asian shrimp chips that you can buy at the Asian supermarkets or the ones they serve at Chinese restaurants with your roasted chicken.  It was topped with cilantro, dehydrated garlic, garlic foam , squid confit and chili powder. It was definitely one of our favorites, as each bite was bursting with flavors. Delicious.

Foie Gras Xiao Long Baos

Isn't the presentation super adorable? Looks like a a real steamer where you make XLB's.  The skin was thin and delicate and they were stuffed with pork meat and a chunk of foie gras. The foie gras does not take away from the juicy flavors of the meat, but instead enhances the flavor of each xiao long bao.  Probably the most expensive xiao long baos I've had, but they were so worth it.  Another great twist to a very traditional shanghainese/ taiwanese favorite.  It was another favorite of ours.

Chicken velvet, abalone, mushroom abalone and crysanthemum

The texture reminded me of steamed eggs, like the ones you can find at Korean restaurants.  It's a classic dish I've had as a child, but different variation.  The texture is very soft and velvet, almost like tofu soft.  Mushrooms and abalone gave it a crunchy/ cartilage like texture. Served warm and absolute flavorful.  I can totally imagine eating this at a Asian family's household. 

Hokkaido sea cucumber stuffed with shrimp, cucumber, onion and fermented pepper
I've never been a big fan of sea cucumber, but I've got to give it to Chef Corey Lee for yet another innovative dish, but stuffing the sea cucumber with shrimp. The slimy yet crunchy texture of the sea cucumber combined with the stuffed sweet shrimp meat was something different for me. My favorite part of this dish was the onion puree, as it was mushy and absolutely flavorful. The fermented pepper definitely added a spicy component to the dish that I'm not sure my taste buds were too fond of.

Duck, celery, scallion, Shaoxing wine with a black truffle bun

As soon as they placed this on our table I was drawn by the aroma of this dish.  The duck was cooked perfectly and absolutely tender.  We loved the flavors and the textures.

The black truffle bun is simple, but spiced up with truffle flavors and stuffed with duck meat. So delectable.

Beef braised in pear, beech mushroom, sunflower seeds and leaves

The beef was braised perfectly and was so tender that the meat melts into your mouth. With me, you can never go wrong with adding mushrooms to the dish, as I feel that it enhances the flavor to any dish.  The sweet and soft pear complemented the braised beef very well. Sun flower seeds added not only flavor, but also a nice crunchy texture to the dish. Loved it.

"shark fin" soup with dungeness crab, jin hua ham and black truffle custard

Another innovative spin to a luxury Chinese dish.  Decadent dish with the marriage of flavors of the sweet crab meat and the rich truffle custard with faux shark fin. The ham also helped to enhance the flavor of the overall dish.

Sorbet

Mine was kiwi, his was grapefruit because he's allergic to kiwi

Both were delicious and topped with coconut shavings.  The sweetness of the coconut complemented the tartness of the kiwi sorbet very well. It was a great palate cleanser after a delicious meal.

caramel, prune, coffee, cashew and thyme

So in love.  It was probably one of the best desserts we've had, from flavor to texture to the taste; which was addicting.  It was sweet, but not overly done.  There was the cold and soft ice cream with the dry cashew and caramel shavings. The combination of textures, temperatures and flavors were orgasmic in my mouth. Loved it.

Housemade chocolates: Caramel and walnuts, sesame, marshmallow and taro and white chocolate and raisin with coconut

I was initially too full to have these, but once I took a bite of one, I had to take a bite of all four.  They were all so wonderfully unique and delicious. I'm such a sucker for chocolates and sweets.