What's up with the hype of this place??
Not so good FUSION food = ConFUSION food
I agree with other posters regarding the hype of this place. Yes, it has a fantastic view. Yes, the services were nice. Yes the presentations are nice but No, the food is nothing that WOW me.
This place is owned by the same Korean owner that runs Pacific Crab company next door but this one he decided to make it Japanese-French Fusion cuisine. The view and interior is beautiful. I like the little details that they are very thoughtful about. However the food, its not worth the price tag in my opinion.
We ordered the "Experience" and the "Voyager" options of the set meal so we can try a bit of everything.
Tofu Bread with Seaweed butter - The original tofu bread and seaweed butter is a nice thought, but the butter itself is hard. It will be nicer if its softer and easier to spread.
"Experience" consists of more meat dishes.
1. Roast duck appetizer was very dry and tasteless. It has alot to do with the texture of the duck itself but I was hoping the sauce and make up for it, but didn't.
2. Tuna Tataki Salad with onions - I liked the dressing but I prefer Albacore instead of tuna since tuna meat is not as tender as Albacore.
3. Crispy Seabass with Dashi Broth - one of their signature dish and it does presented well. The fish was flaky and the broth goes well with the fish.
4. Australia "Kobe" Filet Mignon - Bad Bad Bad. How can they named "Kobe" when its actually "Wagyu" beef? Kobe is just the name of the place where the cow was raised/breed at. The steak itself has nothing that really stands out compare with other USDA meats. However, the sauce (Veal Port Wine Reduction Sauce) was BITTER, something wrong with the wine? or the chef uses it to highlight the taste of the meat but failed to do so? I had much better steak at the "Steakhouse" in Torrance for the real Grade A5 Japanese imported Wagyu Beef (Same quality as CUT in Beverly Hill, yet fraction of price).
5. Dessert - Almond Cake, Chocolate Cake & Orange Jello. Orange jello was the most creative item out of the three.
The Voyager (Seafood-focused meal)
1. Salmon Tartare - It was FISHY. I hardly had salmon thats fishy but here is the first. Argh , I wonder if chef actually taste the dish before they bring it out?
2. Crab Salad - Small yet presented nicely.
3. Fried Oyster, Rockefeller style - Crispy outside with juicy oyster inside. very delicious choice.
4. Tamari Soy Marinated Black Cod - I actually liked miso marinated fish more but this one is still delicious. But I can relate to how people complain about small portion..its about 4 to 5 bites max size
5. Seafood Bouillabaisse (1/2 portion) with Cheese risotto - I am actually surprised that its not as delicious as I thought. They suggested the risotto goes well with the bouillabaisse..but no.....seafood is OK fresh, the soup was not that delicious...I am disappointed.
6. Dessert is same as the other course. I would think they should be different?
Our dessert actually took 30 mins to came up. However while we were waiting for so long, our waitress was nice enough to comp our coffee/tea. Everyone's dessert came out at the same time, and it all seems like the same dishes (I guess something happened in the kitchen that night).
Would I go back to the restaurant? I doubt
Would I recommend people for the view? I will, the view and the service was outstanding, but the food was much less than desired experience especially with the expensive price tag.
The outside of the restaurant looks very quiet...we thought its dead but its not. The outside patio is no longer available for seating, but the inside was quite full actually. We love our seats in the upper deck!
We were here for dinner and we were fully aware that the services are slow. But they waiter were trying hard to help (He was the only waiter for the entire restaurant, how odd).
The French Bread (White & Wheat) comes with Olive oil and onion dressing. Not too salty nor sour, goes well with the bread!
I asked bout the chef's special pasta, it was no longer served. However, we did follow the yelper's recommendation and tried the following dishes:
Appetizer. 1) Blue Shell Crab Roll - Delicious soft shelled crab topped with sesame, fried to perfection. Served with tortilla and lettuce, 1000 islands dressing & sweet salty dressing/ the one u have for peking duck. In simple term, it is the Peking duck without the green onion and have crab instead of duck. Its so delicious, juicy, yet crispy crab busted out the flavor in your mouth. Yummmm
2) Garlic Clam - Fresh clam served with the garlic sauce. Kinda like the Japanese concept of Asashi Clam with Wine but this one the sauce is kinda "soupy". Great with the French bread that comes with the meal! Eat the clam first, then enjoy the soup with breads!
3) Long Sausage - yes, its long (no pun intended, heh). 20" long. I believe, its made of pork and sage and other spices..My friend didn't like it but I like the fresh taste of it and its not greasy as the breakfast sausage we usually have at American Breakfast places.
Entree:
1) Squid Ink Spaghetti: Served in a bowl. Lots soup. Hearty! Squid Inks, squid chunks, bacon pieces, onions and au dante spagetti. Its garlic based flavor so if you don't like garlic, don't order it else this is a very good dish and unique one too (You can't find this very often in the American Chain Italian restaurants).
2) Lobster Fettuccine: Served with 1/2 lobster tail, clams, and mussels. Creamy white wine sauce with a hint of garlic and fresh peppers. I like the creamy pasta with lots dressing and the pasta does taste better with the sauce so make sure to stir for a bit before you eat it.
3) Four Cheeses Risotto: Served tableside in a sizzling hot stone pot. Reminds me of Korean style dosop bibimbop. Its very cheesy if you want me to tell you how the taste are like...and Unfortunately, I can not distinguish between the four cheeses. This is also our least favorite dish for tonight.
Dessert Tray: Like other Italian restaurants, they will bring you a tray with samples of desserts, we were too full to try it! Hopefully some other yelpers will write a detail review on their desserts!