Dinner at Fred** (III), Rotterdam
- leonorajansen
- Sep 21, 2014
- 6 min read
As I mentioned in my last post on Fred** I was heading here tonight again. I was super excited and couldn't wait to see what they had in store for us this time. I think I'm experiencing a food coma right now, but I couldn't wait to write about it, since it was great and I'm still experiencing the after rush. I wasn't aware of it, but right this weekend is a festival in Rotterdam called Rotterdamse Kost, and since Fred** has a stand there half the staff were there. Somewhat of a shame but that didn't change the night at all. We started with some bubblies chosen from the Champagne wagon that gets pushed around to the table at the start of the meal.
We started with the Amuses. There was the traditional little Cheese Souffle with Homemade Ketchup. The second amuse was Eel in Green and the last one the very end Poultry on Puff Pastry. I always love the amuse bouche, and I was looking forward to seeing what new little things they'd come up with.
I've had the Cheese Souffle on my previous two visits, however, today it was hands-down the best I had. It was warm and perfectly crunchy. Also the cheese flavour came out very well, which was great since I thought that it wasn't as powerful the last few times. My dad also really enjoyed having a bite of true Dutch Cheese. Probably my favourite of the amuses, the Eel in Green. Within the green dome there was some sort of mousse with pieces of eel and it was all on a sesame tuille and sprinkled with pistachios. I always love seafood, so it's quite hard to go wrong with this one. The last amuse (the poultry on puff pastry) was the most underwhelming one of the 3 so there's not much to say about it.
Our first course was Sweet and Sour Tomatoes with Pesto and Parmesan. I thought this was great and I loved the Parmesan Mousse, it was a really good punch. Luckily the Sweet and Sour Tomatoes were there to cut through the Cheese and Pesto, because otherwise it would've been quite heavy. On my first visit I actually had a similar dish which was also tomatoes with pesto, but it was with Pecorino instead of Parmesan. I think I enjoyed this one more though.
As usual I chose to go for a complete seafood/fish menu. I also had the option of going vegetarian, but I love seafood and fish, so I definitely for that. Since the second dish was meat, I got a replacement dish. I was given Langoustine with Citrus. The perfectly cooked Langoustine was great. I thought the grapefruit was a little strong though, but paired with the slight salty sauce it was a nice citrus taste.
My dad just took the full menu inspiration with the meat, so he got the Veal Tartare with Iberico and Piccalilli. Of course I also tried his dishes, so that I could write about it. I really like the tartare to be honest, especially the crunchy coating of the tartare was a great idea. It also added somewhat a hint of sweetness to it. My dad was very happy with this.
For the third course we got this beautiful garden. It was Tuna Tartare with Herring Caviar, Curry Ice Cream, Melon, Avocado in Sun Dried Tomatoes, Hangop and Sesame Tuilles. I love it when I get things plated like this, although I always do need to spend time seeing where to start. There are so many components and I never know how I'm supposed to eat it, but I think I always figure it out at some point. The curry ice cream in particular was the perfect accompaniment for the tuna. It was icy cold and added a nice spice kick to the lightly seasoned tuna.
Probably one of my favourite fish now, we got Turbot with Eel, Morels and Peas. I love this fish it was perfectly seared with a nice crunch on top. The eel might've gotten a little lost with the combination of the sauce, but nevertheless I still loved this. I think you can't not make me happy with fish or seafood.
The original main dish was Angus Steak with Steak Tartare, Eggplant, Cabbage and Potato. The steak was perfectly cooked, my dad inspected it thoroughly and was definitely enjoying it. I also managed to steal some bits of it, and also liked it. If I was a bigger meat eater I would've gone for that.
I definitely wasn't disappointed with my replacement dish though. It was a lovely piece of Sole with chunks of Scallops and a whole Seared Scallop on Top with Hollandaise on a bed of Corn and apparently there was also some Kailan. I didn't really detect the kailan and being a veteran Asian foodie, I'm sure I would've found it. I was told this was somewhat of improvisation, but it definitely was a good one. Scallops are probably my favourite type of seafood, and so this dish was perfect for me. Still thinking about it now.
The original palate cleanser is Gin Tonic with Green Apple Sorbet. I don't really like Gin Tonic, so I'd asked for a replacement. The apple sorbet is frozen with liquid nitrogen so it was slightly hard and my dad had to wait quite some while for it to be soft enough to eat. He liked it though, and it was very refreshing. A variation on it, I got the Green Apple Sorbet with Yogurt and Grapefruit. Nice citrus kick, although the grapefruit was slightly bitter. To be honest grapefruit is my least favourite citrus, but I've realised that many chefs enjoy using it. I also love how they called it Pamplemousse, the French word for grapefruit, which makes it sounds so fancy.
My dad went for their dessert which was the Cafe Glace. It was Vanilla Ice Cream with Meringues, Hazelnuts on a Crunchy bottom with Chocolate and a Caramel Hopjes Sauce. It was actually quite nice, and I'm slightly disappointed that I'd asked for something else, but at least I got to take some from my dad. At some point though he cut me off and told me that that was the last I was getting, since I kept on going in for more. I guess that's what happens when you go and eat with a foodie.
My dessert was called the Chocolate Sensation. Now I know that I've said that I don't usually go for chocolate desserts, but they made it specially for me, so how could I say no to that and besides they said they wouldn't make it too heavy (which is why I usually avoid it). It was exquisite. There was a biscuit base, with a layer of caramel and then a layer of chocolate. This was topped with Pecans and Caramel Popcorn as well some Chocolate Curls. Next to it there was some Vanilla Cream and Oreo Ice Cream. There was also a Cookie Crumble and Meringues. Additionally there were the Chocolate Balls and the beautiful White Chocolate Sphere. There were so many components it was just great. And surprisingly it really wasn't heavy at all. It was just a perfect chocolate dessert I'd say. Definitely not disappointed eating that.
Before getting my standard cup of coffee, we got the beautiful Madeleines, which were amazing as usual. Love the almond taste in it. Surprisingly they didn't have their Berliner tree this time, there also wasn't any replacement. I don't think I would've noticed hadn't it been for the fact that I knew that they usually do have it. It's alright though, since I don't think I would've been able to eat that many little donut balls, even though they do taste very good.
From the Petit Fours selection I chose: a Bokkepoot, Milk Praline Chocolate, Dome with Banana and Coconut, Milk Chocolate with Hazelnut, White Chocolate with Vanilla and Ouzo and Nougat. What does a girl want more to go with a cup of coffee. After finishing I was definitely in a food coma and very happy. I think Fred** never fails to disappoint, the service is definitely on point and the food is amazing. Thanks so much for another lovely evening!