The Best of Susur

When I heard that Susur Lee was closing his eponymous restaurant, Susur, to set-up shop in NYC, I figured it was about time that I went to his dining room to see what all the fuss was about. I'd been to his establishment next door, Lee, but Susur is another experience entirely, with the tasting menu his specialty.

The philosophy for his tasting menu is to begin with the heavier courses first and work towards successively lighter courses as the meal progressed. Ours was a party of 4 and as with most tastings, we were served alternated offerings so, allergies and food preferences allowing, there were 2 of us with the same course at a time.

(Forgive me if I don't remember all the ingredients in the courses...it's been over 3 weeks and I didn't take notes. You'd think I'd remember a great meal like this but I'm really bad with details when it comes to food. I remember things on a very, very high-level.)

While a few weeks late in posting, here's a photo essay of the 6-course "Best of Susur" tasting that's currently on until May 31st, when his restaurant closes its doors.

The amuse-bouche, a fresh oyster and a fish cake:

The first course - Cornish Hen with layered eggplant on the side for me (sooo yummy) and Squab (below) for the other half of my party:


The second course was a butter poached lobster tail and a perfectly rare piece of kobe beef:

The third course as outlined in the tasting menu involved white asparagus and I am not a fan - never have been. I've given it chances time and again in the past to turn me around but it always disappoints. So in place of the asaparagus, I got gnocchi served in this adorable little wok:

This was our palette cleansing strawberry sorbet served with an ice cold strawberry and balsamic vinegar - the clear wisps of smoke you see wafting up are from the dry ice - A+ for presentation:

The fourth course was fish - I can't remember what kind it was but it was good:


Diver scallops were on for the fifth - the one served in the shell below is the alternative my friend enjoyed, while I had the tasty goodness served below:


And the best for last was dessert, which was 10, yes TEN, different miniature offerings served on a layered tray:

My favourites were the chocolate crumbly dessert topped with icing sugar in the little pedestal plate on the bottom, the lemon mousse, and the panna cotta - I think it was served in the eggshell above.