Hameau Albert 1er hotel is located in green gardens, with chalets, farmhouse and of course, gastronomic restaurant the Restaurant Albert 1er Michelin twin-starred and run by chef de cuisine Pierre Carrier and Pierre Maillet.
Famous for its highly inventive cuisine and seasonal white truffles, have a 3 cozy if not bit rustic decorated dining room and piano bar. Signature dishes includes wild mushrooms garnished with ravioli stuffed with foie gras, bison steak, pan-fried scallops with risotto and lobster sauce, foie gras with truffles…
What we had tasted simply delicious:
Melting Brittany lobster aside with a homemade fresh pasta generously covered with black tartufo shavings, and fantastically balanced foamy lobster sauce....
silky roasted John Dory, puréed leeks, smokey onion, shellfishes and herb juice...
Washed down with:
2004 Les Plantiers du Haut-Brion, Bordeaux, Pessac-Léognan
Smooth, silky and rich. Fantastic balance. The fact that this is only an entry level white Bordeaux... well it makes this wine simply amazing. (91 pts)
For desert we had picks from the trolley; a choice of fresh and aged French and Italian cheeses washed down with:
1998 Château Haut Marbuzet, Saint-Estèphe
Structured, silky, affectionate... (92 pts)
Absolutely unique experience!
Rating: 9.1 (out of 10.0)
Le Hameau Albert 1er
119 Impasse du Montenvers
74400 Chamonix Mont Blanc, France
Well in my opinion it can’t be better than living in the hotel Le Morgan in Chamonix. Why? Simply because the hotel’s restaurant is run by a young chef, Mickey Bourdillat who got his first Michelin. The only better hotel is probably Albert 1er, and you'll read soon why :-)
Very inventive, creative and... different dishes; with a lot of taste, flavors, support and freshness. The exclusive use of local ingredients for sure gives this restaurant an edge and I'm looking forward for more.
entrance of Le Bistrot...
Savoy bread...
appetizer...
scallops and young spring vegetables - carpaccio style, crunchy vegetables and vegetable emulsion...
lobster and the crab - celery, lobster and crab, shall emulsion...
roasted scampi on a risotto of pasta shells, ham and meat juice...
roasted wild sea perch on the skin, fennel compote, tomatoes and citrus fruits, olive juice...
roasted sweetbread with green asparagus...
cheese board...
chef pastry number one...
chef pastry number two...
coffee at the bar...
at the "fire place"...
Surprisingly good, Le Bistrot is without any doubt a fantastic French restaurants, with a friendly stuff and excellent wine list by the glass. Above menu was served together with a wine menu (5 different wines).
Recommended.
Rating: 8.8 (out of 10.0)
Le Bistrot
151 Avenue de l'Aiguille du Midi
74400 Chamonix Mont Blanc, France
This is contribution from my dearest Japanese friend Emi; enjoy!
There're much more inspiring art pieces at the exhibition. It's worth visiting if you're tempted for bizarreness, but brights your spirits, or simply for a good laughter - life is a stage to play :D
Opening Hours/Admission:
March 11 - September 12, 2010
Open every day except Monday, 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
Tuesday evenings until 10:00 pm
Admission: 7,50 €
Access:
261, boulevard Raspail 75014 Paris
Website:
http://fondation.cartier.com
With Joy, humor and seriousness, Beat Takeshi Kitano has thrown himself into Gosse de Peintre, an unusual project that subtly, if impertinently, alights in the realm of childhood. With paintings ans videos, objects and settings, machines, and games - all the while mocking contemporary art, experimenting with the sciences and toying with cliché related to his country, Japan.
An Invitation from the Fondation Cartier:
While this insatiable artist finds inspiration everywhere, two leitmotifs occur frequently in his work: nostalgia for childhood, and his relationship with the image. The passion for the images appear in his paintings and films. Kitano has never submitted to the numerous requests of museums to exhibit his work. The encounter with the director of Fondation Cartier opened the possibilities to dive into his world ...
Upon entering the small gallery, the visitor is greeted by a model of Beat Takeshi Kitano which is observing his own brain and is engaged in an internal dialogue: Who are You Who is Looking at Me!? This "self-portrait with brain" hints at the spirit of the exhibition, a real journey into the heart of Kitano"s imaginary universe.
Transgenically Bred Fish Pre-Stuffed with Sushi - pokes fun at technological progress ...
... but where our admiration of art of making sushi by human hand? It even inspires to go through the process of sushi making in my experience :)
But of course, I'm totally up for tuna-free sushi!
See here.
Now we consumers to be aware, practice conscious eating, transform our minds ..
The Animal Flower Vases:
While recovering from the 1994 motorcycle accident that almost cost him his life, Kitano created a series of disturbing paintings in 1996 that depicted hybrid animal-flower creatures. There works accented several scenes of his film Hana-bi.
He who leads a life of vice must pay dearly for his actions.
One who know story about Stravinsky, can't believe that a naive moral like this is actually been inspirational moment for this opera. The story goes Stravinsky seen paintings by William Hogarth... and voilà!
Libretto in a nutshell: Tom Rakewell, a virtuoso and young man who inherits great fortune; he promises his girlfriend that they will soon to be married, however rich man begins to use "spoils of war" and ends up in brothel... along the way he incurs large debts, steals, has been arrested.... marries an old and ugly, but reach women... he gambling away her fortune... and ends up... well... in a madhouse.
This is actually a neo-classical opera. Something completely different from what I have seen and heard before. Stravinsky him self consider it as "an end of 20th century music".
A perfect scenography at one of the high point of the opera...
Anne Trulove at Act II. Yes, her name is important and she is one of the most touching figure in operatic "literature".
One-off experience with all strangeness and absurdity of Stravinsky. From reference to Faust (Nick Shadow) to Don Juan (Tom Rakewell).
Must see, especially after a pleasant dinner at SALT.
This is a contribution from Christina.
SALT
Keywords
S.traightforward
A.ttentive
L.uscious
T.arragon heaven!!
The 2 course Opera menu at restaurant SALT was a straightforward, honest meal of a very high quality. The staff were friendly, attentive, and down to earth, which immediately gave a friendly and relaxed touch to Terence Conran's design (which for all its splendor, has a tendency to become a bit too cold and anonymous).
The first course was a fantastic scallop dish. Silky scallops placed daintily on a bed of puréed cucumber (yes, bring on Spring!) and puréed onion, cooked & sweet. Most of the scallops were 'rimmed' (Danish word), ie raw-cooked in salt&sugar. To counterbalance, the scallop in the middle was fried, and all of the dish was dusted with the smokey crumbs of the scallops 'membrane'/'muscle' together with lemon zest. Imagine how happy I was to see a generous portion on my plate.
Zoran chose a luscious white wine from Bourgogne, hmmm Jacques something something... A full wine with a sincere and confident character. It was the perfect match for both first and second course. Delicious.
The second course was also a generous helping. Hurra, no Emperor's New clothes here.
A juicy and really delicate sausage cuddling up to a roasted 'roll' of pork tenderloin (yes, tenderloin, I think). The magic here was the tarragon sauce: Wild, peppery, yet soft and enticing at the same time. To make things even better, the sauce joined forces with the beetroot ketchup to leave my tastebuds fighting to be first in line for the next mouthful. A rectangle of roast potatoe served as a base for this really well balanced dish.
After a dinner as pleasant as this one, I managed to sit through a Stravinsky opera with a smile on my lips ... ;-)
SALT, I hope I will have a chance to return!
