Rated 3 stars by the Michelin guide and 98th best in the world by the Restaurant magazine in 2013, situated in one of the prime locations in all of New York city and led by one of the world's most celebrated chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the storyline simply can't get any better than this.
Housed in the prestigious Trumph International Hotel and Tower, Jean Georges is the acclaimed flagship of Chef Vongerichten's restaurant empire.
We wasted no time meeting our man Chef Vongerichten in person. While we were still checking our jackets in at the reception counter, there he was passing us by with two bags of groceries holding firmly in his hands. I could not help but ask our hostess who was just standing right next to me, "So does he still do his grocery?"
After being led through the dining area of Nougatine (the casual neighbor of Jean-Georges), a black door slid open in front of us and there it was, a minimal yet elegant main dining room with amazing view of the Central Park through the floor-to-ceiling windows right in front of us.
Lunch got off to a flying start with an amuse bouche of warm broccoli soup, a braised spinach "ball" with wasabi and miso, and a skewered white fish tempura. Chef Vongerichten has always been a master of ethereal Asian-inspired French cuisine so it came as little surprise that some of these nibbles got somewhat of a Japanese twist (7/10).
Right after our amuse bouche, first up for us was the first starter - three small slices of black toast with Santa Barbara sea urchin, jalapeno and yuzu on top.
I thought this dish was a little flat. The sea urchin did not work well with the black toast at all and the supporting cast also failed to deliver (3/10).
But apart from the sea urchin, the rest of the starters provided quite a culinary experience for us starting with the hamachi sashimi, avocado, yuzu and crispy radish. That was an adorable presentation (7/10).
We had quite a number of yellowfin tuna tartare on this trip but yellowfin tuna ribbon? This had to be our first time.
This was a fairly enjoyable dish. The avocado puree, spicy radish and dash of soy sauce and ginger marinade all contributed to the layering flavors of the tuna (7/10).
Saving the best for last, our final appetizer was a wonderful dish of pan seared sea scallops, served with caramelized cauliflowers and a very complicated caper-raisin emulsion.
If I want to be picky, I thought the scallops could have been better but I really came to enjoy the caper-raisin emulsion which was the difference maker here. The contrasting sweet and sour flavor helped to provide the perfect balance to the sweetness of the scallops (8/10).
Oh wait, I ordered an extra starter - Peekytoe crab dumplings with celebriac-Meyer lemon tea. Yes, lemon tea!
This was arguably the best dish so far. Large lumps of crab meat stuffed inside a thin wrapper provided a rich and buttery texture which was absolutely tantalizing to our palates (10/10).
By an amazing coincidence, everyone decided to order fish for main course. The Arctic char with black burgundy truffle crumbs, crispy parsnips was the first to be unveiled by our server and I thought it was the best out of the three fish courses.
This was an Arctic char that was nicely done with a crispy skin. The overall texture was tender but firm while the inside was still slightly raw (7/10).
Following the Arctic char was a poached hake with spiced jade emulsion and tender celebriac. I was quite content with the texture of the poached hake but the spicy Thai kick with the spiced jade emulsion (seedless green curry) proved to be a bit too overpowering (5/10).
Matching the slow-cooked black fish with a lettuce puree and herb-lime vinaigrette was an interesting thought that did not really come to fruition (4/10).
After three wonderful courses, it's time for a little pre-dessert before we were officially introduced to our dessert menu. Homemade marshmallows for everyone!
But after reading the dessert menu, we decided that there's nothing attractive enough there for us to do further damage to our belly.
It was certainly a memorable meal at one of the most famous restaurants in the world. I thought the food was genuinely good but not great. If I had to pick between this one and our previous lunch at David Bouley, my vote probably goes to David Bouley.
Food Rating: 7/10
Price: $$$
Address: 1 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023, USA
Closest Subway Station: 59th St/Columbus CircleTel: +212 299-3900
Website: www.jean-georges.com/
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