Brusselicious Tram Experience

The Brusselicious Tram Experience is a three-course meal by a Michelin-starred chef on board a tram. The experience lasts for two hours while the tram travels around Brussels. The menu/chef changes every two weeks.

We tried the Tram Experience dinner on Saturday 14 July and the menu was designed by Bart de Pooter. The chef of De Pastorale Restaurant was named "Belgian Chef of 2012" by the Gault Millau guide, so our expectations were quite high.

As instructed on the tickets, we arrived at the tram stop before 21:15 for a scheduled departure at 21:30. We waited with all other guests until 21:35 when a waiter came to check if our names were on his list and advised us to take our "precautions" since the on-board toilet had some problems. We finally boarded the tram at 21:45.

The setting of the tram was cool, with an all-white interior and rows of two and four seat tables. Needless to say, all the other diners were quite excited about the Tram Experience. Across the aisle from us there were four friendly Japanese expats with whom we shared some good laughs. They were very pleased to learn that we were in Japan two months earlier.

Here's our table with the amuses-bouche

Shrimp doughnuts & lemon cake

Entrée: Carpaccio of mature and lightly smoked sirloin steak with vegetable piccalilli - nice

Those who do not like beef were offered a quinoa & shrimps appetizer.

After the first course was served, the tram stopped at Montgomery Square for about 10 minutes while the cooks prepared the second course. They have two ovens in the 'kitchen' to heat up the food.

Main course: skate, red-green Swiss chard simmered in lightly browned butter, chopped spinach, preserved lemon, grilled almonds and cream of almonds - the greens and the cream of almonds were delicious, but the fish was not enjoyable since half of it was just bones.

 

By now (still hungry) I wanted to have some more bread, but unfortunately they had already run out of the tiny buns.

Dessert: tarte au chocolat with a scoop of  chocolate ice-cream - a rather disappointing dessert, a similar slice of chocolate tart can be bought from Pain Quotidien for around €3.

Overall, the food was a let-down. I was expecting so much more from Bart De Pooter, the  double Michelin-starred "Belgian Chef of 2012". True, the actual cooking was done by a caterer (we saw the food being unloaded from the van of "Traiteur Les Garrigues"). But then, Chef De Pooter could have been more inspired when designing the menu. After this meal, it is unlikely that I be tempted by his De Pastorale Restaurant.

The Tram Experience, however, was totally worth it. It is a once-in-a-lifetime event with some significant 'wow' factor. We enjoyed chatting with our dining neighbors and had some good fun waving at the pedestrians staring at us as we passed by. The shortcomings of the food aside, the young waiters were enthusiastic and efficient, keeping in mind that they were working in a narrow aisle in a moving tram.

Brusselicious Tram Experience
http://visitbrussels.be/bitc/BE_en/brusselicious.do

ER PU.RE Restaurant Brussels

The name of ER PU.RE Restaurant gives you a hint about the chef's inclinations. It plays on the French words for "pure air" and the Chinese Pu'er tea variety. No surprise then that tea aromas find their way into the dishes of Chef Vincent Vervisch along with some East-Asian influences.

ER PU.RE Restaurant has been on the Brussels culinary scene for less than a year, having opened in August 2011. A while back a discounted coupon site offered a five-course Menu découverte at ER PU.RE for a reasonable price, so I grabbed the opportunity to discover this new restaurant.

The restaurant is towards the end of Avenue Louise, not too far from the Bois de la Cambre.

There are various tea containers in the entrance corridor, so diners can have a sniff of the tea flavors that will be present in the dishes.

We were seated between the bar counter and the window. To our right

and to our left, where we could see the street traffic and trams

This is the main dining area (photo taken before we left). They also have a terrace at the end with tables.

Amuse bouche: shrimp in Asian bouillon, goose foie gras purée with red wine sauce. The foie gras was delicious, while the bouillon had so much salt that it was inedible.

 

Bread and butter. The tiny home-made bread was simple yet delicious. Too bad we were offered a second one only 15 minutes later.

Gazpacho au  'thé des enfants' with watermelon and kriek-flavored mousse (picture taken after eating a few spoonfuls). Refreshing.

Sabayon au Saint-Jacque au thé Matcha, mousse au vin blanc, encre de seiche. Delicious combination.

Main dish: Filet mignon de boeuf, sauce Romeo & Juliette with cigar flavors, sauteed vegetables and grilled onion. The smoky sauce went well with the beef although if felt a bit like Worcestershire sauce. The yellow mashed squash was a nice discovery. If only the chef had put a few more 'droplets'.

Alternative main dish: Rouget with broccoli-wasabi purée, with the same sauteed vegetables and grilled onion as the beef dish above. The red mullet - cooked without any seasoning - was unimpressive.

Duo de fromages du maitre affineur Van Tricht, from right to left: some aged goat cheese, Epoisse, strawberry jam. Well presented but the portions were too small.

 

Sorbet: yuzu and Thai red curry. Interesting flavors, too bad the sorbet was already melting by the time it was served.

Overall, our experience at ER PU.RE restaurant was mixed. The food was innovative and we enjoyed discovering some new flavors. The chef clearly has potential. Unfortunately, service was lacking. There were only two employees in the dining room that evening: a lady receptionist/bartender and a waiter. The young waiter was polite and efficient but he obviously could not keep us with the workload once the restaurant got half full. For example, after we had finished our main dish, we waited 35 minutes before we managed to draw the attention of the lady and the plates were cleared.

Finally, our last memory at Er Pure restaurant is not so positive: after having paid the bill, we made our way to the exit alone and left the restaurant without any greetings. No one had noticed that we were leaving. 

We are glad that we had a discounted coupon and did not pay their regular prices, which are on par with some Brussels fine dining restaurants. Unlikely to return to this restaurant.

ER PU.RE Restaurant
Avenue Louise, Ixelles
http://erpure.be/

Les Larmes du Tigre Bruxelles - Thai buffet brunch

Les Larmes du Tigre is a Thai restaurant located in a quiet area behind the Brussels Palais de Justice, about five minutes walk from Louise metro station. Along with the Blue Elephant, it is considered to be one of the best places for Thai cuisine in Brussels. We decided to try their Sunday Thai buffet brunch today.

View from the street

The entrance

One of the two dining areas

The ceiling, covered with Asian umbrellas that add a touch of exoticism

There's a garden terrace for the sunny days

Some crackers were offered on the table, to nibble on while ordering drinks.

Now onto the food: Thai Buffet by Les Larmes du Tigre

The buffet is served in a small area, with starters on the left, main dishes in the center and desserts on the right. On the other side there were two cooks preparing noodles and pancakes.

Starters - the chicken satay skewers and their peanut sauce were delicious. They also has vegetable salads, fried calamari, samosas, several friend meat snacks, steamed dumplings, spicy beef salad, noodle salad.

 

 

 The charrette (cart) of Thai noodles soup. It's more for the show than for the taste...

Main dishes - noodles, white rice, fried rice, beef stew, sweet & sour chicken, Thai red curry and shrimps sauté. The red curry was delicious. Not sure what the Chinese sweet & sour chicken was doing in this Thai buffet...

The cook preparing the sweet dessert pancakes

We recalled from our visit to Thailand that desserts are not a highlight of Thai cuisine and our attempts at ordering dessert ended up with starchy/greasy dishes being served (sweet rice, fried ice cream...). Thai people seemed to prefer fresh fruits for their sweet tooth. So our expectations were not so high for dessert.

These were the dessert choices. There were also two types of ice cream (pineapple and melon) not visible in the picture. Too bad the mangos were not ripe.

By 13:00, the place started to get crowded...

and there were small queues for the buffet. So it is advisable to reach the restaurant before 12:30.

Overall, we had an enjoyable lunch with some quality Thai food. It should be noted that vegetarian options were quite limited. From the welcome to the moment we left, the service was nice and with a smile. We look forward to our next visit at Les Larmes du Tigre, most probably for an à la carte meal and skipping dessert.

UPDATE: we reviewed Blue Elephant's brunch a few months later.

Les Larmes du Tigre

Brussels, Avenue Louise

http://www.leslarmesdutigre.be/

Spaans Dak Restaurant in Oud-Heverlee

We had dinner at Spaans Dak on Sunday 10 June. It was a rather random pick for the Restaurant Week organised by DiningCity.

The restaurant is located in Oud-Heverlee, close to Leuven, and it is set in a traditional building overlooking some beautiful ponds.

As we walked in, we were welcomed with a smile by Michel, the owner/manager of the place, who accompanied us to our table. Throughout the meal, the waiters were all professional and spoke fluent French and English.

Mise en bouche: Harengs nouveaux, crème, moule, pomme et radis. Méringue de légumes au sésame et tapenade d'olives noires

Bloody Mary, base de consommé de tomate et vodka

Whole-wheat bread

Interesting start to our meal, although I was not so impressed by the meringue.

Starter: Trio de saumon, asperges confites, beurre d'orange, graines de tournesol grillées

Pleasant starter, although a little too sweet.

Main course: Morue, nobashi, coque, moules bouchot, homard, coquille St. Jacques, aioli, bouillabaisse, fenouil grillé, mousse au Pastis

Despite its nice presentation, the theatrics of the bouillabaisse being poured at the table and the mousse slowly melting, this was the biggest disappointment of the night. The cod was too undercooked to be enjoyed, plus it had barely been seasoned. Cod aside, the overall dish was quite dry and it seemed that something was missing.

Selection of cheeses: Fromages anglais sélectionnés et leur préparation

This was the highlight of the dinner. Great presentation; some good English cheeses well paired with some nuts, fruits and pickles. The big fried dough is actually some grilled cheese. The nem was filled with cheese, thyme and fig.

Dessert: Textures de cerises

A refreshing dessert with some in-season cherries, although the crème anglaise made it somewhat ordinary. Here, the chef missed an occasion to impress.

Coffee: Mocha, mignardises

We were offered a refill, always a nice touch.

Petits fours: Praline avec ganache liquide

In the glass, a mix of ice cream/amaretto/nuts (can't recall exactly)

Marshmallows dipped in chocolate and sesame

Overall, a pleasant meal at a reasonable price. This restaurant has plenty of potential and could earn a Michelin star if some improvements are made. The chef needs to focus more on the quality of his cooking and ensure consistency rather than overly elaborate presentations. The chipped glasses need to be replaced, and the waiters could be instructed to keep an eye on glasses on the table and refill them more promptly once empty.

Restaurant Spaans Dak
Oud-Heverlee, Belgium
www.spaansdak.be