Market by Jean Georges

i ♥ Market!

* note: actual dining experience occured almost 2 weeks ago, late review is due to the recent holiday craze. My apologies!

Food:

My siblings and I chose this restaurant as the locale for our annual Christmas dinner because it sure didn't disappoint us the first time here.  Needless to say, we left Market with all smiles (as well as full tummies) the second time around :)

We started off with the Crispy Calamari (with Pea Shoots and Chili Dip) and the Arctic Char Sashimi.  Both were good, but not great. The calamari was nicely battered, but the chili dip that it came with was frothy (not thick, as you would expect).  I liked the garlic specks that came atop the sashimi.  Both appetizers were good, but I would recommend the Seared Scallops and the Foie Gras Brulee, if you ever go. We ordered those the first time here and thought they were the much better appetizers.

For my entree, I was comtemplating either the: Soy-Glazed Apple Short Ribs (had those the first time here and LOVED it) or the Lobster Baked with Basil Butter Lemon Spaetzle (with Autumn Vegetables)  I ended up ordering the lobster (other sibling chose the short ribs and thus allowed me to pick and "sample" her food :)).  I wish I knew (or inquired about) what the spaetzle was, but regardless, my entree was just o-k.  I wasn't feeling the lemon, spaetzle and lobster combination.  From what I wikipedia-ed just now (haha), Spaetzle is a type of noodle with origins in German cuisine (fyi!).  Overall, the entree was a little too sour for my liking (should've known).  Note to self: Never order lobster in a non-Asian restaurant unless it's accompanied with pasta! lol

As for the other entrees sampled :), they were all excellent.  The Seared Sirloin of Beef was tender and cooked to perfection.  The enoki mushrooms as well as the soy caramel sauce only served to boost its flavour.  Divinity as its best (lol)

Dessert consisted of a Green Apple Crumble and a Warm Chocolate Cake. Both were savoury and delicious. Once again, I apologize for the lack of description in taste! All I remember was that they were both good, lol

Service:

Our server took a while in arriving to take our order, but she was friendly.  Bread boy (hope that's not offensive) was prompt and always there to reload on the good ol' carbs.  The manager had a sense of humour (albeit a lame one) but he was still there whenever we needed him (e.g to take pictures for us! lol)

Value:

On par with what you would expect at other fine dining restos. (Although it would be nice to get my money back for the disappointing lobster dish!)

Ambience:

Beautiful.  Love the all-white decor and interior.  It's located in the Shangri-La Hotel, so I'll let you be the judge of what you would expect to see :)

Overall: 8.6/10

Yay: Fabolous food, setting and a damn nice place to be seen at.  Word has it that this is one of theee places for celebrity sightings (Bradley Cooper, Zac Efron...anybody? :) )

Nay: Downtown. Parking. Parking. Downtown. You get the drift!


** Interesting Fact: Jean-Georges is a world-renowned chef, author, and entrepreneur.  My sister went to his NYC restaurant (Spice Market) recently and had nothing but good things to say!


Posted by: J