Multiple gastrorgasms

Yesterday, Miz M kindly volunteered to babysit The Little Man so The Boy could whisk me off to a surprise dinner at the Galileo Restaurant, attached to the Observatory Hotel. I was so excited when I found out (guessed, actually, but not until we were almost there) because I've been wanting to dine there for aaages. (In fact, I wanted to have our honeymoon night at the hotel but it's about three times more expensive than normal and I just couldn't fit it into the budget. They had a package where you get exclusive use of the pool at night, with candles a butler to attend to you. But I digress...) The Boy apparently chose the restaurant because the menu sounded similar to what the French Iron Chef makes.

Dinner was preceeded with an egg cocotte with foie gras, which was just exquisite. We had the 8-course degustation menu with an extended entree plate. I was soooo full at the end, I thought I'd be sick. I was grateful to be sitting at the corner of the lounge where I could just let it all hang out and put my head on the pillow. Thank goodness we didn't have the Surprise Degustation Menu because frankly, I don't know where I would have put the rest of it. Although... I wouldn't have minded having a go at the chocolate fondant.

The chef, Harunobu Inukai, is Japanese but trained in French cuisine so it really was like being on Iron Chef. He came out to talk to the patrons (he even looks like an iron chef) and it turns out he's good friends with Hiroyuki Sakai (Iron Chef French) and that Sakai is coming over at the end of November to cook for the restaurant. I'd love to go but I can't really see us forking out that much money for one dinner.

The verdict? It was the best degustation menu we've had. Ever. It surpassed the Gekko at the Sheraton on the Park, which had been The Boy's top favourite for over six years. It was almost the best food we've had, except I still choose the little restaurant in the corner of nowhere in Paris as my favourite - you just can't top the dumb waiter (as in the mechanism, not a person), the French murmurings and the little poodle (so frightfully unhygienic).

As presents, we bought his and hers laptops. So altogether, it's been a very decadent anniversary and we'll probably have to live on spare change for the next month just to recover.