Fine Restaurants & Villas (April 2006)
Sur Les Balcons Du Ciel Haute Cuisine at CasCades
Story by John Douglas
Cascades Restaurant at the Viceroy in Ubud is well on its way to Making its mark as one of Bali's premier fine dining establishments.
Suspended as it is on the vertiginous edges river valley, CasCades Restaurant is well named indeed. Part of The Viceroy Bali, a six star villa resort and spa on the eastern edges of Ubud, the destination restaurant has garnered rave reviews since its inauguration last year and for very good reasons too.
A truly memorable fine dining experience combines five key elements-good food, good wine, good company and good service, all in a conducive setting. The letter quality is something Cascades has in spades. Built on a terrace that combines palimanan stone paving with polished teak wood deck, the in tire space intimates something in the manner of a luxury yacht, skirted as it by a stone balustrade beyond which the ground drops away steeply. Slender palms protrude from the slopes below, while the opposite side of the ridge is thick with iridescent vegetation.
It is this sylvan ambience that has made Ubud and its environs a magnet for high end private developments like The Viceroy. Cascades' decor was conceived and realized by one of its owners, Margaret Bainbridge and eschews the pastel shaded minimalism that is so accordant today in flavor of an amalgam of styles – in the bar, lacquered tables with inset seashells recall a funky cocktail lounge, but retain an Indonesian feel with their lesehan design (cushions ranged around a low table).
Perhaps the most romantic spot lies across a small ornamental stream complete with stepping stones, where a table is set beneath a bale pavilion hung with diaphanous drapes, while other lesehan tables are set in discreet row behind the bar area.
If careful attention has been paid to ambience, the approach to the cuisine has been truly painstaking. Renowned Michelin trained chef-consultant Paul Pairet was brought in at the conceptual stage to design the kitchen and train a select team of culinary staff. After two months of close collaboration with architects, suppliers both local and international and the staff themselves, he'd created a highly ergonomic cooking environment inhabited by equally competent staff. It was then the turn of fellow Frenchman, the award winning David Sosson, to shape CasCades' culinary character. He brought with him Chef De Cuisine Sharusmizal and Pastry chef Hafiz Razali, both of whom have worked with Sosson for five years. Over a six month period, he created a cluster of menus which have since won awards, locally, at the same time making his team thoroughly competent in producing the dishes which populate them. He continues to return on a quarterly basis to provide ongoing consultancy and support.
CasCades's furnishings may be a hybrid, but the food is classic French, haute cuisine all the way. Guests can choose to order a la carte or from the degustation menu. The latter is probably a good choice for an introductory visit, since it brings together a medley of distinct dishes – at time of writing these included a trilogy of starters including a coco bean and water prawn soup and a goats cheese and wild mushroom tartlet, followed by lamb loin accompanied by goats cheese and caramelized pear – a cascade of flavors and textures rounded off with a raw milk cheese selection, an indulgent chocolate fondue 7 sorbet dessert and coffee, at the same time offering excellent value.
The a la carte menu is far from daunting though, presenting a succinct, yet far flung selection and dishes which bring to mind sheer creative flair – Sosson's delightfully cloying duck foie grass is combined with an equally rich crab and fennel sauce, the two offset by a sweet and slightly piquant fondue of pimiento del piquillo chilli peppers. The Petite Tarte Hallucinogen, classic though it appears with its marriage of goat's cheese, wild mushrooms and parma ham, is set in a capriciously sweet and crumbly pastry shell.
The food's presentation is artistic, though far from over gilded, set uniformly in narrow white oblong plates, each element set in place as though arranged on an elongated canvas. La Belle Scallop!!! For example, sees two seared scallops skewered on a lemongrass stem alongside a fricassee of anis and pernod, drizzled with a foam of organic herb and truffle sauce. The Que De Plaisir features a caramelized half pear, slightly tart stuffed baby eggplant alongside the tenderest of lamb loin cuts, once again bringing together divergent textures and flavours in unexpected union.
Other meat dishes include the seductive veau sous la Mere, roasted Dutch milk fed loin, potato Vendangeure and mushroom sauce and Canard Enchaine, ak leg confit with braised le puy lentil, caramelized endives and port wine sauce. For those seeking something a little more substantial from the ocean, seafood options include Caresse de Thon, tuna, potato crust on braised lima bean, calamari with piquillo, tomato comfits, mascarpone and vanilla emulsion or the Petite Queue fretillante, baby lobster' a la plancha Flambe with Gran Marnier, Mussel Farcie on Fennel, Bacon Cabbage, Sun Dried Tomato & Xeres Marinade.
The six dessert options range from fruit creation like La Tarte du Vendaneur, a plum and peach tartlet with port wine ice cream and lime and saffron emulsion, to the aptly namen Orgasme De Chocolate, Araguani dark chocolate fondat with milk chocolate sorbet, liquories and cocoa Viennois.
The wine list is among the most far reaching in Bali, featuring some of the world's most celebrated wine varieties from the major wine making regions, as well as some very reasonably priced bottles. The management is quite happy for guest to bring a long their personal choices too, for a small corkage fee.
Service was impeccable throughout, with waiting staff presenting themselves at opportune moments, to produce an unexpected amuse bouche of broccoli cappuccino with paprika stick or when wine or water needed refilling, for example: otherwise a discreet but attentive distance was observed.
With the ambience, food, wine, and service all falling smoothly into place, only the fifth element remained – good company and that falls outside the boundaries of this review. Suffice to say, CasCades proved to be an exquisite fine dinning experience on all counts. |
