Lumiere - October 12

We actually saw these rainbows yesterday, but I forgot to mention it. After we passed through some showers, these lovely rainbows made an ephemeral appearance. We must be getting close to Hawaii!

The Suite Concierge had a Hawaiian Party and encouraged us to stop by before dinner. It was lively and crowded. We met some new people and enjoyed ourselves.

We had a special dinner booked for tonight, so we didn’t eat anything at the Hawaiian Party. Our fabulous travel agent surprised us with the gift of a dinner at the Chef’s Table — a lavish multi-course dinner in a special space called Table Lumiere. It’s been several years since we have indulged in a Chef’s Table experience, and we were excited to try out the Lumiere space and some new menu items.

First we met the Executive Chef and the Director of Restaurant Operations at the Crown Grill Bar. We were given champagne and four different and beautiful hors d’oeuvres.

Carlos Marques and Oprea Barbu, Executive Chef

Breaded Shrimp with Japanese Panko Breadcrumbs

Foie Gras Bon bon Mon Cheri
Veuve Clicquot Champagne

A quick tour of the galley followed our cocktail time with Chef Barbu and Carlos.

The galley was spotless. This picture doesn’t show how busy it was.

Finally we were taken to the Lumiere Table in one of the dining rooms. A curtain of sparkling Swarovski crystals descended to create a private space for the twelve lucky diners.

Look at this impressive chandelier.

A series of courses began to arrive under silver domes. I am not going to show them all — I am told I tend to go overboard on food pictures.

Veal Oscar with Crab Meat

Lemon Mousse
Citrus hazelnut financier, lime cremeux, hazelnut crumble

The dinner was awesome. However, I am sorry to say that the wait staff was poorly trained and got several plates mixed up. Some of the foods were challenging to eat - several of the items seemed to be something round on top of a small disc. They tended to fall apart as soon as you tried to eat them. The Lumiere curtains did not filter out much noise. It was hard to hear our fellow diners across such a large table. Too bad; it is such a beautiful concept.

Today’s fabric is Artisan Batiks Bubble Blues - Circle Pacific, by Lunn Studios for Robert Kaufman.