2011/01/27

[Pasadena] [Brunch] Maison Akira - 日法混血Sunday Brunch體驗 (地雷餐廳)(English/Chinese)

Maison Akira餐廳在Pasadena一帶的華人圈頗具盛名, 不過我總結我兩次的用餐體驗並不覺得這是一間值得我推薦的餐廳. 我第一次是來品嘗他們有名的Chef's Special Lunch Set, 第二次則是他們有名的Sunday Brunch. 我認為以他們的定位, 他們在餐點的品質上還有許多需要加強的地方. 這一次的Review是他們的Sunday Brunch體驗.

Maison Akira由主廚 Akira Hirose 開設(並非其他部落格寫的Chef Maison Akira, Maison在法文意旨"家"), 主要以日本料理的素材來料理法國菜. 這間餐廳也榮獲2009米其林指南的推薦餐廳之一. 這位主廚也曾為日本天皇造訪美國洛杉磯時料理午餐, 算是十分有名氣.
餐廳不大, 所以料理的多元度也有限, 說實話, 這些菜色的賣相不佳, 除了他們的Miso Fish 與茶碗蒸外, 其他的燉牛肉, 馬鈴薯, 蒸青菜不是味道不足, 就是讓人感覺到沒有誠意只是擺來湊數的.

他們的茶碗蒸是他們的招牌菜色之一. 蛋非常的滑嫩, 高湯與蟹肉的搭配非常好. 不過我比較不習慣的是, 這也是他們唯一的Hot Egg Dish, 我認為他們因該提供單點的烘蛋/炒蛋等傳統早餐選項.
Roasted Beef, Turkey, Lamb Leg, Prime Rib with Red Wine Dressing
Salads and various cold dishes
Sushi - 他們的壽司以自助餐的標準來說算是相當不錯, 算是值得吃的菜色之一.
Cold dishes presentation

Dessert - 這裡的甜點絕對不能錯過, 每一個都小巧可愛, 口感也不差. 唯獨他們的層次感少了一點.

水果也十分新鮮
他們的布丁是今天最美味的甜點, 不過需要加上旁邊的覆盆子醬(Raspberry Sauce)去強調那種甜酸合一的美味.
牛肉的肉質並沒我想的那麼優良, 太多筋了, 也沒有甜美的肉汁. 他們的紅酒醬味道太淡, 並不能補足牛肉的缺點.

餐廳的服務維持了日系餐廳一貫的親切服務, 不過以這種價位並無法吸引我再次造訪這間餐廳

I gave this restaurant two chances. Once for the lunch, once for their Sunday brunch. My expectations were pretty high for this place due to the excellent peer review but I was disappointed with the taste/quality of the food that they delivered.

The following review is for my recent Sunday Brunch experience.
On Sunday, this restaurant offers All you can eat Brunch for $35/pp. For 3 dollars more, you can get ONE glass (non-refillable) champagne. There aren't two seatings as others mentioned. You can come in anytime between 11am to 2pm. They just stop serving food around 1:45pm - 2pm. So come early for best selection of food.

The selections were very limited due to the size of the restaurant. I was very shocked that they did not even have made to order Omelet! How can a Sunday Brunch served without an egg dish! They have crab chawanmushi (Steamed Crab Egg Custard) to offset that, which is also their signature dish. It is one of my favorite hot item among the brunch but I still prefer a true omelet/egg benedict/egg dishes for Brunch. They also offered miso glazed fish, stewed beef, roasted beef, prime rib, lamb leg as part of their hot items. To be honest, I was NOT impressed with the taste of the food. It was rather bland and tasteless. The meat have tendons which I did not like and the red wine/rosemary dressing that they provided was not enough to cover up the taste of the meat.

The cold dishes were rather, plain too. It has been sitting there for a while (the salads started to dry up when I arrive) and I did not find many items that I liked. The sushi was the good part of the cold dishes, but it was rather limited. I think the best cold dishes were Hamachi sushi and their Tuna sushi. They also have a warm/hot soup (Cream of Asparagus) which lack of taste as well.

Their dessert was the best part of the meal. Fruits were fresh enough and the chocolate dipped strawberry is always good to have. Their Caramel flan is very good. Smooth texture and full of taste. Right amount of sweetness. My friends and I also liked the roasted pineapple tart. Everything else is again, Average but does not have major fault (but it does not stand out as well).

Their service were VERY good. We had a very friendly yet courteous waitress which I think raised the overall performance of this otherwise un-inspirational restaurant.

For the price that they charge, this is sure a major disappointment for me. I don't know what is the hype over this place. I already give this place two tries. I don't know what will be a good reason to convince me to come again.

Maison Akira

713 E Green St
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 796-9501

沒有留言:

Related Posts with Thumbnails