Perception Restaurant has been in business for about 2 years.  It was the result of a collaboration of Chef Sukwon Yong and Barnabé Lahaye to bring a fusion of the cuisine of Korea (where the chef is from) with French gastronomy.   It was a small long place with lowered lighting but spots that helped illuminate many of the tables.  Some of the stone/brick walls had bench seating to pair with the small bare wood tables and hung with many mirrors.  The kitchen was at the back of the place opposite windows to the street on the other end.  They offer an al la carté menu as well as 6 and 8-course tasting menus.  Both tasting menus had optional wine pairings.  Their website did not list what was on the menus but they were explained on the menus on the table.  We chose the 8-course menu with the pairings.  The pairings were a small pour but the cost was low so that could be expected.  It was interesting that they didn’t change out the wine glasses but did change out the flatware between courses.  Overall, I’d call this one a mixed meal.

Set-Up

 

Food

The meal started with several amuse bouche.  A squash bouillon with herbs had the tiniest croutons ever, but they stayed crispy.  It was yummy.  A small carrot was glazed with raspberry and was nicely tender.  A wooden spoon held salmon tartar with ginger dressing.  The nice chunks had a good ginger ping.

 

Bread service was sliced white sourdough bread served with Espelette butter.  the bread had a good crust and the crumb was reasonably dense.  While the pepper gave the butter a definitely red color it only added a hint of flavor.

 

La Saint-Jacques scallops were plated with seaweed, citrus, radish, lemon caviar and watercress and oil dressing.  The raw scallop was sliced and paired well with the crisp radish slices and the pop of the lemon caviar.  It was refreshing.

 

Le Topinambour or Jerusalem artichoke was roasted and glazed with tarragon while other thinner pieces were fried into chips.  It was beside a consomme of coconut cream topped with dried Jerusalem artichoke shavings.  Lots of good textural contrasts as well as flavors mixed in to make this a great dish.

 

Le Mandoo foie gras et kimchi was a pasta stuffed with foie gras on duck broth, kimchi, leeks, and mushrooms.  The mushrooms were both enoki and shitake, with the latter having a great flavor that matched the broth.  There was a hint of spiciness from the kimchi adding to this excellent dish.

 

La  Lotte is monkfish and it was presented barbecue-style.  First it was marinated in kombu seaweed for 30 hours and then grilled.  A sauce was made from the fish bones with black garlic, parsley and celery and aside from it were some pickled strips of celeriac.  The fish was almost raw inside and still quite translucent, with a wonderful texture and taste.  The sauce was on the salty side so dip in it sparingly and you were fine. The pickled bits added fun clarity to the flavor.  A nice course.

 

Bibimbap palourdes contained rice, clams, kimchi, sesame oil, cucumber, spinach, mushrooms, and radish with fermented pepper paste and a sesame-garlic sauce on the side.  My spinach was a bit stringy and hard to cut but otherwise, the flavors were good and went well with the sauces.  The pepper sauce did add a good amount of spiciness if you desired.  It was tasty.

 

Le Cerf was venison with deer jus and roasted onions.  On the side was a dish of very whippy mashed potatoes topped with buckwheat popcorn.   Some pear and pepper were rings on the plate to bring out a sweet and spicy combination to the very rare meat.  It mixed great with the tasty onions and the gelatinous sauce.  The potatoes were a fun textural experience along with nice flavors.

 

La Satsuma et la pistache was the first dessert.  It combined tangerine, pistachio and lemon grass with an ice cream that held much orange rind flavor.  The cookie topper was not too crisp but overall the plate held interesting flavor combinations but was not very sweet.

 

Le Macaron exotique chocolat was the second dessert.  It combined passionfruit, meringue,  and mango paper with the mild chocolate.  It all combined well but again was not too sweet.  A glass of Rhum went well with this one.

 

Last treats were an apple tart made with Granny Smith apples in a very fine crust.  Also a chocolate with a liquid fig filling.  Both nice finishing touches.