VanEats

Diva at the Met still rocks in 2003

Posted by Roland Tanglao on 11/29/03; 11:58:56 PM From the Restaurants dept. We had one of our finest meals of 2003 tonight at Diva at the Met. Diva's food in 2003 is just as fabulous as Diva's food in 2000 .  Nothing more needs to be said, really! But of course we can't leave it at that. The new for 2003  dynamic duo of Scott Baechler as executive chef and Thomas Haas contributing his mouth watering desserts is just the most prominent part of the fabulous team at Diva.  Our service tonight was impeccable, friendly and warm.  A first class operation from the front of the house to the food to the serving staff. A famous Vancouver chef once said to us, "Who needs more than four courses?". Diva's four course tasting menu for $70 is proof positive that he is right. For $70, you get to pick two starters, a main and a dessert off the regular Diva dinner menu.  No restrictions! Everything tonight was great.  The highlight of the mains and the starters was the great texture and flavour contrasts that worked well together. For example, the foie gras' rich, creamy, and luxurious flavour contrasted pleasurably  with the puy lentils, which were tart and al dente.  Or my main which was lobster paired with Israeli couscous; sweet barely cooked lobster with couscous in a rich, sweet sauce with truffle essence.  This was the best main of the night. Moving to the desserts, the best dessert of the night was still their classic Stilton cheesecake.  The rich lingering flavour tempered beautifully by the rhubarb compote is a subtle, mindblowing experience.  The Cantonese have a word for this rich lingering flavor, gam.  Barb, can't really translate this concept well, so if any of our Cantonese speaking readers can, please leave a comment. The fois gras also has a superb gam flavour. The Thomas Haas desserts have no gam flavour but they are outstanding.  I loved my chocolate bar which consisted of chocolate sorbet, a chocolate bar and a chocolate sparkle.  A very cool and deliciously executed concept: The  sorbet is pure unadulterated bursts of chocolate flavour.  The bar had two layers; one of which was was crunchy and the sparkle was a soft chocolate cookie.  Again many textures, many flavours and together they provided a delicious experience. Highly recommended. Link: # | Discuss | |