ALINEA

If that title doesn't ring a bell, then I respectfully suggest you take a look first at the longest paragraph in this earlier post of mine. Not that I have by any means described the magnanimity of the word in itself, which on that note I figure would be a good start..

Alinea, comes from the Latin phrase a linea which translates to "off the line." In a normal dictionary, you'd find it defined as typographical character - one that denotes a new paragraph (a pilcrow, as some of you may know it as). The word, then typifies Chef Grant Achatz' personal venture which resulted in him opening his own restaurant in Chicago in 2005. Within half a decade, Alinea has ascended through the ranks of world-class restaurants, and is currently ranked the 10th best restaurant in the world. I hope that suffices for an introduction to the amazing experience I shall attempt to describe now, mostly in photos though for words quite simply fail me on this account.

*** Following on from where I left off ***

With the formalities out of the way, we were all set for a truly memorable meal; to say the least. First came our table's decoration - a centerpiece of sorts which the waiter simply described to be "for decoration purposes, at the moment."

We were started off with the chef's version of Char Roe, infused with plantain, ginger and papaya wrapped in a "plastic" shell, which was in fact edible cellophane made of hazelnut syrup. This came along with our first pairing for the night - a cocktail of Aubry Brut with Chartreuse, Akvavit and Orange Curacao.

This was soon followed by our appetizer. To set our taste buds for what came next, we were served a distillation of Thai flavors in a shot glass. Then came our make-it-yourself spring roll, with our centerpiece being brought in as part of the meal. Julian and Kwong Hann had pork belly while I had cod in curry (pictured below) as my meat base. An interesting thing we noticed was how our wrappings were in fact embedded with vegetables in an artsy manner. The fillings we were allowed to mix-and-match with (clockwise from top-left): Black smoked sea salt, cucumber balls, fried shallot, banana with curry powder, lime, coconut, red onions, cayenne pepper sauce, cashew nuts, cilantro and vinaigrette..

Next up was a dish simply called "Lobster," served with Melville's 2008 Estate Viognier. "It's really hot," our waiter says as he warns us against touching the odd-shaped bowl we were served in. "Consider yourselves warned," he then chirped with a smile before walking away. The parfait in this dish had a multitude of flavors

Once we were done with the parfait, the odd bowl finally began to make sense to us, along with our waiter's advice as the top part of the bowl was removed to reveal another dish beneath - a simple yet delicious lobster salad.

Brewing at the bottom of our bowls while we enjoyed the dishes above was our Masala Tea, which I must note was very creamy and definitely nothing like the normal masala tea I've had back in Malaysia, but it was pretty good nonetheless. Of course, being part of the 'Lobster dish' meant that it had to be infused with the rich essence of lobster.. really, I'd consider it more of a soup.

This was followed by another seafood dish, this time in the form of sturgeon - and boy was it amazing. This course was paired with some fine Spanish white wine in the form of the Avanthia Godello Valdeorras 2008.

For the following course, my inability to consume beef resulted in me being served chicken instead, which was excellent in itself. Never had I eaten chicken of such intricate flavor and delicacy. Julian and Kwong Hann meanwhile feasted on a delicious beef dish - called simply Filet de Boeuf.

At this point, we were already awed by the sheer genius of Mr. Achatz, but dinner was far from over. The next dish was Goose, served with juniper for aroma. A rather short course this one, but one to ignite the senses nevertheless.

Once we were done with the goose, our sommelier served us ruby-red Italian wine in an eye-catching glass goblet; namely Donnafugata's 2005 'Mille e una Notte' Contessa Entellina DOC from Sicily. Just the presentation of the wine gave us a feel of the strong flavor and complexity of the upcoming dish. The was no complexity whatsoever, though, in our waiter's description when the dish was finally served - "Duck, duck, duck and duck. Any questions?" he asked in a rhetoric manner, leaving us to an indulgent dish which left us wishing we could lick our plates clean as we scooped away the final drops of gravy off the plate.

After this I was served with Egg Nog - which incredibly lacked the smell of egg, let alone its aftertaste.. perfect for an egg-hater like myself. I never had eggnog before (again because of the mental correlation I've drawn between the word 'egg' and my lifelong aversion to it), but if they were in general anything close to being as good as Alinea's, I really wouldn't mind having them again. Meanwhile, Julian and Kwong Hann were served with a slice of bacon, presented in the best way possible.

With that came my favorite portion of any multi-course meal - the dessert. Of course, at this point I was reminded of the exquisite warm chocolate fondant I had at Picasso, and I was ready to pit Alinea's end-meal against what I believe to be a truly worthy opponent. First we were served an earl gray-infused dessert with lemon crackers, pine nut and caramelized white chocolate. It truly was amazing, tangy in flavor and rich in texture. Yet I really found it difficult to draw a comparison to the fondant - they were, effectively different types of desserts. Of course, the Earl Grey's flavor was accented by De Bortoli's 2006 Noble One. Oh, and did I mention how the dessert was balanced on a pillow infused with lavender perfume that dissipated around us as we were eating the dessert? I guess not.

We were not done yet with the mouth-washers.. oh no, not by Alinea's standards. The previous dessert was followed in quick time by a wonderful chocolate dessert. As I sank my lips into the incredibly delicious dessert, the image of the warm chocolate fondant began to fade away - slowly but surely. Rich in flavor, firm yet silky in texture; I was left craving for more of it. The sweet wine that was served with it - the 20 Year Ramos-Pinto from Tawny Port, was the best drink I've had (and I just noticed it's also the most expensive.. lol) to date.. period.

Here is where I was delighted by yet another pleasant surprise (yeah, a surprise within a surprise).. Our waiter for the night brings out one plate, and a single spoon to go with it while reciting the first two lines of 'Happy Birthday.' One the plate lied a simple, yet elegant-looking chocolate ball. The waiter then proceeded to pour hot white chocolate on the ball as it began to "unwrap" to reveal a scoop of ice-cream on the inside. If the presentation was splendid, the dessert itself was.. well, heavenly. I felt light-headed as I divulged into the divine treat, scoop after scoop. Within minutes, I had found yet another "best dessert to date," and it was not to be beaten that night, let alone at any point in the near future..

Finally, we were all served with clear tubes filled with hibiscus, creme fraiche and a bubble-gum flavored substance which were all to be sucked-up in one go. We ended the night with a single shot of Espresso, to make sure we stayed awake that night to recall and rave on about the amazing moments we had just experienced.

As we were catching our breath at the end of it all, our waiter comes up once again and hands out to us black folders with a sheet of paper listing our respective meals. It very much felt like a certificate for the accomplishment of having dined at a restaurant that goes beyond imagination.

The price, as you may have already expected - was astounding, yet not for a fraction of a second did any of us think that it was not worth it. An experience like this will last in memories forever, and to have shared the experience with a couple of amazing individuals you'd never give up - PRICELESS..

UPDATE: Alinea is now ranked the TOP restaurant in the entire North America, and 7th in the world.. Well, well, well.. just when I thought it couldn't get sweeter than those desserts.