A World of Pure Imagination at Chef Didier’s Table

Sir Dan strikes again with a …

Sitting at Chef Didier’s table. \m/

… fantabulous restaurant reco! (Thank you so much for your contributions to the Baguio food quest, Sir! =D)

I clicked on the Facebook page link Sir Dan left me, half wondering, how come I was hearing about Chef Didier’s Table only then (late November 2016).  While placed on my radar and as enthusiastic as I was to see, see, see what’s happening here, I decided to hold off so that my foodie posse and I could dine at this new private dining offering (like how we did it at Mama’s Table,) before parting for the holidays and also as a birthday dinner for Ate Beth and me. The thing is, life does have a way of throwing roadblocks when it feels like it, so our booking was shelved for a later date. When that will be, we’re not sure yet.

They had me at crostini. *tee hee

Beginning 2017, Chef Didier and Ms. Merna reached out and sent an invitation to Find Good Baguio Foods. Like someone with an itch that badly needed scratching now, I couldn’t help but jump at the chance to experience what’s on offer here.

We arrived at this Rosalinda Mansion apartment to see a table for two set up with homemade purple potato chips for starter pica pica as well as a plate with slices of butter and a babaganoush looking dollop on it already laid out. UPDATE late 2017: I heard they moved to 134 Loakan, Liwanag Subdivision, Baguio City. (Have yet to see their new digs for myself; hopefully, soon.)

Potato chip starters, bread with garlic paste and butter spreads

We soon found out from the friendly Chef Didier (who already started telling us something before introductions *hihi) that that’s a garlic paste, cooked in such a way that it already caramelized and the uber kick to the spice eked out of it. Spread on bread that Chef baked, together with the butter, it turns ‘plain’ bread into garlic bread in an instant.

He also brought out a plate of fresh tomato basil crostinis that woke our taste buds up with every juicy bit of topping and the crunchy toasted bread slices. \m/

Table for two at Chef Didier’s

With Chef D and Ms. Merna telling us how they ended up in Baguio … just moved to the City of Pines, October last year. (Whoa, Sir Dan, ears to the ground *bow bow We have our very own Chef Didier! Think, The Last Holiday movie), we moved on to soup starters to which we were warned to take things slow for even if I requested a ‘simple-ish’ lunchies, Chef Didier totally turned things around showing us what ‘simple’ meant to him. =b

Cream of vegetable soup with salmon timbale

The first bowl, cream of vegetable soup with ingredients bought locally and purchased just a day or two in advance (not just for the soup but for ALL dishes. Also MSG free), our hosts explained how it’s impossible to be unhealthy in a city like ours. As if on cue, I felt like the vitamins in the liquefied veg fortifying my body as I took my first sip. Amusing presentation, too, where the veggie soup was poured from a pitcher over the salmon timbale that almost didn’t feel like salmon to us but meat bits. =) Perfect for chilly Baguio days.

Finishing salts – wild mushroom, mint, habanero, barbecue, Italian, Oriental, Mediterranean salts.

The conversation (about food, this food diary, Maldives, Bahrain, celebrity guests) kept going as we took sip after sip from our bowls. One of the topics was the finishing salts that Chef Didier recently put together. I know right, tres (very) salt bae. *heehaha He’s got this and that mix for topping on salads, fish, and steak for that Pop Rocks like effect for specific spoon/forkfuls.

Seafood bisque, herb and cheese sticks

Next is the most potent seafood bisque I’ve ever tasted so far with lots of shrimp hidden in the bottom of the bowl. Unmistakable, the taste of wine that was poured in the soup. Good thing the alcohol there was already  cooked away. I imagine how tipsy I would’ve gotten finishing every drop of that by going scarpetta on it using one of Chef Didier’s bread selections. =)) And check out the cheese stick, it might not look like much but what. a. texture game changer.

Wine and iced tea

Speaking of wine, this wouldn’t be a “lunch in Paris” if we didn’t have wine to drink. Chef and Ms. Merna explained, and related how this equalizes the French’s diets even with all the butter and rich stuff they consume.  Or apple cider, Chef continues. He then went on to describe how in the country, at his uncle’s farm, they made barrels and barrels of apple cider and 90% proof calvados/apple brandy. How I saw all the details of his story materializing in my mind’s eye. From Chef’s table, I was easily transported to Normandy. Whoosh!

Spiced crusted mahi-mahi, red rice, fruits of the sea *droolfest

Next up was the risotto/paella like dish, packed with seafood and topped with a spice crusted fish. ^^, OMG, take a closer look at that crust. It’s got sesame seeds on it. I wanted so much to go eating the seeds one by one from it. #weirdo Race and I halved the mahi-mahi and ate a few spoonfuls of the tasty rice mix.

Steak au poivre with Belgian fries aioli sauce

Steak au poivre was served in strips in wonderful, wonderful, finger kissing, lip smacking goodness sauce. Paired with mega crunchy Belgian fries, I didn’t go looking for ketchup at all but Chef Didier did bring us a helping of aoili made with his signature caramelized garlic paste. Here, he gave us a vital tip on how to do crunchy fries. Don’t you just ❤ knowledgeable generous people? At home, my family even played “shake, shake” rice on the Ziploc this was packed in. Must not waste that sauce!

Intermezzo with a non mozzarella cheese caprese salad  (“,)

We took a short break (intermezzo?) with a small bite of a simple dish like a caprese salad sans mozzarella: Sliced tomatoes drizzled with basil oil (yes, you read that right) and balsamic vinegar sprinkled with freshly ground pepper and one of the fab finishing salts.

Chef quizzed us to pinpoint what special ingredient we noted there and I just remember thinking, oh, fragrantly refreshing/refreshingly fragrant. While I’ve seen this herb in salad, it never occurred to me that mint bits could pack so much cooling and invigorating power. Mint salt, guys, it really brought these tomato slices to life. I said, they had me at crostini at the beginning of this post. I’m so much easier to please than I thought. *hee They had me at sliced tomatoes with basil oil and balsamic and mint salts.

Coq au vin, creamy mashed potatoes *nomnomnom

Moving on to poultry, Chef Didier related to us that he already planned to include duck in our menu for when we first made our December booking. Who’s looking forward to that? Me! (“,) This visit, however, we focused our chompers on chicken, one roasted and one as a coq au vin.

While the roasted chicken was made to rest for a while on the other table (it was tired, you see, coming in to Rosalinda Mansion alive, passing on, and being made into a great dish), we feasted on the slow cooked coq au vin shredded on top of one of the most herb-y mashed potatoes I’ve ever had. Again, a whole bottle of wine in this dish … sighs of relief that the alc content has evaporated away leaving only flaveur!

Herb roasted free range chicken undergoing slicing.

By this time, Race and I were feeling like we were about to explode so we just got a pinch of the roasted fowl. Mmm, juicy. As of the moment, the rest of it (minus the neck which Ms. Merna loves) is in our ref, ready to be dinner today. Can’t wait! Good thing, time flies by so quickly.

Digestif light green salad with melted brie in buttery pastry ^^,

Being in a French house, salads don’t come as appetizers but as digestif(s), palate cleansing as well as preparing our tummies for dessert. The French are never without cheese, we’re told, so these plates, came with puff pastry with brie that eagerly squirted out of the bread as we cut into it.

Sprinkled with more finishing salt, this has to be another one of my favorite salads now. Tangy salad dressing with the bursting flavors of the rock salt and herbs, just WOW. This might also be the first time I’ve ever seen zucchini blossoms used in salad and by the heavens, an amazing texture and taste!

Croissants and pain au chocolat. Note: The cross section of the croissant. =D

Chef’s famous croissants and pain au chocolat was laid out in front of us. This has to be the best croissant we’ve ever tasted, we silently thought, with the bit of it we popped into our mouths. The choco bread, that really pa(i)n-ed me to not be able to eat the whole lot of it at that very moment. *harhar

Bursting at the seams we were, for sure. I did get a teaspoon of Chef’s zucchini jam though. Reminiscent of chutney, I couldn’t wait till he has another supply of these. (Someone did a wholesale/panic buying of it.) The same goes for the tomato jam; I’ll get a jar of that when it’s available again please, Chef. The thought is going over my head a bit, and I’m trying to keep in mind that tomatoes are berries and not veggies. (Remember Cookie Monster’s shower thoughts?)

Zucchini jam and tomato jam

And finally dessert (paired with a cup of fresh mint tea). Mille feuille, a custard slice made of delicate puff pastry layers, a side of vanilla ice cream and banana slices swimming in coffee caramel sauce. Who said, I was full? “There’s always room for dessert”. Not a crumb left of this big on texture and temperature, but well balanced taste dessert. (Yey, for Chef Didier’s 3T’s!)

Millefeuille/gateaux Napoleon with vanilla ice cream and banana slices and coffee infused caramel syrup =)

Just like many chefs we’ve met, Chef Didier is a very chatty man. Apart from the inventive, imaginative and délicieux dishes we had at his private table at Rosalinda Mansion, we also got a generous helping of vivid stories of his/their experiences around the world peppered throughout the meal. Of course, sakin na yung iba dun (else this post is going to be thousands in word count *snickers). I’m sure, you’ll get to hear some of these when you come dining at Chef Didier’s Table, too. Please do make your bookings at least TWO DAYS in ADVANCE. Enter, a world of pure imagination [in food (besides French, Chef knows how to cook other cuisines)  and tales] private table dining.

Happy from starters to finishing millefeuille dessert. Wee!

Chef Didier’s Table

(UPDATE late 2017)

134 Loakan

Liwanag Subdivision

Baguio City

0921 572 8408

https://www.facebook.com/Chef-Didiers-Table-1358944930813040/

An ever grateful X with Chef and his wife.

See location on Google Maps: Baguio City Hall to Rosalinda Mansion Chef Didier’s Table: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/City+Hall+Dr,+Baguio,+Benguet,+Philippines/Rosalinda+Mansion,+Roman+Ayson+Rd,+Brgy.+Campo+Filipino,+Baguio,+2600+Benguet,+Philippines/@16.4146123,120.5870392,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x3391a1660137a101:0x73434afa8b3b9a14!2m2!1d120.5915473!2d16.4137125!1m5!1m1!1s0x3391a1655c3a9d0d:0x1521c6cb6949dc03!2m2!1d120.5866808!2d16.414503 ) UPDATE late 2017: (Google Map pin no longer applicable) Moved to 134 Loakan, Liwanag Subdivision, Baguio City

Chef Didier’s table.

***Thank you so very much, Chef Didier and Ms. Merna for welcoming us to your home and stuffing us silly (with foodstuff and narratives). At the time I’m composing this post, my stomach still feels like a sack (more than a bag) of coins and I’m highly energized. I can’t wait for my foodie lovies to clear their scheds for a visit to your place one of these days. “We want some more, we want some more!”