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Vip Tours | 1
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| American Dream Cuisine™ |
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Doc
Cheng's
In Hamburg, Germany
Receives |
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Extraordinaire - Society |
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5 Stars
& 6 Stripes for
Extraordinaire - Society Cuisine &
Service |
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The Ultimate Award:
Seven
Stars and Stripes ™ |
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From the moment we entered the dining room all our
tiredness was gone. Doc Cheng's beauty is timeless, yet modern. The marble
tables were flanked by upholstered corners; the profile follows the
"understated elegance" theme that Ingo C. Peters seems to cherish.
A
wonderfully interesting exotic aroma assaulted our senses as we passed by the
open kitchen leading to Doc Cheng's dining area of the Raffles Hotel Vier
Jahreszeiten. At work at their stations were Chef de Cuisine Niels Mester and
his international crew, surrounded by heavy iron sauce pans, rice steamers, a
wok station and a hand built Tandoori clay oven. You could see that the kitchen
team was moving rapidly in sync, hydra-like, going about their tasks deftly in
unison while grilling, stir-frying and moving things on long skewers in and out
of the large Tandoori oven. "This must be a dream job" I thought as I breathed
in the light, fresh, healthy and exciting new aromas emanating from this
original Asian show kitchen and I watched as Chef Niels Mester carefully
prepared dishes according to ancient recipes. A reassuring wink of the eye from
the Master Chef himself left us with a feeling of total confidence as we were
led to our table by Restaurant Manager Marcus Scharon. The spirit of Penang
1882 where Doc Cheng was born…………lives on!
Yes,
Marcus told us, Doc Cheng was in fact a real character and not someone created
on a Disney drawing table although his life couldn't have been scripted better
by an all-star screenwriter's committee from the best production companies in
Hollywood. The fact that Doc Cheng wound up in Hamburg is a story in itself
that winds through the spicy worlds of Singapore, Bangkok, London and finally
this city, ultimately through the world renowned hospitality of a certain
'Fräulein Nane' and her appreciation of Cheng's aphrodisiacal teas.
We are led past magnificent Oriental woodcarvings and far-east furnishings
of rare hardwoods accentuated with table settings by Thomas Goode of London
'Eclipse Series', hand blown stemware from Singapore and flatware from
Solingen, Germany. As Marcus neatly deposited us at our very private table we
felt secure, comfortable and warm and my mind drifted as I began to speculate
if I would be able to appreciate some of Doc Cheng's special teas anytime soon.
Our menus were being distributed as the naan bread arrived light,
crisp and hot, fresh out of the Tandoori oven. Naan is formed from a yeasted
dough made with yoghurt, delivering a slight smoky flavor derived from being
slapped directly to the sides of the oven. The delightfully crispy naan almost
drowned out our conversation as we happily munched and crunched with gusto. Our
waiter appeared silently and announced that Chef Mester had prepared a sampling
menu for us of some of his favorite menu items along with the accompanying wine
selections and asked if that would meet with our approval. "I love not having
to make decisions!" Simone whispered to me as a bottle of San Pellegrino
sparkling water was being poured into the elegant stemware. |
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We were pleased to see that
the importance of "understated elegance" was perpetuated with the choice of a
favorite champagne of Restaurant Manager Scharon, the classical "R" de Ruinart
Brut. The gracious offer of a refreshing pause for a couple of glasses of
champagne before dining was eagerly accepted.
Our first impression of
this powerfully refined wine was that of its ability to electrify the palate
with its awesome presence. |
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Its remarkable intensity
delivers a fruity nose brilliantly mimicking the subtleties of its chardonnay
and pinot noir origins. We observed the brilliance of its goldenrod yellow
color before savoring the excellent mousse and fine bubbles showing notes of
pear and white peach.
We lingered a while to appreciate the lengthy
but harmonious finish before slowing rising to take our places in Doc Cheng's
Restaurant. |
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As soon as we handed back the menus, another waiter
brought us some Lavosh bread, a thinly sliced whole grain variety accompanied
by an appropriately cool cucumber yoghurt spread. Our senses were hard at work
identifying all the obscure and subtle flavors that seemed to spring to life
with every bite forcing us to daydream constantly of a far away place and time.
We kicked back a bit to relish the impressive Euro-Asian ambience
that works well to envelope you in a sort of secrete fantasy of a
'gemütliches Bali Hai'! All this originality is backed up by the
impeccable attention to detail by Chef Mester, which earned him a respectable
15 Gault Millau points for creativity. The staff was extremely attentive, well
trained and organized while setting the mood with traditional Chinese outfits
that would make even Chairman Mao proud. The only thing missing was Mao’s
‘Little Red Book’ and a long ‘coolie’ hair braid of long
ago for authenticity. |
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Our inscrutable server team
moved silently to swiftly produce our next course: The Asian Sampler
- Tempura of Black Tiger
Prawns and Tuna
- Thai Summer Roll of
Prawns
- California
Roll
- Maki of Tuna and
Prawn
- Nisha Prawn
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We
tried hard not to seem over eager to dive-in as each of these divinely
presented items held us to appreciate them as works of art first. Visually,
each of Chef Mester's creations took on a life of their own as if they had been
fashioned by hand in an artisan's workshop. We could now understand why it had
been written in some of Europe's top publications that "Doc's cuisine makes
everyone happy!"
All this was thoughtfully paired with Chardonnay
Novalis Central Valley, 2002 Chile - a concentrated wine reminiscent of the
great Burgundian wines such as Puligny Montrachet. |
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Next came Chef Mester's flawless rendition of Chicken
Sate with Coriander and Chili. The chicken breasts remained tender and juicy
while being basted with just the right amount of peanut sate coating dusted
with chili for a genuine eye-opener.
For Simone it was Tandoori Fillet
of Beef with Marinated King Prawn in Thai Basil Crustacean Foam with glazed
green asparagus and melted Tomato and Lemongrass Risotto. Anything prepared in
a Tandoori oven has the distinct characteristic of being gently cooked at a
high temperature thereby allowing the aromas to unfold while at the same time
preserving the natural juices. Biting into this filet of beef produced the
sensation of concentrated flavor bursting onto the palate as if it were being
applied with a spray gun. Our basic senses were at this time receiving an
international education in culinary appreciation.
Our wine paring was
Cabernet Sauvignon Alles Verloren, 2001 South Africa Wine Estate, Riebeeck
West, Wine of Origin Swartland. This wine is produced in the only wine estate
of the region 100 mi NE of Capetown, a traditionally dry area. It is a full
bodied, wooded wine with dominant herb and pepper tones. It appears garnet red
and is intensely luxurious with plenty of tannins making this a perfect paring
for beef. |
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At last
we were presented with our dessert selections of Composition of "five-spices"
for me. This consisted of:
- Clove-port parfait
- Crème of black pepper and
pineapple
- Cinnamon crème
brulée and figs
- Fennel ice cream with
kumquats
- Coriander cake with pomegranate
and raisins
And for Simone: The Three
Lives of Mango which was a trio of sorbets and mousse with wan tan
cookie. |
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The dessert wine of Grgich
Hills Violetta, Napa Valley 1994 Late Harvest presented itself with a deep
golden hue and a powerful aroma of sweet ripe fruit in a full bodied
composition.
Restaurant Manager Scharon returned to the table to see
how we were doing and brought with him two lovely little glasses filled with
Bamboo Liqueur Chu Yeh Ching Chien, China for us to sip on as a digestive aid.
We found the delicate clear liquid to be tantalizingly similar to a very good
'grappa' although it was hard for us to imagine what process it would take to
harvest and distill stalks of green bamboo in the midst of a Panda reserve.
"All good things must come to an end, but all great things linger on
in one's conscience for years to come" I remember thinking as we strolled out
of Doc Cheng's. We will be talking about this exotic dalliance to anyone who
will listen for Doc Cheng's is an experience not to be missed. |
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by
Simone Buehrmann & Thorsten Piosczyk
Editor-in-Chief: John
Lomitola
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Vip Tours | 1
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