Restaurant Session (in Voerendaal, Netherlands): De Leuf

In the end of September, we had a great dinner at De Leuf✨, from chef Robin van de Bunt, in Voerendaal. We have been there in 2009 (when his father was the chef) and in 2017 - time for a visit again :-)

De Leuf from inside.

 

Love the flowers!

 

The high ceilings get an extra charm with the dark wood pillars and the chandelier.

Our table.

To start the evening, I had a classic Kir Royal with Ruinart Champagne, Roger had a martini.

 

Cheers!

 

With the aperitif, the first amuse bouche: crispy chicken skin, roasted coconut, kefir, curry and red pepper. Sooo good!

[Hühnen Haut | Kokosnuss | Curry | Rote Pfeffer]

 

As second amuse bouche, northsea crab, mango joghurt and tandoori. With a liquid core, it was delicious!!

[Nordseekrabbe | Mango | Joghurt | Tandori]

 

Salmon, miso, vadouvan and aki caviar. Very aromatic.

[Lachs | Miso | Vandouvan | Aki Kaviar]

 

The fourth amuse bouche: chawanmuchi, scallop, yuzu and green onion. Excellent!

[Jakobsmuschel | Chawanmushi | Yuzu | Zwiebel]

 

 

 As last amuse, a classic Paul van de Bunt: shellfish.

 

 Great taste and beautifully presented.

 

Bread and butter. Love their thin bread with seeds!

As first course, steak tartare, wasabi, ponzu and imperial heritage caviar.

Great combination, full of flavor!

Pairing with the tartare, a glass of Silvaner Kabinnet trochen from winery Helmut Christ.

 

And a glass of sake, that fit perfectly.

Non-alcoholic paring fron Roger: a glass of Inspiration 4.6 with pear, gooseberries and bell pepper from Manufaktur Joerg Geiger.

 

As second dish, two variations of lobster, boemboe bali, tomato and lime leaf, served in...

...two dishes.

With the lobster, a glass of 2018 Blanc de Noir Spaetburgunder from winery Claes Schmitt Erben.

 

As non-alcoholic pairing, tomato infusion with spices and fresh kefir.

 

Fits so perfectly with the dish!

 

As third course, oyster, dashi, lavas and sherry.

[Oyster| Dashi | Lavas | Sherry]

 

Pairing with the oyster, as glass of cava MIM Natura Brut Reserva of the winery Vins el Cep.

 

 

As non-alcoholic pairing with the oyster, a drink made of lovage, or lava.

 

Very cool glass :-)

 

Monkfish, jerusalem artishoke, lardo and katsuobushi. This dish was also served in two...

 

 ...variations, but the second one came almost 30 minutes later. Very weird...

With the fourth dish, a choice between 2017 Akilia Vila San Lorenzo or...

 ...2020 Guimaro from Ribeira Sacra.

 

As main dish, ribeye with aubergine, soja and blackpepper. Delicious!

[Ribeye | Eggplant | soja | black pepper]

 

With the main dish, a glass of 2018 Aciano "El Pego" from Alvar de Dios Hernandez.

Pairing with the main dish, Roger got a glass of Inspiration 4.2 with red currant, apple and blackberries.

 

Sweet time! Starting with a sweet amuse. 

With the dessert, a glass of 2017 Spaetlese Angerhof from Tschida. Very nice!

 

 

Roger's non-alcoholic version.

 

Dessert time, with mango and coconut.

 

Roger got a non-alcoholic drink specially for the dessert. Such a nice non-alcoholic, one of the best he experienced - creative and fitting perfectly with the flavors of the dishes!

 

 

Amuse bouche time!!! Such a big variation! It is really nice that they have a menu printed with all the variations - helps on the impressive choice :-)

"I can resist everything but temptation." ;-)

Time to go home! We enjoyed very much (great flavors!), but there are some points that we hope will improve. The pace felt very slow - we arrived at 19h and left at 23h13 for a 7 course menu. Probably something went wrong int he kitchen, as it did not feel normal to have a 30 minutes space between two dishes that belong to the same starter.

 

Sept 24th, 2021.