Bon Bon
Jamon Iberico, Sweet and Crispy Nest, Olive Fritter
Horseradish Marshmallow, Tomato Meringue
Sardine and Herring Croquette
Radish Granite, Horseradish Smoked Cream, Peas
Trimmed Oysters, Jelly of Cucumber, Vodka, Celeriac, Crème Fraiche
Crispy Bread with Eggplant Spread / Sourdough with 4 Butters – Esplette, Salt, Black Pepper, Spring Garlic
Langoustine Carpaccio, Fish Cake, Squid Emulsion, White Garlic Cream, Seaweed Crisp
White Asparagus, Anchovy, Rhubarb, Peas, Soju
Wild Garlic Veloute, Bacon Chantilly
Cod Loin, Legumes, Nasturtium, Basil, Salt Cod Fritters
Potato Gnocchi, Black Olive, Garlic Flower
Smoked Wild Pigeon, Mousseline of Shallots, Gin-Ginger Jam, Wild Spinach, Hazelnut Pan Jus
“Burned” Beef, Sweet Onions, Parsley, Artichokes, Beef Jus
Pineapple, Passion Fruit, Meringue, Sage Ice Cream, Pate de Choux
Macaron Cart – Chocolate-Ginger, Saffron, Speculoos, Roses, Olive Oil, White Chocolate and Yuzu
Walnut Pie
Toqued by Christophe Hardiquest with a lovely location in the pricy outskirts of Brussels, Bon Bon has been slowly building on concept of “boundless exploration, sharing and complicity” ever since opening, the accolades arriving from Michelin, Gault & Millau and Grand Tables du Monde with each passing season as the restaurant continues to evolve its experience into something more than just ‘fine dining.’
Considered by many to be the best restaurant in Brussels, the day of this meal a truly daunting one with a workers strike causing a nearly two-hour traffic delay en route, it was nearly forty-five minutes after 19h00 that arrival was finally made at the white brick building on Avenue de Tervueren, the staff completely understanding of the situation and as pleasant as they were accommodating with a table in full view of the open kitchen still ready in waiting.
Offering several tasting menus in addition to a la carte selections, the spontaneous discovery a nine-course experience flanked on each end with no less than a dozen canapes, amuses, mignardises, candies and breads it was with little indecision that the decision was made to partake in anything Chef Hardiquest and his team felt like creating, the next two-hundred minutes well invested with steady nearly every bite a resounding success and very few delays in pacing.
Reportedly upping their style in recent years, small touches like a selection of elegant cutlery for meats and purse stools styled as sheep not seen by a friend who dined there one year ago, the tasting at Bon Bon began with a flurry of small bites including a nutty ham and fried fritters as well as savory marshmallows and meringue, the most memorable taste a briny croquette of Sardine and Herring as well as the liquid nitrogen charged Radish with spicy Smoked Cream and Peas.
Serving two styles of bread, the leaflets of lavash served from a folder with pureed eggplant while toothsome Sourdough comes with soft house-blended butter in four forms, the start of the tasting is announced by delivery of a “toolkit” containing everything from Chopsticks and Tweezers to polished forks and knives, the Chef’s signature oysters soon to arrive with each perfectly trimmed circle’s brine punctuated by vodka, cucumbers and cream.
A progressive tasting if there ever was one, the lighter flavors leading effortlessly into red meats with a vegetable-centered focus that looks seasonally at the surrounding lands, courses such as the Carpaccio of Langoustine were beautiful expressions of taste, color and texture, the White Asparagus somehow striking a balance between Anchovy and Rhubarb while a particularly poignant potage of garlic was reined in by smoky pork Chantilly.
Larger in portions than the standard upscale tasting, the longest menu potentially overwhelming those of modest appetites – or at least those unable to resist the bread – Cod Loin served with a sidecar of Brandade fritters delivered perhaps the most invigorating dish of the night with several beans and peas beneath Nasturtium and Basil, tender potato dumplings arriving next so light that they threatened to raise off the plate against gravity with a base of Black Olive and Garlic Flower crown.
Told that a “bonus” course would be served as “thanks for visiting from so far away,” the menu’s original climax of Smoked Wild Pigeon with Shallot Mousseline was another stunning offering before another signature of “Burned” Beef, Sweet Onions, Artichokes and Parsley.
Falling short on dessert, not for lack of trying but because Passion Fruit’s cloying flavor is rarely something that lends to the balance seen in Hardiquest’s savory plates, it was with good fortune that Bon Bon’s elegant Macaron Cart was there to immediately rectify the situation, options including Olive Oil, Chocolate-Ginger, Saffron, Speculoos, Roses and White Chocolate with Yuzu each topped with a dollop of cream or fruit plus garnishes before ending the night with a bittersweet finale of Black Walnut Pie.
http://bon-bon.be