Beyond the Fusion

We just finished the Kiin Kiin promotion from Copenhagen last week in our Celadon restaurant. The food had the clean, pure flavors with unexpected ingredient combinations that characterize Kiin Kiin culinary style. Chef Henrik’s cuisine has that effect because it is about the power of subtraction. There were no complicated sauces or buttery embellishments. Instead, each dish featured only three or four items, orchestrated to express the very essence of the main ingredient.

The “Frozen red curry with lobster salad and white asparagus E’spuma” was delicious, so light they almost dissolved in the air on the way to the mouth. “The black cod with green curry and beetroot on textures” was a politely clashing element that ended up in harmony. Thai green curry and beetroot juice produced an extraordinary, unexpected counterpoint of flavors - a little earthy, a little floral, but absolutely right – it was a remarkable fifth course. The eighth course was my favorite and it was wonderful extravagance. Down-to-earth but wholly original, it was a perfectly poached “French quail in creamy coconut milk garnished with chanterelles and mushroom jellies”, based on the idea of the classic “Tom Kha Gai” style.

Certainly a meal of surprising pleasures!