Heston Blumenthal.  Ding ding ding ding ding ding ..ding ding.. blu er blu er wa aaa … Ever watched his shows on TV?   Several years ago I was kind of contemplating on whether to pay him a tribute,  afterall he was once voted as the top restaurant in the world.  Which is ironic enough,  as the offshoot Dinner by Heston has shot right up into the Top 10 restaurants whilst the original and much more sophisticated Fat Duck dropped slightly outside of the podium, so to speak.   For me,  the attraction to finally book a table here was more influenced by reading some recent reviews of here and the food seems to have evolved and culminated into a more settled form..  Has it lacked it’s lustrous glory ?  Has it already fallen out of trend?   At least not going by the 3 months advanced booking I have had to plan well ahead and when all the tables for 3 months later, all became gone within 2 minutes on the online booking platform.   It is quite stressful to dine out sometimes,   if u think about it.



- Liquid Nitrogen Poached Aperitifs -Vodka and Green Tea with Gin Tonic and Lime Scent, Campari Soda with Freeze Dried Raspberry Powder..
What became interesting was how these turned out to be more like frozen meringues than a smooth ice cream texture,  but they were definitely refreshing.  OK,  nitrogen stuff are cliched and done to death these days at least for the past 10 years…  but flavour combination wise,  these were good.  I just didn’t think the presentation was that appetizing itself,  or am I spoiled by pretty quenelling nowadays?     ~  7/10 

- Red Cabbage Gazpacho, with Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream -
Although different,  colours wise this kind of clashed with the 1st amuse bouche of purplish Beetroot sponge.   Is that being harsh?   I liked this combination of flavours though,  but it wasn’t exactly 3 Dimensional in flavours either.  Let’s just keep it simple?  ~  8/10

- Jelly of Quail,  Crayfish Cream.  Chicken Liver parfait, 
Oak Moss and Truffle Toast with Pea Puree -  (Homage to Alain Chapel)
The forest smoke and the oak moss strips from the Listerine like plastic containers were definitely the centre to this dish..  The truffle toast was meant to evoke memories of the forest.   I did in my mind questioned why crayfish cream was present in this foresty dish..  The 2nd problem I had with this whole dish structure,  was that I couldn’t actually taste much of the described flavours individually bar the oak moss and chicken liver parfait.   ~  7/10
 
- Snail Porridge -
The famous signature porridge is made from Snails,  Oat Meal,  with Shaved Fennels,  Parsley sauce and Iberico Bellota ham.  Add in a bit of Mushroom and Almond.   A nice enough combination if not a little bit too heavy on the sliced fennel in the end.  This was quite enjoyable!   ~   9/10

- Mad Hatter’s Tea Party -
Mock Turtle Soup with a Gold Medallion Pocket Watch,  which then melted to become part of the soup.  With toasted cutlet sandwich with eggs and cucumber, truffle, anchovy, and a crumbed bread filling.  I really liked this dish.  It was a little theatrical,  but may be I have always been a fan of the Mad Hatter and his mercury induced insanity.  This was rather fun as a dish and that Medallion and that eggy panna cotta in the mock turtle soup was pretty to look at.   One of the most memorable dishes here…  ~   12/10 

- Salmon Poached in Liquorice Gel, with Asparagus, 
Vanilla Mayonnaise, Grapefruit & Golden Trout Roe -
A dish that polarize the customers but has been on the menu for as long as I remember reading about it.  I liked this but the liquorice coating was a little too thick and sticky & almost like a candied jelly layer.  It was slightly lacking in seasoning and became a little too sweet in hindsight.  ~  7/10 

- Macerated 2 Types of Strawberries,  Olive Oil Biscuit beneath, Chamomile and Coriander -
With a chequered flag sugary blanket.  It was designed to evoke a picnic experience.  Pretty fun concept indeed,  and probably summarizes the intents of dining here !   ~  9/10 

- WhisK(e)y Wine Gums -
The gummies are made with different regional Whiskies from purely Scotland origins,
which are known to have differentiated styles within a macro window.   Indeed, very interesting dessert and memorable for the loyalty to the original whiskies taste.   ~  12/10