Market by Jean-Georges: Sensual Dessert

by Erin Ireland

[Television host by day, foodie by night, Erin Ireland is the lover of cuisine who aspires to spend the rest of her life eating food that is to die for. Erin hosts FMA and writes the food blog it’s to die 4.]

Beware of Croatian farmers markets. Eleven kuna (two Canadian dollars) is the price one old hustler tried to extort from my near empty backpacker pockets for a single banana. Savvy in the fresh fruit department, I scoffed at her demand and continued on in search of an honest merchant.

Vancouver’s Market by Jean-Georges, located in the Shangri-La Hotel at 1128 West Georgia Street, is costly like that banana, but creations by the three-star Michelin chef are worth the green.

Don’t you love extra chilled prawns? …almost as if they were thrown into the freezer for five. They become seriously refreshing and somewhat firmer, yet retain their extraordinary succulence, especially when drenched in a whipped avocado champagne dressing and dusted with paprika, as shown below. ’More prawns, please?’ The two chilly crustaceans were not enough.

Here is the Red Snapper with a piquant nut and seed crust, bathing in creamy sweet & sour broth, atop sauteed grape tomatos and fork-tender fingerling potatos. Buttery, magnificent sablefish happens to be my seafood of choice, but on days when a 400 calorie half fillet feels overindulgent, Executive Chef Wayne Harris’ flavorful flaky selection is hardly a compromise:

Now, for the dessert that caused my slight lactose intolerance to seem utterly trivial and irrelevant: the Chocolate Pudding with softly whipped cream and crystallized violets, layered above a nugget of brownie. Dread of the most ghastly symptom couldn’t have distracted me. Second thoughts didn’t surface either.

The velvety swells of the rolling cream and dainty speckles of vibrant purple are so visually appealing, that staring at this mousse-like dessert almost appeased the instant sweet craving that struck me at first sight.

Visible inspection complete, orgasmic is the only way to describe the taste of this last, exquisite course.

Did I go overboard with my thesaurus or what?