A Culinary Experience For The Ages (Chez TJ)

About two weeks ago, me and my dad went to Chez TJ, a Michelin 1 star restaurant in the Bay Area. Chez TJ was one of the most special culinary experiences I’ve ever had so I felt like I had to write about it.

Address: 938 Villa St, Mountain View, CA 94041

First Course:

The first course was a combination of 3 dishes, all of which were absolutely delicious. The first dish I tried out of the three was the Soft Scrambled Egg. This was no normal egg, it had the consistensy of rice with a rich cheese flavor topped with an aioli. Next to this was the Kusshi Oysters. I don’t particularly enjoy oysters but these were sweet with all the saltiness that oysters normally do. The last dish was the Kaluga Caviar on a crispy wonton. I was really waiting for this one because I’ve also wanted to try caviar. This dish was no let down, the individual caviar popping in your mouth filling with a creamy but salty taste along with a crunchy wonton was the perfect dish.

Second Course:

The next course might have been one of my favorites of the whole meal. This dish was a very simple dish consisting of buttery fresh scallop covered in an avocado. This dish was a match made in heaven because of the textures and flavors scallops and avocado had. When you think of avacado, you think of creamy green fruit, on the other hand scallops are normally a chewier texture. In this dish, the scallop was presented as a sashimi making the it very smooth and creamy complementing the avocado perfectly.

Third Course:

This had to be my favorite dish without a doubt. This dish was centered around duck breast with some fresh arugula and a lamb sauce which suprisingly went well with duck. Although the dish its self wasn’t a flavor punch, it was the quality of the individual ingredients that came together to make a great dish. The star of the dish was the duck and it really hit on all cylinders. The duck was a perfect combination of chewy similar to a lamb in the middle yet had a tender fat on the outside balancing out the dish. Alongside this, the arugula gave the dish a kick with its pepper like qualities and the lamb sauce added a savory component to the dish.

Fourth Course:

The next dish was a delicious take on surf and turf with lobster and lamb. I don’t eat beef so having surf and turf experience was new for me. More than the combination of the hearty flavor of the lamb and salty seafood taste of the lobster, the tough and chewy texture of the lamb and the tender yet buttery texture of the lobster. On top of the lamb was a delicious lamb sauce. The lamb sauce was a flavorful and herb filled sauce which had a thick texture that complimented the tender feel of the lamb. Other than the sauce, over the lamb and lobster were some fresh greens like arugula and spinach. The arugula provided a kick with a peppery flavor and the spinach was tender and slightly sweet like the lobster

Dessert:

Canele: A classic French dessert with a chewy and caramelized outside and in our case, chocolate flavored. On the inside was a smooth custard filling.

Coconut Cream Cube: On of my favorite deserts, this cube was a smooth and cool coconut cream with coconut shavings surrounding the cream. The smooth texture of the cream and the small crunch from the coconut shavings was a very good combination.

Blood Orange and Cream: This desert was composed of 3 slices of dried blood orange with cream in between two slices of blood orange. The tart and crunchy taste of the blood orange with the smooth and sweet flavor of the chocolate, hazelnut and vanilla creams came together really well.

Overall, I think Chez TJ was an amazing culinary experience and provides an opportunity for a yummy and peaceful night.