WP 24

Of course you know the ambiance and view are spectacular. What you want to know is, is it worth $70 per person (minimum) price tag? I found the cost a bit worrying before the meal, as nothing is offered a la carte. You must spend at least $70 for the 3-course tasting menu. So is it worth it? The answer is a resounding 'YES!'

We didn't absolutely love everything we ate, but most of it was excellent, and the dishes that weren't were still quite good; these will just be substituted for something else the next time we go in hopes of finding more excellent dishes. Here's the breakdown of what we ate:

1) complimentary soy/chili marinated cucumber: simple, cool, light, perfect start to the meal
2) complimentary prawn toast sandwich crusted with sesame seeds: perfectly seasoned, perfect warm-but-not-hot temperature, perfect toastiness to the bread. Prawns are not a favorite flavor of mine, but I still found myself anxiously eyeing my husband's portion of this dish, hoping he would not finish it so I could. (He did not oblige me. I can't blame him.)
3) complimentary lobster, prawn, crab dumpling: this seemed to be baked. The pastry was really good (light yet also dense) but the filling didn't have a lot of flavor or a varied enough consistency.

APPETIZERS
1) My husband ordered the lobster/prawn spring rolls. They were ok. The rolls are deep-fried and the oil must have been very fresh and at the perfect temperature as the wrapper was light and clean tasting. The filling was ok; prawns were a bit chewy. However, this was a very generous portion (4 3-inch or so rolls)

2) I ordered the Chicken Dan Dan Dumplings on a friend's recommendation (and I think the LA Times raved about these as well). This was another generous portion (5 small-ish dumplings). The dish is presented covered, and the server made a point of wafting the steam from the dish toward me so I could enjoy the aroma, and it did smell delicious. However, the sauce did not have enough flavor. I found if I included a cilantro leaf with each dumpling, that added a lot of pop. Also, there was a strong 'dark meat' taste to the dish. This is great if you like dark meat, but it's not a favorite flavor of mine.

ENTREES
1) husband ordered the Indian-spiced prawns. It was brought to the table in an Indian-style tureen and the smells were intensely Indian. This dish was a bit spicy, and the peppers cooked with the prawns were great as well. This dish had 5 LARGE prawns; a very generous portion for a restaurant of this caliber.

2) I had the salt-crusted sea bass - and THIS IS THE THING TO ORDER. This is the most tender fish I have ever eaten. So often when I go out to eat, I feel somewhat let down because I am paying big $ for food I can make a home, or at least make a reasonable facsimile of at home. This fish was so tender, so evenly cooked, and so subtly seasoned, I knew it was cooked by a master. I would return to this restaurant solely to eat this fish again. They even provided extra sauce for it, so you could season it to your taste (a very light soy sauce, garnished with sliced scallions). Also, this was very generously portioned.

I couldn't finish it, which was a shame, but I had to ask myself, when is the last time I left a high-end restaurant stuffed? This isn't a place where you get amouse-bouche sized entrees. This is a place where you can really eat beautiful food in beautiful surroundings.

Also, both of our dishes came with a generously-sized cup of Jasmine rice (perfectly damp and slightly sticky) and the table also gets a bowl of chili sauce if you prefer to add some heat to your entree.

Desserts were ok; they cherry cake was good but rich, but the cherries were so sweet and soft, but not mushy. Just perfect. They also brought out and large flat-ish almond cookie shaped like a large piece of tree bark (ok; my husband joked about it being a cod-piece) that covered two little chocolate chip cookies. This came out AFTER we each had our dessert. Overall, a beautiful restaurant with many extra touches. I will definitely return.