Tochi's Hut

Truffles. Winterlicious 2007 stop. Rated as one of the few CAA/AAA Five Diamond Restaurants in Canada, I had high expectations for Four Season's Truffles. The restaurant was very small, much smaller than I expected - at most 25 tables. They had the lights dimmed, with a mini stepping tower of candles on each table. Very romantic. I was most impressed by the heavy drapery-like table clothes. Feels very classy, for some reason, when the cloth pushes back on your legs as you move in your chair. The acclaimed service was awesome, as they seriously had a waiter for every two tables. There were always two waiters standing by the kitchen doorway on "standby". The trademark of good service is whether the waiters comb the bread crumbs from the table, and they did!

Tochi's french cuisine for the night was:

• Winter Greens with Beet Croutons - Blue Benedictine, Horseradish Vinaigrette
• Braised Lamb Shanks - Truffled White Bean, Baby Vegetable, Natural Jus
• Blood Orange Cheesecake - Dark Chocolate Sorbet

I'm not a salad person, so the winter greens didn't really impress me that much. That being said, it was a very well blended salad, with nice mixture of textures and flavours. The Benedictine really reminded me of Roquefort cheese, both in looks and taste. Benedictine was less tangy. I didn't get a picture of the greens, because I was afraid to use the camera's flash in such a setting. However, as I was digging into my salad, some flash went off at another table, so I managed to get pictures for the other courses.

I was really looking forward to the main entrée, the lamb shanks. When the dish came, I was a little taken aback by its plain and half gruesome looks. Not the fancy presentation I was expecting. Despite its looks, the dish came through big time in other ways. Definitely much different than any other lamb shank I've ever had in my life. The meat was very tender and moist, and just literally fell apart in my mouth. They didn't remove any of the fats from the meat when they cooked it, and compensated for the extra fats by adjusting the sauce perfectly to give the soft texture a very hearty feel. If the sauce was any heavier, the combination with the fat would have just made the dish disgusting, but the chefs somehow managed to make it just right. I had a glass of 2000 R H Phillips Merlot to help revive my taste buds. A slightly more astringent pick would have went better with the shanks. Cheers (for the puzzle fans)!

The cheesecake had a tough act to follow, but didn't disappoint! Orange flavoured cheesecake is so indescribably awesome! The dark chocolate sorbet was also a welcome relief, as my face was a little warm from the wine. I overheard some lady at another table asking for another serving of the dessert. :)

All in all, this meal was a definitely eye-opener. As a five-star restaurant, I was expecting very small, fancy dishes. However, what I got were very simple, common ingredients prepared to offer the most luxurious of tastes. I really want to try Truffle's signature dish - spaghettini with Perigord Black Gold served with a light truffle sauce- someday, even if it costs me an arm and a leg. Tochi Meter reads a definite 5 out of 5.