Bu-Be Footprints: The French

Time of visit: 12 July 2013

Number 1 in Manchester

I had wanted to go to the French long before Simon Rogan took over the restaurant. I checked the menu and read reviews from different sources, but always ended up not going there because the menu looked boring and the reviews were not good, I thought the restaurant was dying. When I heard Simon Rogan -2 Michelin starred chef, the owner of L'Enclume, the number 1 restaurant in the UK for 2014 based on Waitrose Good Food Guide- would take over the venue, I was excited. I told myself, one day I would go there.

Considering £79 per person for a 10-course meal was not cheap (drinks and service fee would add up, of course) I would make the visit as a special occasion. So I told Mr Be I would take him there for his big birthday in July. Yes, I took him there but he paid for it .. lol.

It is funny.. People in my village do not use many kinds of utensils for eating. Most of the time we use hands only. If the food comes with some liquid, we use a spoon. In restaurant, spoons and forks might be provided. That is all about. Using knives, different forms of forks, different forms of spoons, is out of question. Nothing to be ashamed of it, every place has its own culture.

Before I went abroad, I learned about Western dining etiquette by reading books or got information from magazines and newspapers -no internet at that time, and none of my family members had been abroad. The thing I had to remember, if there are a lot of cutleries on the table, I have to go from the outer ones (left or right or both), move toward the inner side as the course goes one by one. It needs practice of course. Eventually I became confident. I said it is funny because when you go to the French, owned by a 2 Michelin starred chef, located in a reputative venue (Midland Hotel), you won't find any cutlery on the table, you use your hand to eat certain courses!!! Exactly like people in my village :). Back to nature, eh?

Certain dishes, you do not need a cutlery at all because the food is so small or fragile. You must use your hand. For some other dishes you might use spoon only, and for some you need to use a knife. You will not find rows of cutleries on the table.

The atmosphere was great. You felt relax although most, if not all, people dressed up nicely. The staff were all courteous, knowledgeable about food, and very attentive. I noticed the staff communicate with each other silently through their eyes or gestures to tell each other if you finished with your meal, if your glass was empty, or if you dropped your napkin and needed replacement. So everything was sorted quickly. There was no staff standing next to your table to watch your every move, but with that silent communication, they knew what you needed. Good service! Loved it.

Now, the food... I am not good in describing how good a dish is. All I can say is that Simon Rogan is a genius! We enjoyed everything. Our favourite was raw ox with charcoal oil (I think this dish is Simon's signature dish). It was divine!!!

The meal took 5 hours. Yes, 5 hours. The tasting menu consisted of 10 dishes, but it ended up totally 16 dishes with 4 amuse bouche/hors d'oeuvres/snacks, 10 main courses, sarsaparilla and cheese board (optional, at additional cost). I don't drink much alcohol, but I tried a sake. OMG, that was the best sake I have ever had in my life. My husband found a lot of interesting drinks. One of them is Nyetimber, an English sparkling wine he longed for -later we found it in Waitrose, he stocked it up. He had 9 different drinks to all of which he said brilliant. We were satisfied. The bill -well, not cheap! came as £280-ish including service fee. But the price reflected the quality.

In my opinion, the French is the best restaurant in Manchester. I heard, now you have to book well in advance, you might even have to be in a waiting list. At the time we booked it was not too bad, booked the table a few weeks before the event. The French might earn a Michelin Star, but whether it gets it or not, it is an excellent restaurant Mancunians must be proud of. I would love to go back there, but Mr Be is not really tempted. The thought of spending 5 hours is too much, he says. I said, how about a 6-course meal there? He still says, naaahhh.... But he loves another Simon's venue, the Mr Coopers House and Garden -I will write about it later.

Snack 1: Crispy kale and truffle

Snack 2: Seawafer, mussel, kombu. The shell of the mussel is edible, but not the stones.

Snack 2: Seawafer, mussel, kombu. The shell of the mussel is edible.

Snack 3: Black pudding, Cumberland sauce, lichen.

Snack 4: Chickpea, garlic, ox-eye daisy.

Every string holds one crystal. Amazing!

Course 1: Beetroot, goat's cheese, salted hazelnuts, apple marigold.

Course 2: Grilled radish and bronze fennel, smoked eel and lovage.

Breads: Chestnut bread, Manchester ale bread and French bread.

Course 3: Peas, anise hyssop, salt baked turnip and roasted sweetbreads.

A staff is pouring the juice.

Course 4: Ox in coal oil, pumpkin seed, kohlrabi and sunflower shoots.

Course 4: Ox in coal oil, pumpkin seed, kohlrabi and sunflower shoots. Oh I loved this dish so much. The taste of coal oil was so amazing.. like BBQ but very subtle. The raw ox was just perfect!!!