meei / Duck

love this starter - great fun. moving clockwise and starting from the top most is the creamy duck parfait, duck sausage, seared duck, pear compote quenelle, salted raisin chutney, duck rillette topped with creamed duck fat, and a jellied duck consomme in the centre. served with a couple slices of toasted brioche. faultless.

quite decent, but it's probably a better idea to try the more innovative dishes in a restaurant like this than it is to try classic favourites that the older restaurants would do better at a more reasonable price. it really isn't bad at all - crispy skins and a decent serving (although the meat was slightly dry), just probably not what i'd be rushing to re-order again if i came back here.

least well executed dish of the night. duck too gamey. parsnip chips tasted like deep fry and little else. still an okay eat, just a little underwhelming for a place with the reputation of number 5's.

finally gotten my bum round to one of la cigale's rustic prebook only, three-nights-a-week dinners. one of the two choices of mains available that night - menu is different every night and served communal-style. deep, complex and sweet orange sauce and a duck that is cooked close to perfection (a teensy bit gamier than it could have been, but really only noticeable if you were out to nitpick, as it hardly detracts from the overall wonder of the dish)

hard to find fault with this one. duck meat pulls itself away from the bone, and i could stuff servings and servings of the onion tart alone down my throat - retains its crispness and isn't even soggy after being made to sit in a jus reduction.

such a humble dish, but again ridiculously well prepared. not as innovative as it could've been, with almost predictable flavour profiles including wakame & miso, parsnips and corn, but it's hard to find fault with.