Partage (Chinatown)

[attran99]

A French fine dining hub in the middle of a busy strip mall in Chinatown is not something you would think of when you see Lee’s Sandwiches and Pho Kim Long. And yet, Partage sits quietly on the south end of this strip mall. Parking here is a shit show unless you’re aware of the parking on the backside of the strip mall, but it’s dark back there, so I would recommend Lyft/Uber.
Our friends invited us to dinner here while were in town. It’s been on their list for a while, but with an active toddler and busy work schedules it’s been hard for them to get in. But after checking out the website, I was pretty excited to give it a go.
We arrived for our 6PM reservation and were promptly seated. Our captain, Sebastian, walked us through the concept of Partage and gave us the highlights of what to look forward to. He also wanted to understand allergies and ingredients for the chefs to adjust. One of our friends is pregnant so our table did have adjustments. We all decided on the 7 course tasting menu, and 2 of us did the wine pairing.
We all started with pre-dinner drinks. I had their summer version of the gin fizz with watermelon. It was a gorgeous drink and something that I could drink on a warm summer day…bright and refreshing.

Amuse - Blue fin tuna, kumquat, parsnip

Asparagus velouté with yuzu sorbet
Sorry, no photo of this one…it was served in one of those 2 piece martini glasses where there was dry ice and water and therefore vapor releasing from that piece…all the while a lovely asparagus soup was poured in with a quenelle of yuzu sorbet carefully dropped in the middle. It was so good! Very fresh and bright, but also velvety smooth and rich. I need to figure out how to reverse engineer this dish.
Peas, puff pastry, Iberico de Bellota

Cauliflower risotto, shrimp, gooseberries

Halibut, fennel, herbs, lemon

Duck, foie gras, fennel, cherries

Cheese - Brie, I forgot the middle but it was reminiscent of a super aged Gouda, Ossau-Iraty

Rhubarb, white chocolate, yuzu, crepe

Mignardises - wasabi macaron, grapefruit macaron, cherry & almond financier, canele, caramels (sorry, no photo…we were allowed to select only one each)
The plating was lovely. The meal was thoughtfully prepared and executed. I think we all loved the soup, halibut, and duck the most. I wanted to lick the remnants of the soup but that wouldn’t have been appropriate. The wine pairings were pretty solid…everything was from France and there were elements in each of the wines that matched with ingredients in the dishes. My husband and I probably would have preferred more reds instead of whites to be served with dinner (we usually don’t drink whites), but I really enjoyed it.
We felt well taken care of by Sebastian and his team. We were asked if the tempo of dinner was right when he noticed us lingering a bit between courses, but we were all catching up on each others’ lives. He was thorough in explaining all the dishes and wines, and seemed to enjoy interacting with our rather gregarious group. I think we all agreed that we would be happy to come back.

[moonboy403]

Thanks for the scoop! I’m still contemplating whether I should hit it up on my next trip.

[attran99]

Our friends stopped us from going to Vetri. Our dinner went until 10PM. Granted we didn’t actually order until about 6:30PM and we preferred the leisurely pace.
Sebastian was telling us that they’re starting to get more traction in light of so many high-profile visits (a la Alain Ducasse) lately. Also the WPT is in town and the European players want to be able to get a good meal while also being left in peace.
If you go, I would love to read about your thoughts.

[moonboy403]

@PorkyBelly Where are your pics and impression?

[PorkyBelly]

I gave me impressions!

@PorkyBelly

i thought it was pretty good with a lot of potential and a really good value compared to places on the strip. if you’re there in the fall or winter their duck pithivier looks insane

[moonboy403]

Partage is very promising. For the price, it’s an excellent value with all the work that’s put into each dish in addition to the whimsical theatrics that come along with various courses.

Altogether, the savory courses are quite good but lacking a bit of focus. At times, rather than highlighting a particular ingredient as the singular focus with complementary flavors, a little too much is happening on the plate or sometimes a dish needed a touch more finesse to balance all the different flavors. Contrarily, dessert courses are at a very high level. Every component worked together harmoniously and created something that’s greater than the sum of their parts.

I actually wanted to order two extra desserts a la carte because the two we had on the tasting menu were excellent. Unfortunately, we were stuffed to the gills already and had to call it quits…

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wanton noodle ravioli | smoked eel, parsnip puree, teriyaki sauce
Crispy, crunchy, smoky, sweet, saltiness, earthy, peppery. This amuse bouche has it all. I do wish the smoked eel would’ve played a more prominent role though.

chilled cantaloupe soup | cured ham, verbena sorbet, balsamic crisps, crouton-sticks
The chilled soup is sweet and refreshing especially when combined with the floral sorbet. The savory cured ham and vinegary-crisps, on the other hand, keep the soup from becoming an outright dessert by introducing much needed acidity, saltiness, and numerous textures to the dish.

foie gras creme brulee | brioche, fig chutney
The foie creme brulee is nicely done with an excellent light and creamy texture. But when combined with the fig chutney on the brioche, the foie flavor takes a backseat.

egg parfait | asparagus, smoked salmon, wasabi sabayon, croutons
This next course is presented in a very dramatic fashion with a paper seal on a terrarium burnt away right in front of you. A nice puff of trapped applewood(?) smoke is then released. It’s a nice breakfast with a sous vided egg, once broken, acting as a sauce tying in all these different elements and textures together.

green olive crusted cod | cod brandade, pommes dauphine, arugula aioli
This piece of Altantic cod is cooked well and flakes very nicely! But the star of the dish are these 3 croquettes stuffed with salted cod! They were absolutely delicious!

beef pithivier | foie gras, cabbage, puff pastry
Unfortunately, Partage ran out of duck pithivier that night so we opted for the beef pithivier. It’s also my first time having a pithivier and I liked it quite a bit but I wonder if the puff pastry is suppose to be more flaky and crispy?

new zealand lamb triology

part 1 & 2 | lamb chop & loin, golden raisin & onion chutney
The lamb chop (medium) was simply seared while the loin (medium-rare) is crusted with couscous.

part 3 | pulled lamb like a navarin, couscous baby carrot, turnip, candied shallot
The savory portion of this tasting menu ends with a hearty and gamey stew over couscous. I don’t mind the gaminess of lamb at all but I know some hate it.

stuffed grapefruit savarin soaked in campari, grapefruit cream, saffron ice cream, grapefruit, candied grapefruit, tuile
Who would’ve thought saffron and grapefruit in various forms would go so well together?! It’s tons of fun pairing the campari soaked spongecake with the numerous elements on the dish that results in different refreshing bittersweet flavors.

coconut mousse, macadamia praline, dark chocolate glaze, macadamia chantilly, macadamia ice cream
Love the classic pairing of macadamia and chocolate! The hint of coconut flavor from the mousse added a nice richness and accent to an already wonderful mélange of flavors. Texturally, this dessert is a delight as well with crunchiness from the toasted macadamia & praline, creaminess from the ice cream, and light and fluffiness with the mousse and chantilly cream.

mignardise | pecan brownie & passionfruit jelly

[attran99]

So glad you enjoyed. They’ve gotten more theatrical since I was last there.
Did you go recently or was this a catch-up from your normal times backlog?

[moonboy403]

Thanks. I went this past weekend.

[attran99]

How was Vegas? I’ve got deals to go back, but haven’t wanted to pull the trigger after seeing a few videos of folks not being careful.

[moonboy403]

I stayed at Vdara so I didn’t have to deal with going in and out of a casino for the most part. I also felt relatively safe when I did step into a casino since they all required their guests to wear a mask and MGM properties give out masks for free too. It was definitely less crowded in general this past weekend and Palazzo was completely dead on Monday night.

As far as safety goes, Las Vegas Blvd is a different story. Hardly anyone wears a mask outside!