Talde in Park Slope, Brooklyn

I wanted to try Talde, the eponymous restaurant of Chef Dale Talde in Park Slope, for a while, but I admit that I do not like to wait for hours to get a table. So, as I was off on a Monday, we decided to show up for an early dinner. 

I was intrigued by the Asian-American menu considering the impressive resume of Chef Talde who worked in renown restaurants (Jean George's Vong in Chicago, Buddakan or Morimoto, to name a few), getting his inspiration from his Filipino's roots. You may have seen him on Top Chef, showing an incredible talent as well as a bad temper...

So, here we are, at Talde in Brooklyn. The 75 seats restaurant has a beautiful decor: black wood with Asian carving, definitely neat and slick. 

In the back is the kitchen where you can admire the crew prepare uncommon dishes. 

The concept is simple: small or large plates preferably for sharing. So we shared!

Our first appetizer was the yuzu guacamole. 

Served on crispy rice, they propose it with ham or vegetarian. We chose the latter. Not only the presentation was sublime, but it also was scrumptious. I really liked the transition of texture, from the soft guacamole to the crispy rice.

Then, we got the Hawaiian bread buns. 

As they come by three, we ordered the three proposed combinations that were served with garlic vinegar mayo and pickled shallots:

Filipino sausage:

Crispy market fish:

Shiitake mushroom:

These little sliders were fantastic, the three of them being packed in flavors. The sausage was my favorite. 

Then, we ordered the glass noodle stir fry. 

Not sure what the Buddha style mentioned in the menu means, but it was very good. I admit though that I expected the noodles to be crispy, but it was not the case. 

The last dish was the Korean fried chicken:

It was delicious pieces of chicken (crispy and moist), placed on a kimchi yoghurt sauce that was quite spicy, but so good that I did not care if my mouth was on fire.

It was served with grapes and mint that helped cool off my palate. If you like fried chicken, do not miss this dish. 

Thrilled by the originality if the dishes, we were anxious to see the dessert menu. Unfortunately, there was none and they only proposed one dessert that, although original, did not appeal to me. This was really the only disappointment there, the rest if the meal being beyond my expectations. Now I know why there is so much buzz about Talde!

Enjoy (I did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!