Full house in the Laloux dining room last night

Remember that nouvelle cuisine parody with the waiter lifting a silver cloche in front of a customer only to reveal two peas and a carrot on the plate? That image came back to me often last night at Laloux where Parisian chef Christophe Pelé presented a seven-course tasting menu to a sold out house. The chef of the up-and-coming 17th arrondissement, 20-seat restaurant La Bigarrade obviously champions small servings. Between courses I watched my dining companion devour an entire baguette.

But it was tough to find fault otherwise with Pelé's beautiful dishes. Flavours were intense, ingredients were diverse, and the cooking techniques precise. Sauces included clear juices, smears of yogurt, puréed garlic mixed with squid ink, and drops of intense liquified pepper. The only starch in this menu was the third course plate of truffle risotto, a bit of luxury in an otherwise pretty Spartan lineup.

My complaint about small portions points to one fact: I wanted more! More of those raw scallops served with a nugget of hazelnut and a summery green apple jus laced with coriander, and more of that lush risotto made by Pelé's Italian sous chef, Giuliano Sperandio, paired so brilliantly with a delectable Barbera d'Alba Pairolero Sottimano 2006. And even if it was the biggest portion, I yearned for more of the melting Petite Campagne guinea hen -- cooked sous vide until pink and succulent -- paired with a crunchy bulb of baby pak choi. 

What seduced most, perhaps, was the chef's take on dessert. Instead of one showstopper, Pelé exercised our palates with four flavour sensations, starting with a lemon curd topped with mango jelly. Although my dining companion flinched at every bite, I'm big on acidic flavours, so for me this was a hit. Next came a pear purée, lightly jellified for consistency's sake, which was good but would have been brilliant I'm sure had the pears come from France at the height of season. 

Again bittersweet flavours came to the fore in the third dessert, a ramekin of roasted beet soup topped with a quenelle of grapefruit sorbet that woke up taste buds that had been lulled by the pear. And then came the knock-your-socks-off finale: a ganache-style chocolate mousse served with a quenelle of milk foam topped with cardamom. But the real star of this plate was a pool of the most perfectly balanced chocolate coffee sauce I've ever had the pleasure to lick off the back of a spoon or bottom of a plate. Wow. 

Wow also to the wine pairings at this event provided by Laloux sommelier David Vincent, including an intensely mineral Reisling "Springvale" Clare Valley 2007 with the scallops, a flowery Marsannay "Le Clos" René Bouvier 2005 with a lobster dish, and a funky Arbois "Cave de la Reine Jeanne" Stéphane Tissot 2005 with the Comtomme Signature cheese course.   

It was haute gastronomie all the way last night at Laloux. And after relishing all those beautiful little bites, I'm beginning to understand how the French, including the elegant and beguiling chef Pelé, stay so slim!