Appetizer red pepper-black olive. I understand the need to start with savory appetizers (and end with sweet ones) but I am not a huge fan of gelee. I was a bit more intrigued with the wood plating they used. Is that real wood? I would have wanted to take the wood plating home more than the cupcake they gave at the end of the meal. Just saying.

25 tomatoes. They are really small, diced tomatoes to fit in a small cup! I chugged down 25 different kinds of tomatoes in one gulp. I wonder how much vitamin C is in one of these cups? This is a simpler version of a gazpacho.

Tomatillo panna cotta, smoked roe. This is where it starts to feel like I'm dining in a Japanese resto, which I highly doubt Manresa is. The familiar salty burst of the roe is balanced with the more neutral panna cotta (hard to see on this photo but it is on the bottom of the dish).

Abalone and figs, sesame and lemon jelly. Hmmm now I'm really in a Japanese resto. I'm so confused at this point. Err...

Mackerel, lychee tomatoes and pine mushroom. Another dish with a strong Asian flavor. Don't get me wrong. I love Asian cuisine, and the mackarel in this dish was divine. However with the back-to-back Asian tasting dishes, I'm a bit confused. I thought Manresa pays tribute to European and American/Californian traditions according to their website. Maybe an update on the website description is due?

Crispy potatoes and seaweed persillade, curds and whey. I forget how this tasted. Every time that happens, it is because there is nothing worth noting about the dish. But hey nice plating! I was much more enamored on the presentation than the taste of the crispy potatoes, which by the way reminds me of, once again, Japanese rice crackers.

Into the vegetable garden... My eating buddy, who is an avid golfer, insisted that the little specks of brown on the salad is dirt from the ground. He commented that it tasted the same as the soil on the golf course- when it flew into his mouth after hitting the golf ball! I was about to argue that it wasn't dirt until the waitress confirmed that it was. Ugh, I don't like eating dirt. Therefore, I didn't enjoy this dish.

My eating buddy on his first try on iphone food photography. I am a good influence on my friends. Next time, he'll be joining IG (shameless plug: follow c3lsius on IG) or putting up a food blog :)

Sea bream, beans with peppers, citrus leaf curry. At this point, I was trying to pace myself and get rid of the dirt taste from the last dish. The citrus leaf  and simple fish with crispy skin did its job in neutralizing my palette.

Salmon marinated with herbs and citrus, beets. The presentation of this dish is commendable with the bold green  on one end looking like a crescent moon. The taste fell short though since the salmon was just too salty!

My chum's meaty meal, while I got the substitute duck below.

Duck roasted in salt crust, fig and wild fennel confit. I found the duck too raw and hard to chew. A bit disappointing since I've had better duck than this (hello Peking duck from Hong Kong).

Plums with pistachio and Crescenza, saba. Crescenza is an Italian cheese. I love non-chocolate desserts that are not too sweet. This dessert did sit well with me after a long meal. Not too heavy on the tummy with the right balance of flavors.

Crispy mustard genoise, figs with chocolate and tomato honey. If I get two desserts in a given meal, I expect two flavors from each end of the spectrum. Since the first one was fruitier and refreshing, I thought this would be bolder but it wasn't. I was left with wanting more daring flavors.

Our meal ended with a strawberry-chocolate petit four  that looked exactly like the first photo. This set was better than the appetizer. As an added bonus, we also took home a cupcake. Sad to say, the cupcake, which I ate for breakfast the next day, was dry and had only a slight hint of pumpkin.

For a high-end restaurant, I already expected a well trained staff and nice ambiance. The service was exceptional with military style of serving in which everyone was in synch from walking to serving down the plates. However, the bathroom (yes, I always check out the bathroom!) is not at par with other restaruants of its class. Is it because it is located in the suburbs? I hope not. Please take some notes on five-star hotel bathrooms.  

I now understand why the French Laundry is a cut above many restaurants in the Bay Area. For Manresa albeit the meticulous preparation and presentation, I found the cuisine a bit confusing. I was not prepared to eat Japanese food half-way through the meal. And as inventive as it sounds, edible dirt is not something I'd like on my plate again. Overall, I had a good evening at Manresa and would come back here if I was already in the Los Gatos area.