Les Mas des Herbes Blanches is a one Michelin-starred restaurant. It is located in a Relais & Châteaux establishment, which was enough to guarantee glamour and elegance. The restaurant is in a small village called Joucas, but the very same place is also home to another famous restaurant: Hostellerie le Phebus Joucas. There are certainly money here. At the hotel carpark, there were Porches, BMWs and Benzs. We had to be extra careful not to another person scratch car when parking! :)
Since it was summertime, the tables were set on the restaurant terrace, which offers a panoramic view over the area.
The waiter was friendly and they were willing to speak English, which was a surprise! Our waiter explained every item on the menu patiently. In the end we picked the degustation menu.But before it all happens, we were served a few appetisers with our aperitives:
Caviar on MELONs! Too bad, I had to skip this.
My cocktail with fried cheese balls and tomatoes.
The degustation menu starts here: 
Tuna with French caviar, marinade with red peppers and geranium. Very contemporary cuisine, like Tetsuya's style.
Foie gras with coffee and cacao in 'Opera' style. It has a very fine taste and it was nicely decorated. The combination works well.
Langoustines with a very very light pastry and sauce. This is divine! I love this dish. I can easily eat 3 more of these!
Chicken with mushroom cream and pine nuts, topped with lettuce and summer truffles. Lovely dish again. Slightly on the salty side but nevertheless, very very delicious. The chicken is surprisingly tender and the texture is very nice.
Sole (fish) with cameralised onions, olives and capers. The fish is cooked to perfection. The sauce is wonderful. I am not a fan of the olives and the capers though, so I didn't eat them.
SP had the pigeon. Chunky, deboned meat with a great sauce. The meat is red and SP enjoyed this dish very much!
I had the lamb with heart of artichoke. The lamb is very very tender and the sauce was tasty. It would have been nicer if there were more sauce though.
Cheese. There were plenty of choices, so we asked the waiter to randomly picked 3 kinds for each of us.
Feuilleté with marmelade of strawberries and rhubarb with a biscuit on top. It is served with the basil and black peppers ice cream (the green bit). It is yummy, but not that special. Sounds like too much work, and little impact.
Chocolate 'tart' with pickled cherries and red wine sorbet. The chocolate was top quality, but at this stage, we were both very full!
Mignardises. Not quite the usual petite fours. It has an assortment of sweet things. The marshmallow is the best I've ever had. I wished we could try everything, but our stomachs simply can't accept more food.
Tuna with French caviar, marinade with red peppers and geranium. Very contemporary cuisine, like Tetsuya's style. Foie gras with coffee and cacao in 'Opera' style. It has a very fine taste and it was nicely decorated. The combination works well. Langoustines with a very very light pastry and sauce. This is divine! I love this dish. I can easily eat 3 more of these! Chicken with mushroom cream and pine nuts, topped with lettuce and summer truffles. Lovely dish again. Slightly on the salty side but nevertheless, very very delicious. The chicken is surprisingly tender and the texture is very nice. Sole (fish) with cameralised onions, olives and capers. The fish is cooked to perfection. The sauce is wonderful. I am not a fan of the olives and the capers though, so I didn't eat them. SP had the pigeon. Chunky, deboned meat with a great sauce. The meat is red and SP enjoyed this dish very much! I had the lamb with heart of artichoke. The lamb is very very tender and the sauce was tasty. It would have been nicer if there were more sauce though. Cheese. There were plenty of choices, so we asked the waiter to randomly picked 3 kinds for each of us. Feuilleté with marmelade of strawberries and rhubarb with a biscuit on top. It is served with the basil and black peppers ice cream (the green bit). It is yummy, but not that special. Sounds like too much work, and little impact. Chocolate 'tart' with pickled cherries and red wine sorbet. The chocolate was top quality, but at this stage, we were both very full! Mignardises. Not quite the usual petite fours. It has an assortment of sweet things. The marshmallow is the best I've ever had. I wished we could try everything, but our stomachs simply can't accept more food.It was a long meal. We were one of the earlier ones to arrive but, we were the last people to leave! We had a great time. The ambiance is excellent and we also had some good wine.
Overall, the food was very original and delicious. The view is wonderful and the staff are friendly and helpful. I think it is certainly worth the second Michelin star!
Overall, the food was very original and delicious. The view is wonderful and the staff are friendly and helpful. I think it is certainly worth the second Michelin star!
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