The Limburg province of the Netherlands and Flanders region of Belgium are perhaps my favourite places to visit in Europe. The people are among the friendliest you’ll find. The beer selection and variety is second to none and of course the food – well it’s pretty darn amazing just about everywhere. When visiting I’m always on the hunt for that new restaurant, or next Michelin star, with the Limburg province alone boasting just shy over 25 Michelin stars, which is a huge number for a relatively small(ish) area. So when i heard that a beautiful converted windmill property, Al Mulino in Maasmechelen had just been take over i couldn’t wait to head over.
This newly taken over restaurant, which previously focused on Italian cuisine has now re-opened as De 5de Smaak (translates as The 5th Taste) in March 2014. Husband and wife duo are the brains behind the restaurant with Kevin Bonanno heading up the kitchen, while his wife, Jolien Fuchs works as general manager overseeing the dining room and looking after diners. I’m not entirely sure when the restaurant was last completely renovated but the decor feels very 1950s Hollywood bachelor pad. Stark white walls, black furniture and lots of glass – all they’d need is a hot-tub out the back.
With such a huge open dining room and a flood of light coming in, it does face a problem of lacking atmosphere unless busy. Which is exactly how it felt when we dined. We were the only diners on a Tuesday lunch, which given its location that’s perfectly acceptable, especially when i hear the evenings are the opposite and this restaurant turns into a bustling, wine infused dining room by night. A little amuse bouche came to whet our appetite of cod, pistachio and avocado. All working harmoniously together and started to get us a little excited for what was yet to come.
Marinated mackerel with beetroot, granny smith, turnip greens and fennel tasted just as exciting and vibrant as it looked. The mackerel was stunning, perfectly cooked, slightly charred underneath for an extra smokey element – but still retaining its glistening silver flesh. A smear of beetroot puree added sweetness while everything else brought a multitude of textures and mouthwatering acidity which left us salivating for more. Although it was cold and wet outside the dish left you feeling as if summer was still with us, or at least blinded us from the stark grey weather for a while.
Next was our main of lamb, hummus, girolles and potato, plus a little jus. Visually stunning, and so were the flavours. The meat was perfectly cooked and cut through like butter. Smooth hummus actually went very well and the juicy, earthy mushrooms were fantastic. Hidden behind the chunks of meat was an unusual smoked crumble like mixture which while we had no idea what it was – it tasted amazing and turned this dish from a good plate of food, into an excellent one. Two things immediately grab my attention in a restaurant. Firstly it’s the bread. It’s usuailly the first thing you encounter in a restaurant and can leave either a lasting impression, or sour note to the rest of your meal. The bread here wasn’t terrible, but also not amazing. Second is the presentation of the food. Here
De 5de Smaak got that absolutely spot on. Everything looked delicious, and equally so was its tasted.
I’m not normally one for honouring a dish with the label ‘best I’ve ever eaten’ but sometimes it can’t be helped. Creme brulee was our dessert and if I’m honest i wasn’t particularly excited. Until it arrived. A good few millimetres of hard, rich, dark caramelised sugar lay guarding the custard and needed a good whack from the back of our spoon to break through. Underneath, the custard mixture was thick and perfectly smooth with no lumps and the vanilla pods were evenly distributed (not sunk to the bottom). Everything was so well executed that there wasn’t a single element that could be faulted.
To finish off our meal we were presented with a selection of petit fours. A lovely coconut dusted marshmallow and chocolate brownie squares which had absolutely no flavour. Whether it was because they were so unbelievably cold, i don’t quite know but for something that looked so rich and chocolaty i couldn’t taste an ounce of flavours except from its zesty fruit topping. These desperately needs replacing with something more memorable.
Apart from our flavourless cubes of chocolate brownie and some OK bread the meal really was a difficult one to fault. Head chef Kevin and his team have some serious talent in the kitchen and what we ate for our lunch, was really only a snippet into what can be achieved in the kitchens here i am sure. If you’re in Maasmechelen or Lanaken and looking for somewhere to eat then
De 5de Smaak couldn’t be more perfect.
8/10
