Click on the logo to see how Moses Laboy prepared some cocktails for Wendy in Live

Bruce Springsteen at Le Colonial NYC

 

Le Colonial: A Trip to Early 20th-Century Saigon

 

NW Restaurant Week Favorites

See chef Ron Hsu on Manhattan Sideways

 

 

 

At another of Mr. Denoyer’s aging eateries, 20-year-old Le Colonial, a new cook is livening up the menu. Chef Ron Wing Wee Hsu formerly a senior sous chef at Le Bernardin, has raised the culinary bar by reinterpreting some traditional Vietnamese dishes and adding the restaurant’s first prix fixe menu—five courses for $80 ($125 with wine pairings).

Some things just get better with age. This summer the iconic Le Colonial is celebrating their twentieth anniversary with a new tasting menu created by executive chef Ron Wing Wee Hsu who mastered his talents at Le Bernadin. The “Then and Now” six course menu offers a choice between customer favorites from the 90s in the Then section and highlights selections from Chef Hsu’s new direction in the Now section which can be mixed and matched to create a customized culinary journey. To enhance the dining experience, choose the wine pairing option where each delicately prepared dish has been paired with a handpicked wine by their master sommelier and winemaker Marie Varyron. Vacillate between then and now with Southeast Asian classics like bo luc lac- a black pepper beef, and canh chua tom hum- a tamarind sweet and sour lobster and contemporary takes on French Vietnamese like flash cured so dipe tai chanh-scallop ceviche in coconut and lemongrass, and ca ooh to- a caramelized braised clay pot Chilean sea bass. Relieve the glamorous yesteryear of Saigon 1930s in the two story aerie that resembles a French Vietnamese villa with authentic décor and photographs from the era. Start with Asian inspired cocktail in the lushly decorated lounge upstairs with lanterns and animal print banquettes before partaking in an unforgettable meal in the ambient dining room in the ground floor.

Using a new technique among mixologists, head bartender Moses Laboy steams fruits for his cocktails. Fresh for summer, he mixes Maker’s 46, lemon juice, steamed black raspberry juice and a touch of sugar for a sweet, fruity, Bourbon-infused sip. $14; Le Colonial NYC, 149 E. 57th St., 212-752-0808, lecolonialnyc.com

French-Vietnamese restaurant Le Colonial has had a full makeover to mark its 20th anniversary, with a new chef, mixologist and wine director. The two-story eatery and bar room at 149 E. 57th St. has also been renovated. The dining space has an elegant tropical vibe, while the upper bar feels a bit like a swanky opium den. Be sure to try the Apollo, a gin, ginger and sage cocktail from Moses Laboy, who was previously at Red Rooster and Los Americanos. Chef Ron Hsu, formerly of Le Bernardin, creates fish dishes that shine. Try a mix of traditional Vietnamese dishes and ones fused with French techniques in the six-course tasting menu, designed to celebrate the 20th anniversary, where you can pick each dish from “Then” or “Now” columns of the menu, and pair them with wine choices from Bordeaux-born wine director Marie Vayron.

There is a very bright new culinary star pulsating on New York’s dining scene, and, given his background, it’s really not all that surprising. What is, is that Chef Ron Hsu is making his mark in a restaurant now celebrating 20 years on East 57th.

(…) Historically, Vietnamese food is a marriage of indigenous Asian cookery with French, absorbed during France’s long colonial occupation of what it named Indochina. Hsu, though Chinese-American, worked for months to learn and appreciate the traditions of Vietnam’s cuisine while measurably adding his own ideas, like placing foie gras into a traditional pho atop beef carpaccio on which he pours a hot broth that semi-cooks the foie gras and beef. It is a marvelous, transformative idea and tastes every as Asian as it does French or even, since beef carpaccio came from Venice, Italian.

Le Colonial, a charming two-story French colonial townhouse in Midtown East has successfully proven that it can be done. From swirling ceiling fans, to white decorative shutters, to leafy tropical plants, everything about Le Colonial’s decor perfectly captures the essence of Saigon in the 1920′s. The restaurant’s delectable menu perfectly matches the nostalgic and colonial interior, and features a slew of traditional Vietnamese standards such as pho, fresh spring rolls, and steamed fish dishes. So why come here if you can order a bowl of steaming beef pho from Seamless without leaving the comforts of your couch? Because I highly doubt your local pho joint infuses your noodles with foie gras. You heard me. Foie. Pho. Convinced yet?

 

 

 

 

 

What a culinary culmination-whoever thought French Vietnamese would taste so good? The Lobster Galanga is served over braise daikon and galanga foam, pure genius.

Soccer’s big moment happens in June as the best players on the planet meet in Brazil for the World Cup. And if you happen to be among the millions following along at home, why not toast your favorite team with a dash of South American spirit?

Once fairly obscure, Brazilian cachaca and pisco, made in Chile and Peru, are on the rise in the United States, says Pamela Wiznitzer, bartender at the Dead Rabbit in New York City and president of the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild. With the weather warming up and the World Cup beckoning, now’s the time the spirits really shine, she says.

 

Pisco (PEAS-ko) is a white grape brandy produced in both Peru and Chile, and both countries lay vigorous claim to its origins. But the piscos are produced differently. For instance, Peruvian pisco can’t be aged in wood like Chilean pisco, and the two countries use different grapes as a base.

Peruvian brands commonly found in the United States include Pisco Porton, BarSol and Macchu Pisco. Chilean brands include Control C and Kappa.

Fans include Moses Laboy of Le Colonial in New York City. “I’ve been in a love affair with pisco for a very long time,” he says. “The pisco sour has always been one of my favorite classic cocktails. I really enjoy that it packs so much flavor with such a simple recipe, and for a long time have even judged ‘mixologist’ skills on this cocktail.”

 

 

 

 

There is a famous French proverb that states, “autres temps, autres moeurs”, literally translating to, “other days, other ways” and Le Colonial has achieved this and much more.

Le Colonial is one of those locales that has forever remained a staple in the hearts of uptown and midtown New Yorkers with a consistent menu. With a history of over 20 years, it has now nuanced a new burst of joie de vivre into its menu and décor. The reinvention is proliferated with the introduction of a new young chef, Ron Win Wee Hsu; who arrives at the French-Vietnamese establishment with eight years of experience at the renowned Le Bernardin. Co-founders Jean Goutal and Jean Denoyer in part encouraged this change and it is a fantastic and exciting one at that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking for an upscale and exotic dining experience in New York City to impress mom this Mother’s Day? French Vietnamese restaurant Le Colonial will introduce a three-course Mother’s Day menu, which includes a special welcome champagne cocktail in honor of mothers. The menu was created by Le Colonial’s new executive chef, Ron Hsu (of Le Bernardin), and will be served on Sunday, May 11th from 12 pm to 10 pm for $50 per person.

Le Colonial has been quietly serving pho in midtown for the last twenty years, but here’s why we’re paying attention right now: Ron Wing Wee Hsu’s new super deluxe version of the Vietnamese dish is made with an impossibly silky broth and crowned with rare foie ($19).

In New York, it’s lucky to have a restaurant last more than 20 days, let alone 20 years. Midtown’s Le Colonial, a classic French Vietnamese restaurant is celebrating its twentieth year with a new chef, Ron Wing Wee Hsu, and a new menu. Chef Hsu is an eight year veteran of Le Bernadin. He grew up working in his parents’ Chinese restaurants in Atlanta, and after culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, Australia, he traveled in Asia, and cooked in restaurants in Japan. Chef Hsu focuses on Chinese and French technique, combining skills gleaned from Le Bernardin, and his own leanings toward very bright flavor, to create a new direction and menu for Le Colonial. And at 31 years old, Chef Hsu is barely older than the restaurant himself, but his precision and inspired menu make him seem nothing but sophisticated.

Now celebrating its 20th year, Midtown East’s Le Colonial has welcomed Le Bernardin alum Ron Wing Wee Hsu as its new chef. Hsu is putting his own touches on the restaurant’s French-Vietnamese fare, including a six-course anniversary tasting menu, dubbed “Then and Now” ($80), that will be offered through May 31. Choose from dishes like five-spiced duck with crispy skin and pho with foie gras-infused oxtail broth. 149 E. 57th St., 212-752-0808

With ceiling fans, palms, wicker chairs, and walls lined with historic sepia toned photos, you are transported to early 20th century French Saigon at Le Colonial. Newly renovated, the restaurant also has a new executive chef, Ronald Hsu, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu and spent eight years cooking at Le Bernadin. Raised in a restaurant family, he’s the perfect match for this kitchen.

Chef Ron Wing Wee Hsu, 31, who spent four years as the poissonier at Le Bernardin, Chef Eric Ripert’s revered temple to seafood, is making his debut with a spring “Then and Now” tasting, which offers a selection of the restaurant’s traditional offerings (goi cuon, vermicelli salad rolls filled with poached prawns), as well as a few of Chef Hsu’s own creations (I’m eying the scallop ceviche and the Le Colonial Pho, with oxtail broth, ultra-rare beef filet, and seared foie gras). Oh, and there’s the chocolate Sriracha tarte—à la mode for me, please!—reason enough to stop by.

Le Bernardin veteran Ron Wingwee Hsu is the new executive chef of Le Colonial in Midtown.

Look out for a special anniversary menu at Le Colonial from executive chef Ron Hsu between April 9 and May 31. After that, some new dishes from Hsu will become the new menu.

 

RON WING WEE HSU, who was at Le Bernardin for eight years, is the new chef at Le Colonial in Midtown, where he is introducing dishes like pho with foie gras.

 

Le Colonial, an upscale French Vietnamese restaurant, is at the center of bustling Midtown Manhattan, but you’d never know it. From the moment we stepped inside, the city sounds disappeared; Not a honk, nor a siren could be heard. The memory of whatever we had been engaged in prior began to fade from consciousness, as the elegant two level French-inspired townhouse took us farther and farther away.

Il y a 20 ans, l’un des tous premiers restaurants franco-vietnamiens de New York ouvrait ses portes dans l’Upper East Side. Depuis le Colonial a su asseoir sa réputation de restaurant de très haute qualité. Avec ses plats traditionnels réalisés avec des produits de saison, sa carte de vins sélectionnés par une professionnelle française et ses cocktails tous plus gourmands les uns que les autres, le Colonial propose une expérience unique à ses clients.

Moses Laboy, Director of Libations at Le Colonial, have crafted two Super Bowl sippers, one hued bright orange by Campari to celebrate Bronco power, and the other turned green by SKYY vodka and créme de violette. Stir them up at your Super Bowl party.

I remember doing a profile on Le Colonial during its first NYC inception in the 1990s, and being wowed then by the exotic setting and sensuous Far East fare—and I am wowed once again. The restaurant (…) retains the sensibility of the original but with even more retro dazzle: The 1920s French-Vietnamese colonial setting includes oversize potted palms, rattan chairs and a red-tinned ceiling. The food is equally exotic.

 

At the newly revamped second-floor lounge of Vietnamese standard Le Colonial (which just celebrated 20 years in business), mixologist Moses Laboy ignites a piece of American maple wood and then uses a chilled double-rocks glass as a dome to squelch the flame and trap in all of that wonderful flavor. The perfumed (emphasis on “fume”) glass is then filled with bourbon, house-made orange-clove syrup, and Angostura bitters. The drink, a riff on an Old Fashioned, is called The Vintage. It’s the perfect accompaniment to the lounge’s Vietnamese street food-inspired small bites (think banh mi and satay) and exotic, den-like environs.

At this “gorgeous” Midtowner you’ll be “transported to an exotic place” where the spirit of 1920s “colonial” “Indochine” is in the air and on the plate in the form of “terrific” French-Vietnamese fare; the “old Saigon” sensibility extends to a “comfortable upstairs lounge”, though prices are strictly modern-day.

 

This Upper East Side townhouse recalls the civilized yet exotic world of French Indochina, with black-and-white period photos, ceiling fans and lush potted palms that convey the beauty, romance and spirit of another place and time. The main dining room provides a formal setting for lunches and dinners of savory, authentic Vietnamese cuisine, while the second-floor lounge and bar provide a more casual setting for groups or an intimate rendezvous

 

A nostalgic re-creation of a glamorous French-Vietnamese club in ’30s Saigon, Le Colonial is like a stage set of Asian tiles, rattan chairs, hammered-tin ceilings, potted palms and lazily spinning ceiling fans. The delicate, healthful cuisine is full of contrasts of salty, sweet and spicy. Begin with cocktails in the sexy upstairs lounge and the light-as-air shrimp chips.