Since I went to Tantris on my own, these are the notes I wrote up between courses. It’s interesting to see the difference between other reviews which are often done much later.

The restaurant is beautiful and the staff have so far done well to tolerate my complete lack of German. I’ve started with an aperitif of prosecco and mango. It is good!

Unlike some other Michelin starred venues, they do offer the ability to choose between a set menu and a la carte. It has been a tough choice but I’ve decided to go for the set menu. 

A little more on the restaurant decor. Key colours are black, red and orange. It’s very elegant in a 1970’s kind of way. Low rounded lights, black leather, red laquer. Thankfully I’m not the only person dining on my own with an older lady next to me and a business man on the other side. I wish they had bar seating though. The rest of the clientele is very well to do. Even in the Fat Duck there was an element of casualness which could only exist in England. The older lady sitting next to me is drinking a nice half of German beer, whilst most sip champagne. She appears to be a regular customer. 

First was an amuse-bouche of sorts, Tuna Tartare with a Rolled Quinelle with Mushrooms and a Boiled Quails Egg. First off, I ate an egg - ZOMG! I didn’t get a strong flavour from the tuna, nor the egg but there was a lovely flavour in the dressing and the quinelle filling which tied the dish together. I’ve just sat here for a few minutes trying to pinpoint the flavour, possibly teriyaki? It was good though.

The first matched wine is an Austrian Sauvignon Blanc which has a more mineral accent than say New Zealand wines. It also had hints of fennel and peach. Thanks to the sommelier for explaining it to me.

First course was Lukewarm Salmon with White Asparagus. The asparagus was out of this world, as you would expect from a local speciality. The salmon was very delicate, melt in your mouth. There was three dressings on the dish but none were discernable, a light mayonnaise, a herb and another light mayonnaise with perhaps pepper in it? There was also finely diced egg yolk, pancetta and onion over the dish. Perhaps not as successful as the first dish.

They gave me more of the Austrian wine so not sure the pacing of the next two. And some more! I think the next course has taken far too long and there was no word from the wait staff to reassure me, that may be due to German fail. 

Finally my Langoustines served with Pak Choy and Creamy Fish Sauce arrived. Perhaps with some coconut cream also, as the sauce was the highlight of the dish. The langoustines were a little chewy for my liking although the flavour was good.

Being on my own, it’s interesting to note who gets the most attention from the various staff. Some people clearly ate GIPs (German Important People) or at least frequent enough visitors that they get special treatment.

The next course was Venison with Chanterelles, Cabbage and Potatoes. The meat was fantastic, perfectly cooked, tender. Vegetables were good, especially the small slivers of mashed potatoes. The jus was rich, flavoured with red wine and stock. The wine served with the dish was an Italian red, heavy on the tannins with hints of vanilla. Not normally my favourite style but a good match, plus I got an extra glass. The gentleman next to me had a similar menu and is now finished so not sure why I am still quite behind. Same with the elderly lady next to me. 

Next up was Taleggio with Filo Pastry and Salad Leaves. It seemed an odd choice but perhaps replaced a more traditional cheese course. It was served with a light mayonnaise, salad leaves and a balsamic dressing. I can’t fault the dish but it felt jarring after the venison. I queried the waiter about german cheese but he didn’t really add much detail. I really wish I spoke German at this point. 

The dessert had to be the highlight. Sour Cream Ice-Cream, Raspberry, Rhubarb, a Chocolate Donut and Marshmallow Style Chocolate Cream served with an Italian Muscat with berry flavours, almost champagne like… It was so good. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say it was the best dessert I’ve ever had. Each individual component was perfectly executed. It was a journey from hot to cold, from chocolate to cream and then berry flavours. 

The meal finished with an exceptional selection of Petit Fours and a Macchiato, although I only tasted each of the beautifully formed baby desserts. I have felt a little neglected during the meal but I expect that is a result of my language failure more than anything. Better than Joel Robuchon but not as good as Fat Duck. 

Service including tip came to around €211 which included the five course tasting menu, three matching wines (of which I received a total of 6 glasses), aperitif and sparkling water.

Tantris Restaurant
Johann-Fichte-Straße 7
80805 München
Phone: +49(0)893619590
http://www.tantris.de/ 

Day 3 was only a half day, which I hadn’t realized when I booked my conference ticket. It’s good in a way, as it means you can get away in the afternoon if need be. 

As it was, I only just made the first session after having a late night catching up on work email. The session I attended was a panel about Usability Myths with Rolf Molich, Jakob Biesterfeldt, Karen Bachmann and Whitney Quesenbery. Can you guess where this ended up? Most of the ‘myths’ being subject to the it depends claus! I liked the statistics which backed up a particular point of view but as mentioned previously, it depends on the context and interpretation. 

After a quick coffee break, it was onto the closing plenary - Change, Impact and Optimism. There was supposed to be two speakers, Dario Buzzini and Ferdi Van Heerden, but a last minute change meant that there was only one, which meant things didn’t go as smoothly as expected. Dario was from Ideo and I have to admit, as much as I love Ideo’s work, I didn’t find it that inspiring. To be fair, my point of reference was Jesse James Garrett’s UX call to arms in Memphis, so there was a lot to live up to. The majority of the talk was showing pre-recorded videos of Ideo’s work. I would have loved to hear more discussion and I think this would have happened, had both speakers been present. 

After the conference, I headed over to Munich’s three main galleries - Pinotek de Moderne, Neue Pinakothek and Alte Pinakothek to indulge in one of my other favourite passions, art. For €12 you can get a day ticket to all three museums. 

This morning was a struggle after too much wine at Tantris! I couldn’t find Coke Zero anywhere either, so I made do with a lovely croissant and coffee. 

The first session I attended was Designing for a Multi-Channel Experience with Amy Cueva and Megan Grock from Mad*Pow, which was slanted a little bit towards the agency side. It did echo some of my own experiences in a large company. In particular, the idea that certain people owning certain areas of a site but the customer thinking of it all as just one company. My favourite quote was one about “drunk usability testing” - apparently drunk people have the same attention span as people using websites.

Next up followed a session about Designing Communities as Decision Making Experiences with Tharon Howard & Wendy Howard, which offered some new ideas and confirmed a lot of ones I already held about communities. I’d be keen to read the book, Design to Thrive, and find out more about the mystical U-test email group.

During lunch I ran into one of the co-chairs and he asked what I thought, I mentioned some of the problems that I’d had with the logistics. I felt terrible being so brutally honest but at the end of the day, this is a paid conference. 

I didn’t feel Models not Magic with Juliane Rettner, was accurately billed. I was expecting more methods to get people working together rather than focusing on one method. Juliane certainly had some very salient points about designing for specialists, which in her case, was those who manage electrical systems. Design for Delight, with Giles Colborne, was one of the highlights of the day, I liked the simple explanation of anxiety > resolve problem > delight. Giles is currently writing a book called Design for Simplicity, which is out in September 2010.

At the last minute, I decided to attend Mobile User Experience in South Africa by Helga Letowt-Vorbek. Absolutely fascinating stuff. There was some nuggets in their which would take months of independent ethnographic research. This is really what conferences are about, the sharing of learnings to not just further your career but the UX profession as a whole.

The cocktail hour and dinner was a nice touch, although I had no idea who any of the people were, even the lady who received the lifetime achievement award. There are a lot of people in our field doing good work, many of which go unrecognised by the wider community.