Some of the most beautiful plating and storytelling – Flor De Lis – Guatemala City

Flor De Lis is a restaurant in Guatemala City that I discovered by searching on the World’s 50 Best Discovery List. The restaurant space is sleek and modern with two dining options. Regular tables and the chef’s table. The format is tasting menu and the chef’s table adds a few dishes not available at the “normal” table. I chose to sit at the chef’s table and got a chance to chat with the chef who also gave me some restaurant recommendations. I also learned that he was at Noma for a while. Here is a look at the menu that evening:

There was also an interesting drink menu with cocktails made from cusha. I had never heard of this type of liquor, and according to the chef, it was made illegal due to lobbying from large beverage companies. Therefore, it is made in the underground market, and if you don’t know the supplier, apparently, you can go blind!

I had to try one:

Two unique things about this restaurant: 1. they incorporate a lot of Mayan storytelling into the meal/each dish; many of the stories come from an ancient Mayan book (as a side note, in general, I found that Guatemalans are very proud and knowledgeable of their Mayan heritage; more about that in future posts) and 2. some of the plating incorporating Mayan themes was some of the most gorgeous I’d ever seen. The meal started with a dish called “Ixmukane”. They were bite sized balls that came in this smoking Mayan themed pot:

The balls were sweet corn croquettes with cheese and coated in caramelized popcorn, chili salt, and smoked with myrrh. The next dish was called “an homage to ants”, and yes, it incorporated ants. Mayans believe that ants are the only beings that can travel between the living and inflamed worlds. The dish was mushroom chicharron, mushroom cream, plantain, and ant emulsion. Also, chile toast, “brains cream”, fermented lemon, and dehydrated ants.

The ants were presented after I had consumed the bites:

The next dish was called “Men of Corn”. These were bite sized corn tamales.

Then something called “visiting the creator”. In Southern Guatemala, there exist stones that are shaped like mushrooms and human faces. Some believed that eating these connected people with the Creator. The restaurants interpretation was mushroom tartar, cream cheese, and “onion ash buscuit”, plated on a dish that looked like a giant mushroom.

This was followed by “The one who carries the world”. The story of this is that the goddess of corn sends a message to her grandchildren through an insect. The insect meets a toad to invites the insect into his mouth to take him faster. The toad meets a snake who tells the toad the same thing. The snake meets a falcon and so on. Inspired by this story, the restaurant created the following dish of toast with chili ash and amaranth stuffed with frog legs ad giant ants:

At this point in the meal, it was time to try another cocktail.

Continuing with the meal, “The fall of Zipacna (only for Chef’s Table [CT])”. Green banana toast with crab, coconut emulsion and herbal oil powder.

Moving on to “fabric [CT]”, this was one of my favorite dishes both in terms of taste and presentation. The dish was “weaved” in a manner representing the fabrics of Guatemala. I immediately tied the visual of this dish to what I had seen in the markets. Very very cool presentation, and apparently, a lot of work. The weave was made with 3 sweet potatoes, then filled with cured shrimp. fermented sweet potato, avocado and chili.

After this came a confit tomato. This is one of the chef’s signature dishes. The bread came from a local bakery and was amazing. The chef would give me the name of the bakery and I will post about my visit for breakfast separately.

The next dish was another standout for me “The heart of the lords of Xibalba”. It was basically a charred chayote cooked in toasted butter and served with fermented garlic emulsion. They also provided a rare black salt (which comes in the form of the pot looking thing in the pic below). The reason I loved this dish was the unique preparation of the chayote. It was juicy and “meaty” and the flavors were great. Especially with a little of the back salt and garlic sauce sprinkled on every bite.

Next, a broad bean tamale with beef tongue and tomato sauce.

Then, Milpa which was a kind of ravioli covered with a “veil of beans and ashes”. The filling was a kind of squash.

At this point, the restaurant brought us some complimentary Guatemalan rum that was decanted through a very unique device.

There would be two more dishes before dessert after this (I didn’t realize how long this meal was until I started writing this post!). The first was “Heart of Man, Heart of Fish”. Baked fish, ash puree, whisky leaves, and lemon sauce.

Finally, a kind of palate cleanser. The presentation was definitely unique and very funny to eat (use your imagination):

To close the meal, two desserts. One of them, was the most gorgeous of the night, and maybe one of the best I have ever seen. It was so beautiful, I felt bad eating it. The first was a chocolate tamale which I was not a big fan of:

The second, “Sawdust Carpet” was visually stunning. I watched one of the chef’s prepare this all night and wish I had filmed it. I was made with glutinous rice, dehydrated flowers, rose water and cherry liquor. Finally, the bill with some candy.

Overall, this was not just a meal but an experience. Service was excellent with a lot of attention to detail. The presentation and explanation/stories that came with each meal really made me appreciate Mayan culture, and the pride Guatemalans have in it. The food it self ranged from just ok to really good. A lot of the flavors were just pure without strong seasonings which is how a lot of the food in the country comes. Even though there was a lot of transformation of many of the dishes, this was the case. I would not go back, but only because it was an experience type meal, but I would highly recommend anyone to experience it for themselves. Its a great way to spend an evening.