Restaurant Osier, Walferdange, Luxembourg – May 2015

Osier is THE talk of our little town these days. Having only opened a few weeks ago.

The center of our small commune – Walferdange – with its Town Hall – the school – concert and sport venue across the street – and next to that – baker, pharmacy etc. – actually already holds a good dozen of restaurants – but one can never have too many to choose from right ? :-).

Although we have I think – 3-4 Chinese restaurants in Walferdange, the opening of Osier has been subject to personal high expectations. For two reasons 1), the others do not blow me away, even if they probably do what you can expect – and 2) The old BEAUTIFUL building that now is the home of Osier, is one hell of a grand building, and it has been a pity to see that building empty and in decline. So, seeing the renovation starting, and being able to follow the carefully and respectfully repair of the old “mansion” only increased my expectations.

The Menu

Osier is described as an Asian restaurant and the menu with full-blown pictures show the customers a great selection of Sushi, Thai dishes along the traditional Chinese ones.

Pretty Xiaowei with the al fresco area behind the glass door and windows.

The proud owner and manager Xiaowei is not only very pretty and smiling. She is also having an eye for detail in respect to choice of colour, cutlery, comfortably chairs etc.

Shot from the smallest of the three rooms

And the largest room in the back, leading on to the terrasse.

What I like about the enterieur is the fact, that it is modern, – but also has Asian influences for example a huge piece of wooden art on one wall and other Asian decoration in the back of the restuarant. The blue modern light source on the ceiling gives the whole restaurant a modern look. A nice added bonus is the al freco dining behind the house, – away from the busy road, – That is a HUGE bonus in compare to other restaurants in the area.

The cutlery, the china and the deco chosen surely shows that Xiaowei has a plan to make this Asian restaurant stand out. And I think she has succeeded in just that. Her husband is in charge of the kitchen, and the whole restaurant has a nice family vibe to it.

Since the opening a few weeks ago, we have had several visits here, and had a chance to try a few of the dishes on the menu. Even though I opted for Peking Duck – my all-time favourite Chinese dish 🙂 on some of those occasions.

Here are some of the shots I have taken so far:

A small greeting from the kitchen…

Meals at Osier – like in other good restaurants starts with a small complementary taster – sushi in this case.

Very tasty soup 🙂

Deliscious …

This little dish, I suggested to my dining friends, and they said no we try this or that….and when they tried mine….they all applauded. The dish is a winner. Try it yourself 🙂

Chicken skewers…

One little complaint here. If the idea is to eat it with your fingers…the tasty sauce on the handle of the skewer does give very greasy fingers….:-)

One of many Sushi combinations…

I think by now you get my sentiments…this is a restaurant trying to present the dishes in a modern and appealing way, and I think they are succeeding.

The Peking duck, you get to work – if you want to 🙂

Crispy as it should be

My result 🙂

Vegetables and Tofu for the missus

From all the main dishes we tried so far, I think the Peking duck is among the best I have ever tried. The Luxury version of that dish, is a 2-servings dish where after you have been presented the whole roasted duck – are treated to a first serving of the traditional Peking duck and then the second serving – a very tasty dish where the remaining duck meat is used to create an insanely good tasting duck/vegetables dish. This dish I guess will become a signature dish of the restaurant – and is naturally only served for two people minimum.

Yasmin Tea….

Not for me 🙂 but greatly presented.

My conclusion:

Osier is worth a visit, and deserves huge success. Alone the idea of having an eye for detail and quality and the sheer taste in many of those dishes should hopefully provide Xiaowei and her team with just that. I recommend this restaurant to all my friends and customers in Walferdange, Or if you are ever in the area – please stop by and try this one out. The service is suffering a little, in rush hours you might have to wait more than at your usual Asian restaurant, but – they have to find themselves and find their routine and balance first, and when the food you are presented are at this quality, I do not mind the extra minutes 🙂 . I shall not forget to mention the Thai Coco curry. Order it a bit spicy and you will be in heaven. As for Ambience, I think this is the best you can expect for a Chinese restaurant. No offense :-). But the grandness of the building shines through. The 100 year old curved windows have been kept, and the wooden floors and modern blue lighting – it has some class. Wine list is large, mainly with wines from well-known importer Rossi 🙂 and old friend of mine. I hope to see my wines in here some day, but if not – I will just enjoy one of the many offerings the list hold. I shall rate this as a gastro chinese restaurant. It is not a 3 star Michelin establishment, but it is certainly a fresh breathe of air in our little commune. And I will be back here as often as I can afford it. I wish Xiaowei and her husband and team all the best and give Osier my highest local recommendation :-). But one little word of advice dear Xiaowei. You need to find a better Sake 🙂 Ask me, and I will tell you where you find it 🙂

My quality / price rating:

Food 8p (10), service 4p (5), ambience 4p (5), – and add a happiness point just because I am personally damn happy to have Osier only 1 mile away . 17p (20).