The man behind View 62 is Paco Roncero, one of the brightest protégés of world renowned chef Ferran Adria, formerly of El Bulli. In 2000, Chef Roncero left his mentor to move to La Terraza del Casino de Madrid where he made a name for himself winning his second Michelin star in 2009.
At View 62, Chef Roncero is bringing his nouvelle Spanish cuisine that combines avante garde style cooking, artistic presentation and innovative scientific approach all together.
We took a special elevator from the lobby directly up to View 62 and found the transformation of this once-iconic revolving restaurant to be simply amazing. Apart from the stunning 360-degree panoramic view of Hong Kong Island and Victoria Harbour, the atmosphere was totally afresh and different.
Let's start with the ceiling which was newly re-designed with an excess of 50,000 wooden rods giving us the special visual effects that reminisce the experience of walking on top of clouds.
During the period of soft opening, there's no a la carte menu available. Instead 2 different lunch sets are being offered at $298 for 3-courses and $398 for 4-courses. There is a more sophisticated mix of dinner menus available ranging from $680 to $1,400.
Lobster Suquet with its own Carpaccio, 6/10
We took the 3-course set lunch and our first starter was a lobster suquet served with lobster carpaccio, potato balls and artichoke. Suquet is a fish and seafood casserole from the Catalan cuisine and it tasted like a typical bisque or stew. Very thick and rich.
I had quite a few lobster bisque with artichoke in recent weeks. Didn't like this combo at first and slowly grew to enjoy it. The sourness and bitterness of the artichoke seemed to work fairly well with lobster adding another dimension to this equation.
Russian Salad with Mayo Foam, 7/10
This is a re-invented version of the classic Russian salad. It was nicely presented as a small bowl of golden colored cream. A few pieces of toasts were provided separately to go with the salad.
Like the original Russian classic, the salad was a mixture of potato, tuna and egg which could all be found undereath a thick layer of cheese cream and olive oil on the outside.
This was a very thoughtful dish. Potato, tuna and egg were nicely layered with one another to give a real balanced flavor. The crispy toasts were also perfect complements to the salad. Simply put some creamy salad on top and eat it with one bite!
Cod Bun, 4.5/10
As avante garde as these dishes might look, it's still Spanish cuisine afterall so how could we do without any tapas you might ask?
So here came a plate of croquette with minced cod fish. I thought the texture was really good but it was way too oily for my liking.
Roasted Lamb with Potatoes Purée, 5.5/10
From the way the kitchen handled this roasted lamb, we knew the philosophy behind was to preserve its natural flavors. We could tell that the seasoning was kept as minimal as possible.
Unfortunately, the result was rather disappointing.
Pigeon with Truffle Purée and Apple Jelly, 5/10
This was the most gamey pigeon breast I have ever had in my life. The truffle purée was supposed to be there to balance it out but it didn't seem to work very well.
Pineapple with Yogurt Foam, 4.5/10
There was only one dessert available on the day and it was a cup of diced pineapple atop by a yogurt foam. Refreshing? Yes. Innovative? No. Technique? Zero.
Perhaps the pastry chef was yet to report to work?
Service was fairly average as the servers were still learning their menus and the jargons from the Spanish cuisine. In terms of food, I expected a lot more from a two-star Michelin chef who has come a long way to inspire us with his naunte cuisine.
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: 62/F Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen's Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong
