But then two things are almost guaranteed at Spoon - impeccible service and a wonderful Victoria Harbour view.
I have dined at Spoon on many occasions but on many nights, the quality of food failed to wow me in any way and I left wondering if there would ever be a next visit. But it's already been a few years since my last visit, so I would expect improvements especially with a new man at the helm.
The team kicked off our dinner with some fine nibbles. There were spinach puffs and then foie gras mousse. I have never turned my head away from any foie gras mousse but with this one I did. The spinach puff also failed to live up to expectation (3/10).
Deep fried frog's leg with ginger consommé, 7/10
Our amuse bouche of the night arrived in the form of a deep fried frog's leg dipped in a mayonnaise style sauce. The seasoning was minimal and the natural flavor of the frog's leg was quite attractive (or were we just too hungry, I couldn't tell ?).
Chestnut soup with crayfish, 6/10
Chestnut velouté has always been my favourite so this choice was really a no-brainer for me. The chestnut soup was almost as thick as a velouté. The addition of some fresh crayfish provided a nice seawater flavour to the soup.
Steamed duck foie gras from "Les Landes", 5/10
One of the restaurant's specialty, the steamed duck foie gras from Les Landes was however a bit below expectation. The texture of the foie gras was slightly on the hard side and the sweet and sour fig and grape puree was utterly dominant even for the foie gras.
Also they have to do something about the presentation of this dish. Ouch, it didn't look attractive at all.
Brittany lobster, pumpkin and country pork belly, 6/10
We were sold on the seemingly unusual combo of Brittany blue lobster and pork belly but was left startled to find that pork belly actually referred to the small bites of meat on top of the pumpkin slices.
No complaints about the lobster as it was almost perfect but we did not like the pumpkin and pork belly together.
All in all, putting lobster and pork belly together sounded like a promising idea but what a shame it did not work the way we hoped it would.
Venison fillet, seasonal fruits and vegetables, 7/10
I thought the best dish of the night belonged to the venison fillet. Serving at medium, it was simply cooked to absolute perfection. The dish was served with a sauce of its natural jus which was rich and skillful.
Our favorite cheesecake, citrus marmalade, 3/10
The wheels started to fall off here with the dessert. We actually spent quite some time to figure about what desserts we liked (because none of them really appealed to us in the first place.) and finally came up with these two.
The favorite cheesecake was not our typical New York style cheesecake. Instead it was a bar-shaped cheese stick marinated in a citrus marmalade. The first taste was really overwhelmingly sour and my friend decided to give up after taking a few wracks at it.
Hazelnut-chocolate, praline ice-cream, 4/10
My hazelnut chocolate tart looked a bit more interesting than the previous and it tasted a little better. Nevertheless, it was not something I would regret not having.
In my opinion, Spoon is a borderline 1-star restaurant at best. Two stars may have been a bit too generous.
Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Intercontinental Hotel HK, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: East Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2313-2256
Tel: +852 2313-2256
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