Seasons by Olivier Elzer (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

For the past two years, two of Hong Kong's best French fine dining restaurants have seen its fair share of key personnel changes. Late last year, it was Vincent Thierry leaving Caprice leaving a void in a kitchen that used to be one of the best in the city. That utimately resulted in Caprice losing its third star for the first time since the Michelin guide arrived in Hong Kong. Now in the middle of 2014, another French heavyweight L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon lost its commander, Olivier Elzer who has been their executive chef since 2011.

Whether this would have impacts on the daily operation of L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon is still unknown. But one thing is certain - Chef Olivier Elzer is about to dazzle our palates with his newest project at Lee Garden - Seasons by Olivier Elzer.



Like L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, the entrance of Seasons by Olivier Elzer is highlighted by a series of bar seatings circling around an open kitchen.



Right next to the bar area is an extremely warm and elegant main dining room.



Deeper into the dining area is a semi-private dining room with glass ceiling which the staff mentioned would be used as a tea salon and private party.



At lunch, the restaurant offers an a la carte menu with prices ranging from $150 to $500. Some dishes are available as a starter as well as main course. There's also a 3-course set lunch menu for $288, a 4-course set for $368 and a 5-course set for $448.

Lunch started perfectly with a basket of warm bread highlighted by a couple of sour dough bread.



Our first starter was a escargot fricasse served with a flavorful pastis sauce. The sauce was intense and it worked wonderfully well with the tomato, mushroom and arugula. My only complaint was the fact that the escargots were a little bland (5/10).



Next up was a chilled tomato soup with basil ice-cream. I fell in love with the contrasting flavor and temperature between the gazpacho and basil ice-cream. 

That was a lovely dish, perhaps the best of the afternoon (7/10).



I am getting more and more into vegetarian dishes these days and this bowl of acini risotto with vegetable provided a healthy mix to the meal. There were 3 layers in this dish. 

Underneath the tarragon emulsion was a layer of broccoli, cauliflower, corn and carrot sitting on top of some cous cous-like pasta and a silky smooth parmesan sauce (5/10).



Our main course started with an Asian inspired obsiblue prawn with venere rice. The prawns were pan seared with Asian herbs before being served on a bed of black whole-grain rice (5/10).



Our final dish looked all too familiar. A grilled pork loin on a delicious mash, haven't we seen that a lot from L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon? 

I liked this slightly better than the prawns (5.5/10).



The theme of four seasons is not only reflected in the menu alone but can also be seen in the way the restaurant is being organized. I love the great ambiance here but the menu still needs a bit of work.


Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 308, Phase 2, Lee Garden, 2-38 Yun Ping Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Causeway Bay
Tel: +852 2505-6228
Website: www.seasonsbyolivier.com