Mano by Frederic Chabbert (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I admitted I was a little shocked when I first learned that long-time chef de cuisine Frederic Chabbert has left Petrus restaurant at the Island Shangri-La after spending nearly eight years there. It's not so much why Chef Chabbert left but more about where he's going. 

According to numerous sources, Chef Chabbert has joined Mano, an artisan cafe located on the ground floor of L Place in Central as their new executive chef and co-owner. The talented chef will be counted on heavily to transform Mano into a casual fine dining bistro. At least, that was the plan.



Prior to the official launch of Chef Chabbert's new menu, Mano was closed for a few days for a quick facelift and dressed rehearsals. But when we checked out the place early this week, the interior has looked almost identical.



A welcome drink of iced jasmine tea was served up to cool us off.



A quick look at the revamped menu reminded me a little of another casual French eatery Serge et le phoque. Their menu is equally short and sharp.

I took their 3-course lunch set ($288) starting with a foie gras terrine as appetizer. It was served with rhubarb, shiso and toasted bread. Somehow I found it very bland (3/10).



The other appetizer was a lovely pasta dish with macaroni noodles, tomato, summer truffle and basil (7/10).



There were 2 selections of soup available in the menu. I decided to have a go with the fish bouillon. 

The soup was nicely presented with a tea pot and our server carefully poured it onto a bowl that already contained diced squid, crab meat and wild rocket leaf. There was a strong fragrance coming out of the soup reminiscing of the traditional french bouillabaisse. 

But the actual texture was a bit watery and the flavors could have been richer (4.5/10).




Roasted cod fish with Italian zucchini and saffron bouillon was next. It was decently cooked but it looked more like a dish coming out of a home kitchen instead of a professional kitchen (4/10).

Not overly impressed here.



Less successful was the beef burger with house ketchup, pickles and French fries. The beef patty was dry and lacking flavors (3.5/10).



I was expecting something a little more sophisticated than this, something a la "Serge et le phoque" or "Akrame" so certainly disappointed coming out of that door.





Food Rating: 4.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: G/F The L. Place, 137-141 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Hong Kong Station / Central
Tel: +852 2399-0737




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