Arcane (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

My friend Agent-I was back in town and I decided to bring her to Arcane where I haven't visited since its opening week last November. I must say, there was nothing really unpleasant from my previous visit but why didn't I return a bit earlier for another meal?



Now my memory is coming back a bit. If there's one thing I found unsatisfied about my last visit at Arcane, it was the spacing in between tables. The space looked really small and a bit cramped as well. I didn't really want to listen in on my neighbors' conversation but I kind of had no choice. This time around, things were a little different coz the restaurant was less than half full and we were able to spread out a bit with empty seats surrounding us. 



I recalled a second thing that was bothering me too - the menu. It has only 2 choices for starter, 2 for main course (a fish and a meat) and 2 desserts (with one being the cheese dish). This is definitely not very good news for anyone that wants plenty of choices. 

After a slice of bread, I started things off the same way I did last time with their poached taiyouran egg, shiitake duxelle, broccoli, brioche crumbs and onion seeds. I am not sure if this is Chef Osborn's signature dish or not but it's a fairly good way to kick things off here. 



I "destroyed" the taiyouran egg with my knife and let the egg yolk float all over the rest of the ingredients. That was so good. I thought it tasted a tad better than last time. Could be the shiitake duxelle enhancing the overall flavors of the dish (7.5/10). 



A little less successful was the chilled asparagus and pea velouté with snap peas and pepper ricotta. The velouté itself wasn't bad at all but the fact that the asparagus was cut into very tiny stripes didn't help the texture at all (5.5/10).


 
(At this point, I realized that my camera was totally out of focus.....but a little bit too late.)

I thought the main courses were a little better than last time. The pan fried pink snapper, served with salsa verde, cous cous, tomato and red onion was tender with a rich and delicate flavor. Of course, it didn't hurt to have a nice and crispy skin too (6.5/10).



But I did enjoy the slow braised beef cheek more. The portion was a little small but I couldn't argue with the texture of the cheek. Very tender and juicy with just the right balance of fat and it was nicely complemented by a parmesan polenta and some bok choi. Very nice (7/10).



They gotta get a "real" pastry chef here at some point coz their dessert has always been the weakest link, at least from their lunch set it was. Both of us went for the plum and almond tart with vanilla ice-cream instead of the cheese and it was just OK. I did like the plums inside the crunchy crust but I was hoping for something a little more sophisticated (4.5/10).



It was always nice to see Agent-I and I told her she should treat me to a very nice dinner in Singapore when I come to visit her sometime this year. Let's see if Restaurant Andre is available during my stay (last time it was fully booked!).

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: 3/F, 18 On Lan Street, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 2728-0178
Website: http://arcane.hk/