Comparing to the previous tasting menus, I thought this Pre-Autumn menu was a little more compact with greater flexibility as we can choose between 6 or 8 courses. And if you're reading the fine prints carefully like we did, 3 or 4 courses are also available upon special request.
The moment we stepped through those doors, I saw a much improved team of waiting staff on hand. Service was so much better this time around and even the language they used was more in par with French fine dining. Those were all missing during our last visit.
We went for the shorter 6 course set and as soon as that was taken care of, our amuse bouche was already waiting on deck. This was a combination of three small nibbles - a carrot tart, French pea biscuit and truffled potato ball with yogurt.
A further amuse bouche was presented in the form of a melon soup atop with a cheese foam.
Following the nice array of nibbles, dinner was officially underway starting with our chilled brown crab meat from France. Each patch of crab meat was topped by a greenish heirloom tomato ice jelly with a hint of lemon. That was such a wonderful start (7.5/10).
Soup was next and I went with their watercress velouté which was a playful and imaginative dish with a great balance of flavors and textures.
The "sunny side up" egg was a slow cooked organic egg yolk on top of amandine potato mousse. When our server finished pouring the warm watercress velouté onto the dish, I started mixing all the ingredients together.
A spoonful of caviar from Sologne, a region of north-central France, came with this dish and I did exactly what was told and had about half of the caviar before turning my attention to the watercress velouté.
I was pleasantly surprised with the way the velouté worked with the flavors of the egg yolk and potato. Never really thought they could mesh so well together. And by the time I finished the soup, I took care of the rest of the caviar to get that extra kick for my palates (7/10).
The other soup was the restaurant's signature Paris white button mushroom soup with baby spinach gnocchi. It was simple yet elegant with a very rich mushroom fragrance (7/10)
Blue mussels from Normandy was perhaps one of the very few blemish of the evening. I love mussels and corn together but mussels wrapped in thin sheets of pastries made with corn certainly didn't make a strong enough impression on me although I did like the velvety organic corn soup that came with it. Mixed bag on this one (5/10).
It didn't take long for the talented kitchen to redeem themselves. A nicely executed seared red mullet got us right back on track. Love the green olives purée and the extra flavors from the pink garlic and basil oil along with the cider vinegar providing just the right balance of acidity (6.5/10).
Apart from the crab dish, I thought our main courses were outstanding as well. The signature butter puff ring was flaky and buttery and it was working wonders with the fresh lobster meat and line caught cod fish in the liquorice scented coulis (7/10).
But nothing beats a perfectly roasted duck from Challans, nicely complemented by Provence black berries, crispy faisselle and potato in a rich port wine jus. This was my favorite dish of the night (8.5/10).
Not sure if this was a pre-dessert or not but a little surprising to have a plate of arugula with Brittany artichoke 'espuma', crumbles and cheese shavings sneaked up on us at this point of the meal (5/10).
I like this one a lot better than the artichoke espuma - baked apple tatin style was served with refreshing rum raisins and Granny Smith apple sorbet. That certainly got my taste buds ready for the "real" desserts (7/10).
I had the poached William pear tonight, along with a honey and vanilla sauce, caramelized pecans and a homemade cardamom and pear sorbet. A lovely end to a wonderful meal (6.5/10).
I have never been a fan of soufflé to begin with so it was not surprising at all that I found the previous William pear dessert a little more enjoyable than their signature Grand Marnier soufflé with mandarin sorbet (5.5/10).
I was trying to walk off my fat belly right after dinner and seeing I needed a bit of exercise, our server promptly came up and asked if I would like to check out their private dining room. Why not?
For such a wonderful facility, the minimum charges (lunch $5,000 and dinner $12,000 if I am not mistaken) were definitely more than reasonable.
Ever since their opening in 2014, ÉPURE has quickly established themselves as one of the go-to places for exquisite French fine dining in the city. There's every reason to believe that, under the guidance of Chef Nicolas Boutin, they are poised for their first star in this coming November.
Food Rating: 7/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Shop 403, 4/F, Ocean Centre, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui Tel: +852 3185-8338
Website: www.epure.hk
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