I thought it was going to take me hours to take care of a few personal matters this morning but surprisingly, I finished well ahead of schedule. Since I was already in Central, I decided to pick up my phone to see which of my favorite French restaurants still have vacancy for one. I started calling Épure, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Caprice (in no particular order) hoping to land a table but only to find that they were all fully booked for lunch. But being the persistent person that I am, I kept on calling every 15 minutes, and lo and behold, I was finally rewarded.
Thanks to the good guys at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon for taking me in at such late hours (it was 2:10PM).
Looked like they have been tinkering the set menu a little bit but not as much as I would like. The black cod dish among others has been there for ages and I thought it's about time it has a replacement.
Tomato gazpacho jelly, avocado coulis - I can't ask for a better amuse bouche than this, can I? The tomato gazpacho jelly was just perfect for the dog days of summer (at 36 degrees). Wonderful, refreshing acidity met with a layer of silky avocado coulis. Also some paprika and crispy croutons on top. Got me all geared up for the upcoming dishes.
La Langoustine - I had a different version of this with mom last time. As I recalled, that one had a super intense langoustine bouillon served with a delicious piece of roasted scampi. By the look of it, this was a downgraded version featuring a fine spiced chicken bouillon. Floating on top of the bouillon were some scallops, lobster and shiitake mushroom. There were also a couple of scampi "tsukune", homemade scampi meat balls made with scampi and flying fish roes.
The bouillon was a little on the spicy side thanks to the strong ginger flavors. I think I want the old version back.
Le Boeuf Wagyu - I was a little curious of whether the wagyu was Japanese or Australian, and not surprisingly, it's Australian. This was beautifully prepared though, leaving each slice of beef with a nice charred crust. I love the white asparagus, pine nuts, ginger and green onion served on the side too. Very tasty. The homemade teriyaki sauce was spot on and just perfect. Definitely, the best dish of the afternoon.
La Cerise - I had a feeling it's not going to be an ordinary cheesecake and I was right.
Like the amuse bouche, this was just perfect for summer. The hibiscus cheese cake with cherry compote and beetroot ganache was bursting with refreshing flavors while the sweetened cherries, cherry sorbet and chocolate crumbs provided the dish with some additional texture and contrasting temperature.
The petite four was nice as always. It took me 30 seconds to wash them down with my English breakfast tea coz I didn't want to be the last customer leaving the dining room. Second last was okay.
The langoustine dish aside, I thought I had a pretty delicious meal today. The only thing I was slightly unhappy about was perhaps service. Unlike my previous experience at a Robuchon establishment, I found today's service a little "robotic" (but not rude) and not very Michelin-like. Quick example: when a customer came in at 2:10PM, it's quite understandable that you want to take his orders as quickly as possible (before last order!). But I waited and waited, and even signaled to a number of servers with a closed menu but no one came to my rescue. At the end, I had to wave my arms around to get someone's attention. When a female server finally came up, she told me they were all thinking that I was waiting for someone. That's just very poor communication right there coz when I arrived, the hostess already knew I was a solo diner.
Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Shop 315 & 401, The Landmark, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 2166-9000
Website: www.robuchon.hk
A few months ago, I read about TaoYuan Village (桃園眷村), a Shanghai based breakfast restaurant (Well, it's more like a canteen than restaurant) opening their first shop in Hong Kong when I was having my hair cut. As one of the fastest growing restaurant chains in China, they already have more than 30 locations nationwide despite a brief three-year history. That's pretty amazing. According to the report, even some of the local celebrities such as Eason Chan, were spotted checking out the place when he was vacationing in Shanghai. I thought if Eason enjoyed it so much (according to the same report), it's definitely worth a visit.
They offer a very small menu focusing on just four signature items - soy milk (豆漿), shao bing (燒餅), you tiao (油條) and sticking rice roll (粢飯).
Like at most Shanghainese restaurants, there's a choice between sweet and savory soy milk here. This sweet one comes with a serious Taiwanese twist combining an old-fashioned soy milk with pearls and black sugar. Pretty interesting idea but I thought it was very bland even with the black sugar.
Village You Tiao (眷村油條) - A little more chewy than our Cantonese style donut and a bit less flaky.
Minced pork and marinated egg rice roll (肉燥滷蛋飯糰) - More Taiwanese twist. I really like the idea but the execution was far from perfect.
I remember with the traditional sticky rice roll, the fillings of you tiao (油條) and pork floss (肉鬆) are more evenly spread out so with each bite, you got a nice balanced portion of sticky rice, you tiao and pork floss. But we didn't get the same balance here. There were a couple of bites where I only got the sticky rice and no minced pork or egg.
Kung-fu spicy chicken Shao Bing (功夫雞腿燒餅) - Very similar to McDonald's McChicken except the fact that they replaced the buns with their shao bing (something like a flatbread). This was just OK. Probably should have gone for their corn and egg flavor instead.
Food Rating: 4/10
Price: $$
Address: Shop 01, 4/F, 8 Langham Place, 8 Argyle Street, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Mong Kok
Tel: +852 3583-5992
Red Sugar (紅糖) at Kerry Hotel is one of the few Chinese restaurants on my short list which I failed to check off earlier this year. Instead of waiting for an upcoming occasion, I decided to bring mom and Jelloman there for a casual lunch this Saturday afternoon.
Located on the waterfront of Hung Hom (formerly the Hunghom Pier), Kerry Hotel boasts a stunning harbour view which can be seen right here from Red Sugar.
Talented and well-traveled Ken Yu (余偉經) is the hotel's opening Executive Chinese chef. Last time I heard of Chef Yu, he was still holding the same position at YEN Chinese Restaurant at W Taipei. Prior to joining W Taipei, he cut his teeth at Cuisine Cuisine at The Mira Hotel, Hyatt Regency in Tsim Sha Tsui, The Venetian Macao and Michelin starred Lei Garden. With close to 30 years of experience in the kitchen, he's known for his innovative take on Cantonese cuisine and is a master in the art of plating.
With Chef Yu's pedigree, I wasn't a bit surprised to find all these interesting dim sums and snacks on the food menu.
Pan-fried rice rolls with homemade XO sauce and soy (XO醬豉油皇炒腸粉) ($68) - Fairly tasty but surprisingly not as spicy as I thought it would be. A decent start (but I certainly won't mind more XO sauce!).
Hung Tong shrimp dumplings (紅糖蝦餃皇) ($75) - Very nice wrapper and the shrimps were pretty tasty. A little bigger than the usual bite size but perfectly fine with me.
Steamed wild mushroom dumplings with black truffle (松露野菌餃) ($68) - Came with a ultra thin wrapper made with what I thought was parsley (or celery). That was a nice match with the diced wild mushrooms. The black truffle was spot on.
Steamed red rice rolls with crispy prawns (脆蝦紅米腸粉) ($68) - Along with the steamed wild mushroom dumplings, my early favorites from this early dim sum lunch. The crispy prawns added some nice texture to the delicious rice rolls and the red rice provided pleasant nutty flavor with an earthy tone. Very nice.
Steamed pork belly buns (蝴蝶燒腩卷) ($68) - An interesting Taiwanese twist in the dim sum menu. Why am I not surprised (with Chef Yu's background)?
"Butterfly pork bun roll" is just a fancy name for a Taiwanese-style gua bao (割包). I thought the buns were pretty nice and pillowy. My little nugget loves it.
Deep-fried turnip cake with mashed shrimp (百花釀蘿蔔糕) ($68) - Fried turnip cake stuffed full of minced shrimp in the middle. I thought the portion was a little small but I just couldn't stop eating them. And you just don't see this on the dim sum menu everyday (and everywhere)!
Deep-fried roasted goose and mushrooms puff (一品燒鵝酥) ($75) - Very cute puff in the shape of a swan with diced roasted goose and mushroom filling. I like the pastry which was really flaky working well with the flavorful filling.
Diced abalone and chicken puff (鮑魚雞粒酥) ($75) - The highlight of the meal! This came with a whole braised abalone on top. The abalone was definitely not bad; but the puff a bit powdery for me.
Chilled mango sago cream with pomelo (楊枝甘露) ($68) - Everyone opted for dessert instead of more dim sum, rice or noodle and who could blame them. On a hot summer day like this, I thought this chilled mango sago cream with pomelo would be the perfect thirst quencher. It's not as perfect as the one served at Summer Palace but I like the balance of bitterness and sweetness.
Chilled almond jelly (錦鯉杏汁糕) ($68) - A dessert picked for me and my little one. He loves anything fish shaped and I love anything with rich almond flavor.
This meal was much better than the one we had at YEN Chinese Restaurant at W Taipei (which was our last experience with Chef Yu's dim sum). Not to be overlooked were the attentive service and amazing harbour view. Now, I am seriously thinking about coming back soon for their dinner menu.
Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: 7/F, Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong, 38 Hung Luen Road, Hung Hom, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Whampoa
Tel: +852 2252-5888
After missing out on Bakehouse's famous croissants and cruffins on a number of visits, I was determined to get a head start this afternoon. So, instead of coming after lunch, I decided to swing by before lunch just ahead of the crowd. And bingo!
I got myself a pair of cruffins with strawberry jam and vanilla cream ($38). Not bad but I'm sure they would have tasted even better without me carrying them around for the entire afternoon (in and out the fridge).
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: G14 Tai Wong Street East, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Wanchai
Website: https://bakehouse.hk/
Bakehouse Hong Kong popular bakery cafe Wanchai Gregoire Michaud best cruffin croissant
Normally, I don't go a couple of months without re-visiting The Pawn for lunch so I'm back here again this afternoon. I have less than an hour today so I know I have to make good use of my time.
Pork terrine with pickled cauliflower, carrot and radish - Smooth, meaty and without the usual amount of fat (or gelatin) one always sees from a pork terrine. That's a pretty good recipe for a nice piece of terrine.
I don't usually like food with strong acidity so on a typical day, I won't be touching the pickled cauliflower and carrot but I thought they did well to balance the richness of the terrine. So, I ended up finishing them all.
Slow-cooked beef rump with pumpkin and asparagus - Rump steaks are usually a bit tricky. Just the slightest overcooking and it will turn rubbery like an old boot (which is why I don't usually order them!). But this was decent. A little chewy but way better than those from some of my worst dining experience.
Surprisingly, I have just enough time to squeeze in dessert and coffee ($40 supplement). Not that I really needed dessert at this point because I do have a pair of cruffins I just bought from Bakehouse (See paper bag).
Sticky banana pudding with honeycomb and vanilla ice-cream - I really miss their sticky toffee pudding but if there's any consolation, they had sticky banana pudding as one of the two choices for dessert today, which I jumped on immediately.
This tasted a lot like the banana cake we found from the local bakeries. Pretty pillowy which was always nice. The vanilla ice-cream didn't really taste like vanilla though. I thought it tasted like sabayon, which was even better match with the banana pudding if you ask me.
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: 62 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Wanchai
Tel: +852 2866-3444
Website: www.thepawn.com.hk
Mom's birthday is coming up soon and since we have an off-day on The Buddha's Birthday this week, I thought we should take advantage of that and have a small celebration lunch for the birthday girl.
It's mom's first visit to Gaddi's so naturally, she has some butterflies in her stomach but I told her we're in very good hands with Xavier Boyer calling the shots at the grand daddy of French fine-dining.
Our lunch got off to a nice start thanks to a pretty entertaining amuse bouche. My little nugget loves the cute little mushroom which was actually foie gras and raspberry. It was served with a bed of crumbs, mushroom and edible flowers which were supposed to be the soil and grass next to the mushroom.
I told mom before the meal that whatever she does, don't miss the bread and brioche here. This one with onion and bacon is one of my favorites in the city.
Scallop terrine, saffron and kaffir lime jelly, crustacean dressing - A well-designed scallop terrine with slices of poached scallops glued together by a lobster consommé jelly. There were three jelly cubes made with saffron and kaffir lime on the side which were supposed to introduce some lovely fragrance to the dish while also make the flavors of the scallops stand out even more. But a couple of things didn't work out as planned.
For one, the lobster consommé jelly was pretty bland. If our server didn't mention it in the first place, we probably couldn't tell it's supposed to taste like lobster. The second culprit was the saffron and kaffir lime jelly which was also pretty light in flavors. So, a supposingly refreshing starter ended up being surprisingly bland and under-seasoned.
Grilled American striploin, white asparagus, bell peppers - I went with the safe bet, grilled striploin and it was very nicely done. Each piece of meat, topped off with some mixed peppers, mushrooms and white asparagus, meshed pretty well with the aromatic Romesco sauce and bell pepper purée.
Roasted lamb loin breaded with herbs, variations of zucchini - Equally tasty was the roasted lamb loin which was crusted with herbs and served with tomato and different textures of zucchini.
Poached cod, shellfish broth, celery - Mom wanted something light so I ordered the poached cod fish for her. The key here was the shellfish broth which was flavorful and foamy, perfect to go with the cod fish.
Smooth chocolate cream, hazelnut crunch, cocoa nib ice-cream - It's my first visit since Executive pastry chef François Delaire came on board so I was a bit curious of whether the Robuchon alumnus had a hand on the dessert menu. I hope he does.
This was a very good impression (assuming chef Delaire did have a hand in these). On top of the smooth chocolate cream custard were tubes made with chocolate mousse and hazelnut crunch. Very nice and delicate. The cocoa nib ice-cream provided a bit of contrasting temperature, texture and flavor to the mix. I was impressed, very impressed.
Lemon tart, fresh mint, basil sorbet - I was wondering if this was going to be a traditional lemon tart and thankfully, it was not. I love this contemporary lemon tart. The lemon "ball" which was sitting on the almond crust provided a nice burst of acidity, working well with the fresh mint and meringue. I thought the basil sorbet was an interesting match for the acidity from the lemon. That was a pleasant surprise.
Strawberry with French meringue, red berries coulis, vanilla cream - A very difficult dessert to photograph in my opinion. Very refreshing though, and mom seemed to love it. That's the key.
Being the good son that I am, of course I didn't forget to ask for a "Happy Birthday" message to be put on the petite four. Mom was so happy to see it that she jumped the gun to blow off the candle before I got the chance to take a photo!
This was a pretty good meal (only blemish being the scallop terrine) backed up by some exceptional service. Dessert, without question, was the highlight of the meal. But between the French fine-dining heavyweights of Gaddi's and Petrus, I probably prefer Chef Ricardo's brand of contemporary French cuisine at Petrus a little more since his style is more up my alley.
Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$$
Address: 1/F, The Peninsula Hong Kong, 22 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2696-6763
Website: http://hongkong.peninsula.com/en/fine-dining/gaddis-french-restaurant
