Taking over the space previously occupied by Fish and Meat, The Flying Elk is the latest venture by three Michelin starred Swedish chef Björn Frantzén, a gastropub concept which has worked wonders in their first Stockholm location.
Like sister restaurant Frantzén's Kitchen, the food menu here comprises of multiple sections including snacks, medium-sized dishes (They recommend 3-4 of these per person) and dessert. I decided to randomly pick a few from each section with the help of my server.
Boneless chicken wings ($50) - I love boneless wings and these were reasonably good. The seasoning was a little strong but I like the Kvibille cheese and crispy parsley topping.
Gougères ($40) - Bite-sized choux pastry with Allerum cheddar cheese filling. They were finished with some fennel seeds and chestnut honey on top. I found these quite addictive and a little better than the wings.
Halibut tartare and king crab ($215) - The star of the night for me but Jelloman disagreed. I thought the slightly crunchy halibut cubes were surprisingly good match with the king crab meat. There's a wonderful combination of acidity coming from the lime hollandaise and sour carrot backed up nicely by an extra kick from the cayenne pepper.
Roasted scallop ($190) - A highly touted signature dish and a pretty interesting one indeed. Four slices of beautifully roasted scallops were served on a bed of scrambled egg (which tasted more like mashed potato) with shaved truffle and crispy potato. Very buttery and the beurre noisette with smoked soy made this even more buttery. Definitely not bad but I expected a bit more from a house specialty.
Cod “Rossini” ($215) - A twist from the classic beef rossini where they replaced the beef with a piece of roasted cod. I was a bit curious of how the cod fish and pan-seared foie gras worked together and was pleasantly surprised with the sharp contrast of flavors that jumped out beautifully. The only thing I didn't like about this dish was the seasoning. Way over the top especially the truffle jus, which proved to be a little too flavorful for me.
Umami salad ($150) - A dish we didn't order but they mixed up our orders with another table and we ended up getting it for free.
This was no ordinary salad though. Underneath the crisp lettuce were duck confit, shiitake mushroom, crispy onions and they put the finishing touch on with some smoked pecorino shaving and a homemade "umami" dressing. I swear there were some truffles in there and probably some duck jus as well making this one of the most unhealthy yet delicious salad in the world. I think I can live with unhealthy food once in a while.
Grilled beef tenderloin and smoked heart of beef ($240) - The least successful medium-sized dish of the night. I couldn't help but ask my server where the beef came from and she thought it's from New Zealand. This was a little chewy and even the nice touch of horseradish, celeriac remoulade and pickled mustard seeds couldn't save the day.
“Marängsviss” blueberries ($75) - We only had time for one dessert so we wanted to make it count. This was pretty refreshing. I love the clean and refreshing flavors from the blueberry sorbet, compote and lemon thyme working well with the meringue, and the matcha powder giving the dessert a final lift.
All in all, I thought it was a pretty good meal with the expected ups and downs (after all, it's their third day of operation). As I have already expected, it's very different from what Frantzén's Kitchen is doing, which is a bit more structured and sophisticated.
P.S. All cocktails were on the house tonight which gave me another strong reason to drop by during their first week of operation. Thanks for the drinks!
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: 1/F-2/F, Wyndham Mansion, 32 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 2565-6788
Website: www.theflyingelk.com/hk/
Post a Comment
Please tell us what you think