Dalloyau Bistro at Entertainment Building (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

For months, I have been itching to go back to Gradini, the modern Italian restaurant at Pottinger Hotel. It’s a return trip that has been long overdue but after reading about Dalloyau’s new opening at Central’s Entertainment Building, I suddenly had a last-minute change of heart (I was already at the doorstep of Pottinger Hotel).

Dalloyau’s new bistro is hidden inside the new Fancl House boutique on the ground floor of Entertainment Building, the same space that used to house Mercedes Me. At this new establishment, the Parisian bistro aims to offer a more refined and vibrant menu than what Dalloyau Café (Pacific Place, Admiralty) has been serving.



Apart from the a la carte menu, there’s also a 2-course ($298) and 3-course ($338) set menu served during lunch service.



Some warm baguette and brioche to start off this meal in style.



Seared lobster and white asparagus salad - A nicely plated salad with lettuce, white asparagus and egg white, finished off wonderfully with a very subtle yuzu dressing. Sitting in the middle was the deliciously tender and sweet lobster tail which has been lightly seared. A very clean and refreshing dish to kick off my late lunch.



Spicy tomato spaghetti - I have been nursing a sore throat all week so I had to make sure that the spaghetti wasn’t tossed with this spicy tomato sauce. My server was very kind to arrange it without the usual level of spiciness.

But the flavors turned out to be a little bit out of my expectation. Yes, the pasta (and the sauce) wasn't spicy at all but the tomato sauce (along with the tomato purée) didn't carry any particular flavor (not even acidity) which I found a little weird. If I was having this blindfolded, I likely won't be able to tell there was tomato in the dish (but the pasta itself was nice).



I was all ready to ask for the bill but not before my server came over to tell me that by adding $38, I could get one of their lovely pastries. That's really too good a deal to turn down.



Pear hazelnut mousse cake - For the past few years, I have lost a bit of faith in Dalloyau’s pastries due to a run of bad outings but they managed to re-deem themselves this afternoon.



There's a lot of ingredients packed inside this small dessert including hazelnut dacquoise, fresh William pear compote, pear purée and light hazelnut praline mousse. I really enjoyed the crunch from the hazelnut dacquoise, which was perfectly complemented by the lovely freshness of the pear compote and purée (sitting just on top of the dacquoise). Also love the way the light hazelnut praline mousse and caramel glaze fed off each other adding to the fantastic well-rounded flavors.



Other than pastries, they also offer a small selection of sandwiches, quiches, rolls and muffins, all freshly made from the in-house bakery kitchen.



Special thanks to the good guys here for offering me some complimentary macarons. That was a really nice gesture.

Service was excellent from start to finish. The French bistro fare which came with a modern twist, was also worthy of a second visit. Could very well end up being one of my favorites in Central if they play their cards right.

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop C, G/F, Entertainment Building, 30 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 3185-8392
Website: www.dalloyau.hk