I have been quietly keeping tabs on the re-opening of Gaddi's since the middle of February. During the pandemic, their official website has posted different timeline (latest one was early May) on separate occasions but only to be revised to a later date every time. In early May, they finally decided to put up the wording "until further notice". That wasn't a lot of fun. I was looking for a place to celebrate mom's birthday in late May and had to eventually settle with another favorite of mine, Caprice (I have to admit, it’s not a bad replacement at all).
During the last week of May, I decided to check on Gaddi’s again. It’s been a dismal year for anyone who loves to eat and travel (someone like me!) so I was simply looking for some sparks if you will as we were all desperate for a good meal and guess what, the wording “until further notice” had been taken off. Instead, it’s been revised to 3rd June! It’s been a long time coming but Gaddi’s is finally back! Needless to say, I immediately went onto their online booking system and got myself a table for the upcoming weekend.
It’s good to see some familiar faces again and not surprisingly, the place was packed on the fourth day since the grand re-opening (photo was taken before it got packed!).
Gaddi’s four-course weekend tasting menu is back in its usual format – a choice each from cold appetizer, warm appetizer, main and dessert ($708). But first, it was my beloved bacon and onion brioche to kick off this wonderful meal. But is it just me or did my favorite brioche just shrink to miniature size after the restaurant’s temporary closure?
Our amuse was prawn tartare and avocado, complemented nicely with a light corn emulsion.
That’s a pretty nice way to get our palate ready for action.
My first course was half-cooked Japanese mackerel, artfully plated with crispy enoki mushroom, avocado and tapioca chips.
The flavor profile of the dish certainly wasn’t bad but I didn’t totally like the texture profile there. The chewy tapioca chips, crispy enoki mushroom and buttery mackerel didn't exactly mesh the way I have expected.
More successful was Jelloman’s burrata panna cotta with roasted squid, broccoli and crispy croutons delivering a nice mix of complex flavors to the dish. I like the extra smoky flavors from the burrata cheese which was subtle and on point.
For our warm appetizer, both of us opted for the langoustine ravioli and what a wonderful choice that was! This featured two large pieces of Brittany langoustine and wasabi cooked spinach stuffed inside the paper-thin wrapper of the ravioli, finished off beautifully with a soothing coconut and lemongrass emulsion. Absolutely love the bouncy texture and sweetness of the langoustine, matched superbly by the comforting flavors of the emulsion. Without a doubt, the best dish of the afternoon.
The langoustine was immediately followed by my main dish, Kurobuta pork with yellow peach, fennel and lavender honey. The pork was a little chewy at times but the flavors were fairly balanced thanks to the mix of sweetness and acidity from the peach, fennel and honey.
Jelloman had the pan-seared Hokkaido scallops instead and I had to admit, it was a far better choice.
The dish also came with green asparagus, spelt risotto and grelot onions. A nice refreshing match with the scallops.
My dessert was The Honeycomb, which I thought would bring a very sweet end to my meal but obviously, I didn't pay enough attention to the details of the menu at all. This was a dish that centered around a lime and ginger flavored mousse, which was paired with a banana sponge and honey ice-cream. It's a peculiar match in terms of flavors where there's a fair amount of acidity coming from the lime while the ginger brought some heat to the dessert. Both proved to be a little too much for the honey ice-cream to neutralize.
Better was Jelloman's deconstructed tiramisu with coffee ladyfinger biscuit, mascarpone cream and chocolate crisp. It was looking good too (not just tasted good).
Even little guy thought the tiramisu was the better choice.
Some complimentary chocolate from Peninsula Boutique. I like the honey flavored one as a palate cleanser.
Gaddi’s will always have a special place in my heart cuz well, it’s the first authentic French fine-dining institution the city ever knows. The restaurant had gone into a tailspin for nearly a decade but with Chef de cuisine Albin Gobil and Executive Pastry Chef François Delaire on board, they are certainly trending at the right direction now, which is why I'm coming back a lot more these days.
Food Rating: 7/10
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: www.peninsula.com/en/hong-kong/hotel-fine-dining/gaddis-french-restaurant
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 7:00pm - 10:30pm (Tue - Sat)
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