Of course, I’m not going to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday with just a simple picnic. I have something else up my sleeve and only Jelloman knows about it. But first some time for little nugget to ride his bike following the picnic.
I had to push him hard to finish one “round”.
And yes, I have secretly booked 3 tables at the recently opened Pano, a French fine-dining restaurant with jaw-dropping cross-harbour views of Hong Kong's skyline at West Kowloon Art Park.
(Warning: not all tables boast a harbour view so make your request known when you’re making your booking).
Pano’s kitchen is helmed by Executive Chef Ken Lau who cut his teeth at Peninsula Hotel before striking out on his own with his solo venture, Palco Ristorante in Wanchai. I honestly don’t know how the guy splits his time between these kitchens especially when a second Palco Ristorante is soon opening at Harbour City.
Before we check out Chef Ken’s offering, it was time for some selfies inside Pano.
It was a sizzling hot day (34 degree) out there today so I visited the little man’s room to get myself freshened up before dinner. On my way back, I got to take a few more photos at the best seat(s) in the house.
With the government’s dinner ban still very much effective at the moment, we found ourselves having a very early dinner at 4:30pm this afternoon. Not that it’s going to be a problem for me though, as I have already been saving my tummy from our picnic earlier.
Starting things off for me was red prawn carpaccio, decorated nicely with yellow and red tomatoes, green pea purée, micro celery and salmon roes. The super busy dish was finished off with a touch of cucumber oil, which isn’t a bad choice but I thought the red prawn was crying for something lemony or citrusy. Not bad but could’ve been better with some lovely acidity.
Instead of prawns, Jelloman had the oyster tartar served on the shell with Sicilan lemon foam, avocado purée, salmon roes. From my quick glance, the support cast looks largely the same but she has traded the red prawns for a pile of raw oysters. This was slightly better than the red prawn carpaccio, thanks to the extra kick from the lemon foam.
Soup course was cauliflower bisque with smoked eel, an interesting mix that worked reasonably well.
Some bread to go with the soup...
I ordered this dish especially for my little nugget but little that I knew he would fall head over heel for it.
The French chicken leg, stuffed with mushroom and what I thought was minced prawn in the middle, was slow-cooked and finished on the frying pan. The perfectly crispy skin gave the chicken leg roll some lovely crunch on the outside.
This was a pretty tasty dish (who could resist the crispy chicken skin!) that surprised me a bit with its Asian twist (minced prawn!?) but on the down side, it was a little bland (for a French dish) for me. In fact, I thought it was crying for a savory kick of some sort, perhaps adding some cured meat in the stuffing would get the job done?
Jelloman went the safe route by taking the French quail two ways. They had the leg seared while the breast roasted and topped with cheese. The breast was easily the better of the two servings, thanks to the savory kick from the soft and foamy cheese on top.
Dessert was mango Napoleon with fresh mango, mango flavored custard, coconut emulsion and dried raspberry pieces. I have specifically requested to have "Happy Birthday" written next to one of the desserts but obviously, the team totally dropped the ball there.
With our dessert, we concluded our birthday celebration. It was getting really late (almost 6pm!). I have not been out this late for almost 6 months. Time to go home and clean up!
Food Rating: 6/10Price: $$$
Address: Unit 1F-01, 1/F and Rooftop, 24-26 Museum Drive, Art Park, West Kowloon Cultural District Kowloon, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Kowloon
Tel: +852 2361-9600
