Estro (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

The days of celebrating wedding anniversary overseas is long gone. I have already started planning for our wedding anniversary dinner months ago and the fact that we wanted to bring little nugget along made it a little tougher but I finally made it happen (with some negotiation).

Estro has been one of the hottest new restaurants in town since they first opened back in August. I was lucky enough to secure a table months ago and have been looking forward to this solo venture by Chef Antimo Maria Merone ever since (Ok, it's in partnership with JIA Group).

We first met Naples-born Chef Antimo Maria Merone when he first moved to Hong Kong as the head chef of L'Altro in 2012. Following a stint at 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana Macau as their Executive Chef, he's back in town for more.

We would love this little quiet corner but too bad it's only "big" enough for 2 people.

I got a quick tour of the private room which was very spacious.

Bitcoin? Heck no, it's today's menu! By scanning the QR Code behind the coin, we got an electronic copy of today's two tasting menu. Since little one's joining us tonight, we decided to take the shorter menu hoping he could keep his composure if we finish within 3 hours.

We were started off with an amuse that was themed "an ode to autumn". Not surprisingly, it's a medley of autumn vegetable dishes.

Kicking things off was silky pumpkin espuma. What that bottarga powder on top?

It was accompanied by three other nibbles, including a caper olive tart, spinach sponge with burrata cheese and finished off with the clean flavors of the minestrone soup. The soup was very savory with amazing kicks of umami.

We didn't have to wait very long for one of the chef's signature dishes, red prawns with coral panna cotta. It was topped elegantly with a layer of Kristal caviar from Paris (I miss Paris!). 

This was the perfect dish to start the evening. The Sicilian red prawn tartare was working superbly with the coral panna cotta and caviar. The flavors were so rich and strong that I thought it was a little salty at times (thanks to the caviar) and not surprisingly, the flavor from Amalfi lemon didn't really register.

While we were enjoying the chef's special creation, little one was quietly having his burrata cheese ball with fresh cherry tomatoes.

At this point, there was a pause in action while our server brought along our bread basket.

While the bread basket didn't exactly blow us away, this buffalo milk butter with anchovy did! Very tasty and very addictive. Little nugget had to get a refill a couple of times.

Next up was roasted langoustine served with a sauce made with almond, capers, olive oil and what our server claimed to be "langoustine stock" (whatever that means).

The langoustine was roasted to absolute perfection but I thought the sauce wasn't exactly the greatest match (almond with langoustine?). And the turnip with caper in the middle...hm... 

We are having two pasta dishes tonight. The first was homemade button pasta with parmigiana and eggplant fillings. It was finished off nicely with a soul-warming tomato jus. 

But the button pasta would prove to be no match for the second and last pasta dish, Mafalde "gentile" served with ragù "Genovese" of Montoro onions and short rib. The Mafalde was really al dente, almost on the hard side for most people I am sure. But it was perfect. Perfectly stringy, which was just amazing to have with the flavorful ragù. For me, the best dish of the night.

Served on the side as a second serving to the pasta was a small portion of the same short rib which has been slow-cooked for about 12 hours. So tender and juicy. 

We had another long pause before our main dish was ready to be served. It was pigeon cooked under ash with artichoke and fig.

The Restaurant Manager carefully broke the crust open. 

And there it was, the pigeon wrapped in fig leaves with artichoke. Now, they would bring this back to the kitchen where they put the finishing touches on it.

This was beautifully cooked as seen by its rosé color. We sat back while our server finished the dish off with a shower of fig and red wine reduction.

The pigeon breast was certainly pretty tasty but I was less impressed with the supporting cast which included variations of fig and raspberry chutney. I guess I'm just more used to the extensive use of fig in a dessert than a savory course. 

Little one was served with his pasta dish while we had our pigeon. Amazingly, he had already sat through this dinner for 2 hours without messing up the table.

And there we have it, our medal for sticking together for I almost forgot how long. Many thanks to my better half for putting up with me all these years. It's not easy (I know) but you made it look easy.

This was Chef Merone's take on the famous Ferrero Rocher chocolate.

Hazelnut chocolate with a liquid caramel centre. Surprisingly, not too sweet.

Petite fours were cute little fig bomboloni (fig again!), chocolate and almond cookie, blueberry panna cotta and fig tart.

We weren't done yet as we were offered one final dessert to wrap up the meal - homemade pistachio gelato. Jelloman claimed it was rich like pistachio butter. I think that's not a compliment.

It was a well-executed menu that they managed to deliver in an impressive 3 hours. Like most tasting menu, there were dishes that worked really well and ones that were less successful. But what seemed to be missing all night was that "Wow" factor, or dish(es) that simply blew us away. There was unfortunately no dish of that caliber in the offering tonight. 

Food Rating: 6.5/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 2/F, 1 Duddell Street, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central

Tel: +852 9380-0161

Website: www.estro.hk

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:30pm - 11:30pm (Tue - Sat)

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I am spending the entire day in Central with an array of scheduled medical exams throughout the day. After meeting up with my doctor for an early one, I was allowed a quick breakfast before having another exam right before noon time. Now with another scheduled medical appointment in the afternoon, what should I do with a lunch break in between? Well, I already got it all figured out.

I rang up a few restaurants yesterday hoping for a last-minute cancellation and guess what, my plan worked out perfectly as they were able to squeeze me in at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon at lunch this afternoon!

(My apologies for the less-than-stellar photos. I guess I was still under the influence of my medication.).

It was another busy afternoon for the team but Executive Chef Adriano Cattaneo was nowhere to be found.

Kicking things off as usual was a basket filled with their delicious homemade bread.

Next up was today's amuse bouche, potato and leek cream topped with olive oil, small carrot balls and crispy croutons. Underneath the feather light cream was a layer of king crab meat and vegetable jelly.   

Maine lobster in turnip cannelloni with honey dressing and aromatic spices – What I usually do when I visit L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon is, I always get the same signature dishes. Pigeon stuffed with foie gras and a couple others. The most recent one which always came highly recommended by the staff here was the crispy poached egg with parmesan and Iberico ham. But I have a slightly different approach for today's lunch. I decided to break out of my comfort zone and check out a number of new dishes. Let's hope new is better than old. 

The crunch felt almost like having a spring roll, which was supposed to be the design of the dish I presumed. I thought the Maine lobster had really nice bouncy texture but I wasn't sure if it was a good match with the honey mustard dressing and exotic spices. The small dabs of sauce in the middle (green – wasabi, orange – lobster coral, didn't get the yellow one) didn't really work as a dip as it was a bit dry. Not the best I've seen from the team here.

Roasted Iberico pork "pluma" with parmesan polenta and girolles mushrooms – I thought I've had this one before as it has been on the menu for a couple of years now but I couldn't find it in my record. This was reasonably good but I expected a little more.

That was of course accompanied by Robuchon's killer mash.

Poached French figs with almond blanc manger and refreshing ginger sorbet – It's near the tail end of fig season so one last chance for me to check out some French figs.

Again a relatively new dish (at least for me). I thought the poached figs were a little softer than I expected so its connection with the frozen almond blanc manger was a bit of a weak one. I was dealt with another blow when the ginger sorbet from the menu turned into a strawberry flavored one without mentioning from my server. 

Petite fours were generally very good here and it was again the case today.

Cream puff, lemon tart and raspberry cheesecake (from right to left), and I got another cup of English Breakfast tea (got one from breakfast not long ago) to wash them down.

I am not sure if the absence of Chef Adriano Cattaneo had anything to do with it but it was overall a disappointing experience that one would never expect from a Robuchon establishment. Service was again very attentive (except the one on the ginger sorbet) but all three dishes were at least a few notches below their usually high standard. I can't say I wasn't disappointed walking out that door.

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

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:00pm, 6:30pm - 10:30pm daily

The Mandarin Cake Shop (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

It's medical examination day today. I suddenly woke up after being put to sleep for a couple of hours (inside an operation room) early in the morning. Shortly, I was reminded by my growling stomach that I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon (3pm!). That's almost 20 hours!

Since I have a scheduled meeting with my doctor in half an hour, the good nurse told me to better maximize my time for a quick breakfast (before I pass out). So, I quickly got dressed and headed downstairs. Good thing I was in Central so good breakfast spots are never in shortage. 



I decided to check out The Mandarin Cake Shop since I haven't been there for ages. 

I didn't want to feed my stomach with too much creamy stuff so just a cup of English Breakfast tea and perhaps a plain cronut. That should get me through the rest of the morning.

This cronut is looking amazing (or am I just too hungry!).

Instead of powdered sugar, it came with a generous sprinkle of "real" sugar. 

Very flaky and I could taste all the layers in between. Definitely won't mind having one of these every morning.

 

Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: M/F, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 2825-4008
Website: www.mandarinoriental.com.hk/hongkong/fine-dining/the-mandarin-cake-shop
Opening Hours: 8:00am - 8:00pm daily

Katsuisen Tai Kok Tsui 活一鮮 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

After a satisfying afternoon at the West Kowloon Art Park, the gang continued the adventure in Tai Kok Tsui, more specifically Ivy Street (埃華街), where I was told had a nickname of "Eat Street" of TKT. One of the parents already booked 3 tables at Katsuisen (活一鮮), a Japanese izakaya restaurant for all of us so we're all set and ready to roll.



Katsuisen must be a hugely popular restaurant around here. There was a long lineup queuing in front but thankfully, we do have advance booking.

Little nugget was absolutely delighted to have spent the entire afternoon with his superhero friends. Now, he also got to sit with his friends for dinner. 

While I was busy shifting back and forth between two tables to make sure that little one had enough to eat, I managed to sample a few dishes early and often. Clams cooked in sake was fresh and sweet.

Everyone brought out their phone to take a few pictures of the sushi platter when it arrived. Considering the bargain price, this represented very good value for money.

Amberjack sushi with a dab of black truffle, that was my favorite tonight. The lychee bacon skewer in the background was very very nice too.

"Warship-style" sushi with crab essence was quite decent.

Just when I was still working on my grilled chicken wing, the sashimi platter arrived, highlighted by the generous portion of Hokkaido sea urchin. 

I don't get to have my favorite beef sukiyaki a lot cuz Jelloman absolutely hates it but tonight, I got the rare chance to do so.

Now, this I haven't had before but I was told it's a house specialty at Katsuisen - charcoal grilled tuna's jaw.

Our server came over to remove all the bones for us. This was very juicy with great (charred) texture. I like the smoky flavors too, although the special soy sauce tasted a little funny.

Last but not least, a house special roll with salmon, mango, salmon roes and mayonnaise. The kids love it since the salmon was fully cooked. 

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 2A, G/F, Tai Wai Building, 91 Ivy Street, Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Olympic

Tel: +852 3488-3163

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 6:00pm - 10:00pm (Tue - Sun)