After visiting Mono, Lobster Bar, Whey and a few other restaurants together this year, I found myself running out of ideas for my dining buddy, Agent-I's birthday dinner venue. Of course, my late start didn't help but thankfully, we were able to find ourselves a table at ÉPURE, a place that she shockingly has never visited before.
It was a gorgeous day out there today. Cool but not really that cold. I guess it's going to be a warm Christmas after all.
Michelin starred ÉPURE was surprisingly full on a Tuesday night. Everybody left and right was celebrating something and that included us, who were also in a celebrative mood.
Our tasting menu started off with a small nibble, veal tartare tartlet with an oyster leaf on top. Is that all for amuse bouche, I wonder?
Our next course was the first starter of the menu, although its smallish size had me thinking that it's another amuse. Here the lightly cooked king mackerel was served with variations of cauliflower. Pretty decent.
It was followed by a dish featuring a bowl of smoked salmon roes.
Hidden underneath the salmon roes were a layer of cucumber jelly, wasabi dressing and I think creme fraiche as well. So some sharp acidity to pair with the smoky and explosive salmon roes.
The third dish, Paris mushroom soup, was one of the restaurant's signature dishes and it's been around for at least a few years now. This came with some nice intense flavors of mushroom.
After three fairly pedestrian dishes to start off the meal, things finally started to look up at last. This was beautifully cooked Cévennes onion, with black truffle sandwiched between each layer.
After three fairly pedestrian dishes to start off the meal, things finally started to look up at last. This was beautifully cooked Cévennes onion, with black truffle sandwiched between each layer.
Cévennes onion, raved for its sweet and delicate flesh, really matched well with the aromatic black truffle and what I thought was red wine sauce underneath.
I have been on a self-imposed ban from having foie gras for a while now but this looked too good to turn down (especially the small portion). The small slices of duck foie gras were surprisingly great match with eel, and the beetroot juice tying everything up perfectly with its wonderful sweetness.
Our fish course tonight was langoustine, slow-cooked and finished on the oven. It was served with carrot purée and a lobster bisque emulsion. The last three dishes have been very very good (though not great) so far.
I let the birthday gal make the call on our main course tonight and she elected for roasted lamb rack rather than A4 Wagyu tenderloin. This was more pink than I've expected.
Some artisan cheese was served up just before dessert. I was too full to finish my cheese plate at this point .
I have been telling Agent-I about this dessert since we sat down at the restaurant. It's one that I have tried too many times before and quite honestly, I thought not worthy of keeping around for that long. In the past, the raspberry has always had too much acidity in it while the chocolate was overly bitter. But not tonight.
Tonight, the balance was perfect. I could taste both the sweetness and bitterness in the chocolate and the raspberry was right on the money. The contrasting textures and flavors also helped to cleanse our palate a bit (since we didn't have a palate cleansing pre-dessert). Still won't be my favorite dessert but it's much better than what it used to be.
I thought it was going to be a dull and uninspiring meal judging from the first few dishes but from the Cévennes onion dish on, things took a turn for the better. It was late but it's better to be late than never. Agent-I seemed to be happy about the meal overall. At least, she told me it's better than our experience at Whey last month. If the birthday gal is happy, I'm happy.
P.S. Agent-I has been talking about skipping town for a few years now and it looked like it's finally going to fruition soon. In fact, after she finishes up her current contract this month, she'll take it easy and weigh her options during Christmas and New year. In a way, I'm happy for her knowing that she will be living happily in Vancouver. But losing my dining buddy will be tough to swallow; especially after all the farewells I had over the past 2 years.
Food Rating: 7/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Shop 403, Level 4, Ocean Centre, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 3185-8338
Website: www.epure.hk
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 6:30pm - 9:30pm daily
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