Gaddi's 吉地士 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

After a pretty good Cantonese lunch at Tin Lung Heen (天龍軒) yesterday, we followed it up with yet another highly anticipated lunch on the fourth day of Chinese New Year, this time a French gourmet lunch at Gaddi's (吉地士). 

It's always nice to be back at Gaddi's. The kitchen here is still helmed by Chef de Cuisine Albin Gobil but Xavier Boyer, Executive sous chef of The Peninsula Hong Kong (and former Chef de Cuisine of Gaddi's) has recently departed for Kaohsiung Taiwan on a new project.

We were again started off with some nice cheese puffs.

Little nugget couldn't stop eating them despite being very busy with his phone. 😆

Compared to the cheese puff, this warm brioche with smoked ham was way better. 

Today's amuse bouche was once again their modern "French onion soup".

The multi-layer onion soup came with braised shallot and onion jelly on the bottom, topped nicely by a flavorful onion foam.

Salmon gravlax, beetroot salad, fresh seaweed, Yarra Valley smoked salmon pearls – First up for me was Scottish salmon gravlax which has been cured with beetroot. It's right up my alley as I'm a sucker for anything with beetroot in it.

The sweetness of the beetroot really brought out the best of the Scottish salmon and it was matched superbly with the crunchy fresh seaweed and smoky salmon pearls. Very nice start. 

Pan-seared foie gras, butternut squash, passion fruit and basil – My self-imposed ban on having pan-seared foie gras was once again lifted for a day (it was lifted a couple of weeks ago at Caprice) because the thick-cut foie gras was way too much to pass up on.

The foie gras was seared to absolute perfection and while I like the sweetness from the butternut squash ravioli, I thought the strong acidity from the passion fruit wasn't something I would like in the mix. 

Atlantic cod loin, spelt risotto, calamari, Iberico chorizo – This was another beautiful dish.

The perfectly poached cod loin, topped with calamari, was served on a pool of delicate shellfish bisque with spelt risotto and diced chorizo. A nice mix of flavors and textures complemented admirably by the umami-rich and tangy sauce.

This guy was still busy.....

Valrhona Guanaja chocolate 70%, caramelized banana, chocolate ice-cream, chantilly cream – No one wanted the chocolate dessert so I decided to take a flyer on it.

The timeless combination of chocolate and caramelized banana never fails! Not surprisingly, the different textures of chocolate from the chocolate ice-cream to wafer, sponge and crumbs meshed well with the caramelized banana hidden on the bottom of the pile.

But I thought Jelloman's choice of Exotic mille-feuilles with pineapple compote, vanilla and coconut sorbet was even better. 

Petite fours were next.

And we all enjoyed a cup of tea following the sweet treats. Everyone looked relaxed and satisfied. 

After the meal, we walked over to Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade to soak up the spectacular views of the harbour.

While this turned out to be another awesome modern French meal for us, there was one single blemish - pacing. Despite the relatively small groups of diners, the kitchen did an awful job with pacing this afternoon. Some dishes were way more than half an hour apart making this simple 3-course journey a long and sometimes boring affair.

Food Rating: 7.5/10
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)