Restaurant Petrus (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I thought I would miss out on Restaurant Petrus' winter menu after spending the majority of our winter holidays in Australia and Japan but lo and behold, I got my reservation just in the nick of time before their spring menu comes along.

Of course, this comes at the expense of a few popular winter items already off the menu including their pithivier and game dishes. I certainly hope that what's left here are still good enough for my spoiled palate.

First off, some homemade bread highlighted by a really tasty ham brioche and French baguette. They were matched nicely by some handmade butter from France.

While I was all geared up for the usual cheese gougère to start off the meal, there was the curve ball that I wasn't expecting from the kitchen – some nice canapés. 

The set of amuse bouche began with a small tartlet filled with hamachi tartare. The hamachi was lightly torched for some nice smokiness and it was finished off with some explosion thanks to the salmon roes. And yes, looked like I was still going to have the cheese gougère after all. A crispy waffle with what I thought was sour cream in the middle rounded things out in style. Not a bad start at all.

Japanese aji – I joked with my server that it was going to be a Japanese-French meal for me this afternoon as all three dishes I chose came with Japanese ingredients.

My starter today comprised of small cubes of aji from Japan, placed alternatively with crispy croutons (also in small cubes) and served with pickled cucumber, ginger gel and a pretty powerful Argentinian Escabeche sauce.

There were a lot of flavors on the same plate here. The acidity from the cucumber, heat from the ginger and the Escabeche sauce which was both spicy and herby at the same time. Quite honestly, I wasn't sure if I wanted such a complicated dish as my starter. Complicated as in the mix of flavors which didn't really harmonize each other. Just not my cup of tea.

Japanese scallop – I can really see the appeal here, with the jumbo-sized Hokkaido scallops topped elegantly by a pile of sea urchin tongues from the same province.

The creamy risotto served in the flavorful lobster bisque sauce was really tasty (but could've been a little less buttery). It was a very nice match with the charcoal grilled scallops and sea urchin.

Japanese strawberry – Dessert was another disappointment for me. Fresh strawberries from Japan paired with coconut cream and tofu ice-cream, not a bad combination on paper. But I thought the design of this dessert really left something to be desired.

I just thought the whole thing was very very dry. From the crispy rice cracker, to the chocolate chip and fresh strawberries hidden underneath it. The coconut cream was pretty much non-existent and the gluey tofu ice-cream certainly couldn't help the cause. This dessert desperately needed a catalyst, something rich in flavor and fluid like a chocolate or strawberry ganache in the middle to tie everything together.   

Obviously, I haven't been here for a long time. Apart from the change in the amuse bouche, the usual mignardises of mini chocolate tart and freshly baked madeleine have also been replaced. Today, it was a piece of freshly baked butterfly cookie and a pretty BIG one too, I might add.

For the longest time, Petrus has been lauded as one of the best fine-dining restaurants in town because its service, food and ambience have always been consistently great. But not this afternoon. Two out of three courses didn't make the cut which was a rare disappointment for me since Chef Uwe took over.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: $$$$
Address: 56/F, Island Shangri-La Hong Kong, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Admiralty
Tel: +852 2820-8590
Website: Link
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:30pm - 11:00pm daily