Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Plat du Jour (Quarry Bay)

Taikoo Place and the nearby areas have become a hip dining place for a while, but I didn't come very often even though working on the HK side. Tonight we took a detour and had dinner at Plat du Jour, a French-style bistro offering a variety of signature French dishes.

We went for the 3-course set, with me taking Escargot Bourguignon and my wife taking the Smoked Salmon. The escargot is delicious, with plenty of garlic butter. On the side there are two slices of baguette which can be used to soak in the butter after finishing the snails. A nice appetizer to begin the meal. I also sampled the smoked salmon. It was nice as well with the salmon soft and full of flavors, and adding the fennel and creme fraiche the taste is further enhanced.

The main course I ordered is Moules Marinieres, another signature of the restaurant. The mussels are fat and juicy, and the white wine sauce has a lot of cream added, so it is very rich. I asked for more bread so I can also soak the sauce with the bread. There are also frites accompanying the dish, with the aioli sauce a good dipping option than ketchup. Another good dish. My wife had the Roasted Half Free-Range Chicken, which is fair in quality but not particularly interesting.

For the dessert I chose Apple Tarte Tatin, yet another signature French cuisine. The caramelized apple is baked on top of puff pastry, with a vanilla ice-cream on top. For me I would prefer the crust to be made by shortcrust pastry instead, and the puff pastry for this one unfortunately did not show the crunchy, flaky texture that a puff should possess, but rather chewy and tough. Even though the apple has the right tartness to balance the sweetness, it was a bit of a disappointment particularly it is one of their signature. My wife ordered the Classic Creme Brulee but I didn't try it as I was already very full then.

The environment has the French bistro tone but my other issue was that the air-conditioning was not working well, and throughout the meal it was a bit too warm for me. Even though not exactly sweating, but not very comfortable for sure. The service is acceptable but also can be improved, like explaining the dish to the customers, especially given the restaurant was not that busy on the night.

The total bill is $710 for two, including a bottle of water. My overall rating is 63/100.