La Bombance is a Japanese restaurant first started in 2004, at Nishi-Azabu in Tokyo, with a revolutionary concept of integrating the essence of French cuisine and culinary practices of other countries with Japanese cuisine. Opening its first outlet at 2016, the HK branch is located in V Point in Causeway Bay, with a wonderful view looking out to the Victoria Harbour through the rooftops of the nearby buildings, and would be a terrific place to enjoy the fireworks.
The restaurant has a contemporary decor, with also dim lighting creating a romantic mood for the diners. There is a central table with chairs arranged to maximize the sea view for customers, but we got in my opinion a better table at the corner, on the window side looking out to the balcony and the gorgeous harbour night view.
Being the Valentine's Day, the restaurant has a kaiseki menu fixed for all diners. It started with a special cocktail concocted for the day, with a version for the gentleman and another version for the lady. Choosing the mocktail as I was driving, mine is prepared using tea, ginger juice, ginger ale, with a piece of orange peel added. Before drinking the bartender also lighted a cinnamon stick to infuse the aromas to the beverage. An interesting mix, and demonstrating the restaurant is paying extra effort to innovate and create a good experience for the customers.
The first course of the menu is the appetizer, comprising of a pan-fried mini rice ball topped with Hirame and sesame sauce, Urui in dashi served with Zuwai crab and ponzu sauce, Yuba served with Uni, dashi sauce and wasabi, as well as Simmered Awabi served with Awabi liver sauce. All four of them are really delicious, providing different contrast of texture and flavors, but I am particularly impressed by the abalone, which was soft and tender, and the liver sauce significantly enhanced the taste to another level. A really great start of the meal.
The second course is the wanmono which is served in a bowl. The Hamaguri, Ebi and Hotate dumpling is served with Shimanto seaweed and Kogomi in Hamaguri dashi. This is one of my favorites of the night, with the soup so rich and umami in taste from the first sip till the last drop, and the different seafood in the dumpling are so fresh and complementary it is just like an orchestra of great flavors. A truly nice dish.
The third course is the mukozuke, with Botan ebi and Tai in sashimi, Ankimo served with white miso mustard, and Maguro and Sayori sushi. All the seafood are very fresh, with the natural taste highlighted through the smart use of the right sauce and condiment, like the tiny bit of salt on the Tai. The chef also used the seaweed to wrap the Sayori beforehand so the meat has a richer flavor. And the Ankimo is surprisingly well paired with white miso. This again is a clear testimony that the chef is striving for excellence in taste.
The fourth course is onmono, featuring Pan-seared Foie Gras on deep-fried Ebi imo taro, served with mushroom sauce and seasonal vegetables. Unfortunately I have to say this is the least I enjoy in the evening. The taste of the sauce is nice, but it is simply too thick for my liking. The foie gras aromas and taste are also being subdued in a way by the sauce. So overall this to me is a bit confusing and could not deliver the sharp highlight of the ingredients like the other dishes.
The fifth course is shiizakana, which is Charcoal grilled Kagoshima Wagyu sirloin served with white asparagus, red wine reduction and truffle. There is also the green mustard sauce which kind of allowing us to try and see which sauce we prefer more for the beef, which are grilled perfectly to the right level. The white asparagus is tender and sweet, offering a great complement to the meat. There is also smart use of pickles which help to balance the fat. Another good example of the successful combination of Western cooking with Japanese ingredients.
The sixth course is onabe, which is a Shark's Fin and Shogoin Kabura hot pot. It is served in a seething pot, and on first sight kind of remind me a bit of the Chiuchow style shark's fin soup. But the taste are more delicate, with the leek providing the fragrance. Just that I am not particularly fond of shark's fin, this may not so resonant with me from that emotional perspective.
The seventh course is Steamed rice with Bamboo Shoot and Wagyu Shigure in a Kama Pot. For any kaiseki I always very pay a lot of attention to the quality of the rice, and no matter how good the other courses if this does not deliver I would say the dinner was ruined. It is great that the restaurant pass with flying colors here, with the rice served nicely in the Kama pot, the texture is beautiful and the bamboo shoot giving a delicate aroma and bite, while supplemented with the taste of the shredded beef. The pickles and miso soup are also good.
The eighth course is the dessert, which is Black Sesame Sorbet, Red and White Strawberry and Hokkaido Yubari Melon. The sorbet is a signature of the restaurant, very rich in the sesame taste. The fruit however is a bit mediocre and while they are 'premium' but from a taste perspective it might be better to pair with something more in the right season.
There is also a Matcha to conclude our meal, and overall I enjoyed the meal very much. Yes, there are some dishes that I think can be improved but generally everything is tasty and you can clearly see the effort put behind by the chef. I also like the staff coming to explain each dish in details to us, which is so important but always overlooked. Still I would suggest that the restaurant need to review the speed of serving the courses, as I think there is too long a wait between courses.
With two bottles of water, the total bill on the night was $3,648 which was acceptable, considering it is the Valentine's Day, the food quality as well as the view and decor. It would be good maybe coming again in another day to sample their other menus.
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