This French restaurant is located on the rooftop of The Murray Hong Kong, the hotel at the Cotton Tree Drive in the heart of Admiralty, offering a nice panoramic view of the city. Customers would need to first take the elevator to the 25th floor before switching to a dedicated elevator to access the 26th floor, in which there are two sections: Popinjays Bar and Popinjays Restaurant.
We came here for dinner and the staff promptly showed us to our table. The overall ambiance of the restaurant is cozy, with a dimly lit, warm and comfortable setting infusing diners with a sense of luxurious serenity I found smoothing. The tables are reasonably spaced out so there is appropriate privacy too. There are also seating at the outdoor balcony but today's weather is too cold and generally it is too dark for dinner in my opinion, and so most people opted for the indoor section.
We ordered the 4-course Weekly Special Menu ($980 each, additional $390 for wine pairing), and soon came the Amuse Bouche, a piece of Octopus on a Tomato Puree. I found the octopus nicely cooked, sliced to the appropriate thickness, tender and not overly chewy, and full of flavors. The puree was a nice mix of acidity and sweetness, further supplemented with some spiciness from chili sauce. A clean product aiming to highlight the ingredients and their original flavors and texture, this amuse bouche is a good way to tell the story.
There are two choices for the first course, with me going for Helix Escargots Sauteed in Herb Butter, while my wife has the Tuna Tataki. The escargots are nicely done, put on some mashed potato and black truffle. The sauteed escargots got a nice bite while the mashed potato is creamy and smooth, offering an interesting contrast in texture. I had opted for a glass of 2017 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains from Chanson. A good starter.
The second course is Butternut Squash Veloute. The soup is prepared from butternut squash, a fruit with a sweet nutty taste that is very similar to pumpkin. But unlike a pumpkin soup I found this soup not as thick and heavy, with a finesse and elegance. There are some finely diced vegetables, supplemented in flavors by black truffle and fennel, with some cinnamon croutons to provide further bite. Complex in taste.
The third course has two choices too. My wife had the Pan Seared Arctic Char Fillet while I went for the Roasted French Duck Magret. The duck breast is cooked perfectly to medium rare, very juicy but not overly gamey. The natural jus is truly phenomenal in taste, adding a great deal of flavors to the duck breast. The puy lentils and baby vegetables provided a great complement on the side and this is my favorite dish on the night. The wine paired is a 2015 Tommasi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico.
The fourth course is Sesame and Pineapple, with crispy sesame tuile, caramelized pineapple and pineapple sorbet. The caramelized pineapple is nice, not overly sweet and got a good acidity to balance. The sesame tuile is intense on the sesame flavors and the crispy texture is a nice contrast to the fluffy sorbet. But the sorbet comparatively is too bland in taste which is a bit disappointing. The wine paired is a 2015 Tasca d'Almerita Diamante Passito.
The service overall was quite good, with the staff all friendly and attentive. I hope they would be able to introduce the dishes in more details though. On the other hand, the sommelier did a good job explaining the wines paired, and also knowledgeable.
The bill was $2,690 for the two, quite reasonable considering the total experience we got. If you want to enjoy a nice dinner, in a good environment this restaurant would be a good choice.
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