This French restaurant has been awarded Michelin 2-star, and is located on 3/F of The St. Regis Hong Kong in Wanchai. Before the day, the restaurant called to reconfirm booking, and helpfully reminded us that the last order for the 8-course Signature Menu was 7pm.
Arriving earlier as a result we were seated comfortably at a spacious table. The setting is neat, offering a simplistic décor yet showing contemporary luxurious ambience, with fine details and different materials used. The large windows let in the natural daylight, the last rays of sunset, to accompany our meal.
Choosing the Signature Menu ($2,388) with wine pairing ($1,688), we were served a welcome drink and some canapes to begin. The drink is a tea infused with lemon, a good refreshing start for our meal.
On the plate the three canapes include a tomato gazpacho cube with small dices of cured ham, Alaska crab meat with dill on rice cracker, and smoked salmon on gingerbread. Each of them is tasty and offers a different profile, with the sourness of the rich tomato mixing with the savoury of the ham, the soft crab meat contrasting with the crispy cracker, and the smoky salmon balancing the sweet and slightly spicy of the gingerbread. Visually appealing and amazing in taste.
There is another canape with eel, as well as pieces of cracker with seaweed, pairing with a sour cream dipping sauce. Both nice in taste, they are a treat for the start before even the first course. I cannot help to order a glass of Pierre et Francois Hure ‘4 elements’ Champagne ($380) to accompany, a grower champagne made from purely Chardonnay.
The start of the menu is Le Caviar Ossetra Tsar Imperial Petrossian. The mackerel is sliced and marinated with a sauce to highlight the delicate taste of the fish, plus having a good bite on texture, reminding us of carpaccio. The Ossetra caviar gives a slightly poppy texture and a umami note to enhance the flavours. Really great in taste, and the wine paired is Frederic Savart L’ouverture Premier Cru, another grower champagne but this one is a Blanc de Noirs made from Pinot Meunier.
The second course is L’oursin d’Hokkaido. The chef created this dish when he was working at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, recreating a can of caviar but in fact consists of three layers, with Hokkaido sea urchin on top, followed by crunchy fennel in the middle, and some sweet Gamberoni prawn meat at the bottom. A true feast of flavours, the soft and creamy sea urchin is certainly fresh and without any weird note, with the fennel giving a contrasting texture while the prawn emphasizing on the sweetness. The wine paired is Domaine Denizot Damocles made from Sauvignon Blanc, with a fuller body than the traditional Sancerre which is good match with the dish.
The third course is La Rascasse. The seared scorpionfish is served with some nicely prepared vegetables, and then a rich, tasty minestrone is poured in. The fish has a great taste, with the flesh firm and flavourful, seasoned beautifully. What blown me away is the minestrone, with the intense flavours highly complementary to the fish. I cannot help to use the bread to scoop up the last drop on the plate. The wine paired is also interesting, with Domaine Comte Abbatucci Faustine Vieilles Vignes from Corsica, made with the Italian white variety Vermentino.
The fourth course is La Crevette Carabineros, with charcoal-grilled carabineros, the prized Spanish red prawn, together with some black pudding, smoked salt butter and green apple sauce to balance the strong flavours. A big fan of carabineros myself, this one provides the sensory excitement, with the prawn yolk so rich in taste. Again, the bread is useful to help savour every bit of essence here. The wine paired is from Domaine Jean-Marc Vincent, Santenay 1er Cru Le Beaurepaire Blanc, offering a creamy and full-bodied Chardonnay which is a good match with the prawn.
There are two options for the fifth course, and we have chosen Le Pigeon de Ploumerez, slow-cooked pigeon fillet, with pieces of Noirmoutier potato on the side, each having a piece of the Sobrassada sausage on top. Here the chef showcased the characters of the special ingredients, with the potato coming from Noirmoutier Island, picking up the seaweed flavours from the soil. The sausage is from Spain, made from pork with paprika and other spices. The pigeon is cooked perfectly, tender and juicy, with the wine paired, Castello Romitorio Rosso di Montalcino, going very well.
The sixth course is another specialty. With the staff pulling a cheese cart in front of us, the Les Fromages de Notre Cellier, or L’Envol Cheese Selection, certainly offers one of the widest choices in town per my experience. We ended up choosing a total of 7, with some goat cheese and brie, a 48-month comte, and some blue cheeses. With also selection of different condiments to accompany, like white chocolate sheet, honeycombs, quince jelly and assortment of biscuits, it is a true wonderland for cheese lovers. The wine paired is D’Oliveiras Verdelho Madeira, an aged fortified wine which got a great nutty and balance of sweetness and sourness to enjoy with the cheeses.
The seventh course is La Douceur Surprise, the pastry chef’s surprise pre-dessert of some shaved ice made from a mix of lime and pear juice (if I remember correctly), topped with some nice cream cheese to give sweetness and a smooth texture. A refreshing and palate cleansing one to get us prepared for the final dessert.
The eighth and last course is La Fraise des Bois, a beautifully presented dessert with a rose champagne sorbet on the bottom, then with a layer of wild strawberries, a foam with rich cream and lime shavings, plus some rhubarb compote and sauce. It got the right balance of sweetness with the acidity from the fruit, light yet also indulgent, and with the extremely limited Ornus dell’Ornellaia, a sweet wine from late harvest Petit Manseng, it is a rewarding and great finale to our wonderful meal.
Wrapping up are some Petits Fours, with again the staff pulling the cart displaying all the choices, making it difficult for us to choose. Service was very good throughout, with the staff attentive and coming to explain each course, and they did a great job in the choice of the wines selected for each pairing. The bill was $7,830 and while it was not cheap but the food and wine did deliver their promise in this highly-acclaimed restaurant, and seeing that it was fully booked on the night further reinforced the support from its diners.
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