This modern French restaurant is located on 3/F of Alexandra House in Central, under the helm of Executive Chef Nicolas Boutin, who used to head the Michelin-starred Epure in TST, together with Chef de Cuisine Lea Cantalloube. Arriving on time, the staff leads us through the sliding door into the dining area, passing through a wine cabinet where there is an impressive range of DRC bottles.
Seated on the window side looking out to the garden, the restaurant is not that big, but do have a private room on the side to accommodate bigger group. With stylish design and comfortable seating, the other attraction is definitely Wood Ear Bar on the other side of the room, featuring a wide range of whisky and other liquors from around the world.
We order the Chef’s Degustation Menu ($1,588) with also the 6-glass wine pairing ($1,180). To start I have the cocktail Whisperer ($178), which has a piece of burnt wood ear in the glass. The concoction includes the bourbon whisky Maker’s Mark 46 which has been infused with shiitake mushroom, and then added with honey syrup and herbal bitters, with deep and smoky flavours.
The homemade Sourdough is very good, freshly baked and with a crunchy crust while the inside is fluffy and soft. Paired with a homemade smoked butter, with some toasted buckwheat on top to give a bit of crunchy texture, it is an interesting snack for me to enjoy with the cocktail before the start of the meal.
The Amuse Bouche is a Seaweed Tartlet, very beautifully rendered. With smoked eel inside, surrounded by the marigold mayo, in the middle are some calamansi jelly, with some shaved bottarga on top to give a bit more savoury taste to season. The complex flavours and the different taste elements actually integrate well together. A very nice snack.
The first course features Hamachi & Caviar. The raw yellowtail has been marinated in kombu and sake, paired with a refreshing cucumber sauce, providing good acidity and herbaceous flavours to match with the fish. With some radish and caviar on top to give a bit of citrusy and savoury taste, the yellowtail unfortunately has a bit of fishy note which affects the overall enjoyment.
The wine paired is R. H. Coutier Grand Cru Cuvee Tradition. This champagne house is one of the pioneers in planting Chardonnay in the Pinot Noir dominant Ambonnay, and this wine has a nice honeycomb, waxy, orchard fruit as well as fresh pastry note. A versatile and pleasant champagne for the starter.
The second course is the signature Mushroom Soup. The chef has used plenty of Parisienne champignons to reduce to a concentrated jus as the base, and together with a double-boiled egg custard underneath, which is also mixed with mushroom broth, to form two different layers of texture. On the side is the brioche with black pepper seasonings. Rich and highly flavourful.
The third course is White Sweet Onion. On each peel of the onion the chef has inserted a black truffle, balancing the sweetness of the onion with the earthy truffle, together with a rich black truffle and veal sauce, and onion puree on the side. While it might look simple, this dish is in fact my favourite in the evening, with the flavours of each ingredients highlighted to the max.
The wine paired is Domaine A.-F. Gros Moulin-a-Vent en Montperay 2019. This Beaujolais Gamay has violet and ripe cherry notes, with also nice strawberry character permeating. The wine has already been showing some development, with a hint of undergrowth and truffle elements matching well with the food.
The fourth course features Summer Truffle, with the chef lightly poaching the Normandy grenaille potato before roasting, drizzle with a touch of vinegar. On the side is some creamy foam made also using potato and truffle to reinforce flavours and enrich the whole sensory experience. The staff then shaves some summer truffle on top, giving nice fragrance to the dish.
The wine paired is Samuel Billaud Chablis 2021. The versatile Chardonnay coming from the heart of Chablis has good acidity, highly refreshing, citrusy with good minerality, as well as having a nice palate cleansing effect which balances well the richness of the cream as well as the roasted potato.
The fifth course is Scallop, with the large Britanny scallops having been pan-fried on both sides to caramelize the surface, while keeping the inside moist and soft. Paired with some sea asparagus, a type of seaweed, as well as the rich beurre blanc sauce, the buttery taste has coated the scallops with a cloak of delicious, with some lime zest to freshen.
The wine paired is Jean-Rene Germanier Petite Arvine 2020. This Swiss white wine has plenty of grapefruit, with also herbaceous notes of wild herbs and an interesting saline minerality. A good match with the scallops and the citrus notes also helps to balance the rich beurre blanc sauce to good effect.
The sixth course is Japanese A4 Wagyu Beef Tenderloin. Cooked to medium rare, the Kagoshima wagyu beef is tender and juicy, paired with a green peppercorn sauce prepared together with the beef jus. The side is a nice zucchini and eggplant creation, with the chef peeling the two vegetables into thin strips, rolling up and pan-fried, with some lemon zest and thyme to season.
The wine paired is Domaine de Trevallon Alpilles 2019. This South of France red wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with Syrah, giving a unique ripe blackcurrant and herbaceous notes of blackcurrant leaf. The spiciness is not as profound as a Syrah varietal, and the dark chocolate and eucalyptus matches nicely with the beef and green peppercorn sauce.
The seventh course has two choices and my wife goes for the White Peach, in a floating island style. Underneath the sorbet is a thin sugar crisp, on top of the meringue which has white peach pulp inside, and paired with a earl grey tea sauce to help balance the sweetness.
I have the Cheesecake instead, which is made using goat cheese so having a more savoury and tangy taste. On top is a cheese sorbet and milk tuile to give different texture, plus some pickled cherry on the side providing the tartness to freshen up the palate.
The eighth and final course is Guanaja Chocolate Tart, very rich and delicious, with a layer of jelly made with blackberry and tarragon on top, as well as a sorbet made with mixed berries and sour cherries, providing the necessary tartness and acidity to balance the more indulgent chocolate sweetness, while decorated with some gold flakes to make it even more appealing.
The wine paired is Antolini Recioto della Valpolicella Classico. The sweet red wine is made using Corvina grapes, dried traditionally on straw mats. The rich and flavourful wine has predominant red fruit characters, which go better with the chocolate tart comparing the two desserts.
The Petits Fours include a Marshmallow with lime zest, as well as a Hazelnut Tart with rich hazelnut cream and toasted nuts. A great finale for the meal.
Service is good, with the staff friendly
and attentive, helpfully explaining each course and the wine pairing along the
whole dinner. The bill on the night is $5,150 which is reasonable in my
opinion. The interesting ambience of mixing the fine-dining with the whisky bar
may bring in some noise from the other side but has its merit of creating a
more relaxed environment.
