On Dining - Pigeon Perfection

Roasted pigeon, artichokes, baby spinach & lemon chutney at On Dining

On Dining* is the Upper Modern Bistro crew's second restaurant, a larger (2-storey) and slightly more upscale restaurant and bar in Central, in the same building as Arcane (which is also excellent).

I'd read a couple of times on my friend's blog Diary of Growing Boy about ON's pigeon, so that's basically why we were here. Oh, that, and we were celebrating a birthday.

Wishing it was in my Neighborhood

Daily Meat - Roast Chicken at Neighborhood

Neighborhood is the newish restaurant helmed by chef David Lai of On Lot 10 fame. On Lot 10 closed a few months ago, and just before it did, Neighborhood opened.

As the name suggests, the format is that of a neighbourhood bistro, and is the kind of ideal bistro I wish I had within walking distance of my house. (I'll even excuse the American spelling). Neighborhood can be summed up thus: A menu that changes weekly, ingredients that are sourced thoughtfully, well priced, with small surprises here and there, but mostly it's about well-executed favourites.

Upper Modern Bistro - Almost There

Upper Modern Bistro - beauty without the pretence

Let's start with the obvious: the pedigree of the restaurant. The chef is Philippe Orrico, most recently of St George at Hullet House, but his CV notably includes a big chunk working for Pierre Gagnaire. He was initially brought to Hong Kong to open Pierre at the Mandarin Oriental. Another notable addition to the team is Jeremy Evrard, formerly manager of then-three-Michelin-starred Caprice at Four Seasons Hong Kong, and known particularly for his expertise in cheese.

The restaurant world (well in fact, the world itself) seems much more predictable when you see it in terms of evolution à la Darwin. El Bulli spawned a bunch of modernist, Spanish-inflected avant-garde-ists, Noma has led to a clutch of clean-lined, new Nordic, locavore philosophers in kitchens around the world.

Looking at Hong Kong - in the 1990s and early 2000s, we had hotels and groups importing good chefs from around the world - Bombana at the old Ritz, L'Atelier de JR (owned by Lisboa), and the various chefs coming through Gaddi's and Petrus, and to this day, I'd say hotels are still the ones with enough muscle and hiring expertise to bring the right people into Hong Kong.

Le Marron - A "French" private kitchen in Hong Kong, the land of compromise

Duck breast a l'orange (I think)

Le Marron is my standard answer to the question: "Where do I go as a party of 6 (or more) for 'Western' food? Oh and it has to have free corkage".

Everyone thinks private kitchens don't charge for corkage - that couldn't be further from the truth, so there's no real advantage to them (apart from the "secret" element). I've said it once and I'll say it again - most private kitchens in Hong Kong, especially non-Chinese ones, kinda suck.

Caprice - 3rd time in 3 years, now with 3 Michelin Stars

I can't believe it's been 3 years since I blogged about what is one of Hong Kong's most lauded restaurants, Caprice.

Well, maybe I can because the first time was a bit of a flop, and the second so average I failed to remember much (or maybe it was the wine, ahem). But - I must admit that I didn't have cheese either of those first two times, which was a huge boo-boo seeing they have their own cave and all but alas, birthday cakes reigned. Caprice is a restaurant for occasions, n'est-ce pas?

This time was actually no different, it was also a birthday, that of my dear friend's father. (Thank you uncle!) But this time I HAD CHEESE.

It seems weird to start describing a meal from the end, but then again, it was one of the highlights. So here you are, the obligatory cheese cart photo.

Mmmm...  oui... 'ello mes chers...

It's all about the money - Whisk

Tomato, strawberry and mozzarella salad

Rent and/or the stock market explain a lot of things in Hong Kong. Like how perfectly good restaurants close down (not over 80% full every night, for instance, hence not enough to cover rent); the advent of private kitchens (stock market crash of 1997, high rents); why we eat out so much (expensive housing, small kitchens that aren't conducive to entertaining or lots of cooking, unless you're dedicated).

So I'm guessing, for a hotel restaurant like Whisk, they have some sort of projected profit goal thingy they have to achieve. And not being exactly the busiest restaurant in town, they'd be desperate for two main things: 1) attract more people, 2) lower (food) costs. With a $218 set meal, Mon-Sat, for 3 courses plus coffee/tea and petit fours, I gotta say they're trying very hard to do 1). But then, how about 2)? How low can those food costs go? To me, it seems like they've lowered it a bit too much. Tasteless beef, cheap balsamic glaze - I'd rather $218 for two courses and better ingredients - I only have one stomach, after all. One thing they don't have to change is the chef. He's turning out great stuff from what crappy things his budget allows. Either that, or he needs to source really local, but I don't think hotel management can accept that kind of operation...

e_ting's Hong Kong list

I'm now keeping this list updated on the e_ting in Hong Kong page - check there!

If you've ever called/emailed/tweeted me about where to eat in Hong Kong, here's more or less the list you would've seen. I've copied and pasted it here, with a little more detail added. I'll try to update as often as possible/relevant. Note that I've tried to keep my notes short to keep it an easy to read 'list', but if you want more details, just ask. Links will take you to addresses either in Openrice, one of my previous posts, or to my Facebook photos (usually with notes of some sort). (And I haven't had time to link everything, so please do a search on Openrice).

As this list is intended for visitors, most places are easy to get to, though not all are on an average visitor's trail. One day I will split them up into "easy/not so easy to get to", but until then...

To reiterate: this is a work in progress. Am I an idiot for having left something out? Tell me - comment away!

Oh, Pierre: The emails

Before I go on to a "normal" post about my recent dinner at the Mandarin Oriental's French restaurant Pierre, here are the emails exchanged with the restaurant after the meal. I think my sentiments have been fairly well expressed in the emails below. (Stilted 140 character overviews can be found on Twitter). I shall therefore provide no further comment. What's your take?
******
From: [me]
To: Pierre, MOHG
Date: Nov 5, 2009
Subject: Pierre, 4 Nov 2009


Dear Sir/Madam,

It pains me that this email has to be written, as the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong has always been one of my favourite hotels, not only in the SAR, but globally, precisely because of its fantastic F&B outlets that have always exceeded my expectations on all fronts - cuisine, wine, ambiance and service.

A false start - Caprice

Caprice and Pierre - both signature restaurants in HK's top hotels that I hadn't tried, until recently. I'd heard more good things about the former, so I chose it when the opportunity to go haute came along. I don't know what I was expecting - too much, as usual, perhaps - but I didn't come away too satisfied. My first course was amazing - a crab leg salad kinda thing served just a little below room temp. Fresh, yes, but it had a bit more done to it to enhance, heighten, meld (whatever) all the flavours into one lyrical whole. Maybe it was this perfect entree that made me expect too much from my main - a dory bouillabaise. I was expecting a hearty, clay-coloured dish with chunks of fish among some ratatouille-like veg, but it turned out to be a boring hunk of fillet in a fishy consomme. To its credit, the consomme actually tasted quite similar to that clay-coloured thing I'd imagined, but the fish was relatively taste and texture-less and frankly it was just visually boring. Apparently the cheese platter is a must, but unfortunately we had other commitments (in the form of puff pastry, cream and strawberries) so I guess I'll come back next time for an entree and the cheese, if at all.

I also thought the sommelier was a bit pretentious and the chandeliers a bit much... Views are rad though.



Caprice
Four Seasons Hotel
Central
Hong Kong
+852 3196-8860

What Happened to Chez Patrick?

Monsieur Patrick was great, got famous, hired and trained chefs, opened a second outlet, and food became mediocre. No...... come back monsieur!!! Stop socialising and get back in the kitchen! (Not that we don't like seeing you, but since we leave late anyway, we can wait till service is finished to speak with you...)

Speaking of service, allow me to divert your attention to the servers. Actually, try your best not to pay attention to the servers when you're there. We were a party of only six and yet they never, ever got our dishes right. Hello, ever heard of a memory, or even some note paper? And you they not pour our wine from tremendous heights? This isn't Indian milk tea, you don't need to pour from afar and create an infinite number of bubbles in my glass. I could go on. But I must remind myself that I'm not in a western country. Servers here were not brought up under western cultural influences. They don't think it's a problem, for instance, that they plonk things on the table and slide it across to you, or suggest a dish to you (which you end up ordering) and then serve it to the person across the table, or bring an amuse-bouche and not explain what it is to you before rushing away... *sigh* Eating out well is so bloody expensive in this city that they should really stop thinking about hogging hefty profit margins from us and start thinking about investing some of that margin into t-r-a-i-n-i-n-g.

Anyway. I still like Chez Pat, but it's no longer what it was...

For more photos and comments, click on a photo or here

Chez Patrick
26 Peel Street (near intersection of Gage St)
Central
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2541 1401

Le French May, the agnès b way

Ah, agnès b, the epitome of French culture, after the Eiffel Tower - in Asia anyway.

The fashion brand has now expanded its business into several florists and a couple of eateries. I guess that's what you call capitalising upon brand equity. The danger in doing that though, as marketing textbooks will tell you, is that one of the new businesses might screw you over if it diverts from the brand's image and personality.

I think in this case, agnès b has done exceptionally well - all these outlets exude class, elegance and a slightly offbeat, disregard for the mainstream artsy element that is basically what the brand is about. Although the cynical amongst us can tell that this is just another way to position oneself in the market.

Anyway, marketing aside - as if I haven't had enough of it already - the food is pretty good. The rule is, stick to the things that can't go too wrong, and you should have a good meal. For example, I've yet to have a good streak when it comes to grilled fish, it's a seemingly 'simple' dish that I usually avoid (my fellow diner did not, and was predictably disappointed - it's one of those times that just makes you want to squeal "I told you so!!" and stick your tongue out.... haha).

There was a special Le French May menu, but their usual menu already offers more than any decision-phobic person would like and they all looked so enticing...

Clockwise from top left: Warm baby artichoke (Le French May menu); Slow-cooked Pyrenées Milk-fed lamb; Salted cod with paprika tomatoes and savoy cabbage.

The baby artichoke was, in my opinion, underseasoned - I could taste olive oil and olive oil. The sprinkle of bacon was a good idea in theory, if only they'd be more crisp in the execution.

I'm a sucker for slow-cooked everything, but this lamb was one of the best things I had (the soufflé - keep reading - would be its closest rival tonight). Tender, flavoursome, moist in most cases - excellent with bread, but the white beans that came along with it, while perfectly fine on their own, were too mushy to create a contrast.

Salted cod - a nice way to make fish when you're noso sure about how juicy you can keep it when frying - IMO, anyway, because the flesh will be firmer and easier to handle after being kept in a salt crust overnight/ for a few hours. It gets a bit too salty by the end, but it's one the sodium lovers will like, and others too, given a good glass of white.

Desserts: Pure evil - there's a whole freaking page AND a patisserie selection!!

Hazelnut and praline soufflé (crisp on the outside, soft within - as all good soufflés should be... mmm~); Fresh fig, mascarpone, pinenuts on brioche (the brioche was just like any other piece of (dried) bread... oh well)

If it's a proper sit-down dinner you're after, remember to book a table in the dining room inside - otherwise you'd be in a cafe-like atmosphere - which is nice, but not always appropriate.

And by the way, don't expect too much from the service - it's awkward and a little try-hard - how many times have I ranted about the service in Hong Kong again?

agnès b le pain grillé
Shop 1 & 2A
2-4 Kingston Street
Fashion Walk
Causeway Bay
Tel: +852 577 0370

The Monsieur himself - Alain Ducasse at SPOON

Had the opportunity to go to one of the two Alain Ducasse dinners at SPOON in Hong Kong recently - it was definitely an experience. Here are some horrendous attempts at capturing the dishes (judging by the tiny number of posts I've managed recently, you may have been able to guess that I've not really had the time to read the instruction guide for my new camera...)

    

Top L-R: marinated sea bass with aquitaine caviar and a lemon sauce; asparagus and leek; sole with morel sauce; lamb with spring vegetables; re-interprested vacherin - meringue, mango and passionfruit sauce.
Bottom: Beautifully tempered chocolate with raspberries.

The courses were set, so basically there was no choice (other than to choose the rare/done-ness of your lamb, for which medium rare was suggested anyway). Which was not a problem at all. After all, as long as the food was good, we weren't going to make any fuss. Each course could also be accompanied by a different glass of wine, but if we did that, we'd be drunk and very very broke. So we has a nice bottle of 2002 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Domaine de la Janasse instead.

Service and the irritable noise of the restaurant made the meal slightly less enjoyable as it should have been; neither of which should have been a problem at internationally-renowned dining establishments like this one, especially when located in a hotel.

Nonetheless, the meal was great, and it's not often that you get to see Monsieur Ducasse himself roaming around the service area.

On an additional note, I hear that SPOON now offers a hip-pocket friendly early dinner (around $500 per head), as well as a comparably priced lunch. So if you missed out on Ducasse or wish to be reminded of the good times you had when he was in Hong Kong, you can still get your fix doing much less harm to your personal P&L.

SPOON (Hong Kong)
Intercontinental Hotel
18 Salisbury Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2721 1211

Ce n'etait pas si bon - bonbon Cafe

A Cordon Bleu trained chef, very favourable reviews and cute décor have not, in this particular case, added up to a good dining experience.

The service people seem incapable of smiling - and that is the smallest of my complaints about them. Our bread was microwaved (for goodness sakes, bread loses its moisture and HARDENS as it cools if you heat it in the microwave), they gave us sherry glasses for our sparkling and some wine glasses were cloudy. Food was served before the previous course was finished (this is a tiny fourteen-seater, mind you), they referred to our post-meal coffee/tea as 餐飲 (a "meal drink" as in one you'd have with your happy meal at Mickey D's)... No, the service was not good. I should really be getting used to it in Hong Kong, but alas.

As for food, I could have been in any old restaurant - French, American, British, it wouldn't have made any difference. The most French thing on my plate of pan-fried pigeon was probably the sad-looking french beans, which were boring, but probably only because I'd had them at home for lunch earlier that day and seen them on the supermarket shelves looking all yellowy and unhealthy.

Apologies - the photos didn't turn out too well because of insufficient lighting, my reluctance to use the flash mode because I hate white light, and basically, a sh*tty camera.

Goat's cheese and hazelnut in filo

Okay, for an amateur cook like me, filo may be a little tricky to handle - sheets prone to ripping, keeping it all moist etc. But for a trained chef, it really shouldn't look like this - a piece of crumpled up paper from a five year-old throwing a tantrum. Tasted fine, but I'm a hazelnut freak. Put them on mouldy toast and I'll still eat it. Point made I think.

Sweet potato and apple soup

Looked and tasted more like apple puree for babies, but who said baby food was bad?

Pan-fried pigeon with foie gras

See what I mean by meat and three veg? And I think it really takes a photo to communicate how huge my prices of pigeon were. I think I've had duck that's smaller! Perhaps it was the knife, but I had a hard time sawing through it. To that end, I'd better get my teeth checked too. It was slightly undercooked, and scared my bird-flu conscious relatives away a little.

Creme brulée

Likely to be the only thing I can't complain about in the meal, which doesn't really say much. It was fine; the texture closer to the bottom was better than near the top - can anyone explain? Some sort of sedimentary effect?

To their defense, it was a public holiday, but on the same note, we did pay a hefty premium ($400/head as opposed to around $250). Percentage-wise, this is huge, and it's a big ask for a little café like this. I can't believe I gave up Commercial Radio's awards ceremony for this.

bonbon Cafe
G/F, Shop A2-A3
96 Electric Road (Enter form Tsing Fung Street)
Tin Hau
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2525 2523

A Fine Deal - Vue de Monde

I’ve been told that you need to be prepared to burn a mighty hole in your hip pocket if you want to dine with me. By going to Vue de Monde, our city’s finest French restaurant (according to this year’s The Age Good Food Guide), I only seem to be proving the point. But before you say “gotcha!”, let me explain that I went to Vue for their Lunch Menu. $26 for two courses and a glass of wine ($36 for three) at this year’s “Best French” is value for money par excellence.

White tablecloths, sensible wine glasses, staff in ties and aprons, spells out loud and clear that this cozy corner in Carlton is a fine-diner, yet there are things that make it wonderfully down-to-earth, like the professional service, that’s at the same time fun and unpretentious, and what’s even more rare, “water” that can really be “just water”. Not that I personally mind the “still or sparkling” school of formal restaurants, but I was most impressed to see a restaurant of this quality and class being so flexible to suit all markets.

The lunch menu comes in a leather file, with Menu Gourmand, Lunch Menu and à la carte options printed elegantly on translucent white paper slipped inside. Prime evidence that menus can be (and are, in fact) changed often, meaning it is reflective of seasonal availability of produce. I believe the document is much less heavy at dinner, when only the Menu Gourmand (a four to thirteen course degustation menu) is offered, and diners can discuss their preferences with staff and a suitable menu can be devised using timely produce. Many restaurants offer similar options, but not many dare to go as far as eliminating à la carte altogether. It would be most interesting (though also costly) to experience a fully-fledged showcase of this chef’s talents.

Chef/owner Shannon Bennet is the lover-boy of the Melbourne restaurant scene. He’s young, good-looking, has published a book, pocketed a few awards, and did I mention he can cook?

Nonetheless, wanting first only a taste of Vue, (and watching my student account) we stick to the Lunch Menu.

My entrée is a pumpkin soup with prawns. It is presented in the original vegetable, a dainty, golden, fist-sized version that is roasted and hollowed out, with two plump, lightly crumbed prawns resting gracefully on top. The consistency of the soup makes it quite filling, but is helped by the adequately small portion. It is also carries the distinctive flavour of cumin, and with the perfectly cooked prawns, add much depth and interest to a potentially everyday dish.

In between, we are offered a palate-cleanser, a shot-glass of tomato consommé and tomato jelly, with a pastille-sized basil sorbet on the side. We are told to first place the basil sorbet onto our tongues, and let it melt a little before drinking the consommé. Both the flavours are tremendously precise and intense, yet it truly manages to cleanse and freshen the palate. Amusing indeed.

I choose the duck confit as my main. It is served on a quaint off-white oval dish with a blue border, much like something my imaginary grandmother who lives in the French countryside would own. Though I’m sure this grandmother would need a good pair of glasses and a steady hand to be able to produce a bed of julienned vegetables as fine as this one. They are cooked to give them just the right amount of ‘bite’ on the teeth, retaining their freshness, and are tossed lightly in cream to finish. This combination gives the warmth and comfort of a gratin, without the heaviness, yet satisfies my desire for clean garden flavours. Given present-day society’s fear of cream, it is uncommon nowadays to see vegetables cooked this way, but rest assured, the flourish of flavours and the smoothness that result are totally disproportionate to the amount of cream used. The duck confit itself, however, was not totally to my taste. There were no faults in the seasoning (the housemade five spice powder on the side was well-balanced), but the leg itself seemed a little dry, rendering it slightly stringy and tiresome in the mouth, although the flesh did fall off the bone easily. This comes as a surprise since confit, put simply, is meat treated with salt that is cooked and covered in fat (its own or otherwise usually of pork) and cellared, which, in my mind, should lead to a wonderfully tasty and moist meat.

There is one dessert on the menu, which at first did not look very intriguing, but this warm halved peach with a vanilla ice cream swirl was a brilliantly refreshing end to the meal.

Well, it wasn't the end yet, really. Upon ordering coffee, we were presented with five different kinds of petits fours that are well worth trying even if it means it’ll have your dentist screaming.

Lunch at Vue de Monde means a heavy discount for us financially, but on the food and service end of the equation, they’re giving it 100%.

The French grammar in their name is a bit off, (it should be ‘du’ rather than ‘de’), but who cares when their French food is this right.

Not only does Miss Food Brat know her French, she also knows a fine deal when she tastes one, thank you very much.

Vue de Monde **MOVED**
295 Drummond St
Carlton 3053
Melbourne
Australia
+613 9347 0199
Open: Tue-Fri Lunch, Tue-Sat Dinner

New Address:
Normanby Chambers 430 Little Collins St, Melbourne
+613 9691 3888