Posts Tagged Fine Dining
Review – Berowra Waters Inn, NSW, Australia
120122 Berowra Waters Inn
We found out about this hideaway outside Sydney while researching for places to dine during our Chinese New Year trip down under. We thank the excellent Eat Show & Tell blog’s writeup of Berowra Waters Inn that attracted us to this magnificent place.
Review – Private Dinner @ Ta Pantry, Hong Kong
We’ve been to this small gem in Wanchai, Hong Kong back in June, but C did not come so we didn’t review it. We loved it so we had to be back, but we had to wait four months! Since they could only accommodate one table of 10 every night, they were fully booked for the coming month. Moreover, former model turned chef, Esther Sham (Chef Tata as she likes to call herself), was to take up further training in France for three months. So we settled for a table for November in time to celebrate R’s birthday.
There’s a minimum spend of HK$4,400/US$564 from Monday to Thursday and HK$5,500/US$705 for Fridays, Saturdays & Public Holidays (for food only and before service charge). The minimum spend and the service charge had to be pre-paid in order to confirm the booking, something common amongst private kitchens in Hong Kong. And for any additional charges, only cash is accepted.
Tucked on the 1st floor of an old residential apartment building on Star Street, you feel like you’re visiting a good friend’s home. Once inside, you’ll notice the dining room surrounded by racks and racks of wines. In fact, Esther’s brother Andrew (also a scratch golfer) owns A Cellar, a wine shop, and this was his hangout for friends to enjoy a nice bottle of wine. Since good food and wine go so well together, and having a sister who is so passionate about cooking, it was natural for them to get together to start Ta Pantry. But don’t say we didn’t warn you that the dining room temperature is suited for the wine at a cool 17°C.
In the back is the open kitchen as well as a sofa area perfect for some pre-dinner Champagne. It also provides a good chance to chat with Esther as she prepares the night’s dinner. Also keeping us company was Xiao Feng, Esther’s adorable dog, who seemed to be more attached to her bed though. Ordering wine is simple. Either choose from their extensive wine list, which is very reasonably priced. Or bring any bottle that is not on the list and the corkage fee is waived. For dinner, we chose “Le Japonais” menu (HK$550/US$70 per person), which had to be shared with the whole table. We substituted the Yuzu Miso Cod with their famous Melting Onion Duck and added an order of A5 Kobe Beef (adding HK$230/US$30 to the bill).
Our amuse-bouche was gazpacho paired with a mashed potato and cheese cone. A nice refreshing start to the six course meal. The first dish, Tuna, Tuna, Tuna had the fish done sliced, diced and minced. The tuna was OK, but the diced one’s cracker was a bit stale. The minced one was the most fragrant as it was mixed with black truffle but the sushi rice was not quite up to our sushi standards. Next was the Fois Gras Tamago Custard with Asian mushrooms. Nothing spectacular, but still smooth and tasty and Japonais. Their signature Melting Onion Duck was superb though and didn’t disappoint. The slow cooked duck was very tender and paired perfectly with the bed of caramelized onions. Definitely recommend adding this dish if it is not already on the menu. The A5 Kobe Beef was accompanied by spicy mushrooms and melted in our mouths. The Uni Spaghetti that followed was a bit disappointing. The spaghetti was al dente but the seared uni was a bit cold and hard. Not the creamy ooze that we prefer.
For dessert, the Crêpe in Tata’s Favorite Way was filled with Nutella and served with matcha ice-cream & corn flakes. Not bad, the crêpe was very fresh and crispy, but we still prefer Crêpe Suzette anytime. But that’s just us.
Overall, we had a wonderful experience and you can feel Esther’s passion for cooking. We admire her dedication to keep learning to broaden her knowledge and techniques. She has a lot of potential and we wish her dream will come true very soon.
– 16/20
Ta Pantry
Flat C, 1/F, Moonstar Court
2D Star Street
Wanchai, Hong Kong
T: +852 9403 6430
E: tapantry@gmail.com
W: tapantry.wordpress.com
Closed on Sundays
CASH ONLY
111109 Ta Pantry - Pre dinner rest area
111109 Ta Pantry - Plenty of wine to choose from
111109 Ta Pantry - Xiao Feng, the mascot?
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Review – Alain Solivérès at Whisk, Hong Kong
Chef Alain Solivérès from the Taillevent restaurant in Paris visited the Whisk in the Mira Hotel, Hong Kong briefly this week. Jordi, ex-Gaddi’s sommelier, is the Head Sommelier at the Mira now so we decided to give them a visit.
We didn’t go for the degustation menu as it was a bit too much. Highly recommended was the Lobster & Curry (HK$230/US$30). Done “risotto” style, it was extremely good. Actually using épeautre (spelt, which is a wheat a bit like barley) instead of Arborio rice made the dish less rich and heavy. A hint of curry spiced it up so it was less creamy. Perfect! Especially when matched with a bottle of 1999 Courbis Cornas les Eygats from Northern Rhône, full bodied but not too overpowering. Thanks Jordi for the recommendation. The famous Taillevent duck pie (HK$410/US$53) was a bit disappointing. A bit dry but the truffle gravy helped alleviate that. Not as legendary as rumored, maybe it’s better in Paris? We’ll have to try it someday. C’s M7 Wagyu beef (HK$550/US$71) was very tender, but typical of Wagyu… where’s the beef flavor?
For dessert, the Exotic Delight (HK$110/US$14) was interesting. The coconut foam on top of the pineapples tasted just like a piña colada. Refreshing.
A good experience and we were told the “risotto” might be available in the future. Another good reason to go to Whisk more often. Their Sunday brunch is also very good too. Or maybe we should visit Taillevent in Paris first?
– 17/20
Whisk
The Mira Hotel
Level 5 (dedicated side entrance on ground level)
118 Nathan Road, Tsimshatsui
Kowloon, Hong Kong
T: +852 2315 5999
E: whisk@themirahotel.com
W: www.themirahotel.com/en/dining/whisk.aspx
110319 Whisk - Stainless steel menu cover
110319 Whisk - Cold carrot soup w/ coriander mouse
110319 Whisk - 1999 Courbis Cornas les Eygats
Thomas Keller experience at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong
This was indeed a rare opportunity to enjoy the culinary delights of the great legendary chef Thomas Keller right here in Hong Kong. Since our 2007 visit to the French Laundry in Napa, Chef Keller is definitely our favorite. This was specially arranged by the Mandarin Grill to bring the team of eight from Napa’s French Laundry and New York’s Per Se to prepare three dinners and two lunches for food aficionados in Hong Kong. The whole experience took eight months to prepare as almost all the ingredients were flown in specifically for this event. This was to reproduce the French Laundry experience in its entirety. Thanks to C, we were fortunate to secure our table. Even at HK$5,888/US$755 per person, there were more than 1,000 people on the waiting list!
We started off by being bombarded with a wide variety of canapés – blue cheese puff, salmon cornet, pork tart and chilled carrot soup. The salmon tartar filled cornet was the same signature amuse bouche served at the French Laundry and a refreshing start to our 10-course dinner!!
The “Oysters and Pearls” got us off to a roaring start. This is another famous dish from the French Laundry and the Kumamoto oysters with the Californian white sturgeon caviar made a perfect match. The 1997 Salon paired with this starter was heavenly.
The Hand-Rolled Musquée de Provence “Tortellini” included a generous portion of white truffle that was not on the menu and enhanced the flavors of the Mangalista ham and pomegranate seeds. Great for us, as you know, we love white truffle.
The main highlight of the evening was the “Calotte de Boeuf Grillée”. This beef from Snake River Farms in Boise, Idaho was heaven. A cross between Japanese Wagyu and American Black Angus created magic. It literally melted in our mouths and it didn’t have the excessive fat that normally comes with Wagyu. Simply divine. The “48 hour” brisket also added an extra dimension to the dish. Bravo. This was paired with the cult wine Colgin “IX Estate” 2005, which we were told was opened at 9am! That’s more than 13 hours! But the end result was perfect.
After 8 courses and 8 different wines, time finally came for dessert, actually two. The first was Popcorn Sherbet, paired with the 2000 Disznoko, Tokaji Aszu, 5 Puttonyos. To end, the “M&M’s” actually stood for Madagascar vanilla bean mousse and Mast brothers chocolate ice cream. Dow’s 20 year Tawny Port sealed the deal.
After the dinner, Thomas Keller went around the dining room to visit every table and talk to all the guests, take pictures and sign autographs. At the end, we were given a signed copy of Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry Cookbook. Although not personalized for us, we didn’t mind as we already had a personalized copy signed during our visit to Pebble Beach’s Food & Wine Festival in 2009. But we did get his signature on the French Laundry clothes peg. We also received the evening’s menu personalized with our names presented in a nice French Laundry folder.
Although maybe not as stunning as our first visit to French Laundry in Napa, this was indeed an experience that was right up there. And thanks to Mandarin Oriental for hosting such an amazing event.
– 18.5/20
The Thomas Keller Restaurant Group
French Laundry, Napa Valley, USA
Per Se, New York, USA
Mandarin Grill + Bar
Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong
5 Connaught Road
Central, Hong Kong
T: +852 2825 4004
E: mohkg-grill@mohg.com
W: www.mandarinoriental.com/hongkong/dining/restaurants/mandarin_grill/default.aspx
101201 Thomas Keller - Menu setting
101201 Thomas Keller - Blue cheese puff
101201 Thomas Keller - Salmon cornet
Review – L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
We haven’t been here for years, so when we saw on their website a new outlet, Le Jardin, it sounded like a nice informal place for a Sunday lunch. However, it turned out to be the old formal dining area of L’Atelier. Maybe it was called Le Jardin back when it first opened, which was when we were here last. Anyway, the jardin part came from their outdoor terrace area that was well landscaped to shield all the surrounding skyscrapers. We would have sat outside if they had some fans…didn’t think that we could stand the 30°C/86°F plus heat. And their dress code was for no shorts! Anyway we changed tables to the bar area near the entrance, which is L’Atelier. Instead of sitting at the bar area surrounding the open kitchen, we sat at a table with high bar chairs. Much more relaxing and appropriate for our Sunday lunch. We ordered the four course set menu, from which you can choose an appetizer, a soup, a main course (fish or meat) and dessert for HK$498/US$64.
We started off with a nice pumpkin mouse for our amuse bouche and opened a half bottle (it is lunch after all) of a 1998 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Château de Beaucastel. For appetizers, R had Le Guacamole that had a good citrus zing to blend in the flavors of the fresh crabmeat and the creamy avocado. C’s Le Saumon was right up her alley with the salmon marinated with truffle oil. For the soup, they both chose Les Ravioles, a clear chicken broth with incredibly thin ravioli wrapped with small pieces of foie gras. A separate bowl of cream accompanied the dish and adding a little made the broth nice and creamy. For main course, R had Le Bœuf – beef cheek braised with red wine that was very tender and matched perfectly with the Parmesan polenta, which was soooooo smooth. C had Le Porchelet – spit-roasted baby pork, which was OK but nothing special. We were so full we wondered if we had any room for dessert – Tiramisu L’Atelier style. Maybe we had too much of the freshly baked bread and we were too full, but the ladyfingers were quite distinct and were not soaked enough with either coffee or rum. It came with a coffee ice cream on the side, which did help to blend in the flavors.
Maybe it fell a bit short of our high expectations, but nevertheless, we had an enjoyable lunch. Probably we should pop down and get some Coco Tuile while we’re here…
– 17/20
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Shop 401, The Landmark
Central, Hong Kong
T: +852 2166 9000
E: reservation@robuchon.hk
W: www.robuchon.hk
100926 Le Jardin de Joël Robuchon - Outside seating
100926 L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon - Menu cover
100926 L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon - Open kitchen
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