Posts Tagged Fine Dining
Review – Otto e Mezzo (8½), Hong Kong
We were delighted to hear that Umberto Bombana, the chef from Toscana at the Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong, recently opened up a new place at the Alexandra House in Central. We loved Toscana and missed it ever since the Ritz closed down in 2008. As with many new restaurants, we had to make bookings more than a week in advance. Not a problem, just book and wait…we’re used to it.
The decor is modern with an irregular shaped mirror ceiling, which made the dining area seem larger, but unfortunately echoed the conversations from the diners. It made it too noisy for a restaurant of this caliber, maybe not be the best place for a candlelit dinner. We sat near the entrance, which was next to their Ageing Cellar housing aged hams and cheeses. We couldn’t stop noticing the room every time the door was opened, as the smell was quite pungent.
We started immediately with the amuse-bouche – even before we ordered. A lentil bean soup with mozzarella was not bad as the beans were well blended so that there were no whole beans left. You can tell we’re not fond of beans. The bread was incredible. We just had to refrain ourselves from filling ourselves with it.
The sommelier recommended the 2000 Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso Superiore from Tuscany, which fulfilled our requirement for a full bodied wine and showed a resemblance to Bordeaux, which we love.
We ordered the Marinated Beef Tenderloin as appetizer. Essentially, this was beef carpaccio with a fancy name. Large crispy Parmesan cheese flakes replaced the normally shaved type. Accompanied with sun dried tomatoes, this was good, but not spectacular.
The main course, Braised Veal Cheek and Veal Fillet on porcini mushroom and barley risotto was amazing. The veal cheek was so tender and soft, it just melted in our mouths. And the barley risotto was very nice, no rice but replaced with just barley. A nice twist that worked well.
For dessert, C tried the Coffee Trio, which contained a Tiramisu, a warm coffee tart and a crunchy coffee ice cream. The tasty trio’s strong coffee flavor almost had her skip her Cappuccino. And we had to try the Crispy Pear Tart. This was R’s favorite dish at Toscana. Although it was still wafer-thin, it could have used a few more minutes in the oven. It wasn’t uncooked, but a slightly browned crust would have made it much better.
The food was good but maybe we had high expectations, so we expected a bit more. Since the restaurant is quite new, we hope that time will iron out the small imperfections. The portions were small for à la carte, but that means that there will be room for dessert(s) 
– 17/20
Otto e Mezzo (8½)
Shop 202, 2/F, Alexandra House
18 Chater Road
Central, Hong Kong
T: +852 2537 8859
E: info@otto-e-mezzo.com
W: www.otto-e-mezzo.com
100319 Otto e Mezzo - Main entrance on 2/F
100319 Otto e Mezzo - By Chef Umberto Bombana
100319 Otto e Mezzo - Amuse-bouche, lentil bean soup
Read the rest of this entry »
Review – Galvin at Windows, London, England
Opened since May 2006, Head Chef André Garrett and Chef Patron Chris Galvin, Galvin at Windows ha recently been awarded its first Michelin star, we were off to try this place for lunch. Located on the 28th floor of the London Hilton on Park Lane, it was very close to our hotel, the Mandarin Oriental. Being so high up (there aren’t many tall buildings around) meant great views overlooking Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace and beyond.
We tried their Menu du Jour with two courses for £19.50 (US$29.30). Both R & C had the cream of cauliflower velouté for appetizers and shared the baked fillet of cod and braised pork cheeks for their main course. Maybe a bit heavy for lunch, especially all the chocolate for the petit fours. Nevertheless, the food was nice and next time we’ll have to come back for dinner.
– 16/20
Galvin at Windows Restaurant
London Hilton
28th Floor
22 Park Lane
London, W1K 1BE
England
T: +44 (020) 7208 4021
W: www.galvinrestaurants.com
100217 Galvin at Windows - Menu cover
100217 Galvin at Windows - Dining area
100217 Galvin at Windows - Table with a view
Read the rest of this entry »
Review – Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London, England
This was the place to go. With three Michelin Stars, we were looking forward to this dinner as the highlight of our trip. But having 24 restaurants around the world and TV shows, could quality be compromised? Moreover, his restaurant at Claridge’s lost it’s only star in 2010. Nevertheless, we stuck by our reservation and thankfully so, the small restaurant seats only 45.
The amuse-bouche was a shrimp and lobster mixed with avocado in a bite sized cone. Very similar to the one we had at French Laundry in Napa. A very good start. But wait, there was more…a mozzarella cheese with pesto followed. Hold on…were those amuse-bouches? Another one was a duck & mushroom ravioli in pumpkin soup. Nice, but the shrimp and lobster cone was the best.
The sommelier was very nice. Although he did say the 1996 Chateau Palmer was much more ready than the 1995 that we ordered. A bit late…should have told us earlier! Once he knew we were from Hong Kong, he expressed his desire to move to our city. Very soon too, and he wasn’t at all discreet about it. Maybe “Hell’s Kitchen” is taking its toll on the staff.
Naturally, we went all out with the tasting menu again. Their Menu Prestige contained seven courses for £120/US$182. Not bad for a three star restaurant. For one of the courses, R stuck with the ravioli of lobster, langoustine and salmon with tomato chutney that was on the menu. This was very good…until he tried C’s dish. She substituted hers with a linguine with truffles, lots of truffles (for an additional supplement). I’m sure R had serious regrets after having a bite. They were so generous with all that truffle.
Then it came to the lamb and pigeon where R got his revenge. R’s roasted Bresse pigeon was very tender and made C’s Cornish lamb suddenly seem relatively less attractive.
The pre-dessert was crème brûlée, but without hesitation C immediately swapped it for the cheese…yummy yummy. And thankfully so, as we found a new favorite – l’Ami du Chambertin. This lovely creamy soft cheese knocked the Epoisses that we had at Gary Danko in San Francisco into second place. The main dessert was the apple tarte tartin, which we expected to be the thin type…but this was humongous, but nice, just humongous! To finish, the petit fours included a chocolate “tree” that was very artistic and strawberries dipped in white chocolate to end a very satisfying dinner.
All in all, the head chef Clare Smyth did not disappoint. Did it justify the three Michelin stars? Yes and no, maybe 2½. Overall, everything was very good although some dishes were better than others.
– 17.5/20
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
68 Royal Hospital Road
London SW3 4HP
England
T: +44 (020) 7352 4441
E: royalhospitalroad@gordonramsay.com
W: www.gordonramsay.com/royalhospitalroad
100216 Gordon Ramsay - Menu cover
100216 Gordon Ramsay - Shrimp & lobster mixed w/ avocado
100216 Gordon Ramsay - Mozzarella cheese w/ pesto
Read the rest of this entry »
We’re in print – HK Golfer Feb/Mar 2010 issue
We are delighted to be a contributor to the HK Golfer magazine, which is the official publication of the Hong Kong Golf Association. Our part is for the 19th Hole and talks about food. The first write-up was for the French Window and debuted in the February/March 2010 issue. Click the thumbnail to view the PDF of the article. This is a bimonthly publication, so the next one will be in April/May.
201002 HK Golfer Feb/Mar 2010 - French Window
Review – La Cuisine de Joël Robuchon, London, England
This was the first stop on our London gastronomic fest. As Hong Kong already has a L’Atelier, we decided to try La Cuisine here instead. There’s also a L’Atelier in the same building as well as the Salon Bar. La Cuisine employs a traditional restaurant seating surrounding the open plan kitchen. This made us feel like dining inside the kitchen, in contrast to L’Atelier, where the counter seating surrounds the kitchen.
We immediately went for the Menu Découverte for £125/US$190. The dinner with matching wines was £165/US$250, but we upgraded to the prestige matching wines for £205/US$312. We didn’t want to start out on the wrong foot.
We started with a Parmesan cappuccino. The strong fragrance of the cheese went well with the bits of foie gras mixed in. Next was a huge tin of Oscietra caviar. Reminded us of the “caviar” from the Krug Room. But this time, it was the real thing. And underneath was a crabmeat mix. Yummy. C must have liked it as it was gone in an instant.
While we were still savoring the aftertaste from the caviar, the next dish delivered thinly shaved foie gras with winter truffle on a bed of marinated potatoes. All these strong beautiful flavors kept our mouths busy.
More truffles followed next in the form of mushroom and black truffle croutons on top of a quail egg for the Jerusalem artichoke soup…forget about all the cholesterol. The remaining courses were done very well, but nothing special – caramelized scallop, sea bass and free range quail stuffed with foie gras.
A fun dessert was the mandarin sorbet lollipop covered in white chocolate with a flower on top. However, it was a bit too sweet for our taste. The finale was the Chocolate Tendance, which was chocolate with chocolate and chocolate. Sinful…very sinful…
Joël Robuchon never ceases to impress and this is no exception.
– 17.5/20
La Cuisine de Joël Robuchon
13-15 West Street
London WC2H 9NE
England
T: +44 (0207) 010 8600
W: www.joel-robuchon.com
100215 La Cuisine - Stairs leading up to the 1st floor
100215 La Cuisine - View of the open kitchen
100215 La Cuisine - The kitchen surrounds the restaurant
Read the rest of this entry »
