Mister spoilt me in every way during this
brief trip. A leisurely lunch at the 2-Michelin star Amber was just one of the
many treats he prepared. I smirked when he was greeted as Doctor Leung as we
came out of the elevator. Strangely I was glowing with pride inside.
Amuse
Bouche Foie Gras lollipop & Crab crepe
The roll was particularly good, creamed
crab meat infused with lime and lemongrass to a thick cream-like texture,
wrapped in a crispy wafer.
Royal
oyster no.1 served
over pickled kyuri cucumber jell-o, greek ‘hung’ yoghurt, fresh green apple
sorbet
This could have been a winning combination.
The crisp cleanness of the cucumber and refreshing sweetness of green apple
should almost always work with oysters. Unfortunately there was too much
crunchiness in the accompaniments it drowned the oysters. Or the oysters
weren’t strong enough in flavour. I felt this dish tipped off balance with
over-complexity.
Duck
Foie Gras ballotine,
pink lady apples with verjus, puree of kabocha pumpkin, crispy ginger bread
The liver terrine was smooth and less heavy
with the pepper kick, went well with the warm toasted airy brioche served on
the side. It was nice, but not remarkable.
Wild
Venison stew
ravioli, with Barolo vinegar glazed heirloom beetroots, cranberries &
pickled pearl onion shells
Mister wasn’t too sure about this giant
raviolo stuffed with shredded venison so I offered to swap. I thought it was
okay, the meat carried powerful gamey tang that was carefully balanced by the
various succulent cubes on the top. I must admit it was lacking in finesse and
flavours were one-dimensional.
Iberian
Pork ‘Pluma’ dusted
with ‘quatre epices’ then chargrilled, kabocha pumpkin, fresh hazelnuts &
vintage sherry vinaigrette
It was easy to see why the Maitre’d whole
heartedly recommended this; tender blocks of Iberian pork with evenly
distributed fat cooked beautifully to medium rare. There was a touch of fusion
with the Chinese spices on the pork, and it drew out the nuttiness of the meat.
This brought me back to the happy days when we had a similar dish by Nuno
Mendes in Taste of London, except this was even better.
Pre-dessert
Coconut ice cream lollies
Tainnori
64% chocolate
& black tea ‘delice’ over a meyer lemon jell-o & milk sorbet
Note to self: never have lemon jelly
related desserts, ever. During one of my visits to Sketch in London, I was
served a lemon gelatin something. I left it almost untouched because it was
face-wincingly sour. This was too. No way this could have been milk sorbet, it
was lime. The chocolate delice was fine, dense and indulgent, but trust me,
nowhere rich enough to call in a lemon to lift the weight.
Chestnut
ice cream,
brown rum marinated raisins & pastry ‘diplomat’ cream served as a
deconstructed ‘millefeuille’
Mister’s choice was ace. Crispy, buttery
pastry with custard-like cream and mildly sweet chestnut puree. This was
gorgeous.
Petit
Fours
Presentation was great; 3 tiers of
miniature goodies. I was served coffee before my dessert, leaving the petit
fours a bit too heavy on their own at the end. Had I been offered the choice, I
would have preferred having my macchiato with the small sweet treats.
Service was generally excellent, except for
one server who quite frankly, tainted the meal to an extent. It’s her pace; the hurried shuffles,
rushed introductions to the dishes and snatching our plates the second after I
placed the cutlery on my finished plate. When setting our new cutlery, she
rattled the silverware in the box, started with my fork, then Mister’s set and
then finishing with my knife and crossed over to place another spoon, looking
everywhere except for the table that she was working on. I mean you don’t have
to smile but it’d be nice if you didn’t look so angry.
Overall the meal was pleasant. Though I
would say it didn’t hit all the spots for me, yet nothing was outlandishly bad.
I think Amber delivered a Michelin lunch, perhaps not necessarily a 2-star one.
Given the choice, I’d probably opt for L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon. That said I
enjoyed it and I am very glad I tried it.
Just a note to friends less familiar with
Central: There is a Mandarin Oriental and a Mandarin Oriental Landmark. These are two different
buildings, though in proximity. The former houses the Mandarin Grill and Pierre
while the latter nests Amber and the Joel Roubuchon selection.
The Landmark Mandarin Oriental
15 Queen's Road Central
Central
Hong Kong
Tel: (+852) 2132 0188
You may also like: Mandarin Grill + Bar, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Iggy's
Landmark Mandarin hotel have always been a good hotel since I was still a child, my father and I used to got to Hongkong and stayed there. My dad told me that their food is really good since I need to eat healthy foods for having a zinc deficiency, and good restaurant like this is the best for me.
ReplyDeleteI hardly eat at posh eateries when I'm in HK, but this time in HK (dec), we did go to Sevva and the Ritz which were both great. would recommend if you are still in hk.
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