It’s been 2 years
since I came home. And boy prices have gone up in the last 2 years; eating out
suddenly became a bit of a hefty habit. The price gap between local ‘cheap
eats’ and international brands have narrowed considerably too.
I hit 2 Michelin
restaurants in the 2 weeks, Mandarin Grill + Bar and Amber at Mandarin Oriental
Landmark. Mandarin Grill has been sitting on my list for years, and this time I
decided to treat my folks for an extraordinary tuen lin dinner.
We started with some
warm puffs with a melted gushing cheese centre while I picked from the a la
carte.
Then we were
introduced 5 types of olive oils from the cart, each with a detailed
description of the oil characteristics, origins and aromas. I went for the
Spanish one with a hint of green apple fragrance; folks both had the
recommended French olive oil with a nose of hazelnut.
Followed by a trio of
amuse bouche: air-dried Jerusalem artichoke; savoury cookie with parmesan
shavings and Olive.
Each was beautifully
crafted, with unexpected textures and delicate flavours. Out of the selection
my personal favourite was the olive, a droplet injected with concentrated olive
juice, exploded in mouth.
Egg & Bacon
Mum started with this
stunning dish. The dish was
assembled at our table in a cart, where our server talked through each step,
starting with cracking the organic duck egg from US on a heated sizzler,
followed by the softest, most tender slab of Spanish suckling pig as the
‘bacon’. The presentation was remarkable, smelt divine and tasted
out-of-this-world.
Winter
This was a combination
of root vegetables cooked in various methods on a bed of black truffle puree,
topped with cauliflower foam and a crazy amount of truffle shaving.
Dad didn’t fall in
love with this. Sadly the veg were leaning on the bland side, and the celeriac
was too bitter. The overpowering truffle dominated and smothered the dish.
Sea
I opted for a cold
starter of hamachi (yellowtail), toro, oysters, scallop and caviar, paired with
green apple discs and emulsion. The fruitiness from the apple and the fatty
sashimi were in beautiful harmony. It added a new touch to the already top
class ingredients, taking it up the level above best.
Venison
Our server removed a
cloudy bell jar to reveal this. He explained Chef wanted to created a
forest-like atmosphere, and he went ahead to light the pine leaves to release
woody, earthy fragrance. Then carefully transferred the venison onto my scenic
‘plate’, dusted with deer footprints. Then he placed chocolate leaves on the
meat before pouring hot jus over them for the chocolate sauce.
And the meat was perfect
beyond words; the rareness, bloodiness was balanced by the bittersweet jus,
each piece of meat was made more memorable by the gentle smokiness it absorbed
from the lit pine. Pure pleasure.
Beef ‘Calotte’
The meat came from US
Snake River farm and the cut is the cap of rib-eye, tender but less fatty and
more flavourful than the regular rib-eye.
Presented in the
Mandarin Cookbook, the two slabs of blushing medium rare steak were resting
beside what seemed like charcoal. There was no mistake about the beef, it was
incredibly tender and flavoursome with a touch of gaminess, grilled to absolute
perfection.
The smaller charcoals
were carrots, and the largest lump was a Japanese root vegetable, which
resembled a cross between taro and potato, rather tasteless by nature. The
luscious mash on the side, however, completely bowled me over.
Sirloin
Dad’s sirloin was
voted the best of the lot. Slightly fattier than the Calotte, also means
juicier, but it didn’t compromise on the meaty flavours. A simpler less-is-more
ensemble for the sirloin to shine through.
The ultra light and
fluffy fungi puff on the side was equally delightful.
Light Bulb
The enchanting bulbs
were made with sugar filled with coconut foam, served with pineapple, mango and
coconut ice cream and diced mango. Loved it.
Oreo
I originally went for
Mushroom, which our server described as tiramisu shaped as mushrooms. He
recommended their signature oreo instead.
I can’t say this was
as impressive; the dish arrived with a wavy strip of cream and the server
flooded it with dark chocolate espuma before sprinkling oreo crumbs on
top. Yea okay the chocolate was
high quality stuff but we are no strangers to posh chocs…
Finally our petit
fours with truffles and an edible chocolate board.
Sommelier recommended
a French pinot noir from 2002 to go with my venison. Spot on. I think even Mum
stole a couple of gulps. Yes at £40 a glass it’s overpriced, but wines are
generally extortionate in HK anyway. (A bottle of Bordeaux I bought for 27
euros in Paris is sold at $989 in a supermarket here, that’s £80!)
What can I say?
Mandarin Grill was superior. It delivered a remarkable dining experience that
took care of every aspect of our senses. Each dish came with impeccable
presentation and an element of surprise. Beneath the blanket of pretty
exterior, it delivered winning recipes, exquisite ingredients and flawless
execution. Needless to say service was by far the best I experienced in any
Hong Kong fine-dining restaurants. Bill came to $4300 for 3 people, and guess
what, even Mum thought it was worth the money. Mandarin Grill was the
masterclass of world-class.
Level 3 Mandarin
Oriental
Connaught Road
Central
Tel: (+852) 2825 4004
Sounds amazing, this is next on ly list for HK :)
ReplyDeleteThe lightbulb dessert is right up my alley too!