Oh Josephine ! Je crois bien qu’elle a eu un coup de foudre pour Amber, à Hong Kong….

HK, Amber, salle

Hong Kong: Amber – that Wild Kid on the Playground

hk, Amber, serveur

 

I’m currently reading a book called ‘Decisive’ by Chip & Dan Heath, quite interesting read with lots of practical advices on how to make better decisions, and has surprising insights on how often people make wrong decisions.

HK, Amber plat 1Hk, Amber, plat 2

However, that’s how indecisive I am; and probably the reason I always go for tasting menus if I see them…

The tasting menu of Amber – or, the ‘9th degustation menu’ – is made of 8 signature dishes (incl. two deserts); and that, became a strange experience…

To be honest, the complimentary welcome small dishes were interesting looking but nothing really remarkable; the Lollipop-like foie gras confit in sauterne gel was fun in its presentation but not really the taste. The ebisu magaki oyster (steamed at 70 degrees and served cold), also nicely presented and cut, was pretty pleasant until I hit the plummy part of the dressing which was too overwhelming and disturbed the balance.

But then, it was the hokkaido sea urchin (in a lobster jell-O with cauliflower, caviar crispy seaweed waffles) that made the first hammer of the meal. If you happen to know the legendary Le Caviar of Mr. Joël Robuchon, you’ll have guessed that our chef Richard Ekkebus here might have worked for him somewhere before (which he did, in Hong Kong). The concept and flavour of this dish is very similar to that Le Caviar of Atelier Joël Robushon, but with the sweat sea urchin and its unique texture, this one has more layers of complexity and gives much more stimulus while tasting it. It is remarkably fine and complex, yet everything goes so perfectly together, and the subtle savor lingers long, both on your palate and on your mind… It goes also pe….rfectly with the seaweed waffles that come along…

Hk, Amber, oursin

 

That was a heaven dish…

 

Then comes the Normandy diver scallops( seared with lardo di belotta, caramelized celeriac root, black winter truffle  golden celery leaves & patanegra de bellota bouillon), a bit too salty for my taste, and quite frankly, a bit of a disappointment for me as a scallop lover; and the truffle seemed to have nothing to do with the rest of the ingredients…

 

And again, there was the other heaven dish – duck foie gras steamed with fondant daikon radish & seaweed broth (miso soup), it was, I’m afraid, the best foie gras I’ve had– that’s how good it was! The gentle touch (in perfect amount too) of sweet sour daikon radish balances the fattiness of the foie gras so nicely, while the miso soup delights the overall flavor in ultimate sophistication… Every single ingredient made the combination tasting better, without overpowering the mellow, juicy and satisfying piece of foie gras….No, it was not a ‘heaven dish’ – it was truly heaven…

hk, Amber, fg

 

The rest of the meal – kagoshima wagyu beef strip loin (oven roasted, purée of ‘forgotten’ cévennes onion braised short ribs with seasonal green leaves), the selection of French unpasteurized cheeses (matured by Bernard Antony), and the 2 deserts, were, to be honest, a bit of a underperformance… It was almost weird to come to the cheese selection part – after the rather solid starters and mains, we had to choose 4-5 from 14 something sorts of cheeses, which would be about too much for most of us civilized diners… Not to mention the 2 deserts that were about to follow.

It was, again, a strange experience – for that the tasting menu seemed to try too hard wanting to give its all at once; for that some of the dishes were heaven while the rest did hardly leave an impression… It was like a wild, smart kid on that playground, knowing he’s somewhat different and trying to be liked in his way – direct and sincere, therefor very charming…

I’m looking forward to going back though, perhaps on my next trip to Hong Kong.

Oh, and the place looked gorgeous and the ambience impressing sensual, in a very Hongkongese way.

Price: HK$ 1,888 per person for tasting menu. : 7/F, the Landmark Mandarin Oriental, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong.

+852 2132 0066