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2010-01-01
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To see all the Food Photos, please visit Babedolphin's "Supplementary, A-Picture-Is-Worth-A-Thousand Boring Words Photos Site " at : http:\\babedolphin.blogspot.comxxx After fraternising at our rendezvous spot, the remaining 3 decides its prime to do an impromtu dinner as an afterthought rather than based on prior solitary planning! The revivification of the upstairs private-kitchens movement was randomly brought up during that conversation and we decided it could prove just the stimulus
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After fraternising at our rendezvous spot, the remaining 3 decides its prime to do an impromtu dinner as an afterthought rather than based on prior solitary planning! The revivification of the upstairs private-kitchens movement was randomly brought up during that conversation and we decided it could prove just the stimulus we needed, that will settle us into the groove and propel us into the second, climatic stage of the evening! Or so we'd hoped! As we temporarily lost vision re-adjusting eyesight to that darkly lit, very narrow and almost-too-steep a staircase whilst passing by the furniture store level, I did not detect aberrations in our unity of thoughts - we remain poised and on track to push open the door now looming ahead. For once, it almost made me feel proud to be a determined foodie!
On that November night there was no classy Vestibule or grand entrances, only a frail wooden door awaits, studded with barely recognisable letters reading 'members only'... the latter tends to wreak havoc on the soldiers' minds, it making us feel more important than we really are, or they really are! Pausing for breath momentarily, mental images suddenly turn white-washed as I finally came to my senses that as we treaded closer to the truth, any pre-formed anticipation of that realm which we'll be entering into will ultimately prove futile. Afterall, none of us have set foot inside ever. As soon as we enter that unforeseen room beyond the very dark doorway, it'll be as good as anyone's guess.... And that's why Private Kitchens do hold an appeal afterall, as it is serendipitous in nature! Chez Moi in French translates literally as 'My Place' and so fittingly there will be experiments of food tonite from that private little kitchen ! Aware of competing kitchens also serving similar food in Causeway Bay, consensually we agreed upon Chez Moi since none of us have eaten there but apparently there was good feedback from others before us. Add to that, a mid-$350 pricing here for a 5 Course Dinner without service charges isn't outrageous and its a gamble us pundits were willing to take, the odds certainly favours the Diners should it turn out to unravel a pleasant experience worth revisiting, but if that one night of close encounter does not work out right, there's damage limitation in place - so tonight let us: Jin, Jason and I give this kitchen team a chance to prove their worthiness in the business...
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GARLIC & HERBS BREAD -
Toasted soft bread with a bit of dried herbs and garlic butter was acceptable. SCORE: 3.8/5
SAUTEED FRENCH LIVE MUSSEL with WHITE WINE GARLIC SAUCE -
The blue mussels surprisingly resembled the Northern France variety, so using this type of high end mussels as an ingredient shows heart from the shop. Ultimately however this dish proved disappointing! The mussels didn't taste alive or plump, they were without mussel sweetness and too many broken shells were detected with the meat inside, putting the customer at risk of swallowing dangerously sharp shell shards. Either that or the meat was already detached and sunk before it learned to swim in that very thin broth beneath. This sauce was 1 dimensional, lacking the mussel's sweetness, the all important White wine influence nor fresh herbs contribution - all of which should have taken centre-stage. Too annoyingly watery thin - a bit more creme fraiche or even flour wouldn't hurt for both thickness and flavouring. SCORE: 2.0/5
PAN SEARED GOOSE LIVER & SLICED CARAMEL APPLE with PORT WINE SAUCE -
The slicing of the Foie Gras d'oie lobe is quite thick. From the chef's angle, its because they'd wanted to smother our palate with a melting liver experience rather than repeating the usual, thinly grilled versions. Unfortunately serving it in this guise requires meticulous attention to 'de-veining', otherwise the weakness can stick out like a sore thumb. Certain bites for me became an intertwined sensation between unchewable veins and barely cooked 'gras', it became unpleasant after a while as I tried the hardest to swallow but it got overbearingly uncomfortable, bits ended up being spit-out in the end. I shall apologize about my table manners seeing I sat opposite Jason!
And that wasn't the end of our woes. You see, initially when we bit in on the liver, there was a thick & artificially, almost 'bubbly' crunch on the surface, which reminds of popping candy... At that stage in my head I tried to decipher the type of weird flour-coating they had sprinkled onto the surface deliberately, possibly along the line of Sticky Rice Flour as Asians love using it when fellow diner Jin - who despite her lovely and humble appearance knows a lot and should never be underestimated , said its possibly Potato Flour, which makes more sense as it has a large starch granule size. Anyway, from this incident one really sees two sides to the story of how this restaurant operates: from 1 angle, one sees that the kitchen came up with an ingenius idea of using a special starch coating plus thickly cut foie gras, in order to give out a more crunchy exterior without over cooking the soft inner molten centre. At least that was the aim. At the end of the day, it carried flaws in the formula, plus the liver quality really wasn't 'foie gras' enough as it doesn't have enough melty, goose livery essence, definitely not upto tout venant nor restauaration grade. The Port Wine reduction sauce meanwhile was done well, the apple could have been softer. SCORE: 3.0/5
FISHERMEN'S SEAFOOD SOUP -
This carried the usual tomato paste base, but surprisingly the seafood taste manifested itself nicely - from memory, the slightly minced seafood included prawns, more than 2 types of fishes, clams as well as items as exclusive as sea snails. There was a long fish bone in my soup though, which normally shouldn't have been in my soup bowl seeing how all the seafood bits were finely diced, the bone was 5 times the length of anything else within. Nevertheless, enjoyable soup. SCORE: 4.0/5
HOME MADE SHERBET -
Given to be a Palate Cleanser - but I encountered several problems. First of all, I'm not sure its a great idea to introduce it after the soup but before the meat courses, esp. a fishy seafood soup, as it clashed in flavours. 2ndly, this green apple Sherbet should actually be a Sorbet, as sherbets are usually candies but as an ice cream it wouldn't work as a cleanser. Its the 'Jar of Water' or 'Canele' phenomenon recurring all over again, but no one pays attention to! 3rdly, this sorbet's quite densely packed and too sugary sweet, cleansers should be slightly more icy, fluffy and lightly sour to serve its purpose! So whilst having a posh Cleanser calculated as part of your 5 Course Dinner Meal might sound like a novel marketing idea - the way this 'Sherbet' was served was off the mark and might have been more successful served at the end of the meal, as a 2nd dessert instead! SCORE: 1.5/5
PAN FRIED COD FISH with TRUFFLED CREAM SAUCE -
The truffle flavour was scanty and not aromatic, and not surprisingly based on truffle paste which really isn't exactly truffles - nevertheless, its still enjoyable and buttery. The Cod Fish itself was slightly over-cooked and on the verge of flaky, sacrificing the meat quality though the skin was slightly crispy. The pumpkin mash was perfectly seasoned and moist, the side bundle of chinese green beans wrapped by bacon strip was a nice additional touch which again highlights our observation throughout the night that this restaurant really does put in additional thoughts to try improve the dining experience, at least this time it worked. The Grilled-Tomato however was very sour for some reason! SCORE: 3.5/5
AUSTRALIAN WAGYU RIB-EYE with RED WINE SAUCE (ADD $30) -
Ordered Medium-Rare instead of Rare Plus, it came out about right by international standards but others might judge it as slightly over-grilled as its pink without red jus. It had a charry browned surface, with some aroma from the maillaird reaction. The Beef had both beef and also marbled-fat taste together, its definitely a cross-bred Wagyu so sometimes being a cheaper wagyu has its benefits! The sauce was based on commercialised demi-glace stock, just like most other places, but the side vegetables and a different french bean to the above dish were surprisingly ok. SCORE: 4.0/5
US LAMB T-BONE STEAK with MASHED VEGETABLE -
After trying the Beef above, this was a big let down and received universal cussing. A bit tough and unwilling to part way with the attached bone - the meat quality was questionable and it had a gamey taste of the unpleasant variety rather than enjoyable type! This really was below par but then again, one needs to think about how this restaurant ditches the usual lamb racks and experiments with a T-Bone version. Vegies basically same as in fish dish, so it was never designed from the outset to complement and enhance the central scheme, but only there for a sake of having some greens. Nevertheless, local multi-starred Michelin restaurants serves the same - so at this price point its fair. SCORE: 1.5/5
BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING with ICE CREAM -
This seemed crustily dry and doesn't have much butter or eggy taste, it was the non-custard type version. The Ice-Cream wasn't very vanilla like, but the cream sauce under the pudding had some vanilla essence. Not a very good pudding and not finished. SCORE: 2.0/5
JAPANESE PUMKIN CHEESE CAKE -
Mispelling here spotted on the menu, like sherbet above! Although not explained to us, this was meant to be eaten as an ice-cream cake version with partially frozen layers. No cream-cheese taste was detected but the pumpkin layer fared better. No one seemed to enjoy this dessert much except me, it really wasn't that bad... It also comes with a miniature Red Apple on the side, most likely sourced from Japan, as well as some fresh berries. Simple dessert done ok-well. SCORE: 3.8/5
REGULAR COFFEE -
Coffee was acridly and honestly quite terrible, its not even aromatic. However it came with pre-warmed creamy milk on the side, another nice touch and pouring in some of this salvaged a ridiculous coffee into something at least drinkable! SCORE: 2.0/5
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SUMMARY - Our table became vocally critical of many dishes, it turned out to be another Quasi-French experience rather than a real deal, the executions in some dishes far from hitting the home run! The only consolation is that the dining space had a romantic air to the setting, its really great for a friendly gathering or for a first date (unless you take Jin here, then you won't see her again since she knows food too well and so naturally, carries higher expectations! ). Service here is faultless & warm, good wine glasses are provided at one's disposal without corkaging fees, plus the myriad of invisible things that we uncovered during the night as highlighted above became positive traits - there was ample evidence from the way they tried reinventing the wheel with many things! The kitchen at least tried to inject into their dishes some heart and additional thoughfulness, unlike the lackadaisical attempts by other similar businesses. Pity some ideas needed more tweaks. Already in anticipation of writing this pending future review my mind was lacking lucidity and in gamut mode, as we discussed and debated over what scores or emoticon to award to them eventually. It duly deserves applause in a way, or at least another chance, despite poor showings here and there. As for the verdict? A languid, provisional Smile for now...
1) For all Food Photos, please visit Babedolphin's "Supplementary Photos Site" at : http:\\babedolphin.blogspot.com
2) For More Information and an Alternative View, please visit Jason's Blog at : http://jason-bonvivant.blogspot.com/2009/12/chez-moi.html
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