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2014-09-07
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Checking out newbies in the dining scene incessantly the past few months, we took a pause and returned to one of the classics in HK - Mandarin Grill + Bar. I could not help but take a picture of the plate before the server took it away. This exactly depicted how I felt about Mandarin Oriental in general and of course Mandarin Grill + Bar. I started off the night with a glass of Bellini, and while we were reading through the menu, our journey had already begun and little surprises from Amuse Bouc
Checking out newbies in the dining scene incessantly the past few months, we took a pause and returned to one of the classics in HK - Mandarin Grill + Bar. I could not help but take a picture of the plate before the server took it away. This exactly depicted how I felt about Mandarin Oriental in general and of course Mandarin Grill + Bar. I started off the night with a glass of Bellini, and while we were reading through the menu, our journey had already begun and little surprises from Amuse Bouche arrived one by one on the table.
How could you not love this warm cheese puff? Take it by one bite and silky smooth cheese flowed gently and invaded your cavity. Honestly, I could not recall clearly how the second snack tasted, but the fluffy shreds were also of parmesan, they were parmesan crusted cookies. Just loved the indulge in cheese even right at the start of dinner.
One followed by another, the third snack was served - the two tiny brown and green spheres were rendition of brown and green olives. I took the green while he took the brown. The intense flavor was indeed well preserved in the olive juice.
I am a big fan of MO's bread that I used to sneak out a lot for its muffins in the mornings, for its raisin scones at 3 in the afternoon and could not stop working on its bread basket once I picked my first bun. There was a selection of 4 kinds of olive oil to pick for your preference, mostly of Italian and French origin. Foccacia and the roll with sun-dried tomato were my favorite in the basket. The final snack came while we were happily munching our bread.
We decided on a la carte for the night and after a delightful and appetizing start, we moved onto Oysters. Unfortunately, there was no Gillardeau, we picked 2 other kinds along with Fines de Claires. I was no expert in this area, but I could tell I adored their creamy sweetness and nuttiness, and the marine aroma and saltiness from la Fines de Claire.
Moving onto appetizer, he had his off-menu Lobster Bisque. Fresh and chewy lobster meat was perfect compliment to the strongly flavored creamy soup. I just had one bite but already came to understood why this was one of his favorites =)
I had this artistically crafted Summer. Consisted of Tomato paste, Mozarella cubes, Parmesan, Balsamic, Ham, you could pick a small piece of Foccacia to wipe the plate from the top to bottom and savor all those tastes in one go. The tomato paste and mozarella cubes were well balanced even though they were not in their usual form. Mandarin Grill's interpretation of this classic appetizer, along with Il Milione's, are definitely the two best in town.
This was certainly one of the best dishes for the night - Cote de Boeuf - french, hugo desnoyer, truffle, "leather", bordelaise. Hugo Desnoyer is no doubt the butcher for top-notch chefs, and this cote de boeuf was impeccable. We had it cooked medium rare and each slice was gracefully cut apart with ease, and melted slowly in your cavity. The bordelaise red wine sauce and truffle were in perfect harmony with the beef, but the best part was still the beef flavor itself. Certainly the dish to order for all beef lovers.
And another round of applause for the dairy cow pattern on the plate!
I picked fish for my main - Amadai - japanese, line caught, tartarte, souffle, salad. I loved how the tartare sauce was prepared as tiny dots of cucumber, potato, egg yolk and anchovy mayonnaise. It was in the right portion that it did not enshroud the amadai's aroma. I loved how the skin and scale were not removed and were deep fried to offer a variety of textures (Robuchon also has its amadai cooked in a similar way). The fish meat was quite tender in contrast to the light and crispy skin. Another highlight of the dish was its potato souffle! A very thin crispy shell that is almost airy and weightless!
Salad was served on the side with carrot sticks and thin slices of cucumber.
Dinner could not end without dessert, but our tummies were already bulging out that we decided to take a break before embracing ourselves with sweets. Had to give credits to the server, she voluntarily suggested and offered us 2 cups of hot water with lemon. We had a phenomenal experience at Alinea with Chef Grant Achatz and Chef Mike Bagale creating their magic on the table dessert, so we attempted to revive the moment and decided to have BFG - Chocolate, kirsch & cherry at Mandarin Grill, its table dessert.
The server came over with a trolley full of different kinds of ingredients, covered our table with a grey plastic tablecloth, and started painting. Chocolate mousse and kirsch infused chocolate cake dices were placed inside the baking ring, and the server drew around the ring with cherry sauce.
Nitrogrenated cream was then placed on top of the ring. While smoke continued to be emitted from the cream, the server conscientiously kept up with his pace and decorated the lovely scene with more chocolate powder, chocolate pieces and cherry sauce.
The ring was finally removed and the low temperature of the cream froze the chocolate mousse below - a new rendition of black forest was made. Loved all the different kinds of chocolate products, and even though I was not particularly fond of black forest, this was a much refined version of the cake, just that the kirsch was a little too strong. I tried to avoid the cake dices.
Our dinner was wrapped up by another round of chocolate petit four, which resembled a frozen version of homemade ferrero rocher.
It was a night full of smilies, right from the beginning to the end. Not only was every dish prepared with quality food, but it was also meticulously executed with accuracy and care. A restaurant would not have become a classic solely because of its culinary team. I could not stop myself from emphasizing again the service at Mandarin Oriental remained the benchmark of good quality service in Hong Kong. It is worth coming back despite the ever growing and changing dining scene here.
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