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2013-06-24
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When I first heard of the restaurant "Tate", I instinctively thought of London (yes, because of "Tate Modern".. "Tate Britain"..) and my interest in "Tate" the restaurant formed ever so naturally (yes yes, London always has a special spot in my heart).=Tate is filled with elegant warm colours (white, cream and light grey), high ceilings, softly lit, it seats less than 30 diners per night. Food predominantly French with Japanese influences. Vicky Lau, ex-designer and ex Cépage chef, is the master
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Tate is filled with elegant warm colours (white, cream and light grey), high ceilings, softly lit, it seats less than 30 diners per night. Food predominantly French with Japanese influences. Vicky Lau, ex-designer and ex Cépage chef, is the mastermind at the kitchen counter. Two sets to choose from. A six-course "sensualist" menu at HK$780 or a nine-course "gastronomy" menu at HK$1080. We were admittedly greedy and went for the nine-course one (with wine pairing; at HK$328).
To start us off, on the left, warm bread (the fair white buns, the nice wheat & raisin bread; and the interesting, very crispy grissini with squid ink). On the right, Amuse Bouche - Beatroot with Goat Cheese topped with Foie Gras Mousse. The Foie Gras Mousse was flavourful itself; but to me, the Beatroot and the Goat Cheese undermined each other's flavour instead of complimented it (made it rather tasteless). The whole thing did not really awe me. Personally, I did not find this a very memorable start (but thankfully, what followed were truly delectable!).
"The Beginning". Now, this (in total contrast) was a complete WOW. First, loved its presentation with the cute pot plant nesting in the middle of some "mud"; it was artsy and inviting (I see Vicky Lau's artistic background sipping through already). The combination of sweet corn puree and lime cream; smooth, creamy and sensual. Tate got the balance just right and the scumptious cream literally sent tingling sweet sensations up my glands (!!). Bacon bits and black pepper crumble were hid within the cream and brought along more complex texture and robust elements of flavour. Very appetising. A divine beginning.
Next up the dramatically presented and enticing - "Passion Marinated Scallop". White ceramic bowl filled with sea goodies sitting in the middle of a swirling cloud of white smoke generated by dry ice. Japanese, and not just Japanese influences, screaming through (lol). The main component is juicy hokkaido scallop dices, served together with sea urchin and caviar (hmm the natural sea-type-salty taste totally worked). This dish did not disappoint and undeniably brought to us very fresh scallops. The passion fruit soy vinaigrette was not overpowering at all; more of the soy vinegar element (instead of the passion fruit angle, which I might have preferred) shone through. Probably not a dish most testing of cooking techniques, but still we applaude this delightful quality dish.
"Eel Foie Gras Terrine". Classic fine-dinning style presentation. The strip of eel was chewy and evenly smoked displaying delicate aroma of cigar box; the dense and elegantly creamy foie gras cubes blended in very well. The sake kasu cream and ginger gelee uplifted the dish adding subtle zesty and gingery notes with a hint of sweetness. I adored this combination and its explosive and complex flavours. The innovative cucumber apple maki was cute and refreshing (but I did not think it worked much on my palate).
I was super excited when I saw "Liquid Casear Salad" on the menu, but the execution was not that impressive. Innovative idea - casear salad in soup form. Creamy and smooth lettuce soup in a deep soothing healthy green colour, with smoked trout slices and a quail egg sitting in the middle, mini bacon bits and crunchy sourdough crouton floating around. The soup was herbaceous, but it tasted slightly dull and on the bland side for me. Perhaps consider adding a bit more bacon bits and smoked trout for more smokey flavours? Even better, consider creating and putting cold salad cream foam / mayannoise-scented ice-cream as "dressing" to complete the dish with a kick?
"Pan Sauteed Amadai". What stood out was the deep brown onion consomme, I could smell the fragrant aroma before tasting it. The amadai was fresh, and well-cooked in the warm and rich consomme - moist, soaked up all the oiniony flavours, with the daikon puree and deep fried enoki mushroom on top giving the fish a light peppery punch. A fine example of a good dish with not too many and over-complex flavours.
I absolutely loved the "Sakura Ebi Tagliolini". Sakura ebi - quite clearly Japanese inspired. The pasta size was just right (not too big and this was good; big portions just do not work for tasting menus) and every single bite was fantastic (I was savouring every last bite.. did not want to finish it). Perfectly al dente (no jokes) tagliolini soaked in delicious and condensed lobster broth with sakura ebi lined up and kombu powder and dill sprinkled on top. Complex and heavy waves of aroma shone through reminding me of fresh seaweed and fabulous seafood. Cheese is not often added to pasta with seafood since it could wash over the natural fragrance; but the parmesan foam here absolutely aced it. Scrumptious!!
Now the crowning glory - "Kagoshima Beef Tenderloin". We agreed that this was absolutely the best dish of the night. This was a truly perfect execution. The quality of the cut itself was awesome, the beef was very tender, juicy and melted in our mouths. I have had mouth-melting beef cuts before, but not often I had such perfect fat-balanced mouth-meltng beef. This cut I had on the night, melted in my mouth without making me feel all fat, oily, greasy, gross (the list goes on..). Very spot-on level of doneness as well, see the gorgous pink meat? The gorgeously flavourful beef was worked well with the exquisitely velvety and buttery miso potato puree, some nicely seasoned crunchy asparagus and grilled morel mushrooms by the side as well. The truffle jus dressing was just the perfect finishing touch. Absolutely amazing! I would revisit again just for this.
"Soleil" - French for the sun. It was a refreshing dessert with mixed exotic fruit flavours. Cute presentation with the snow-white bomb resting on top of the orange mango soup. We were told it was "alphonso mango", seasonal mangoes are considered as one of the best in terms of sweetness, richness and flavour. And indeed, the soup was extremely fruity and aromatic. When I hammered into the bomb, I saw many different elements - sobert, partfait and mousse. As I tasted it, it felt like a harmounous piece - pleasantly full of exotic fruits (mangoes, bananas and coconuts), yohurt with a hint of zestiness (limes and grapefruits).
We ended with the "Tate's dessert cart", which was basically petit four presented on a cute little cart (it had real wheels!). As usual, I took a tiny small bite off each piece to decide which (if any) worthed any further calorie intake. Unfortunately none did, the petit four were not memorable at all (but the cart itself was). Nevertheless, we were so filled and full by then; we did not really dwell on this.=
All in all, Tate ticked every box for a relaxing fine dining experience.
I am glad that my instinct (an interest stemmed from my illogical "association" of Tate the restaurant with London) worked out right, very right actually.
I guess, the lesson learnt is - sometimes, you just have to trust your instinct and what feels right in your heart.
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