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2016-03-24
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Chef Akrame Benallal has launched a new tasting menu at the 1* Akrame which is paired with the chef's own line of Water Juicery cold pressed juices! I had a good experience during my first visit at lunch last year plus I think this is the first restaurant in HK to offer juice pairing, so I was excited to try the new tasting menu which is available in 4, 6 and 8 courses where each dish will be paired with a different juice. Menus will be priced at 4 courses for $788 with juice pairing at $198, 6
Our amuse bouche comprised of a few small bites including a Black Cuttlefish Biscuit with Smoked Eel, Dauphine Potato with Whole Grain Mustard and Smoked Beef, and Sesame Biscuit with Avocado which served well to arouse our palate.
The homemade bread here was flavorful and served with creamy butter that was infused with Tonka beans.
I had the 4 course menu and the first course was a Soft Boiled Egg with mushroom and pecan nuts which was delightful as the flavors and textures of the mushroom and nuts went exceedingly well with the oozing egg yolk.
The egg was paired with Digestaid which is a blend of pineapple, white cabbage, ginger and mint that was lovely to drink especially with the slight spicy tinge of ginger!
I loved the flavorful black rice in the Sea Bream with turnip and saffron but I thought the fish could have used a bit more seasoning though.
The second course was paired with C-Green which is a healthy blend of parsley, spinach, kale and apple.
For the main course, we had the choice of either Pigeon or Lobster and I chose the latter which is actually a signature dish here where the Boston lobster was steeped in a pot of herb-laden consomme and served at the table. It was a nice surprise to see our lobster being prepared right in front of us to build up our anticipation of the dish.
The delicate lobster was served with seaweed, beetroot and blackberry pickles which was simply divine and my favorite dish of the night!
The third course was paired with the Orange Pour which was a beautiful shade of pink and delicious blend of pomegranate, apple, grape and lemon.
Before dessert, we had a refreshing Mojito Sorbet palate cleanser that was served in an ice container!
Our sweet ending comprised of not one but three desserts starting with the Black Chocolate Tube with Tarragon Ice Cream which was similar to a charcoal dessert I had here the first time since the chef's favorite color is black.
The Mango with Pistachio Cream and Coconut Ice Cream was a refreshingly sweet and tropical dessert.
The Milk Chocolate Custard with Tonka Milk Mousse was my absolute favorite of the three with its velvety textures and rich luscious flavors!
The last course was paired with Pineapple Power which was a blend of tarragon, pineapple, orange, passion fruit, coconut water and lime. The signature sea salt chocolate bar petit four was a nice contrast of saltiness and sweetness which marked the ending of our meal.
Overall, I thought the juice pairings went very well with the light flavors of the dishes and I actually enjoyed the juices by themselves which was super flavorful and invigorating to drink. Follow me on Facebook: supertastermel
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