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2012-12-27
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After hearing so many positive remarks regarding how great the Robuchon in Macau is, I have always been extremely intrigued to try. Having had the pleasure of dining at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Hong Kong a number of times I can vouch that it is already very good, so when the opportunity arose to have dinner there with Mr. C I was immensely looking forward to see just how spectacular Robuchon au Dome could be.Situated on the 43rd level, Robuchon au Dome is so grand. Richly decorated yet not
Situated on the 43rd level, Robuchon au Dome is so grand. Richly decorated yet not overtly ostentatious it really conveys the feeling of entering a 3-star Michelin restaurant. Once you step out of the elevator you are greeted efficiently by the cheerful host, but before making your way towards the table, take a second to admire the impressive chandelier that is suspended high above the domed ceiling as it really is stunning~
We were seated at a table overlooking the water, and I am sure that during the day with clear blue skies, the view must be pretty amazing. Robuchon au Dome offers both a set menu and a la carte. We chose to go a la carte, ordering a number of items to share so we could try more dishes~
A significant thing to note about Robuchon au Dome is their use of numerous trolleys to serve a variety of items. I know that Le Jardin in Hong Kong uses a dessert and cheese trolley, but in Macau they have one for bread, butter, dessert, home-made ice-creams, cheese and for their petite fours also known as the lolly trolley.. It seems a bit over the top, but each trolley is special in its own right and allows guests a bit of indecisive fun and indulgence when making their selections.
I have to admit that I was quite anticipating the bread trolley as reviews have labelled it visually quite impressive and it did not disappoint. Baskets of freshly baked bread all laid out prettily, Mr. C chose baguettes and a type of puff, while I picked the tomato foccacia, olive roll, cheese roll and chestnut bread. The quality of bread is really good similar to the ones you can eat in Hong Kong, so definitely no issues here. After our bread selection, the butter trolley appeared, two rounded blocks of salted or unsalted butter to choose from, however, if like me you are not particular to butter they also have a wonderful olive oil available.
The amuse bouche that evening came in two parts. First were two finger-food items, a red bell pepper mousse on a crisp biscuit and a cheese puff while the second item was a cold Kabocha pumpkin veloute with ginger jelly and toasted pumpkin seeds. I always enjoy the veloutes when dining at L'Atelier and this was no different. Full-bodied and creamy, the pumpkin flavour was quite delicate, with the crunchy pumpkin seeds releasing a heady, nutty fragrance. Although the jelly on the bottom did not taste very gingery, its cool and slippery texture added a refreshing touch to the overall dish.
For appetisers, we ordered three to share. First to come was Le Caviar. This was arranged as three items: salmon tartare with shiso sprouts and caviar, lobster jelly of caviar with cauliflower emulsion and sweet corn veloute with lemon grass cream. The corn veloute was lovely and smooth, the natural sweetness of the corn shone through, and coupled with the salty caviar it was a perfect pairing. The salmon tartare was prettily presented, decorated with basil flowers and crowned with caviar. Tasting the tartare on its own, I found it to be quite delicate, a little bland even, but together with the caviar it tasted much better. We were suggested to spoon down to the bottom of the small bowl of the lobster jelly, as underneath was a layer of caviar. The jelly itself was really intense with the essence of lobster and coupled with the caviar, it veered on the edge of being too salty.
Next was Le Langoustine. A solitary plumply stuffed ravioli with sliced white truffle, braised savoy cabbage and a fois gras sauce. Ever since Mr. C had recommended this dish to me, I had fallen head over heels in love with it~ Fresh, bouncy scampi encased in an al dente pasta skin, the fois gras sauce was sinfully rich and together with the aromatic truffles.. it was an absolute pleasure to eat~. I dare say that it might even be slightly better than the ones I have had in Hong Kong Highly recommended!
Our last appetiser was Le Fois Gras. Also arriving as three components, there was a steamed fois gras in vegetable mille-feuille, seared fois gras with marinated red radish and an emulsion of fois gras in cepes cappuccino. I adore fois gras, so when this was served I was very excited The mille-feuille was beautiful to look at~ each layer was practically of equivalent thickness and I sincerely admired the effort used in putting together this creation. It was surprisingly light in taste despite the use of fois gras, but still enjoyable. The fois cappuccino tasted exactly like the sauce used in Le Langoustine, rich with an additional earthy flavour from the cepes mushrooms. Really good~ As for the seared fois gras, I had no qualms with this at all. Seared to a crisp on the outside, the inside remained wonderfully soft where each mouthful was absolutely decadent. To cut through the oiliness from the fois gras, the red radish slices were a perfect accompaniment, sweet and sour with a pleasant pickled-like taste.
For mains we shared the Amadai and L'Agneau. I have had both dishes at L'Atelier in HK and I thorougly enjoyed both so I was intrigued to see how well they would prepare them here. The Amadai was pan-fried with its skin fried to a crisp where you could see each individual scale and was paired with a creamy artichoke and bacon jus. The fish was cooked just right, the flesh was so soft and matched perfectly with the gorgeously crunchy skin. Absolutely stunning!
The other main of french lamb was delicous as well, rolled in black truffle and slow cooked till a blushing rose pink it was very very tender. Don't dismiss the side of mashed potatos though, Robuchon is famed for its mash, creamy and buttery.. just don't think about how much butter was used in achieving that dreamy texture
And then to dessert~!The signature La Sphere was the first to arrive. To be honest I have never ordered one of these to have to myself since the ones offered in Hong Kong are always a fruity flavour that never really appealed to me, but here it was chocolate Served as a pretty pale golden sugar sphere, I really did not want to destroy it, but Mr. C went straight ahead and cracked his with his spoon revealing a center of chocolate mousse~ The mousse was exactly to my taste, dark and not too sweet and I loved the toasted sweet crunch of the caramalised hazelnuts.
We also ordered two souffles to share, Le Marron and L'Oeuf de Poule. Le Marron was chestnut flavoured with a touch of Cognac paired with a praline ice-cream. This was not too bad, the souffle was perfectly risen and the aroma of chestnut was warm and inviting. My favourite part of this dessert was actually the Marron glace, served on the side. It did not look like much, but the simpleness of the naturally sweet chestnut covered in a sugar glaze was just so satisfying. Love~
However, the chestnut soufle was definitely overshadowed by the L'Oeuf de Poule. Described as an egg souffle I was quite worried that it would have that awful eggy taste that I detest, however I was so wrong. Perfumed with Tahitian vanilla, evident by the speckling of black seeds it was so fragrant, but what was special about this dessert was the raw egg yolk hidden underneath the softly risen souffle. It may sound quite odd, but it tasted absolutely wonderful~ Definitely something that needs to be tried!
Aside from the main desserts, we were also graced with the presence of the dessert, ice-cream and candy trolley~From the dessert trolley, I had to try their yuzu tart, caramel and walnut(?) tart and of course they offered me a slice of their signature napoleon. The yuzu filling was pleasantly sour, and I liked how the caramel tart was not too sweet with a pleasant crunch from the toasted walnuts. I have never really been a napleon fan, but the version here really blew me away. Three layers of crisp buttery pastry held together by a vanilla cream. Biting into it, you can really feel the delicate shattering of the pastry and paired with the luscious thick cream, it was really quite indulgent.
Their ice-creams were utterly gorgeous. We tried three, I picked salted caramel and of course vanilla as it is my favourite. I know some may roll their eyes and say how boring, but sometimes it is the unadulterated, innocent taste that is so pleasant Mr. C picked the orange flavour with hazelnut pieces, something quite unusual with, well I guess it depends how you say it, an equally unusual Cantonese name
And for petite fours, we had our selection from the candy trolley~ Visually it did not disappoint, a wide selection of chocolates, assorted jellies, lollipops, friands, madelines, nougats and caramels. I wish I had not been so full so that I could have actually sampled my selection, but just seeing it made me more than happy already~Absolutely spectacular, I enjoyed every moment at Robuchon au Dome and yes I know that most guests like to come here for lunch because technically speaking it is value for money, but I would really recommend coming here and experiencing their dinner service~
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