Jules Bistro (已結業)

I enjoy French dishes but find it difficult to locate a good and home feel French restaurant in Hong Kong.  In most cases, the price for French food in Hong Kong is either over priced or there is something wrong with the quality.  Just happened that I had a meeting at Happy Valley, I passed by Jules Bistro and had a quick look of its decoration inside.   Its simple setting and small premises gave me a warm feeling. I decided to give it a try on the next day .    I ordered onion soup and wild boar with red wine sauce as recommended by the waitress, a friednly lady but I forgot to ask her name.  The dishes were very simple and very basic; and I was not disappointed.  It reminded me the country style and home feel at the outer skirt of Lyon.  I don't know why I had such a feeling but it was the way it went.  I would not say the dishes are cheap but given of the food quality, it is reasonable.  I could not take wine for health reason but I think it will be much enjoyable for having the dishes pairing with some good wine. The restaurant serves basic dessert but I could not go further and had to skip it.   The espresso is not of my taste.  My last comment: I will be back. 继续阅读

The food was exceptional, service friendly and professional. Could really recommend the spring chicken, oxtail and the thin apple tart with vanilla ice cream was exquisite! Would recommend it for a romantic and fair priced dinner. 继续阅读

When friends come to my flat in Happy Valley for the first time, they usually ask me what's good to eat here. I always reply, not much. There are ok places but nothing worth recommending to anyone to make that trip in. Until now.Recently, a French bistro opened down the street from where I live. It's painted in antique red with curtains up so you really can't see what's inside. But every time I walk by on my way home, I wonder what the deal was? And oddly, there were always people inside. Day and night, they had customers. This, dear readers, is a rarity in Happy Valley because when the sun goes down, most of the restaurants here grow quiet.From local media, it appeared the chef is Laurent Brouard, former catering chef to Chez Patrick. From their official website, they describe it as a goal to bring good honest food to all just like his grandfather in Paris.I arrived for lunch and was greeted with a bonjour from the waiter. There are only three people working there. Two waiters and the chef. The restaurant is small but every little detail is so French. Just like the bistros in France. Especially the little hidden ones that aren't in the tourist areas. The ones that are owned by a small family who work hard to make you a real French meal. Every detail is there, right down to the French music they played. I felt like I was in the film, Amelie from Montmartre. Especially when the one of the waiters and the chef started to sing in French as they placed napkins and glassware.One end is a deli area.There the chef cooks away, places his finished meals on the counter and says "Service!" They also do take away here.Very serious knife for cutting meat. Love the checkered napkin.They have a regular menu and an decent wine list. However, like most French bistros, they have the daily special (plats du jour) on a black chalkboard that they bring to you and place on a chair for you to decide. Menu is all in English or French. If you are not sure what it is, the staff are eager to explain. They do have one Cantonese speaking waiter.As it was my first time here, I wanted to try the plats du jour of duck breast in truffle sauce and French onion soup. First time here ... gotta start with the classics. They do ask if you want bottled water, but you can request regular tap water.Bread basket. A bread basket was presented to me of sliced baguettes. The bagettes were wonderfully crusty on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. I didn't use the butter but used it to mop up the sauce. It mopped up wonderfully.French onion soup ($78). I want to start by saying portion size is HUGE. Normally when I go to a French restaurant in Hong Kong, this soup is served in a cup and you're finished pretty quick. This was in a huge soup tureen. It was so large, they had two large slices of baguettes loaded with guyre cheese floating on top with room to spare! There was also A LOT of soft, sweet onions. The broth had a rich beef flavor that was fragrant with a generous dose of thyme. The guyre cheese was strong and decandent. This was possibly the best French onion soup I've ever had in a Hong Kong restaurant. Because THIS is how it's supposed to taste like. Not some weak canned broth with a few onions sprinkled inside and a stupid puff pastry on top.Duck breast with truffle sauce ($238). This was one of the daily specials and I wanted to try. Again portion size was HUGE. Plating wasn't fancy. It was actually homelike. It came with a half a roasted tomato, a good portion of French green beans and mashed potato. The duck breast was so huge, it looked like an 8 oz steak. Mashed potatoes were creamy, fluffy and for the first time in a restaurant in Hong Kong, I tasted actual butter. How rare is that to find in Hong Kong? The green beans were soft and fragrant with a generous scatter of thyme. The roasted tomato gave the dish a bit of tartness.The duck breast was done to a perfect medium rare. It was rich without being oily. The black truffle sauce was not done using the horrible truffle oil that is so popular in restaurants here as a way to pretend they are giving you truffles. Instead, I saw some flecks of truffle in the sauce itself. It was not creamy and not watery. It also wasn't a overly rich sauce. I used my bread to mop up as much as possible.After finishing my meal, I ordered a cafe latte. They gave me sugar which was all individually wrapped, making them look more like candies than cubes of sugar.The latte itself was served with a pretty good caramel macaroon. It wasn't overly sweet and just the right pairing with a very strong French roasted coffee. It didn't need latte art. This wasn't here for pretty looking cups of coffee. This was just an honest, down to earth, cup of coffee. Nothing more. Nothing less.The food may not be fancy. This is not haute cuisine like Alain Ducasse. If you are looking for pureed whatever streaks with foam on one side, you've come to the wrong place. This is simple, honest French food. Food for the people. Food to warm your soul and make you appreciate and love every ingredient in front of you as much as the chef loves it himself. The chef, himself, comes around and asks his customers how everything is. This is what French food is. At least to me when I was in France. It's wonderful I've found it here and so close to me! Will return and recommend to many.Note: there is no 10% service charge. And no lunch or dinner sets. Prices are fairly decent with generous portions. Most main dishes under $200 with appetizers and dessert under $100. 继续阅读

呢间法式小馆，午饭时间竟然得几枱客，可能因为冇 set lunch 价位又比较高，兼且可能小本经营餐牌选择唔多。叫咗烧鸡同烤猪扒。上主菜前有面包食，面包普通但牛油又香又滑又软，为咗食牛油食咗两篮面包!上主菜时肉同配菜同薯仔全部放喺一个餐盆入面，好有家庭feel! 蒜蓉烤蕃茄同炒豆不俗，烤薯片有好香忌廉味，炸薯条似系自家制，食落好实净，似原只薯仔切条再炸!烤鸡入味，猪扒似系七八成熟，厚身但唔硬有肉汁，唔错!甜品叫咗朱古力焦糖批，唔太甜又有朱古力同焦糖香。有质素嘅法式小馆，希望生意好啲，顶得住贵租啦... 继续阅读

由佢装修至开业，就咁睇店门面，原以为系间普通酒吧，点知原来系间法国餐厅，所以特唻一试。试咗是日厨师推介嘅其中两款：1) Smoke salmon 沙甸鱼 salad：同一般西餐沙律差唔多，碟份量足，配以两大片烟三文鱼及少量沙甸鱼，蕃茄，洋葱，白萝卜片，菜等等，味道唔错！虽然冇点餐汤，但都提供面包同牛油，面包虽普通但质素唔差。2) French zuchini：Tomato risotto配牛肉同瓜，好香好好味，饭内食到少少芝士味少少黑椒味，牛肉松软有肉汁，唔会好干好"鞋"，个瓜连皮食都好ok，皮软瓜肉却爽口。饮品试咗：1) Cappuccino：质地较稀，但味道尚可，特别在配一细少传统french cake，好味！2) Homemade lemonade：就如一般lemonade，味道ok，冇乜特别。整体食物质素中上，店员服务亲切良好，厨师亦很好招呼，会亲自行出唻问客人满唔满意，店内环境舒适，好适合优闲慢慢叹一叹。可惜食物选择唔多，可能系贵精唔贵多嘅原因吧，哈哈~另外，餐厅除咗堂食外，亦有售卖其他charcuteries同cheese，唔错嘅选择！ 继续阅读