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Exquisite Japanese with Spanish twist
2020-12-13 3113 浏览
I had my birthday lunch at Ando on 11 Dec. The dining room is not super spacious, with 9 tables only. The ceramic art is the centrepiece that greets the guests. The decor is not particularly flashy, with grey stucco on the ceiling and a giant painting. Chef Balbi just wants his guests to focus on the food I suppose.There is a ceramic art on each table, a blush coloured napkin, a menu for the day and a black envelope that the server said was for storing face mask. But it is very stiff and it's re
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 I had my birthday lunch at Ando on 11 Dec. The dining room is not super spacious, with 9 tables only. The ceramic art is the centrepiece that greets the guests. The decor is not particularly flashy, with grey stucco on the ceiling and a giant painting. Chef Balbi just wants his guests to focus on the food I suppose.
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 There is a ceramic art on each table, a blush coloured napkin, a menu for the day and a black envelope that the server said was for storing face mask. But it is very stiff and it's really not easy to insert a mask in it. 
Owl nest Dai Dai Ale
$98
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 My wife ordered a glass of white from Italy. I ordered Hitachino nest Dai Dai ale from Ibaraki, Japan. The amber ale has a hint of citrus peel, creamy and fruity; less bitter than other IPA; hoppy towards the end. The foam is dense and fine but dissipates very very quickly. The server was thoughtful enough to swirl the bottle to create more head every time he fills my glass up.
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 The lunch menu. But as dine-in was not allowed after 6 pm due to coronavirus, the tasting menu usually reserved for dinner is also available at a reduced price.
Departure
$280
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There is no amuse-bouche. For an additional $280, we ordered a portion of "Departure" which is five different kinds of raw fish seasoned in different condiments. Carabineros is very sweet and flavourful. Flounder(?) is not memorable. The scallop is ok, but I prefer a bit more salt. Sayori is very springy in texture and the dressing has a citrusy kick to it. The tuna akami with a special soy sauce, nori seaweed and chive is excellent. All in all, the fish is not bad, but the recommended order of eating isn't perfect. The flounder is clearly very bland and should be eaten first IMHO, followed by sayori.
Afternoon in Palermo
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The real first course is a slight let-down after the sashimi platter... It's supposed to be a Peruvian ceviche, with the hamachi steeped in a citrus-based marinade known as leche de tigre. Honestly, I don't think it works. If it's a ceviche, it's not tangy and tart enough. The unique citrus aftertaste of the hamachi is covered, so that it provides more texture than taste to the whole ensemble. The edible flowers and herbs are both gorgeous and provide a surprising herby, almost anise taste when bitten into.
bread with 3 kinds of butter and olive oil
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 Three kinds of artisan bread made in Spain is frozen and shipped to Hong Kong where they are baked. Crusty, yeasty and chewy, they are just awesome. The three types of butter is seasoned with salt salt, grated bottarga (mullet roe) and pistachio. I love the pistachio one, but my wife thinks it's too strong. El Verd Del Poaig olive oil is also a small-batch production from Spain. The trees are at least 300 years old and only 1,000 bottles of 250ml are produced each year. It has a lovely nutty, floral taste, with a hint of grassiness.
Over and over again
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 The second course is a nice surprise -- daikon poached in a flavourful dashi, topped with shaved Joselito ham, cordyceps flowers, flowering chives and deep-fried tororo kombu. The daikon is mildly sweet and the intense meaty flavour of the ham cuts right through. The texture is interesting and complex, while all components work together amazingly. Truly ingenious.
Half world
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 For main, I ordered the sea bass. The fish is undercooked slightly which is perfect to my taste. The skin is very crisp, the flesh is juicy. The broccoli puree is not only a plating trick, but also imparts a mild spicy taste.  The sauce is Japanese dashi-based. The baby turnips is pickled and the tartness works well with the sea bass and the savoury taste of the anchovies.
Afternoon in the field
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 My wife had the pork dish, which is a bit underwhelming. The kumamoto pork is pink and tender, but not particularly flavoursome. The date puree is a nod to the classic pork + prune/plum combination, which works, but doesn't taste too different from prunes. The pumpkin puree, in comparison, is not strong-tasting enough. And the mushrooms are not particularly interesting taste-wise or texture-wise. All in all, it's not a bad dish, but it's definitely not especially memorable.
Sin Lola
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 Chef Balbi's signature abalone soup rice from the Haku days is now replaced with scallops and sea cucumber. The broth is very very flavoursome and the half cooked scallops are simply divine. This course definitely ends the meal on a high note.
Antonia is coming
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 Again, the dessert is stunning. I don't know if the chef is inspired by cup noodles, but the presentation sure looks like it. LOL.  The layering of contrasting textures, balance of flavours are just spot on. The hibiki whisky sorbet work well with the salted caramel flan. Then the crispy caramelized white chocolate shards and the candied tangerine peel just work incredibly well with the salted caramel. Very nice indeed.
mont blanc
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 Err, I know it's a bit rude to rate this mont blanc birthday cake 2 stars. It's free and I shouldn't complain. But honestly, it really isn't on par with the rest of the meal. The chestnut puree is too wet and too sweet. The candied chestnut and the icing-coated pecan save it a bit. The beetroot crisp looks good but doesn't do anything to the palate.
Petit fours
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 The petit fours pleasantly surprised us on the contrary. The chocolate ball is filled with whisky, but not too strong. The beetroot crisp flower adds visual interest. The paper thin tuile biscuits are filled with a tangy yuzu cream. Both of them are tasty and have a sense of whimsiness.
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 Final notes:
- Ando doesn't allow guests to take photos with a flash, that means all faces are lit by down light and all people look like zombies here...  The food looks fine though.
- As you might have noticed, the dinnerware is exquisite. Many of them are from Japan. The ceramic pieces have a nice tactile feel to them. The coffee cup shown above has beautiful landscape painting-like pattern on it. You can pick your own hand-made chopsticks for the additional sashimi course (departure).
- It gets a bit noisy when full. It's not a huge dining room after all.
- Service is exceptional. Servers are very informative and they make every course more interesting.

All in all, I would love to dine here again, and again. 
(以上食记乃用户个人意见 , 并不代表OpenRice之观点。)
  • 推介
    已推介
  • 检举
张贴
评分
味道
环境
服务
卫生
抵食
用餐日期
2020-12-11
用餐途径
堂食
人均消费
$1000 (午餐)
庆祝纪念
生日
推介美食
Owl nest Dai Dai Ale
$ 98
Departure
$ 280
bread with 3 kinds of butter and olive oil
Over and over again
Half world
Sin Lola
Antonia is coming
Petit fours
  • sin lola
  • viene antonia
  • Medio mundo