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2010-02-06
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Full review can be retrieved from www.geoffstwitchen.comThe Man above is Chef Quim Fernandez, hailed previously from El Bulli from the region of Catalonia in Spain. For those that have not met him, he does not look anything like this & in fact has a shaved head & probably lost another 10 lbs during this visit in Hong kong.When H one first opened a few years back, it always raised question marks to why the same restaurant group opened up 2 restaurants in the same mall with one directly 2 floors a
The Man above is Chef Quim Fernandez, hailed previously from El Bulli from the region of Catalonia in Spain. For those that have not met him, he does not look anything like this & in fact has a shaved head & probably lost another 10 lbs during this visit in Hong kong.
When H one first opened a few years back, it always raised question marks to why the same restaurant group opened up 2 restaurants in the same mall with one directly 2 floors above the other, very strange business decision or strategy I thought. My last visit to H one was also the 2nd week when the restaurant first opened with my fiancee for a quick lunch to experiment & to try out the food. Being a regular patron at Harlans back when I was working in the Two ifc building, I know the menu, the place & the staff fairly well & have always enjoyed the food, service & definitely a bonus killer view which could woo-yourself into any woman. If you ask me honestly, is the food really that good which matches the premium price, I don’t think so but it was the sort of restaurant that was perfect to impress a woman, client & to show your parents how far you have moved up the corporate ladder. With the prices you spill out at Harlans, you are better off hitting over to Caprice which is next door & the quality is guaranteed. Anyway, back to my previous lunch experience at H one, simply the food SUCKED so badly that I vow not to return for some time as our lunch was a whopping HKD700 in which I had to make myself feel better by telling my fiancee that the good was spectacular – NOT! Very disappointing & since then, I have not shown up in that part of the IFC Mall.
Until recently, I recieved a press release from their PR Team regarding a guest chef in town & it woke me up immediately - Chef Quim Fernandez. A house-hold name & a veteran in the F&B industry in Spain & has worked alongside Ferran Adria, at the 3 Michelin Star El Bulli (which was voted as the best restaurant in the world last year & which many other restaurants around the world attempt to follow their foot-steps in molecular cooking). I have no idea on how H one pulled off this deal but it was indeed an exciting piece of news which I tweeted a few times on twitter as I was just excited, about as excited as when I previously attended the Bob Blumer (http://www.bobblumer.com/) dinner in Hong Kong. Immediately replied the email to their PR & booked my spot for a nice set lunch, really just to test out on whether the reputation really matched the standard of food.
Chef Quim Fernandez specialises in Catalan Cuisine which is an international hit & is a Mediterranean Cuisine from the region of Catalonia (Barcelona). Locally dependent on the fresh produce usage such as fresh vegetable produce including tomatoes, garlic, eggplants, Arbequina Olive Oils, wide range of fish including sardine, anchovy, sea-bass, cod as well as enormous amounts of pork related produce such as cured sausauges. Expect enormous amounts of exotic flavours in each & every dish as well as a mix of sweet & savoury flavours from the Catalan Cuisine & some signature Catalan dishes include Beans & Pork Sausage Stew, Seafood Casserole, Cooked Snails etc. Exciting stuff indeed & it is a positive sign that there are MORE variations of Spanish Cuisine being introduced in Hong Kong – thank god finally!
The Press Lunch was meant to begin at 1230pm & as usual, the Hong Kong reporters / editors have a general tendency to arrive fashionably late with zero manners. To my amazement, some ever bother showing up around 1315pm which was just disgraceful & disrespectful to the Chef, Host & other press on the table like us. Of course, we also have the Chinese Press who was hungry & started eating without waiting for the full table, this sort of crap only happens in Hong Kong. On top, overheard a few comments on the table from the press complaining on why the speed of food served, give it a break guys & girls, please respect another culture’s style of eating as the Spanish are famed for eating slowly & enjoying their food. Looking around the table, I was quite amazed at the sort of press the PR Team invited which was definitely a basis on quantity over quality as I was confident 3/4 of them don’t even know what Catalan Cuisine is & mind you what they are expecting from the press lunch. Haha, I will be impressed if they know where Spain is fullstop.
It was a simple 4-course signature Catalan menu as explained by Chef Fernandez with wine pairing during the busy lunch & all dishes were beautifully presented full of colours which was perfect to comfort on the eye after a busy morning staring into screens.
Mackeral Marinated and Potato Salad with its Caviar – This was a wonderful starter & truly demonstrated the essence of a signature Catalan dish with the marinated mackerals paired with a potato sald. The mackeral was extremely flavourful which was spectacular & the potato was slightly browned on the top in which the browned layer added an extra dimension to the flavour to the normally boring & bland potatoes. The pairing of the Potato Salad & the Marinated Mackeral was sensational & I definitely will return to H one just for this dish as it was so refreshing. The Caviar for me was a little un-necessary as it adds to much saltiness to the dish with the presence of mackeral which is salty itself but nonetheless, it is a special touch of luxury on the starter. Such a simple & rustic starter & I never imagined how well the pairing of mackerals + potato could turn out to be, my lord, where have you been in all my life? HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Scallop & Foie Gras with Vinagreta Reduction - This is the sort of dish normally I will have no-second thoughts in conquering the full dish including the garnish + sauce on the plate. However due to a recent health check-up, I realised that maybe I should chill out on the amount of high cholesterol food items such as your foie gras, shell fish, cheese etc therefore this is the sort of dish whereby only an idiot like myself will refuse. As soon as the server brought out the dish, jesus, why is it ME that has to suffer from this & it was extremely difficult not to enjoy this dish. The Scallop was massive & very well pan-fried in which all the juices from flesh burst out upon the first bite at it. Marvellous stuff! What was even better was the foie gras pairing with Scallop was something which it was rare to enjoy in Hong Kong & has also inspired me to create in my upcoming dishes for our Moleskin Notepad Competition. I only digged in one forkful of the foie gras not that I was full or it tasted horrible or anything but just that I simply don’t want my arteries to be blocked in the space of 2 yrs. What I loved about this dish was the Vinegreta Reduction which was the killer & just bonded the flavours of the foie gras + scallop together.
Baked Sea Bass, Costa Brava Style Potatoes, Onion & Tomato with a Touch of Rosemary - This was disappointing, so disappointing as I expected a main course from a chef that used to work in El Bulli to be absolutely spot on. The Costa Brava Style Potatoes is a type of spicy potatoes served in the North Eastern Region of Catalonia region which was not very spicy at all. The onion tomato & rosemary sauce was nothing spectacular & I dare to say that my missus at home does a better tomato & onion pasta sauce than Chef Fernandez on this day. Above all what was MOST DISAPPOINTING was the baked Seabass which tasted like it had been in the oven for at least 10 mins too long. The fish was way too over-cooked with the meat extremely DRY for my liking & this comment was also shared by the gentleman on my left of whom was the Secretary General from the Spanish Chamber of Commerce which was not good. I really did not expect the sea-bass will turn out like this & later on we had a chat with Chef Fernandez on why the fish was “slightly” over-cooked & he mentioned that he cooked it in a way to suit the Asian Palate. Whether you believe this explanation or not, you can judge it yourself.
Chef Quim’s Dessert Surprise – Pear Tartlet - Dessert was also traditional Catalan Style sweet on offer which was poached pears on top of a crispy tartlet with a creamy Vanilla Sauce which was again decent BUT nothing spectacular. It was a simple, rustic dessert which would have been perfect for an evening setting but somehow the failure in the main-course really dampened my mood to enjoy this dessert which sometimes, 1 course of your meal can determine & change your overall mood towards food. What I enjoyed most about the dessert was the crispy tartlet which as I phrased was very CRISPY which went well with the soggyness of the poached pears as well as the sweetness of the vanilla sauce.
Throughout the meal, it was a hit & miss. Service was good but if not the best as the waiters rarely asked on whether I was done with the Wine glass & imagine if that happened to a regular guest that was paying good money for the wine. I went back to H one on Friday night with my missus for a casual meal & took a look at the special Catalan menu again, hefty prices to the extent that it’s worth the value, you may have your say on this. I was certainly bitterly disappointed with the Seabass even till at this moment as I have no idea on how Chef Quim Fernandez can turn such piece of fish into such dry & bland boring dish. I wouldn’t mind ordering the regular a la carte dishes at H one but my honest opinion is that I don’t think I will be very interested to pay as a regular guest for the special Catalan Menu which has now already ended.
Happy Eating!
Geoff
张贴
