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2025-02-08
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On the second day of CNY this year we have fireworks in Victoria Harbour, so I decide to find a restaurant to enjoy a good dinner while able to watch the show at the same time. Having come to Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic previously and enjoyed a nice dining experience, I have reserved early and secure my table.Arriving at 44/F of Gloucester Tower at Landmark, the staff shows us to our table, directly facing the windows looking out to the Admiralty and Wanchai harbourfront. We cannot believe o
On the second day of CNY this year we have fireworks in Victoria Harbour, so I decide to find a restaurant to enjoy a good dinner while able to watch the show at the same time. Having come to Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic previously and enjoyed a nice dining experience, I have reserved early and secure my table.
Arriving at 44/F of Gloucester Tower at Landmark, the staff shows us to our table, directly facing the windows looking out to the Admiralty and Wanchai harbourfront. We cannot believe our luck as it has an unbeatable view of all the three barges anchored, guaranteeing an unobstructed spot for the display.
Before the excitement of the fireworks, we start with dinner. Choosing the 6-course Menu ($2,480 each), we also opt for the special Balade pairing, a non-alcohol flight ($888 each). To toast for the occasion, I start with a glass of Champagne, from Domaine de Bichery La Source 2021 ($390), with wet rock and apple aromas, good acidity, and crispy dry on the palate.
The Premices include three small bites. First is a Mushroom Tartlet, which has been infused with tonka and meadowsweet inside. Second is a cute-looking Pie Tee, having liquorice-marinated trout inside and some smoked trout roes on top, decorated with dashi seaweed tuile and yuzu gel.
The third small bite is a beautiful Wakame Taco, having a subtle sweetness from the kelp. Inside the taco are some shiso leaves and tarama, a spread made from fish roes, seasoned with a bit of Chartreuse, the liqueur with a unique herbaceous note, with a lot of edible flowers on top.
The Homemade Brioche is very buttery and delicious, with one end ‘pressed’ to somehow resemble a log of wood in appearance. The butter is set into a rose shape, amazingly beautiful, with some pollens on top. True to high-end French cuisine, every detail is meticulous, wonderful in both taste and presentation.
The first pairing is a natural fermented sparkling from a collaboration between Muri and Anne-Sophie Pic. The dry sparkling rose Uzume is a blend of strawberry, tomato and smoked vanilla, a aperitif which is good for salad and grilled vegetables, and even for shellfish or lobster.
The first course is Tomato Tartelette. Put on top of the tartelette is a nice, bright red plump tomato, specially grown by a local farm for the restaurant. The staff then opens a box showing the premium Kaviari Dauricus Caviar, and scoops some on top of the tomato, before finishing with a geranium and longjiang beurre blanc sauce. Fragrant and nice in taste.
The second pairing is Da Hong Pao, a Wuyi rock tea from Fujian. This brewed tea has its signature terroir, with a bit of smokiness, hints of chocolate, and a mellow and smooth palate. It also can kill the fatness in the palate, so is particularly suitable to match with heavier dishes.
The second course is Les Berlingots ASP. It is Chef Pic’s childhood memories, transforming a hard candy she loves to eat into this Pasta Parcels, which are filled with Comte Cheese aged 24 months and vin jaune, the French yellow wine from Jura. It is served with an onion consommé flavoured with chamomile and madras curry, complex yet harmonized.
The third pairing might look like a cappuccino, it is in fact a hojicha infused with beeswax, offering a richer texture, and flavoured with a syrup that is made from a blend of the skin and juice of lime and lemon with sugar over a long time, with the sweetness and acidity well balanced. On the top is a dried yuzu peel foam. Very refreshing.
The third course is Salsify from Eric Roy. It is a root vegetable dish, with the assorted pieces glazed with honey and beer, as well as a bit of lardo to give savoury flavours. On the side is a beautiful black sesame sabayon with cacao nibs, infused with yuzu for freshness. The chef recommends us to mix everything together to enjoy all the flavours together.
After watching the beautiful fireworks at such close location, we resume dinner. The beverage pairing is Rosemary Tonic, using distillate of the rosemary to create a gin tonic alternate, infused with syrup that is a mix of rhubarb scrub with vinegar and sugar to extract the flavours, with green picking grape juice, which replaces lemon, for acidity.
Next is an optional dish which my wife decides to skip. The meaty and deliciously sweet Brittany Blue Lobster ($588 additional) is cooked over embers, infused with douglas fir for extra fragrance. The coral sauce is made from the lobster tornalley with capers and rosemary. On the side is a carrot voile, interestingly shaped like a fold.
The fourth pairing is a type of white tea, Ya Bao from Yunnan. The buds are hand-harvested, with only a very short window to process. The tea is smooth and aromatic, with a delicate peach, tangy forest notes. The palate is mild, simple and clean, which the sommelier specially targets its purity to pair with the seabass, the signature of the chef.
The fourth course is Wild Seabass, with Kaviari Dauricus Caviar on top, together with a Champagne Sauce. The taste of the seabass is enticing, very flavourful without the reliance of a lot of seasoning. The caviar has added the touch of umami and savoury to the fish, while the sauce, from mix of champagne and sake, has kabosu citrus for nice acidity.
The fifth pairing is Cold Brew, with the coffee coming from Ethiopia, of Geisha variety, which has nice acidity and aromatic. The sommelier has used the whole beans, without grinding, to infuse in cold water for four days, resulting in a light-coloured, elegant and delicious coffee, without the bitterness but instead showing exceptional freshness.
Both of us have chosen Venison from Alsace for our fifth course. The beautifully grilled meat is marinated with mint and combawa leaves, tender and without any gamey note. With puree made from glazed Jerusalem artichoke and black garlic on the side, as well as the venison jus infused with peppermint, great in taste.
The sixth pairing is Pure Matcha mocktail, with an interesting ricey note, elegant and fresh. With a touch of geranium syrup, it is of sufficient sweetness to match with the dessert while not indulgent or overly cloying. It is a good circle back to the first beverage too, both equally refreshing.
For dessert, I have chosen Le Millefeuille Blanc. It is the signature of Chef Anne-Sophie Pic, beautifully rendered, with the geranium Chantilly having the multi-layer of crisp texture, filled with rich and velvety genmaicha cremeux. On top there are some candied ginger and crispy tuile, to decorate and also add further contrast on the bite.
My wife has picked Foret Noire. The traditional black forest cake has been deconstructed into this contemporary dessert, breaking into three components of cake with douglass pine and vanilla infusion, a rich Guanaja cremeux flavoured with cinnamon, plus also a sour morello sorbet on the side. A clever way to present the recipe in a totally new manner.
Coming to the end, the Mignardises include Madeleine made with local honey, delicious and not too sweet, with the chef adding some camelia pollen and edible flowers on top, to give a crunchy contrast in texture as well as to dress up the madeleine with colour and flair. A very good snack to go with coffee too.
The other one is Marshmallow, coated with chocolate. Presented like a lollipop, it brings forth some childhood memories of licking a lollipop as a treat. This modern version has a crunchy crust encasing the soft marshmallow, while the caramel and white chocolate ganache further add to the texture.
Service is good, with the staff friendly and cheerful, and I am particularly impressed by the sommelier who showcases his creativity using different ingredients to mix the beverages to good effects. The bill on the night is $8,750. Reasonable. Great in food, wonderful service, amazing beverages. Happy we start the Year of Snake with this visit.
張貼
