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2013-08-20
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It has been a relatively quiet year in the dining scene of Hong Kong but whispers from around the world revealed that a dream team from Paris is about to launch a new casual fine dining restaurant near the very busy Wanchai market. This team of Parisian "hospitality experts" includes Frederic Peneau (formerly of Le Chateaubriand, Paris) and two star Michelin chef Christophe Pelé (formerly of La Bigarrade, Paris) who will be joining forces for the first time in their first-ever venture in Hong Ko
The restaurant is tentatively named "Serge et Le Phoque" which literally means Serge and the seal in French and is scheduled for a soft opening on 15 August for 3 nights. Then the team will shut it down for a couple of weeks and re-group for the official launch in early September.
I started looking up the words "Serge et Le Phoque" from the web but couldn't find any match. One website suggested that it's the title of a children's book in French. I guess the meaning behind the name of the restaurant I would never find out.
But what I am about to find out is how well the team performs during the 3-day period of its soft opening after successfully securing a table on the third night.
We arrived roughly around 7:30pm but the kitchen did not seem to be ready to serve. And it looks as if the restaurant itself is not ready for opening anytime soon. The tables were yet to be painted properly, the paints on the wall were still wet...
Like his previous venture at La Bigarrade, chef Christophe Pelé prepared a surprise menu consisting of six to eight courses based on what's fresh at the market.The first amuse bouche was a chilled soup of green pea, seaweed, yuzu and some sort of dried fish. I liked their idea of serving up soup in a Chinese tea cup.
Right before our first starter, a second and final amuse bouche of foie gras terrine topped by a thin slice of mango was served. The finishing touch was provided by a little dash of sea salt and Sichuan pepper on top.I did enjoy the sushi-like presentation as well as its unique taste. The foie gras cube with tofu-like texture was particularly intriguing although it didn't bear the usual strong flavor of foie gras.
Our dinner officially started with a seafood course comprising of a razor clam and another smaller clam. It was poached perfectly and served with crispy cauliflower, yuzu, dill and some acid juice (3.5/5).
Next up was a tiger prawn nicely complemented by some smoked ham, green peas and fresh wasabi (3/5).
Less successful was the next course of squid with sausage, bok choy and black fungus. I didn't like this dish at all. The squid was as chewy as chewing gum and I thought it didn't mesh well with the rest of the ingredients (2/5).
Lamb loin was our last main course before dessert. After being slowly cooked to medium rare, the loin of lamb was served with sweet corns and anchovy before finally finished with a pool of squid ink sauce (3/5).Looking at my neighbors' lamb loin, I thought mine was a tad undercooked but there's no denying how soft and tender it tasted (but it could have been better).
Following our main courses, we had a little bit of cheese which were already prepared on a plate for us. There were two types of delicious cheeses from the French Alps and a small portion of goat cheese to follow (3/5).
A cocktail drink that tasted like citrus juice to cool off our palates before dessert. The pastry chef probably hasn't reported to work so nothing sophisticated at the moment, starting with a cup of lemon cream atop with a thin layer of cucumber jelly (again in a Chinese tea cup). I will let you decide what you think about this and the rest of the dessert (No more ratings!).
Peach with caramel sauce, citrus.
Chocolate mousse with bitter alcohol jelly
There is definitely market for a casual dining restaurant in Hong Kong that serves up hearty French bistro food. I am really looking forward to what Serge et Le Phoque will transpire into the next few weeks. But for the time being, this is a work in progress and definitely not ready for prime time.張貼
