影片
更多
2014-05-22
2069 瀏覽
This maiden review is prompted by my mother’s sentiments, which I share, on the abysmal dining experience that we had at Cocotte. Pausing here, I must explain that my mother, who is an excellent cook, is usually quite forgiving when it comes to restaurant fare. It takes a lot to elicit such strong commentary from her. With a concerted media blitz, Cocotte has billed itself as the newest “hot” restaurant in Hong Kong . Critics and bloggers alike have hailed the chef’s pedigree (from Amber no
This maiden review is prompted by my mother’s sentiments, which I share, on the abysmal dining experience that we had at Cocotte. Pausing here, I must explain that my mother, who is an excellent cook, is usually quite forgiving when it comes to restaurant fare. It takes a lot to elicit such strong commentary from her.
With a concerted media blitz, Cocotte has billed itself as the newest “hot” restaurant in Hong Kong . Critics and bloggers alike have hailed the chef’s pedigree (from Amber no less) and his haute cuisine. Therefore, expectations were high when we booked a table for Friday night as a pre-Mother’s Day celebration. To put it mildly, it was a disappointment.
My mom’s excitement in dining at a chic French restaurant in Soho (a neighborhood which she does not usually frequent) quickly evaporated with her first bite of her appetizer, diver scallop. This was a creation which all the reviewers have recommended and had looked tantalizing in photographs. The scallop was plump but entirely too salty and was only edible if you wash it down with a big gulp of wine. Hardly the signature entrée that it was touted to be. The Tuna Nicoise and Foie Gras Royale which we ordered were unremarkable and pedestrian at best.
For the mains, the kids ordered the truffle spaghetti which they were apparently happy with. We elected to share the guinea fowl cooked into 2 ways and in 2 services. The first service was the roasted breast. One bite and we were finished. The meat was moist and tender but it was again overwhelmed by over-saltiness. Again, we have to resort to our trusty drink to wash it down. By this time, and as the person who chose this venue, I was fervently hoping that the second service would salvage this disaster. Unfortunately, the leg fricassee ran true to form. It was bland and without flavor. I share my mom’s comment that this was her worst meal that the chef could not have possibly tasted his own food before serving it upon an unsuspecting clientele.
When the server asked for our comments, I told her exactly what I had written above. As I suspected, her question was just a parroted routine and all I got was an insincere “Oh, I am sorry. Thank you for telling us, I would tell the chef”. The chef made no attempt at an appearance and apparently remained oblivious of our complaints.
When things are bad, it doesn’t end. When the bill came, we noted a corkage charge of $350. When I made the reservation about a week ago, I was informed that it was $250. When I asked the server, she gave the ridiculous explanation that they just raised the corkage charge after my reservation. Talk about inflation! Obviously, they did not have the courtesy of offering to return the charge to the quoted $250 and I was just too worn out by the experience to argue.
We brought our own wine and accepted the rather exorbitant corkage charge after we had a glance at their wine list (which we obtained by email beforehand). A glance was all it took because the selections were few and totally unattractive. They seem to have forgotten the cardinal rule that you can only justify a high corkage charge if you have a reasonably deep wine list or that it makes more sense to bring your own when the markup is excessive. The only thing that survived the meal and tasted good was the pretty shiraz that we brought, 2006 Mollydooker, Carnival of Love.
My takeaway from this rather forgettable experience : Don’t trust critics’ or bloggers’ reviews (even one from yours truly), find out for yourself. Don’t rush to be the first, let them work out their teething pains first. If you want to experiment, go for lunch first to avoid disappointment (not to mention an unnecessary hit on your wallet). If you want Amber standard, go to Amber (there is a reason that Amber is Amber and it cannot be duplicated by someone who just happened to have wandered into its kitchen on his way to another gig). Please remember, caveat emptor (buyer beware)!
張貼