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2024-03-03
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Hearing the renowned chef Anne-Sophie Pic, the female chef who got the most Michelin stars, is opening a restaurant in Hong Kong, it was with high expectation we came to The Cristal Room, her new project located on Gloucester Tower in The Landmark, Central. The restaurant also is in partnership with Baccarat, the famous French luxury manufacturer of fine crystal.Stepping out of the elevator, the staff of Forty-Five took us to the restaurant, walking up the steps to the upper floor. With a spacio
Stepping out of the elevator, the staff of Forty-Five took us to the restaurant, walking up the steps to the upper floor. With a spacious, elegant, and artistic setting, we were seated at a comfortable banquette looking at the bar, with the open kitchen on the left side, and large windows looking out to the harbour on the right. I was impressed by the art showing the chandelier engulfed in flames at the entrance.I have ordered the 8-course menu Voyage ($2,980), as well as the 8-glasses wine pairing ($1,588), while my wife had the same but with alcohol free 6-glasses pairing ($688) instead. Head chef Marc Mantovani came to introduce the Amuse Bouche of Sweet Corn Pate with nice balance of sweet and savoury, Squid sliced in the form of spaghetti, together with black garlic mayonnaise, and Tartlet, having dill and saffron to go with the diced cheese with rich flavours. Creative and tasty appetizers. Very good.
The first wine pairing was an interesting still white wine from Champagne, Bonnet-Ponson Griblanc 2020. It is a special white wine using seven different grape varieties allowed in Champagne, with a bit of oxidation reminded me a bit of Jura. Good acidity with refreshing palate, a natural and clean wine to pair with the sea urchin in the coming course.The first course was Hokkaido Uni. Very beautifully presented, the sea urchin was flavoured with Nikka coffey whisky from Japan and some fermented black beans to add to the umami with a touch of smokiness and savoury. Underneath was Chanteclerc apple jelly, with a mild apple taste and nice sweetness, together with nasturtium coulis, having a hint of peppery note to increase further the complexity of the dish. Excellent.
The second wine pairing was Philippe Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Demi-Sec 2018. The Chenin Blanc was slightly sweet but had high acidity to balance, with fruity characters and nice minerality, showing a bit of salinity too. Interestingly I had the same wine the week before and this was noticeably sweeter than the last one that did pair well with the pasta.The second course was Les Berlingots ASP. Combining two of Chef Anne-Sophie’s favourite food, ravioli and berlingot, a French hard candy, she made a pasta in the shape of the triangular berlingot and stuffed with 24 months aged Comte cheese. Served with a tasty Roscoff onions consommé, with some freshly shaved Tuber Melanosporum truffle on top, this was another complex and deeply flavourful dish. Excellent.
The third wine pairing was Barbeito Boal Reserva 10 Years Old Madeira. Medium in sweetness but more towards off-dry, the wine had a good balance of acidity so it was not feeling heavy or dominating. With walnut and honey characters, it was an iconic pairing with the salsify.The third course was Salsify from Eric Roy. The vegetable came from the large organic farm of Eric Roy in Loire Valley. Cooked with honey, beer and lardo, the salsify was very good in taste, with some parsnip puree on the bottom to accompany, and dusted with cacao nibs on top. On the side was a yuzu and black sesame sabayon, a thick sauce with refreshing yuzu notes, and fragrant sesame aromas. Overall, a good match among the different elements, harmonious and delicious. Very good.
The fourth wine pairing was Movia Sivi Grigio Ambra 2021. An orange wine from Slovenia, the wine had good texture, with lots of honey and peach, and delicate honeysuckle floral notes. The sommelier shared that it was also fully biodynamic, a zero-zero wine. Good match with the theme of summer Provence in the next course.The fourth course was Brittany Blue Lobster. The lobster was perfectly cooked over embers, sweet in taste and juicy. Served on a beautifully orangish coral beurre blanc sauce, with a rich buttery taste, plus some lime zest to freshen up. The sauce had also been infused with douglas fir, a type of evergreen juniper, and rosemary, to enhance the complexity. A slice of carrot voile completed the colourful and appetizing course, with great taste and texture. Very good.
The fifth wine pairing was Remi Leroy Mer Sur Mont Blanc de Quatre Cepages 2014. Blending the three typical varieties of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, plus a bit of Pinot Blanc from the same terroir, the champagne has a nice ripe apple, pear, brioche and cream characters, which was impeccably matched with the sauce of the next course. The fifth course was the father of Chef Anne-Sophie, Jacques Pic’s signature since 1971, Wild Seabass. On the foaming Champagne sauce in the plate was the wonderfully seared seabass fillet, moist and cooked perfectly, together with an abundance of Petrossian Daurenki caviar on top. The perfect balance of the acidity in the sauce, with the savoury and saltiness of the caviar, together with the fine and delicate taste of the seabass, created an amazing orchestra of wonderful flavours. Excellent.
The sixth wine pairing was Vanguardist Mourvedre 2021, from McLaren Vale in South Australia. With lots of ripe blueberry and floral characters, the wine is lively and not heavy. On the palate it was full of dried herbs with some nice sweet spices, and smooth tannin of dusty in texture. The spicy and gamey characters was perfectly in tune with the pigeon in the coming course.The sixth course was Bresse Pigeon. The breast of the pigeon was marinated with osmanthus and lightly smoked tonka beans, cooked to perfect medium rare with the pinkish meat tender and juicy. On the side is a chestnut tartlet, with persimmon, confit legs and mustard seed, with the pigeon jus serving as the sauce. My personal favourite on the night, with every element of the dish so integrated, it tasted like the flavours weaving between the tartlet to the pigeon to the sauce. Excellent.
To transition to the pre-dessert, we were provided a small glass of non-alcoholic cocktail. Using milky oolong tea, coming from a plantation in high altitude, the tea leaves had been steamed over milk to get its special flavours. Infused with some tonka beans to add to the complexity, it was an interesting pairing.
The seventh course was St. Marcellin Cheese. Instead of a cheese platter, Chef Anne-Sophie made an iced cheese mochi with smoked Madagascar vanilla, as she wanted to showcase the Asian cuisine in her dishes. With a good palate including sweet and savoury, the mochi had a nice glutinous texture and the rich and flavourful cheese fillings. Very good.The seventh and last wine pairing was Saison Fallen Quinces Vermouth, from Australia. Another interesting match, this came from a small producer, handmade using pineapple quinces, infused with different aromatics. Another very interesting pairing to go with the baba.
For the seventh course I had chosen Chestnut Baba. Instead of the traditional rum baba, the chef had soaked in Talisker whisky instead, before coating with vanilla Chantilly cream. On the side was mandarin confit, fresh mandarin sorbet, a leaf made from chip which totally fooled me before the staff told me it was perfectly edible. Amazing in both presentation and also wonderful in taste. Very good.My wife had Le Millefeuille Blanc, which was made to a beautiful white cube, with the millefeuille having many layers of jasmine jelly, surrounded with Tahitian vanilla cream. The voatsiperifery pepper cloud, made from the peppers grown in Madagascar, provided interesting floral and peppery notes. Very good.
The Petits Fours included three small bites. The first was a green rice pudding which had a lot of rice pops that reminded me of those seen in Japan. The second was a lollipop, with the meringue holding some calamansi puree inside. The final was a chocolate tartlet, with some custard fillings. A very good finale to wrap up a wonderful meal. Service was very good, with the staff attentive, eager to help and share. The sommelier was also very knowledgeable, and I was completely satisfied with her picks in matching with each course. Together with the water free flow ($80 per person), the bill on the night was $9,236. Not cheap, but definitely worth visiting to experience the wonderful ambience and environs, amazing food, and the impeccable wine pairing.
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