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2014-10-21
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Being one of the hottest new restaurants around town recently, its hard not to have heard about Olivier Elzer's Seasons. Being the former head chef at the Mandarin Oriental’s Pierre Restaurant and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Olivier inheriting the former space and large patio of Habitu, hoping to inject new life into the spacious setting in Lee Gardens. We walked over from the summer-themed terrace into the main dining area lined by a neutral backdrop overtoned with rustic autumn colors, almost
Being one of the hottest new restaurants around town recently, its hard not to have heard about Olivier Elzer's Seasons. Being the former head chef at the Mandarin Oriental’s Pierre Restaurant and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Olivier inheriting the former space and large patio of Habitu, hoping to inject new life into the spacious setting in Lee Gardens. We walked over from the summer-themed terrace into the main dining area lined by a neutral backdrop overtoned with rustic autumn colors, almost a metaphor to the recent change in Hong Kong's weather.
I'm always delsoighted to see the bread basket, so simple but eternally welcoming. At any decent Italian restaurant, the bread basket would be warm and fluffy. For an Asian-inspired French restaurant, I thought they would serve them hot like the Chinese do. Other than that, the bread was decent. I specifically enjoyed the dried rosemary bun, with the fragrant aroma and wooded crust.
What's a good dinner without wine? We ordered a glass each of 2004 Bordeaux Chateau Pontensac ($160) and 2006 Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Chateau la Nerthe, Rhone ($140).
I was surprised at how quickly the appetizers came; our Seasons Cheese Platter from 'Les Freres Marchand' ($188) and Grilled Tuna with 5 Spices, Avocado Crush and Crispy Shallot ($158) probably arrived after ten minutes of my order. But then again, both were cold dishes that didn't require cooking. Later I would come to realize it was good time management. Having always been a cheese lover, the cheese platter was a great way to start (or at times end) the meal. The cheeses were accompanied with candied walnuts, dried apricots, grapes and of course rustic bread. There were fives cheeses, the last being blue cheese. It would be helpful if the menu would list out the cheeses served for the customers reference. Generally speaking, the flavours were quite distinct from the choices you would see at other restaurants (one of the cheeses even resembled marmite!); I wouldn't recommend this to those who are just getting started with cheese. Cheese lovers would find these unpasteurised cheeses from the Marchand Brothers to be quite an adventure though!
The tuna was blatantly Asian inspired, I noted the flavours of fried onion, spring onions and soy sauce for steamed fish(蒸魚豉油) on the tuna, which was seared on the sides and pink in the middle. The dish was mellow but refreshing, a brilliant way to prepare your palate for the courses upcoming. But for any of Chinese ethnicity, the dish may seem quite un-inspired to you as the flavours will be all to familiar.
The timing between courses was brilliant; the mains came up prompty after we finished our appetizers. First up was the Grilled 200g Holstein Rib Eye, Shallots Cooked and Red Wine Sauce ($525). It's easy to understand why this is a signature dish; the presentation was impressive as the server presents to you the steak in a wooden box with the aromas of smoked rosemary encassing the steak. I recommend this dish without factoring in this impressive presentation, to be frank, the fragrance of rosemary did not reflect in the steak, so that was a bit of misdirection. The steak itself was tender and soft, the chefs must have worked it hard! The sauce was lined with the tartness of shallots, unlike the usal red wine reductions or gravies at other restaurants, which fooled your mind into thinking this was a lighter dish. All in all, a beautifully executed dish with a poetic entrance.
Would like to have a special mention for the side to the steak. The mashed potatoes were a guilty pleasure to eat: beaten into a creamy consistency like that of whipped butter and flaoured after sour cream and onions, it's hard not to like this (maybe aside from all the calories and butter fat).
Our other main was also a signature dish - Grilled Langoustine, Risotto Venere and Masala Butter ($298). My opinion of this dish is mixed: the Norway Lobster was a bit mushy for my own taste, but the flavor was spot on. The creamy black risotto blended seamlessly with the Indian spices, being another of epitome of Asian fusion.
Grand Marnier souffle and sabayon sauce ($148) was our dessert of choice, and a good choice it was. Very simple classic dessert, but impeccable execution with airy textures and wonderful creamy flavours.Generally all staff are courteous and attentive without being intrusive, but they did happen to be a bit careless/forgetful at times. I did have to remind them twice for the wine menu, napkins and to refill our water. Looking past these trivialities, I believe courteousness and attitude are more important; and I did truly enjoy my dining experience here.
::||Good for||::
French-Asian fusion (obviously), a proper dining experience without the preteniousness and for all those that appreciate food and the preparation and thought that goes into it.
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