Amber  

Having been consecutively featured in the Pellegrino’s Top 50 Restaurants in the world, AMBER this year slotted in comfortably at no. 44... This makes them the most highly placed restaurant in Hong Kong and Macau region despite not being awarded a 3 star rating. I partially agree with this assessment, as Richard Ekkbus’s food is so sensible and well executed in general and you can count on him to perform. On the other hand I always encountered 2 or 3 obvious weaknesses here: Eg. the appetizers have not changed much over the years, and their desserts and mignardises have also experienced peaks and troughs over the too many visits to review in detail. Having been to some rather immaculate restaurants in the world over the past few years, I came back to re-explore AMBER’S dessert menu as that is precisely where I thought it’s weakness could possibly lie. Let’s see if it can re-ignite my passion for dessert and haute cuisine in Hong Kong !

.Iberico Croquettes with Piccalilli Pickles - $98
These are the signature Amuse Bouches here. Today’s version was quite pickled sour and the promised Nose to Tail pigs usage, seemed a little too weak. At least it was bursting in your mouth in the end! ~ 7.5/10

.Da Hong Pao ‘Oolong’ Tea from Fujian, China - $88
This seemed a little too uninteresting for a Da Hong Pao Oolong definitely. The 2nd flush was better in the end after more steeping time, but it carried little of the retrieval moment when an Oolong takes a real U-Turn and surprises u in a fruity and tannic composure during it's secondary stage. This tea came with some Gingery, Matcha and Coffee cookies which were great. ~ 6.5/10

.Caramelized Apple Tarte Tatin – $48
While the base pastry was well browned and crisp, so appreciated!! Yum. But the baked apple on top was not too caramelized and came at refrigerated temperature. Taboo for a Tarte Tatin even for a modernized interpretation. The green apple slices on top were adorned with lemon zest, which was appreciated. Overall this was quite decent but ultimately, the apples in taste and temperature sort of let it down and it was not spiced in taste either. ~ 6.9/10

.Tonka Bean Crème Brulee, Valrhona Nyangbo 68% Chocolate Cremeux, with Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream, Roasted Pistachios - $160
The Tonka Bean flavour was subtle at best, compared to the other ingredients featured in the same dessert! Tonka flavoured desserts in my experience should carry a taste of both vanilla-like essence yet caramel sweetness and a distinct fresh sap wood like aroma. Not here though unfortunately. The Chocolate cremeux layer was quite mousse like enough if not too thick. Overall this was great especially with that Croustillant crispy layer, yet you somehow will wish for more of that illegal to sell in the US, unique Tonka Beans taste. I remember I have had better before especially in Holland. But then they also make weed ice cream over there ~ 7/10

.85% Valrhona Abinao Dark Chocolate Souffle, with Cacao Ice Cream, Chocolate Crisp & Soil – $160
The soufflé climbed evenly along the side wall yes, but ultimately the sprinkling of sugars along the side ended up being contributing to the grainy sugary bits when biting in! The chocolate taste was not so apparent and the texture was somehow reminding me of a floating island than a fluffy cloud like souffle. The best part of this dessert was the cacao ice cream, which they called a sorbet which would otherwise be fruit based. It was promising but ultimately it was just so-so in taste and too starchy.. ~ 7/10

Having always wanted to try Amber, I got my chance when my brother wanted to take my sister-in-law for a nice lunch during her time here in HK. We invited Mr. C along for lunch too which he kindly accepted, so Sunday saw the four of us settling down for a leisurely lunch at the renowned Amber, holder of two Michelin stars.

Located on the 7th floor of the Landmark Mandarin Oriental, the decor of Amber is one of elegance. Decorated with warm walnut tones, the ambiance is bright and inviting, made even more so from the natural lighting from the floor to ceiling windows spilling into the dining room. Tables are spaced out generously allowing for more comfortable seating as well as privacy between tables and guests certainly can not miss the eye-catching chandelier made from numerous bronze rods hanging down from the center of the ceiling.

On the weekends Amber offers a weekend wine lunch menu which includes six courses, three of them savoury where under each you have a selection of three choices and three desserts which are set. It includes a wine pairing for each savoury course, but for those that choose not to indulge in alcohol they do offer an alternate mocktail and fruit juice pairing. Both my brother and sister-in-law picked the wine pairing, I opted for the mocktails and since Mr. C was special, he got to try both. However, since I was not really paying full attention when the wines were poured, I will only comment on the mocktails, but according to Mr. C the wines were quite well selected.

While we were perusing the menu, we asked the manager for his recommendations. For starters he suggested the globe artichoke, middle course was the Tasmanian salmon and mains was the Iberian pork 'pluma'. After we had placed our order with him, a waiter came around with a selection of breads and a choice of salted/unsalted butter or olive oil. I picked the baguette and olive roll and really loved the baguette. Very crunchy crust with soft insides which was perfect for soaking up the olive oil.

We were then served three amuse bouches. First was a tiny vol au vent filled with dungeress crab and cumin.
This was very good, the pastry case was light and crunchy and the crab meat mixed with a creamy dressing was heady with cumin. Next was the signature beetroot and fois gras lollipop. I was really looking forward to this, as there have been many reviews exclaiming how good it was. Glazed a beautiful cherry red from beetroot juice, it was surprisingly jelly like when I bit into it rather than a hard toffee shell as I was expecting. The fois gras inside was super smooth and yes it really lived up to its fame~ The last amuse bouche was a fried pork croquette cradled in a small egg cup. I admit, I knocked the cup over (it was lighter than I thought) and my croquette rolled across the table. I could not stop laughing at myself, which shows that I am still capable of doing embarrassing things no matter the situation... We were instructed to eat it in one go and the fried shell gave way to a warm gush of rich creamy liquid (yes I said that). I could not really taste the pork flavour, but I could taste something akin to dijonnaise. Also very good.

Our starters arrived soon after. My sister-in-law and I both chose the yellow spring chicken, while my brother and Mr. C had the globe artichokes. The chicken was served as a ballotine with fois gras inside with country ham, wild mushrooms all on a thin layer of 'vin jaune' jell-o. The chicken was tender and tasted a little like 'drunken chicken' when eaten with the jell-o. It was a lot milder in flavour with the fois gras adding a slight richness to the dish. The accompanying toasted hazelnut bread was pleasantly nutty and tasted fine on its own.The globe artichoke was arranged with cep mushrooms, hazelnuts, sapporo bacon and summer greens. I had a bite of artichoke from my brothers dish and always thinking that artichokes tend to be quite stringy, I was surprised at how soft the artichoke heart was. Not bad, but I preferred my starter more.This was paired with a pineapple, mango and ginger mocktail. Not very sweet, it tasted very summery and I could feel the slight after burn from the ginger after each sip.

As we were waiting for our middle course, one of the servers came around to set down mother-of-pearl spoons. I looked quite puzzled since these spoons are used for caviar generally and I knew that there was no caviar involved in any of our next dishes. It all made sense when their signature Hokkaido sea urchin appetiser was brought out, compliments from the kitchen for Mr. C's presence. Fresh tongues of sea urchin gelled together with lobster jell-o lay on a bed of smooth cauliflower cream topped with caviar. This was stunning! The sea urchin filled the palate with its natural sweetness while the cauliflower cream though light on the tongue enhanced the richness of the texture while toning down the brininess of each delicate spoonful. Crisp seaweed waffles gave a contrasting crunch to the smoothness of the sea urchin and helped refresh the palate at the same time. I think it was safe to say that we all enjoyed this. For middle course my sister-in-law and I again ordered the same dish of Tasmanian salmon served in a confit and smoked style. The salmon was covered with a clear glass bowl when it was brought to the table and within you could see a cloud of smoke shrouding the salmon confit. When the bowl was lifted, I was able to catch a scent of woody aroma before the smoke drifted away. Presented simplistically, the salmon was rolled in squid ink crumbs, to its left was a puree of avocado and on its right were thin strips of granny smith apples wrapped in slices of cucumber. The salmon was very soft and required very little chewing before it melted in the mouth. It had quite a strong flavour from the smoke which I did not particularly care for and sadly I felt it was a little bland.I liked my brother and Mr. Cs choice of duck fois gras ravioli in a puree and veloute of Hokkaido corn much more than my selection. Despite not trying the ravioli, just one spoonful of Mr. Cs veloute was enough for me to keep praising it. Subtly sweet with an underlying savoury tone from what I assume was the stock used. Very good~A earl grey and apple juice mix was the accompaniment for this course with the noted slice of Australian apple. The citrus and slight bitter tones of the earl grey went very well with the sweet apple juice. For someone who does not like to drink sweet things during meals, I really enjoyed this.

I was the only one who chose fish for the main course and it came out as a generous portion. The Atlantic cod was pre-salted prior to roasting and sat on a bed of ratatouille with a coulis of olive oil and bell pepper drizzled around it. I had no issues with this dish since I really like cod, it was just right in the salt department and the slight tartness of the ratatouille did not overpower the flavour of the fish.Mr. C and my sister-in-law both chose the recommended char-grilled Iberian pork 'pluma'. From the bite I had, I found it quite tough with a gamey flavour which I am not fond of in pork.My brother had the lozere lamb shoulder which was braised until tender and had him nodding his head in approval.This was paired with a non-alcoholic fizzy grape juice which was quite delightful to drink. There was some depth to the grape flavour and it was not overly sweet. According to the sommelier, many guests order the mocktail pairing to try this. If this is the case, I am really not surprised.

All too soon, dessert beckoned. First to come was a small glass bowl of mixed berry salad with a quenelle of strawberry sorbet sitting prettily on top, capped with a thin caramelised butter crisp. This was a refreshing first dessert, perfect after all the savoury courses. The strawberries, blueberries and raspberries were fresh and the slight tartness from the balsamic jell-o at the bottom helped enhance the natural sweetness of the berries. The smooth strawberry sorbet had a sweet fragrance that can only come from perfectly ripe strawberries and I adored the small scoop of heavy vanilla cream, which proves that cream and berries are the perfect match~ The butter crisp snapped cleanly, but was a little too sweet for my liking.Their version of a Mont Blanc was served next. Heavy squiggles of chestnut cream enrobed a delicate vanilla cream inside while a layer of crushed sable biscuits served as the base. This was topped with a quenelle of chestnut ice-cream with a chocolate-like crisp placed jauntily on top. I found the chestnut cream to be cloyingly sweet, but luckily the ice-cream helped tone down the sweetness somewhat.The last dessert was something that I was anticipating most since it contained chocolate~ A 64% tainori chocolate and tea delice on a lake of meyer lemon jell-o with milk sorbet. The chocolate tone was bold and spot on for sweetness, but I found the biscuit base to be slightly too hard to cut through easily with a fork. On the other hand, the jell-o was really something. Everyone that took a spoonful instantly screwed up their faces and winced as it was unbearably sour. I do not know if that was done on purpose, but the extreme contrast in flavours spoiled this dessert for me. A curious note, the menu stated it was a milk sorbet, but I am quite certain that I was eating a lemon sorbet...And to end on, well -made cappuccinos, skim decaf latte and Jing earl grey with a delightful assortment of petite fours~ Those passionfruit caramels were so so good!Overall I think Amber was quite decent, some of the dishes on the set lunch were hits and misses, but after trying their signature dish I would love to come back to try their full degustation menu for dinner~

warning: 威水苯猪 has transformed into simon cowell in this review!

we were lucky to get a booking for saturday wine lunch at amber, just a few days before. despite all that glitzy setting & décor that are better than a hotel lounge/bar, I did not find the “french” cuisine here impressive at all. is it really french or just eclectic/contemporary and where is the wow factoramuse bouche: 1. green creamy stuff with tapioca or boba/bubbles, interesting fusion, little french, B+. 2. brown creamy ball on a stick, amusing to the mouth, eclectic, B+. 3. large deep fried cheese ball, too filling to be amuse bouche but tasted good, not french, A-.
champaign: french n/v veuve clicquot, the best standby, A-.starter: duck foie gras terrine with quince & toasted pistachio, A-. very smooth & moderately rich flavor. nice to spread over the mini foccacia with kalamata olives on top (from bread basket). i would say the terrine is modern french rendition.

wine: 2010 french grenache blanc, amoux, rhone, B+, good pairing with hint of spices.her starter: royal cabanon oysters (2), served over panna cotta, beetroot, cauliflower, hazelnut & malt vinegar, A. the oysters were raw inside, which was a pleasant surprise. the side ingredients added a new dimension to an otherwisely plain raw oyster taste. i like this creation. wait a minute, there were some red tapioca/boba/bubbles on the bottom too… why repeat an ingredient in two dishes, especially bland-tasting non-french one

wine: 2009 italian chardonnay, ettore germano, langhe, B+, semi-sweet, not fit with oysters. the grenache blanc should do better.middle course: petuna ocean trout, fillet confit & seared belly with caviar & leek in vinaigrette, B+. the fillet was tender & juicy, but the belly was unusually firm & could be over-seared. definitely contempo & little french if at all.

wine: 2009 austrian blauer zwelgeit (like syrah), leth, wagram, B, poor pairing.main course: braised lamb neck, with spices, carrots, apricots, yogurt & white beans, A-. the neck meat was served in rolled up slices. it was very tender, flavorful & distinctly lamb in taste. this is the best lamb meat, let alone neck meat, that I ever have. the only thing missing was an equally strong herb, such as rosemary or dill weed in the recipe. the white beans were out of place here. the brown sauce was too weak & could use some wine/balsamic vinegar reduction.her main: wild pheasant pie with foie gras & smoked pork belly, A-. it came with a side of autumn salad with chestnuts & cranberries. the pie was filled totally with pheasant meat & foie gras/pork belly. the flavors were intense & rich, more so than the lamb neck. actually the foie gras proportion might be too much as to overdominate the pheasant meat. it would be best if garlic, shallot & other pungent ingredients were blended with them. the sauce was too weak to be french.

wine: 2008 italian red (sangiovese/cabernet sauvignon/syrah), castello romitorio, morellino di scansano, B+. this blended red was barely suitable to pair with the lamb dish, let alone the pheasant pie. i would prefer a 100% sangiovese or cab instead. don’t they have red bordeaux in francedesserts: 1. pink grapefruit & campari sorbet over hibiscus jello. 2. pineapple poached in spiced syrup, with raisins banana sorbet & grated lime peel. 3. 64% chocolate bar glazed with bitter chocolate & passion fruit sorbet. all B+, since sorbet is no match to gelato, & fruits are not desserts. this apparently healthy dessert lineup is definitely not french! the real dessert of sweet stuff came in a silver stack box that every lady loves to bring home for storing jewelries.

the lunch is a good deal with 6 courses & 4 wine pairing, for $798. the service was fit for royalty. but if you can shell out more dough & want to taste real french cuisine with wow factor, L' Atelier de Joel Robuchon is in the next building.

They noticed that I am a pescetarian by the food I ordered, so I was served with veggie and seafood pre-appetizers, and they were really yummy, I loved the pumpkin soup!

Appetizer:

sea urchin - Almost perfect, served along with crispy seaweed, I am already missing it.

Main course:

brittany blue lobster - Strong flavour and very yummy.

kagoshima wagyu beef - Good!

Dessert:

wild malaga strawberries - Excellent!!!

manjari 64% chocolate - Good, best to have the passion fruit sorbet then the chocolate to avoid sour taste.

今天有幸到amber交流一下french cuisine，實在很有意思。 這day入到restaurant已經a quarter to two有多了，尚有些少少bankers，
有window seats，但又不想咁普通，便在where they take out their creations ( wonderful food )附近take my seat.
裝修靚，份量剛好，味道不錯, 套餐包括two amuse, bread, 餐湯and ravioli，加上pre-dessert, dessert和tea，選擇actually too little，我要了菇湯及ox tail喎！
mainly i would like to stress on the service:
1. a smart hong kong lady who was quite thin, having curly ponytail, she was SO smart. introducing food very clearly and recommended right choice for different people.2. a younger boy who always smiled strangely to me which made me feel so bad, but he DISAPPEARED afterwards, i thought that it was the smart lady i mentioned above noticed that i felt uncomfortable with him and so she ordered him to leave early.3. another fatter waitress was VERY kind while she made her action of delivering my warm bread slower to let me take photos.4. i found bone in my ravioli and my favorite foreign waitress ( seemed to be captain too )said sorry to me and gave me free petit fours which was now only provided in weekends.5. i was the last one to go but no one did make me feel they want me to leave, so i actually spent three hours there6. they served tea at right time where both Gaddi's and le salon couldn't get that.

but...
why do the bankers had so many desserts? i would like some more too!!!

Had the set lunch with pairing wines with my friend.
The food was much worse than i had expected, way below the level of other Michelin-starred French restaurants in Hong Kong
Petrus @ Island Shangri-la did a better job in terms of food / service / ambience, though it is ranked lower by the Michelin guide this year....
The Oyster I had was the best course amongst all, despite its greenish weird presentation.
The mains were the worst.. i dont think it's worth the price at all..

Booked for a dinner and I guess the ambience will be even better in day-time with all the nice sunlight shining in.

Service is great and attentive. Staff know every detail about the food. Agreed with other comments, you just feel special being their guests! It's not just a dinner, it's an interesting adventure.

I have the signature appetizer - Sea Urchin and lamb for my main course. You will be satisfy of the food part that you see and you will be AMAZED for the hidden / unknown one.. That's becoz...

I saw Sea Urchin and caviar in my appetizer, but then when i scope a mouthful portion with my little shell spoon, there's lobster custard underneath! You just feel the ocean!

I saw green leaves wrapping some pink-saalmon-like meat... Your knife gently slice into it and it tells you how tender it is. You taste it and it's amazed how tender the lamb meat it actually is. The nice strong flavour of the lamb without feeling any grease in it. Oh God! The round brown "tart" is ... some chopped lamb with herbs and where is the vege? o... is the long pudding-like cake by the side.

I want to go again! PLSSSSSSSSSSSSSs...

It's pricey but the food quality, presentation and service is outstanding. We had the set menu with the wine pairing - it was excellent. A great spot when you are looking for a special evening out.

I went to this place with my colleagues recommended by my boss. This is one of the best places I have been to in terms of food quality, however I am surprised there are not many choices for the lunch menu...
I never thought duck foie gras can taste so nice esp when it goes with rasperry jam?

With it being one of the top restaurant, the service was also one of the best... which is expected with the amount of money we pay! haha

This lunch gathering supposed to be made in December last year. However with my 2 very busy friends, the date could finally made for today.

This is our 1st trial with Amber where this is introduced by a French preson.
Today we spent 4 hours which is already telling you we enjoyed the afternoon extremely with its very quiet ambiance.

I was like 15 minutes earlier as of my usual pratice and was seated comfortably just outside the restaurant, however I still felt a little bit formality. Once my friend arrived and I asked to be seated to our table. Started feeling lighter when one could see the sun bimming into the restaurant.

Choices are very narrow, but frankly speaking we are looking for quality and not quantity and there are really just right for selection. But, with the never ending plates putting one by one. We felt food already right up to our foreheads.

We started with their signature appetizer

Foie gras lollipop with beetroot and ginger bread with very freshy but livery rich taste+
chestnut pannacotta is nice to go with the whole wheat roll as the pannacotta was a little too salty+
croquette which is juicy warm but not that meaty as we expected from their introduction.
However, the bite size is just prefect. They are equally surpisingly tasteful one after the other.

STARTERSWe had the Duck Foie Gras normal and served with ginerbread and not excited.
And the Oyster served in a toasted blinis veloute, sea weed and cucumber which brought out the freshy but not fishy of the oysters. A good try!

MIDDLE COURSE:The Risotto which was creamy and I always enjoy risotto, but started feeling full after this.
The Kobacha Squash is really a Japanese Pumpkin soup.

MAIN COURSE:The Cod which I haven't had such welly made with softy touch of cod for quite sometime. Trusted the bacon wrapping spirited up the taste of the cod.
The Oxtail wrapped was kind of meaty and fun to have.

DESERTS:

Coffee and sweets:After these 4 hours, I do not feel like having food for anther 2 days!

Menu for review<http://www.amberhongkong.com/menus>

With the ‘rents in town for Christmas, my wife and I seized the opportunity to leave the lad at home with his grandparents and spend some quality time together with a (gasp) evening meal out – a table at the 2-michelin starred Amber was hastily secured for 8:30.

Low lighting in the dining room made for a warm and inviting environment and the tables were nicely spread so there was no feeling of being ‘packed in’.

We decided on the 8 course degustation menu (with a selection of ‘pre-courses’ to get your taste buds tingling). Rather than a blow-by-blow account, I’ll rattle through the highlights. From the canapés and amuse bouches, I loved the light-as-air teeny-tiny olive muffin and quirky foie gras lollipop. The first ‘real’ course of sea urchin with lobster jelly and caviar served alongside much needed crispy seaweed waffles was a belter – heart-stoppingly rich, but excellent nonetheless. The main course of Wagyu beef, cooked two ways, was one of the most accomplished meat dishes I’ve had the pleasure to eat. In particular, the braised short rib with contrasting sharpness of fruit-glazed root veg was heavenly.

An impressive selection and knowledgeable waiter made the cheese course (served with a choice of fruit or ‘country’ bread) stick in my mind. I (boringly) selected brie (deliciously creamy), a rich salty Dutch hard cheese and (bravely) a spectacular (and extremely whiffy!) strong blue. What followed was one of the best sweets I can remember eating – orange and subtle rosemary flavoured wafer thin meringue balls filled with frozen yoghurt with a fantastic citrus zing – the balance of sweet and sharp was perfection and a welcome palate cleanser. For the 5 glass wine pairing, the standouts were a crisp white burgundy paired with the sea urchin and a cab shiraz that was bursting with fruit and soft on spice that was paired with the beef. An additional glass (so 6 in all) of complimentary dessert wine was presented with the superbly light chocolate soufflé with rum butter.

My least favourite course was probably the confit salmon with avocado sauce and a mini apple roulade. This arrived under a transparent smoke-filled dome – which was removed at the table for a little drama. The smoke made the first mouthful of salmon a little acrid, in my view, and struck me as a little gimmicky – more suited to the Fat Duck or Bo. But in fairness, the dish tasted better as I went on and the salmon was clearly top quality.

The meal was rounded off with a selection of petite fours that were ultimately packaged up for us and taken home – an offering to my parents as my wife and I were stuffed to the gills. Presentation for every course, as you’d expect, was striking, and service was flawless.

So here’s the bottom line: there’s no denying that at 2k a head (even after a 10% discount – thanks HSBC) Amber is almost obnoxiously expensive. However … it was genuinely one of the best (albeit pricey) meals I’ve had.

Date and time of dining: Sunday 19th December 2010; 1 – 4pm
Weekend wine lunch
Having tried Caprice, I’d always wanted to try Amber as well. On making a reservation, I found it slightly inconvenient that only a 6-course wine-pairing menu was offered for lunch on weekends, and the normal 3-course lunch was only available on weekdays. Anyhow, having opted for the weekend one, I looked forward to an extended, relaxing session of wining and dining.
First off, I was slightly disappointed with the menu, as the popular sea urchin appetizer was not on it that day. Plus, I found the variety of the courses a bit limited, with certain ingredients repeated often, like foie gras. This actually made it easier to choose which dishes to have for each course (choice of 1 out of 3 for each course, except for dessert), since we hoped to experience greater variation.
As per usual, after ordering, the bread basket was brought to us, with a choice of crispy bread, whole-wheat roll, French baguette, and olive bread. Though I ended up having tried all four by the end of the meal (some more than once), I most enjoyed the olive bread and the crispy one, albeit the latter was sometimes a bit burnt.
Amuse Bouches:
The selection of 3 bite-sized hors d’œuvre made a good start, though one was better than the others.
Foie gras lollipop with beetroot and ginger bread

This was the best – it not only looked appetizing, but the foie gras was of good quality and possessed a rich, gamey taste.
Pork croquette

This, on the other hand was less impressive - the interior was not refined enough and you couldn’t really taste what it was composed of. It was rather like an explosion of sauce once you bit into it – liquidy.
Chestnut panna cotta with pumpkin puree
This lacked the ingredients’ respective flavours, but was an innovative combination nonetheless.
Appetizer:
Duck foie gras with cranberry jelly and gingerbread

Compared with the lollipop version, this foie gras terrine was creamier in both taste and texture, and was without the same gamey taste. Though I preferred the foie gras in the lollipop, this was nevertheless enjoyable to eat with the piece of buttery toasted bread on the side, which I associated with brioche.
Unfortunately, I was foolish enough to eat one of the three pods of black pepper on its own, which caused me to gulp down much of my wine. Goes to show that each ingredient used by the chef, down to that speck of pepper, is of pretty good quality?
Middle course:
John Dory with bay leaves under the skin, and celeriac reduction
The last time I tried this type of fish was at Club Gascon in London – it had imprinted in me one of the most memorable, smooth and meaty textures of fish I had ever eaten (second to the cod, or Chilean sea bass at Hakkasan, London). I’m afraid the piece served here was no match, but was obviously skillfully prepared just the same. The bay leaves were aromatic and the celariac – how can you not love celeriac??? The beef jus was rich and intense as well.
Main course:
Oxtail with pasta

This came out a surprise, in a good way. By no means did it resemble its description in the menu, and I personally think it was way better than the description.
It looked like a garden, with a colourful and fresh appearance made up of various leaves and diced mangoes, and a mixture of different sauces. The best touch was the mint flavoured yogurt, which I thought gave a bit of an Indian flair (especially together with the mango).
The pasta encasing the oxtail was unexpectedly firm and chewy, with a great taste of egg, which I really appreciate. I could actually taste the egg pasta even alongside the intense, beefy flavour of the oxtail, which was impressive.
The beef jus, again, was superb, but was a repetition of that in the middle course, which I felt was not ideal. The oxtail, as I said, was richly flavoured, and also tender. However, you wouldn’t exactly be able to pinpoint it as being oxtail meat, since it was shredded. This texture matched the pasta well, though, and the whole composition of this dish, as a huge ravioli, was a delight for both one’s sight and palate. The portion of it was also more than adequate, and I was already filling up nicely by the time I was halfway through.
Desserts:
To be honest, I felt the inclusion of 3 desserts as part of the 6-courses was a bit cheeky, since they aren’t really separate ‘courses’ in my opinion. Besides, the dessert part at Caprice was pretty much composed of 3 desserts too, yet the meal was still regarded as a 3-course one. Anyway -
Coconut pannacotta with wild strawberries and fresh green tea ice-cream

My Singaporean friend is visiting HK and want to Splurge! I call it life-style, pamper myself with something nice.

Amber is indeed one of the best choices to enjoy fine dining. I've been here several times, and their quality of food and services are always excellent.

My friend's has delayed a little bit so we started our dinner at 9pm, a bit late but the atmosphere there makes us happy to enjoy the dinner, slowly....

They are doing White Truffle special menu, but it must be ordering for the table; my friend is not really keen on that, so we come back to the normal a la carte menu.

foie gras is always my first prioty of appetizer here. Did try the Hokkaido Sea urchin last time, really good; but still I'm really in love with the foie gras, and their way of cooking is beautiful, foie gras in ravioli with black tryffle in creamy soup. Wow... it's relaly hard to find a word to describe the feeling....just ...perfect.

The mini appetizers prepared by the Chef are lovely, delicious and more importantly, they make you feel HAPPY.

I had the "Dordogne" farmers pork, which is the braised neck with creamy spaghetti. Delicious! My friend was having the Amadai, so good I had this last time as well and the way they cook it is excellent.

In between, the bakery served is nice.

As their chocolate is famous, we pick chocolate dish as our dessert...already very full, but they offer several types of pre-dessert and post-dessert's dessert, all are so lovely

My friend has alcohol allergy so we didn't drink wine this time. They do have a good wine selection available.

3 hours dinner from 9pm to mid-night, when we left, they offer a gift, which is a macaroon, so nice.

Will try their white truffle menu with someone who keen!

Before I begin, I just want to say that I was never a fan of Central. But, this was before I tasted the awesomeness of Amber several days ago. After a year of listening to my friend harp on about how great Amber was, I decided to overcome my uneasiness and cross the harbour. To prepare for the supposedly great evening ahead, I rented a suit, found somebody presentable to go with me, and fasted all day.

I will spend little time talking about the decor and atmosphere, except to say I give them an A+. Special mention to the male bathroom, it's very nice and cozy in there and I almost wish I could have had my meal in there. As for the service, I was expecting to be looked down upon, and perhaps even turned away. I was completely wrong. Let me tell you, Amber sets the par when it comes to service excellence. From the get-go, we were treated very well and made to feel very comfortable. I almost mistakenly believed that we were regulars as they were treating us like VIPs. Obviously I was feeling pretty special until I noticed they treat everyone this way. That's cool, but now I don't feel as cool.

OK, so on to the food. I opened the menu and damn the prices almost gave me a heart attack. Luckily I was prepared; my back-up was in the form of a really rich date.

Let's see...here's what i ordered: Diver Scallops, Duck Foie Gras, Wagyu Steak, Cappuccino.

Diver Scallops- I usually don't even eat seafood but the scallops looked pretty damn good on the next table. I decided to go all out and ordered it. Since I brought back-up, I also opted for the truffle shavings...which I believe was over $200 extra. While the scallops were tiny, the shavings were quite generous. The scallops on their own would have tasted excellent, but I can't stress enough how awesome the white truffles were with the scallops. It was like a match made in heaven. I only wish the scallops were a bit bigger, and it wouldn't have hurt to give maybe one or two more pieces. Oh, and before I forget, there was a small piece of sausage on each scallop which added another layer of taste to the whole thing. Tasty.

Duck Foie Gras- If i remember correctly, the foie gras was inside the ravioli. It was so so good. The ravioli was very creamy, and the foie gras was very rich. I highly recommend this dish. In all honesty, I was already getting full after this starter...it almost became an ender for me...get it? hyuk hyuk

Wagyu Steak- This was so very very good. The meat was soooo tender. And that's pretty much all i remember about this dish due to the euphoric state I was in. Well, I can add that my steak was cooked to medium as was recommended by the waiter. The quality of the meat was unparallel, or perhaps I should get out more. Anyway, it was very good. It was served in two distinct styles, i suppose because it was too different parts. Oh I also remember the portion of this main was very small. There is also some sort of gravy that they poured on my steak...that was excellent.

Porkchop- I think it was porkchop? Anyway it was a pork dish. It wasn't even mine but I took the liberty of biting a chunk off my date's plate while she went to the bathroom. I don't remember much of this dish either EXCEPT that is was probably the best damn pork I've ever put in my mouth. No joke.

Cappuccino- nothing to write home about, except that it isn't starbucks. and that's a good thing.

Throughout the meal, we were served little dishes called amuse-bouches. They're basically little appetizers that go before each dish. Though my memory is a bit foggy, I'm quite sure we were served 5 in total...and let me tell you they were all very good. My favourite was this foie gras lolipop; the outside was a sweet and a bit sour and inside was the foie gras. Oh, there was also this fried little ball the size of a i dunno, human eyeball....anyway you pop the whole thing in your mouth and it is heaven. I think i tasted something meaty in it, but anyway it was love at first sight. Best part of the amuse-bouches- they're free!

I almost forgot to mention the bread basket. It was excellent. I kept asking for more Sourdough Toasts, and the olive focaccia. The French do their bread right. I'm not complaining at all, but i nearly overdosed on the bread!

So anyway, I wish I could remember more about the meal so I could go into more detail. I suppose in the future I'll write the reviews immediately after the meal so as to keep the details as faithful as possible. To say I don't remember much doesn't say anything negative about the restaurant. In fact, Amber in my opinion is probably one of the best restaurants I've been to in HK in terms of a collective experience. The food was excellent, the service was impeccable, and the environment perfect. The meal did break my date's piggy bank, but I would say Amber is well worth it. OK, who am I kidding, I wouldn't complain if it was a bit cheaper.
On a side note, I would love to have taken some pictures, but I'm too classy for that. Or should I say, I didn't want to get myself blacklisted by acting like a yokel. Anyway, what more can i say...I'm in love with Amber.

To mark our 8th anniversary, my boyfriend took me to Amber for dinner. We had the tasting menu and it was amazing. There's not a dish that didn't leave me wanting more! Each dish leaves a strong and lingering flavour in your mouth!!

Starting off with a few delicate welcome appetizers - foie gra truffle, iberico pork coquette, and a mushroom cappacino thingy (can't remember the name), we already know that we will continue to be pleasantly surprised by stimulating presentation as well as fantastic flavours with the following dishes and Amber did not disappoint! HEAVENLY and an EXPLOSION OF FLAVOURS are the 2 words I have for all the courses featured on the tasting menu but the key highlight would be the Hokkaido Sea Urchin (creamy sea urchin + smooth cauliflower mash + cavier!), the Augoustine, and the Chocolate Souffle!

Definitely a perfect palce for any special occasions especailly if you're looking for a posh and romantic place to take your significant other. Also be prepared for it to be quite a long dinner as wait in between courses are quite long (but it's worth it!), we started around 8:30pm and didn't get through our last courses until almost mid-night!