jan 09, 10, 3人來lunch,好彩每個course都有3個選擇,剛好掃餐牌,叫咗 :

1) still water (hk$85)

2) bread (包咗)
-我要了baugette同唔知咩crisp
-baugette正常,而最喜歡喺個酸酸哋嘅脆麵包
-友人a就要了olive bread
-友人b就要了wheat bread
-有牛油同橄欖油揀,事後睇番有個食家寫,話佢嘅橄欖油好似仲掂............蝕咗........早知叫佢2樣都比啦~~~~但呢個牛油同上次喺caprxxx食到嘅樣好似,尖頂都同樣喺無鹽,而個溶度剛好,很容易就推得開,食到奶油香,所以今次我都大刀的刮來搽麵包

3) my wine lunch ($640)
-其實我都唔喺鍾意飲酒,對佢既無認識,又酒量1般.............不過我未食過wine pairing嘅meal,所以想試吓,當作1個經驗

a) amuse bouches (包咗)
i) duck foie gras lollipop w/rapsberry coating & beetroot
-個樣好似珍寶珠咁可愛
-裡面喺鴨肝,所以會有頗重嘅家禽"so"味
-外面包有桑莓嘅酸醬
-好似紅色嘅葉就喺beetroot,啡色薄脆喺薑餅
-最欣賞就喺個鴨肝主角

ii) croquette
-侍應介紹呢個時都有提點我哋小心中間嘅熱汁
-所以我就當佢好似小籠包咁咬開個窗先
-頂頭有幾粒鹽,外面嘅皮比較薄,裡面喺暗黃色嘅汁
-不過唔識形容佢個味道

iii) mousse cup
-最頂喺用墨魚汁整成嘅薄脆,之後喺椰菜花mousse,接住喺希靈魚籽啫喱,最底喺panna cotta
-侍應介紹搞碎薄脆,撈均嚟食
-比較清淡的,只喺希靈魚籽啫喱嗰層帶點鹹

iv) wine pairing - nv veuve clicquot ponsardin 'brut'
-喺champagne.remis.france

b) starter
i) dungeness crab w/lemon & chive over romanesco cauliflower panna cotta
-個賣相好靚,又紅又綠,又有金箔
-表面嘅環狀喺鬆脆嘅炸物
-底下有d jelly狀東西,最杯底就喺椰菜花奶凍混以好多嘅蟹肉絲
-蟹肉鮮味

ii) wine pairing - 2008 dourthe n1 sauvignon blanc.bordeaux.france
-由個老外waitor抱住2枝酒同我介紹..........真喺sorry,我覺得辜負咗佢,因我對酒已經無嘜認識,仲用英文同我講,聽佢講,好似呢支帶點花香味(如無聽錯),所以就揀呢支
-另1選擇喺2006 andre di pec pinot grigio fruili.italy

c) middle course - tasmanian salmon confit, braised and raw fennel w/grated lemon peel and grey shrimp sabayon
-低溫慢煮,所以3文魚顏色無嘜點變,質感好腍,但3文魚味還是欠奉,所以非個人杯中茶
-配以沙巴翁,fennel puree同煮熟咗嘅fennel
-反而幾鍾意那個新鮮煮熟嘅fennel因幾清甜
-全度菜都比較清淡

d) main course
i) iberian pork belly lacquered w/vintage sherry vinegar enhanced jus kabocha pumpkin gnocchi and black trumpet mushrooms
-1舊長磚形嘅豬腩肉
-肉當然好鬆,因有咁多肥膏
-肥膏亦唔太肥膩
-旁邊2件南瓜薯糰就軟軟糯糯
-如果喺計整豬腩肉嘅方法,還是喜歡上海式嘅濃油赤醬式,味道上夾味d

ii) wine pairing - 2007 alvaro palacios 'petalos' mencia.bierzo.spain
-另1選擇喺2006 tenuta delle terre nere nerello mascalese.etna.italy

e) tasting desserts
-很開心甜品可以每人食3款,唔洗揀
i) malaga wild strawberry over a jell-o mascarpone ice cream
-3粒細細嘅野士多啤梨,質感比平常嘅腍同纖維度無咁高,而且酸度強d
-個mascarpone雪糕都幾溶得幾快,可惜份量太少了
-最杯底喺微酸嘅士多啤梨啫喱

ii) chestnut nougat w/speculos
-有原粒栗子,不太甜
-最喜歡喺鳥結味mousse,creamy,又清甜
-背喺塊薑味脆餅,有點玉桂味
-最下喺玉桂味軟毯,幸好玉桂味溫溫的,容易接受

iii) araguani chocolate tart, rum fudge banana sorbet
-最喜歡這1個甜味,可能因為朱古力嘅關係啦
-先食個香蕉sorbet,明顯香蕉味,但唔喺好濃郁
-之後就喺+以rum酒整出嚟嘅朱古力mousse條,黏度好高,好朱古力,而個酒味亦好重手
-最後食個朱古力撻,面嘅朱古力片好薄,好脆,外圍嘅撻皮亦鬆薄,裡面滿佈朱古力漿,好濃,好滿足

iv) wine pairing - 2006 dom. cauhape 'ballet d'octobre' jurancon.bordeaux.france
-另1選擇喺n/v fonseca '10 yr old' port.quinta do panascal.portugal

f) drink - hot decaf mocha
-又可以1嚐咖啡味道
-平時慣性叫decaf latte,今次試下decaf mocha
-好大杯吓,好滑,不過好似不夠咖啡香

g) petit fours
-白色的喺茉莉味棉花糖,花香味明顯,不過甜咗d
-旁為有nuts蓉嘅迷你撻,中間有舊瓜肉
-長方形夾餅狀喺玉桂餅,中間有玉桂味軟糕,幸好都喺好溫和
-之後嘅macaron就食唔出咩味,皮好脆薄,但中間好chewy,麻麻哋鍾意
-圓柱形喺焦糖/拖肥,面喺鹽巴,都幾鹹吓,味道同甜味有好強嘅對比
-每款都有着鮮明嘅性格

4) 友人a juice lunch ($640)
-其實友人只喺將wine lunch轉咗做unlimited juice lunch...........而友人最後飲咗1杯西柚汁,2杯橙汁
a) amuse bouches (包咗)
-意見如上

b) starter - duck foie gras w/spiced mas amiel wine poached fig & shaved crispy ginger bread
-試咗友人少少,同其中1個amuse bouche有點類近
-面有棒子果仁同梨片
-個薑餅,有玉桂味之餘,又帶點甜
-仲有個brioche麵包

c) middle course - organic carrot & orange ravioli, shallot confit, w/a few chanterelles red wine reduction and beef jus
-個有機紅蘿蔔好清甜
-個意大利雲吞都同平時食有肉嘅唔同,個皮薄,個餡小軟糯
-1道清清哋嘅素食,反而幾討好

d) main course - atlantic cod pre-salted then butter poached, erved w/seaweed 'viennois' crushed 'baltz' island potatoes & sabayon
-試咗友人少少,食落個魚都有點鹹,現在望番menu先見到喺預先醃過
-肉質彈,仲juicy

e) tasting desserts
-3款意見如上

f) drink - hot tea w/milk

g) petit fours
-意見如上

5) 友人b basic lunch ($460)
-呢個就喺無酒無飲品跟..........因友人已叫咗支水了
a) amuse bouches (包咗)
-意見如上

b) starter - winter root vegetables some pickled, others prepared as a jellifed consumme a ravioli of fresh horseradish & confit tomato
-賣相好colorful
-試咗友人少少
-全碟都喺啫喱狀
-味道酸酸的,頗為醒胃,但就會單薄咗d

c) middle course - paimpol coco bean veloute with 'bacalaos alkorta' fish chorizo and lardo 'tartine'
-試咗友人少少
-個湯調味適中,但無嘜特別驚喜
-湯內其實仲有舊魚,呢個就唔同友人爭,始終多舊魚嘅嘢,都喺啱佢d...........hahaha
-個湯就跟咗個有豬肉腸多士,鹹脆

d) main course - prime beef short rib braised in pinot noir & spaghetti wrapped oxtail
-試咗友人少少..........佢嘅short rib味道質感都好似喺drawing xxxx食過嘅,即喺肉質結實,好濃牛味,不過牛魔王友人似乎唔多欣賞
-另外就將意粉皮包住牛尾
-其實是做得不錯的

e) tasting desserts
-3款意見如上

f) drink
-友人放棄了

g) petit fours
-意見如上

* 多謝友人倆陪我嚟見識吓最近取得米芝蓮2星級嘅amber

* 因為比較多中國人侍應,所以比較親切..........另外佢嘅菜色介紹好詳細,慢慢道來,未點前,是我們要求解釋...........到真的每道上枱時,再解釋多次

* 我去過嘅米芝蓮有星西餐廳不多...........好自然會拿佢同4季嘅capxxxx比.........佢哋各有長處,呢度嘅amuse bouche, starter同甜品比較強,服務嘅親切度同每度菜嘅交待都稍為好d..............而capxxxx就喺主菜,咖啡,景觀,地方寬敞度好d

* 我的wine pairing全個course有4杯酒...........食完個餐真喺都有酒意 (可能我酒量淺啦).............所以要記住揸車咪飲...........飲咗就唔好揸車

Went with several friends to celebrate a birthday. We loved the private room and the great service. We had the Sat wine lunch. They customized the menu for us, adding Turkey into the picture, just in time to celebrate Christmas. Boy the food was just fantastic. Everyone really enjoyed the 3 courses of dessert, including one friend who doesn't even like dessert so much. Loved all the paired wine as well, especially the dessert wine and port. We also had the complementary wine and chocolate cake for a birthday offer. The 4 layers chocolate cake was just delightful, especially the crunchy chocolate cracker bit. The restaurant is highly recommended, especially if you can book a private room and stay in it for 5 hours like we did.

Brunch at Amber at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental has never disappointed me. With their free flow of Veuve Clicquot, and their unlimited dessert buffet with their very own chocolate sommelier fixing up your dose of sweets for the day. Something surely not to be missed. The managers and servers there are very knowledgeable, providing excellent service, maintaining a smile and professionalism at all times.
Brunch Hours: Sat and Sun 11:00-3:00pm.

Parma Ham Taster

Although I'm not a huge fan, they had a pretty good selection and boy, does the presentation impress?

Tomato Confit

This on the other hand was a tasty and appetizing gazpacho. Refreshing and sweet. The serving wasn't too generous though, it was gone in two small sips.

Pan-fried foie gras with poached rhubarb and hibiscus and black pepper coulis

There are some dishes that I would probably prefer in a smaller scale restaurant, such as their foie gras, not one of the best but of course, still above average. The seasoning was near perfect, it was rather the texture where I had my doubts. The outside was not crispy enough, while the inside was amazing, melting in your mouth as you would expect.

Tasmanian Salmon

Tasmanian salmon - confit smoked and served warm. The generous hunk of salmon had a thin crispy skin, while the texture of uncooked smoked salmon, but it was warm, soft and tender.

Wagyu Beef

All I've got to say is that this was one of the best I've ever tried. Ordered it twice (Hence the two different platings)

Black Cod
Black Cod melted in your mouth, although it's not too flavorful, the texture made up for it. The garlic foam made a nice addition to the fish.

Dessert Selection included chocolate cake, creme brulee & macarons, opera, lemon tart, blue berry cheese cake, chocolate fondue(dark, milk, white), bread pudding and specialty chocolate milk, made by the chocolate sommelier.


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On 1 August weekend......

Its an Omnimous Task: penning any experience about 2 Starred AMBER. Its one of the excuses why I had held back writing about longish fine-dining reviews... its daunting for both me nad you, a possible bore-fest! HAUTE-CUISINE put together by in-house headchef, Richard Ekkebus injects into his food an almagation of heart, soul and profound understanding of food chemistry. Its serious stuff, yet relentlessly playful - combined with a respectful approach to produce, AMBER was destine to create sparks and garner a local Cult Following. Its Motto has always involved the endless bombardment of a series of delightful dishes in quick succession, almost like Rambo firing from a 500 round machine-gun & sometimes involving far too much details than bargainable. Its designed to spoil! An re-enactment of each singular experience proves futille via anything short of a 2,000 word essay, or better still, go visit there yourself ! Nevertheless, here's an experience as brief as I could write it and hopefully remains concise enough for your future reference.

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BREAD BASKET-
French butter as served at HK Robuchon L'Atelier and this time also given Chateau d'Estoublon Olive Oil - the latter is for sale here exclusively in HK at roughly $850 per bottle? (CAPRICE carries the same oil but as well.) The no.1 or no.2 world famous Charente Poitou based French butter is good but seems to pale in comparison to Caprice or Pierre's Bretagne option this time, infact I've bought slightly better on the market. The famous French Olive Oil is great and of the 'robust rather aromatically light' spectrum but somehow I still prefer Spanish, Greek and even Australian or Italian. Brand names and reputations aren't guarantees by default!! But the seriousness evident in each nanometer of detail experienced @ AMBER as they strive to bring the best to the customer is respectable. The Olives Bread, Baguette and Scandanavian crisps were amazing. Encore !
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AMUSE BOUCHE-

DUCK FOIE GRAS LOLLIPOP WITH RASPBERRY COATING & BEETROOT -
Enjoyed this more than last time, somehow it had a strong Foie taste but balanced by sweet fruitiness from the Raspberry coating and red Beetroot chips! Chuppa-chups that won't break the front teeth!

MELON PUREE & FOAM -
3 months down the track, you tend to forget every last detail of each dish at Amber! But this was really refreshing and came with some Sodium-Alginate based 'molecular' caviars and Peach Foam on top of the Melon Puree?? Nice and not a bit pretentious, its what Amuse Bouche is all about.

IBERIAN HAM CROQUETTE with SPANISH PEPPERS and SPICE -
Great and bursting in the mouth, I finally realised this morsel encompasses some form of molecular formula within, it was also executed better than last time. Perhaps the fact the head chef was there ensured it was done to his intended effect.
Wine Pairing: Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Brut, NV.
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ENTREES -

DUNGENESE CRAB - in 5 TEXTURES & 4 TEMPERATURES:
Consisting of a 5 small dishes: Jello, Salad, Foam, Hot Bisque & Crab Ice-Cream, this had little Crab essence and somehow seemed messier than is integrally amazing! The potential execution wasn't there and it didn't satisfy the hype behind the experimental Signature entree! Enjoyable - but personally Dungeness crab is not my preferred crab, it lacks outright crab sweetness compared to non-frozen Red Alaskan.

DUCK FOIE GRAS - ARGELETTE CIDER & APRICOT BAR:
Topped with almonds and shaved Biscotti, the Foie Gras de Canard in Pate form is kind of more solid but way more pungent in flavours than a smoother, more sophisticated Goose foie gras. Its a tradeoff I'm prepared to take and is completely within expected scope. In France these days, most restaurants serve the stronger Duck rather than gavaged and more melty Goose Foie Gras. I like both: they simply require separate judging systems by the user! This was done quite well for what it is. The Argelette Cider jellies and the Apricotty jamminess is beating along the same groove as the foie... The almonds & biscotti were more ornamental than really necessary, yet, one must give kudos to the chef for even bothering to distract us!
Wine Pairing: Jurancon Noble Sweet, Manseng Grapes from Southern Rhone Valley
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MAIN COURSES -

US PRIME BEEF SIRLOIN - 72 HOURS BRAISED OXTAIL OVER MUSHROOM MOUSSELINE, CHICKPEA PONT NEUF:
This was done absolutely fabulously, better than seafood dishes I encountered last time. The Sirloin was just about perfect and floated in its stock sauce, the Girolles pairing well with the master. The slow braised Oxtail was 'utterly amazing' and full of naturally deduced gelatinous-gravy and even gamey flavour, the Mousseline below fitting in tremendously as a concept. The Chickpea battered 'chips' were surprisingly not made of chickpea internals like the ubiquitous chickpea chips but its mashed potatoes with a chickpea coating! THIS, I'm telling you, is definitely one of the best fries I've ever devoured. I still need to try Alain Ducasse Spoon's famous slow-cooked before frying Pont Neuf to compare though! All 3 components in the dish were great, but somehow they existed as separate elements rather than a sum of its parts, is that nickpicking.
Wine Pairing: Chateau d'Arlus, Braucol blend from AOC Gaillac.

MIERAL BRESSE DUCK - BREAST ROASTED, LEG MINCED & SERVED AS A PATE, BEETROOTS & BLACK PEPPERED CHERRIES:
This croise duck dish reminds me of Challans poultry. Bresse is more known for its chicken but its Duck receives lesser applause, whereas the opposite is true of Challanaise chicken products compared to the duck. Its funny sometimes, its all contrived by mankind ! This duck was cooked 90% perfectly - juicy, moist and pink with a slight blood presence. Its seasoned well and the skin even crisped. The stack of Beetroots topped with pickled Turnips really accentuates the duck breast experience, the Cherry being seasonal another smart addition. Just like the Steak, the separate auxilliary dish of Minced Duck Leg in the form of an inverted duck pate pie was gorgeous! Somehow, these 2 main course dishes were opposite of what I expected from Amber - nearly perfectly executed, but minus the fuss. On the negative side, they're slightly disintegrated and fell foul from having a strong core theme. Separated from 1 dish into 2, it also brings into question what exactly should a foodie ask for during a dine-out session: would you take 2 presents which one supplements the other, or would you rather receive 1 Grand Prize with an all conquering & integrated concept? I'm happy with both approaches, but true Michelin 3 Star restaurants might not agree. Nevertheless, this was the Dish of the Day for us.
Wine Pairing: Pinot Noir from Stefano Lubiana Primavera, Australia
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PRE DESSERT & 3 DESSERTS-:

PRE-DESSERT - STRAWBERRY IN JELLO with BALSAMIC & YOGHURT FOAM:
This was great, the Yoghurt lined with Aged Balsamic beneath and embellished by Flower Pedal, the Jello proved beautifully refreshening as palate cleanser!

WHITE PEACH POACHED IN LEMON VERBENA WITH GRANITE:
White Peach was in season and the poaching in Verbena solution with their respective julienned Herbal Leaves adorned the top, which makes it grassily aromatic yet tangy! The sorbet Granite on the other hand was a perfect summer dessert, supported by an unassuming but enjoyable flat Peach jello under. This tasted way better than it looks!

MACADAMIA CREME BRULEE & CARAMEL ICE CREAM:
This was good, the Roasted then Caramelised Macadamia nut was also coated with Fleur de Sale salt despite the lack of mentioning on menu. In fact - unlike many other restaurants, nearly ALL dishes in Amber have a tendency to surprise with additional steps and thoughfulness. One could miss them completely as its not revealed on fineprint - so you need to pay attention to the waitstaff as they describe to you each singular detail. I'm 100% certain I missed some details as I didn't jot notes, perhaps I should next time and treat it as another educational trip, but I'm too shy! Ice Cream was slightly melty here, but the Creme Brulee was excellent and suffered none of the hard crustiness sugar not gelatin-based 'hard' creme bases served at most HK shops. Here in the ramekin, they're steam-baked properly as per original recipe and slightly runny....

ARAGUANI CHOCOLATE FONDANT, COLOMBIAN COFFEE ICE CREAM:
This is a flourless-fondant and should not be compared to the normal gateau-like fondants with molten centres. Here, its airy and fluffy, almost like a choco souffle. It was a lovely dessert with strong Valrhona chocolate influence. Again, ice cream slightly melted and almost tasted like a frozen Starbucks frappucino than a real Columbian coffee. Nevertheless..... all 4 desserts were more tastier than the photos can suggest but generally, not as inventive nor painstaking in preparation as last time.
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ANTHONY BERNARD CHEESES:
From memory, consisting of BRIE, CHAROLAIS, MUNSTER and FOURME D'AMBERT? It comes with an amazing passionfruit-mango chutney infused with seeded mustard ! The slightly runny Brie was a good cheese starting point and not too overwhelming, Charolais was refreshingly strong being majoritively sheep's milk in composition, Munster is smelly but not as pungent as when it reaches its worst potential when ripened to the max! I'm in my infancy stage learning about the hundreds of French cheeses but I happen to know this one - the cowy Blue Cheese really hasn't been a favourite but I wasn't allowed to choose - its mainly saltiness and creaminess, there're 2-3 other European Blue Cheeses I'd tried that has better sophistication & endlessly lingering sweetness and nuttiness. Nevertheless this was a good platter but its missing the awesome salad I had last time!
Wine Pairing: Passito Rosso from Luca Abrate Sognando, Italy & previous Jurancon Noble.
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HOT DRINKS:

CAPPUCINO - Made slightly better than the last trip, its quite old-school Italian or Hotel-like in technique! Not my drink today, I hate coffee .

TEA - An Orange Pekoe from memory, it was very good & better than the coffee. Mandarin Oriental teas are always exceptional.
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PETIT FOUR:
The Petit Four selections are nothing short of AMAZING. Even better than last time! The Strawberry tart with Raspberry jelly was pretty, the Turkish Coffee Macaron were perfectly crisp yet chewy, the inside filling grainy and carried that Turkish coffee 'Dates' like sweetness & spice, its addictive and innovative! Another side-plate of Marshmallows and Minty chocolates plus Salted Caramel praline were nearly as good as Valrhona or Jean Paul Hevin's versions. Amazing feat! One of the most perfectly executed Petit Four courses I've encountered but perhaps done and moulded so politically well, to the point it doesn't belong to a restaurant but a chocolate shop. Is that a praise? It depends on your intepretation.

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FOR ROUGHLY $750 AFTER 10%, INCLUDING ALL THE ABOVE AND 4 GLASSES OF WINE - AMBER SHOWS A LOT OF HEART AND PRIDE AND DARE I SAY BUSINESS ETHICS. THE SERVICE IS WARM AND FRIENDLY, STAFF 'WING' AND THE SOMMELIER KNEW EVERYTHING ABOUT HERE: THE ALOOF YET INTUITIVE, FRENCH-LIKE SERVICES AT CAPRICE AND PIERRE ARE MORE INTERNATIONAL BY STANDARDS... BUT AMBER IS WARMER AND ASIAN CUSTOMERS EXPECT TO BE PAMPERED ENDLESSLY: EACH TO THEIR OWN.

This time around, the food tasted better and with better execution with slightly less visual flair. Its spontaneously 'Theatrical' yet unpretentious, but somehow lacked that really strong theme involving centrally integrated core dishes as seen in 3 Star or even real 2 Star restaurants abroad and the reason I haven't brought myself to visit at night time as yet. Sometimes, the difference between 1 to 3 stars is not as big as gap as it seems, especially when it comes to Michelin's Rating standards: CAPRICE is slightly better 'positioned for upgrade' in my opinion but I'm sure the majority would disagree - but I obviously say that with my own reason and perhaps I'll explain more when the time comes... This meal was still funky and great, it did everything so well with few vices. Highly satisfying vs Price factor, but I have had better in other countries, the Experiences which mesmerize and completely encapsulate the audience with its ingenuity from the 1st to the End course. Here - it was more entertaining. Judging this as a singular experience rather than as a summary judgment of the restaurant, since it will fluctuate accordingly knowing that Haute Cuisine menus rotate on chef's innovation rather than only seasonality, unlike many Chinese food menus, I rate this Meal:

FOOD EXECUTION & PRODUCE: HIGH '4' to MID '5'
INTEGRATION OF THEMES : '3.0'

OVERALL: HIGH '4' - LOW '5'

Hopefully Get to Pen More Of Other Fine Dining Meals soon... when the Mood Suits!

今午朋友請，在Amber食咗個好豐富好好味的Saturday Wine Lunch。
個 Menu包括香檳、白酒、紅酒、餐後Dessert Wine各一杯。

先來Amuse Bouches，我的三件係：一個類似冰糖胡籚的東西，入面係鵝肝醬外面包一層甜酸脆皮，一個炸的丸入面據說係肉汁，一杯仔蜜瓜汁加層 foam。朋友因為所點的主菜、被誤會係vegetarian，所以佢的一分是個青瓜卷、兩團mouse、和同我一樣的蜜瓜汁。

Starter 我叫了”Camchatka Crab”，menu 上寫係5種味道、4種温度。其實右面係蟹湯，味道像Lobster Bisque，左便大舊的是蟹肉沙律，面上是一層creamy的醬、中層是蟹肉、底層是咸咸地的 jelly。呢個沙律味道真係好覆雜。左便是一小球的蟹味雪糕，但我吃不出蟹味。

朋友的 starter 係mushroom soap，是清湯加菜絲，旁邊是兩片truffle !!

Main Course 我叫Iberian Pork Belly 即係喎西班牙黑毛豬的豬腩，好味到無倫，果兩舊豬腩真係半肥瘦(係一層肥瘦一層、再一層肥瘦一層)，真係好難得， 不過幾滯吓，個waitress 話舊肉係蒸過出咗油先至焗，所以不算油膩啦。

朋友叫的 Main Course 係(又係) Mushroom & Artichoke Ravioli，看來並不特別好吃。

之後係 Lemon Sorbet ，跟住燈燈燈櫈：三個desserts !! 先係 Almond Cream & Caramel Sorbet，白色果團杏仁 cream 好有杏仁味。第二個甜品係 Flame Brulee，最特別係果粒夏威夷果仁，我未食過咁好味的果仁呀！第三個甜品係Caramel Ice Cream 加一層好濃的古古力在面上，幾好食。

這個wine lunch menu 收$650, 唔配酒好似收$460。佢的紅白酒(各有兩種可揀)都不是名產區，都算合口味。Dessert wine我叫咗杯 port wine，好少日光日白飲飽食醉。

呢餐食得好開心，服務親切，伙記們都能講解餸菜。絕對值得二星，可與隔離 L ’Atelier de Joel Robuchon 並駕。

Tried its degustation menu with more than 10 courses on a week night...

so it started with the foie gras lollipop (very nice!) and the croquette (it melted when you crushed the whole thing in your mouth =)). and the mushroom soup came, a bit too strong of the mushroom taste, and i preferred the creamy ones better.

after the soup. they served us with sea urchin jello! i just loved it! didn't expect to have sea urchin in french cuisine, a nice fusion =) when we're done with sea urchin, the dish of smoked salmon. we literally saw smoke coming up when it arrived on our table. moving on to the next dish, we had squid. it was not really my favorite because it was kind of too chewy for my liking.

while i was anticipating the next dish, here came the line caught amadai! the crispy skin was AWESOME, and the texture was soft, and well cooked. pretty satisfied with what we just had, the pigeon arrived~! the piegon leg was made very tender with a warm sauce

done with main courses, we chose a few kind of milder cheese served with celery and grapes i guess they've got a pretty wide range of cheeses to suit different people's taste. for myself, i found their hard cheese great

and the dessert session! olive oil was poured onto the chocolate dessert and the chocolate 'collapsed' into the bowl with the sherbet we were then amazed by the next dish - strawberry with balsamic vinegar and mascarpone the combination was great and i'm a fan of balsamic vinegar and the most anticpated dish of the whole night - 85% chocolate souffle!!! it was just WONDERFUL and it was the first dish that i finished faster than my boyfriend. i'm sure all chocolate lovers would get addicted

the dinner ended with petit fours amber would take pictures for those who were celebrating any special functions and it would give you free copies

a great night with food and service the staff gave detailed elaboration of all the dishes without being pushy at all. it has become one of the restaurants on my recommended list

Tried Caprice, so came here for a comparison, it was a bad decision.

There were 5 tables of guests in total on that day, so one would imagine it's not too hard to serve the guests, but their services were really disappointing as a 5-star hotel and a 2-star michelin restaurant.

Have done my fair share of openrice research before going to Amber, so have made up my mind to have the weekend lunch set without the wine as I am allergic to alcohol. When we arrived, they gave us a wine lunch menu, so I asked the staff whether I can skip the wine. After making a real big fuss about it, they sounded like they were doing me a favour to make a special exception for me to have the normal weekend lunch set at the price of $460. But when I got the bill, it showed:

2 Weekend Lunch @ 460.00
1 Weekend WinePair

So they have the separate code for the normal lunch set all along, but they chose to play me!

The desserts were fixed, not by my choice. They first served us something with pineapple. I personally dislike pineapple and told them so. The waiter smilingly asked whether I would like him to pass the dish to my byfriend! What kind of service is that!

Food was really so so. My boyfriend said the steak and the wine were the 2 only good things.

Well, it is of course better than a lot of restaurants already, but we have to look at with what class of restaurants we are comparing here. As a 2-star michelin restaurant in a world-renowned hotel, this kind of standard is totally unacceptable.

With less money, I can well go to Caprice and have a really nice meal without the hassle of poor services.

I end up really grumpy leaving that restaurant. Don't think it's worth to try and don't think I will come again!

2008年4月,7月,12月

睇番相片, 發覺原來一年竟來了3次~~ 每次都是滿足地離開!!

還記得第一次, 大家都有一個同感, 就是lunch既質素, 竟有食dinner既感覺, 未有因價錢比dinner為低, 而大幅降低食物質素 !! 由於我地實在太"健談", 因此認識了很可親的 waitress 阿Wing, 每次再見都有很愉快的 !!

我所點既main course 係魚, 皮香脆, 有魚香而且味濃, 因此所配的都會較淡味汁, 不會互相搶味, 不錯 !!

第二次再來, 就點了quail & foie gras; poached then roasted , 亦是相當不錯的一道主菜, 其中quail腿帶鹹香, poached 的肉味淡配上foie gras, 一濃一淡的配搭,亦很精彩 !!

第三次再來, 已得了2星米芝蓮, 而且亦加了價~~ amuse bouche 的鵝肝真寶珠亦很有趣 !!

若喜歡朱古力的, 一定很喜歡 dessert 了 ~~ 選擇不單多, 而且有水準 !!

2009-05-18
legendary three michellin star cuisine at amber, by restaurant le pavillon ledoyen paris, france, May 18-20, 2009

Imagine my curiosity when I learned that Ledoyen had been in existence in Paris since 1792. The young and talent 3-star chef, Christian Le Squer, joined Ledoyen in 2002 and turned this 2-star restaurant into 3-star in 4 years time. He is well known to be hard working and demanding of gourmet down to minute details. How could we miss this creative, avant-grade and most importantly, delicious, dinning occasion!

.....Dinner starts ........

First come with bread, butter/olive oil as usual. I like the one with olive in circular holes. It was soft and tasteful; especially when they were served warm.

10 course menu.......

foie gras from "landes" with passion fruit & coffee (a wonderful combination)
A rectangular 2 layers presentation dish with jelly of passion fruit on top of the foie gras.

When it entered my mouth, it first came with a strong passion fruit favor seem overtaken taste of foie gras. But surprisingly, favor of foie gras stayed after taste. I could not taste any coffee. I think it probably referred to the thin biscuit on the side.

This wonderful combination serves well as an appetizer since the fresh and sour taste of passion fruit makes you feel no sense of greasy at all.

Sliced scallops with lemon yoghurt & sea foams(my favorite seafood)
A beautiful presentation with a pink foam ball in the middle and surrounded by slice of scallops on top of yoghurt.

A pink color foam is surrounded by scallop medallions cooked so lightly they almost seemed raw. The lemon yoghurt added a light acidity to the foam. The scallop has a chewy and soft texture, tastes sweet and fresh.

Another excellent appetizer offers you more room for coming dishes.

Favors from the land & the river
A black and red rectangular dish made of eel and beets: a perfert match of land & river

Taste good. I guess this serves as a break between appertizer & main course.

Brittany blue lobster with virtual bread crust (most innovative)
A very innovative dish with multiple layers of materials. Blue lobster and foie gras were hidden under a virtual bread crust with a circle spot of green basil lava in the middle. Black mushroom consumme was added on before serve.

It was a bowl of black color soup with green color lava flowing making the dish into 2 colors contrast; a bit awful looking!! We couldn't tell blue lobster and foie gras were hidden at the bottom until we were told. We were recommended to mix everything together as that was the way to enjoy the dish.

This ends up to be a dish with multiple layers of strong favor. It was delicious but a bit heavy and salty. We felt like it was time for some wine to clear up our mouth but did not do so).

Wild turbot with ratte potato and black winter truffle emulsion
A rectangular filet of turbot (cut in thick piece) lightly braised and covered with stripes of black truffles with crushed rattes potatoes at the bottom.

I learned that this is one of the signature dish of Ledoyen. The Turbot is perfectly cooked & taste fine. But I did not found this dish very impressive.

Fresh morels, cooked ham & spaghetti
It is an artwork that the pastas were cut very precisely at the same size and aligned to form a perfect parallelepiped on which rested some morels and ham dices.

It surprised us as we were expecting a traditional plate of spaghetti in tomato sauce style. It came in a standing spaghetti form of castle wall surrounding some morel and ham in the middle. The truffle oil inside had a very strong favor making this dish taste so great.

Breese pigeon; raw & cooked with seasame seeds
Normal presentation as a meat dish

The pigeon has been slow cooked in a vacuum bag for hours. It was so juicy and tender which is well matched with seasame seeds sauce.

French farmer cheese matured by bernard anthony
2 pieces of slice cheese and 2 pieces of soft bread served in separate plates.

I loved to enjoy the cheese this way: to put a small chunk of cheese into the mouth, before completely swallowed, took a small piece of sweet bread right after. The salty taste of cheese was well balanced by the sweet taste immediately after. It tasted so differently when they were eaten together at the same time. And definitely another story if I have cheese and sweet bread separately. I was so glad that I found this secret.

Crispy grapefruit with lime(most beautiful)
I would consider this a piece of artwork collection rather than a dish. It was so creative and fine looking. This dessert was combined by multiple layers of grapefruit. It started with grapefruit skin at the bottom, covered by a layer of raw grapefruit marinated in lime, next came with a basil syrup crust, then grapefruit sorbert, raw grapefruit again and a covering of green basil syrup crust. The surrounding is garnished with vivid yellow lemon and green basil dots. It is a good piece of edible art.

This dessert highlights both sweetness and bitterness of grapefruit and never imagine they co-exist so well. Amazing & Fantastic!!

Caramel ice cream with smoked milk
A 3 layers dessert with smoked milk at the top, tasteless ice cream in the middle and caramel at the bottom.

We got to cut it and mix together as it relies on the sticky caramel to add sweet flavour to the ice cream. It was a kind of messy as the caramel was really sticky. Interesting!

At last, we order pepper mint tea to facilitate digestion. The plate of petits looked very nice, too.

This was certainly a satifying meal. We like it the most as compare to Pierre's 5 Senses (Feb, 2009) and Alain Passcard's visit (2008)

Service was also flawless. Christian le squer came over to each desk to have a short chat with you, together with a translator. He tried to talk with all guests although he does not know the language. As usual, we got him to sign on the menu and had picture with him.

Although expensive, $1888+10% per head excluding wine, it worth to spend a long evenings there. (slightly more than 4 hours). We would be le squer's repeat customers.

Food is very ok, but should be separate every dish in good time, should be put three dish on table at same time, cause soup should be hot, ice-creme should be cold ma, I have stomach problem may be the oyster and my friend diid not eat oyster and she is ok
. the appetiser of dungnese crab and salmon very good. the environment is quite noisy .

>>PRE-DESSERT:
Wafered Coconut ice cream – Oreo style. Interesting but biscuit base a bit too moist. Not rated.

DESSERTS:
1 - Pineapple marinated with fruity Manni Olive Oil with a hint of bourbon vanilla & sweet basil. Pink grapefruit & Rose petal Sorbet – Tried a bit of this and really liked it, everything was well balanced, especially the marination of the pineapple and the refreshing sorbet. Great.
Espresso ice-cream with Whiskey cream, Caramelized salted puff pastry & Dolce de leche. Liked the Whiskey cream as well as the salted caramel puff pastry, although the flavours of these 2 ingredients were fairly weak. Espresso ice-cream tasted of instant or canned coffee, even the sugar part of it – it was nice, but it was so much like shave gelato from frozen canned coffee. Dolce de leche part tasted like caramelised milk, as it should, and tasted similar to the puff pastry. Good.
Jivara 40% Milk Chocolate & Manuka honey runny square, Milk Chocolate & Yuzu Ice Cream. The ice cream was really nice indeed, despite having commented that some integration today didn't work, this combo surprised me (come to think of it, Oriol Balaguer has a similar flavour chocolate). The Jivara Chocolate 'runny square' had a crunchy texture on the outside, yet runny inside, with a piece of chocolate sheet underneath. This was really good indeed. The chocolate however did not taste like the Valrhona equivalent Jivara chocolate - it had a slightly 'minty' and 甘甘地, 涼涼地 taste to it, from the Manuka Honey infusion. This also worked well with the Yuzu in the ice-cream. Kudos to the chef.

CHEESE BY BERNARD ANTHONY - PRE-DETERMINED BY AMBER:
Had 4 French cow cheeses as well as some crisps, white bread, mustard seed chutney and some sweetish jam, also served with a nicely dressed salad with interesting vegetables as a palate cleanser afterwards. Introduced to us by a most lovely and very well-educated female staff with the sweetest smile (should have asked for her phone number!) :

Cheeses were:
Camerbert de Normandie – Soft & creamy, this had a distinct ammonia and very cowy taste, really strong for a camerbert. I like this in a way but its pungent flavour was unexpected as the starting cheese, especially right after my Cod fish but before the Oreo cookie – after progressively assessing the other 3 cheese then returning back, I became more accustomed and thought it was mild again!
Reblochon – This yellow soft cheese was strong and stinky on the palate but nothing else. Characterless, didn't like it much.
Livarot – Similar in profile to the Reblochon in a way but a much better version in all aspects. Still stinky, slight ammonia like the Camembert, but in a more pleasant way due to the complexity of nutty flavours insides and outside. Interesting tasting rind, it was slightly spicy and lumpy yet sweet? This was the strongest cheese by far, but surprisingly I liked this the best in hindsight.
Bleu D'auvergne – a relative creamy veined Cow's cheese that was actually weaker than the previous 2 yellower, unpasteurised cow cheeses. Slightly mustard like spicy, tangy and buttery creamy – but overall it was mainly spicy and quite salty characters. Tastes like a Saint Agur, the latter probably creamier? This blue cheese wasn't very interesting for me, it had little aftertaste if any but it'll be great in a salad due to its mild characters. May be I should have crumbled this up and put it into my included SALAD

Overall, we/I didn't really enjoy the pairing of a horizontal tasting of very strong cow's cheese platter on a Saturday afternoon. Individually some of them were great, but unpasteurised Cow's cheese have that barnyard taste and smell, and the much heavier taste profile takes time to get used to. They'll fare better in an individual Cheese & Wine tasting event, separated from a set meal when I'm already full to the brim and little drunk. I love and can eat all strong Sheep/Goat's milk cheeses and Blue cheeses, I can eat Japanese Natto, I can even eat Epoisses, but at the end of a big meal, 4 strong Cow's cheeses were too smelly for me, I'll be surprised if more than 5% of the population likes them.
Paired with a Portuguese Fonseca Oporto 10 Years Aged Tawny Port. Palate fatigue already. Not sure what I was drinking or eating anymore. Felt weak this particular saturday.

PETIT-FOUR (FIVE'S):
Orange Gum Candy, Chocolate, Sponge (Pistachio?), Marshmallow (Rose pedal and Strawberry?), Mini Chocolate Tart.

Really pretty! By this time, palate was numbed from the meal and the wine, so couldn't taste much but these were just great and presentable, great end to the meal. These are what I call Petit-fours! And better than the ones at Caprice by far, especially the marshmallows. Initially suspected they were made externally (VERO, may be not La Maison), as restaurants can't/don't usually make the candies and chocolates so perfectly moulded like a dedicated chocolate shop. However the last mini-chocolate tart's inside had that distinct taste similar to the Jivara with Manuka honey dessert, it convinced me that at least some were made in house. Got to try Cepage's Petit Fours soon!

COFFEE:
Cappucino – The espresso base wasn't extracted well at all, the exact same Italian coffee tasted better, had more depth and less acidic at Caprice. Although milk frothing wise, both were similar in their scooped out, souffle like foam textures, a common sight in Hong Kong by now - just not expecting it in Michelin 2 Star restaurants like Amber or Caprice. Liked the coffee at Caprice slightly more, but close.


*******************
I think AMBER was really impressive in many ways, perhaps more so than Caprice. It wasn't flawless however, as the kitchen or the restaurant tried too hard to please with a philosophy that read: I will add more things on, to impress you. Then, let's add more again on the side to elevate the level up a notch. Sometimes, this complicated combination worked, sometimes it wasn't well integrated, although in a sense this was much more exciting than Caprice, which seemed more complacent yet silently confident.

AMBER's chef has started leaning more towards Pierre's experimental, even slightly 'molecular' approach than L'Arpège's down-to-earth style in my opinion, despite the influences on him. I find Amber's food not that French by the way - it was much more modern European in execution.

Service is a tad more natural and the staff sychronised at Caprice, but Amber's staff were more friendlier at a personal level somehow and each had their own skills. Will discuss about the differences more on the Caprice review soon. You'll enjoy AMBER, that, I can guarantee.


CREATIVITY: 8.5-9.0/10
AMUSE BOUCHE & ENTREES TASTE: 7.5-9.0/10
MAIN COURSE TASTE: 6.0-8.5/10
DESSERT TASTE: 9.5/10
PRESENTATION: 7.0-9.0/10
LUNCH MENU SELECTION: 9/10

A VERY HIGH '4' TO MID '5' EXPERIENCE,

OBVIOUS FLAWS, ESPECIALLY ON FOOD PREPARATION AND LACK OF INTEGRATED PACKAGES, BUT '5' WELL DESERVED FOR THE INITIATIVE TAKEN TO SATISFY AND GIVE SURPRISE TO THE CUSTOMER.

今次嘅review係兩份的, 主角會係這兒 Micheline 2 Stars' Amber 同 Caprice 嘅對比, 希望清楚下兩間嘅分別同approach in philosophy. 巧合地, 兩次去都係周六的lunch!
AMBER'S Saturday Lunch: Menu's slightly confusing for 1st timers. To clarify it for others who've yet to experience weekend lunch: the $460 - 5 courses nets you the following:
Butter, olive oil and bread
A) 3 x daily Amuse-bouche starters
B) 1 x chosen Entree
C) 1 x chosen Main Course
D) 1 x Pre-dessert
E) Either - 3 x desserts or 1 x Bernard Anthony 4 cheeses platter,
F) Petit 'Fives'
G) Coffee or Tea.
If you opt for the equally confusing matching Wines, not explained clearly on the menu, its 1 Sparkling Wine, 1 White, 1 Red and 1 Dessert, a total of 4 glasses, for $648 including above meal. BARGAIN, with all wines explained by the sommelier.

>>BUTTER & BREAD:
I love butter and olive oil, probably the latter even more. Unfortunately did not get to try the olive oil here & at Caprice. Bread chosen was warm Italian style Olive Focaccia (is this made by VERO? Looks so similar) and a Scandinavian style like Sourdough Cracker, influenced by Richard Ekkebus's nationality I guess, that fits perfect with butter. Loved both. The French butter was lightly salted, with a slight soury, creamy texture that was more like whipped cream and had an aftertaste that lasted roughly 3-4 seconds – its below average for a semi-salted butter. French butter is indeed, not really butter in a sense but more like solid cream - you cannot compare French artisinal butter with new world commercial butters, as its much lighter. Afterall, what's really the big differences between milk, cream, crème fraiche, butter and cheese? It all started from milk and butterfat.

French butter lies somewhere between cream, crème fraiche and new world butter in my opinion, its very subtle. The real test of a butter is to try it without the salt – I think people would be surprised that 98% of unsalted butter actually has little taste or finish, even your beloved Japan, N.Z., American, Aussie, Danish, Irish, French commercial butters. Salt is what you normally taste in butter – believe me, even with Caprice no.1 artisinal butter in the world, the unsalted version is very subtle. I actually eat butter directly and let it melt in my mouth. However, today's batch of the very famous and hardly exported Charente Poitou sourced butter was surprisingly subtle, compared to exactly the same branded butter I bought for myself recently.

>>AMUSE BOUCHES:
Lobster Consomme Jelly with Sea Urchin & Cauliflower Cream –
This was really great! The lobster consomme jelly was perfectly aromatic and gelatined, combined with the cauliflower cream was a match in heaven. Could have eaten a whole bowl of this. The Urchin? It was over-powered, unnecessary and a piece of lobster meat would have sufficed as a better alternative.
Beetroot Jelly encased Duck Foie Gras stick –
I liked this, as the Foie Gras Pate inside was perfect, the jelly casing together fitted well with right amount of acidity/sugar balance. This is what amuse-bouche should be like. Fun and opens up your appetite.
Deep Fried Iberian Pork ball with Lightly Spicy Pepper –
This had a burst in mouth effect, but I was surprised to find soup inside but couldn't locate any Iberian pork, unless I heard wrong. Mainly a hint of bell pepper sour and spicy taste. Liked it nevertheless.
Matched with Veuve Cliquot NV Brut, France – Obviously crisp, green yellow, apple and lemon tangy. A mid-range champagne's complexity. Probably too acidic as a first drink early on Saturday personally, as my stomach didn't cope well, but otherwise a great start to the weekend!

>>ENTREES:
Challans Duck & Corn in 3 preparations - Traditional Pate, Consomme with Ravioli, Corn Salad with Delicacies -
1 - Consomme was clarified well but weak, no duck bone taste. Ravioli was nice, in reality I don't like too thin a ravioli skin as thinner doesn't mean better or harder to make, much as crepes/galletes or Xiao Long Bao skins aren't better when they're thinner – so this suited me. Inside the ravioli, tasted more like Foie Gras mousse than duck, surprising. Liked it.
2 - Corn Salad with Duck Delicacy – this was probably a 'kidney' but was soaked and cooked so much, it was 'melty' and tasted of marinades only. The corn? Well it was cold and wasn't that sweet. Didn't enjoy this part of the 3 preparations.
3 - Duck Pate – Mixture of Challans duck meat and foie gras taste. Nicely prepared. Topped with a 'molecular' yoghurty like ball that bursts in your mouth and crisp, sided with a puree (apple?) and chilli powder. The whole dish was an interesting play of textures and taste, and too much decorations that didn't contribute much. The anti-thesis to Caprice's approach. Overall, 7.5/10.
Matched with a white Austrian Gruner Veltliner 2007 – Sommelier said its slightly sweet rather than off-dry, but after hesitation it was still the latter to me - refreshing enough yet slightly thick, green pear and citrus aroma, slight grassiness, unexpectedly not as much minerals as expected. Not the most complex wine, its slightly 'hard', but personally I just love this type of white wine, esp. the often under-rated Gruner Vetliner.

Fine de Claire Oyster & Leek Parcels with Iberian Pork, Snout to Tail & Watercress in warm vichyssoise veloute -
Friend's dish. Only tried a bit of the vichyssoise veloute, which had potato and stock taste more than leek or even watercress. Couldn't find much Iberian pork. Apparently, pleasant. Not rated.

>>MAINS:
Line-caught Cod - Dorsal fillet “demi sel” roasted on the skin, Belly served as a “brandade”, Cuttle fish & Zucchini skin “Tagliatelle”, Hand pounded condiment -
This dish is much more complex than its name. The Cod fish was slightly salted and slow cooked to slightly flaky, even rareness consistency, with side dollops of cod meat and potato mash 'brandade' topped with crispy potato chips. AND on top, cuttle fish thinly sliced, wrapped around Zucchini skins like pasta. This was topped with some hand pounded condiments, supported by a sauce of chicken stock, confit lemon, cream/butter, drizzled with olive oil, sided with black squid Ink sauce, chilli powder, lentil beans, chives, etc. Lost track.

Now to the taste – even so slightly too salty for me, unexpected because I thought this was meant to be fresh and not like salted Bacalhaul cod from Portugal. Could do with some saikyo miso lol. The chilli powder didn't work (as it wasn't necessary in the Challan's duck dish), but the squid ink did work but I think slightly more wouldn't have hurt, rather than just being a colour decoration. The central lemony sauce was good but could do with more acidity to balance with the salty fish. The cuttlefish with zucchini skin was nice on its own, but the chewy textural difference with the fish below was unexpected. Some people might desire a big Spoiler to show-off on their BMW 320ci or Honda Civic, add 20 inch allow wheels, then plaster AC schnitzer stickers all over the main body, yet, others might opt for a lower profile but still exciting, carefully designed bodykit and suitable 18 inch wheels that intergrates with the main body seemlessly. Another might just like it plain as it is from factory, playing it safe with the best of components and built to very high standards anyway. Within this analogy, I see both Amber and Caprice at extreme ends. As PEECH has said, its trying to do too much all at once to impress. This was evident in the Challans duck entree as well, where 1 of the 3 components didn't work that well. Overall, quite pleasant. 8.5/10.
- Matched with a White Chardonnay off the menu - Sommelier started by letting me try the 2 selected reds, the Zaneto Valpolicella came closer but was still way off the mark as reds probably don't work with Cod fish especially slightly salty ones unless it was slightly sweet. Finally, paired with a Waipara based New Zealand Chardonnay, which was a nice gesture and great Plan C. Too much alcohol in the body already by this stage!

Fattened Blue-Fin Tuna centre cut, Olive oil poached with stuffed Baby Calamari, Taggiasca Olive, Preserved Bell Peppers.
Friend's dish, this tuna was quite simply not good tasting. Texturally it was tough and even stringy, despite the pinkish centre. It was slightly over-poached than is necessary in my opinion and had little of blue-fin tuna's special bold flavour characters remaining. I suspect this was Olive-oil infused sous-vide style cooked rather than true Olive Oil poached, because the latter usually retains more oil afterwards than this dry-ish tuna. Did not try the olives and stuff baby calamari's but wanted to. Marinated bell Peppers were a perfect fit with the Tuna however! Tuna rating only, 6/10.

繼續接近三小時的二星午宴分享。
　　
我鮮有將食評分上下篇，然而寫Amber食評無法不如此，因為：食客一旦在cheese與dessert中選了後者，就可以同時享有三款精緻甜品，而甜品前還有pre-dessert的環節。如此陣容如此安排，又怎可不令甜魔興奮期待?
　
以下順序介紹pre-dessert及dessert tasting的三款甜品：
　
Coconut ice-cream cookie
精緻小巧的香脆朱古力曲奇餅，包裹著味道清香細膩的椰子雪糕，角色/作用與法菜的雪葩類似，都是起了清新味蕾，喚醒甜胃的作用! (雖然對甜魔作用不大，因本人甜胃乃是24小時開放的，哈)
　
Pineapple marinated with fruity manni olive oil with a hint of bourbon vanilla & sweet basil, pink grapefruit & rose petal sorbet
近似Cappaccio的做法，將鮮甜菠蘿薄切，然後加上特調香草、果汁醬，使菠蘿的微妙酸甜滋味發揮至極致；同場再加上同時豐有西柚與玫瑰清香的雪葩，味道開胃又醒神。不是講笑，食畢此味夜晚再吃普通菠蘿，我想吐!
　
Espresso ice-cream with whisky cream caramelized salted puff pastry & dolce de leche
以很特別的長條型碟奉上，拍完照馬上急不及將雪糕送入口：咖啡雪糕味道極為香滑濃郁，再上espresso碎粉末，美味之極；中間的吉士酥皮亦集酥脆、香甜於一身，特別吉士中還混入雲尼拿籽，那種天然柔和的甜美非雲尼拿油可媲美。唯一的小小失手，是拖肥一旦撞上吉士，對比之下會產生微酸味，其實可以省掉。
　
Jivara 40% milk chocolate & manuka honey runny square milk chocolate & coffee ice cream
精緻的朱古力小方下，誰想到裡層是軟滑、清涼，但又流心的朱古力熔漿?怕浪費了朱古力珍液，底層還有片薄薄的朱古力片承托，那也是無上美味，而咖啡雪糕當然也是不用說的出色。這款甜品真是好吃得我想叫救命，可以說，它比我吃過所有的冰火口感心太軟都動人，連非甜魔龍也力讚!
　
吃完數個甜品，甜癮過得很足了，還以為情緒可以回復平靜，怎知又遇上有史以來最美味的Petit fours。如圖如珠寶精緻的甜點，可說是每款皆好吃，連平日我也點怕的橙味膠糖也寧舍清新自然；當中還有一款底脆內軟的朱古力粒，口感豐富、朱古力濃郁甘香，又惹得兩人大大大力讚!其實餐廳不定期會與其他公司搞活動，上月食客還可額外享有La Maison du Chocolat的朱古力，不過4月優惠已結束了。
　
最後還有咖啡或茶，我的Cappuccino泡沫豐盈，香酵甜美，十分滿意，唯獨龍的ｌatte味道偏苦較不討好。
　
無論如何，已經是滿意之極的一頓飯了，謝食友的推介，也多謝埋單的龍，抵食度亦是交由他評的：雖沒有享用甚何折扣，仍然是五分。
　
其他想講的還包括：
-米芝蓮店不愧為米芝蓮店，杯碟極為精緻，實在值得體會一番；
-惠顧午膳加$188就可享5款美酒，是愛酒之人的超值增值之選；
-服務親切又殷勤，侍者甚至會關心我們有否拍照，再讚一次；
-週六食客較多，大家最好早幾天訂位!
　
更多相可見：http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=1&aid=70297&id=625718234

最近努力計劃意法蜜月之旅，注留力當然也有放在米芝蓮餐廳。然而食友一輯相薄，提醒了我近在咫尺也有好幾顆亮麗宜人的星星，就趁上週六與龍一起去體驗一番~
　
素仰Amber大名，果然裝潢不錯格調高分；然而餐廳比想像中小，樓底也不算高，人一多就會嘈吵，另外窗外景觀也是平庸，環境方面未致滿分。然而除此之外，服務集親切、殷勤、專業有禮幾大要點，令食客感到異常舒適愉快，絕對值滿分，食物方面更是充滿驚喜與火花，以下逐一介紹：
　
餐前包
侍者捧來熱暖麵包盤，貪心之下每款也要了來分享品嚐。小法包與芝士脆片都較硬，水準一般，但芝麻麵包與olive foccacia都質感軟熟，每口均充滿天然麵粉香，無論是塗上牛油、或配以金黃香酵的橄欖油均很美味，後來也每款re-fill了一個。
　
Welcome snack
一共有三款精緻的小食，第一款是海膽奶凍。以精緻的小銀匙盛起放進口，馬上忍不住被那陣鮮香細滑震撼到嘩了出來!真的，我不愛吃海膽，但這個柔滑如絲、甚有甜品口感的小食的確令我留下很深刻的美味印象，不過口味這回事是見仁見智，龍就反而不懂欣賞這款fusion感。
　
第二款是大名鼎鼎的珍寶珠。一早得知其紅菜頭汁與鵝肝內涵的構造，吃來微酸、濃潤、軟滑風味固然是佳，也有近似甜品的質感，不過驚喜度不如前一款大。然而，沒有心理準備的龍吃下去，就驚艷到不得了，認為是全餐最佳菜式。
　
第三款是金香炸球。金黃飽滿的小圓球皮極薄，裡面是輕輕一層酸菜粒與沙律醬，吃的是高超輕巧炸功，吃畢杯底可是一分油也沒有，不過這味一定要趁熱，是日顧著拍照攤凍才吃，其實會影響風味。
　
吃畢三款精妙的小食，之後才到自選項的頭盤時間：
　　
Foie gras pan-fried over a tartar of blue fin tuna in a crispy bread tube with pickled red pearls onions & wild mushroom　
造型絕美的香煎鵝肝上場，寸厚的鵝肝雖有點根，可實在豐腴鮮美、入口即融、美味無限；配上剪裁精美、青嫩爽脆的青菜，是比配蘋果更高章的做法，而且效果空前成功。鵝肝底層還有吞拿魚他他，雖然用料上乘，可我對吞拿魚興趣只一般，反而外層香脆薄輕、不油不膩的麵包酥盒更得我心。
　
Oysters & leek parcels with lberbian pork, snout to tail & watercress in warm 'vichyssoise' veloute
龍一見oysters就雙眼發光，不過侍者特意澄清這款法式薯仔大蔥湯的蠔含量不多，但又何妨?韭蔥是罕有的嫩滑清甜，蠔的鮮味就從中淡淡釋放出來；青綠色的湯是後加的，熱暖、柔滑、清香甜美，予人感覺又是似乎甜品的細緻感，十分之美味。法國之旅也定會尋覓這款湯!
　　
又是頂端滿意的頭盤後，終來到主菜時間。兩款主菜均是菜式與醬汁分開上，方便食客自行控制醬汁份量：
　
Line caught cod dorsal fillet 'demi sel' roasted on the skin, belly served as a brandade, cuttlefish & zucchini skin 'tagliatelle', hand pounded condiment
喜歡吃鱈魚，不過較喜歡簡單的連皮煎香煮法，多於Amber去皮煮熟的做法；一來不喜底層過多水分，二來少了魚皮的香脆感啊。面層的粉卷則加入魷魚成分，令口感特別彈牙，更得人心；配菜還包括魚肉蓉與自家製脆薯片，前者食味普通，薯片就香脆鮮香到乖乖不得了!
　　
Prime rib eye oven roasted, the cap braised with basque country bacon, onions & organic carrots
精美排列的主菜來到，除了最前方的肉眼，其餘亦被轉化至難以辨認了。最先嚐中間貌似朱古力餅的圓柱體，原來也是牛肉來的，而且肉質極為鬆化，香口美味，最宜配以旁邊脆烤煙肉薄片配酸甜菜蓉食用。至於紅嫩的肉眼主角，成數極為理想，肉味濃郁鮮香美味，食客可自行選擇添加額外牛肉汁享用，感受au jus風味。整體上很美味很高分的主菜，整碟唯一吃剩的，只得我不愛吃的甘筍!
　　
早就聽聞享用米芝蓮法國餐費時，現在才介紹了一半，整頓午宴真的花了差不多三小時去完成。篇幅所限，甜品篇會另文分享!

首次嘗米芝蓮2星, 算是一開眼界吧. 位處置地廣場, 地方比想像中小. 週末中午只有數枱客人, 和煦的陽光照進來, 感覺悠閒清靜. 甫進去, 侍者提出替我掛起外套和手提袋, 這樣週到的服務還是首次遇到, 反有點不自在了. 另外, 侍者非常友善, 每次上菜也會非常仔細介紹是甚麼. 這也是我欣賞的 (雖然之後馬上忘了).

似無免費清水供應, 開了一瓶70元的礦泉水. 週末午餐基本上和平日一樣, 不過價錢便宜點 - 平日$518有三個菜, 週六是$460, 而且甜品有三個! 如再配餐酒(有品酒師為客人配)也只是$648. 我當然選後者.

食物方面, 標準的頭盤每人一客, 包括panna cotta小杯和鵝肝珍寶珠. 之前的食家介紹了, 我也覺得"小杯"不同的味道是很匹配的, 只是分量較小. 配以不很甜的Veuve Clicquot香檳. 自選頭盤我要了鵝肝凍, 其味也和鰻魚肉和諧配合.

自選主菜我要了魚, 是類似海鱸的魚2方塊, 又滑又厚, 無骨, 配上煙肉汁煮的蘭素豆的確很香. 品酒師為我選了白酒, 最初選了較淡的, 不合口味, 便改為一種2004年意大利北部的白酒, 單寧不多, 其淡淡的醇和的香味和平日的白酒大大不同. (其他主菜有鱈魚, 肉眼, 蔬菜或松露和artichoke意大利飯等.

甜品竟有3個之多, 其一類似brownie, 是巧克力蛋糕配以雲呢拿雪糕; 其二是芒果雪糕配以類似籌碼曲奇和鮮濃的芒果醬; 其三是巧克力薑汁梳乎厘; 質地細滑, 有較濃巧克力, 一向不愛梳乎厘的我也覺得不錯. 最後petit four其他食家也論及, 個人覺得挺有趣吧. 值得一讚的是甜品配以一種匈牙利的有芒果味的甜酒, 可說是珠聯璧合, 相得益彰!

下次真要試試Amber十道菜($1,500)的午餐!