..... For the Full Collection and Larger Versions of Food Photos as Reference, feel free to visit my Supplementary Photos Blog: babedolphin@blogspot.com


As of 2009 July, I was finally chastened by PIERRE GAGNIERRE HK for a quick 4 Course Lunch, him being one of my long term idols. Before long, a sequel of a follow up Dinner was accomplished, but it might well be 2015 before I submit that review going by the snail pace I'm churning out reviews lately! Note: During this critical phrase, there has already been transitions of Head Chefs, but no significant changes on the menu - its still quintessentially Pierre!. LUNCH ITSELF IS $380-390 FOR 2 COURSES, ADDITIONAL COURSES ARE CALCULATED AT $80 PER DISH, A BARGAIN IN MY OPINION CONSIDERING DINNER COST TRIPLE & THAT $80 WILL WHAT, LAND YOU A SINGLE "BIG DEAL OF A TINY PIECE" NIGIRI SUSHI IN OVER-PRICED BUT UNDER-ACHIEVING JAP RESTAURANTS?

**********************
"BREAD BASKET -"
Onion sourdough, soft butter roll & mini bagutte were paired with a salted-version of the same butter served in Caprice. Bread remains the same for night offerings, but the butter-style changes.
"LAGNIAPPE -"
A cling-wrapped bowl sees suspended-in-mid-air some bread crisps, melba, parmesan shortbread as well as an inevitable showing of thin sweetish croquants, a precursor of more molecular food to come? Arriving with puy lentil & blue cheese spread, as well as Pierre's special spread made of chopped roots and vegetables , it reminded me of finely diced uncooked mirepoix.
"SPINACH SALAD - with MUSHROOM BISCOTTI, SMOKED DUCK ROLL WITH BLACK RICE, APPLE ON CRISPBREAD -"
The Spinach leaves were thick and dark greenish, its almost unlike any raw spinach I've devoured before, it resembling more of thai bettel in texture. It even managed to make my lips swell due to acute allergic reactions, possibly due to high iron contents? My upper lip wasn't very comfortable throughout the whole meal after this, BUT, it was really nice and the smoked duck ham with black rice should be a regular item! This was side with a toast with green apples.
"PAN-FRIED FOIE GRAS - CHERRY, LIN CHI MUSHROOMS AND CELERY -"
Duck Foie Gras was cooked to medium-rare, this accompanied by glazed cherries, as well as celery and what really isn't lin chi such as ganoderma lucidum, it was just lin zhi enoki mushrooms, a bit misleading I think...? Sided with a toast that's topped with a mixture of dehydrated mushroom chips as used on mushroom soups, also surprisingly some aromatic, freshly shaved summer truffles! All on the house and not even written on the menu!
"BOUILLABAISE JELLY - SOUBROSSADE ICE CREAM, NICOISE TOAST -"
This became the first dish which really foretold of Pierre's global restaurants carrying that slight hint of Molecular Gastronomy for the sake of fun only, but without overdoing it! The bouillabaise of prawny essence and slight alcoholic/bitter influence was first turned into cold jelly, then accompanied by dollops of cream, chopped crustacean derived seafood pieces as well as soubrossade sausages - the latter also doubly presented in the form of a non-melting savoury ice cream with too much gel glace perhaps. The nicoise toast separately made with parmesan flakes, anchovies, romaine lettuce & crisp bacon was quite fun to play with!
"FRENCH FARM CHICKEN FRICASSEE - GRENAILLE POTATO, CRISPY WHITE ONION AND SALAD -"
Dicked Farm Chicken fried with herbs and then mixed with famous grenaille potatoes and fresh salads for that crunchy textural contrast... for some reason I also tasted toasted-sesame? This dish is actually quite simple to execute, yet its also not an usually encountered dish. From a Michelin 1 Star kitchen and 2-3 Stars fame elsewhere, this main dish might seem under achieving - albeit in reality, the Pierre Gagnaire of the 2nd Renaissance after his hiatus has changed substance, just like Robuchon, becoming a true Food-Artist... And so, his kitchen and pastry chefs are allowed to break traditions and do whatever they feel will be deemded fun yet enjoyable by customers, this forms the backbone of how the Pierre kitchens operate. I found this dish refreshing.
"IBERICO TENDERLOIN - CARAMELIZED TOMATO & STEAMED CHINESE FAN GOU -"
There were lots of that Iberian Black Pork's acquired porky taste even for a tenderloin, some might marvel at its retainment of original meat flavours, others could find it slightly disengaging. It was slightly stringy, the steamed fan gou with vegies inside was fun and daring and it worked as a side, albeit a little over-steamed. Caramelized tomatoes served in a side bowl with spinach was sweetishly-acidic, balancing the overall wild pork flavour.
"BERNARD ANTONY CHEESE PLATE: SELF SELECTED -"
This came with a lot of really thoughtful accompaniments to ensure you get the best of a Cheesy experience... For more details, refer to my Supplementary Photo Blog.
"NELSON - VANILLA MILK JELLY, LEMON WURTZ, MALABAR ICE CREAM & STRAWBERRY MARSHMALLOW -"
Dessert comprised of a central vanilla jelly which was unbelievably addictive when balanced with the lemony wurst jelly inside. The highlight of this dish however must be awarded to the quenelle of gum-flavoured Malabar ice cream, a cousin of the carambar candy. Boiled for a long period to extract all of its full bubble-gummy flavours, the final "water-based" ice cream version was surprisingly, nearly smooth enough! - it was only slightly crystalized on a few certain bites, it can be attributed to every molecular foodie's dream P-J ice cream machine, a much higher end version of the ubiquitous Taiwanese snow-flake shaver. The marshmallows went just perfect as an supporting actor to this dish. This dessert to put it short - was simply awesome, awesome, bloody awesome, I was so close to ordering seconds straight away!
" ESPRESSO & CAPPUCINO -"
Pretty good quality, unlike many other Michelin restaurants serving exactly the same Italian brand.
" WINES BY THE GLASS -"
At the time of visit - I was appalled at the poor choices of white wines by the glass, which I wanted to order to pair with my food selection. This seem fixed by another visit already. Anyway, the decent red wines are good but expensive at around $160-180 a glass, however they come as larger portions than a normal standard drink. So when u order 2 portions - the Somelier will happily split them into 2 separate glasses! Very thoughtful!

***************************************
Normally not a fondest adorer of
1): 'Molecular Cuisine' since it can often become ghastly cross-overs between Picasso's Cubism mixed with Frankenstein's Laboratorial Experiments gone astray , in reality, true
2): 'Molecular Gastronomy' intents carry a vastly different school of thought and goal. It needs to be distinguished from its predecessor, as the pivotal mentality resolves around a 'deconstruction of all matters related to food, for the purpose of understanding its separate elements', whereas others end up choosing to go down the path of more extreme molecular cuisines, treating it as a 'means to an end' and for the convenience of conjuring up new-age food just for the sake of detouring from the well established!

Bo's Innovation, Le 188 and The Krug Room falls into the former experimental 'Molecular Cuisine' category. Whereas places like Amber & even Caprice on the other hand luckily retained chefs with some sanity - who know fully well how to utilize their new found molecular knowledge and then administer them responsibly as food supporting enhancement than for pure show-boating! 分子料理 when explained in Chinese: unfortunately fails to clarify the differences between the two stylistic variations.

Pierre HK in my opinion, did not employ as much Molecular Gastronomy influences as others might expect: if anything, they were more geared towards cooking Fun but very balanced Avant Garde food, sometimes even courting with fusion ideas rather than Molecular elements, but it was all 適可而止. Unfortunately, the MICHELIN GUIDE does have its Achilles heel - it has never developed a penchant for non-serious food such as those served here, unless of course when its cooked by Mr. Pierre Gagnaire himself. In a way, its unfair to PIERRE HK as most of its underlying setup and even ingredients uses are basically identical to the 3 Starred Caprice. Relatively speaking, PIERRE duly deserves more applaud for their efforts. A HIGH '4' to LOW '5'.

So, I bring you some of the more amazing dishes from the wondrous night. Of course, don't get me wrong, it was about a 98% perfection, the 2% just a matter of personal tastes. It is therefore no wonder that Pierre Gagnaire maintains his status in the culinary world. It was a little pricey, but you do leave very satisfied and in ecstacy. And portions are certainly generous enough to leave you rolling home afterwards..

The 2 Entrees we had were the highlights of the evening.

Les Langoustines:
Mousseline: with green pepper; curry sauce, dried yellow grapes.
Grilled: French “grenaille” potatoes and dried white mushrooms.
Tartare: like a biscuit, celeriac cream; unctuous spicy grapefruit syrup.
Pan-fried: with shredded pine nuts; spot of caramelised soy sauce; slightly acid carrot julienne.
White velouté and amber jelly, shell powder.

Langoustines were beautifully done - in either style, very succulent and juicy, yet still retaining its bounce. These are probably the best I've had in treatment. With the exception of the curry, which I did not like very much, the rest of the company was excellent and enhance the flavours of the langoustines even further.

La Charcuterie fine:
Crispy toast, soubressade velouté and apple marmalade.
Foie gras soup with amontillado, citrus and chilli sorbet, boudin noir; small grilled sausage.
Small cubes of cooked ham, creamed curry, celeriac julienne.
Bresse chicken Pojarsky with tarragon.
European ham assortment (Parma, Bellota, Bigorre), colonatta fat and black bacon.

If you prefer a richer meatier flavours to begin with, don't miss this excellent entree.

Crispy pie with a velvety cream topped off with white truffle. Sheer decadence in the 2 bites. Unfortunately, not very big.

The foie gras soup has got to be one of the best ideas around. The rich piece of liver swimming in a foamed broth, and topped with a blood and other pork sausage was a decadent burst of a gorgeous variety of meat flavours. You had to be there...

The European ham assortment was a combination of good meats on a bed of sauerkraut. Clever delicate balance.

Le Turbot:
Slice of turbot roasted on the bone.
The fillets are cut then cooked in shellfish juice.
Provolone, pear, celeriac gratin with Colombo.
Pochas and hummus like a condiment.

The turbot while good by most standards, seemed to be an anticlimax after the 2 amazing entrees. I probably won't order it again given the other selections.

L’Agneau:
Roasted saddle of lamb from Lozere, bunch of fresh herbs, crusty olives; aubergine, lamb sweetbread, girolles.
Béchamel tuila, green pepper, garlic paste with vadouvan.
Lamb chops, tamarind on a green square of herbs.
Cold courgette cream soup with tarragon.
Condiment: Roquefort cheese.

The lamb saddle was most out-of-this-world. Even more so than the main event of the chops, which were delightfully tender and juicy. But the saddle was just so tasty, I was actually putting on top of the lamb chops and eating both as a combination. Probably wrong but it was good!

VANILLA SOUFFLÉ:
Strawberry jelly; marshmallow and crumble.
Crystal salt.
Milk chocolate crunchy parfait.

Of course, no French restaurant is worth its sugar without dessert. And the vanilla souffle certainly did not disappoint. If you've never had souffle, this would be a good place to have it. But of course, after you've had it here, you can't have it at most places afterwards. You decide!

Definitely worthy of its Michelin accolades. Well worth the visit and all the calories money could buy here!

For the original, please visit www.edeats.blogspot.com

this was the first time i officially dined here since the departure of previous chef de cuisine philippe orrico, who left several months ago to head the hotel kitchens at 1881 heritage in TST opening soon. so i thought it would be interesting to see what changes the new chef has brought to the kitchen.

olivier elzer already won several notable honors under his belt before gagnaire took him under his wings. the young chef was voted amongst the best 22 young chefs in france by gaultmillau, and won a michelin star for abbaye de la bussière hotel restaurant in burgundy prior to his latest career move. he was previously mentored by eric briffard, who is currently head of george V le cinq in paris (sister restaurant caprice in hong kong). elzer interned at the gagnaire restaurant for 2 months before coming to hong kong, though he already started infusing asian flavors into french cuisine during his days in burgundy. so it seems like elzer’s young vibe and daring approach to fresh produce would be a good match with gagnaire’s style.

we both ordered the tasting menu in order to see the most of what the new kitchen has to offer.

amuse bouche: there were some coconut biscuits; then some fried shrimps and cabbage placed inside a dim sum basket; then a thin toast with pepper/vegetable mix; then some cheese biscuits; then some chinese tangerine jelly; then some foie gras puff pastry. the amuse bouche was very busy and went by like a breeze: overall nice presentation with innovation, and it was interesting to stimulate different parts of the tongue and awaken the taste buds, but i just found a little loose end in everything – the fried shrimp was too soggy; the puff pastry was too brittle; coconut biscuits a tad sugary…

Zezette infusion, mixed raw seafood and shellfish: it was a mix of diced tuna, shellfish, clams bathed in coriander sauce. the thin sauce was very light and gave a refreshing, minty lift to the crispy seafood. this quieted down our taste buds after having several strong/busy amuse bouche.

Royal urchin; sea urchin, seasoned mullet and salmon eggs: at the bottom was sea urchin mousseline, then a thin layer of gelatin, and on top was diced mullet and salmon roes. the french sea urchin was very fresh and delightful - it was weaker/less aromatic than the japanese sea urchin, but worked okay as a mousse. then it was gelatin as intermission before the saltiness and bursting ocean flavor of salmon roes reached my brain. yummy.

scallops 3 ways - (1) Poached; served with melted endive and celeriac root marinated in saké. (2) Mousseline; turmeric, creamy Manchego cheese risotto; pear sorbet.(3) Tartare; Hudson raw vegetable soup.
- we started with the poached one and it was absolutely amazing – poached and grilled at final touch, the scallop was juicy and flavorful.
- the mousseline one was quite amusing- tumeric gave an unexpected peppery, bitter taste to the risotto, while the scallop mousseline was fresh and delightful. but when mousseline was mixed together with the heavily cheese-y risotto, overall texture came too buttery despite the pear sorbet…
- the scallop tartar was layered with apple sauce on top, pomelo in the middle with scallop tartar, and vegetable soup at the bottom, so taste wise it was a light sweetness first, then bitterness from the pomelo, and a refreshing, slightly bitter vegetable soup at the bottom. however, this dish was too noisy and i found the bitterness offscale…

White Alba truffle emulsion with Parmesan, tomato confit and garlic sablé. Béchamel tuile: the dish smelled so, so nice that i almost did not want to eat it so that i could keep inhaling. the bechamel sauce at the bottom was nicely done and worked well with parmesan cheese layer in the middle to wrap around the lovely tomato confit. very generous portion of truffle to give off a unique aroma that i always love so much.

Foie gras pot au feu with Morteau sausage and Gillardeau oysters. Cauliflower florets with Cramone mustard: the pan-seared foie gras was wrapped inside a cabbage leaf with poached oyster at the bottom. surprisingly foie gras went very well with oysters; the foie gras was velvet smooth with a nice, thin crisp crust, and the gilladeau oysters were fat with a taste of brine. on the other hand, the sausage seemed out-of-place on the plate and just lied there lifelessly.

Abalone roasted à la diable; crispy bacon. Green Puy lentils gnocchi: (shame that i forgot to take photo) this was not your top-grade dried abalone with molten center and intense flavor, but it was still nicely roasted with a slight crunchy texture and assisted by saltiness of the pan-fried bacon. bold use of lentil because, frankly speaking, lentil has yet to find inroads into the chinese gourmand palate…

Obsiblue prawn curry, braised eggplant. Cockles, Bouchot mussels, French beans in a cone: the obsiblue prawn was absolutely, definitely, irrefutably a to-die-for and well deserved its reputation as “sea caviar”! it is one of the new favorites among parisien chefs and can only be found in some of the upscale michelin restaurants; it is grown in a small new caledonia pacific lagoon under strict conditions and can only be harvested once a year. it was *THE* most delicious prawn i have had. ever. the meat was crunchy, with tiny threads of tendons breaking between my teeth at each bite. the taste of ocean was subtle but distinct; i had the first gulp of the prawn mixed with the curry sauce, but the sauce way too distracting and wasted the good material, so i actually worked my flatware into freeing the prawn from the sauce and vinegared eggplant. the essence of mussels already melted into the thick rich curry sauce, balanced with the sourness of the vinegared eggplant. but i was not entirely convinced by the sauce yet – curry and mussels were fighting against each other.

langoustine: grilled lobster with slightly acidic vegetables at the bottom. the lobster was crunchy on the outside and still juicy and medium-rare in the inside.

Seaweed jelly, milk jelly with raifort, Etivaz Gruyère cubes, goat cheese dumplings. Pine nut powder: sorry but goat cheese is not my favorite thing.

grand dessert – apple pie with mousse filling; rhubarb with berries, grape sauce/jelly; pear sorbet; orange confit; coffee cream: apple pie topping was chewy and tasted marvellous; i never like rhubarb too much as it resembles more like a syrup shot to me, but this one was fortunately not too sweet; sorbet is always nice with tea jelly which was perfect combo; orange confit was refreshing, though the coffee cream was a bit too intense for me.

Vanilla souffle; Strawberry jelly, marshmallow and crumble. Crystal salt. Milk chocolate crunchy parfait: this was not part of the degustation menu but herve the restaurant manager always accomodates my request (love ya!) =). i am huge fan of souffle at pierre. there just isn’t any restaurant anywhere, bay area/paris/hong kong, that i can find better souffle – light as air and texture so smooth that it almost instantly melted in my mouth and glided down the esophagus. it is a magical dessert that can only come from fairy tales.

overall it was a remarkable meal; this restaurant has become much more “gagnaire” like under the hands of chef elzer, and there is notably more finesse in the cooking. the style closely resembles what i had at the pierre gagnaire restaurant in paris, although i suspect elzer eventually would have to dumb down the taste in order to cater to most hong kong foodies. also the degustation menu we had was very well composed; the dishes flowed nicely from first to last course, each of them a progressing taste, strength, and preparation style that allowed us to sample so many different kinds of sea creatures from new angles.

the negatives: some dishes worked wonderfully (sea urchins/foie gras/white truffle) while others not so well, though it is within expectation because there are always hit-or-misses in gagnaire’s furiously daring kitchen. there was also a slip in harmony; during the meal i felt the dishes sometimes were worked off an academic formula of acidity/alkalinity, bitterness/sweetness, and lost sight of the natural produce itself. sauce at times could also be too preoccupied and overpowering.

it is impressive how elzer could mold the gagnaire style in such a short period of time. i am looking forward to coming back next year to see how he develops his own style. so far it looks very promising.

full post with pictures: http://randomnomad.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/pierre/

The restaurant is operating with a substitute chef from Paris after the recent departure of Philippe Orrico, so it was a chance to see what new changes were taking place here.

The typhoon over the weekend had cleared up much of the pollution, and some of my guests had a spectacular view of Hong Kong harbor as well as the skyline of Kowloon and New Territories. I must remember to come to dinner more often!

The amuse bouches arrived and they were delicious, especially the parmesan foam sprinkled with bit of pancetta. That's a great way to start the meal.

Les Langoustines:
Mousseline: beurre blanc with cardamom, courgettes brunoise and bean sprouts - this was pretty nice with a layer of egg whites, and the diced courgettes provided the dish with some crunchy texture so that it wasn't all soft and mushy...

Grilled: salpicons, red shizo leaves and confit-grilled aubergine - a cute little skewer like yakitori, lightly grilled so that it was still fresh and succulent. The mound of eggplant mash was pretty good.

Pan-fried: terre de sienne served on pearl barley étuvée - this was quintessentially Gagnaire - with sauce made from the head of the shellfish and flavored with cumin. The langoustine tail was soft and juicy, and sat on a bed of slightly chewy barley. Very, very nice.

Pan-fried foie gras: cherry, lin chi mushrooms and celery. Perfect execution here, and the sweetness and the acidity of the cherries cut through the grease just as well as the acidity of the wines. But the muchrooms aren't lin chi.

Polyphénol sauce seasoning a blue lobster fricassée poached in a noisette butter; potato tamy and dry black olives - this was completely not what I expected. We actually joked about this dish coming from the restaurant next door - Man Wah - as it just looked incredibly Cantonese! I definitely have had something that bore a striking resemblance to this at Fook Lam Moon a couple of times, also with diced red and green peppers... The sauce was made from the tannins of Syrah grapes, which matched the wines for the evening.

L'agneau: saddle of lamb from Aveyron roasted with sarriette, finished in an aromatic butter. Green square of herbs, choi sum ravioli, cold juice - the lamb was very, very juicy and tender. The layer of herbs around the lamb - as well as the flat square on the plate - was interesting. The so-called 'choi sum ravioli' looked like a Chinese fun gor (粉果) and induced a few chuckles at the table.

Skewer with vadouvan, confit shallots - again this was served yakitori-style with a 'dip' on the side. Pretty good, but then lamb has always been good at Pierre.

The side dish was kinda fun... sautéed red capsicum and mushrooms, with a ball made of black glutinous rice.

The highlight of a meal at Pierre Gagnaire's restaurants is often the desserts. We had four this evening:

Coffee with cachaca and spicy milk jelly, sugar nibs. Butter cream coffee - it's great to smear the butter cream coffee on the jelly...very yummy.

Vacherin and hibiscus jelly, strawberry meringue - this was really, really yummy...especially the strawberry meringue on top. And I've always liked anything made from hibiscus.

Apple ice cream and green apple tuile. Blackcurrant sauce - the green apple tuile was really cool, and you really get the taste of green apples out of the wavy forms.

Dry fruit marmalade, chocolate ganache with nougatine. Fresh passion fruit sauce - probably my least favorite dessert of the night, and once again we having something in front of us that looked like a fun gor...

I think overall it was a pretty good evening. The wines themselves were pretty interesting, and the cuisine was pretty creative and well-executed. And finally, kudos to Pierre the sommelier for working with the chef on such an interesting food and wine pairing.

original blogpost with pictures and notes on wine: http://chi-he-wan-le.blogspot.com/2009/07/showdown.html

It was my first time to dine at Pierre, and I surely hope this would not be the last one

so we booked like 10 days in advance and got a seat facing Victoria Harbor. There was a choice between the tasting menu and the a la carte menu. Since we didn't want to order the same set, we went for a la carte.

The captain was very informative and explained every dish in detail. He suggested us to go for seafood as meat dishes might be too heavy for us. Another captain, who was French, came to suggest suitable wines for us since we were ordering different main courses.

Before the dinner started, we were served with some snacks, the one on the metal dish was great! beneath the thin slice of pastry was some puree with carrot sauce. A new yet delicious combination.

we had the famous 63 degree egg for appetizer. The egg white was cooked while the yolk was still a bit runny (quoting from what the captain had said =)). It was flavored with caviar. There were also prawn cocktail, 2 mousse-like dishes which could be served alone or spread on bread. and there was deep-fried dish that was served with red wine sauce. Very very nice appetizer i would say

and here came our main courses. I had seabass in seafood sauce, and there were 3 different flavors of pastes that you could dip into for the fish. There were a Black Guiness Jelly (tasted REALLY good), diced tomatoes, and tiny mushrooms. Definitely loved the fish. It did stood out when compared to other top french restaurants in town. My side dish was a foie gras mousse. It was very well made, I didn't find it too filling. My boyfriend had lobster. It was served with a refreshing side dish and a lobster bisque. The captain explained how we could eat the food to make the experience perfect. He has made the whole dinner more enjoyable.

of course, we have left some room for desserts. The captain suggested us to order the Vanilla Souffle. It was a big one, but it was good enough for two people. It had a strong vanilla flavor, it did actually taste like European vanilla icecream Next to the souffle, there was a plate of cherry jelly with marshmallows and small biscuits.

the petit fours was sherbet with mango sauce, while they offered us a few chocolates. and to our surprise, the captain offered us a taste of dessert wine for free.

I have fallen in love with this restaurant of Pierre's. The food, the service, the ambience... it is absolutely one of the best french restaurants in town. I love how they have made french cuisine with a twist while keeping the spirit of traditional fine dining. The restaurant is small, and there are round sofas so it makes things more private can't wait for another encounter with Pierre

Several frds told me dishes are weird here. But my gd frd gave me a surprise to bring me here. The interior design is reali grand! We sat on an oval table by the window. Great view! Extremely spacious! Everything is grand there!
Given that it's in Mandarin Hotel+gd service+有心思食物+有welcoming dish+dessert+grand seaview+comfortable seats,this price is reali reasonable for a fine lunch!!!

We had a wonderful dinner at Pierre, where black Périgord truffles showed up in just about every course, including desserts. I never imagined that I would say this, but I think I actually OD'd on truffles tonight... It was just soooo good.

The first course was ewe velouté and smoked tarragon, cab muscovite and beluga caviar with traditional condiments. As Pierre the sommelier said, "Champagne and caviar...this is the life!" Indeed! In addition to bringing my own Champagne, I actually brought in my own caviar. As I was flying out of Kazakhstan last June, I spent a chunk of change buying some beluga and oscietra caviar at Almaty Airport, because it was (relatively) cheap to buy this from one of the producing countries of this delicacy. I brought in 2 jars of beluga and the 4 of us shared a bit more than 220gm of the stuff... Decadant? Oh yeah...

Philippe created three different preparations for the caviar. The first was with crab meat. The second preparation sat on a bed of raw, sweet scallops. The third was a only a mouthful on pickled vegetable.

Finally, there was a chunk of caviar that I ended up spreading on blinis with the traditional condiments. I'm not a caviar connoisseur, but I did think the Kazakh beluga wasn't bad. Pretty complex on the palate. I'm sure there is much better quality out there, but for the price I paid I wasn't gonna complain.

We followed with a nice oyster in a consommé. What was incredible was the amount of black truffle floating in the bowl. Very fragrant and yummy.

We went into the kitchen to watch Philippe finish the preparation for the 63° eggs, braised endive with grapefruit, champagne sauce with black truffle. It's a little decadent when Krug Grande Cuvée is being used in the cooking process... Anyway the egg was just perfect, and the acidic grapefruit really did work wonders on the bitter endive. The whole thing was topped with some freshly shredded endive and black truffle.

The slow cooked fillet of cod, creamed pearled barley "Perigourdine" and slice of turnip with aged Port wine was really delicious. There was a nice mix of textures between the slightly crunchy barley, cubes of ham, the moist and tender cod, and of course more black truffle. The small round disc on top looked like a slice of chorizo at first glance, but was actually turnip turned red by cooking in Port.

The last course before dessert was something I did not expect at this restaurant, because it was just so traditional. Beef "Rossini" was done very, very nicely. The beef was so tender, and the slice of pan-fried foie gras was just as I like it - soft and juicy. Everything was drizzled with black truffle sauce.

There were a total of four desserts, and we would go back to the kitchen to watch Nicolas putting them together. Eggs à la neige and buratta with lime is the îles flottante that we had learned about in the afternoon. Here the soft, spongy meringue was a luxe version prepared with lots of black truffle grounds that gave it a totally different flavor. The flavor of truffles was also infused in the crème anglaise, and shavings of lime rind provided the extra dimension. The savory buratta cheese at the bottom also took me by surprise.

The chocolate sponge cake had a creamy filling and a slice of black truffle to create a unique combination. And what could be better than a cream-filled macaron with a thin wafer of black truffle? Tasted a better macaron, I have not.

The Guanaja chocolate ganache was poured over caramalized fruits, candied kumquat and roasted nuts. Pretty nice and rich. And of course, there was a slice of black truffle in there somewhere.

Finally there was a scoop of caramel ice cream, which was pretty nice.

original blogpost with notes on wine: http://chi-he-wan-le.blogspot.com/2009/01/black-truffle-evening.html

We started with some pan-seared scallops with black truffles. The scallops were perfectly fresh, and the aroma of the black truffles is just overwhelming. The whole thing sits on a bed of what looks like apple confit, and I must say that the tastes worked well together.

I had half a bowl of the mushroom soup, which was rich, creamy and delicious. It doesn't hurt that they laid plenty of dried mushroom slices as well as a bit of black truffles on top.

My main course was the seabream Jodphur with couscous and lemon confit. I have always liked Pierre's dishes that involve couscous because they actually do the fusion thing well, and this one was no exception. The fish was poached so the flesh was sooo tender. The only issue I have is that the fish actually tasted a tad "fishy" (imagine that...) This is where the Indian-spiced couscous comes in, as the combination of the fish and the couscous means that the spices completely cover up any hint of the fishy taste. This one's another winner, with some slight adjustments...

Once again I come away smiling from a meal at Pierre. Looking forward to my return next weekend!

original blogpost with wine notes: http://chi-he-wan-le.blogspot.com/2009/01/seafood-and-sauvignon-blanc.html

I think this is one of the best French cuisine in town! We sat on a table by the window. The view was fabulous!
I had the lamb and my friend had the steak! the steak was much better than the one we had at RoXXchXXX.
I can tell that the chef had put in a lot of time in creating each dish.
The wine selection is much better than all other similar French restaurants.

My colleagues and I went for a relaxing lunch at Pierre today. As it was with our last visit, we had a special pre-starter after the amuse bouches. This looked suspiciously similar to what the chef sent us last time... cold, springy/chewy sole coated with a layer of solid cream sauce. Each piece is topped with a bit of caviar, and served with tiny balls of crème fraîche. The lone oyster packed a wallop of incredible flavors that took me completely by surprise.

My first course was 63° eggs, yabbies Nantua and chicken mousseline with green olives. I am a fan of these soft-boiled eggs, served with two marshmellow-like morsels made from yabbies. The mousseline was pretty yummy - a little rich but not enough to make you uncomfortable.

My main course was filet of seabream, couscous, confit lemon and oriental vegetable broth. The seabream was pretty tender and moist, topped with dried mushroom slices. The bed of couscous tasted of a light curry - I guess it is Oriental after all. The overall combination worked well together, and I'm reminded of a rice dish from my lunch here in May.

I chose not to have dessert today, since I most definitely over-indulged last night. The final nibble of bonbons on a stick was a nice way to end the meal.

original blogpost with wine notes: http://chi-he-wan-le.blogspot.com/2008/11/relaxing-friday-lunch.html

八月十二‧晴

比起Amber那邊的二星，以及東京店的同是二星，在文華最好的樓層，這一粒星，其實有點斯人獨憔悴。

同時米芝蓮名廚，盧布松絕對比Pierre Gagnaire得我心，至少在東京要選一間西餐廳，我的選擇也是Joel Robuchon而不是Beige。香港的Pierre，如果你問我，就只有當Pierre在的時候才來得過。不過似乎這裡也要面對現實，最近推出了兩道菜的「商務快餐」﹝Express Lunch﹞，索價三百六十，比Amber便宜，而貴不了樓下的Cafe Casuette多少，以這個價錢，又好似幾試得過，就找一天又來吃一吃。

在文華的頂樓，以環境及地方計，這裡是無敵的。是日恰好天清氣朗，萬里無雲，坐在大大又舒適的疏化椅看著外邊，好不寫意。當然比較起來，半島的Gaddi’s會比這裡高貴，而香格里拉的Petrus會比這裡更「好景」。餐牌分開四部份，分別是「Frist Course」、「Middle Course」、「Main Course」及甜品，在兩道菜以外，選多一道菜也只收百一蚊，合理價錢。放棄了第一道主菜，前菜要了牛尾鵝肝醬，主菜要了燉羊腿，而甜品則是夏日特色的朱古力三重奏L’Africian。

還有工作在身的，飲品也只可以選有氣蒸餾水。先來的Amuse Bouche是煙三文魚酥餅，做得個子小小的，但味道卻很爆炸性的。鮮美的煙三文魚伴上忌廉，是美味；麵包籃內有三件小麵包，分別是牛奶包、核桃包及小法包。俱是微暖的，當中牛奶包最討好，帶微甜又鬆軟，塗起牛油來吃是非常美味。同上的牛油做成一朶小花的形狀，非常的美觀。

前菜上檯，是肉凍，深色的是牛尾碎肉，粉色的是鵝肝醬，紅色的是紅蘿蔔， 綠色的是翠瓜，蜜瓜切成小粒粒放在一旁，一層疊一層，賣相非常精美。這個菜看起來清新美觀，吃起來味道又很有個性，牛尾肉味道濃，鵝肝醬是豐腴又幼滑，配上間層的蔬菜，味道及口感層次感豐富，美味。在旁還有用桃子做的果醬，也出奇的配合。還配上幾片烤得香脆的小法包，美味，也令人吃得滿足！

主菜要了煎封羊Confit Lamb。羊肉是切丁的，配上切片的小蘿蔔、防風薯等根類蔬菜，旁邊還放有幾抺用向日葵花打成的慕絲，賣相也是「一百分」。羊肉是羊腿肉，吃起來雖然不韌，但也不會如其他部位般軟腍，較有咬口。炆得入味，吃起來絕不乾身，伴以蔬菜粒及向日葵慕絲，亦有水準。墊底的濃汁，當然連幾個小麵包也全用上了。

甜品5選一，本來我是必選芝士併盤，但聽落是日的選擇，又好像不甚特別，也沒甚心水，就要了另一個「時令精選」的L'Africian，是一個「朱古力三重奏」的甜品。墊底的是朱古力醬，中間墊了一件朱古力蛋糕，上面再放朱古力慕絲，再用朱古力條伴碟，賣相也是絕佳。這個甜品吃起來，口感由濃至輕，但味道方面，朱古力醬的味道實在太霸道了，令到蛋糕及慕絲也沒有什麼味道的，似乎在計算上可以更好。下次再來，還是打穩陣波，要回Le Helder好了；

餐後再來一杯香濃熱咖啡，也算是很滿意的一餐。

六星級酒店的頂級餐廳，服務自然也是頂級的好。侍應們對菜色很熟悉，亦會作出適當的建議。領班也會來問意見，談過幾句，令人覺得這裡也是很在乎客人的感受的。

埋單六百三，吃一餐好的，也要這麼上下的價錢。相信這裡在年尾的米芝蓮中，也是「坐二望三」，到時也會順理成章的加價吧！所以「When Pierre is not cooking」的話，來吃個午餐，也不錯。

Pierre 一直是我心目中其中一間很想去試試、但又很怕不夠銀兩結帳的餐廳之一。

早幾個月聽同事說 Pierre 新設了 express lunch，而且價錢相當吸引。我們終於在前幾天浩浩蕩蕩的闖 Pierre 了~

其中幾位座上客已於數周前光顧過，強力推介這兒的幾款食品。選擇不算少，我們正眼花瞭亂之際，檯面已陸續放上不同的小碟。好不容易大家都選定了，馬上看看究竟放滿一檯的是什麼呢。

有餐包，我最喜歡長條型那款，這和我上星期在 clipper lounge 吃到的一樣，軟身得來，"密度"很高，好味道! 同事們則十分喜歡"豬仔"，但因為我不喜歡吃太脆的，所以只吃了半個"豬仔"，但再要了一個"長條"呢~

另外一碟餅仔，四款不同的口味，牛油味很濃，是挺好吃，只是吃了餐包再加餅仔，已經開始有點點飽意。

黃色那片忘了是什麼，下面那碗是芒果醬。另一碗是 strawberry sorbet，只有兩口，但感覺很清新，還有小粒的士多啤梨肉呢~

不久便上頭盤了﹕
Lobster Bisque - 香濃的龍蝦湯和平常的龍蝦湯不同，帶有丁點苦味，但這正是龍蝦湯的靈魂，配上菇菌和有點海鮮味的 mousse 作配料，讚！

mushroom soup - 一位同事說這是 best mushroom soup in town，及後更聽一位上司說這是 best in the world，太誇張了吧?! 今次無緣，下次一定要試試！

Foie Gois - 單看賣相，相當有份量，同事說是水準之作。

主角出場﹕
Satay prawn 的 satay 不辣，但很香口

我不是特別嗜羊，但當同事將一片羊肉放進口中馬上說﹕"融o左呀！"，似乎很吸引......心癢癢想下次嚐嚐呢~

Grilled Rib Eye 是我一早已決定了要試的，要了 medium。表面煎得很脆很香，中間部份的肉質也很嫩。唯一感覺份量大了一點。

其實吃了主菜已經很飽很滿足了，極愛吃甜品的我，今次也有點感覺再吃甜品可說是有點 over 了，如果下次再光顧，只要 2 個 course 已經很夠了。 吃，永遠都是不要吃到100%飽就是最回味的~!

I had lunch with the boss and my colleague today, since the boss' big birthday was yesterday. We had been planning to have lunch at Pierre since last week, and used this occasion to toast the boss.

There was the usual round of amuse bouche, and we had a pre-starter from the chef. This was a piece of sole, served cold and with a bit of chewy gelatin at the bottom, topped with a layer of Champagne sauce. There is a refreshing "yogurt" of green apple and cucumber on the side. The fish was interestingly chewy, which I find unusual at establishments such as this one.

Moving on to the first course of the Express Lunch, I started with the crispy soft egg. Now what is it with chefs these days? Why is everyone wanting to play around with eggs in this fashion? For the second time in a week, I'm looking at an egg that has a layer of deep-fried batter on the outside, while being soft and molten on the inside. But the one in front of me was sooo good. The egg whites were done perfectly - soft but solid enough to have that jello-like consistency. The egg sat atop a layer of mushrooms - both dried morels and diced shiitake. The fragrance of the mushrooms hits me as soon as the plate is set down in front of me. It was just awesome.

The pan-fried skate wings didn't quite do it for me. It looked pretty enough, topped with a layer of deep-fried croutons, capers and other herbs. Unfortunately there were also bits of grapefruit in the mix, and given my physical condition today it just wasn't what I needed. But I do not wish to take anything away from the chef, for the execution was perfect. The fish was fresh and delicious, but I never like anything with too much acidity... Maybe next time I'll ask the chef to do something else with the skate wings.

I was in no condition to take in any cheese, although on reflection maybe that would have helped settle my stomach a bit more. We did have some cake to celebrate the boss' birthday, which was a giant version of an opéra.

original blogpost with wine notes: http://chi-he-wan-le.blogspot.com/2008/11/birthday-lunch.html

跟Pierre第一次接觸是二零零六年的夏天，當時食神到歐洲旅歷，到了他其下London的 Sketch餐廳進膳， 可算是一見終情。

Sketch店子不大， 特別之處不只他仿太空艙設計的廁所， 還有他的食物及出神入化的用料配搭， 記憶中以羊肉、魚類及龍蝦做得最出色。

九月正碰著是啫哩人的生日， 也造就了食神跟Pierre的重逢。


餐廳
Pierre位在文華酒店頂樓，氣勢不凡，餐廳卻不是太大，大概只有十至十二張桌。

A la Carte menu選擇不多，前菜只有五款，主菜有七款。食神會提議選擇 tasting menu。

前菜
食神選擇了澳洲龍蝦，起了肉的龍蝦伴着些薄片的水果，再加上淡淡的杧果醬汁，味道非常清新。至於啫哩人選擇八道菜的 tasting menu，有五款前菜，包括有香檳奶油汁瓏琍魚配鵝肝、 zucchini湯、香煎田鷄腿伴荷芹、白松露風乾火腿葡萄黑醋汁及墨魚橄欖 sorbet。
當中以煎田鷄腿與白松露最為突出。

主菜
食神的選擇是燒黑毛豬，侍應上菜的時候真的嚇了一跳，賣相竟有點像泰國菜館的燒豬頸肉，真是普通一點。啫哩人的兩道主菜則是個很好的海鮮跟紅肉的配搭，用葡萄酒烹調的藍龍蝦味道非常濃但沒有蓋過了龍蝦的鮮道，羊肉卷包了些菜蓉(似spinach)亦有另一番的風味。

甜品
整頓的晚餐可算是perfect，唯一失望的是甜品。 甜品單中全是水果跟雪糕的配搭，沒有甚麽驚喜。

服務
侍應非常殷勤，每道菜都細心介紹，如沒有他們的解析，可能真不知吃了甚麽進肚皮 !

總結
如果要食神把香港有名的法國餐廳排名，Caprice可能是最overrated，Spoon最踏實，但最高貴的必然是Pierre.

finally made it to pierre to chk out the so-called molecular cuisine... nice try but really a bit weird for me - sometimes i find the side spices overpowering the main ingredients - like the lobster w/ mango - i couldn't taste the lobster b/c the mango was just way too sweet and covered all the rest of the flavor. maybe the chef forgot that mango in france might not be as sweet as the ones they get here in se asia?
we had oyster for appetizer - excellently fresh and nice source too. i ordered lamb for main - very mediocre and actually a bit too well done for supposedly medium rare. sort of tasteless too. good thing i ordered the lamb to pair the wine (88 latour, actually needed more breath) not the other way around.

hardly of a view - what can you expect? if you want view, go to spoon.

attentive services.

i would prefer robuchon much better...