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2011-03-18
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IntroductionThe Mirror Restaurant is ensconced in a small space in a commercial building halfway between the Causeway Bay MTR and the Wanchai MTR stations. The decor is modern. A curtain of forks and spoons provides the centerpiece of the single room, while the best-lit section is the open kitchen. Music is slightly loud. The acoustics of the room are slightly grating. Hard surfaces all around mean conversations unduly resonate, and if one or more tables has had too much to drink, it can be
The Mirror Restaurant is ensconced in a small space in a commercial building halfway between the Causeway Bay MTR and the Wanchai MTR stations. The decor is modern. A curtain of forks and spoons provides the centerpiece of the single room, while the best-lit section is the open kitchen. Music is slightly loud. The acoustics of the room are slightly grating. Hard surfaces all around mean conversations unduly resonate, and if one or more tables has had too much to drink, it can become rather noisy.
Most of us chose the 6 course degustation menu (898). Corkage was $150 per bottle.
Note: Mirror uses a lot of truffle. Nothing inherently wrong with use of truffles, but to this reviewer, it's a lazy way of making a dish more fragrant with minimal effort.
Service
We had a large group of more than 8; our meal definitely tested the co-ordination of the staff, since simultaneous serving of each course is expected at this price point. On this point, Mirror definitely passed, although the gap between the soup and the main course was more than 30 minutes. This was not the fault of Mirror, but possibly the fault of one of the sous-chefs. I observed the head chef yelling at the unfortunate sous-chef, calling him "stupid" and that it was "not funny". One of the perils of an open kitchen, I suppose. The poor guy looked like he was going to cry.
In general, the staff avoids the common problem of high-end restaurants in Hong Kong, where the food is of high quality, but the service is of Mongkok quality. Here, the staff were quick to respond to every signal, and they knew how to pour wine, a sadly rare skill in Hong Kong.
Appetizers
The bread and butter were very good (no pictures)
Our degustation menu featured three appetizers.
Scallop Mousse with Caviar
Bland. The menu indicated that the sauce was lemon, but wasn't particularly noticeable, certainly not enough to provide a lift to the mousse. The caviar was nothing special.Scrambled Eggs with Too Much Truffle
I changed to this from the original lobster salad on the menu. Very boring. It had one flavor. Egg and truffle. There is a point when the flavor of the truffle overpowers the fragrance. This appetizer reached that point.Foie Gras with Applesauce and Toast
Better. The raw materials were excellent - the liver was superbly creamy without any tendons. The apples were fresh and balanced the fat well. The only criticism is that the toast was soggy, and the chef could have made the skin of the foie gras more crispy.Crayfish in pea sauce
No pictures, a friend at the same table had this and did not like it. She said the crayfish looked like maggots in their presentation. I tried one and found it overcooked, and devoid of any flavor since the pea sauce overpowered it.
Soup
Vegetable Veloute
Given that the waiter would pour the soup, it is a good sign that the kitchen spent effort on the presentation that I would only see for a few seconds.
This was the best dish in terms of flavor. The slowly melting cheese gradually changed the taste of the soup as I drank it, but the cheese never became overpowering. There was some additional spices that I couldn't identify.Mains
Beef cheek Sous-vide
Admittedly, not a hard dish to mess up, but this was done very well. The meat was practically soft enough to cut with a spoon, and perfectly supported by the two sauces. The caramelized vegetables were a nice surprise - they provided a good lift.Soft-shell crab with risotto
I tried the risotto off the plate of the friend sitting next to me. Putting Japanese crab roe on top of risotto was an inspired touch - the crab roe was very, very fresh and provided a texture that one would not normally find in risotto.Salmon Dish (replacing sea-bass)
A friend had this and gave it two thumbs down.
Dessert
Crepes Suzette
I get what they're trying to achieve with this. Crepes Suzette is often presented swimming in syrup and very heavy; they tried to use small portions so it would be lighter, and to balance it with sour blood oranges, crystallized peel, and chocolate mousse. The problem is, although the syrup problem is gone, the pancakes were still pretty soggy.Note: the chocolate mousse was misspelt as chocolate mouse on the menu. Minor error, but unprofessional.
Tea and etc
Good. Very hot tea and very hot milk. No petit fours, but there were damp java cakes that were as heavy as bricks.
Conclusion
Hard to rate. There were high points and there were low points. I give the restaurant an OK because I expect more for my money and my time. Different standards apply to e.g. Chui Wah vs Robuchon.
If you are looking for good solid French food, I would recommend Le Marron in Causeway Bay - much wider menu but great consistent quality, half the price, and much easier booking.
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