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2018-01-29
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A mutual friend of XO's and mine has recently gotten engaged. Congrats again, Mr L! He's been looking for a venue for his engagement party, so he asked godbro XO and I to help him narrow down his choices by tasting the food. Last Saturday, Mr L invited us to lunch at Emporio Antico, one of the venues he has chosen.The restaurant is situated on the 18th floor of a building in Wanchai. Once the elevator doors opened, we were greeted with a wall of golden sparkling bottles of Champagne Armand d
The restaurant is situated on the 18th floor of a building in Wanchai. Once the elevator doors opened, we were greeted with a wall of golden sparkling bottles of Champagne Armand de Brignac Brut!
I felt like the restaurant serves as a showroom for the numerous gourmet food ingredients that Emporio Antico sells. They carry upscale food items such as caviar, saffron, aged balsamic, olive oil, and exotic fruit spreads and condiments.
Half of the restaurant space was set up like a lounge, and the other half was the bar and dining area.
The restaurant is decorated with some exotic items as well, such as these elephant toothpick holders.
Mr L chose the Deluxe 7-Course Lunch Menu for us, which has most of the food selections he plans on serving for his party.
The server presented us with a platter of canapes to start our lunch. The canapes are complimentary from the restaurant and showcases some of their gourmet food ingredients. These canapes would be perfect for the cocktail hour of Mr L's party!
Canapes
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Meat Liver with Berry Sauce: The berry sauce balanced out the richness of the meat liver
Pickled Romanian Mushroom: The mushroom had a nice crunch, and the pickling paired nicely with the earthiness of the mushroom.
White Balsamic Pickled Yellow Cherry Tomato: The white balsamic pickling liquid made the tomato incredibly juicy and gave it an impeccable sweet and sour flavor!
Crab Meat with Aged Balsamic Vinegar: The aged balsamic vinegar didn't have a harsh acidity and paired splendidly with the shredded crab meat!
Smoked Salmon with Miso Paste: The salmon was smoked in-house, so it wasn't very salty and dry like store-bought smoked salmon. The salmon was incredibly tender, and the miso paste was a delightful accompaniment.
Caviar Duo
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The salmon caviar was unlike the usual ikura, which is drowned in soy sauce flavor. This salmon roe had a light salinity which made the delectable salmon oil flavor more profound!
The server told us that their caviar is never preserved with borax, and they don't use massive amounts of salt, so the caviar flavor would not be overpowered. The Beluga Premium caviar lived up to its name! What you taste is not an overwhelming saltiness, but rather my mouth was filled with the wonderful aroma of the sea and distinctive little pops of fishy deliciousness!
Seared Tuna, Lobster Mayo, Asparagus
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Seared Tuna, Lobster Mayo, Asparagus: While the asparagus was fresh and crunchy, the seared tuna, albeit tender, could use a larger dab of the lobster mayo.
Bread with Tasmanian Olive Oil and Aged Balsamic Vinegar
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Our bread was served in a dainty dim sum steamer, accompanied by aged balsamic vinegar and Tasmanian olive oil. I'm no olive oil connoisseur, but it was interesting to know that Tasmania produces olive oil too! It's not just a Mediterranean product! The bread which was infused with olive oil and toasted was aromatic and crunchy, and it was perfect with a quick dip in the aged balsamic!
Daily Soup
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The Daily Soup was a Cream of Celeriac with Saffron. The strands of "gold" saffron dazzled the creamy velvety soup! Celeriac is not an ingredient that's very common in Hong Kong, so I was pleasantly surprised to see it being used in my soup! Although celeriac is the root of celery, it has only a hint of celery flavor and the texture is similar to other root vegetables.
The saffron in our soup were aptly-brandedGold Medal!
While the Porcini Risotto would have been divine on its own, thanks to Mr L's generosity, we had the luxury of adding fresh truffle shavings to the risotto!
As the server was shaving the fresh truffle in front of us, the amazing fragrance of the truffle filled our senses!
Porcini Risotto
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Angus Flank Steak
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The Angus Flank Steak was slow-cooked then seared, so it was very tender with no juices seeping out. Hence, it was perfectly rested as well! 
The caramelized onions were cooked to a complete mush, which means it was slowly cooked to perfection and the sweetness of the onions had been released completely!
While the truffled mashed potatoes were tasty with its rustic gritty texture, I would have loved the dish even more if it was served with creamy polenta! I asked the server about it, and he said that locals are not familiar with polenta, so steaks are usually paired with potatoes. This steak is one of the best I've had lately, nonetheless!
Dessert
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The tiramisu was served with vanilla ice cream, and as Ina Garten would say, this ice cream has some good vanilla, as you can see there were plenty of vanilla seeds in the ice cream! Accompanying the ice cream were tiny yogurt bits, which gave the ice cream a fun crunchiness and little pops of sour yogurt flavor!
The tiramisu was stacked with sponge cake rather than lady fingers. The sponge cake was soaked with just the right amount of liquor where you can taste it, but it didn't overpower the cake. The middle layer was light and foamy just as it should be, and the light dusting of cocoa powder on top saved me from choking on cocoa powder, which usually happens when I have tiramisu! I love tiramisu, and this one definitely didn't disappoint!
Mojito
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I really appreciate Mr L in valuing my opinion as a foodie/food blogger. Well, I'm a self-proclaimed foodie, but I like to be validated sometimes! I hope XO and my high regards of Emporio Antico has helped Mr L in choosing a venue for his upcoming engagement party.
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