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2013-10-04
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I had this French meal 2 days after I came back from Paris to celebrate my best friend's birthday. Honestly, I was kinda uncertain whether I would enjoy this meal since I have heard too many so-so comments on Amber. Given their Michelin 2-star status, we still decided to give it a try. It took us a little bit of time debating whether to have the "seasonal tasting menu" or "degustation menu", then we were told the only difference is the blue lobster. As such, we decided to go with the "Degust
As usual, it started with the fresh bread loaf & welcome snacks - Amuse bouches. I just remember the watermelon mix on the right but as far as I recalled, they were both good. Certainly, we wouldn't miss the wine part, the corkage is $500/bottle then we were only allowed to bring one bottle for a party of 2. Oh well, we could just live with the ground rule and behave .
Langoustines - charred but kept raw, ricotta in a kyuri cucumber granny smith & jalapeno marinade: I have so many langoustines in Sep, both in France & HK, the reason behind is the seasonality of them. This was an interesting cold dish, more like a cocktail and cold soup. Definitely, a pleasant appetizer to start with.
Corn soup & a deep fried "something": I would have skipped this dish if this was an a-la-carte menu, please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying it’s not tasty but it’s just not as special/interesting than the others. Owing to the strong creamy base, this dish was indeed quite filling. Besides, I am not so much into the deep fried food…just not a fan of this dish.
Another house snack in lollipop style...I have to post this photo coz I really love their presentation
Hokkaido sea urchin in a langoustine jello with cauliflower, cavier crispy seaweed waffles: I only had sea urchin (uni) twice so far, once in Canada & the other time at Tsukiji (筑地市场) in Tokyo. I don’t really like the taste of uni and I only found the one I tried in Tsukiji is acceptable. However, with the mix of cavier and langoustine jello to the uni, the whole thing was awesome. You still got the strong uni taste but it’s not fishy at all, nice combination after all.
Tasmanian Salmon - Confit & smoked "Perthuis" green asparagus, horse raddish cream & pickled kyuri cucumber:I got to try the world renowned Balik salmon in Paris a month ago and I really enjoyed the texture from different parts of the salmon. At Amber, their Tasmanian salmon could also gave me the same level of contentment but in a different format. The salmon was very tender and I suggest to have each mouthful of salmon mixing with the fresh veggies (don’t forget the horse raddish cream), the slight sourly taste was a good stimuli to your taste bud. I have to applause the chef in using the raddish cream as a substitute to the regular caper.
Bordeaux lobster...swapped with Duck Foie GrasOwing to humaneness concern, I stopped eating foie gras for quite some time and we requested the chef to change the dish for us. Here it came with the Bordeaux lobster specially made for us, this dish wasn’t really outstanding but it’s the flexibility and understanding from the chef that counts.
Kagoshima Wagyu beef - strip loin, oven roasted, puree of "forgotten" cevennes onion braised short ribs with seasonal green leavesThe 5-star dish of the night, no doubt! I always complain about the fattening texture of Wagyu beef and it just simply melts in your mouth without any taste (personally, I prefer intense beefy taste). But the strip loin & short ribs I tried that night was incredibly unbelievable. I was not “heavy” at all even after so many prior small dishes. I have to honor this dish and give a 5-thumbs up!!!
Organic Lemon - tart tubes, Italian meringue, tarragon gel & raspberriesLove the "tube", love its intense lemon flavor which the tickling effect was amazing! If you like sour food like me, this is definitely a must try.
Souffle with Cacao sorbet - Albinao 85% chocolateI believe it's my problem to handle this chocolate dessert after a full course of meal. Love the albinao 85% bitter chocolate (always my favorite) and I prefer the souffle to the sorbet.
Petits Fours - since I was celebrating my friend's b-day, they put an extra slice of chocolate with her name on...then they gave her an extra box of macaron (the waiter reminded us that it's a different flavor from the petits Fours we got in the tray) as a birthday greeting. Really sweet & thoughtful...
Other Info. :
1) Owing to the 12 photos limit here, I couldn't post the cheese trolley. The cheese was indeed very good with wide choices. Figs are in season so it's lovely to match the cheese with figs & wine!!!
2) They gave my friend a pack of 8 mini Rose flavored macaroons as her birthday present.
(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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