法租界 (已結業)

This restaurant is located in Lan Kwai Fong, inside a dark alley which honestly is a bit intimidating for the first timers. Having visited another restaurant here before, at least I knew that the place was not dangerous. After checking with the staff at Brickhouse, who directed us to walk up the stairs, we arrived at a nondescript door without any sign. It should not be a surprise, however, as Fa Zu Jie is indeed a private kitchen.Seated at the other end of the restaurant near the big covered terrace, the atmosphere was cozy and comfortable, offering us a nice ambiance though one could also see the interior decorations was a bit dated. The open kitchen is on the other side where diners could easily see the activities. Greeted warmly by Chris, who managed my reservation and special requests, we started the 7-course menu ($598 each, with the additions of $80 each for the souffle).The name of the dishes is rather unique, and by looking at them one could not guess what would be coming. Take the first course as an example. It is Fake. Pleurotus Abalonus. In fact it was an abalone cooked nicely, tender on texture, cut into slices and marinated to show an interesting mushroom flavor, while on the side are some kale, sauteed with mushroom and thin radish slices. Overall the flavors are very harmonized.The second course was Garlic in Love. Salt. Slow-cooked Belly. I thought the dish was inspired by the Shanghai cuisine of a similar combination. The slices of pork belly got a nice bite, rich in taste and seasoned with some salt. The celery strips on top provided a refreshing and different texture, while the garlic paste was creamy and not excessively pungent. A nice dish.The third course was The Mood. Deep Bay. The deep-fried radish cake was something traditional and available in fishing villages in HK, according to Chris. Recreating this, and then adding some deep-fried small shrimps on top, I found the radish cake's texture firmer, with a nice bite and paired well with the parsley and anchovy sauce on the side. There is also an Hiroshima oyster too, intense on flavors, full of umami elements. I also like the sauce having a nice acidity to reduce the weight of the deep-fried radish cake.The fourth course was Exotic Mediterranean Sea. Enchanting Shanghai. The broth was prepared using some local fish, with some crab meat added, reminiscent of the famous Marseilles seafood broth. My wife opted for the pure fish broth however, showing up whiter and not as intense. The Shanghai noodle accompanied was to be eaten after dipping into the soup. For some the broth might be a bit under-seasoned, but I feel it is appropriate, in order not to overpower the delicate notes of the noodle. After finishing the noodle we also drank the broth, knowing that all the great essences had dissolved into the soup.The fifth course was Elegant Face. Elegant Rice. Originally with Australian wagyu beef cheek, I changed that to a duck confit instead. It was beautifully done, with a crispy skin while not making the meat overly dry. Nicely seasoned, it is a good complement in taste with the Shanghai vegetable rice, which are prepared with some Chinese ham and lard, giving a nice fragrance and smoothness, but not oily to make it repelling. This is my favorite of all the dishes in the evening, and I also thank Chris for arranging the duck confit upon my request.Moving to dessert we had the Summer. A Pre-season Performance in Winter. A really innovative idea, using winter melon to prepare this dessert, with the bottom pieces soaked in mulled wine, having a taste like pear and honestly if you don't tell me I would not be able to tell the difference. On top there are caramelized winter melon slices, with some sour cream added to balance the sweetness. A truly creative dessert.We added the extra dessert option, with Ginger. Souffle. Beautifully presented, when scooping in there are some small pieces of ginger, not only giving a nice fragrant note to the souffle, the slight spiciness is also a great complement to the light sweetness, balancing it perfectly. A really nice conclusion to the meal and another testimony to the uniqueness of the chef's in combing French techniques with Shanghai and HK cuisines to make a good fusion dinner.Services are very good, with Chris coming to explain each course in details. One thing to note is that the restaurant did not sell alcohol so they encourage customers to bring their own wine, without corkage. But it is also important to note that they only accept cash or bank transfer, no credit card.The bill was $1,356 and the portion was appropriate to make us full but not overly so. No wonder that despite its relatively difficult to find location it is still popular, even in the recent political and economic difficulty in town. 继续阅读

朋友介紹下去了中環食私房菜，地點有些隱秘，有點忙中帶靜嘅感覺。朋友話飲食節目都推介，當然要試試。食物水準確是美味出色，fushion菜充滿驚喜特色，每碟看似少少的份量，最終食得包包的，好滿足，絕對是高質，啱哂三五知己聚會及情侶節日慶祝。餐牌的菜名別具心思，未食已吸引。偽·鮑魚菇鮑魚新鮮爽口，用鮑魚扮鮑魚菇，很有創意肉末·甘藍情懷·后海灣地中海風情·上海嫵媚滬酸菜·意國紅燒·德國米月半·抱中環🤩薑·飛雪😋薑梳乎厘，有少許蓉粒，味道適中，不會太甜太膩。正!老闆好細心食之前介紹每道菜。👍款款都好食，值得一試。😋 继续阅读

Went there for my birthday dinner. The place was nice but the food was a huge disappointment. We were served an appetiser with avocado that was too sour, a fish burger with eel and Shanghainese flatbread that was cold, risoni with shrimp roe that did not require much cooking except boiling pasta and mixing it with store bought fried fish roe, room temperature ‘Shanghainese wonton’ filled with cheese (once melted but cooled) that looked nothing like Shanghainese wontons, braised lamb and rice cakes with a medium size tomato that overpowered the whole dish, and worse still, some warabi mochi that was cut in a way too thin strip places on some dry rice pudding to make it look like sushi. I don’t usually write negative reviews unless I was very angry at the restaurant. The chef, to me, did not put much thought into designing these fusion dishes. The flavour and texture pairing was terrible. Made us wonder if he tasted his menu before confirming it. So bad. 继续阅读

同同事食開年飯，又係同事發板～最開心同班同事出去食😍餐牌係 Tailor made, 真係不得了～.叫咗八樣菜，雖然每份都細細份咁，但係超級飽！.聽名真係唔知係咩黎嘅，每一味餸都食落去好驚喜流動的陽光，冬日，福：係菜，腐皮福袋入面裝住流心雞蛋！.馬鈴薯沙律係用德國酸菜同薯仔整咗個酸酸地嘅汁，再點埋炸咗嘅腐皮，好開胃！.北海道野帶子，溶化的粟米，蝦子油：個名真係好得意😂係香煎北海道帶子，在加好似薯蓉咁樣樣嘅粟米碎，再淋埋蝦子油好香！.層層疊：本身以為會係牛柳粒嗰啲，點知係手撕雞！好香麻油味，正.漁鄉：係意大利粒粒pasta配大蝦，再加髮菜source，好新穎！.軟米香：係上海菜飯再配燒鴨肉！好香好正～.白雪風鈴：係歐洲果個貝殼蛋糕feel，細細粒配cream食落去好清新.薑雪菲：係薑味梳乎里，出面食吾到呢個味！多謝我班好同事，等我咁有食神！老闆咁有心機設計啲餸，仲係食之前簡介，心思100分！唯一一個缺點就係，廚房抽風唔夠強，食完個身有陣又油煙味... 继续阅读

去之前已經收到餐單覺得好神奇勁有創意 完全睇啲名唔會知道佢食咩 一去到已經覺得勁有高級餐廳感覺 場地唔大 可以容納20幾人 好彩攞咗張圓枱有啲私人空間 第一道菜係半醉八爪魚同帶子刺身第二度菜係茄子加素雞同埋魚鬆加素雞 佢個素雞 口感超級彈牙勁似魚蛋 覺得好有新意 之後係一個撻 佢嘅皮好似雲吞皮咁薄咁脆 有陣牛油酥香味 入面係輕芝士乳酪菠菜蓉 甜而不膩 佢有個薑梳乎厘 入面都真係有薑蓉同埋老闆拎咗去支私伙嘢出嚟佢話係客人自己釀製嘅桂花酒 超好飲 超甜超香桂花味 继续阅读