Finally, the one and only Arbor‼️Headed by rising culinary star Eric Raty, Arbor serves contemporary french cuisine with the use of premium & seasonal Japanese ingredients.With its michelin-star reputation and the many positive reviews, we held high expectations upon our visit for a bday celebration. And to sum it all up - the 2 stars are def well-deserved🥳‼️_The full arbor experience consists of 10 dishes, plus some complementary bread to start and freshly baked madeleines to finish.Everything fr
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Finally, the one and only Arbor‼️ Headed by rising culinary star Eric Raty, Arbor serves contemporary french cuisine with the use of premium & seasonal Japanese ingredients. With its michelin-star reputation and the many positive reviews, we held high expectations upon our visit for a bday celebration. And to sum it all up - the 2 stars are def well-deserved🥳‼️ _ The full arbor experience consists of 10 dishes, plus some complementary bread to start and freshly baked madeleines to finish. Everything from beginning to end did not disappoint. It’s impressive how Chef Eric manages to meld different flavours together in an incredibly precise, harmonious, elegant and at the same time, innovative manner. _ Some of our favs would be the 👉🏼𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡🐟 👉🏼𝐅𝐨𝐢𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐮𝐣𝐢 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐡𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐥𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬🍎
Yes, even the bread was exceptional! Fresh out of the oven, their homemade brioche was buttery and so pillowy. And with that mentaiko and soy sauce butter... omg so good we actually each had an entire basket🤤🤤🤤
_ Verdict: While we thought the meal lacked a few mind-blowing moments, there were no let downs at all, with every dish showcasing Chef Eric’s exquisite palate and skills. And if we were to critique, service and ambience aren’t the best compared to other fine-dine restos we’ve been to. But hey, at the end of the day, it’s the food that really matters. And Arbor certainly delivers exceptionally in that category😉
This fine-dining French restaurant is located on 25/F H Queen's in Central. Inspired by the concept of a charming forest home of a poet and cook, the restaurant offers a cozy relaxing atmosphere for diners to enjoy bohemian leisure in a home away from home idea. Seated at a table on the window side, when I looked around I got a nice reminder of some of the winery and cellars we visited in France previously. The staff came to check with us on the aperitif, along with a champagne cart which I dec
This fine-dining French restaurant is located on 25/F H Queen's in Central. Inspired by the concept of a charming forest home of a poet and cook, the restaurant offers a cozy relaxing atmosphere for diners to enjoy bohemian leisure in a home away from home idea. Seated at a table on the window side, when I looked around I got a nice reminder of some of the winery and cellars we visited in France previously.
The staff came to check with us on the aperitif, along with a champagne cart which I decided to go for a glass of Jacquesson 741 while my wife had the White Peach Nectar. Soon the staff brought some nice home-made brioche with some seaweed mixed, along with two butter, one made with mentaiko (salted cod roe) with spicy seasonings, the other of kelp with toasted seaweed. Both are innovative and tasty, where we quickly finished the one and asked for another bread.
Checking on the menu I opted for the Chef Tasting Menu ($1888) while my wife had the Seasonal Tasting Menu ($1488). Both started with the same course, 'Clam'. The feature is razor clam, served in two ways, with the first being a lightly blanched razor clam on skewer. While it is already fresh and sweet in taste without any additional condiment needed, there is a sauce on the side with some lemon leaves which greatly enhanced the fragrance.
The other dish served has a meaty piece of the razor clam on a cream sauce, intense on flavors while still relatively light and without feeling awkward and masking the delicate taste of the razor clam. There are pieces of mushroom which served as a nice decoration too. From the presentation one can clearly see the influence of Japanese cuisine to the chef, no matter on the use of the ingredients, serve-wares and presentation.
The second course is 'Scallop', with the Hokkaido scallop seared well on both sides, with some marinated sauce to highlight some savory flavors. There is a kelp jelly sauce underneath with some lime juice to again freshen up and raise the umami taste to the next level. There is also a crunchy toasted seaweed cracker on the side which offered great complement. The wine paired is Kokuryu Daiginjo Ryu, the famous sake from Fukui which uses French maturation techniques for sake making. A nice match.
The third course is 'Foie Gras', made to a creamy mousse at the bottom, then on top adding some crispy fried rice treats to give a nice contrasting texture, along with a fig jam where the sweetness balanced well with the intensity of the foie gras. This new way to prepare the foie gras significantly reduced the heavy oily sensation of the dish and making it more welcoming to diners. Really great effort by the chef and his team.
The fourth course is 'Chestnut', with the seasonal produce being the highlight. Apart from a chestnut puree similar to what you would see on a cake, but not insanely sweet as many cakes would be. There are some slices of Fuji apple giving a bit of acidity and light-weight balance. The ginkgo has a nice chewy bite as well. Wine paired was Vincent Latour Meursault 1er Cru Poruzots 2016. Good acidity and I think it is a bit too light for pairing with the food.
The fifth course is 'Sea Bream', with a broccoli puree, fish stock as sauce, and nice seaweed condiments, successfully highlighting the delicate and elegant taste of the fillet while at the same time intensifying the complexity of the dish through these condiments. The wine paired was an interesting choice, Freeman Vineyard & Winery Pinot Noir from Sonoma, with the strong cherry note not particularly matched with the dish but did not somehow affect the dish in any negative way.
The sixth course is 'Pigeon', a piece of nice pigeon breast beautifully seared with sweet wine and berries reduction, tender and juicy on the inside, and my favorite in the evening. On the side there are a piece of root (I forgot the name) which is grilled, with some other seasonal mushroom as well. The wine paired is Tignanello 2014 which got a big tannin and gamey note to match well with the pigeon.
Moving to the dessert the seventh course is 'Citrus', a yuzu and jasmine flower sorbet with a cheese meringue cracker on top of some finely chopped citrus fruit pieces. Cleansing for the palate, the dish is great to freshen up before finishing our meal with a more indulgent dessert. The wine paired was Domaine Weinbach Theo Faller Gewurztraminer VT 1989. The wine was very good on its own and appropriate in sweetness for this dish, though leaving a bitter aftertaste.
The last course is 'Madeleine', served interestingly in an ice-cream cup which included a walnut ice-cream and three big pieces of sweet black beans. A few pieces of caramel crackers provided nice supplement to the texture, the dish is a nice finale for the dinner, with also a piece of spongy canele-like pastry which is great for coffee.
The service throughout the dinner was great, with the staff coming to explain each dish in details, and the sommelier also providing the characters of the wine paired.
The bill for the night was $5,330 including the wines ($1,300). Consider the ambiance and quality of the food it was still a bit over-priced in my opinion. I am critical here but the wine pairing can in fact be improved.
My recent favourite. Went few weeks ago actually - v. Great environment and excellent ingredients. Good Japanese French fusion by a Finland (?) young chef. I'm not a Macaron person but this green tea Macaron is not too sweet, very soft and smooth.
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My recent favourite. Went few weeks ago actually - v. Great environment and excellent ingredients. Good Japanese French fusion by a Finland (?) young chef. I'm not a Macaron person but this green tea Macaron is not too sweet, very soft and smooth.
We had lunch at Arbor for our anniversary. The bottom line is, don't try the weekly tasting menu for the variety. The chef's omakase menu is so much better in almost every sense.We ordered one weekly menu at 588 and one chef's tasting menu at 888. My wife ordered peach nectar and I had Sancerre Cuvee Flores by Domaine Vincent Picard 2017 on top of the sparkling water. The wine was fruity and refreshing, with a crisp finish.The amuse bouche is a beef tartare on crispy Nori seaweed shell, topped w
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We had lunch at Arbor for our anniversary. The bottom line is, don't try the weekly tasting menu for the variety. The chef's omakase menu is so much better in almost every sense.
We ordered one weekly menu at 588 and one chef's tasting menu at 888. My wife ordered peach nectar and I had Sancerre Cuvee Flores by Domaine Vincent Picard 2017 on top of the sparkling water. The wine was fruity and refreshing, with a crisp finish.
The amuse bouche is a beef tartare on crispy Nori seaweed shell, topped with a tangy emulsion that cuts through the richness of the beef. Quite a nice start.
Then the brioche -- it's just so light, soft, fluffy and tasty. The server explained that there is miso and seaweed in the bread, but the taste is very subtle. Served with mentaiko and kombu butter. We both think the kombu butter is too strong in flavour.
Then for the chef's omakase, the starter is foie gras mousse with fig and prune compote, topped with some crispy fried floral buds (the server did explain it's from Japan, but it's just impossible to recall the full description...). This starter is sure a winner -- the foie gras mousse is creamy and velvety smooth with a hint of mineral taste, the fresh fig and the compote works together to cut through the richness. Then the crispy bits and the green emulsion add contrasts of texture. Everything is well balanced and the presentation also looks pleasing.
For the weekly tasting menu, the starter is seared Japanese mackarel (saba) sashimi marinated in kombu, served with fruit tomato and kombu stock. This is not bad, but quite expected. The fish tastes the way it should. The tomato is sweet, but not mind blowing. The plating, ugh, needs some work really.
The second course in the chef's omakase menu is sous vide Hokkaido octopus tentacles, with seared chestnut, gingko, lotus root on a bed of pearl barley, in a seafood chestnut emulsion. Again, thoughts are put into each every component -- the octopus is tender and flavoursome. The vegetables are crunchy and add a different texture. The chestnut emulsion is very rich and tasty. The whole dish works well together.
For the weekly tasting menu, the second course is mirin-marinated ikura wrapped in thinly sliced radish, over diced radish and crispy fried bits, with a tart emulsion (I can't recall what they used in it, but I don't think the taste profiles of those ingredients work too well anyway). Each ikura sac is like a pop of briny and winey concoction, which is quite interesting. The radish and the crispy bits actually add more complexity in texture, yet without adding to the flavours. The emulsion honestly doesn't work IMO -- it's sour, but without depth of any kind. I think some smokiness or even a subtle bonito or eel taste in the emulsion would echo with the ikura and add more depth. Oh, did I mention the uninspired plating?
For mains, we ordered the A4 wagyu beef tenderloin with $250 extra in the chef's omakase menu. The server said more than once that this is the chef's signature dish. The beef is marinated in mirin and stock, seared to medium-rare, served with a miso emulsion, a smoked eggplant puree and a marinated eggplant. Jus of the beef is poured at the centre. Hmmm, this is not bad -- at least it's perfectly seared and rested before sliced. But my wife thinks the beef is not fatty enough by wagyu standard, definitely not melt-in-your-mouth kind. I personally don't think the texture is a problem, but it's a course that lacks culinary vision. The marinade doesn't really make the beef too different. Both the smoked eggplant puree and the miso emulsion lack oomph. They just lie there without really giving the beef any character. I don't know. Maybe I'm asking for too much because it's a michelin-starred restaurant after all?
And the disaster of the whole meal -- the main course of the weekly tasting menu -- pork tongue with Sichuan pepper, Japanese cabbage, turnip mash, and tomatillos (or some berries? not sure, again, can't remember every word the server said). I was expecting some chunky slices of pork tongue. But I was so disappointed to see the skinny oblong tongue covered in foam. The plating was so bland and lacklustre that I instantly lost my appetite. I know a whole pork tongue could look disturbing. But covering it up with some beige colour sour foam doesn't make it any better. Regarding the taste, the tongue isn't chewy and springy like grilled gyutan, but very soft and mushy. The Sichuan pepper taste is there and that's probably the only thing interesting about this dish. Then the cabbage is bland and doesn't work with the tongue in anyway. The turnip mash is creamy and buttery, but again it has no chemistry with the tongue...
The desserts saved the meal a little. For the weekly tasting menu, a classic combination of chocolate in different forms (creme brulee, hojicha and choco gelato, dark choco sables, and a salted caramel and chocolate sauce) are juxtaposed with crunchy freeze-dried cheese bits, grains and nuts. Every component is impeccably made. The grains add a lovely crunch. Chocolate lovers should be pleased.
Dessert for chef's omakase is grapefruit sorbet on frozen grapefruit vesicles and peel, in a frozen cheese cup, over flakes of meringue. Very strong taste of grapefruit with lovely contrasts in texture. The tartness is nicely balanced by the buttery cheese cup and the sugary crispy meringue. Again, it's a perfect combination of great presentation, nice balance of palate and interesting mouthfeels.
Instead of petit four, we were served freshly baked madeleines and green tea macarons. Both are awesome -- madeleines are hot with crispy edges and tender soft centres and a light lemony scent. The macarons are of perfect texture, crispy shell and chewy centres. The matcha cream is bursting with green tea flavour and is of perfect sweetness.
All in all, I really don't get the pork tongue main course -- looks like boarding school canteen food with foam. As you might have noticed, the weekly tasting menu is just some kind of filler to cater to a lower price range. I believe a dignified chef won't budge on his vision. If your culinary vision can't be realized at a lower price, just stick with one menu that you're really happy with.
On the up side, service was thoughtful, detailed and very friendly. The wine was excellent and of good value. The room gets quite noisy when full. I think the ambiance is somewhat lacking. And the washroom is definitely not Michelin star-worthy. Don't use it unless you really need to.
题外话/补充资料：
My advice -- Order the Chef's omakase menu. It's closer to my idea of fine dining. If you really like beef, order the wagyu with extra. Just don't expect it to taste different from any good steak you've had. But I do believe the fish or pigeon course won't be too bad (won't be as bad as the pork tongue, I suppose).
(以上食记乃用户个人意见 , 并不代表OpenRice之观点。)
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张贴
评分
味道
环境
服务
卫生
抵食
用餐日期
2019-09-11
用餐途径
堂食
人均消费
$1150 (午餐)
庆祝纪念
纪念日
推介美食
amuse bouche
Brioche + mentaiko and kombu butter
Foie gras mousse
sous-vide octopus, chestnut, gingko, lotus root, pearl barley in chestnut emulsion
We are here again ... Arbor @ H Queen’s ... this is always our pick .. with quality food and service for which you won’t be disappointed for sure ..Blue blue sky ... lovely sky! The nice experience started upon arrival ... the staff are all sincere and friendly ... they introduced the drink list and the menu in details and they really served the guests with heart ... from bread and starters... all cool!!Champagne first .. cheers! Lovely bread and starter Wagyu is our pick for the main as always!
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We are here again ... Arbor @ H Queen’s ... this is always our pick .. with quality food and service for which you won’t be disappointed for sure ..
The nice experience started upon arrival ... the staff are all sincere and friendly ... they introduced the drink list and the menu in details and they really served the guests with heart ... from bread and starters... all cool!!
Wagyu is our pick for the main as always! Sooo YuMMM ! My friend is so into the white peach dessert and she asked the staff if it was possible to change the blackcurrant dessert to the white peach one!! A nice surprise for us that the staff and the chef could arrange the white peach 🍑 desserts for us on special request! It’s just amazing and my friend felt extremely wonderful indeed!!
Wagyu = juicy and yum!! 肉質嫩 口感 👍🏻👍🏻 White peach dessert = appealing and peach from Japan is juicy!!
Highly recommend this restaurant for fine dining! Quality food + quality service = awesome 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Like it here and simply like it 😍😍😍
Tried the chef’s tasting lunch menu the first time. Started with a nice warm bread basket along with special made Japanese inspired butter. Amuse bouche is uni with seaweed cracker and shrimp, very interesting. Caviar is layered on top of something like a cheese mouse. Truffle dish is made with truffles, mushrooms and barley, very full like a risotto dish. Main course I selected pigeon from France, very moist and juicy. At last, dessert is green tea ice cream inspired with ume plum. Alway
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Tried the chef’s tasting lunch menu the first time. Started with a nice warm bread basket along with special made Japanese inspired butter. Amuse bouche is uni with seaweed cracker and shrimp, very interesting. Caviar is layered on top of something like a cheese mouse. Truffle dish is made with truffles, mushrooms and barley, very full like a risotto dish. Main course I selected pigeon from France, very moist and juicy. At last, dessert is green tea ice cream inspired with ume plum. Always love their madeleines, freshly baked, served warm and moist, yummy.
Arbor 名字解作 ”森林” ，布置陳設融合大自然風，卻不失奢華氣派 🌳🌳 In line with its name, which means ‘tree’ in Latin, renowned design firm Yabu Pushelberg have created a nature-inspired look of warm, soft textures and botanic tones; the firm also did the interiors for Epure. Beyond the high, arched ceiling lies a sweeping panoramic view of Victoria Harbour.
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Arbor 名字解作 ”森林” ，布置陳設融合大自然風，卻不失奢華氣派 🌳🌳 In line with its name, which means ‘tree’ in Latin, renowned design firm Yabu Pushelberg have created a nature-inspired look of warm, soft textures and botanic tones; the firm also did the interiors for Epure. Beyond the high, arched ceiling lies a sweeping panoramic view of Victoria Harbour.
Came here for an early dinner with my bff 👯, the service was very attentive.Very refreshing start this fusion styled tomatoes and bean curd sheet was very interesting with the sauce made in molecular balls we swapped oyster with this delicious scallop and morel mushrooms the sauce was a little on the salty side though. this Japanese fish was beautifully complemented with this curry sauce slightly spicy for me though very well presented veal was very happy to receive this, I don’t usually eat des
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Came here for an early dinner with my bff 👯, the service was very attentive.
Innovative fine dining menu 😋in a fantastic environment 🥂with professional and friendly staffs✨I really enjoy the amazing time here❤️Arbor X Hommage exclusive collaborative “four-hands dinner” by Michelin-starred chef Noboru Arai and Eric Räty from 11-13 Apr~ feel so blessed 😇#excellent place for special celebration 🍾#wonderful place for loving couples 🌹#relaxing place for close friends gathering 🍸
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Innovative fine dining menu 😋in a fantastic environment 🥂with professional and friendly staffs✨I really enjoy the amazing time here❤️
Arbor X Hommage exclusive collaborative “four-hands dinner” by Michelin-starred chef Noboru Arai and Eric Räty from 11-13 Apr~ feel so blessed 😇
#excellent place for special celebration 🍾 #wonderful place for loving couples 🌹 #relaxing place for close friends gathering 🍸
Occasionally, we deserve to treat ourselves better. There’s no better reward than a causal fine dining experience. Had a blissful night at Arbor, blown away by their delectable 8-course chef’s tasting menu of modernized french cuisine with innovative Japanese twist.As I often emphasized that the bread is what separates a good and a great french fine dining restaurant. Instead of traditional baguettes/sourdough, they serve a brioche. But this may be the best brioche I’ve ever had. Warm and soft b
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Occasionally, we deserve to treat ourselves better. There’s no better reward than a causal fine dining experience. Had a blissful night at Arbor, blown away by their delectable 8-course chef’s tasting menu of modernized french cuisine with innovative Japanese twist.
As I often emphasized that the bread is what separates a good and a great french fine dining restaurant. Instead of traditional baguettes/sourdough, they serve a brioche. But this may be the best brioche I’ve ever had. Warm and soft but holding its texture, complemented by seaweed and seasoned cod roe house made butter. We absolutely killed the brioche instantly, and asked for refill (would’ve been better if they could refill the bread spontaneously)
Chef Eric introduced our first course, which was a fresh textual ebisu oyster followed by a frozen citrus perfect for palate cleansing after the oyster. A very thoughtful pairing.
Second course was one of the best of the meal - the Icelandic langoustine which was cooked to perfection. Lightly grilled on the surface leaving a tiny charcoal flavor, while the meat was still translucent just very lightly cooked. The springy gooey texture was exactly the way I love it. But the complementary sauce was the hero of the dish. The fact that they provided a spoon to enjoy this dish suggested that they’re confident enough to know you’ll need it to finish the sauce left on the plate (and yes I didn’t leave a tiny bit behind, it was THAT good!)
The third course was another refreshing appetizer. Tuna was served with wasabi and green apple sauce covered by fresh orange segment on top. Elegantly plated and a very smart progressive course to serve before the mains.
This was hands down my favorite course of the night! Sea urchin served with orzo (a rice shaped pasta, almost like risotto). The spicy seasoning and salty Karasumi brought out the natural sweetness from the sea urchin. The creaminess of the sea urchin acted as the perfect ‘sauce’ to serve with the pasta. Almost feel like an Italian dish but yet so much Japanese influence was added to elevate it to another level.
The dinner continued with a 9.5-hour slow cooked black abalone from Japan paired with artichoke. I have never tasted abalone with such incredible tenderness and springiness. Probably the best texture I’ve ever had with any abalone.
And here came the main course - pigeon and beetroot. The pigeon was very well cooked with crispy skin and at perfect medium rare. That caramelized black sugar glaze on the skin was genius addition to balance the gamy flavor. Beetroot was as always the perfect pairing to gamy meat. The waygu beef on the other hand was a letdown. It was way too rare, almost mushy, too heavy on charcoal flavor that overpowered the natural taste of beef.
And then it’s dessert time! Instead of strawberry, I’ve opted for the decadent chocolate dessert. This dish has satisfied every chocolate craving I’ve had. Every element was chocolatey at different intensity. The ice cream was the star of the dish, soft chocolate ice cream covered by a tempered crust, a very sophisticated technique executed flawlessly. Such an intense and rich dessert with so much depth.
They definitely saved the best for last. One of Chef’s signature dishes: soy milk ice cream with crispy tofu skin. Delighted at how prominent the soy milk flavor was, it was not sweet but very rich in natural soy milk. The tofu skin was simply a showoff. Paper thin and crispier than ever, also filled with rich soy flavor, absolutely addictive. The black beans offered balancing savoriness to the dish, marinated with soy sauce and black sugar, providing an interestingly contrasting flavor.
The dinner didn’t just end here, a freshly made madeleine was served after the final dessert. Soft, moist, fluffy, warm, everything you wanted from a perfect madeleine. Honestly, I would’ve been able to eat a dozen of these madeleine even after finishing the 8-course dinner (if only they serve me a dozen instead of just one), it was THAT delicious!
I’m pleasantly satisfied with the ambiance and service of the restaurant. Awesome night view from the floor to ceiling window, warm cozy lighting with classy and edgy decor. The service has been attentive but the pace of dinner can be easing down a bit given it’s a 8-course meal. All in all, a wonderful dinner experience and impressive quality of food.
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