Spoon by Alain Ducasse (已結業)

I'm not really sure why it took over eighteen months to finally get around to visiting legendary chef Alain Ducasse's Hong Kong restaurant. It ticks pretty much every box that I ever look for in a restaurant, French, modern, Michelin Starred and as a bonus, a restaurant from one of the top chefs in the world.Perplexing really.Anyway, I finally managed to get along to Hong Kong's Intercontinental Hotel, the home of Spoon by Alain Ducasse. I've dined at the Intercontinental before, for another legendary chef's HK outlet; Nobu, which I found to be quite outstanding (see post here); so I had an inkling of the amazing view that awaited us when we were shown to our window seat.Hong Kong undoubtably has the world's most spectacular skyline, and the view from Spoon gave us unfettered access to the Island's many skyscrapers. We were seated just before the sun set and were able to watch the skyline come alive as we consumed our meal.The incredible service that you'd expect from a Michelin starred restaurant in a five star hotel commenced from the moment we were greeted by the front staff, who took us to our table and introduced us to our two waiters who would pamper us for the entire evening. We were the first to arrive in the restaurant, ensuring that for the first part of our meal we were the complete focus of our team.Like most great French restaurants, the girl was offered a glass of champagne just after seating and after hearing her options, decided on the Deutz rose champagne; a definite favourite. Watching as the generous portion of bubbly was poured into the unique looking glass, the girl licked her lips in anticipation of her first wine of the night.Next came our menus, with instructions on some of the highlights from the a la carte portion, as well as an explanation of the tasting menu. We were also advised that there was a special truffle menu on offer, which looked interesting but ultimately was discarded for the a la carte. There were just too many lovely looking dishes on offer and we both wanted very different things.A lot happened very quickly after we placed our orders, firstly, some warm cheesy puffs were delivered; we were presented with a plethora of bread roll options, with lovely room temperature salted and unsalted butter; finally, we were given our amuse bouche, a delicious small bowl of fresh peas bathed in a tomato confit and finished of the a light an airy pea foam. The fresh and intense flavours balanced wonderfully, the acidity from the tomato working in harmony with the sweetness of the pea.Oh, for the record, I selected two baguettes that were piping hot, to go along with the big pile of salted French butter that I couldn't resist devouring.It was time for our starters and I was suitably impressed with the amazing presentation of the girl's poached langoustines with salads, vegetables and flowers. It was a serious work of art. But, you know the saying, food needs to do more than look good, and naturally the dish tasted as delicious as it looked. The base was made of a pea and olive mix, with fresh and sweet langoustine sitting atop, then a garden salad finishing off the dish. I loved the care with which the dish was plated, which actually went some way to increasing the dish's desirability. The salty flavour of the olive worked to enhance the overall flavour of the dish, which was quickly dispatched!I'd chosen one of the restaurant's signature dishes, the steamed duck foie gras with cedar lemon, which didn't look as wonderful as the langoustines. What it lacked in refined presentation, it made up for with the seriously generous pile of expertly cooked foie gras and the mind blowingly good taste. I mean, wow, the creamy and earthy foie gras worked incredibly well with the lemon based sauce that sat atop the controversial ingredient. There was a side of lemon puree and some lightly toasted brioche that was supposed to be consumed with the foie gras, but I found them both distracting from the dish and largely left them alone.It was in between our starters and mains that the twilight gave way to darkness and Hong Kong Island came alive. In all of our time in HK, it was the first time I remember just watching the sun slowly glide over the mountains and the natural light give way to the artificial light that comes from so many high rise buildings equiped with all sorts of neon signs. Even better than that amazing skyline was watching all sorts of sea vessels moving up and down the harbour, none better than when we witnessed an old tall ship glide in front of a modern day behemoth.The girl's main of young pigeon from Bresse with figs and dried fruits was presented and I was just a little disappointed with the presentation, especially after witnessing what could come out of the kitchen. Served on a white plate with black a large black border, the pigeon was lost on the plate, especially hidden by the jus. Again, luckily you don't judge a dish on its appearance, it is all about the flavour, and the game bird was full flavoured and expertly cooked. Right on medium rare, the tender bird tasted earthy and rich, helped along with some acidity and sweetness from the roasted fig and sticky jus.My main was a dish you'd normally see as a starter, so I was intrigued to see if the seared sea scallops with 'gold' caviar would sate my raging appetite. I had doubts when I first laid eyes on the three medium sized scallops that were covered in little spheres of potato, then doused in a lovely and light cream sauce. Wow, it must have been the excessive amount of potato balls that filled me up, but I almost had trouble finishing the whole dish. There was much I loved about the dish, the scallops were caramelised perfectly and were sweet and wonderful and the sauce was exquisite and supremely matched to the scallops. My issue arose around the balance of the dish, there were too many 'gold' caviar pieces, the potato slightly overpowering that sweet scallop flavour. As a main course, I would prefer to see four scallops and slightly less of the potato, but none the less, I did enjoy the dish, even if I left some of the spheres.There was never any doubt that I'd be selecting the almond soufflé on the dessert menu, after all, a soufflé is my general 'go-to' dessert when on a menu. I was a little dubious about trying an almond variant, but those doubts were largely dispelled when I laid eyes on the perfectly risen dessert. A light golden colour, the soufflé was light and sweet and just lovely; until I reached the bottom and found chunks of toasted almonds, which are not really my favourite of nuts. I found that the nuts detracted from the overall enjoyment of the soufflé, but I solved the problem by eating around the chunky nuts! With the crisis averted, I could also focus on the incredibly creamy almond sorbet that accompanied the dessert, which surprised me by being delicious!SC only had eyes on the signature dessert of chocolate from the Alain Ducasse factory in Paris, which was served as two crescents on the plate, one dark chocolate and one milk chocolate. They were almost little complicated millefeuille in the way the chocolate was layered, which included some crunchy praline. I wish I could tell you more about the dessert, but the promised taste from the girl never came! Yep, she devoured the lot before going 'oh, I forgot to give you some, it was delicious!'Sigh, I would have loved to have tried that signature dessert. Maybe next time.Of course there was the obligatory petite four at the end of the meal, which included an interesting take on providing marshmallow, it was rolled up in jars on a trolley and we were cut portions at the table; as well as three little cakes that included a caramel, a tiny little millefeuille and a raspberry and passionfruit tartlet. All delicious but hard to eat, we were so full!When you go to a French fine dining restaurant by one of the world's top chefs, a chef who has many restaurants around the world, the kitchen is always given to a trusted chef to run to the standard that's expected. Helming the kitchen at Spoon was Stéphane Gortina, a trusted lieutenant who's worked with the Ducasse chain of restaurants for over ten years. I have to say, trusting chef Gortina has paid off, we really enjoyed our meal; even more than our only other Ducasse experience at le Jules Verne in Paris (see post here).Sure, there were a couple of very tiny issues with the food, the presentation of the pigeon and the balance of the scallop dish, but upon reflection, these are minor quibbles for what was a highly enjoyable meal. Service was faultless and we even had the restaurant's manager coming across to chat to us about the restaurant and once we'd finished and paid, walk us out into the night.Yeah, I'm not really sure why it took so long to get over to Spoon, but I can say with quiet certainty that it won't take so long for our next visit.@FoodMeUpScottyThe Experience of Spoon by Alain DucasseHead chef Stephane GortinaThe dining room of Spoon by Alain DucasseThe view from Spoon - afternoon, twilight and evening 继续阅读

汇丰信用卡生日礼遇有8折，所以系老公生日月分都有优惠。加上我一向好钟意食法国菜，浪漫气氛、细嚼慢咽、食物精美艺术卖相伴美酒、优雅环景和景色，而且可以著靓靓和穿高跟鞋所以非常期待........星期六晚预早订了两位亦不用等候，餐厅内大概只有不足一半的人客，远望180度维港夜景相当放松，心情开阔。服务员招呼非常好，有法国sommelier为我们介绍酒（讲英文但有口音），本地服务员解答我们对menu的问题，对应的时刻接待得相当准确，这个节凑却没有令我们半点急赶，只是选来选去都觉得discovery menu最抵食，而且8-course可以慢慢叹。起初点了两杯Alain Ducasse自家品牌的香槟，气泡绽放，持续15分钟左右，苹果香桃等果香不断发放～餐前小食是凉的炸芝士球，微微的芝士味足以引起食欲。服务员递上的面包篮上的四款我选了酥却不腻的海盐卷，以及略带清新的柠檬包。跟著系青豆mousse，这个我不太记得因为那刻我顾著睇wine list，准备为主菜点伴酒。在sommelier介绍下，点了法国Gevrey Chambertin（这条位于法国勃艮地cote de nuits以北最大的乡村，Chambertin grand cru被誉为King of Wines，不妨一试）深红宝石酒色穿透了醒酒瓶内的两层空气，酒香绽放，口感柔顺圆浑，配搭主菜完美充当其角色！二人大概各两杯的分量。头盘青芦笋汤配羊奶芝士，绝没半点草青和羊奶膻味，绿白色的搭配卖相怡人。继续是普罗旺斯小麦配时令蔬菜香草汁，原来普罗旺斯不是只有薰衣草。颗颗小麦粒都充满口感弹性，时令蔬菜有整颗小红菜头、甘荀、小灯笼椒、芦荀、沙律菜等，纤维度满分。此时服务员提议为我们转到靠窗的有沙发座位，因为有人咗cancel booking，又见我老公频频走来坐我旁边，可以因为想他不必走来走去，帮我们安排对著酒吧的窗边座位吧主菜来了！期待的烤法国蓝龙虾与羊肚菌味道相浓郁，蓝龙龙肉质紧实有弹性，虾鲜菇菌味香配合来食非常好。香煎美国顶级牛柳选了厨师recommend的medium rare，煎得恰好没有血水渗出外面也不太干，配以鸭肝和黑松露汁带来味觉多重口味，配菜的马铃薯梳乎厘卖相吸引高档而且富有创意玩味，我想问如果我点茄汁，大厨会建议我怎点来吃呢？哈哈！马铃薯梳乎厘皮薄香脆，但都系尽快食好，因为空气中的灭度会令这薄薄的手工马铃薯变「淋」啊！食到呢度，到已经饱咗。陆续送上的还有精选法国芝士，有三款：blue cheese, goat cheese, Brie配超薄的多士片、沙律菜。我一向钟意食Brie，但系今次cheese加了一个特色的果味酱觉得配blue cheese最好食。第七道维多利亚凤梨配凤梨椰汁姆朗酒冰是餐点中最清新又充满冰冻刺激的一道，姆朗酒冰的些许苦涩都被甜蜜的凤梨和柔和的椰汁香中和，协调得和谐。最后的一道是Alain Ducasse朱古力配香脆果仁酱，牛奶及黑朱古力两款味道，这种刚刚新鲜做好的朱古力与一般朱古力略有不同，入口即融，朱古力厚薄适中以及脆酱令口感有变化。你会发现这个与之后服务员再送上的朱古力粒大有不同。还有自家预制的热情果味及草莓味棉花糖，泡乎、拿破仑、朱古力配脆酱。最好配以伯爵茶享用。由于是老公生日送了一个约一磅的什莓忌廉蛋糕，则边舖满了椰丝，简单迷人。临走时送了两盒各三个macaroon朱古力，云呢拿，草莓味。过了一天吃仍然外松化内有弹性，好水准！（更多相片，请看此餐厅的相片，因为我upload错咗位） 继续阅读

星期天 睡到自然醒以无敌的海景为伴 沐浴一场阳光浴从头发梢开始 都沾染著舒适自在的洋洋散散Hehe~ 谁不爱早午餐呢？Sunday Lunch从Brunch的半自助形式 更换为现在的6道菜午餐价位：港币888元+ 10%服务费 /位且无限添加餐酒 果汁及 无酒精饮品睡眼惺忪 先来一点香槟！面包篮 与无盐和有盐黄油不用怀疑 我每一款都吃的 恩 还都是完整一只垫垫肚子 就有奶制品出场了自家制有机麦片 / 珍珠木薯粉配干果及坚果接著是很受欢迎的蛋类 做法也真不少依照惯例少不了的奄列Omelette (可选仅用蛋白制)可根据个人口味加入黑松露 蘑菇 和蔬菜而且这些配料全部藏在蛋层里 好吃又有丰富的层次感另外再点了煎蛋 对… 配菜的分量很慷慨 加起来快拼过主盘了 有火腿和酸黄瓜San Daniele Ham & Pickles 以及自家烟熏三文鱼Homemade Salmon Gravlax已经开始饱了 怎么才到主菜?三样选一Roasted Vension Steak烤野生鹿肉鹿肉嫩而多汁 一点都不干只是若不习惯鹿肉特别的腥味 记得多点些酱汁来调和滋味另外肉身表面还撒有开心果碎 加了一份坚果的脆而可口海鲜类有 Steamed Sea Bass蒸海鲈鱼蒸制的方式 鲈鱼肉嫩的入口即化 刚好的油脂 呷一口白酒 也是很美味另外爱吃菜星人最喜欢的一道Cookpot of cereal and vegetables 法式暖窝蔬菜兜多种蔬菜先略微炒香 再放入这款神奇的暖窝做出来的蔬菜 不但保留了自身的多汁 还有加强版的蔬果甜和清爽的香气 好吃得很！最后的甜品盘个人依旧最喜欢朱古力配香脆果仁酱和千层酥这些也是餐厅招牌甜品的Mini版 人气居高不下 ~ PS：不知道已经从餐单上失踪很久的西西里柠檬挞 会不会再现江湖呢？  继续阅读

第一次来是在2004年的夏天，我刚踏入社会工作，什么是 fine dining？我都没有概念。这里开业不久，朋友就带我来晚饭，menu 全是法文和英文，我像村姑出大城市，看不懂。从此，我才知道 fine dinning 原来是一个这样的体验，我也展开了我四出寻找美食之路，然而偶尔也会回来吃饭。转眼10年，又是同一个人，和我来吃生日饭。今晚的餐牌是 winter menu，不想谂太多，就点了 tasting menu。其实水准一直都保持倒，我还是说说 tasting menu 哪些菜式较深刻。 先来2杯特调 mocktail:Flamenco和 Kiwi Viva 法式野鸡及栗子汤 - 这个汤非常出色，栗子味和鸡汤都非常浓，但感觉却十分 balance。手钓海鲈鱼配浓汤 - 浓汤是一个海鲜 broth，虽说是「浓汤」，但我觉得是一种很清甜的鲜味。鲈鱼旁配上龙虾，味道都很match。Main course 有黄猄肉，我转了乳猪和友人 share。汁ok，但黄猄和乳猪肉质都很嫩滑的。精选芝士 - 今晚的 blue cheese 都令我很惊喜。哈哈！够浓味！最后的 pre-dessert 和 dessert 我都非常喜欢。Pre-dessert 系柑sorbet配金巴制酒冰，很refreshing，可以清一清上一道芝士嘅味。Dessert 有我最钟意嘅朱古力。味道像缤纷乐的闪电泡芙 食完晒成个menu 之后，再送上绵花糖和朱古力，为今晚画上一个完美的句号。 继续阅读

难得凯彤有时陪我过生日，揾间高级法国餐厅浪漫一下先。上纲左拣右拣，由菜色、服务到理境都细心看一遍。好，就试 Spoon 啦。相约 K11 见面，就双双途步前往洲际酒店。Book 左七点钟 table，侍应姐姐带我地步入餐厅。华丽既装潢，十分宁静既环境，暗淡既灯光营造浪漫既气氛，无敌大海境尽收眼底 ﹗姐姐带我地到预先安排好既位置，就交由另一位侍应哥哥接待。一轮简单介绍及查询有否对任何食物敏感后，我地 order 支有汽矿泉水再望下 menu 有咩好野食先。我已经有最后决定喇，似乎 order dinner set for 2 较为实际，可以用比较经济既价钱试多几款美食与甜品，因为第 1 次黎都未有咩特别既 idea，如果 order 错野就惨喇，免得浪费左个 quota 同金钱啦。环顾四周，闲日黎讲食客都算少喇，现在只有三四枱，大多数以一对对男女为主。餐前小点 3 款，侍应哥哥以广东话加上英语详细介绍食物既材料与制作，非常专业，遗憾地我英语程度低未能完全明白，不过都十分感谢。无花果曲奇，味道好夹，面头清香多汁无花果撞上脆口略甜既曲奇，完美既配搭。芝士夹饼，用 3 种唔同既芝士配搭而成，各有各独特既香气与质地，幼滑与硬郎于一身，芝士味余香强烈，不其然发出赞叹之声。樱桃果冻，上面系新鲜樱桃盖著下面一小片樱桃果冻，入口清新，酸甜味皆有，可为将会来临既第 1 道菜作预备。餐前小吃，肉桂馅饼，泛著清淡肉桂味道，外脆内软，我一向都对依类炸物麻麻，不过几好食噃。海盐旋风饱，酥皮薄薄劲松化，食落脆到沙沙声，好鬼 high。面包浓厚既牛油味环绕整个空间，外层脆卜卜，里面软塾非常。面包味香浓新鲜，加上海盐手做牛油，绝！控制住自己唔可以再添食呀，如果食面包食饱左点算好，连头盘都未开始呢。Rosie，无酒精既 mocktail。新鲜士多啤梨蓉调制，似果汁。忌廉青豆蓉，作为开胃菜真系唔错，听侍应哥哥介绍系唔知咩青豆蓉咩忌廉柠檬叶混合啰，哈哈。忌廉幼滑厚身，散发出青豆及柠檬叶香味，非常醒神。红桑子忌廉羊奶芝士汤，今次换来位洋妞姐姐全英语介绍菜色，咩红桑子咩忌廉，真系唔好意思，我已尽力听架喇，thank you very much。总之好好味啦！羊奶芝士应该系淡软芝士类，因为味道不呛不霸道，温和而带著清香。芝士洋葱鸡汁贝壳粉，好可爱呀 ﹗第一次见咁细粒既贝壳粉呢，而且系找第一碟赞既贝壳意粉，坚坚坚好味，要拍手欢呼！贝壳著得弹弹的，非常有弹性，令我联想到广告中经常提到既要几弹有几弹呢。而且佢地凭著天生骄人既兜形身材，每一粒都满载芝士鸡汁湿润地集体跳入口中。洋葱甜美、鸡汁清爽、芝士咸香，打得火热，美味 ﹗Basil cooler，薄荷味跟 Basil 比例均匀，同样突出。其实我感冒中，鼻塞好辛苦，谂住叫杯薄荷味可以通一通，但完全无效呢，仲更加辛苦。系㖞，感冒要饮暖或热饮品呢，可以舒缓气管，忘记了。第 1 轮排山倒海既攻势可以稍作休息喇，系我地歇歇之余，可以享受下现时宁静同浪漫既气氛，而且恰巧幻彩庆香江开始，欣赏下激光表演帮助消化都好。甜椒南瓜花龙虾汁松子仁烩蓝龙虾，万众期待既第 1 道名贵主菜终于都现身喇 ﹗现时侍应哥哥跟洋妞姐姐会不时交替招乎及介绍佳肴呢。蓝龙虾居然系令人意想不到既新鲜度，好肯定唔系雪藏货。海水味浓郁，入口爽弹有嚼劲，龙虾既鲜甜味失控地系口腔度横冲直撞，超级美味 ﹗各具特色既配菜混得非常出色，清新既感觉非笔墨能够形容，南瓜花独特既幽香清甜使我完全唔知道如何演绎，总之非试不可 ﹗再加上甜椒爽甜、松子仁脆口，多角度多层面既攻击，我只可以投降罢了 ﹗鸭肝并牛柳配黑松露牛肉汁，黎个 standard dish 试试先，我都非常喜欢食牛架，洲际既 Steak House 牛扒非常出名，但唔知道洲际既 Spoon 又如何呢？鸭肝并牛柳配黑松露牛肉汁，牛扒一向食 rare 3 成熟，外面要煎得热腾腾够香口，里面要微暖鲜红色，咁就最靓喇。rare 3 成熟完全半点都难唔到大厨既手艺，非常满意。鲜嫩红肉滑滑的，散发淡淡牛肉味道，肉汁像泛滥般不停涌出 ﹗外层香口 juicy，牛味比生牛肉更浓厚更深沉，每一口肉汁激射。占上少许黑松露牛肉汁，牛味更发挥得淋漓尽致，无得弹 ﹗有趣地厨师谂到将鸭肝配上胀卜卜又非常薄既空心面包，可去油腻感，有创意又特别。鸭肝当然不及鹅肝肥美油润，没有大量油脂，所以食落会较干及硬身。味道组合好满意，酸酸甜甜加点面包味，亦泛著鸭肝油香。头盘歇一歇，依家完左主菜再歇一歇，就到最后既甜品时间喇。侍应哥哥跟洋妞姐姐收拾好枱面，预备好食甜品既餐具，我地都非常急不及待喇。车厘子果冻，车厘子 jam 垫底，淋上车厘子汁，铺上金箔，全部都系熟透既车厘子，只有甜味无酸味，好食。车厘子雪芭，车厘子味道清淡，食落透心凉。朱古力棒子酱脆条，超正呀﹗朱古力味道非常浓郁，有软有硬又有脆，仲有金箔添，好好味呢 ﹗自家手做棉花糖，绝无任何添加或防腐剂，两款卷系透明玻璃饼中储存，好似蛇饼一样，哈哈。洋妞姐姐成条取出再每款剪出两小块放系我地面上，入口棉滑，而且爆炸一般迅速溶化，好鬼得意，微甜清爽不浊，真系食得出的新鲜味道。法国人真的非常注重每餐作为 ending 既甜品呢，未试过会咁多款式，林林总总、包罗万有，我地已经好饱喇，食唔晒喇。个外卖盒好靓㖞，打包左好多朱古力返去呢。多谢凯彤亲手画既生日咭，thank you。 继续阅读