It was such a headache when we needed to choose a place luxury enough to celebrate one of our good friends back from New Zealand for her new job with long term settle in HK. Well, here we finally chose Mandarin Grill, a dream place where I wanted to try since ages ago.After my booking was made through website, I was really surprised with the warmth gesture of Mandarin Grill, they replied to offer us a complimentary pastry for our celebration! (*that was really thoughtful, whilst other restaurant
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It was such a headache when we needed to choose a place luxury enough to celebrate one of our good friends back from New Zealand for her new job with long term settle in HK. Well, here we finally chose Mandarin Grill, a dream place where I wanted to try since ages ago.
After my booking was made through website, I was really surprised with the warmth gesture of Mandarin Grill, they replied to offer us a complimentary pastry for our celebration! (*that was really thoughtful, whilst other restaurants seldom approach to offer us a small cake but only wordings on dessert.)
Such a long week with much expectation to the date of our dinner! When we arrived at the door, the receptionist greeted us nicely for pre-drink, we refused because all of us were starving (next time we would definitely come for drinking, the bar itself looks really unique and comfy!)
Their servers were really helpful and patience whilst we all having difficulties to make decision of our menu choices, which we have asked such lots of questions~ xoxo!! We truly thankful for the attentive service and explaination from Jacky! We finally chose different options to share for starter & dessert, but same choice for main course - roast beef.
For myself, I do really love the "Matcha", its presentation with traditional Japanese matcha culture was the most adorable fact, it was not hot green tea but a cold soup, a really nice starter!
Well, there is nothing to comment about roast beef, which is always perfect! Especially for beef-lover and those who love to eat "rare", this is a must try, and should return again for this! We were so lucky that we all ordered the last three portions of roast beef as it is limited per each dining period.
For desserts, we shared among the "Chocolate Fondant", "Cherry", and "Chocolate-orange Soufflé". I specially like "Cherry" which was amazing with a real alike cherry presentation, but it was actually a sugar mold filled with ice-cream, excellent for photo~
and the soufflé was so delicious too! Besides, it came the small pastry in white with rose patel, how cute with a candle and printed inscriptions of "Welcome Back to HK!". (Our friend was so touched!!)
Wonderfully creative menu.Floating fish a la Damien Hirst.Professional service.Worth a try.8/10 White day:Here comes the “White Day”. White Day could be considered as judgment day for guys in Japan. A male who received a gift on Valentine’s Day is supposed to reciprocate three times the favour received on White Day. Fortunately, White Day is not popular in Hong Kong, so roses, chocolates & Western restaurants aren't in demand and you don’t see boring “Valentine’s Day” set dinners everywhere. W
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Wonderfully creative menu. Floating fish a la Damien Hirst. Professional service. Worth a try.
8/10
White day:
Here comes the “White Day”. White Day could be considered as judgment day for guys in Japan. A male who received a gift on Valentine’s Day is supposed to reciprocate three times the favour received on White Day.
Fortunately, White Day is not popular in Hong Kong, so roses, chocolates & Western restaurants aren't in demand and you don’t see boring “Valentine’s Day” set dinners everywhere.
While I have finally decided on Mandarin Grill + Bar because of its safe and solid reputation and user-friendly, if a tad uninspiring, menu (what could go wrong with a slab of steak, right?), on our arrival, we were told that a special menu was available. Uninspiring is definitely one word I would not use to describe that:
First, we were served with some twigs in a flowerpot filled with soil. The twigs were in fact crunchy bread sticks with sweet and sour sauce and bits of petals stuck on to it. The "soil" was actually black sesame. We really enjoyed the twigs.
The two broken eggs were in fact mushroom soup/foam with bits of mushroom. It was very rich and tasty. The texture was wonderful.
Under the olive plant were two "olives" made in the vein of particle gastronomy. Essentially two soft, colorful blobs filled with essence of olive. Very interesting indeed.
Since I was aware there is a famous appetizer called "flower pot" served here, I did ask, out of prudence, whether the plant and the soil was edible. I was duly informed that it was a real plant...
The brioche was wonderful. Perfect texture with a slight buttery taste. Very good with the different types of olive oil on offer. We choose a Spanish one infused with garlic and another Spanish one infused with artichoke. We also tried a French one. We found that too light.
In case you are wondering, the paint brush for Chinese calligraphy was not edible, but the tip was. The tip of the brush was made of crab meat wrapped in puffed pastry.
Unleash your creativity and create your own "palate" with different types of paint, namely, garlic mint, tangerine sauce, wasabi mayonnaise and orange sauce.
The crab meat with puff pastry was not bad but not exceptional. Mine kept falling off. The different types of sauces were interesting though.
Then came a vegetarian dish entitled "Street Art". It came with a pair of severed hands with charcoal over it. The pair of hand was holding plenty of what seemed to be different colored chalks. Those chalks were in fact lovely grilled vegetables like carrots, potatoes, broccoli and others.
The climax, or anti-climax of the dinner (it depends on how you appreciate the piece of art work), was definitely the "Floating Illusion", which constitute a dismembered fish floating in gelatin. This was inspired by Damien Hirst's controversial art work of a dismembered shark. I also remember Damien Hirst's dismembered cow at the Tate Modern.
While it may not be visually pleasing for everyone, I have to admit that technically, this was very well done. I saw some clotted blood outside the fish. The gelatin must be at just the right consistency in order to achieve this effect.
Much to my wife's relief, that was for display purpose only. This was still a bit too much for my wife so I asked the waitress to take it away. It was then displayed at the next table who also ordered the same set dinner. "Bon appetite" to them.
My wife did not have the stomach for it (no pun intended)so I had hers too. The herring was engulfed by cucumber jelly. The cucumber jelly was very refreshing and neutralized the fishy taste of the herring. I though it was fine but some may find it too fishy.
This was far less shocking than the dismembered fish but an equally interesting display of creativity. But this time, you be the artist! Unleash your newfound artistic talent by dipping your beef or lamb shank into the edible paint made of (as best as I could identify them) mustard, paprika, dates, mashed potato and mashed potato with truffles.
By this time we were really stuffed with creativities and didn't really complete the painting exercise. My lamb shank was flavourful but I'd prefer it to be softer. My wife enjoyed her slice of beef but would probably have preferred a normal piece of steak.
As with previous dishes, it took me a while to figure out which were the edible parts. Put your digging skills to the test with the spade and brush provided and uncover the amazing chocolate treasures hidden beneath the "sand"! The pieces of "gold" were really nicely designed with traditional Chinese motifs.
The bill came down to about HK$2,000 per person, which included a bottle of Valpolicella , a craft beer from Spain, a pint of Guinness, and a very colorful and memorable dining experience.
Finally, a surprise piece of cheese cake and a White Day card for my wife:
題外話/補充資料：
When you make a reservation, the staff would ask whether it was for a special occasion or not. They would sort out the rest. Very thoughtful service.
I suspected that I might like the Mandarin Grill and Bar. Having all of the hallmarks of a great restaurant helps: Michelin Star, world class home in the Mandarin Oriental and a head chef that trained under arguably this century's most innovate chef, Ferran Adria of El Bulli fame. Yep, there was a fair chance that I was in for a beauty of a meal.But I've been wrong before!I have a love-hate relationship with Michelin Starred restaurants for lunch, love the fact that in Hong Kong you can access a
I suspected that I might like the Mandarin Grill and Bar. Having all of the hallmarks of a great restaurant helps: Michelin Star, world class home in the Mandarin Oriental and a head chef that trained under arguably this century's most innovate chef, Ferran Adria of El Bulli fame. Yep, there was a fair chance that I was in for a beauty of a meal.
But I've been wrong before!
I have a love-hate relationship with Michelin Starred restaurants for lunch, love the fact that in Hong Kong you can access a Michelin restaurant for around quarter their usual price. Hate the fact that more often than not, the star chef is not presiding over lunch time service and you're never sure if the meal will be at the same standard as a dinner.
With a reputation as an innovative chef, Executive Chef Uwe Opocensky has had the opportunity learn from more than just one master, having also worked with Anton Mosimann and Alain Ducasse. That reputation was the key ingredient for the Mandarin Grill securing its Michelin star in 2009, and more importantly, keeping the menu and restaurant fresh while maintaining the gold standard of a Michelin star. I could think of no better place to have lunch with some colleagues - secretly hoping those lunchtime blues wouldn't become a factor.
Surprisingly, my dining companions had beaten me to the restaurant and were seated by the time I arrived. I say surprisingly because I've a reputation for being early to dine and I felt just a little weird coming to the table last!
I guess one of the benefits of being last to the table was that things moved pretty quickly from that point, our super friendly waitress bringing over some bread for us to snack on. I was suitably impressed when she brought over what at first appeared to be a bottle of perfume, but actually turned out to be olive oil. Exquisite olive oil too, Chateau d'Estoublon - Huile D'Olive, which had a beautiful pepper flavour that complimented the bread perfectly. I also loved that there were two bread selections, a crusty sour dough and a sweet brioche that just soaked up the olive oil so well.
Our menus were presented and we had the option of the standard menu or the amazing value lunchtime prix fixe - three courses for a superb HK$638. I hesitated only slightly when I saw some of the delectable offerings on the standard menu, swayed almost by the lovely looking items, but at the end of the day, sanity prevailed and I went for the better value option. Especially since there were equally delicious looking options at a fraction of the cost!
First course was an easy choice for me, selecting the white asparagus with Japanese ham and slow cooked egg. My breath caught when I saw the simple yet beautiful presentation of the three ingredients, there was nowhere to hide with this dish and first impressions were super positive. The perfectly formed egg sat on the three asparagus spears with the ham casually surrounding the golden yolk. The colours were magnificently offset by the matt black plate, they were striking. I almost didn't want to break into the yolk, but my desire to devour the dish was overwhelming. The creamy yolk was seasoned to perfection, yet the saltiness from the ham was really appreciated too and combined to balance out the ever so slightly acidic asparagus. It was the ideal start to a three course meal for me - it left me wanting to lick my plate.
There was a choice of chicken, fish, vegetarian or beef for main, so no surprises when I went for the grilled US tenderloin with charred shallot, textures and colours of carrot a bordelaise sauce and smoky mash on the side. Like my starter, I was impressed with the presentation of the tenderloin, the pink of the medium rare grill acting as a beacon calling for me to dive right in. I'll start off by saying that the beef was incredibly tender with lovely flavour, which was helped along by just the right amount of seasoning. The bordelaise sauce was interesting, but there probably wasn't enough sauce to really impact the flavour of the beef - a good thing? I'm not really sure. There were roasted carrots on the plate, that were (I think) purposefully over roasted to enhance the texture and flavour, it worked nicely. I wasn't a huge fan of the charred shallot and really didn't like the smoky mash at all, the texture was grainy and the flavour didn't sit well on my palate. It wasn't a huge issue though, it was served separately in a copper pot, so I could largely ignore the mash and focus on the star of the dish, which was that tenderloin.
I was excited about my dessert, which was simply called raspberry, but had a sub line that confirmed that it would be a pavlova with cream and coulis. I had a suspicion that it wouldn't be a traditional pavlova, a suspicion which was confirmed when a dainty and pretty dessert was placed in front of me. The round of meringue was firm and crunchy and had fresh raspberries sitting inside, topped with a raspberry sorbet. The meringue was sitting on a bed of vanilla cream, which had flecks of vanilla seed throughout. It was almost too pretty to crack into, almost! Once I'd smashed the meringue, I came across the raspberry coulis, which was central to the dessert and helped balance out the very, very sweet meringue and sweet cream, the tartness being much appreciated.
My dining companions had a slight variance on my meal, with the clam chowder selected as an alternate entree, the monkfish selected as an alternative main and the yuzu selected as an alternative dessert. Given the nature of the lunch, I didn't sneak across and sample any of the other dishes, but the comments were that the chowder was a little too salty, the monkfish superbly cooked and very tasty and the yuzu dessert being a revelation. There was a universal agreement the the mash that came with the tenderloin was not great, especially when compared to the benchmark of mash - Joel Robuchon.
As far as lunch time specials at Michelin starred restaurants go, I have to say my Mandarin Grill and Bar experience could be just the tonic to change my mind about the merits of a cheaper meal. I was incredibly happy with my meal, both from a value perspective and a quality perspective. I'm not sure if Chef Uwe was in the kitchen, but it wouldn't have surprised me if he'd personally cooked each of my courses!
It's fair to say that I was impressed with my meal, even though there were a few quibbles from my dining companions when comparing a HK Michelin starred restaurant to a European equivalent. Not a huge issue for me, I definitely thought the meal was at the right standard, especially my starter - just lovely.
It wasn't until I was leaving to head back to work that I took a moment to look round the Sir Terence Conran designed space that I realised how smart the Mandarin Grill and Bar actually was. The interior was both relaxing and contemporary at the same time, the perfect space for a business lunch, and of course it was not surprising that there were a bucket load of suits in the room, doing just that (I guess I was one of them). There was an open kitchen where the oyster bar was prominent, along with the chefs preparing much of the meal, a feature I always love in a restaurant.
Service was great, with the smartly dressed wait staff knowing exactly how to interact diners who were engaging in important business deals and topics. I barely noticed that they were there, but my water glass was always full and our plates were cleared immediately once the last of us had finished their course, a great sign for sure.
The Mandarin Grill and Bar is a spot that I'll most certainly be back to, and soon. I loved the ambiance and the food, which was just what I'd normally eat when given a choice (a slight modern French influence). Good honest food with lots of flavour, presented wonderfully - you can't ask much more than that.
Checking out newbies in the dining scene incessantly the past few months, we took a pause and returned to one of the classics in HK - Mandarin Grill + Bar. I could not help but take a picture of the plate before the server took it away. This exactly depicted how I felt about Mandarin Oriental in general and of course Mandarin Grill + Bar. I started off the night with a glass of Bellini, and while we were reading through the menu, our journey had already begun and little surprises from Amuse Bouc
Checking out newbies in the dining scene incessantly the past few months, we took a pause and returned to one of the classics in HK - Mandarin Grill + Bar. I could not help but take a picture of the plate before the server took it away. This exactly depicted how I felt about Mandarin Oriental in general and of course Mandarin Grill + Bar. I started off the night with a glass of Bellini, and while we were reading through the menu, our journey had already begun and little surprises from Amuse Bouchearrived one by one on the table.
How could you not love this warm cheese puff? Take it by one bite and silky smooth cheese flowed gently and invaded your cavity. Honestly, I could not recall clearly how the second snack tasted, but the fluffy shreds were also of parmesan, they were parmesan crusted cookies. Just loved the indulge in cheese even right at the start of dinner.
One followed by another, the third snack was served - the two tiny brown and green spheres were rendition of brown and green olives. I took the green while he took the brown. The intense flavor was indeed well preserved in the olive juice.
I am a big fan of MO's bread that I used to sneak out a lot for its muffins in the mornings, for its raisin scones at 3 in the afternoon and could not stop working on its bread basket once I picked my first bun. There was a selection of 4 kinds of olive oil to pick for your preference, mostly of Italian and French origin. Foccacia and the roll with sun-dried tomato were my favorite in the basket. The final snack came while we were happily munching our bread.
We decided on a la carte for the night and after a delightful and appetizing start, we moved onto Oysters.Unfortunately, there was no Gillardeau, we picked 2 other kinds along with Fines de Claires. I was no expert in this area, but I could tell I adored their creamy sweetness and nuttiness, and the marine aroma and saltiness from la Fines de Claire.
Moving onto appetizer, he had his off-menu Lobster Bisque. Fresh and chewy lobster meat was perfect compliment to the strongly flavored creamy soup. I just had one bite but already came to understood why this was one of his favorites =)
I had this artistically crafted Summer.Consisted of Tomato paste, Mozarella cubes, Parmesan, Balsamic, Ham, you could pick a small piece of Foccacia to wipe the plate from the top to bottom and savor all those tastes in one go. The tomato paste and mozarella cubes were well balanced even though they were not in their usual form. Mandarin Grill's interpretation of this classic appetizer, along with Il Milione's, are definitely the two best in town.
This was certainly one of the best dishes for the night - Cote de Boeuf - french, hugo desnoyer, truffle, "leather", bordelaise. Hugo Desnoyer is no doubt the butcher for top-notch chefs, and this cote de boeuf was impeccable. We had it cooked medium rare and each slice was gracefully cut apart with ease, and melted slowly in your cavity. The bordelaise red wine sauce and truffle were in perfect harmony with the beef, but the best part was still the beef flavor itself. Certainly the dish to order for all beef lovers.
I picked fish for my main - Amadai - japanese, line caught, tartarte, souffle, salad.I loved how the tartare sauce was prepared as tiny dots of cucumber, potato, egg yolk and anchovy mayonnaise. It was in the right portion that it did not enshroud the amadai's aroma. I loved how the skin and scale were not removed and were deep fried to offer a variety of textures (Robuchon also has its amadai cooked in a similar way). The fish meat was quite tender in contrast to the light and crispy skin. Another highlight of the dish was its potato souffle! A very thin crispy shell that is almost airy and weightless!
Dinner could not end without dessert, but our tummies were already bulging out that we decided to take a break before embracing ourselves with sweets. Had to give credits to the server, she voluntarily suggested and offered us 2 cups of hot water with lemon.
We had a phenomenal experience at Alinea with Chef Grant Achatz and Chef Mike Bagale creating their magic on the table dessert, so we attempted to revive the moment and decided to have BFG - Chocolate, kirsch & cherry at Mandarin Grill, its table dessert.
The server came over with a trolley full of different kinds of ingredients, covered our table with a grey plastic tablecloth, and started painting. Chocolate mousse and kirsch infused chocolate cake dices were placed inside the baking ring, and the server drew around the ring with cherry sauce.
Nitrogrenated cream was then placed on top of the ring. While smoke continued to be emitted from the cream, the server conscientiously kept up with his pace and decorated the lovely scene with more chocolate powder, chocolate pieces and cherry sauce.
The ring was finally removed and the low temperature of the cream froze the chocolate mousse below - a new rendition of black forest was made. Loved all the different kinds of chocolate products, and even though I was not particularly fond of black forest, this was a much refined version of the cake, just that the kirsch was a little too strong. I tried to avoid the cake dices.
It was a night full of smilies, right from the beginning to the end. Not only was every dish prepared with quality food, but it was also meticulously executed with accuracy and care. A restaurant would not have become a classic solely because of its culinary team. I could not stop myself from emphasizing again the service at Mandarin Oriental remained the benchmark of good quality service in Hong Kong. It is worth coming back despite the ever growing and changing dining scene here.
Cote de Boeuf $698 牛扒是來自 Hugo Desnoyer ，法國有名的肉商，不少當地的高級餐廳都是從他們取肉。牛肉的質素高，烹調的技巧在扒房也是不容置疑。以乳牛的造型作伴碟，Medium-rare 的牛扒中間的肉色依然保持粉嫩，肉質香軟，不用花分毫的牙力便能把牛肉吃下去。肉汁豐富，和旁邊帶香濃松露味的醬汁又能搭起來。
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This was a great evening to welcome our good friend from overseas, and we sure will come back again soon for the roast beef! 
