Embla

營業中

休息中

my experience is suboptimal as I was seated too close to a table of four. I really wish I could enjoy the food in a better ambiance. The restaurant has plenty of seats so why crowd guests together. I am completely overpowered by noise and commotion. a restaurant at this caliber should really be more sensitive - I can't say I enjoyed my dining experience. 繼續閱讀

北歐料理 (Nordic cuisine) 是講究食材的原地與新鮮，其精髓就在於減少過度的烹調，讓食材的原味得以保存。處了食材，正式的北歐fine dine餐廳出名的是對細節的追求，讓顧客的味蕾和視覺一場靈魂的偶遇。Embla位於上環，地方不大，藏藍色的裝潢令人感覺到品味與經典的匯合。聚餐前我上網仔細看過wine list，選擇很多，有很多小眾葡萄酒品牌和產地，相信餐廳老闆/主廚是愛酒的人，但價位不低，帶酒的開瓶費也昂貴。Wine pairing的酒沒有顯示在menu上，於是我根據預算挑了兩款酒去搭配食物。到達餐廳後，sommelier熱情介紹後，我和我的朋友決定品嘗pairing options， 原因是因為一款的fortified wine有可愛的鴨子酒標(女人有時候就是這麼隨興)和那是我還沒有嘗試過的酒款。這篇專欄我主要分享當天品嘗的酒，餐廳一流的服務與食物的精緻就留待以後再分享。一開始我們喝的是Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve NV，香檳做aperitif基本是定律。香檳杯子很好，形狀可以仔細看到泡沫慢慢地升起來，酒液的顏色上比一般入門版的NV的淡黃色深一點點，相信是陳年酒使用的比例比較高。 品酒有三大步驟：第一是色 (觀察外觀 )，然後就是香(欣賞香氣) 和味(品嚐味道 )。看完顏色後，就是鼻子和味蕾的品嘗。氣味是比較濃鬱的蜜糖、牛油麵包、果仁的味道，酒味醇厚、優雅， 泡沫棉細，是非常有活力、美好的享受。第二款喝的是 Tenuta delle Terre Nere, Etna Bianco 2020，是義大利Sicily的Etna的白酒。葡萄品種是local grapes，酒液是淡黃色，聞起來很清新，有淡淡優雅的白花和礦物香氣，味道除了比較平衡的酸度外(檸檬、橘子)，還有杏仁和礦物和微微的熟青蘋果和蜜糖的甜味。Etna是一個備受矚目的新興葡萄酒產區，也是一個十分特別的產區，它是歐洲最高的活火山。火山噴發給Etna帶來獨特的黑色火山岩土壤，能為葡萄酒帶來標誌性的礦物質感，讓Etna的葡萄酒脫穎而出。同時，正是由於獨特的火山土壤，根瘤蚜 (Phylloxera) 沒能在這裡肆虐，所以Etna種植的是未經嫁接的葡萄藤，大部分都是非常老的葡萄藤。第三款喝的是Bodega Menade “Adorado”，是西班牙的fortified wine。它的鴨子酒標很吸眼球，酒瓶胖胖的也很可愛，跟瓶裡的酒液的風格很不一樣。Fortified wine (加強酒) 是在釀造葡萄酒的過程中，加入高度烈酒終止發酵，所以酒精含量比普通葡萄酒要高，ABV一般在15%-22%左右。這款酒的釀酒方式跟Sherry很像，都是用solera system，但產區和葡萄品種不同。我朋友第一次喝加強酒，她不習慣那種深沉的陳年酵母氣息、氧化陳年的柑橘類水果和堅果味道，她覺得太“嗆”。我個人很喜歡這種漂亮琥珀色的酒液，帶有陳年酵母、口感圓潤深邃的nutty味道，留在口腔裡還可以慢慢回味。P.S. 忍不住要分享第一次吃鹿肉，Embla的盘子很美 繼續閱讀

【 First and foremost, my modest knowledge on the Nordic fine-dining scene 】Serving. Don’t know since when Nordic cuisine came to the forefront of gastronomy.  To the best of my knowledge, it’s perhaps after Noma. But more recently it might be Chef Rasmus Kofoed and his Geranium in Copenhagen that caught your attention.  Otherwise perfect meals, one small thing I don’t really like about many of those Nordic restaurants is they serve a lot of smaller bites you need to pick up by hand throughout the course.  I prefer fork and knife when dining at as refined a place as Geranium.  But today most were fork and knife moments.  Ingredients.  Nordic countries are well known for severe winters and chefs may at times be desperate for suitable local ingredients.  So the chances are, we can taste something we less frequently come across, some rarities hidden in the forest that long ago were survival food.  Exoticism.  Eating exotic things seems to be a worldwide phenomenon. Offal has already been commonplace.  Now we talk about brains or insects or even something as outrageous as soup made from mud.  Extending from conventionally using broader types of ingredients, serving unusual food becomes less unusual in Nordic culture.  Personally I have no problem eating exotic things but there should be a reason for those ingredients to be used, and also a limit to any idiosyncrasy chefs would like to demonstrate.  For example, it is perfectly acceptable that some ants that tasted like citrus are used in South American cooking, as they are functional as seasoning in lieu of the fruit.  But putting a bowl of live crawling woodlice in front of you then pouring hot tom yum to kill them is another thing (Alchemist in Copenhagen).  I sincerely hope someone can enlighten me what’s the point of killing woodlice in hot soup other than a blatant drama 🤔. Gladly Embla presented their food in a way I can say elegant.   【 My experience at Embla 】Embla is a cosy space with large windows expanded on to the floor. Although located at the back of a row, on a sunny day like today, a right amount of sunlight can come through, land on the dark panels, wood chairs and empyrean blue seats and light up the whole place.  You’ll feel delighted and relaxed dining here.  If you’re a first-timer, I suggest you choose counter seats where you can see the actions and talk to the chefs.  You should be ‘warned’ that you will taste something delicious but different from what you experience at French and Italian eateries.  This Nordic restaurant presents you with a taste profile quite distinct and the nuance, of course, comes from the tradition of the north that is simple and severe.  You may take a bit of time to appreciate the dainties Embla has to offer if you’re used to Caprice or Gaddi’s. 【 Sav Sparkling Birch Sap Wine 】To enjoy full Nordic experience, my friend decided the meal be fully Nordic, including wines, despite my hesitation — Embla has an extensive and impressive wine inventory for a small restaurant.  You don’t have to restrict yourself to certain wines.  Sav is a small production - as you can read from the label.  Birch sap wine told another story of winemaking. The much less sugar content of the sap created a wine that’s woody, dry and faintly leathery, almost devoid of fruit.  Of course, there was no fruit yet it let you taste as if  sucrose-like among the minerality of the wine. It meant a rather one of a kind experience especially it was effervescent.  And that’s quite suitable for some heavier, more oily, and slightly sweet dishes. 【 Cured yellow tail, spring radish, vendace roe from Kalix, rosenkvitten & lemon verbena 】The chef brought us straight to appetiser.  As far as I could remember the original Frantzén in Stockholm, the serving - tableware, counter setting and the way food was presented - spoke of some influence from Japan while the food was essentially Nordic. Here in Hong Kong Embla stood on their own and talked the unquestionably European language. The first course had the radiating sweetness from the cured yellowtail accompanied by a blooming spring from the thinly sliced radish.  Added to the fish was the savoury and umami vendace roe.  The whole thing was then immersed in a clear broth infused with lemon verbena, the aroma of which came to me crystal clear and that brought the refreshing appetiser to a new height.   【 Roe deer tartare, ättika emulsion, semi dried carrots, deep fried lichens, browned butter & parsley  】In spite that it was in a Swedish white vinaigrette (ättika) emulsion, the roe deer tartare did not have excessive level of tart and acidity. Instead it tasted light and the seasoning was surprisingly mild and appropriate with beurre noisette and parsley adding an extra layer of flavours. The semi cooked carrots placed in circle stole the show with the special half-soft half-chewy texture and subtle sweetness, on top of which lay the deep-fried lichens scattered.  Finally a few pedals of marigold painted a picture of fall on a sunny spring day.    As an aside, lichens are highly nutritious.  This plant is winter survival food in the forest as it does not wither beneath the snow.  In the wintry wild you can shovel away the snow and find some lichens for food.  Now they can be served as some delicious crisps complementary to the cured fish dish.  【 Sour milk bread “Rye, spelt, barley, oats” & home made butter  】  The multi-grain bread showed quite a character of its own.  Tasty it was, I found it a bit powdery and over-baked.  The sour milk butter gave its comforting tenderness on your palate and generously expressed noticeable saltiness.   【 Pickled Jerusalem artichoke, mushroom bouillon, sunflower seeds, marigold & Swedish barley miso 】The small Jerusalem artichoke sat obediently on the puree made from some smaller offshoots of the tuber and the chef assured us that no food was wasted — another Nordic tradition I guessed. The small artichoke gave off strong flavourful sweetness that I thought came from the carefully applied miso, while staying in a deeply savoury mushroom bouillon complemented by the crunchiness of the sunflower seeds.   The falling marigold, on the other hand, turned the dish-scape into a golden pond reminiscent of late autumn.  【 Orange Wine — Vexebo Vin ‘Solaris’ 2021 】For the mains, we chose a Solaris wine.  You can always Google what varietal Solaris is and so I will stick to describing the taste of the wine here. Refreshingly fruity and flagrant on the nose, the wine effused dryness that you would expect of a fine young white on the palate with clear and crispy tang of the skin. Not complex but impressive with the bitterness from the skin and fresh fruit, Vexebo was a felicitous wine and went well with the mains forthcoming.  【 First Main — Skrei from Lofoten, baby leeks, razor clams, Sandefjord sauce & pike roe 】Well seasoned, a rather salty skrei almost reached the point like cured fish.  The snow white skrei was incredibly firm and tender.  In the Sandefjordsmor (butter cream sauce) bathed the leeks and razor clams with the company of generous quantity of pike roe, all of them being strongly flavoursome.   Slightly too salty for my taste, this first main stratified diverse flavours in harmony though.【 Second Main — Roasted yellow chicken, smoked velouté, Nordic cabbage pudding & rapeseed oil 】The white meat was cooked to perfection and seasoned to the proper extent that I could still taste the nuanced sweetness of the chicken.  Subtle smokiness from the velouté — more a gravy — escalated the level of this main.  The Nordic cabbage pudding came with a deep green flavour, adding some substance to the lean chicken meat. Inside the cabbage could some meatiness be noted because of some liver (?) added.  【 Sea buckthorn sorbet, orange cake, meringue, preserved orange & tuile 】Sea buckthorn sorbet tasted straightforwardly yet faintly orangey — not the real orange but as orangey as in orange ice-cream, albeit in lack of glittering glamour in most other fine ice-creams. The sorbet tried not to complicate and did not intend to spoil you neither but it tasted plainly delicious.  Deep beneath the sea buckthorn sorbet had such a unpretentious, subtle and calm orangey taste that no wonder it went well with anything orange - orange cake and preserved orange, and then a crispy baked wafer known as tuile huddled up to the sorbet 😌.  This was not a flashy, gaudy sweet that right away gave you sensual happiness.  But the taste hinted the care and perseverance of peoples from the far north.  The more you tasted it, the more you got out of it, and that deserved your slow enjoyment with care.    【 Inspiration of “Fika” —— “Christmas Tree” Financier and Coffee 】Fika represented more than just coffee time with sweets at Embla.  Here we had financier embraced with spruce - the Christmas tree.  The spruce tips gave the delectable financier a subtle flagrance, not to mention those spiky tips were full of vitamin C.  The texture of these almond teacakes was spot on, striking a right balance between too powdery (too dry) and too soggy (too moist).  The taste was undoubtedly French with a Nordic twist. Coffee was French-pressed and served free flow.  Taste and body of the coffee were on the light side but it was the right coffee after a hearty meal to go with the Christmas tree financier.  【 A Lazy Walk on A Sunny Day 】Today’s leisure lunch lasted for 2 and a half hours. I didn’t realise it was that long till I watched my watch as I was totally absorbed in it.  There’re so many things to taste and see, and so much to talk about with the chefs and staff.  Everything made you comfortable and justifiably insouciant.  It was like a jazzy lazy walk on a warm sunny day deep in my heart.  Can’t say enough of this one fine moment in life.   繼續閱讀

Highly recommended by a friend! We tried the full embla experience. The difference between the full and the short experience is that you don’t need to choose either the turbot or A5 Wagyu for the main. You can have both! The first time I tried contemporary Nordic fine dining. The environment is comfortable. I am not a seafood lover and actually I am a bit scared of seafood because of their smell, texture and looks😂 but their fish and lobster dishes didn’t scare me away and really impressed me. The presentation is good and every dish is like a work of art. We have the lingonberry sorbet for the dessert. I love it! It tastes sour and perfect with the brown cheese.We can’t wait for their winter menu!! 繼續閱讀

4/5Was a little disappointed this time coming back to try their dinner. My favourite bread is burnt, sparkling water with bitter unfresh lime, langoustine too salty. Of course I mean they taste nice, but over all just not much surprise as the first time I’m here. Don’t see the chef there that night maybe that’s the reason? I will still come back for next time to see will I get back what I experienced/ tasted on the first time. 繼續閱讀