Cannibalism

A casual birthday lunch celebration with colleagues at Caprice (*** Four Seasons Hong Kong)



Amuse-bouche: artichoke velouté with parmesan "capuccino" mousse, cheese sticks
The artichoke flavour was bittersweet and pretty intense, and nicely complemented by the salty parmesan mousse - good balance of flavours.



Vendéen Frog's Legs with Spanish Risotto and Iberico Ham in Chervil Sauce

I walked in resolute to try the vegetarian menu, then the regular ALC menu screamed "FROG LEGS" at me and that was it... I really enjoyed this dish, which had very clean flavours. The risotto was probably made with some kind of veggie broth..., as it was clearly creamy from the rice but not very fatty, and was flavoured with onion, red bell peppers and tiny cubes of tomato. The chervil sauce was very "green" and fresh, and the iberico ham brought a welcome touch of meaty saltiness. The risotto was topped with a bunch of lightly breaded and tender pan-fried frog legs. Pity they don't sell this as a lunch takeaway...

Poitou Lamb en Croûte de Sel with Black Olive Polenta and Vegetable Tian in Brown Nut Jus - the "Croûte" 

carefully slicing the croûte open...



... to reveal a tender lamb filet



after saucing - the flavours in this dish were right up my alley, even if the meat ended up being a tad overcooked compared to what I expected (but I still like this much better than undercooked - somehow I like meats like lamb, duck and ve...al bordering on the well done rather than rare). The black olive polenta was wrapped into a thin rolled aubergine slice and was absolutely delicious. It seemed to me that there was another flavour with the black olives (liquorice ??). The seasonal veggies to the right were funny and reminded me of the way they cook the ratatouille in the eponymous movie, piling up neat rows of identically sized sliced veggies... :-) The veggies were set on top of a bed of fondue d'oignons des Cévennes, which was sweet and fragrant. The meat jus was obviously divine (just look at that colour!!) and the lamb tender, juicy and full of flavour. I resisted the urge to lick my plate...

Another ambush by Jérémy - we asked for a SMALL cheese platter to share between the 3 of us (as I was REALLY motivated to get to dessert today) and we got this behemoth!! I was very happy to find a slice of my favourite cheese (roquefort), which was powerful and creamy *YUM*. All the other cheeses were top notch as usual.
In this picture: pavé de la Ginestarié, anneau du Vicbihl, roquefort, coulommiers, chevrotin des Aravis, mimolette extra-vieille, petit fiancé, langres, 4-year old Comté

Marinated Raspberry with Pistachio Mousse, Light Génoise and Lemon Yoghurt Ice Cream

What a great dessert!! Light and fruity, with a refreshingly tangy ice cream and sweet, juicy raspberries. I am a huge fan of pistachio desserts, and this one did not let me down. The pistachio mousse was actually closer to a chiboust cream texture than a real mousse and was totally delish. Can I have a gallon to take away please ??