Oh ouiiii, Chef!!

Last time I met with my friend L. for lunch, she treated me to an excellent meal at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon; today was my turn to treat her, and as I know she loves the place, I suggested we meet up at Caprice (6/F, 4 Seasons Hotel, Central, Hong Kong). Having booked a table for 12noon (which is the opening time), I arrived 10mn early only to find the restaurant door closed and the reception desk empty. I had to wait for a good 3 to 4 minutes before the receptionist popped her head out of the small office behind the desk and started to pay attention to me. After taking my name, she proceeded to inform me very casually that, sorry ma'am, we are not open yet, and if I could be kind enough to retrace my steps and walk over to the Spa to have a look around and come back at noon on the dot thank you very much. I was gobsmacked. I just turned around without a word an walked away. 10 minutes later and a few hundred Honkies lighter (yes I did walk over to the Spa...), I returned to find the door still half closed but this time, I was allowed in. My guest was already there, and when she proceeded to tell me about coming early and being turned away, my blood just boiled. Frankly people, I hate to sound like a spoilt brat, but this is not the standard of service I expect from the 4 Seasons, let alone form a *** restaurant. I know this girl is just doing her job, but her management should give a bit more thought and consideration to situations like this. I thought that's why they have a bar, to park guests waiting for their table ?? I am not one to kick up a fuss over bad service, but do this to me one more time and I'll take my hard-earned Honkies elsewhere. Thank goodness there was Chef Vincent's food to look forward to!

Garlic bread stick, beurre Bordier salé



AB: scallops ceviche, pomelo, sake jelly, seaweed coulis, melba toast


The AB at Caprice seem to become more elaborate every time I come... This one strangely resembled the Japanese scallops ceviche, citrus oyster leaves and seaweed coulis offered as a starter on the set lunch menu. As for ceviche, the two rather thick slices of raw scallop were more like a marinated sashimi than a proper ceviche, with a touch of pepper, some pomelo and thinly shredded kaffir lime leaf on top. Not sure what the marinade was, but clearly not lemon juice or anything acidic, as the scallop meat wasn't "cooked". The cubes of sake jelly were amazingly tasty, as were the micro-greens on the side. This was an excellent AB, but I did not enjoy the seaweed coulis - nothing wrong with it, the texture was great but it was way too briny for my taste. The accompanying melba toast wasn't really necessary but made a fine vessel to carry some Bordier butter to my greedy mouth...

I came in thinking about the awesome beef consommé I had last time (a meal which never got blogged as it was a professional meeting so no shooting, I had to pretend to be serious and credible for at least 90 minutes...), and then noticed the lunch menu had changed again, and there was now a chicken consommé on offer - easy choice. I am a huge soup fan, especially in winter time, and I find light soups like a clear broth or consommé are a perfect way to start a meal - tasty and light, they gently awaken the tastebuds without being heavy on the stomach.

Golden chicken consommé, winter artichoke and marinated breast bruschetta

The consommé was absolutely delicious, thick with collagen and full of chickeny tasty goodness. The thin breast slices on the bruschetta were moist and tender, and sandwiched around a layer of thinly chopped celery and greens. Very nice.

Surprise!!

The bowl of consommé came with a few small white-ish lumps resting at the bottom. The gentleman waiting our table introduced these as Japanese corn, which I knew was wrong... not only because I randomly happen to know Japanese white corn is no longer in season, but also because the veggie in question happens to be my absolute favourite and I would spot one a kilometer away. These little worm-like lumps were crosnes, and I can't thank the Chef enough for using them on his menu. They are a terribly old fashioned veggie, rather hard to find even in France, and require a special, quite lengthy and meticulous preparation (they cannot be peeled and grow in sandy soil, so they have to be patiently rubbed off  of all their grime with coarse sea salt in a kitchen towel...). Why they are called winter artichokes in English I have no idea - I suspect they might be of the same family as Jerusalem artichokes (topinambours for us Froggies). I had not had one in many, many years and the three little ones I got in my soup made my day!



Skate wing Meunière, Aldudes ham, Pleurotes mushrooms and eggplant caviar in piquillo sauce

When I saw there was skate on the menu, I barely looked at the other main course options... I have always loved this fish, and given that Meunière is not a traditional preparation for it, I was curious to see how Chef Vincent would pull this together. The Meunière butter was brilliant, of a deep golden colour with a pronounced nutty flavour, the skate was grilled crispy on the outside while still reasonably moist on the inside, and the mushrooms and eggplant caviars on the side were delish (the eggplant one tasted a bit smokey, which I found very nice). The thinly diced piquillo pepper on top of the fish had a very deep, almost musky flavour and was absolutely delicious. The thin slice of Aldudes ham provided salty and meaty flavours, welcome to balance the whole dish, which had otherwise rather sweet notes. I am considering returning and skipping starters to just order a double portion of this as a main - delicious.

Petit-fours: baby madeleines, marshmallows with quince compote, salted butter caramels, chocolate and raspberry compote cups with *GOLD FOIL*bling*bling*


I had to have one of each... unfortunately I forgot to pick up my caramel for the road when leaving...  :*(

Chestnut éclair, raspberry and blackcurrant marmelade, cassis beetroot sorbet

Side cut - were is the chestnut??

Why I had to have dessert, I don't know... I guess generally I like to give people a second chance. Since the PC changed last year, I have consistently been unimpressed by the offerings on the dessert menu. Today, the word chestnut caught my eye, and I decided to give that éclair a try... the execution was fine, but the prominently advertised chestnut was noticeably absent, apart from a stingy layer of mousse on top of the éclair, which tasted more of cream than chestnut, and a few thin slivers of "marron glacé" on the plate. Not sure where the "marmelade" was (on the plate was jelly, in the éclair were fresh raspberries), or why one would think that blackcurrant and beetroot are an interesting flavour pairing (!?). The éclair pastry was strange - it was clearly not choux pastry, but it wasn't clear either what it was trying to be... The resulting combination was ok but rather uninteresting. The red crispy thing between the cream and the éclair was particularly annoying, as it was impossible to cut through it without destrying the whole dessert and making a mess in your plate; taste-wise, it made no contribution whatsoever. I am a Frog of simple taste - I like a dessert that does what it says on the tin... and if it says chestnut, I am expecting something about as chestnutty as a Mont-Blanc. My guest ordered a black forest, which turned up looking nothing like one. I don't know what it is with this PC but she just doesn't make me tick. I will surely stick to cheese going forward.


Overall, it was yet another excellent meal at Caprice, kudos to Chef Vincent and his team for the exquisite food and ever so attentive service. See you soon, guys!