FrenchFoodieinHK

Do any of you have recommandations for good serious night restaurants? My favorite used to be San Do Kei in Jordan, where Cantonese opera people and film crews used to have dinner at 2 am. They had many great dishes of salty duck, pissing prawns, etc... They have reopened recently but I didn't check there yet.

You are growing an obsession for that lobster jelly. And you are right. I have to try "à la carte" too, but do you think the portions are big enough to be satisfied with only a 3 course meal? I thought those were half portions. At the Atelier in Paris I need at least 4 or 5 to be satisfied. But then again I have a big appetite. Anyway, with the tasting menu and decent wine, I think you'll end up in the 4500 to 5000$ range for two. Really, this is obscene. To answer somemale, in those places I usually add a roughly 10 to 15 percent tip. Do you guys do the same?

Yeah, I love the Steakhouse too. Actually that is my secret lair, my home away from home. But I have to disagree with you on the Béarnaise issue. I have a fondness for Morton's, their impeccable service and fantastic meat, Americain style and Sinatra in the background. I like the little tin pig oil lamps too. No need to choose actually. Both are great and highly enjoyable. Just two different styles. I wish we had one steakhouse of that level in Paris.

Press Room is okay. Nothing to rave about but ok. With this kind of brasserie, a lot depends on the atmosphere i guess. Kind of snobbish and dull when I had dinner there (bored tai tais - bored brokers - not so trendy bored older gays - bored old rich locals). If it could be a slightly younger less 'Soho' crowd, it could be a cool place. A menu that mixes american and french brasserie stuff, Good idea. But La Coupole in Hong Kong it is not. See how lively people are in big local Cantonese restaurants. It is the real Brasserie atmosphere to me. That's the kind of crowd we need in these western places. Not the same old bored faces. That said with the price they ask for (in the 500 to 600 range per person, which is way too expensive for what they serve) it will never happen. I had a steak frites that was ok. Meat and fries were good. There was something served with it that was called "Béarnaise sauce" but that had nothing to do with Béarnaise. They should learn from Morton's. I had a dessert of mixed berries that was a handful of blueberries in cream. bof bof... That said it is better than Bostonian, that was expensive and pretty bad in my opinion.

Hi aprilmei. I had the same amuse bouche you mentioned, that foie gras 'cappucino' with parmesan foam. That was incredible, indeed. I wish I'd had a bathtub of that right away. As for the muzac, maybe some people complained about it after first night (did you?), since when I was there (in the dining room) I didn't notice such horrible noise. Absolutely agree with you about A Galera. For me it is slightly superior to l'Atelier, plus their lunch menu is THE bargain for any foodie in the area. Until Pierre opened I had there the best french meal I ever had in Asia. Definitely a place to visit again and again I think. Have you tried that new brasserie on Hollywood Road, Press Room?

Hello all. First post here. As my handle indicates, I'm a French foodie in HK. So please, forgive the broken English and the snobbish slur. Just two quick reviews of two recent "heavyweights" openings in HK : Gagnaire and Robuchon. Hong Kong is going crazy these days, and it seems that in the coming months, all the big guys will have opened restaurants here. Good for us, bad for our wallets. Oh well. A week ago I went to PIERRE, the Gagnaire restaurant that replaced the terrible Vong at the Mandarin. The restaurant is next to the new revamped cocktail bar called M. Although not really loud, you can hear the conversations and noises from the bar in some area of the Pierre restaurant, which I think is a mistake and the only downside of what was otherwise a perfect evening. The décor of the restaurant is nice in a modern black marble-bit cold-formal-way. Nothing extraordinary, but nothing horrible. You could be anywhere in the world, no specific Chinese or French feeling in the design. Just a very posh international place. Many pretty taitais having dinner, a very well trained and perfectly mannered personnel: this is a nice place. We had the Degustation Menu, that is divine. By far the best western food I ever had in Asia, with many surprises and a great integration of asian elements (the black jelly starter with foie gras reaches orgasmic levels). It is Gagnaire at his best, on par with his Paris restaurant. A mystic and sensual experience really, full of twists and real surprises. A journey into his genius, perfectly executed. You will smile in wonder. The menu is somewhere around 1200 dollars, and if you like wine, you may also want to be prepared to be ruined. But really I think the experience is worth the high price. Gagnaire is a god. You won't be disappointed. A must. I tried the new Robuchon's L'ATELIER in the landmark yesterday. The place has just opened a few days ago and the maestro himself was there checking everything. The décor is superb, a mix of L'Atelier (for the counter) and La Table (for the dining room). The personel is perfect, Robuchon-style. We had a degustation menu that was excellent. A fantastic starter (sea urchin in lobster jelly with cauliflower cream) is worth the dinner alone. Among the great things : foie gras with ginger sweet and sour, very interesting, a fantastic lamb with his famous potato purée, that was also perfectly executed. I mean, perfectly. I smiled like a baby. I wasn't too crazy about the bass with lemongrass or the langoustine beignets. Neither were my local friends. I think it will always be difficult for French chefs to compete with the perfection of local sea products cooking. Never really the same level. Anyway a fantastic evening, perfect really. The price here is higher than at Pierre (around 1400 dollars), which I thought was a bit expensive. But then again, we drank like sponges too. Still a superior place to enjoy perfectly prepared French food. I'd say those two easily crush the competition. We now officialy have two real great French restaurants in HK. Santé!