Amber HK; Richard Ekkebus' modern French with some twist

[Bu Pun Su]

Amber is a reputable gastronomy restaurant in HK serving modern European / French cuisine with some innovative twist and recently it’s been using plenty of Japanese ingredients as well. I had a chance to have a lunch here about 5 years ago; it was a good meal but somehow kind of forgettable in the sense that it’s hardly on my radar whenever I return to Hong Kong. So, what changed? Sometimes in March this year, I read online that Amber would close temporarily at the end of Summer for a major renovation. The big deal? Post-renovation, it will be a brand-new restaurant and probably all of the old dishes would be no more. I happened to be in transit in May and as I had 7+ hours to ‘waste’ plus the fact that the airlines’ food generally mediocre, I decided to leave the airport and have another meal at Amber – this time for dinner.

 

Nothing changed as far as the elegant and opulent design of Amber’s dining room interiors. The light was a bit dimmed; amber color shades dominated the room in contrast to the crisp white table clothes. As you may have guessed, I ordered the restaurant’s classic menu. I repeated 2 dishes …

 

-the most popular dish at Amber that I think should be called cauliflower (cream) and (schrenki) caviar as both were the most dominant ingredients at the dish. Surprisingly, it was even better than the first time I ate because the kitchen put more caviar, a more balanced proportion with respect to other produces. The uni was sweet & smooth but I think its portion should be increased for better ratio especially towards the amount of cauliflower. A lot has been said about this luxurious and scrumptious dish

-usually, I’d like to try a new dish whenever possible but I felt that I had a good memory towards this dessert that’s always been on the menu ever since created. The chocolate souffle was (rather) special here because of the intensity and long-lasting flavor of the Valrhona Abinao 85. To me, it was delicious and comforting with minimal sweetness & more of pleasant bitterness

 

For the Amber regulars or fans, the other dishes were probably familiar …

-Duck liver lollipop covered by beetroot & raspberry coating

-(Charred) Scampi in fruity nage

 

These were a few examples of Richard Ekkebus’ creativity instead of simply serving classical French dishes. Sometimes, I found it to be a bit “too complex” and distracted such as in the case of an abalone dish. The black awabi was tender and naturally tasty. Ist was integrated with spiced chickpea (Indian), pork chin (Chinese), tomatoes & cured pork belly (Italian); well, very international flavors – interesting but it did not truly elevate the kuro awabi.

The main course of the classic tasting menu was actually quite new (created last year): the strip loin of Miyazaki beef. In the past, Amber used Kagoshima – both were top quality wagyu. Thankfully, it’s a winning dish with good combinations. The beef was perfectly cooked at medium-rare and having the right amount of buttery & melt-in-the-mouth taste. The fatty A5 beef was balanced out by the acidity from the red cabbage and black currant shiraz as well as a little sweetness of red onions.

 

If the Michelin inspectors only ate Amber’s classic dishes, by HK standard … my dinner at Amber was more superior to my meals at Bo Innovation and Lung King Heen (on par with Atelier Robuchon). The service was more refined probably because the restaurant was only half full. The current manager, Yannick Kiefer was quite involved in the operation. He visited many tables, served & explained the dishes, as well as liked engaging diners without being obtrusive. The locals, while lack charmed, did their best to get the basic right – clearing dish and re-fill water regularly etc. It was a very satisfying dinner, slightly better than my first meal here. In the end, I wish all the best to Richard Ekkebus and his team in preparing the next stage / challenge of Amber volume 2 in 2019!

 

Detailed review: http://zhangyuqisfoodjourneys.blogspot.com/2018/11/amber-richard-ekkebus.html

Pictures of the meal: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7124357@N03/albums/72157697857844780