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Spoon by Alain Ducasse


aprilmei

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Actually, it's opening tomorrow (October 22). AD flew in a couple days ago but the restaurant team (executive chef, pastry chef, restaurant manager, maitre d' and sommelier) have been here since July.

I've only been to the Spoon in Paris so that's the only one I can compare it to. Spoon Paris seems more casual and the menu is more Asian influenced, which wouldn't have gone over well in Hong Kong - nobody here is going to pay 27 Euros for Peking-glazed spareribs when you can get it for about HK$80 (about US$10) at any local restaurant (even though Spoon Paris' spareribs come with marmalde diable and Maxim's potatoes). Also, at this price range, people here expect a more formal setting (although it doesn't seem stuffy-formal). It's going to cost at least HK$500 (US$64) to have a three-course meal without wine. There's a six-course "sexy Spoon" meal for $750 (about US$100) which the chef creates with consultation from the diner.

I was there for one of the pre-opening dinners and of course the quality is going to be top-notch when AD is here, so let's hope they can keep the quality and consistency. Warm royale of cepes custard with raw mushrooms (enoki and shiitake), pancetta salt and green juice was wonderful, as was the chilled tomato soup with sun-dried tomato salad, bonito tartare and seaweed pesto. The latter dish was "deconstructed" - every component served in a separate dish (fabulous accoutrements - I wanted to put some of the dishes in my handbag - after eating everything, of course!). I also liked the poached Boston lobster with herbs/basil condiment (most of us would call it pesto) and vegetable minestrone. The meat dish tasted good but I don't especially like tournedos - too lean (when it comes to beef, the more fat the better, IMHO). Then aged Comte cheese "from the summer of 1998" (delicious), then a refreshing citrus sorbet, then for dessert, "sugar and salt" chocolate praline finger.

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Tried to make a reservation for tonight but they are fully booked already. Will try again probably on a weekday next week if I have time. Can't say I have high hopes for this place (in terms of quality of food) though since AD now has so many restaurants spread around the globe and Spoon is not even meant to serve the best food within his empire (unlike Louis XV, ADNY). But probably should go since I am not sure how long it will be around. :hmmm:

Afterall, it is highly competitive in HK and Spoon is also uncomfortably positioned. It is too casual to compete with Gaddi's and Petrus as a place for special celebration. But too expensive to be a casual highend restaurant. I guess time will tell whether they will be able to create a market for themselves .......... :cool:

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And Gagnaire's probably in HK to prepare the market for Hong Kong Sketch!

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

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HKTraveller, I think Spoon will be around for awhile because the InterContinental has invested so much in it and they're not going to let it go that quickly. Restaurants in hotels have an advantage in that they don't really have to worry about paying rent so they can cruise along a lot longer than independent restaurants, even if they're not making a profit.

But like you, I wonder who their target audience is. It is expensive - comparable to the prices at the Paris Spoon. As you point out, it's too expensive for casual dining. It also has the disadvantage of being in Tsim Sha Tsui and not very close to the MTR so it's a place where the diner actually has to make plans to visit, rather than dropping by on the spur of the moment.

I also wonder how well some of the dishes will be received. I loved the cold tomato soup with bonito tartare, but more traditional Chinese people don't like the idea of cold soups. They also won't like having to put it together themselves, they're going to want the dish completely prepared for them.

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That's a good point. The support by the Intercont probably means they have more financial leeway. To be fair, will give the restaurant a try first before commenting on it further! Afterall, I might be blown away and become a dedicated customer :cool:

For now, I am sure they will get their moments of glory while it is still new and everyone wants to taste what AD's cooking is like. HK people tend to be big suckers for brandnames, be it gucci bags or AD's cuisine! And the reviews in the newspapers and magazines that I have begun to see will certainly help!

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The Intercontinental Hotel was The Regent when I lived in HK. The MTR isn’t close to the hotel and since the restaurant is in the hotel it’s not close to the restaurant. MTR dependent riders don’t make up the crowd Ducasse is looking for. If you are in HK he’s looking for the folks who hang out in the Cohiba Divan (If they know you by name and know what you smoke), The China Club, the younger members of The Jockey Club, and financial and management types in Central. He’s competing with Felix, not the older crowd you’d see in Petrus. If you’re under 40 and you live at Mid-levels, The Peak or Tai Tam and you don’t consider $2000 HKD too much to hang out with friends you’re in.

High end restaurants are usually loss leaders for hotels. The leasing rate breaks they receive are thought by investors to be made up in intangibles such as prestige, buzz, and higher traffic (even if it doesn’t result in higher hotel sales). Whatever deal Ducasse got, I’d bet it’s sweet.

On HK types being “suckers.” I still travel there and I actually enjoy status conscience HK, because it along with Las Vegas make up a very small club of places where people mind their own business and priorities seem to be in order. :cool:

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Eliotmorgan, interesting that you bring up Felix. I REALLY dislike the food there - but to be fair, I haven't tried it since the new chef (actually, not so new - she's been there for at least two years now) came on board (although I did like ex Felix chef Bryan Nagao's food much better when he went to Kokage; it was Japanese, not a forced Hawaiian-fusion). But Felix has been around for ages, despite the food. People I've talked to who go there regularly (or at least more than I do) say it's not for the food, it's for the ambience - and it does have an incredible view. But so does Spoon, and I thought the Spoon food was much better.

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The MTR isn’t close to the hotel and since the restaurant is in the hotel it’s not close to the restaurant.

Not close? Maybe if you're from LA. As I recall, it was a shorter walk from the TST MTR stop to the Regent Hotel than to the Star Ferry, and I don't know of anyone who found that burdensome.

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In most of the hotels in HKG, there is atleast one upscale restaurant. Old Regents has two now :wink: One has to keep in mind that old Regent claimed to have six star rating :raz:

Felix is more a hangout thing place -- To be fair, it is called the Felix Bar no ?

anil

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Most of my friends would fit right into the group that u described and believe it or not, I think 80% of them have no desire to try Spoon. As a matter of fact, it is interesting that u bring up Felix. I don't see my friends visiting Felix either aside from bringing friends from abroad to check out the view and the toilet. The only person I know who liked Felix was my little sister and that was when she was a kid (and before tasting good food like the chef's table at Gaddi's). From what I can tell the last time I was there, most of the clientele looks to be tourists.

Gary> Don't forget, HK people are in general quite spoiled about commute or traffic time. Anywhere that you can't get to in 20 minutes is considered far away. I live about 30 mins from work and everyone says that's a long commute. Makes me wonder what they think about people commuting from the Bay area to SF or from Long Island into NYC. To be fair, the location of the Intercont is out-of-the-way since there aren't much around it but it is not that far from a MTR station. It is at most a 15 mins walk.

anil> They have a restaurant there as well!

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Most of my friends would fit right into the group that u described and believe it or not, I think 80% of them have no desire to try Spoon.  As a matter of fact, it is interesting that u bring up Felix.  I don't see my friends visiting Felix either aside from bringing friends from abroad to check out the view and the toilet.  The only person I know who liked Felix was my little sister and that was when she was a kid (and before tasting good food like the chef's table at Gaddi's).  From what I can tell the last time I was there, most of the clientele looks to be tourists.

Gary> Don't forget, HK people are in general quite spoiled about commute or traffic time.  Anywhere that you can't get to in 20 minutes is considered far away.  I live about 30 mins from work and everyone says that's a long commute.  Makes me wonder what they think about people commuting from the Bay area to SF or from Long Island into NYC.  To be fair, the location of the Intercont is out-of-the-way since there aren't much around it but it is not that far from a MTR station.  It is at most a 15 mins walk.

anil>  They have a restaurant there as well!

I agree with what you say - Folks from HGK are wane :) That is the only way you can rationalize a Gucci store in every bldg by the waterfront in the Island, Kings Rd., you name it... even though they are all interconnected by a walkway :smile: [Walking or commuting is too far off ] I from time to time get to observe the kids ( 20+ something) on icered

Read my comments about the Felix's toilets in old egullet archives....

Rumor has it that a top Parisian Chef and a big alcoholic Beverage Co. from France lost out to Movenpic ? (Sp?) for the Victoria Peak restarant space many years ago and were not to happy about it -- They blamed the Brits for the outcome :biggrin:

Edited by anil (log)

anil

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Icered is dreadful, really nasty, vituperative stuff on there. Although I occasionally (1x every 6 months or so) read it with morbid fascination, just to confirm my faith in how awful people can be when they're hiding behind the shield of anonymity.

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Icered is dreadful, really nasty, vituperative stuff on there. Although I occasionally (1x every 6 months or so) read it with morbid fascination, just to confirm my faith in how awful people can be when they're hiding behind the shield of anonymity.

I was being polite about icered. Afterall I'm not 20something :biggrin: Since many of my expats have dispersed from HKG (some back home) I have no insider insight to what's happening - Any suggestions :raz:

anil

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