Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Simple + Elegant = Cafe Gray Deluxe

香港的dining scene可愛之處, 就是每一年總有一兩間新餐廳, 令人充滿著期待. 今年我的no 1 choice, in terms of anticipation, 必定是Gray Kunz在這間新建成位於金鐘的精品酒店頂層的餐廳. Gray Kunz可能不是美國最享負盛名的廚師, 但論才華, 是絕對可以和那些Who's Who相提並論. 記憶中, 能夠被Ruth Reichl - 這位曾經被譽為紐約最具影響力的食評家 - 評為最高級別的紐約時報4星餐廳, 真的屈指可數, 當年Gray Kunz打理的Lespinasse就是其一 (其他的, 還包括了Daniel Boulud和Jean-Georges Vongerichten以自己為名的餐廳) 後來, 他在可能是全世界米芝蓮星星最密集的地標Time Warner Center裡面, 開了Café Gray, 也曾獲得了米芝蓮一星的評價. 早幾個月, 風聞Gray Kunz會回歸香港, 那時候已經開始數算著幾時可以第一時間品嘗. 所以, 10月份酒店一開幕, 已急不及待立刻訂位.


踏進這間名為Café Gray Deluxe的餐廳, 有點兒回到紐約的感覺 - 餐廳就在酒店的頂層, 一面是hotel lobby, 另一面穿過走廊就是餐廳. 豪華但不耀目的裝修配上casual的furniture和tableware, 很切合"deluxe cafe"的風格. 餐廳的一旁是半開放式的廚房; 另一旁就是長長的酒吧; 看到餐廳盡頭從高處望下去中環及維港的夜景, 才頓時把我從紐約的midtown拉回來. Décor typical但舒服, 一點也不uptight, 高貴而不花巧.

Menu是短短的兩頁紙 - first plate, second plate, dessert, 只此而已. 簡單的餐牌, 從來都不是個問題, 能不停轉換就成了 - 姑且看看這裡能不能做得到. 驟眼望上去, menu上大都是french bistro的典型菜式- beef tartare, crab bisque, coq au vin, foie gras, 還有其他. 跟Jean-Georges Vongerichten一樣, Gray Kunz早年也在亞洲待過好些日子(包括香港), 所以很多時都會用上亞洲菜常用的香料, 很subtle的fusion cooking style. 相反, wine list是厚厚的一本, 以old world為主, new world反而選擇較少, price range也十分friendly - 由300多元, 簡單的beaujolais到$30000的一瓶DRC La Tache都有, sommelier 也十分helpful. 麵包配上了aioli, 不過還是喜歡用回傳統的牛油.

前菜我們分別點了foie gras和crab bisque, 另外主菜是lamp chops with carrot emulsion, 和braised short ribs with polenta和 meaux mustard sauce. 點了菜不久, 前菜已經準備好奉上 - to our surprise. Crab bisque配上了crouton和crab salad, 湯是席前才從壺中倒到碗子上, 熱呼呼的, 頓時濃香撲鼻. Presentation, 味道... absolutely nothing to complain about. 主菜的燜燉牛小排骨是傳統的做法 - 醬汁很甜, almost like Korean, 看來不只是carrots, shallots, tomatoes 之類一般的材料 - 去了骨的牛小排早已燜煮得快要化開和入味, 配上輕盈的polenta和grainy的芥末忌廉汁, 正好中和了牛小排骨的濃味, 份量也不多不少. 據說, 這一味braised short ribs是chef kunz在Lespinasse年代已經是他的Signature Dish, 怪不得. CYY對她點的羊架, 看來也十分滿意 - lamp chops加carrot emulsion並不是平常的配搭, 再略加上咖哩的香味, 不過聽說也做得好.

我的甜品是meringue配以紅酒浸煮過的草莓加籃莓和crème anglaise, 也不是甚麼創新的菜式不過味道口感就一流, 每一層都帶出不同的味道, 有時間在家也可試弄一遍; CYY點的甜品, 是用中式竹籠蒸的chocolate gateau, 像糯米雞般包在荷葉裡蒸, 賣相固然帶著驚喜, 而出來的效果就像如心太軟蛋糕般, 不過用蒸的煮法, 外面的質地更為軟綿綿也較濕潤. 在menu中也看到數款chilled sweet soup加sorbet的組合 - very obvious of asian influence - 下次必定要試一試.

甜品過後, 移到了隔璧的lounge, 原本躋在那兒的客人們早已散了, 我們倆選了個僻靜的角落, 坐下來倚著窗望著海景, 慢慢享受餘下的紅酒... i think we have found a perfect chill-out spot.

回家看了一下其他人放在網上的分享, 有人評論說 - "簡單是美", 雖然是老生常談, 但一點也不錯. Café Gray Deluxe的selling point, 就是這種simplicity加elegance. 老實說, 兩者分開, 做得到的好餐館也很多; 但加在一起而又令人回味的, 在這城市中, 沒有多少間. 據聞Gray Kunz是個完美主義者, 這個晚上, 我們絕對是這種性格的beneficiaries.

details:
when? october 13 2009
where? cafe gray deluxe, 49/f, the upper house, pacific place, hongkong
occasion? birthday dinner
menu highlights? Braised Short Ribs of Beef. Polenta. Meaux Mustard Sauce
drinks? Domaine Michel Magnien Morey St Denis 1er Cru 1999

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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

A dazzling star

It's a surprise that a pianist of such caliber has attracted so little publicity prior to her debut recital performance in hong kong last week - let alone for one that's thought to be the most promising chinese prodigy in the circle. I am talking about the Yuja Wang's Piano Recital held in the City Hall just before the National Day holiday.

As far as solo performance's concerned, I always prefer the more cozy City Hall than the one across the harbor in the Cultural Centre - at least you can have a good view of the performers and their expressions as they play the pieces. The program commences with a quartet of sonatas by domenico scarlatti and concluded with the sonata no 6 in a major by prokofiev - gee she made them look so easy. Her style's been subtle yet full of youthful energy, with facial expressions that shows confidence and passion without pretentions or arrogance. Finesse usually is the word rarely used to describe a young artist but on this occasion, it seems to be a perfect one. It's hard to believe this is only her first year on tour since graduating from Curtis in 2008.

Too bad we were slightly distracted by a family of nouveau riche in the front row whose kids keep talking, moving around and making funny faces for the entire hour as if they were on a merry-go-round in the amusement park, with the helpless maid accompanying them. We found ourselves lucky not sitting right behind them and definitely won't blame the couple behind that were for walking out after the intermission. Well, as our city was desperately seeking a share of their new money with knees down and open hands, we would have to bear with that for a while, I suppose.

During her triple encore, it's hard not to be impressed by Yuja's magical touch on a "paraphrased" piece of Mozart's Turkish March. It's the same version featured on her CD as a bonus track, but seeing her moving the fingers around the keyboard as smooth as silk is simply jaw-dropping. This is probably the best version I have ever heard of this familiar - almost cliché - piece of music.

Anyway, an absolutely delightful evening - and hopefully she will continue to rise for stardom. If you have missed it, no worries - she's coming back at the end of HKPO's current season, in June 2010. In the meantime, run for her first CD - you won't regret it.