It was only a month or so ago when I last ate at Caprice, but when my friend M asked me to join her for lunch at the restaurant, I immediately said yes, especially I heard Chef Guillaume was preparing a feast for our group as a preview of many new dishes that would go on the seasonal a la carte menu shortly.
Food aside, it’s a great opportunity to catch up with a few familiar faces who work here as many were on leave last time when I was visiting during the Chinese New Year long holiday. And as the chefs have promised, all the dishes I tried this time was new, and well-executed as usual. The first course featured Brittany blue lobster carpaccio, green apple brunoise, cauliflower and Oscietra caviar. The pairing of the umami flavor from the caviar and lobster and the grassy, nutty taste from the raw cauliflower was an interesting one, and the tarty green apple gave it a good refreshing touch.
Next was scampi. At first it looked like something I had the last time but turned out it’s totally different. The scampi was bigger in size and came from Brittany, and it’s accompanied by the white asparagus stalk, poached but still retained much crunchy texture, bits of mandarin orange, sea urchins and finished with the sea urchin foam on the side. Flavor might be light, relatively speaking, but well-balanced, and the white asparagus tasted like it’s just taken from the farm before it’s cooked with that crispy crunchy texture and delicate taste.
The next seafood course might look rather straight-forward but it was mind-blowing with such complexity. The piece of nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch) fillet was seared with skin-on and served in a Bouillabaisse-style broth, oranges and fennel confit. On top of the fish fillet was bits of croutons, adding to the overall texture. The broth was intensely rich and creamy (though Chef Guillaume explained that it’s just fish and seafood broth - plus saffron, I assumed) and the hint of citrus flavor and acidity made the whole dish extra salivating. That’s my favorite of the afternoon.
Our main course this time was duck breast. It’s roasted whole wrapped in lotus leaf and smoked in cherry wood, then it’s being shown to us at the table before it was carved and served. The enticing aroma from the cherry wood smoke was intriguing and some of those were infused into the meat as well. The duck breast was perfectly cooked with pinkish, tender meat in the middle, and it’s served with meat jus mixed with spices and pois fricassee and mousse on the side. It’s simply classic.
We enjoyed both of the desserts we had this time. First was the more conventional one with strawberry sorbet, pistachio mousse, meringues and wild strawberries served with crushed almonds. The second one reminded me more of the Cantonese coconut pudding, but served French style in the shape of traditional calisson, and on top, sables, coconut mousse and then small quenelles of coriander sorbet. The grassy taste of coriander was subdued but it matched well with that unique exotic flavor from the coconut, and rather, it’s the tangy citrus taste that came out. I prefer these two over the pair I had in my last outing here.
(Meal was by invitation. More photos can be found in my Flickr album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/g4gary/albums/72157707444914215)
Where? Caprice, Level 6, Four Seasons Hong Kong, 8 Finance Street, Hong Kong
Menu Highlights? Nodoguro Fish from Toyosu Market with “Bouillabaisse” style fennel confit
Drink? Champagne Vouette & Sorbee Cuvee Textures Brut Nature NV
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