After a quick exchange of emails before the end of last year, a few friends of ours decided on a mini get-together over wine and cheese at On Dining Kitchen on a Friday evening in January. Our friend JC is a regular of the restaurant so we left that to her to sort out the booking and other arrangement.
A few new restaurants have sprouted up at this building at the end of On Lan Street near Lan Kwai Fong, but On Dining Kitchen remained our firm favorite, particularly with Chef Philippe Orrico's excellent cooking and Jeremy Evrard's top-notch cheese selection.
So often we came here wanting to save room for cheese but ended up too full for it after all the wonderful dishes of appetizers and main courses. This time, as soon as we sat down at the dining room downstairs, we decided to have our dinner order the other way round - starting with the cheese course first, then decide whether we have rooms for other dishes later on.
A short while later Jeremy re-appeared with a platter of seven different kinds of cheese and a plate of Jamon Iberico as our starter. This time his selection was lighter in style - even the Roquefort, the strongest of the bunch, was mild and smooth, relatively speaking. I am not a particular fan of blue cheese but I found this one very enjoyable. Other than the excellent-as-usual 48-month-aged Comte, my favorite of the evening was the Brillat Savarin which was super-creamy. We also loved the few types of jams Jeremy brought us as condiments, including the mango-passion fruit, pear and mixed berries. All of them were mind-blowing-ly good, but by consensus our favorite was the pear - we still couldn't quite believe when Jeremy told us it was made without any added sugar. To the extent some of us asked whether we could buy some off them in a jar. It was so sweet and filled with ripe pear taste - I was happy with just that and the bread and call it a dinner.
After the ham and cheese, turned out we still had more room for savory dishes - that's hardly surprising. We kept hearing from our foodie friends how good the pigeon is so we know we must order it, since it's available on the menu. The whole bird - we ordered two to share - was roasted to perfection with rich flavors and succulent texture - both the breast and the legs - with a hint of cumin, mustard and lemon chutney providing an exotic, Mediterranean touch, and it's served with chunks of artichokes and natural meat jus drizzled all over. The best in town indeed.
Our friends A and I gladly contributed a wine to share with the whole group. The 17-year-old Bordeaux from an excellent estate has a medium body and elegant in style which obviously has come to age. Definitely dominated by red fruit character with licorice or cassis on the palate, which I thought was just perfect with the pigeon, as it turned out. Before that, we began with a Sauvignon Blanc from Loire Valley, picked from the restaurant's wine list, which was floral and refreshing, and matched well with the lighter, creamy cheeses. Crisp, good acidity, a bit of minerals and grassy freshness.
I knew exactly what dessert I want as soon as I sat down and had a glance at the menu. I heard good words about the rum baba served at the restaurant so I was eager to try. It was served tableside with Jeremy carefully dipping sliced butter cakes into a bowl of aged rum and presented on a plate with passion fruit coulis, diced mango with a dollop of soft-like-air Creme Chantilly. I personally would love my rum baba a bit more saturated with liquor but this was still outstanding.
Just the right kind of meal to set us in the right mood for weekend of relaxation (and more food -
stay tuned for that) Pardon the poor pictures - it's dark and I didn't have the camera with me this time.
When? January 15 2016
Where? On Dining Kitchen & Lounge, Level 28-29, 18 On Lan Street, Central, Hong Kong
Menu Highlights? Roasted Pigeon, Artichokes, Baby Spinach & Lemon Chutney
Drinks?
2014 Domaine Gerard Fiou Sancerre Blanc
1998 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Web:
www.ontop.hk
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