When I was organizing a quick catch-up with some friends in late September over dinner, I did confess to Chef Daniel Calvert that his restaurant, Belon, was not the only venue I have suggested as options. Well, in my defence, I just didn’t want to be like a “Restaurant Nazi” dictating where people should go eat, but at the end I was glad that we reached the consensus to convene at Belon for our long overdue dinner gathering.
It’s already our third visit to the restaurant within the last few months – guess that in a sense showed how much we loved the food there. And like how we did before, we left it all to Chef Dan and his team to sort out the menu for us – with one exception. I have seen Belon’s pigeon pithivier showed up on my social media feed constantly but I have never tried before. Given I have been teased about not having the restaurant’s signature dish by some friends of ours, I made sure the dish is on our menu this evening, and I even reminded Dan a few times to make sure he wouldn’t forget.
Turned out our menu comprised of a few dishes we have tried before, plus a few that were new to us. We started off with the sourdough bread served with salami and salted Channel Island butter, followed by the creamy Comte puff as our welcome snacks. Both well executed as they were previously. We had another canape-sized course which was introduced to us as chickpea falafels. They were slightly different than what we had in the Middle East, with this one slightly smaller, a milder herb flavor but more complex.
The oyster tartare was similar to what we had a few months back, with the creamy oysters slightly pickled, diced and served in its own shell, topped with pankos. Then it was another seafood dish, served in a mini bowl, with chilled sweet shrimp jelly and celery espuma topped with scallions and paprika. I loved the touch of acidity balancing the overall rich and creamy flavor and it was very refreshing.
Soon after a new dish arrived at our table, first the whole sanma, the seasonal Pacific Saury fish from Japan, was presented, with each deboned with skin-on and cut into bite-sized chunks and neatly placed on our plates. Then a salsa-like sauce was spooned on top with finely-diced peppers, string beans, tomatoes and crispy quinoa in the olive oil-based sauce. We were used to having sanma Japanese style either as sashimi (with a dip of soy sauce or ponzu) or sushi, but I love this version with a Mediterranean flair and a tangy taste, which worked well with the fatty fish at its prime this time around. Next was a Hokkaido scallop – slow-poached and served with daikon, pomelo and shio-kombu. We had this dish before but this time, I felt like the scallop was even bigger with a bouncier texture, and I love the overall contrast of salty mineral and sweet citrus flavor all present in this dish to go with the umami taste from the succulent scallop.
There’s no surprise our main course was a duo of poultry dish because I have been nudging Chef Daniel about not having tried his pigeon dish before and I have been calling his chicken one of the best in town. Needless to say, the roast chicken was as good as always, and having tried (and failed) replicating the dish at home with Dan’s recipe made me appreciate the details needed to prepare more. And so was the side dish of mashed potatoes with bacon and peas. And another star of the evening was definitely the pigeon pithivier. After trying it myself, I finally understand why people are raving about it – the pastry was perfectly baked with a golden crust, and the pigeon breast meat inside was cooked perfectly with the most tender texture and the uniform deep pinkish color. And the amaretto and fig sauce served on the side did well to bring a sense of sweetness to this otherwise super rich dish. Even the side of two tiny pigeon legs were done perfectly – deep-fried with the skin slightly crisped. I personally still prefer the chicken dish but the pigeon was outstanding no less.
Three desserts were served after the two poultry courses – the mille-feuille with figs, chocolate tart with fresh cream on the side, and the freshly baked madeleines. The array of sweets did look like a meal on its own – we were full by then but it didn’t stop us from finishing almost all of the desserts. All was great, especially the madeleines still hot when they were brought over from the kitchen.
It’s our third time coming over to the restaurant this year and it’s still a charm. And hopefully the fourth (and fifth) won’t be that far away – after all there’s still 3 long months left before end of the year and I can’t imagine not having another of that roast chicken again soon. That's something I don't need any excuse to eat.
When? September 29 2018
Where? Belon, 41 Elgin Street, Soho, Central, Hong Kong
Menu Highlights? Still the Whole Roasted Chicken with “Petits Pois a la Francaise”
Drinks?
Champagne Vilmart & Cie Grande Reserve Premier Cru NV
2000 Champagne Palmer & Co Brut Collection
2014 Chateau de la Font du Loup Chateauneuf-du-Pape “Le Puy Rolland”
Web:
belonsoho.com
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