New age with the new Rech

We made our way to the other side of the harbor to have dinner at the new Rech by Alain Ducasse in Tsimshatsui on a Friday evening. The restaurant took over the space formerly occupied by Spoon, another dining outlet under the Alain Ducasse "empire", on the ground floor of Intercontinental Hong Kong. Well, I did bemoan the closure of Spoon for a little while – after all the place always has a special place in my heart as being the subject of my first blog post (wait, is that 10 years ago already?) – but I am also hopeful of this new concept of a casual, Parisian style seafood restaurant taking its place, suitably located by the harbor front with the most gorgeous view. Sometimes change is for the good.

Back to Basics at Benoit Paris

One weekday afternoon when I was in Paris I decided to have lunch at Benoit, a classic bistro in La Rive Droite, just a quick 20 minute walk down rue St Martin, on the same street where I was staying. From outside it looked just like any other restaurant in this area popular with tourists (with Notre Dame and Centre Pompidou only a few steps away); well, except this 100-year-old restaurant has a Michelin star, with branches now in New York and Tokyo as part of Alain Ducasse's restaurant empire.

Sunday at the Spoon

Last weekend I was invited to try out the new Sunday brunch menu at Spoon at Intercontinental Hong Kong. I have to admit it's been a *long* while since I last set foot in this Michelin-starred outpost by Alain Ducasse - somehow it just slipped off our mind for no particular reason.

We were seated in the middle of the dining area, with gorgeous window view of the skyline behind us and most importantly, easy access to the buffet tables. We certainly picked the right day to enjoy an unobstructed view of the harbor in this perfect weather. I was told they did a little revamp of the Sunday brunch offering recently (hence this invitation for tasting). Now they have an even wider food selection and re-arranged the setup as well with the desserts no longer stationed behind the pastry kitchen but were brought back to the front.