Lung King Heen - Hong Kong - review

Name: Lung King Heen

Address: Hong Kong
8 Finance Street Central

(852) 3196-8880
 
Food: Modern Cantonese

Average price: $48HKD - $1080HKD.

Complimentary: Preserved vegetables

These were Ok.


Beef

We ordered: National Day Dinner Menu (meat and vegetarian versions) - $1080HK ($160AUD) each for the meat version.

Lung King Heen Appetiser Combination - crispy suckling pig, barbecued pork with honey, fried scallop with string bean

Both R and G found this starter, along with the various sauces, very tasty and well executed.


Crispy taro dumplings  - $40

These were absolutely divine! I have never had taro before but these crispy parcels with their soft center were delicious.

Braised Shark's Fin with Fresh Crab Meat

A few drops of black vinegar was added to this, which R said turned this classic dish into something amazing, He requested more vinegar as he said it really just brought the dish to another level.

Vegetable soup - $130HKD

Nice, mellow soup. Some of the mushrooms had a rather odd spongy texture though.

Simmered King Prawn in Supreme Broth

Sautéed Shredded Potato in Vegetarian X.O. Chilli Sauce  -$80

I could have eaten an entire bucket of this. No joke. I loved this dish, the texture and the complex flavours were fantastic. I need to get my hands on a bottle of that sauce...

Braised Abalone Cube with Star Grouper Fillet in Supreme Oyster Sauce
  

Braised Fresh Tofu Sheet with Egg Whites- $160Hk

The texture, which was akin to very runny egg whites, didn't appeal to me, it felt too slimy on the tongue. The tofu beneath though was lovely.

Wok-Fried Wagyu Beef Cubes with Lily bulbs and green peppers in Black bean sauce

R thought this was fairly average.

Sauteed vegetables with garlic - $120HKD

I love Chinese broccoli so this simply serving of lightly cooked Gai Lan with garlic was delicious to me.


Fried rice with fresh crab, mushrooms, and vegetables

Fried rice with mushrooms and vegetables - $80HKD

Simply a good bowl of fried rice.


Chilled mango and sago cream with Pomelo

Really refreshing and lightly sweet dish with chewy tapioca pearls.

Petit fours - red bean jelly and lotus seed pastries.

The triangles had a nice puffed, flaky pastry and sweet paste, very enjoyable.

Espresso

G, an Italian, said this tasted like 'an arse fart'.


Drinks: Evian x 2 - $190hk

Cost: $3308HKD +10% service charge.

Service: Great. Food came out at a reasonable pace, they accommodated me with a vegetarian degustation menu without any fuss at all, we were provided with moist hand towels and finger bowls and the wait staff were efficient and spoke decent English.

Atmosphere: Elegant but simple with a focus on harbour views. The decor is a mixture of neutral woods and glass with plenty of spacing between tables. The vibe was quite relaxed and most patrons weren't very dressed up.

Parking: Limited - take a taxi, they are very cheap, otherwise there are trains and ferries.

Website: http://www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/dining/lung_king_heen/

Hours: Mon-Sat 12pm-2:30pm, 6pm-10:30pm; Sun 11:30am-3pm, 6pm-10:30pm

Would I return: Yes, great food, good service and reasonably priced for a three Michelin star restaurant.

Joël Robuchon - Monte Carlo - Monaco - review

Name: Joël Robuchon

Address: 4 Avenue de la Madone
98000 Monaco
93 15 15 10

Food: French, Modern French, European

Average price:$37Euro - $195Euro.

Complimentary: Bread - large variety.

Lemon cake (gift wrapped to take home, lovely touch)

I devoured this for breakfast the next day. IT. WAS. GOOD. Gorgeous soft crumb with wonderful bitter chunks of lemon rind interspersed throughout, it didn't even need any sort of accompaniment. I could have eaten the whole loaf.

We ordered: Discovery menu degustation $180Euro each. (unfortunately my notes seem to have disappeared, therefore I can only comment on what I remember.)

Amuse bouche

ruby red pomelo jelly 
with guacamole and Esplette chilli

Presentation was girlishly pretty and the combination of creamy avocado and cool, bitter pomelo with a hint of heat from the chilly was pleasant.

Yoshi cocktail - $19Euro

asparagus blancmange 
king crab with virgin olive oil in a floral symphony of tomato

Visually gorgeous.

gaspacho with sweet peppers and golden croutons

vegetable mille-feuille with foie gras, sweet and sour emulsion, pig's trotter on toast

mushrooms with soft boiled hen's egg cooked in  alight creamy broth with ginger

blue lobster lightly caramelised, artichokes with Spanish flavours

Poivrade artichoke in a touch of thyme with tomato confit

This was a powerhouse of flavour! I severely underestimated its deliciousness based on appearance. The combination of sweet, spicy, salty and nutty was finger licking good.

tandoori lamb chops roasted with a citrus and fig marmalade, Thai style cauliflower and fresh flaked almonds

pomme puree with truffle

Very heavy, creamy, buttery potatoes. In fact, I dare say, a little too rich for me as I couldn't eat that much of it.

pink bloom light cheesecake with Tahiti vanilla, seasonal fruits

This was nice, but nothing more than a good cheesecake.

chocolate coffee dessert

This dish left us strangely unsatisfied. Too much coffee and not enough chocolate for me.


Cost: $388Euro for 2x Discovery menus (one vegetarian), 1 bottle Evian ($9Euro) & 1 cocktail.

Service: Ok. The wait staff were faultless, and they give you an edible gift bag on the way out which is a nice touch, however the food was incredibly slow, and although we allowed 3.5 hours (1 hour more than they suggested) we almost missed the last train back to Nice as there was at least 20mins wait between each meal.


Atmosphere: Classic contemporary elegance. The colour scheme was a combination of browns and muted greens with a view into the kitchen. The noise level was low, but the restaurant wasn't at full capacity when we went. Despite the tables not being super close we could overhear the tables beside us fairly clearly.
The only gripe I have is that I was very uncomfortable physically, the seats were oddly shaped, not allowing you to recline, and the table column is so large that you cannot really find a place for your feet.

Parking: Limited street parking, unless you have a very expensive car.

Website:  http://www.metropole.com/en

Hours:  Open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm.

Would I return: Maybe.

Les Clos des Gourmets - Four Points by Sheraton Elysee Palace - Nice - France - review

Name: Les Clos des Gourmets

Address: BP 1291, 59 Promenade des Anglais, 
6005 Nice, 
France‎

04 93 97 90 90‎

Food: French, Modern French, European

Average price:$8Euro - $29Euro.

Complimentary: Bread roll.

We ordered: $29Euro for three courses.

Tomatoes carpaccio with mozzarella salad

The tomatoes were watery and devoid of flavour. Not particularly tasty at all.


Salad with Parmesan and cherry tomatoes

Needed more tomatoes (there were only two) otherwise it was fine.


Lamb and Parmesan semolina

Ok, nothing special.


Tuna with potatoes

The tuna was overcooked and dry and there was barely any flavour in the dish at all, it highly resembled plane food.


Red berry salad

The flavours were nice, until we found 4 blackberries covered in white mould...


Apple tart tatin

The apples turned to complete mush and the pastry was very tough. Didn't even want a second bite.

Cost: $49Euro for 2 entrees, 2 mains and 2 desserts (they ended up charging us less ($9Euro) as they compensated us for the mouldy fruit dessert).

Service: Very relaxed. Perhaps it was because we were seated by the pool, as the service felt more like 'poolside service' than restaurant service. Food also took a little while despite there being only one other table seated, most likely due to the extremely tiny outdoor kitchen.

Atmosphere: We were outside by the pool which had lovely rooftop views and was very relaxing, however once the sun sets, beware of the mosquitoes.

Parking: Limited street parking - there is underground parking for guests.

Website: http://www.elyseepalace.com/fr/index.php

Hours:  12 noon to 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm to 10 pm

Would I return: No.

11ème Art - Nice - France - review

Name: 11ème Art

Address: 11 Rue Meyerbeer, 
06000 Nice, 
France 
+33 4 93 87 57 15

Food: French, Modern French, Cafe

Average price: $5 - $10.50Euro.

Complimentary: Sliced white bread and water.

We ordered:

Entree: Vegetable bruschetta - $9Euro

 Really delicious and generous portion. The cheese and veggies (eggplant, capsicum, tomato, mushrooms) were all tasty and well cooked. The bread had a crunchy crust and fluffy centre. The lettuce dressed nicely. We both enjoyed this and I would order it again.

Main:  Herb omelette - $8Euro

The chips were bland and had an unpleasant texture. The omelette on the other hand reminded me of my Yia Yia's omelette - well cooked (I prefer my scrambled eggs well done), seasoned and sprinkled with herbs (perhaps oregano?). Yum - although a little too big for me to finish.

Chicken with mushrooms & cream sauce - $9 Euro

Once again the chips were stale and tasteless, unfortunately R thought the chicken was bland but the mushrooms and sauce were sweetly tasty.

Dessert: Creme Brulee - $5Euro

I was expecting a classic brulee, this however, was raspberry flavoured. My first disappointment was the lack of crack from the teaspoon, it just sunk right through. The custard had a nice consistency but was lolly-sweet from the raspberry, it tasted a little like a sugary children's treat, there was no tartness from the raspberry at all.

Cost: $32Euro for one entrée, two mains and one dessert.

Service: Great. Food came out quickly, water was topped up and the waiter accommodated our lack of French well and without judgement.

Atmosphere: Casual and upbeat. We sat outside, amongst the lively street-scape but the inside scheme was neutral and fairly modern. I'm not sure what the evening atmosphere would be like, I think perhaps they become less cafe-like.


Parking: Risky. Walk or take the bus.

Website: None.

Hours:  Daily 6:30pm-10:30pm

Would I return: Yes. Cheap and tasty food in generous portions.