Hong Kong - Mirror Restaurant

After a long week, I had no reservations for Friday night.  O.M.G.  I called 10 places before I got lucky.  And surprisingly so that I couldn't react momentarily when the voice on the phone enquired "What time should we expect you?".  Such luck since I had been unsuccessful twice before.  Too bad I forgot to take a pitstop at the Jockey Club..

Although there was signage when we exited the lifts, we almost thought we should either ring a doorbell (which we didn't find) or knock the opaque wooden door before entering.  Inside, soft lighting and plush chairs await and it's comfortable chic without any pretentiousness.  The elevated open kitchen is the main feature of the dining room, manned by 5 men in whites, under the watchful eyes of Jeremy Biasiol.  The chef has an easy manner about him and camaraderie he appears to have with his team provides a casual yet disciplined approach he has to running the restaurant.  The other talking piece of a curtain made from hanging cutlery gives the room its playful charm too.

There are only 2 menus - a signature menu and a tasting menu.  After much deliberation, we decided to try both.  But before that...

Bread and Butter

they spoil us with bread.  Extremely well baked (from left to right): baguette, whole wheat baguette, and the awesome bacon twisty, with salted and unsalted butter on the side.  It was tempting to ask for another serving..

Amuse Bouche

A lemongrass risotto with clams and a touch of sour cream.  A clever twist to the usual made for a light start despite the creamy look.

Both menus were good in their own right, which was why it took a while to decide since there was stuff on both menus which were exciting.

Tiger shrimps jelly, roe sauce, Oscietra caviar, flowers, green apple

It sounded a little more exciting on the menu but certainly was a visually captivating starter.  Perhaps I didn't care for too much mousse.  But loved the sweet freshness of the shrimps.  Unbeatable.

Salmon lightly cooked, roasted cauliflower and puree with grenobloise sauce

Perfectly cooked salmon.  Enough said.

Thin tomatoes soup, pan seared tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and pesto sauce

This was probably the least exciting in the tasting menu.  It wasn't bad but it didn't do much for me except perhaps lighten my palate and prep me for the veal ahead.

Veal in 2 ways, the sweetbreads and the round, carrots, pearl onions, summer black truffle in brunoise, veal sauce

The winner in the tasting menu has got to be the veal.  Rightly recommended to be had in the pink, this was a truly good piece of meat.  Tender, fragrant and full of flavor despite its youth.  Even though I'm not a fan of carrot, the understated accompaniments did allow the veal to come through.  Perfect.

French cheese platter

The cheeses were actually very good.  But I was pretty up to my eyeballs in food.  I might have preferred some dried fruit to lighten things up but again, the baguettes were too good to resist.  Oh well, so I left half of everything.  Sigh..

Overall, I thought the signature menu was a little more put together despite the lower price.

Slow cooked egg, frog legs poached, garlic cream and watercress sauce

Perfectly cooked frog legs.  Everything else was just a bonus.  Surprisingly light despite all of the cream and egg bound together.

English peas veloute, crispy bread, lemon ginger olive oil and roasted peas

Great base stock and what awesome crispy bread.  Given what we've been spoilt with to start, can't say we were surprised.

Scallops steamed, bacon and leeks confit, leeks emulsion

Great execution but I just prefer scallops done this way to have a little sear to it.

Pigeon lightly roasted, port and red wine sauce, potatoes, brussels sprouts and herbs

This was the winner in the signature.  You can't see it from the picture but there was added sauce underneath reminiscent of a solidified mushroom soup which was pretty astounding.

Mango dessert in 3 ways served with vanilla ice cream

Other than a perfectly naturally sweet and ripe mango, this wasn't terribly exciting as far as desserts go. The base cake was a tad dry but produce saved the day.  Where did they get the mangoes from??

Petit fours - blueberry macaron

This was so blue that my tongue was still blue hours later.  Playful way to end, befitting the restaurant's theme.  It also matched the blue plush chairs.  Great ending to a great story.  Definitely a sequel to this one.

6/F, Tiffan Tower
199 Wanchai Road
Wan Chai
Tel: +852-2573 7288