November 14, 2009
Caprice
Four Seasons Hong Kong isn't just a fancy hotel, it's a fancy hotel that holds the distinction of the only hotel hosting multiple three-star Michelin restaurants. With just the two of us it's just not practical to eat fruitfully at a Chinese place like 龍景軒 Lung King Heen, where the cuisine is designed to be shared by a large crowd. Caprice, on the other hand, is the prototypical fancy French restaurant transplanted to the Hong Kong waterfront, perfectly suited for couples. More importantly, they offer an inexpensive prix fixe lunch, with a starter, main, and desserts at a very reasonable price of HKD420, or HKD380 without dessert (not that you should even consider passing on dessert, see later). They even include a glass of wine and bottles of bubbly Pellegrino water in the fare.
The restaurant is plushly furnished and well spaced, a rarity in and of itself for Hong Kong, where personal space is an unaffordable luxury for most. The Saturday lunch crowd featured an equal mixture of curious tourists and upscale locals. The table was impeccably set with silver salt & pepper shakers, a nice flower arrangement, and gorgeous plate settings, although the initial setting of beautifully gilted plates got whisked away when it actually came time to eat. The included wines aren't quite up to three-star standards, but our palates have been slightly spoiled by tastes of uncles' fine Bordeauxs so one can't quibble too much about the perfectly drinkable freebie.
I'd managed to book a window-side table with expansive views of Hong Kong Harbor and Kowloon across the water. However on a gray day the views weren't quite picture perfect, and the Kowloon harbor-front isn't as architecturally impressive as the Hong Kong waterfront seen from Kowloon-side. But we'll go check out the postcard view in Kowloon from TST when they have their light-show later in the evening. During the daytime with sunlight through the picture windows threw plenty of light on our table, so the massive crystal chandeliers serve more as decoration than illumination, but it's nicer to have natural light during the meal anyway. After all, Chinese folks still prefer a brighter restaurant space, compared to the dim, atmospheric lighting of a typical high-end Western place.
The wife's brown lentil soup didn't seem particularly appetizing at first. But the warm, hearty soup was just the thing on a cool day. The mound of crab meat is sweet and fresh. And the dab of shellfish emulsion contains the umami souls of untold number of shrimps and bivalves shells cooked down and concentrated into the rich buttery mix.
The small slice of toast that came with my big slice of oxtail-foie terrine wasn't nearly enough to absorb the flavorful oxtail meat and foie pate. Thankfully the waiter offered free refills from the bread basket. The olive whole-wheat bread was particularly tasty. Although the plain ciabbata complemented the dish better.
My Crisp-crusted Chilean sea bass with basil aroma, on a bed of crushed zucchini and yellow bell pepper coulis, wasn't designed to be a mind-bender, but it's still a perfectly executed Western seafood dish. The clean and subtle flavors accompanying the meaty white fish were very different from the soy-ginger-scallion flavor profile of Cantonese fresh-fish preparations. But both show the same attention to detail and freshness. The heavy knife they set out for the wife turned out to be superfluous as the wagyu beef shoulder has been braising in red wine for a dozen hours and it was fork-tender and infused with flavor. Seems a waste to cook wagyu beef in such a heavy sauce. On the other hand, even wagyu cows must have tough cuts, and the price we were paying for the meal wouldn't get us more than a small bite of the prime stuff, compared to the hearty chunk on her plate.
The relatively light meal left plenty of space for dessert, and ours eyes lit up when the waiter pushed over the cart with a huge silver tray filled with:
- Double-chocolate tart
- Giant lemon macaron
- White & milk chocolate mousses on almond crust
- Milk pudding with brown sugar cognac sauce
- Caramel-chocolate tart
- Blueberry and butter-cream mille feuille
We were thinking that it was going to be awfully hard to choose from amongst the six options, they all looked so good!
Then the server offered, "each of you may choose three."
Well that's easy then.
Like the food, it was all classical French desserts, done without much innovation but with impeccable technique and top-notch ingredients that shows in the taste where it counts. Amongst the tarts, cookies, and puddings featuring creamy, fruity, and chocolatacious flavors, the selection satiated just about every sweet craving that one might've had. Totally earned the stars there.
We were plenty full by this point, so we took the petit fours away with us to munch later.
Unlike so many other expensive Western restaurants in Asia, there was no big-shot star chef's name to help brand Caprice. But the large crew in the open kitchen looked like they knew exactly what they're doing, not afraid of letting diners see them at work. And it's no surprise they managed to impress the Michelin tasters on their home-turf cuisine. It's perhaps lacking the fiery creative spark that would drive a French 3-star, but that was okay with us, since we were exactly hoping for well-executed fundamentals for our visit. Given the quality, service, and setting, our mid-day meal was an excellent value, which is definitely no sure thing at Michelin-rated restaurants.
Caprice
Four Seasons Hotel 6F
8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong
中環金融街8號四季酒店6樓
+852 3196 8888