Ecriture Maxime Gilbert

Hong Kong is one of the most dynamic cities in the world, including its food scene. The city is never short of top quality (new) restaurants with high caliber chefs. By Michelin standard, some recent addition at its multi-star levels were: Ecriture, Ying Jee club and Arbor. In May this year as I visited HK with my family, we had an opportunity to have a lunch at Ecriture, which means "writing" in French. Maxime Gilbert, both the Executive chef and General manager of the restaurant, intended to start this restaurant so that he could write (good) stories. The restaurant was supported by the local hospitality group Le Comptoir whose ambitious vision was 'fine dining redefined'. Ecriture is located at the top of Central's H Queen's building. It has some partial open air and is surrounded by Hong Kong famous views such as the Peak and Victoria harbor. Following the trend, Ecriture used an open kitchen concept as well with excellent ventilation - no smoke or smell spreading into the dining room.

Ecriture is a contemporary fine dining restaurant utilizing superb seasonal ingredients from small suppliers, particularly the ones from France and Japan. The essence of Maxime Gilbert's craftsmanship, however, was unmistakably French. From the cooking and the execution of the dishes, we could see that he has mastered traditional technique of his native country. Here, to have a confirmed reservation, diners are required to make some advanced payments. Even by Hong Kong standard, the price of having meals at Ecriture can be considered steep. The dining room, on the other hand, does not reflect any luxury like the other elite restaurants in town instead, the company opted for more minimalist decor. It was quite soothing in which the most eye-catching aspects happened to be the copper ceiling and soft wallpaper. Consistent to its modern style, the medium-size timber table was not covered by any white linen. The white leather chairs were rather comfortable while the tables were well spaced. The private dining room was gorgeous though - a big panting by a Korean artist hung inside.

Now come the food. We started with some amuse-bouche and bread & butter. As I dined with my son too, ordering dishes from the a la carte menu made more sense since he would not be able to sit still for 3+ hours. We shared the following items ...

Hokkaido Scallops contisee with black truffle, cooked in a crispy beignet. It was served with celery roots puree, shaved hazelnut and skirt foam - A dish with good concept and pretty presentation. The millefeuille of tender hotate & distinct truffe noire was tasty; they're wrapped by nori and hidden inside crusty beignet. However, I found the coating a bit too 'thick' or overpowering to my likeness. The sweet celeriac puree, hazelnut and foam sauce made this dish more umami ... pleasant flavor and texture  

Black Abalone (Kuro Awabi) poached in sake and konbu. It was served with air-dried Galician beef ham, grapefruit, egg plant puree as well as abalone liver sauce with dijon mustard - The Japanese influence could not be more obvious here. The abalone had good bouncy texture and umami taste; the liver delivered the most flavorful things in our palate. The rests made the dish more interesting; very satisfying but the portion was kinda small actually

Bresse Poularde cooked in a sourdough bread; underneath the skin, there were 'butter' and black truffle. The kitchen put in duck liver inside the breast. This dish was somewhat special because it was prepared in 4 different ways.

1st service: Chicken consomme served with chicken oysters and (big) Shimeji mushrooms from Kyoto - The consomme was just right to 'accommodate' tender & tasty chicken oysters as well as delicate and toothsome Shimeji; a promising start
2nd service: Chicken breast stuffed with foie gras and served with artichoke & black truffle - The meat was clean and soft yet firm and somewhat juicy. By itself, it might not be that delicious however the duck liver, the sauce and the artichoke enriched the dish. The black truffle was quite generous but not as strong (in both aroma and taste) as I expected - so not that "impactful"

3rd service: Sourdough toasts served with chicken kidney, foie gras, uni and chicken heart - The one with sea urchin and duck liver were the most flavorful; the rests were alright ... note that the kitchen even did not waste anything, they even utilized the sourdough bread
4th service: Chicken leg served with Ryu-no-hitomi rice and black truffle - The chicken was delicious but even better was the Japanese rice. The grains were bigger with good stickiness. Then combined the sweet rice with black truffle and the chicken - producing burst of umami flavors. While I think this part might be really tasty, I still truly appreciated the technique and the execution of the 2nd service (chicken breast part)

The pre-dessert was Sake ice cream with silky jelly and seasonal fruits. It felt good after the strong and rich flavors from the Bresse Poularde.

Citrus in the form of the "Napoleon" dessert. It consisted of liquorice ice cream, kumquat sorbet, and some white chocolate etc. - Crisp and thin chocolate wafer separated them. This millefuille should also be infused with lemon and lime; the flavor variations with some sweetness and acidity were really enjoyable. It actually tasted better than it looked

After the dessert, the pastry team served generous petit fours: creamy and rich chocolate cognac tart. It was hidden underneath a "book" that had been sitting on the table ever since we arrived. Then, there was flaky and tasty kouign amann with little cream inside, using the chef's mother recipe. Lastly, we're given decent Japanese melon. The service was generally good. Our main waiter, a Hongkonger lady, was passionate and did a great job overall from doing the service, preparing the food table side and having good knowledge about the food. The (French) sommelier assisted her sometimes but as we only ordered a glass of Corton charlemagne for the entire meal; it seemed that he's not that interested in talking with us / serving our table. Chef-patron Maxime Gilbert, on the other hand, was genuinely friendly and pleased that we had lunch at Ecriture. He even offered us that the next time we would like to dine here again, it's possible that we did not have to do the advanced partial payment - appreciate the kind gesture.

The food was intriguing and rather unique though not all of them necessarily to be really delicious. Maxime Gilbert did not really play safe and wanted to keep pushing the boundary. For instance, he would serve wild Game dishes in Autumn including well executed the 'Pithivier'- except for venison, "Le gibier de chasse" usually did not suit the Asian's palate hence often very difficult to sell. For this lunch, I did not regret ordering the Bresse chicken. It was not easy to find such well-prepared dish in Asia. If I have the chance to re-visit Ecriture, I would love to try the degustation menu. My lunch meal here was on par with the dinners I had had at Amber and Ta Vie. The pictures of our lunch, can be found - Ecriture Sping '19

Food (and Wine): 94 pts

Service (and Ambiance): 93 pts

Overall: 93.5/100

Ta Vie Hideaki Sato

Ta Vie, from its inception in mid 2015, has become the talk of the town. It should be no surprised because Ta Vie's head chef and part owner was the former chef de cuisine of Tenku Ryugin (2-star) named Hideaki Sato. Ta Vie's name was translated as "Your Life" in French and "Journey" in Japanese. It's Chef Sato's intention from the beginning that his restaurant will be the place for the people to interact while enjoying the journey and exploration of his creations, mainly using Asian high quality products. Ta Vie is probably different than many other fine dining restaurants owing to Sato-san's strong background in both Western (French & Italian) and Japanese cuisine. In addition, he was also skillful in baking bread, making pastry as well as a qualified sommelier. Thus, Hideaki Sato is the main 'brain and muscle' of Ta Vie. The attention to details was applicable in all aspects. For instance, there was a bottle of Azumino mineral water (soft, mild and natural) from Japan with ta vie's label. Furthermore, the homemade sourdough bread (soft inside with good crust outside) and churned butter (pleasant) were made daily in the kitchen. With regards to the main attraction, there was only one degustation menu but, of course, guests were encouraged to share their dietary restrictions upon making the reservation (if any).

Tasting menu featuring Asian produce

Caesar salad topped with Hotaru squid served with Hotaru squid caesar dressing - Hotaru Ika is one way to say that "It's Spring". The Firefly squid was tender and bursting inside with an oceanic & acquired taste. This concentrated umami flavor (also from the dressing) was a good combination for the crisp romaine lettuce, fresh mountain vegetables, parmesan cheese and some croutons. An interesting and tasty dish; quite a strong beginning I would say

"Clam chowder" served with whelk "Matsubu" twist clam and peas with chef's twist - Another unique interpretation of a famous dish by Hideaki Sato. The hot clam soup was light (not too intense); this way, the ingredients inside could shine such as the crunchy and sweet Tsubugai, earthy green peas, and fresh Spring vegetables. You will not feel heavy at all ...

Homemade pasta with "Aonori" sauce and Hokkaido Uni - It was an extra dish from the kitchen and one of Chef Sato's specialties. My main issue here was the texture of the pasta and it seemed deliberate that it's made to be uncharacteristically soft instead of al dente. However, the green seaweed sauce and creamy (Bafun) sea urchin was well-absorbed by the pasta, thus make this dish flavorful. Overall, I still enjoyed this delicate creation

White strawberry and Chioggia beetroot served with fruits tomato tossed with Thai basil and Burrata cheese - This 'intermezzo' was surprisingly tasty - juicy & aromatic pineberries, rather sweet and earthy Italian beetroot, fresh and savory tomato - were good combinations, The soft & milky burrata with aromatic basil + balsamic vinegar acted as the "sauce" for these fruits. Awesome!

"Civet" braised abalone covered with "Abalone shell" - The abalone 'shell' was edible and tasted like crackers. The awabi and shiitake were nicely intertwined in their meaty texture and a contrast of earthy & sea flavors. The caramelized onions and brown sauce (prepared with cognac & madeira) provided more depth to the dish's overall flavor - a winning creation

Japanese langoustine with pork tail, Yunnan ham and langoustine broth - I think it's the first time I consumed Tenaga-ebi; the size was large with elegant flavor and firm texture. The perfectly cooked langoustine was enhanced by the broth to make its flavor more complex yet still balanced. On the side, this langoustine was accompanied by a cabbage dumpling filled with pork tail as well as Yunnan ham to enrich the taste; the 'chicken consomme' also contained some flavor from the long-armed prawn. One of my favorite dishes for the dinner

Beef tongue stew served with onion nouveau and fresh Yunnan morel - The beef tongue was actually thick and carefully cooked with Chinese yellow wine. The back part was tender & fatty (hence more delicious) while the front part was meaty / crisp. The Yunnan morel, having sponge-like texture, was decent though the taste was not as intense as its French counterpart. The best part here was the sauce - a perfect old school French saucing resulting in rich and delightful flavor

Almond ice cream with meringue Served with fresh strawberries & scent of Sakura blossom; covered with fragile candy glass - A beautiful dessert for Spring. It was the feast for the senses: cool plating, pleasant & refreshing scent, soft vs hard texture contrast, a few flavors worked altogether - sour, sweet, nutty. Enjoyable ..

Caramelized French toast served with black truffle toffee, golden Oolong tea ice cream with salted egg yolk - I found these dessert had different degree of flavor intensity. The french toast, topped with shaved cashew nuts, was probably the best one - soft & tasty. The black truffle toffee was very strong with predominantly truffle flavor; on the contrary, the oolong ice cream was delicate with a hint of grated yolk (to reduce any cloying taste). It was quite good

After the dessert, I opted for a tea (pandan, mint and lemongrass) as my digestive, accompanied by light mulberry jelly. For the drinks, I had a combination of cold Hakurakusei sake (subtle & delicate with nice aroma) in carafe and 3 glasses of tea tasting, served chilled, consisted of Yunnan Pu'er, Yame Gyokuro and Jinxuan Ginseng. They were interesting and satisfying in general. Ta Vie is located in the 2nd level of a boutique hotel Pottinger at Central. The atmosphere was intimate, charming and quiet. The dining room tended to be dark combining Asian and European styles. It may not be as luxurious as the like of Caprice or Amber nevertheless well-designed with spacious tables and comfortable sofa / chairs. Ms. Hiromi Takano, Hideaki Sato's wife, is the restaurant manager - the same role she had at Tenku Ryugin. Under her leadership, the service was well-paced and efficient. She and another female staff were friendly, passionate and knowledgeable. Overall, it was a very good diningg experience - innovative and delicious food, solid drink selection, discrete and amiable service, elegant dining room. A return here is probable; preferably in different season so that I can try Chef Sato's different creations. The pictures of the dishes can be found at Ta Vie Mar '18

Food (and Wine): 94 pts

Service (and Ambiance): 94 pts

Overall: 94/100