Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic

It was finally Cristal room's turn for their Taste of the Month at Landmark. Even with the promotion, the price per head is still up to $2000. The dishes overall were lovely but I find the flavors of  some dishes (particular the sauce) to be a bit intense.Theiramuse bouche was fun to have. We get to guess which is a decoration and which is the real oyster. They definitely did not hold back on the caviar in this dish.Their bread was extremely butter and flaky and they also beautifully crafted their butter into a flowery shape. There was plenty of butter left as it was the bread was quite buttery and we get to try their other bread and polish off the butter despite trying to hold back.The chawanmushi was a incredible dish. Besides the usual ingredients, they added peanut praline which gave the dish a innovative flavor. Their teadrop peas had a sweetness to it and is actually nicknamed the green caviar.The next dish is one of the dishes that I felt was too intense. The comte inside the pasta parcel was already quite strong already but the consomme was also really rich which made the dish a bit overwhelming. The white truffles(for an extra cost) were great to balance it out but still it was overall a bit too intense.The red mullet itself alone was already good but the sauce with assam again was a bit too intense on the sour side(and for those who read my review you know I love tarty food) so I kind of avoided the sauce.The beef definitely redeemed the main courses. The sauce was aromatic but light and the beef melts in your mouth.Their cheese course was beautifully crafted and presented like a dessert. I was initially a bit afraid as cheese can be a bit intense at times but they nailed this cheese course, turning it almost like a cheese ice-cream.Both their desserts were beautifully plated and the seasoning and balance of flavors(eg. coffee, pepper) were incredible. I just wished I had third companion to try their third dessert.Although most of the dishes were great, I hope some of the flavors as mentioned above could be slightly adjusted.…Read More

Have you ever wondered what happens when a restaurant spends more on Baccarat crystal than on understanding hospitality? Walk into Cristal Room by ASP, where the chandeliers gleam brighter than the kitchen's execution, and you'll find your answer glittering back at you—expensively, emptily.The hostess, with the efficiency of someone processing insurance claims, guided us to what can only be described as the restaurant's punishment table: an oversized irregular slab wedged into a corridor so narrow that my wife and I sat shoulder-to-shoulder, staring at a wine cabinet three meters away like passengers on the world's most expensive subway car. In a room designed for Michelin glory, someone decided this table—which should have been donated to charity or converted into a hallway—was suitable for paying customers.But perhaps the management was simply being honest about their priorities. When you're the only diners foolish enough to order the signature tasting menu at lunch while everyone else nibbles sensibly on the HK$700 set, shouldn't a restaurant with genuine confidence seize the moment? Offer a better table? Show off a little? Instead, Cristal Room seemed determined to prove that good judgment, like good service, doesn't come standard with the crystal.The open kitchen, positioned with the bravado of a chef who wants to be watched, delivered all the theater of an insurance office. The brigade moved with the enthusiasm of people fulfilling court-ordered community service. Where was the eponymous chef? Presumably somewhere more interesting than his own restaurant at lunch service.The "oyster" that wasn't an oyster—a clever amuse-bouche that mimicked bivalve perfection—showed genuine creativity, if you could forgive its shell's refusal to yield to anything resembling a natural bite. The tea-cup custard with sweet peas and caviar demonstrated real technique, though the kitchen's caviar allocation suggested someone was either very stingy or very broke.The pasta-like creation filled with goat cheese divided our table like a political referendum—my wife's immediate rejection versus my grudging consumption of both portions. The balance of acid, sweet, and umami showed promise, though one suspects the kitchen might have found broader appeal with seafood rather than this polarizing dairy commitment.The bread service—buttery, flaky mille-feuille and miso sourdough—achieved genuine excellence, the meal's only unqualified success. The accompanying butter, however, arrived with all the generosity of a miser's handshake, too little and too forgettable to enhance what deserved enhancement.But then came the matsutake and abalone, where two assertive flavors—earthy mushroom and gyokuro tea—engaged in the culinary equivalent of a shouting match, drowning out the poor abalone, which had already surrendered any hope of freshness. Was this dish designed by someone who believes that more expensive ingredients automatically equal better food?The lobster, mercifully, required no commentary beyond this: it was the meal's single moment of grace.The aged kinmedai offered textural richness and genuine flavor, needing only a touch more acidity in its sauce to achieve real distinction. But then came the sweetbread—that dark art of French cuisine—which arrived with the confidence of a restaurant that believed it could convert the uninitiated. My wife took one bite and performed what can only be called an involuntary food review. I finished mine out of stubbornness and immediately regretted both the decision and our server's unheeded advice.The peach dessert, extracted from refrigerated purgatory, had clearly given up on life before the kitchen gave up on it. The roasting process seemed designed to eliminate whatever sweetness the fruit once possessed, while the sauce possessed an acidity so aggressive it induced coughing—not tears of joy, but actual respiratory distress.The coffee, served in beautiful cups that cost more than most meals, tasted like someone had described the concept of coffee to someone who had never experienced it. The final petit fours, placed beside what I can only assume were store-bought pastries from the Mandarin Oriental's bakery downstairs, seemed embarrassed by the comparison.Throughout this performance, servers drifted by with the purposeless energy of background actors, offering mysterious smiles and food descriptions delivered with the passion of people reading warranty disclaimers. No designated server, no clear division of labor, just a collection of individuals united only by their shared commitment to looking busy while accomplishing little.The tragedy of Cristal Room lies not in its failures, but in its squandered potential. The meal began with promise—that clever "oyster," the thoughtful tea custard—only to descend into a cascade of mediocrity that would make a hotel buffet blush. Layers of flavor? The kitchen seems to believe that expensive ingredients layered on top of each other constitute complexity. Fresh ingredients? Perhaps they were fresh when they left the market, but by the time they reached our table, they carried the weary resignation of produce that had seen better days.The service operates with all the precision of a flash mob, while the pricing suggests someone confused this establishment with an actual Michelin-starred restaurant. What you're really paying for, it turns out, is the privilege of dining inside a very expensive jewelry box.Cristal Room has successfully created what it intended: a social media -worthy backdrop where the chandeliers photograph better than the food tastes. If you're seeking a place to document your wealth rather than nourish your soul, congratulations—you've found your stage.But for those who believe that restaurants should excel at the quaint notion of serving good food, Cristal Room offers a sparkling reminder that all that glitters is not gold—sometimes, it's just very expensive glass.Rating: Poor…Read More

传奇米芝莲女厨Anne-Sophie Pic 嘅餐厅你又试过未?佢旗下嘅餐厅加埋目前坐拥成10 粒米芝莲星星🌟食物质素同喺饮食界嘅地位实在毋庸置疑👏🏼呢间餐厅出名用上大量 Baccarat 水晶杯 餐具同装饰闪烁嘅水晶吊灯加上迷人嘅香港维港夜景 真系一绝🤩Tasting menu 分六道或八道融入日本元素嘅法国菜式第一道菜喺清甜脆口嘅豌豆茶碗蒸😚加上面头咸香嘅鱼子酱同底部嘅焦糖花生酱 味道层次分明第二道菜则喺ASP招牌嘅金字塔形状意大利云吞分别酿入羊奶芝士同咬落爆汁嘅青蕃茄清汤🤤紧随住小编当晚嘅最爱‼️厨师啱啱周末喺云南采收嘅新鲜松茸🤗松茸经轻微炭烤以及用昆布高汤鲍鱼等带出菌香主菜及甜品同样展现厨师高超嘅水准同技巧口感细腻嘅金目鲷同肉质软嫩嘅和牛生熟度恰到好处😋甜品就试咗卖相精致嘅招牌Millefeuille🦋微酸嘅咖啡鲜奶油入边包裹住层层薄脆酥皮 食落感觉轻盈解腻_🔖 🔸PRÉMICES Cadoret oyster | lardo cream | caviar trout pie tee | mustard seeds | smoked trout roe squid tartelette | melon | thai basil🔸Vegetal dashi chawanmushi and caviar teardrop peasEbi shrimp and peanut praliné（Lapsang Souchong Clarification)🔸Les Berlingots ASP 🌟pasta parcels filled with goat cheesegreen tomato consommé flavoured with chrysanthemum and marigold(Sancerre, Grande Côte, François Cotat 2022)🔸Matsutake from Yunnan 🌟embraced with abalone and kombu confit gyokuro and douglas pine(Miyoshino Jozo, Hanatomoe, koshu 1988)🔸Japanese Kinmedaicooked on charcoalsabayon flavoured with fresh bay leaves and pink peppercorn(Hojicha and seaweed cold infusion)🔸32 months Wagyu tenderloin suffused with miso, coffee, caraway eggplant poudré with pine buds (Côte-Rôtie, Ampodium, Domaine Rostaing 2016)🔸Le Millefeuille coffee chantillymeadowsweet sobacha caramel and tuile (Keemun, sobacha, meadowsweet syrup)🔸MIGNARDISES madeleine | Buddha’s hand Hazelnut | turmeric…Read More

Anne-Sophie Pic出生于名厨世家，家族位于法国Valence的Maison Pic从1939年开始已经被米芝莲星星加冕，辗转在三星与一星之间来来回回，然后Anne-Sophie在2007年将餐厅变回三星食肆之后一直到现在，再加上她旗下在世界各地的其他餐厅，拥有的米芝莲星星数目在女厨师之中是世界第一的，而她在香港的Cristal Room餐厅位处中环核心地段的高层，景观不会差。开张一年多拿取米芝莲一星也是相当正常，由Gilles & Boissier作餐厅的室内设计师，以及用上Baccarat的玻璃餐具，在法式典雅之余，又大有几分少女味，老婆对其餐具真的爱不释手，当然价钱也是天价，弄破一只杯可能比整餐的花费更贵。（笑)Les Berlingots ASP和Le Millefeuille Blanc也是她的经典菜式，在这里的表现也相当不错，前者24个月熟成的Comté芝士和voatsiperifery胡椒填充三角形意大利饺，配以注入橙皮普洱茶的蘑菇清汤，展现浓郁而和谐的田野风味；后者作为甜品用上塔希提香草奶油、茉莉果冻和马达加斯加胡椒云，层次分明且外观精致，彷佛像当代的后现代建筑。主菜的鸡胸和剑鱼也相当吸引，这两道菜充分表现出她的”Suffsion”风格，像是前者用上本地三和鸡浸上尤加利叶和咖啡腌制，配南瓜和枸杞果酱，味道清新之余，也能感受到鸡油的香味；后者则以传统的白酱浸泡，轻盈顺滑，在鱼肉本身的鲜味之余也感受到微微的酸香，吃得满足而舒服。再加上侍应的服务水准相当不错，看过之前食评的评论有点担心，但吃过后忧虑一扫而空。Anne-Sophie Pic, the most Michelin-starred female chef, leads Cristal Room in Hong Kong, earning a Michelin star within a year. Signature dishes like Les Berlingots ASP and Le Millefeuille Blanc highlight her “Suffusion” style, blending rich flavors and delicate techniques. The elegant interior, Baccarat glassware, and attentive service complete the exceptional dining experience.…Read More

On the second day of CNY this year we have fireworks in Victoria Harbour, so I decide to find a restaurant to enjoy a good dinner while able to watch the show at the same time. Having come to Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic previously and enjoyed a nice dining experience, I have reserved early and secure my table.Arriving at 44/F of Gloucester Tower at Landmark, the staff shows us to our table, directly facing the windows looking out to the Admiralty and Wanchai harbourfront. We cannot believe our luck as it has an unbeatable view of all the three barges anchored, guaranteeing an unobstructed spot for the display.Before the excitement of the fireworks, we start with dinner. Choosing the 6-course Menu ($2,480 each), we also opt for the special Balade pairing, a non-alcohol flight ($888 each). To toast for the occasion, I start with a glass of Champagne, from Domaine de Bichery La Source 2021 ($390), with wet rock and apple aromas, good acidity, and crispy dry on the palate.The Premices include three small bites. First is a Mushroom Tartlet, which has been infused with tonka and meadowsweet inside. Second is a cute-looking Pie Tee, having liquorice-marinated trout inside and some smoked trout roes on top, decorated with dashi seaweed tuile and yuzu gel.The third small bite is a beautiful Wakame Taco, having a subtle sweetness from the kelp. Inside the taco are some shiso leaves and tarama, a spread made from fish roes, seasoned with a bit of Chartreuse, the liqueur with a unique herbaceous note, with a lot of edible flowers on top.The Homemade Brioche is very buttery and delicious, with one end ‘pressed’ to somehow resemble a log of wood in appearance. The butter is set into a rose shape, amazingly beautiful, with some pollens on top. True to high-end French cuisine, every detail is meticulous, wonderful in both taste and presentation.The first pairing is a natural fermented sparkling from a collaboration between Muri and Anne-Sophie Pic. The dry sparkling rose Uzume is a blend of strawberry, tomato and smoked vanilla, a aperitif which is good for salad and grilled vegetables, and even for shellfish or lobster.  The first course is Tomato Tartelette. Put on top of the tartelette is a nice, bright red plump tomato, specially grown by a local farm for the restaurant. The staff then opens a box showing the premium Kaviari Dauricus Caviar, and scoops some on top of the tomato, before finishing with a geranium and longjiang beurre blanc sauce. Fragrant and nice in taste.The second pairing is Da Hong Pao, a Wuyi rock tea from Fujian. This brewed tea has its signature terroir, with a bit of smokiness, hints of chocolate, and a mellow and smooth palate. It also can kill the fatness in the palate, so is particularly suitable to match with heavier dishes.The second course is Les Berlingots ASP. It is Chef Pic’s childhood memories, transforming a hard candy she loves to eat into this Pasta Parcels, which are filled with Comte Cheese aged 24 months and vin jaune, the French yellow wine from Jura. It is served with an onion consommé flavoured with chamomile and madras curry, complex yet harmonized.The third pairing might look like a cappuccino, it is in fact a hojicha infused with beeswax, offering a richer texture, and flavoured with a syrup that is made from a blend of the skin and juice of lime and lemon with sugar over a long time, with the sweetness and acidity well balanced. On the top is a dried yuzu peel foam. Very refreshing.The third course is Salsify from Eric Roy. It is a root vegetable dish, with the assorted pieces glazed with honey and beer, as well as a bit of lardo to give savoury flavours. On the side is a beautiful black sesame sabayon with cacao nibs, infused with yuzu for freshness. The chef recommends us to mix everything together to enjoy all the flavours together.After watching the beautiful fireworks at such close location, we resume dinner. The beverage pairing is Rosemary Tonic, using distillate of the rosemary to create a gin tonic alternate, infused with syrup that is a mix of rhubarb scrub with vinegar and sugar to extract the flavours, with green picking grape juice, which replaces lemon, for acidity.Next is an optional dish which my wife decides to skip. The meaty and deliciously sweet Brittany Blue Lobster ($588 additional) is cooked over embers, infused with douglas fir for extra fragrance. The coral sauce is made from the lobster tornalley with capers and rosemary. On the side is a carrot voile, interestingly shaped like a fold.The fourth pairing is a type of white tea, Ya Bao from Yunnan. The buds are hand-harvested, with only a very short window to process. The tea is smooth and aromatic, with a delicate peach, tangy forest notes. The palate is mild, simple and clean, which the sommelier specially targets its purity to pair with the seabass, the signature of the chef.The fourth course is Wild Seabass, with Kaviari Dauricus Caviar on top, together with a Champagne Sauce. The taste of the seabass is enticing, very flavourful without the reliance of a lot of seasoning. The caviar has added the touch of umami and savoury to the fish, while the sauce, from mix of champagne and sake, has kabosu citrus for nice acidity.The fifth pairing is Cold Brew, with the coffee coming from Ethiopia, of Geisha variety, which has nice acidity and aromatic. The sommelier has used the whole beans, without grinding, to infuse in cold water for four days, resulting in a light-coloured, elegant and delicious coffee, without the bitterness but instead showing exceptional freshness.Both of us have chosen Venison from Alsace for our fifth course. The beautifully grilled meat is marinated with mint and combawa leaves, tender and without any gamey note. With puree made from glazed Jerusalem artichoke and black garlic on the side, as well as the venison jus infused with peppermint, great in taste.The sixth pairing is Pure Matcha mocktail, with an interesting ricey note, elegant and fresh. With a touch of geranium syrup, it is of sufficient sweetness to match with the dessert while not indulgent or overly cloying. It is a good circle back to the first beverage too, both equally refreshing.For dessert, I have chosen Le Millefeuille Blanc. It is the signature of Chef Anne-Sophie Pic, beautifully rendered, with the geranium Chantilly having the multi-layer of crisp texture, filled with rich and velvety genmaicha cremeux. On top there are some candied ginger and crispy tuile, to decorate and also add further contrast on the bite.My wife has picked Foret Noire. The traditional black forest cake has been deconstructed into this contemporary dessert, breaking into three components of cake with douglass pine and vanilla infusion, a rich Guanaja cremeux flavoured with cinnamon, plus also a sour morello sorbet on the side. A clever way to present the recipe in a totally new manner.Coming to the end, the Mignardises include Madeleine made with local honey, delicious and not too sweet, with the chef adding some camelia pollen and edible flowers on top, to give a crunchy contrast in texture as well as to dress up the madeleine with colour and flair. A very good snack to go with coffee too.The other one is Marshmallow, coated with chocolate. Presented like a lollipop, it brings forth some childhood memories of licking a lollipop as a treat. This modern version has a crunchy crust encasing the soft marshmallow, while the caramel and white chocolate ganache further add to the texture. Service is good, with the staff friendly and cheerful, and I am particularly impressed by the sommelier who showcases his creativity using different ingredients to mix the beverages to good effects. The bill on the night is $8,750. Reasonable. Great in food, wonderful service, amazing beverages. Happy we start the Year of Snake with this visit.…Read More