Amber

I had this French meal 2 days after I came back from Paris to celebrate my best friend's birthday.  Honestly, I was kinda uncertain whether I would enjoy this meal since I have heard too many so-so comments on Amber.  Given their Michelin 2-star status, we still decided to give it a try.  It took us a little bit of time debating whether to have the "seasonal tasting menu" or "degustation menu", then we were told the only difference is the blue lobster.  As such, we decided to go with the "Degustation menu" which we got to try all the signature dishes in one go . As usual, it started with the fresh bread loaf & welcome snacks - Amuse bouches.  I just remember the watermelon mix on the right but as far as I recalled, they were both good.  Certainly, we wouldn't miss the wine part, the corkage is $500/bottle then we were only allowed to bring one bottle for a party of 2.  Oh well, we could just live with the ground rule and behave :) . Langoustines - charred but kept raw, ricotta in a kyuri cucumber granny smith & jalapeno marinade: I have so many langoustines in Sep, both in France & HK, the reason behind is the seasonality of them. This was an interesting cold dish, more like a cocktail and cold soup. Definitely, a pleasant appetizer to start with. :) Corn soup & a deep fried "something": I would have skipped this dish if this was an a-la-carte menu, please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying it’s not tasty but it’s just not as special/interesting than the others. Owing to the strong creamy base, this dish was indeed quite filling.  Besides, I am not so much into the deep fried food…just not a fan of this dish. Another house snack in lollipop style...I have to post this photo coz I really love their presentation Hokkaido sea urchin in a langoustine jello with cauliflower, cavier crispy seaweed waffles: I only had sea urchin (uni) twice so far, once in Canada & the other time at Tsukiji (筑地市场) in Tokyo. I don’t really like the taste of uni and I only found the one I tried in Tsukiji is acceptable. However, with the mix of cavier and langoustine jello to the uni, the whole thing was awesome. You still got the strong uni taste but it’s not fishy at all, nice combination after all. Tasmanian Salmon - Confit & smoked "Perthuis" green asparagus, horse raddish cream & pickled kyuri cucumber:I got to try the world renowned Balik salmon in Paris a month ago and I really enjoyed the texture from different parts of the salmon. At Amber, their Tasmanian salmon could also gave me the same level of contentment but in a different format. The salmon was very tender and I suggest to have each mouthful of salmon mixing with the fresh veggies (don’t forget the horse raddish cream), the slight sourly taste was a good stimuli to your taste bud. I have to applause the chef in using the raddish cream as a substitute to the regular caper. Bordeaux lobster...swapped with Duck Foie GrasOwing to humaneness concern, I stopped eating foie gras for quite some time and we requested the chef to change the dish for us. Here it came with the Bordeaux lobster specially made for us, this dish wasn’t really outstanding but it’s the flexibility and understanding from the chef that counts. Kagoshima Wagyu beef - strip loin, oven roasted, puree of "forgotten" cevennes onion braised short ribs with seasonal green leavesThe 5-star dish of the night, no doubt! I always complain about the fattening texture of Wagyu beef and it just simply melts in your mouth without any taste (personally, I prefer intense beefy taste). But the strip loin & short ribs I tried that night was incredibly unbelievable. I was not “heavy” at all even after so many prior small dishes. I have to honor this dish and give a 5-thumbs up!!! Organic Lemon - tart tubes, Italian meringue, tarragon gel & raspberriesLove the "tube", love its intense lemon flavor which the tickling effect was amazing!  If you like sour food like me, this is definitely a must try. Souffle with Cacao sorbet - Albinao 85% chocolateI believe it's my problem to handle this chocolate dessert after a full course of meal.  Love the albinao 85% bitter chocolate (always my favorite) and I prefer the souffle to the sorbet. Petits Fours - since I was celebrating my friend's b-day, they put an extra slice of chocolate with her name on...then they gave her an extra box of macaron (the waiter reminded us that it's a different flavor from the petits Fours we got in the tray) as a birthday greeting.  Really sweet & thoughtful... …查看更多

As a pre birthday dinner celebration I was overwhelmed with dining choices- as a fan of the mandarin chain, we finally went with Amber which always proved to please its diners.The decor remains one of my favourite, elegant and chic. We chose the degustation menu for the night. Being the picky eater I am, I informed the restuarant right on the spot of my dislikes for raw seafood to which they were understanding and swift to offer alternative dishes according to my tastes. I was very pleased indeed.We started off with some very pleasing amouse bouches.The wagyu was the best dish of the night, it literally melted in my mouth and had me craving for more. Amber boasts a fantastic cheese selection and are very generous with the servings, I remarked to my fellow diner that I usually have my cheese with grapes and the man serving us picked up on it and offered me a hude bowl of black seedless grapes! The desserts, yes you heard me right desserts! were all very pleasing. The lemon tart was complimented perfectly with its rasberry condiments. The soufflé was perfect. The chocolate was smooth and rich. definitely not to be missed.Overall, beit a rather costly dining experience in my opinion it was worth every penny. The food and service was top notch and most importantly has never slipped on either account. If you are looking for a cosy, elegant non pretentious dining setting Amber or Mandarin Grill comes highly recommended.…查看更多

是日內子生日，特意四處搜尋美食慶祝一番，最後在云云食肆中，揀選了連續數年也榮獲米芝蓮兩星的餐廳Amber。餐廳內環境優雅，簡單以洋燭及鮮花作裝飾，天花上放滿長短不一的銅條，為餐廳多添一份特色及時代感。用餐舒適度方面，二人座位餐桌寬敞舒適，但觀乎彼鄰六人的圓餐桌不比我們大很多，餐廳還是更適合三兩知己用餐談心 甫坐下後先點選餐酒飲料，因要駕車緣固，無緣品嚐一眾美酒佳釀。經店員介紹下，點了兩杯無酒精飲品，分別是Vignette wine country soda rose及Vignette wine country soda chardonnay，兩者皆為有氣梳打特飲，帶着自然清新花果香氣，甜酸有緻，不會奪去美食味道，不失為伴餐上佳推介。接下來是各式麵包，由店員親自端上供挑選。款式有四款，包括意大利橄欖包、長法包、全麥包及全麥脆片。橄欖包泛有清香橄欖味道，配上質優的橄欖油來吃當然是不二之選。長法包外層脆香，全麥包則輕盈鬆軟，味道清簡的麵包最合配上牛油來吃。全麥脆片的亮點當然是那份脆脆口感，咬下脆香有水準。吃過麵包，往後來都是當晚Degustation menu的各式美食。餐單由米芝蓮大廚Richard Ekkebus訂製，內有八道菜，包含多款餐廳推介菜式，定價$1,888+10%一位，多配八款餐酒多加$1,388+10%。價錢當然不便宜，但食物質素絕對有保證。Canapes - amuse bouches餐前小點由廚師發辦，總共有五款精緻小吃。先來的是小巧青瓜粒，食味清爽，並以少許青橄欖作調味。小小青瓜粒上亦可見有裝飾，心思可見一斑。另一小吃是以矮瓜蓉弄製，賣相似在地上的蘑菇，相對上味道不算特別給引。鵝肝珍寶珠是此店之名物，鮮紅的紅莓外層賣相奪目吸引，內裡包裹着鵝肝，質感幼滑如絲。一剛一柔之配搭創意十足，亦有效減少鵝肝那份膩口感覺。同一時間奉上的還有一小棵炸西班牙黑豚肉黃金球，成品熱辣不油膩，黃金外層薄而脆口，內層黑豚肉切碎配上忌廉汁，濃郁味道在口腔內爆發。最後一款餐前小點是以嬌嫩露筍作主要食材的美食，先把嫩綠的露筍切碎，再混入蛋白忌廉泡沫當中，成品白滑美味。Langoustines - charred but kept raw, ricotta in a kyuri cucumber granny smith & jalapene marinade產自大西洋海域的小龍蝦，只輕輕烹煮表面，鎖住當中水份與鮮味，內裡保持原汁原味的新鮮蝦肉，味道十分甜美，口感彈牙，實在沒有甚麼可挑剔的地方。小龍蝦面上放上兩只青瓜卷，以青瓜切絲卷成，內層注滿芝士，同樣是清新濃郁的配搭。菜式周邊淋上青蘋果製成的醬汁，顏色青葱討好，味帶酸香。當中加添少許香葱，在平凡中帶點刺激。Hokkaido sea urchin - in a langoustine jell-O with cauliflower, caviar crispy seaweed waffles另一名物北海道海膽，賣相同樣精緻吸引。以貝殼作盛皿，珍珠色的匙羹，和食材非常匹配。海膽面上放上魚子醬及金箔，亦令菜式多添貴氣。味道方面，魚子醬鹹香濃郁，質感偏向腍身一類。海膽非常甘甜，很久未嚐過這種頂級貨式。以小龍蝦製成的啫厘醬味道同樣鮮甜，更能提升海膽的味道。菜式近底層有一層椰菜花蓉，質感很幼滑，食味同樣出色。Tasmanian salmon - confit & smoked "perthuis" green asparagus, horseradish cream and picked kyuri cucumber慢煮塔斯曼尼亞三文魚，半生熟的魚肉肉質嫩滑，上菜前再以蘋果木煙燻，為食材添加一份清香煙燻味道。在上菜的時候，魚塊仍用滿佈煙燻的玻璃器皿蓋着，以確保煙燻味道能更持久。店員在客人面前打開玻璃蓋，煙燻立刻緩緩溢出，既有視效，亦有臭覺刺激，可謂先聲奪人。伴碟的露筍及青瓜，質優美味，同樣經過細心挑選。Duck foie gras - steamed then char grilled with victoria pineapple raw & charred "pencil" leek young coconut & black pepper gastrique鵝(鴨)肝是法國菜的招牌之一，當然不能不出現吧！鴨肝先經蒸煮，以保嫩滑，再加以炭燒，多添一份香口感覺。實際上成品確是美味，入口柔軟，肝香豐腴。碟旁放上數點椰子蓉，雖和鴨肝的交互作用不算強烈，但味道倒是不錯。碟上另伴上一小件新鮮菠蘿，和鵝肝珍寶珠的紅莓外層一樣，以酸香甜味減卻鴨肝的膩口感。Kagoshima wagyu beef - strip loin; oven roasted, puree of "forgotten" cevennes onion; braised short ribs with seasonal green leaves主菜是來自鹿兒島的和牛，選取牛脊肉，雪花紋理細緻均勻。烤焗致約五成的熟度，肉色粉嫩，切下鬆軟多汁，肉香濃郁，淺嚐一件實在不夠滿足。或許廚師亦了解這一點，在時令綠葉下還隱藏一小塊牛肋肉，以慢火燜製，肉味更濃，肉質紋理一絲絲清晰可見，咬下有質感，同樣美味！法式洋葱甜香有緻，作為伴菜實屬不錯之選。French unpasteurized cheeses - matured by quatre homme吃畢主菜，都差不多是吃甜品時間。甜品來之前先來一芝士車，有十多款芝士供選擇，嗜芝士之士必定雙目發光。不過，對於不太懂吃芝士的我來說，味道太濃烈的芝士實在受不了。在店員推介下，淺嚐了當中四款，名子已不記得了，雖說是輕盈款式，對我來說還是太強了，尤其有一款羊奶芝士，單是氣味而差不多把我香暈了！Organic lemon - tart "tubes", Italian meringue tarragon gel & rasberries刺激過後，總是要調劑調劑，酸香檸檬卷絕對有洗滌味蕾之效。以檸檬忌廉置終酥脆撻皮卷中，甜脆酸滑交融。以蛋白忌廉製成的meringue tarragon gel，品嚐的是那份像棉花糖的口感。紅莓雪葩是當中最酸最醒胃之甜品，吃畢剛好能以最佳狀態品嚐甜度十足的朱古力甜品。Abinao 85% chocolate - soufflé with cacao sorbet上一道甜品以酸為主，這道甜品則以甜為主。朱古力梳乎厘用上高質的Abinao黑朱古力，濃度85%，濃郁度十足。這兒的梳乎厘質感比一般吃的較為鬆身，近邊及面的部份還有入口即溶的感覺，但內心部份則較虛無。旁邊配上朱古力雪葩，同樣朱古力強度十足，但不同的當然是冰凍的感覺。一冷一熱，溫差大，層次享受亦大。Petits fours - coffee, tea & infusionPetits four的亮點是其賣相，以雅緻鐵盒分三層盛載各款甜點。各款甜點一式兩件，小巧甜美最佳用來配上一杯靚咖啡慢慢品嚐。總括來說，Amber食材質佳美味，賣相技巧優越是無容置疑的。作為一間五星酒店的法國餐廳，服務當然也一流。店員數量多，有禮貌，對食材菜式有一定知識，上每道菜亦會略加簡介。因是晚為內子慶祝生日，餐廳最後亦送上一盒macaron作小禮物，做法貼心，值得加許！…查看更多