Disciples Escoffier: Feed the Heart

I received an e-mail in my inbox about a week from one of my ever-favorite chefs, Jaakko. I’m always excited to hear from Jaakko but on opening and reading this particular e-mail, I was pretty much up to ecstatic level. It was an invitation. An invitation to the Disciples Escoffier annual gala dinner.

Now, up until a year ago, I still had not been introduced to Disciples Escoffier. What it is, is an association of chefs and gourmands, first set up in France in 1954 to honor the craft of legendary chef-restaurateur-author, Auguste Escoffier and to celebrate and respect food culture. The “disciples” are a world-renowned association and have a special book, have regular invite-only meet-ups, and have inauguration ceremonies involving colored ribbons and awesome food. It’s all really secret society-esque, which makes it seem all that much cooler. They finally set up a Hong Kong chapter in 2008 and appointed Jaakko as president (well-deserved of course).

So come the night of the dinner, I dressed up, heeled up, and trotted over to the Hyatt Regency, TST, brimming with the excitement of a twelve-year-old on boxing day. Probably even more. I arrived on the dot at 7pm just as the invite had requested, only to realize that 7pm on an invitation really means an hour and a half after 7pm. Duhr me… I obviously don’t go to important social events enough. But after saying a few “hi”s and downing a Kronenbourg 1664, we were politely ushered into the banquet hall. I was pretty much crazily excited by this point. But contained it for the sake of, well… not appearing crazily excited in public.

(fresh crab salad with ginger dressing topped with langoustine carpaccio: THE best)

With proper decorum, the dinner kicked off with a heartwarming welcome speech and an introduction to our chef of the night, Msr. Emile Jung. Chef Jung is a veteran of the culinary world – he received his first Michelin star when he was only 25 (seriously…) and became the youngest chef in French history to win a star. Since then, he has added another Michelin star to his resume, and currently overlooks the kitchen operations at Strasbourg’s Au Crocodile restaurant. Needless to say, having the chance to sample Chef Jung’s dishes was an absolute honor.

After a little more speech-making, etc. etc., the first course arrived. Carpaccio de langoustines et tourteau au gingembre (fresh crab salad with ginger dressing topped with langoustine carpaccio). Perfect. Absolutely perfect. J (my +1 for the evening) and I both agreed that this was probably among one of the best first courses we’ve ever consumed thus far. I could literally smell the freshness of the langoustine before actually tasting it. The seafood has a beautiful creaminess to it that lingered, complementing to a tee with the mild, yet absolutely necessary strips of fried ginger. The result was floral almost. And the strips of pickled carrots helped draw out the flavors of the langoustine even more. Oh my gawd, it was lovely.

(pan-fried foie gras with sauce Bigarade, caramelized apple and deglazed rhubarb)

Course numero uno was definitely a hard act to follow, and course two was a good effort. It was foie de canard poële aux pommes et rhubarbe (pan-fried foie gras de canard with sauce Bigarade, caramelized apple and deglazed rhubarb). The foie gras was cooked well – meltingly creamy on the inside but with a smoky “crust” enrobing it – but the flavor was leaning a little on the bland side. The big surprise turned out to be the smallest thing and it was the pink peppercorns that made all the difference. A bite of foie on its own was alright; a bite of foie with a small peppercorn was a whole new level of flavors.

(lobster poached in court bouillon, golden vermicelli pan-fried in arachide-peanut oil, citrus and pink peppercorn sauce)

By course three, I had decided that whoever supplied the seafood for the dinner have officially become my new favorite people. Homard bleu et vermicelles dores aux baies roses (Atlantic lobster poached in court bouillon, golden vermicelli pan-fried in arachide-peanut oil, citrus and pink peppercorn sauce) was another high. The dish already smelt like a winner on arrival. The lobster was so succulent, taut texture without being tough – it won me over in a bite and I’m usually a pretty big lobster skeptic. The court bouillon was aces – the flavors were spot on – bold without being overly intense. The whole thing was just so completely well-executed.

At this point, we had taken a short food break with the start of the silent “Chef auction.” The main purpose of the auction was to garner $ support for Disciples Escoffier’s main goal – that is, to cultivate young talent in the culinary world. This noble goal has won over the full blessings of Miele, who have volunteered their state-of-the-art cooking center as a location for these private dinners for the auction winners. The auction was a huge success, culminating with the auctioning off of the “Scandanvian mafia” team of association president, Jaakko and secretary general, Oyvind Naesheim (exec chef at NOBU). Cute.

(pan-fried beef tenderloin seasoned with dried orange, crispy potato “Maxim” purée of carrot, turnip, celery and salsify seasoned with ginger)

Our final savory course was the filet de boeuf a l’ecorce d’orange purée de raciness et fève pommes Maxim’s (pan-fried beef tenderloin seasoned with dried orange, crispy potato “Maxim” purée of carrot, turnip, celery and salsify seasoned with ginger). Honestly, this was probably my least favorite dish of the night (sad to say). The beef was perfectly cooked, and a cut-open revealed a beautiful juicy pink on the inside. But I couldn’t taste anything, let alone the orange seasoning. The “crispy” potatoes were thin slices of chewiness… not right. This was the only dish I didn’t get.

But I had little time to linger on the beef course as attention was swiftly drawn back to the stage where the new members’ inauguration ceremony was commencing. It was all so exciting and, more importantly, it was very, very smile-inducing to see so many food enthusiasts being honored. Among the many new members inaugurated that evening was Chef Christopher Mark (chef and partner at the super-awesome Bistecca), Chef Graham Burst (chef at InterCon) and young chef, Wilson Luk (winner of the HK qualifiers for the Youth Hope Asia chef competition). Ribbons were doled out, which was followed by a “knighting” ceremony incolving Jaakko and a large wooden spoon. Awesome.

(SweetPearl desserts)

And perfectly timed, inauguration was followed by dessert. Called “sweet pearl delight,” it was actually three different desserts made from a sugar replacer product known industrially as “SweetPearl.” It tastes no different from normal sugar and is supposedly much healthier for you. But more importantly, it made for an awesome dessert. The fancy fruit roll-up-like situation on the furthest left was an intense burst of tartness melded with sugary sweetness. A jab of the fork into the chocolate block yielded a flow of red raspberry sauce from the center. The sorbet was refreshing and light. No complaints there.

As I was telling J, the whole evening was nothing short of amazing and the whole thing felt like a foodie version of Christmas. There was good company, good wine and good food… what more can you ask for? More importantly though, it was truly great to see all this passion that everyone had for the food industry. The wonderful five-course dinner was more than just a meal; the whole evening was more than just a social culinary event. It was a demonstration of our love and respect for food. It was a reminder of what we still have to do. And that, my friends, feeds the heart as well as the stomach.

To learn more about Disciples Escoffier, visit disciples-escoffier-china.org.

Lobster Bar and Grill: Chef Alexander Ehrgott

I was lucky enough to try Chef Alexander Ehrgott’s food while he was here (back in January - sorry folks), guest-cheffing at Island Shang’s Lobster Bar and Grill. And for a little chef background bio: Chef Ehrgott comes from the famed Schloss Vollrads restaurant in the Schloss Vollrads castle in Germany.

I was so impressed with the refined and clean flavors of chef Ehrgott’s food. The grilled shrimps with white tomato mousse and marinated pepper had the tomatoes’ most intense flavors drawn out, making the humble vegetable even more of a flavor attraction than the prawns. The pea soup with tuna locked in all the essence of the peas, making a bowl of what seemed like pure, pea essence.

(grilled shrimps with white tomato mousse and marinated pepper)

(Pea soup with tuna)

(Mussels)

Needless to say, a wonderful meal.

LOBSTER BAR AND GRILL ($$$/$$$$)
6/F, Island Shangri-La
Pacific Place
88 Queensway
Admiralty
2820-8560
www.shangri-la.com

Caprice: A Cheesy Tuesday

I had the great fortune of meeting Monsieur Jean-Francois Antony when he dropped by town a little while ago for Caprice’s week-of-cheese extravaganza. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Monsieur Jean-Francois, he is the son of legendary French affineur (i.e. “cheesemaker”), Bernard Antony. Monsieur Bernard Antony is an absolute artist in the cheese world, winning over the trust of big names in the food industry, including Alain Ducasse and Pierre Gagnaire. In other words, these are guys who will feed you some good cheese.

(Clockwise, left to right: awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome)

Given the renown of the Antonys, it is not at all surprising that they are very careful with selecting who they supply their cheeses to. And our city’s very own recently-crowned three-Michelin star Caprice restaurant is among one of the exclusive places where you can sample the Antonys’ cheeses. So imagine how excited I was when I was penciled in for a full-out fromage lunch! My heart melted into a puddle of pure happiness already as I walked into the restaurant and saw the wide selection of cheeses on full display by the entrance. So stunning.

Msr. Antony appeared, very charmingly introduced himself and his family’s business and, brought us our first cheese plate with four different cheeses. Sad to say I couldn’t catch the names of the cheeses as I was too busy being enamored by all the delicious flavors. Sooo heartstoppingly amazing.

And after stuffing our faces with all that cheese, Chef Vincent Thierry very thoughtfully whipped up a “palate cleanser” for us, which turned out to be a huge slab of milky soft halibut topped with a crunchy, zesty breadcrumb topping with a very interesting yellow pepper sauce. I was all over the fish and finished it like nobody’s business. I probably shouldn’t have though, to be honest, because we had a second round of cheese to go. Again, another amazing selection of four different cheeses. Plus more wine. Plus more chit chat.

Is it any wonder I love Caprice?*

(EEEEK!!! I LOVE SOFT CHEESES!!!)

(Top right: paired with quince jam = amazing)

*Congratulations on the third Michelin star!

FOOD: 4.75/5
SERVICE: 4.75/5
ATMOSPHERE: 4.75/5

CAPRICE ($$$$$)
Podium 6, Four Seasons Hotel
8 Finance Street
Central
3196-8888

Bo Innovation: The Perks of the Job

Finally, the much-delayed post about a meal so extravagant, it bordered on ridiculousness.

Wednesday, November 4th.

I found myself standing in front of the elevators at the front of J Residence. Anticipating though not really knowing what exactly it was that I was going to get. I had just received a call two days ago telling me that I was invited to try a “mind-blowing” (direct quote) menu at Bo Innovation. I didn’t really catch the name of the event… all I knew was that there would be a big-shot guest chef and that I had still never been to Bo Innovation yet (yes – shameful, I know) and I was being asked to go now. What was there to refuse?

I elevatored up to the second floor and was greeted by smiles behind a large white table out front. Asked for a business card and was handed back a nametag to pin onto my dinner jacket. A quick look around the restaurant – this was definitely not what I had expected. There must have been at least sixty seats set up taking up almost both the inside and outside dining rooms of the restaurant. I took a sip from my glass of sparkling chardonnay and looked at the menu for the night and gulped – I was in store for eighteen courses. No, I didn’t miscount… it was really, eighteen.

(Lobster Congee and abalone jelly)

Well, to be technically correct, it was actually a nine course menu, but each course was to be two dishes – one from Alvin Leung (Bo Innovation’s self-proclaimed “Demon Chef”) and one from guest chef and Australia’s 2008 Chef of the Year, Sean Connelly of Astral and Sean’s Kitchen. And as if that weren’t enough already, there would be one wine to go with each dish. Pressure. We began with an anything-but-frugal sashimi of smoked petrossian scallop, tuna toro, oscietra caviar and soy mirin jelly (Astral) and Chinese hybrid caviar, abalone jelly and lobster congee (Bo). The scallops were really quite amazing but I was taken by the lobster congee. It may not have been absolutely delicious but it was definitely an intriguing dish (in a good way of course). The “congee” had the texture of a thick paste but had an undeniably concentrated congee flavor infused with lobster. I can’t say I could really taste the abalone-ness in the jelly but the texture was a fantastic complement to the other components to the dish and the whole thing was just a beautiful burst of intense flavors on the tongue.

(smoked petrossian scallop, tuna toro, oscietra caviar, soy mirin jelly)

We then moved onto the miso soup, foie gras with quail egg wrapped in gold leaf (Astral) which was definitely one of the winners of the night in my book. The foie gras was so amazingly – delicate and silky smooth; the texture of tofu but the unmistakable earthiness of foie gras. I had a word with Chef Connelly afterwards, who told me the foie gras is added to the soup raw and is poached by the hot soup to give it that wonderful mouthfeel. Genius. And I loved how this little bite of magic was bathed in a comfortingly unfussy miso soup. Needless to say, it overshadowed the foie gras lettuce wrap with white miso Muscat sauce and rice paper (Bo).

(Miso soup, foie gras, gold quail egg)

(Foie gras lettuce wrap white miso muscat sauce rice paper)

But all eyes were drawn to course three: hunter valley snails with XO sauce and snail caviar (Astral) and Sichuan snails and watermelon (Bo). Come on, I’ve NEVER had snail caviar before… I didn’t even know snails had caviar! So forgive me if I was a little excited to try this. Well, turns out, snail caviar are just little tasteless white blobs. Urmm… I guess I’ll just stick with non-snail caviar from now on.

(Hunter valley snails with XO sauce and snail caviar)

(Sichuan snails with watermelon)

Crustaceans took over next with a hairy crab soufflé with marinated star fruit, pimm’s and pomelo jelly and aged Chinkiang vinegar (Bo). I liked the fact that I could eat hairy crab sans the messy dissecting process but I couldn’t stop thinking that the dish tasted an awful lot like prawn crackers. I mean, that’s not a bad thing – I LOVE prawn crackers, after all – I just don’t think it was what Alvin was shooting for. As for Chef Connelly, he won the table over with his signature lobster and foie gras burger (Astral). This three-bite burger was l-o-v-e-ly, especially with the sweet hoisin sauce the chef added for a bit of Hong Kong kick.

(Hairy crab souffle, marinated star fruit, pimm's and pomelo jelly)

(Lobster and foie gras burger)

A much-needed interlude palate cleanser arrived in the form of a nitro ginger tea ball. Well, to be honest, this was the “wow” thing a long time back already so I wasn’t exactly “ooh”-ing at the liquid nitrogen trick. Buuuuuut, I WAS “ooh”-ing over the following venison course. The venison steak tartare was delish, along with a duck fat chip and fried ginger, chili, garlic and shallots (Astral). And Alvin’s dish was even better than that, in my opinion. The braised venison with preserved kumquat and fruity red rice (Bo) was just a great combo of flavors. The fruity tang was distinct but still subtle, a little playful on the tongue even. And I loved how the rice had a bit of bite – a perfect complement to the fork-tender venison.

(Braised venison with preserved kumquat and fruity red rice)

(Venison tartare, ginger, chili, garlic, shallot, duck fat chip)

I was pretty much way past full already but soldiered on with course six. The kangaroo “xiao long bao” beetroot “skippy” sauce (Bo) was, sad to say, my least favorite of the night. The xiao long bao was a tad dry for my taste, with none of that lovely soupy inside famous of the XLB. The kangaroo with Sichuan pepper crust and truffled pomme puree (Astral) was better but didn’t really blow me away. Maybe I just don’t like kangaroo meat?

(Kangaroo, Sichuan pepper crust, truffled pomme puree)

Well the next two courses definitely brought it back up again, with a wagyu beef vegemite “ho fun” (Bo) and a wagyu scotch fillet, sea urchin wasabi butter and shitake mushrooms (Astral). Ah, I LOVED the Astral dish. The wagyu was tender and juicy but my absolute favorite part was the wasabi butter. So subtle yet adding a wonderful edge to the dish. And it worked so well with the flecks of sea salt. SO GOOD.

(Wagyu scotch fillet, sea urchin wasabi butter, shitake mushrooms)

Well, there were supposed to be four more dishes and four more wines to go but, sad to say, my eating capacity failed me and I had to finally say “enough.” I had eaten probably a week’s worth of food and really had zero stomach space left for dessert, as much as I wanted it. But it was truly such an amazing experience. The atmosphere was friendly, the service was absolutely topnotch (I was really very impressed with the whole team at Bo Innovation. Massive props to them), and the food? Awesome. Thanks so much to Tourism New South Wales for organizing such an amazing event and thanks to Chef Alvin and Sean for this “flight of gastronomy and wine discovery.”

And at 1am, I finally made my way back home.

Bo Innovation ($$$$$)
2/F J Residence
60 Johnston Road
Wan Chai
2850-8371
www.boinnovation.com