For this entry, my wife and I went to Pierre at the Mandarin Oriental hotel on Tuesday night to celebrate two months of wedded bliss. This restaurant is on the 25th floor of the hotel and has views overlooking the harbour as well as neighbouring skyscrapers.
Upon entering the restaurant our coats were taken and we were shown to our seats, which were very comfortable corner type ones that had lovely pillows as our back support. Almost immediately a waiter approached us to ask if we wanted any champagne from their selection of six bottles. We declined but went for some cocktails as our aperitifs.
I chose Blood and Sand as my drink. This comprised of Scotch and vermouth but with the fruit juices it was a refreshing cocktail. My wife had a cutely named Tuberose for her drink, which was Gin based cocktail.
For food I went a la carte and ordered 'Sea' then 'Farm Hen'. There was a little bit of confusion and embarrassment on my part when ordering the food. The menu is split into different headings e.g. Sea, depending in the type of food. Under it are names of various dishes of that type, which I thought were all separate dishes. It turns out that the separate elements form your whole order.
Prior to our starters we were served with the amuse-bouche. Small flavoursome bites on an oversized plate to get the tastebuds tingling. From what I recall there was beef carpaccio and duck terrine amongst others. We were also given a separate bread basket each, and there was normal butter and a honey and chilli flavoured one, which the latter had quick a kick to it.
My starter arrived and it comprised of four dishes. Abalone was the largest serving, which were in delicious, chewy thin slices, almost like mushrooms that was accompanied with bacon and duck liver, with a slice of tuna to the side. The other three dishes have not been captured on film. The second dish was a single Oyster was fresh and the ginger sauce was a nice accompaniment with the small button mushrooms. The third part was a small egg-cup of Crab Meat and Seaweed Jelly, which I thought was a bit bland. Mussel with leek was the fourth dish, which again was a small dish and nice but not remarkable.
The main course was in three parts. Chicken breast (above) was the main part. It had been soaked in wine which to me made it a bit bitter, the curry sauce seemed very light and parsley garnish did not work for me. The Grapefruit salad and chicken portions worked well with each other, but again a small portion. Macaroni was nicest part I thought, with the pasta being well cooked in a creamy mushroom casserole.
I chose not to go for a dessert so instead I was given Petits Four of which there were five little treats to eat and a spoonful of sorbet to clean the palette. They wrote a nice message on the edge of the to commemorate the occasion.
My wife went for the four course tasting menu. It consisted of Lobster Salad and Artichoke for the first two courses, and Venison as the main, third course. The fourth course was Grand Dessert, so I sampled some of the four desserts that were on offer, which included a Bailey's mouse with sorbet; wild strawberry jelly, bitter chocolate pudding and the ice cream shown below. All of which were delightful and a lovely way to finish off our meals.
Service was attentive but discreet enough so as not to disturb us all the time. They described each dish to us when served and lifted the metal spherical covers simultaneously for our main courses, which is something I enjoy watching. When we left they gave us a parting gift in the form of a nice pastry, which was kind of them. The only negative was that they forgot to unravel the napkins and place them on our laps.
As with most Michelin starred restaurants (Pierre has two), this place is not cheap and I would say Caprice is still my favourite but overall, this is an excellent fine dining restaurant!
Scores
Food: 4/5
Presentation: 5/5
Service: 4/5
Setting: 5/5
Overall: 18/20
Bill: Over £100 a head, including drinks.
I ate: 'Sea', which was 1)Abalone/bacon/roasted duck liver; toast with tuna and tender apricot soaked with Mirin; 2) Plain crab meat, seaweed jelly; 3) Iced oysters in a fresh ginger juice with button mushrooms and 4)Bouchot mussels with leek.
I drank: The cocktail noted above and San Pellegrino sparkling water.
I wore: shirt and tie as it was a work day, but accessorised by cufflinks bearing my wife's name.
Upon entering the restaurant our coats were taken and we were shown to our seats, which were very comfortable corner type ones that had lovely pillows as our back support. Almost immediately a waiter approached us to ask if we wanted any champagne from their selection of six bottles. We declined but went for some cocktails as our aperitifs.
 |
| From left: Tuberose and Blood & Sand Cocktails |
For food I went a la carte and ordered 'Sea' then 'Farm Hen'. There was a little bit of confusion and embarrassment on my part when ordering the food. The menu is split into different headings e.g. Sea, depending in the type of food. Under it are names of various dishes of that type, which I thought were all separate dishes. It turns out that the separate elements form your whole order.
 |
| Amuse-bouche, with Bread in the background |
Prior to our starters we were served with the amuse-bouche. Small flavoursome bites on an oversized plate to get the tastebuds tingling. From what I recall there was beef carpaccio and duck terrine amongst others. We were also given a separate bread basket each, and there was normal butter and a honey and chilli flavoured one, which the latter had quick a kick to it.
 |
| Abalone and Tuna to the side |
My starter arrived and it comprised of four dishes. Abalone was the largest serving, which were in delicious, chewy thin slices, almost like mushrooms that was accompanied with bacon and duck liver, with a slice of tuna to the side. The other three dishes have not been captured on film. The second dish was a single Oyster was fresh and the ginger sauce was a nice accompaniment with the small button mushrooms. The third part was a small egg-cup of Crab Meat and Seaweed Jelly, which I thought was a bit bland. Mussel with leek was the fourth dish, which again was a small dish and nice but not remarkable.
 |
| Chicken Breast with light curry sauce |
 |
| Macaroni |
 |
| Chicken and Grapefruit Salad |
 |
| Petit Four |
 |
| Ice Cream |
Service was attentive but discreet enough so as not to disturb us all the time. They described each dish to us when served and lifted the metal spherical covers simultaneously for our main courses, which is something I enjoy watching. When we left they gave us a parting gift in the form of a nice pastry, which was kind of them. The only negative was that they forgot to unravel the napkins and place them on our laps.
 |
| Table setting |
As with most Michelin starred restaurants (Pierre has two), this place is not cheap and I would say Caprice is still my favourite but overall, this is an excellent fine dining restaurant!
Scores
Food: 4/5
Presentation: 5/5
Service: 4/5
Setting: 5/5
Overall: 18/20
Bill: Over £100 a head, including drinks.
I ate: 'Sea', which was 1)Abalone/bacon/roasted duck liver; toast with tuna and tender apricot soaked with Mirin; 2) Plain crab meat, seaweed jelly; 3) Iced oysters in a fresh ginger juice with button mushrooms and 4)Bouchot mussels with leek.
'Farm Hen', which comprised of 1)“Patis” breast of farm hen macerated with fresh herbs and Sauternes wine. Roasted and then served on a creamy curry sauce, slow-simmered endives with avocado; 2)Macaroni pasta and wild mushrooms casserole and 3) Thigh in aspic, thai grapefruit salad with watercress.
I drank: The cocktail noted above and San Pellegrino sparkling water.
I wore: shirt and tie as it was a work day, but accessorised by cufflinks bearing my wife's name.
No comments:
Post a Comment