Amber

Amber @ Mandarin Oriental 

A couple weeks back it was my brother's birthday and Amber was where we decided to celebrate. We went for Sunday brunch but not feeling like having any wine some of us opted for the juice pairing and some without. 

from the bread basket - baguette, olive foccacia
Both items were great, though my favourite was actually the rye (not pictured), very thinly sliced and toasted until crisp, with a generous smear of that lovely French butter. Even non-butter-spreaders (if there is such thing) will learn to love the exquisite salted butter (picture below) they serve here!

salted french butter

Amuse Bouche 1: Foie Gras Lollipops
I've heard about this amuse bouche for a while and a few of my friends do rave about it, though I could not understand why. Yes, it does melt in your mouth. Yes, its fun. But no, it is not particularly tasty nor memorable - at least not for any one on our table.

Amuse 2: Deep-fried meat ball
We were warned that this would be hot and there would be some juices squirting out of it. But nothing else. After eating it, there was definitely a mustard-pork juice inside the thinly crusted meat ball. This was the best amuse from the three. 

Amuse 3: tomato and burrata cheese with pickle jelly
For me the pickle-flavoured jelly was far to sour and I did not enjoy it at all. The tomatoes were great - a shame it was basically covered by the jelly. 

Sea Urchin
One of the appetisers was this beauty - very fresh sea urchin with lobster jelly and cauliflower cream, to be enjoyed with the house-made seaweed crackers (below). 

Seaweed Crackers
The white ones were much like indonesian prawn-crackers texture-wise, and had good seaweed flavour. The thinner dark green ones lacked crispiness and taste and wasn't as enjoyable in comparison. 

Spring Vegetables
This medley of organic greens consisted of cooked and raw items, served with a generous sprinkle of manni olive oil. The sauteed cep mushrooms were to die for - strong and earthy. There were also radishes, cooked turnips, cucumbers, micro-greens, carrots.

Fava bean puree
When the above spring vegetables were devoured, the waiter came to take off the plate and revealed a lower layer of this fava bean puree topped with mint jelly and served with a squirt of cucumber foam. Personally, I thought losing the mint layer would make the dish better - it tasted far too 'healthy' and cooling with the mint!

Mushroom risotto
Best. Risotto. Ever. I would turn vegetarian for this (minus the bacon element anyway). Alongside the perfectly cooked rice grains were cep mushrooms, pearl onions, smoked bacon and parmiggiano reggiano. Comfort food at its best, although it reminded me more of a winter dish rather than something served when its 30 degrees celsius outside. 

Pollock on minestrone
Fillet of pollock was perfectly cooked, and the light minestrone underneath was very tasty and vegetables very fresh. The croutons I guess made up for the non-crispy skin, although I didn't miss it. 

Oxtail ravioli
Honestly this oxtail ravioli is about as perfect as one can hope. One large al-dente dumpling was filled with tender oxtail meat and the demi-glace sauce poured table-side was wonderfully meaty and rich. The greens on top added textural contrast. Everything worked so well together I could not find fault at all.

Chicken, Langoustine
Another main that impressed greatly was this breast of chicken with a layer of steamed egg and gelatinised sauce as the 'skin', served with a piece of langoustine with crispy chicken skin on the side and some greens. Very genious indeed. The breast was moist and just cooked - I suspect it was sous-vide and cooked in a water bath because the meat's texture was of the kind that required little jaw muscle - super-tender and the chicken's natural flavour was very present. The egg and golden brown sauce replaced the 'skin' of the breast meat - slow-cooking the skin gives you pale and unpleasant chicken skin, so instead it was used to give a crunch to the langoustine next door. Again, I struggled to find any fault. 

Dessert 1: Green Apple
Green apple sorbet with green apple batons, lime coulis and wild strawberries which were tiny and sweet. The dessert was a very refreshing, almost palate-cleansing course.

Dessert 2: Strawberries, Green Tea ice cream, Strawberry Jelly and Coconut Panna Cotta
The green tea ice cream I wish was a little stronger in that lovely bitterness and scent of tea. The coconut panna cotta was good in texture but personally I didn't like the combination of berries coconut and green tea in the same dessert. There was a plain cookie on top for a nice crunch. 

a top view of the panna cotta dessert - look at those miniature strawberries!

Dessert 3: Hazelnut chocolate cake with hazelnut chocolate ice cream
Definitely the winner amongst the three, this rich hazelnut chocolate torte was paired with a hazelnut chocolate ice cream. The torte had a base of feuilletine for that crispy crunch. Although the flavours here were very much monotone I appreciated the contrasting textures and the good balance of sweetness.

Box of petit fours
By the time we received this box I was way too full to sample everything. I had a macaron and the lemon tart (on top) - the lemon tart was definitely the winner of the two. 

Cappuccino
to round up our meal, a cup of cappuccino, though this was too milky for my liking - a latte really. 


For the option of the juice pairing, there was four glasses - watermelon first, then carrot-apple, blood orange and lemon-pineapple. 

For flavour and execution of the dishes, Amber is hands-down a must-visit if you're looking for a fine-dining experience. Our Sunday lunch was great and our Maitre D' was friendly yet knowledgeable about the menu and took care to explain everything we were served (although I may not have been all-ears at all times!). Aside from the amuse bouches, I could not find fault, save except for the waitress serving all four glasses of juices within the first couple courses, and none were even finished before the next arrived!

Food: ♥♥♥♥♥ (not counting the amuse bouches)

Service: ♥♥♥♥

Price: $$$$$$ (For 6-course lunch alone, around $600)

Amber

7/F, Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 

15 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2132 0066