Mandarin Grill

 It has been a while since I last posted.... so I have chosen to begin with my latest blog-worthy restaurant visit, the Mandarin Grill at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. I've been dying to try this place for some time and am happy to report the food was no less than delectable and the meal in itself was  fun to watch it being presented and of course, eat!

bread basket

Shortly after ordering, we were given a basket full of warm assorted bread rolls; the brioche was my favorite, and close to that was the squid ink roll, which was pillowy soft on the inside and a slightly chewy exterior.

To go with the bread, we were presented with a few kinds of olive oils to choose from. On its own, I preferred the French one; but it was still lacking in something. I asked for some flaky sea salt and it instantly brought out the flavours, so do try!

olive spheres

Spherical of olives - i.e. the outer membrane was 'set' in solution to encase the olive juices. these were made to resemble and taste like olives but in a very different form.

basil cookie with parmesan cheese on top

This cookie sort of melts in your mouth as it is very short and the finely grated cheese on top compliments the basil in the cookie very well. One of the better savoury cookies I've had. 

 

lobster & ginger mayo in cone

Fresh lobster on mayo, in a crispy crepe-like cone. Delish. 

"Prawn" ($268)

Raw botan prawns with frozen cocktail powder, iceberg lettuce, cucumber sauce and black croutons.

Prawns were juicy and sweet, the frozen cocktail dressing was in powder form and quickly melted into a pool of sauce - most intriguing! Very well thought-out and tasty dish.

"Langoustine" ($328)

Scottish langoustine with seaweed powder, dehydrated gnocchi and crustacean foam. 

The langoustines were raw, and were given a boost of crustacean awesomeness from the foam on top. The gnocchi came in dehydrated form so it was like croutons and the seaweed powder on the plate was pretty although did not add much flavour as it stuck to the plate... 

"Garden" Vegetable ($168)

With assorted organic veggies, from micro carrots and radishes to crunchy lettuces, potato cubes, spinach leaves and edible flowers, all shooting out of a cress mash (it wasn't very sightly but tasted delicious!) and edible soil. The cress "mash" underneath holding everything together was actually very filling and the vegetables were very 'clean' except the micro radishes which were too bitter for me.

 

 

"lobster bisque" ($168)

With Cognac and cream, the soup was rich with the taste of lobster, and the alcohol evaporated sufficiently not to leave a strong after-taste. The cream is not apparent in the soup but only the dollop on top which meant the lobster flavours could shine through.

"Cod" ($468)

 Atlantic cod pan-fried with seaweed and seaweed puree, sea beans, fennel and dashi spheres encapsulating baby mussels. The first thing that came to mind was how much it reminded me of a seabed. If you manage to spot the large black cubes in this picture they are the fish, simply coated in black tea powder before being pan-fried. The tea powder surprisingly did not add any flavour to the perfectly cooked fish, but rather the seaweed did. The dashi spheres and fennel also added umami. On the whole a little on the fishy side perhaps because of the rich kombu flavour in the dashi...

"Pork" ($478)

Organic suckling pig with bed of potatoes and cabbage stew on the side.

Pork served on top of crushed potatoes; in front are some potato batons that have been crusted with black powder.

The pork meat underneath the crackling was incredibly moist and tender...hardly any chewing needed. Nicely seasoned, mustard on the side isn't necessary at all. The black batons are basically potato matches crusted in a black coating. The smoke effect on the first pictures above lasted rather short as the pork was re-plated very shortly after being presented...

"Lamb" ($498)

Tenderloin, rib, sirloin and shoulder, served with a stew of onions potatoes and peas (pictured below). 

 

"Lobster" ($618)

Brittany lobster with beetroot (natural, chip and powder form), fennel sauce, and a side dish of risotto (photographed below) which was very buttery...

A touch undercooked and too hard, incomparable to the one we had at Amber.

"Champagne" ($158)

Very pretty dessert indeed, and the champagne flavours are in-your-face. Firstly, theres the "cork" which is a champagne sorbet, then there's champagne foam, champagne jelly, and the "bottle" is a peach-flavoured cake with sugar Krug champagne label. Get a bit of everything in one bite and you won't get hit in the head with champagne. For champagne-lovers, this will definitely please.

close up of the bottle

"strawberry" ($158)

 Made to look like it came straight from the fields/farm. There's one real strawberry, and the others are simply crafted to look like the real thing, from ice cream and cake. The dollop of white cream on the left is cottage cheese ice cream which was wonderfully tangy and great on its own or with the strawberry.... Hmmm reminded me of a strawberry shake. In the center there is of course, some 'root' and 'soil' made from no less than chocolate and cookie crumbs. This dessert was equally fun to eat and I preferred this over the champagne dessert.

Petit fours: "Truffles"

 These were truffles alright, made to look like the black perigord truffle from the fungus family, served on a 'wooden board'. That is until you taste it, you realise what you're eating is actually a very rich dark chocolate truffle with a very apparent black truffle flavour. It was definitely my first time having truffles in a sweet chocolate dessert, but my brother and I came to enjoy it. The wooden board is made from chocolate and wholly edible - impressive huh? 

Although I was disappointed that I couldn't try the chef's tasting menus since they don't do them on Sundays, I was sufficiently stuffed after the four courses, amuse bouches and bread! Very adventurous and fun meal, with many elements though everything always in sync with the main event. The waiters are informed and happy to explain (although too hurriedly at times) everything. If you can't catch them, guess and be surprised!

Food: ♥♥♥♥ - ♥♥♥♥♥ 

Service: ♥♥♥♥

Price: $$$$$$

Mandarin Grill

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 

5 Connaught Road, 

Central, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2825 4004