Back in the Saddle Again: Dinner at Spoon Hong Kong

It seems like only yesterday, and yet here I am in the People's Republic once again. It's a little scary how much quicker the flight goes by each time. I barely had time to watch half a season of Alias, eat 2 meals, and get a couple of hours of sleep before we were getting ready to land. It feels so routine now. Having spent almost 5 weeks here in the last 7 months, it has become (not so much to the liking of my family) a home away from home.

Oh, please wait a moment (Qing dang yihuir) - someone's knocking on the door. I bet it's my iron. (yeah, I tried asking again in Mandarin). Let's see what I am getting here...

Booooyaaah! I'm so good. This one is even free of cracks and leaks. I will no longer be forced to scare the Chinese with my wrinkled trousers. I can't say the same of my butchery of the language however.

This trip, I was fortunate to have a night in Hong Kong on the way in - this time with a colleague who shares my interest for culture and unique experiences. We had dinner at the acclaimed Spoon restaurant created by uber-star chef Alain Ducasse. It is a blessing and a curse when a restaurant has a reputation like this - the bar is set pretty high. The dining room was located in prime realty with full window views of Victoria Harbor and the skyline on Hong Kong Island. This, by the way, is reason enough to stay on the Kowloon side - a truly fantastic view! The decor was a tastful modern art motif, with blown glass spoons covering the ceiling and an open kitchen to let the guests see the action.

Decor is all well and good, but let's face it - we came for the food. Upon sitting down, we were greeted with a small cup of delicately seasoned, lightly seared tuna over romain lettuce. Now that's a classy welcome gift! Freshly baked mini bread loaves went down too easy as well. We opted for a surprise and ordered the appetizer tasting sampler - the chef's choice of some of the more popular items. We ended up with 4 interesting items.

1. Duo of soups featuring a cold gazpacho and a rich consomme. The gazpacho was mostly smooth, but the blender was stopped in time to leave a bit of texture. A subtle spiciness lingered in the background.
2. Uni (sea urchin) custard with crab. I bet if I didn't tell you, you would think this was made with some tropical fruit. Give uni a chance!
3. Lobster salad with mango, bitter squash, avocado and mint salsa.
4. Steamed foie gras with a fruity soy-ginger sauce. This was the first time I really had foie gras (besides the canned stuff that tastes like cat food *bleck!* and the dried shavings I had at Bo Innovation). The texture was so soft and silky, it was almost like a mousse. The sauce was a perfect compliment, but I struggle to describe what the taste was like. I always feared that a strong liver flavor would overpower any goodness (yes, I am a liver haytah), but there was no hint of this at all. Final verdict: Enjoyable and delicious, but doesn't quite live up to the hype. There are many things I would rather eat like...

My entree was Wagyu rib steak with rosemary jus, potatos, and romain lettuce. Yes, that's the same Wagyu breed of cattle that are raised as 'Kobe beef' in Japan. This particular specimin came from Australia. Perfectly medium rare, the deep beef flavor exploded in my mouth. If you've never had the chance to try Wagyu beef, I will issue a word of caution. Once you have savored it's succulence, you will be ruined for life.

Mark had the pistacio crusted Chilean seabass which was also outstanding - such a delicate and moist preparation of the fish that left all the robustness of its' signature flavor intact.

I enjoyed every bite of this meal, and was surprised by a few new tastes, but ultimately, I have to say that I was not blown away. In this case, the curse of great expectations had won out. I will always remember the dinner I had last night, but I probably will not eat at Spoon again. There are simply too many great places to try here.

Just a part of the stunning Hong Kong skyline

Spoon me up a few starters

Mmmmm... Wagyu beef.... ....... Sorry, spaced out there for a minute

Perfect Seabass