Chez Patrick Restaurant
26 Peel Street, Central
http://www.chezpatrick.hk/
24 February 2012, Lunch (Restaurant Week HK)
$290 per head
Chez Patrick is one of those places where I have passed by and wondered how it's like, but never really entered to try. Its elegantly designed front gives a welcoming feel but also suggests its not-so-low price. It's location right next to the market on Gage Street is by no means conventional, but one can be assured that it is quiet in the restaurant.
We locusts finally decided to try the Restaurant as part of our Crazy Eating Week, and visited on this suddenly-rainy day, having forgotten to bring our umbrellas...
Being distracted heavily by the very nicely plated amuse bouche (glimpse of that in the background - I've unfortunately screwed up all the photos of that...), I really didn't have much recollection of how that bread & butter tasted like. Except that the bread was served warm, butter was room temperature-ish, and that neither was as good as the combination I had a few days ago: Mandarin Oriental Mini Baguette and Le Gall Beurre de Baratte Demi-Sel (recommended to me by Miss M!).
Terrine de campagne traditionnel de porc, petite salade, et marmelade d'oignons aux abricost
Filet de Sole en ballottine de courgette, tomates confites, Poutargue et creme d'ail douce - a.k.a. Angry Bird Face according to the Manager!
In good old English, that's Rolled Sole Fillet with Zucchini, comfit tomato and Poutargue, creamy garlic sauce. The sole fillet was nicely cooked, although it being rolled means the meat was a bit stiffer and more gelatinous than I usually like it. The zucchini and tomato cut through the richness of the fish to balance the flavours rather nicely. Being not very well-versed in French cooking, I had no idea whatsoever of what that red dome was - except that it was exquisite and tasted very nice.
That said... for me this fish isn't as good as the one we had at Amber... or Robuchon a Galara... Those were of course cooked differently but I feel that this lacks the juiciness and tenderness the other two offered.
Aumônière Croustillante de Brie au truffe Noire, Pommes, Petite Salade Mélangée
i.e. Warm Brie Cheese, apple and Black Truffle in crispy parcel, Mixed Salad. This was definitely a very interesting dessert, although being the 10-years-old that I am I felt that it is more like a starter since it was savoury instead of sweet (yes I like desserts and sweet stuff!). That said, the crispy parcel was really very crispy indeed and combined with the unknown sauce provided a very interesting taste. The brie and apple worked surprisingly well with the truffle and was certainly an interesting experience for me. Couldn't really say I liked it though. I still want something sweeeeeet for dessert...
Ile Flottante caramélisée dans un coulis de mangue et menthe fraiches
Such as this "Caramelized Floating Island, Fresh Mango and Mint coulis" Locust Tunghok ordered. The meringue was very light and fluffy and worked well witht the mango and mint coulis. I have to confess I didn't really realise there's mint in there without referring to the menu though... I really should have picked this one...
Overall a very satisfactory meal and for $290 per head, worth its money too (this is actually cheaper than bloody Craftsteak), especially given the fine service of the manager and comfy environment. In fact, this is one of the aspects that I think some of the other restaurants I ate at during Restaurant Week should learn. Throughout lunch service, there were only two waitstaff, one being the manager, serving some 10 tables. Somehow they managed to serve all of us just fine, and along with Chef Patrick socialised with the guests, recommended dishes (yes, they knew what they were serving quite well), made the rather mediocre coffee for us and all the while being quite humourous.
Whilst that shouldn't be anything special in a decent restaurant, it certainly felt that way after a team of ~8 consistently blanking me at Craftsteak just the day before...
Oh and I've overheard that this location will be closing soon, to be moved to somewhere in Wan Chai. So better check their website before visiting!
Summary (rated 1-5):
Food: (3.5/5) Food was rather nice, but not quite "wow this is good!!" nice.
Service: (4.5/5) Very friendly and knowledgeable staff.
Environment: (4/5) A shame we had to find our way through the wet market to find this place.
Big Locust's Recommendation: (4/5) Worth Visiting.
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