Impeccable French @ L'ATELIER de Joël Robuchon, Hong Kong

Hubby had his birthday recently, turning yet another year older and wiser. He celebrated all weekend long, with his friends on Friday night, with me on Saturday night and then with the kids on Sunday. His aunt and uncle also took us out for an amazing night out the following Saturday, so I could say that he celebrated his birthday for over one week! For our dinner date, he requested our favourite French restaurant, L'ATELIER de Joël Robuchon. We've been here so many times, and the experience never fails to impress. It remains our favourite L'ATELIER out of the three we've been to (yes, even more than the Paris one!). Hubby went for the Menu Découverte (Discovery Menu, HK$2080) which contained no less than 8 courses. I ordered two dishes, and we shared everything.

First time sitting on this side of the bar in the five years we've dined at this restaurant:

The Orange Moon Cocktail (HK$150) was so delicious and so easy to drink:

Amuse Bouche of fried shrimp and gazpacho with an avocado cream:

First course of Menu Découverte: King crab and avocado cannelloni with Imperial caviar:

Burrata cheese with avocado slices and spicy tomato coulis (HK$290). Delicious!

Second course of Menu Découverte: White asparagus with sea urchin:

Third course of Menu Découverte: Pan-fried duck foie gras with cherry confit and crunchy almonds:

Spiced eggplant confit (HK$240) with curry flavored vegetable puree. This was tasty for a vegetarian dish, but not one of the best dishes that night:

Fourth course of Menu Découverte: Fine scampi bouillon with petit raviolis and green peas, just before the bouillon was poured on:

The scampi bouillon was my favourite dish out of the Menu Découverte. It was vibrant with the flavours of the sea, and the scampi was so fresh and juicy and tasty:

Fifth course of Menu Découverte: Crispy amadai fillet with carrot mousse and lemongrass emulsion. Beautifully presented,
and tasted great, but I felt this was the most ordinary dish out of the eight courses:

Sixth course of Menu Découverte: Free-range quail with foie gras, served with mashed potato. This sounded ordinary, but it was amazing. The quail was juicy and tender, perfectly matched with the famous mashed potato that was generously topped with shavings of black truffle:

First dessert of Menu Découverte. At this stage I was a little distracted with the birthday singing that happened with the serving of dessert, and I can't remember exactly what this dessert was. Only that it was not too heavy, the perfect way to end an 8-course meal:

Second dessert of the Menu Découverte was a boozy one that hubby really enjoyed:

Not pictured are the fantastic bread basket served at the beginning and the delicious petit fours at the end. And the delicious complimentary cake that is always given to the ladies at the end of the meal to take home. L'ATELIER remains a good and reliable choice for special occasions.

[The prices above do not include the 10% service charge.]

L'ATELIER de Joël Robuchon
Shop 315 & 401
The Landmark
15 Queen's Road Central
Central
Hong Kong
Tel. +85 2 2166 9000
Online reservations available at Robuchon's website