Amber (Hong Kong)

Amber
The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel 7/F
11-19A Queen’s Road Central
Hong Kong
Dining date: 2/15/18

Amber is a two Michelin starred restaurant at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental. Currently ranked #24 in the world’s 50 best restaurants list, it’s one of the most highly-regarded Western restaurants in Hong Kong. Here, chef Richard Ekkebus cooks modern French cuisine incorporating plenty of seasonal Asian ingredients. Given the vast majority of my meals in town have been Chinese, I elected to have one non-Asian lunch.

The restaurant offers a weekday lunch set menu of 3 of 4 courses (USD $76, $125), as well as a lunch degustation menu of 4 or 6 courses ($164, $189). The items on the degustation menu sounded much more interesting, so I opted for the 4-courser.

About a half dozen small bites began the meal.

beetroot with sourdough crisps

celeriac with black bean

lemon meringue with lemon curd

onion with guinness

artichoke with artichoke cream

egg custard with nori

freshly baked bread salted and unsalted butter

Next, we finally moved into the “first” course of lunch.

langoustine minced over aerated aka uni, schrenki caviar, poached kagoshima bamboo pit & granny smith fricassée

kamchatka red king crab merus leg ‘a la plancha’, ginger emulsion, seabuckthorn purée in homemade crab soy with radishes, pickled turnip & ice plants

hakoo farm miyazaki wagyu beef & hokuto maitake; grilled over binchotan with pickled shimeji, black fermented garlic & sherry vinegar condiment

caramelized milk chocolate ‘caramelatte’ play of textures with cacao sorbet, praline dust, caramelized almonds, salted caramel & kalamansi

petit fours

The meal at Amber was excellent – it may have been the best overall meal of this trip. The execution of the food was on point and service was consistently strong. The langoustine topped with sea urchin and caviar was as good as it sounded featuring clean, sweet sea flavors that really went well together. King crab was brightened by pickled radish and turnip, and enhanced by a savory soy sauce made with crab shell itself. And the A5 wagyu was a highlight, complemented by earthy mushrooms and black garlic. I don’t really crave Western cuisine while in Hong Kong, but I would return here.