[Hong Kong] Birthday Dinner at 2* Arbor

Arbor has been one of my favorite restaurants since its opening 2 years ago and with its recent elevation to 2 Michelin Stars, it was time for a revisit so I decided to celebrate my birthday there this year! We had a customized menu by Chef Eric Raty and our dinner started with a wonderful Hotaru Ika with akazu vinegar rice served like sushi - Chef Eric even showed us the hangiri (wooden sushi rice bowl) where he made the shari. I have to say that the shari was pretty good and comparable to the ones I've had in Japan.

Then we had a Matcha Dashi Soup to drink before the next dish - Awabi (abalone) pressed in kombu and served with brown butter, white asparagus, and seaweed.

Followed by one of my favorites of the meal - Foie Gras Chawanmushi with Fuji apple, hazelnuts, and Sauternes. The layers of flavor and texture were exquisite and complex at the same time - the end result was very well-balanced and heavenly to taste!

Next up was my favorite dish of the night - Icelandic Langoustine which had been lightly warmed up on grill, topped with homemade XO sauce, and served with an emulsion of XO sauce and Hokkaido sea urchin. The balance of the spiciness of the XO sauce and sweetness of the sea urchin was simply impeccable! Paired with a delicious tempura of sakura shrimp with langoustine mayo and sea urchin on the side.

Followed by the Butterfish from Kyushu served with sourdough sauce (emulsion of raw sourdough, burnt sourdough and dashi - apparently Chef Eric's favorite flavor), umeboshi, hollandaise sauce, and artichoke.

A refreshing palate cleanser of kinkan before our next dish.

The last savory dish was the French Pigeon Breast topped with buckwheat & pistachio, and served with Brussels sprouts, pumpkin seeds, and pigeon jus with Foie Gras and Hojicha. On the side, roasted pigeon leg and Japanese pickles were provided to complete the dish. The flavors were a little bit off for me as the toppings on the pigeon breast made it too sweet while the pigeon leg was perfection.

I always look forward to the desserts here since Chef Eric used to be a pastry chef as well! Our sweet endings - Strawberry with rhubarb and sake, and Chocobushi (inspired by the concept of katsuobushi!) with caramel pudding.

Arbor

25/F, H Queen's

80 Queen's Road East, Central

Tel: +852 3185 8388
http://www.arbor-hk.com/

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