HK Private Kitchen: Marron
NL & JM celebrated their engagement at Le Marron on Saturday night. Getting there was such drama. I had forgotten to print out the address and my new phone didn't have anyone's contacts. I could only remember the number 12 and Yee Wo Street, so spent a good 10 minutes looking for a no. 12 Yee Wo Street until I finally gave up and went to a gaming shop to get online and check the real address: 12/F, 2-6 Yee Wo Street.
Le Marron is almost worth visiting just for its funky decor. It draws on for inspiration the old Hong Kong flats subdivided by panels to accommodate many families. Wooden panels with glass are used as separators as well as drapery. So you can get a sense of all the activity happening in the restaurant, but still have a certain level of privacy from having your own cordoned-off space. Within each space, the decor and decorations is western flea market chic, a bit of the granny's country home feel.
The menu is quite extensive given that it is a private kitchen. The set consists of 5 courses: choice of 9 starters, 3 seafood starters, 4 soups, 10 main courses and 9 desserts. The food was competent, but I wonder if the quality would benefit from a more well-edited menu. I had a smoked salmon tartar (good), green whelks (sandy), pumpkin and crab soup (good), angel hair with black truffles (a bit heavy on cream, weighing on the truffle) and wild mushrooms and kiwi fruit sorbet (a bit tart and icy).
Next on the list of private kitchens to try: Palace Kitchen on Wong Nai Chung Road. AL called me up and asked me to pick up a chicken for him (since it's close to my office) before meeting for drinks at Ritz Carlton's Chater Lounge (where the popcorn with black truffle oil can ruin one's appetite for dinner if self-restraint is not exercised). The decor at Palace Kitchen is nothing to rave home about. This is my main complaint about most Chinese restaurants (with the notable exception of Xi Yan). Why do most Chinese restaurants not understand the value of pleasant ambiance and aesthetics? The place settings were akin those one finds in cheap Chinese restaurant. The menu, on the other hand, serves up expensive Chinese delicacies such as shark's fin, bird's nest etc. The chicken I picked up smelled mouth-wateringly delicious and I trust AL's taste in Chinese food, so will endeavour to check it out at some point.
Le Marron is almost worth visiting just for its funky decor. It draws on for inspiration the old Hong Kong flats subdivided by panels to accommodate many families. Wooden panels with glass are used as separators as well as drapery. So you can get a sense of all the activity happening in the restaurant, but still have a certain level of privacy from having your own cordoned-off space. Within each space, the decor and decorations is western flea market chic, a bit of the granny's country home feel.
The menu is quite extensive given that it is a private kitchen. The set consists of 5 courses: choice of 9 starters, 3 seafood starters, 4 soups, 10 main courses and 9 desserts. The food was competent, but I wonder if the quality would benefit from a more well-edited menu. I had a smoked salmon tartar (good), green whelks (sandy), pumpkin and crab soup (good), angel hair with black truffles (a bit heavy on cream, weighing on the truffle) and wild mushrooms and kiwi fruit sorbet (a bit tart and icy).
Next on the list of private kitchens to try: Palace Kitchen on Wong Nai Chung Road. AL called me up and asked me to pick up a chicken for him (since it's close to my office) before meeting for drinks at Ritz Carlton's Chater Lounge (where the popcorn with black truffle oil can ruin one's appetite for dinner if self-restraint is not exercised). The decor at Palace Kitchen is nothing to rave home about. This is my main complaint about most Chinese restaurants (with the notable exception of Xi Yan). Why do most Chinese restaurants not understand the value of pleasant ambiance and aesthetics? The place settings were akin those one finds in cheap Chinese restaurant. The menu, on the other hand, serves up expensive Chinese delicacies such as shark's fin, bird's nest etc. The chicken I picked up smelled mouth-wateringly delicious and I trust AL's taste in Chinese food, so will endeavour to check it out at some point.
Labels: Hongkong, restaurants
posted by 10000miles at 16:14
2 Comments:
I read your blog and visited Palace Kitchen.
As to my expectation the Supreme Chicken was superb! However, the downside was unfortunately the other dishes were quite mediocre... 1 starter (small portion), 3 main dished (including the chicken), 1 veggie, 1 fried rice noodles, 1 soup, 1 dessert costed us over $1000 for 3 persons. One main dish as pan fried and salted Gwai-Yu - full of bones and nothing much to eat!
Did you since have a go at Palace Kitchen? What did you think?
Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to actually have dinner at Palace Kitchen yet. Glad to hear you enjoyed the Supreme Chicken though. Shame about the rest.
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