Starry, starry night

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OK, so we were sitting indoors on a cloudy night in Hong Kong, and Don McLean was nowhere in sight… but the evening was nevertheless filled with "stars".  On this night, a small group of us gathered in one corner of the crystal chandelier-filled dining room of Caprice, our beloved Michelin 3-star restaurant, to celebrate one of the stars of the Hong Kong dining scene - Chef Vincent Thierry.

After 8 years in Hong Kong - and having helped set up Caprice from scratch and elevating it to 3-star status after Michelin's arrival in Hong Kong - Vincent has decided to move on to newer challenges.  A few of us came to the restaurant last month but failed to catch him, so we were very happy to be here tonight as tomorrow would be his last day here.

I arrived to find our menu for the evening on the table.  I had sent a message to the chef asking him to put together something special to remember him by, and was curious to see which dishes would be chosen to represent "classic Caprice"…

Éclair with creamy jamón ibérico filling - Mimolette powder on top.  Tasty filling, soggy éclair.

For the first time ever, I took my bread at Caprice without my beloved Bordier butter.  Everyone was shocked, but I am on a nutritional dietary program after all!  Bordier will still be there in a few months' time…

Fine de Claire oyster, apple celery and sour cucumber, Sologne caviar - the contrast with the oyster I had last night was pretty glaring, but this was really enjoyable.  You've got thin slices of cucumber wrapped around the oysters, some apple and celery root coulis with French Sologne caviar on top, and some sour cream on the side.  Oysters, Champagne and caviar… this is the life!

Tourteau crab tiramisu, fruity marinade, tandoori spices and sweet pimento - "This is in the book!" Susan declared excitedly.  Of course she is talking about her cookbook A Celebration of Food, to which Vincent contributed the recipe for this dish.  We were only too happy to taste a dish that Vincent must have felt could speak for him.  The savory crab meat worked well with the blend of mango, papaya and piquillo peppers, as well as the layer of marscapone on top.

Langoustine lasagne, veal sweetbreads and chanterelle mushrooms in shellfish bisque - for many of us this has become our favorite dish at Caprice, and it would have been unimaginable for us to celebrate Vincent without it.  It was perfect tonight.  The flavors from all the varied and different ingredients came together, and I remembered how dazzled I had been the first time I tasted this.  Worthy of using the bread to mop up the bisque...

Line caught sea bass, carrot mousseline and fondant cabbage in curry infusion - again, the execution was impeccable.  The sea bass was tender and succulent while the skin was crispy and fragrant.  The quenelles of carrot mousseline were amazing - better than some of the carrots I have eaten - and the baby carrot itself was even better.  No, I don't want to know how much butter was used to get the mousseline to that smooth texture.  My only complaint is that I didn't get enough of the fondant Savoy cabbage...

Iberico pork rack, chorizo polenta and onion chutney in soubise sauce - Vincent brought this out and told us that he was doing this for the first time, and if it didn't work it would be the last time he served it… We all gasped at the sight of this beautiful rack...

I was lucky to have gotten a bone, whereas my neighbor was accused of being a "bone stealer" by her husband.  The pork was sooo tender… and thankfully there was a little more fat this time around.  The onion chutney was wonderful, and the polenta tasted amazing with the smoky flavors of chorizo.  Soubise sauce was… superb.  While I normally would have clamored for even more fat, this was good enough for me on a diet.  Oh and I thoroughly enjoyed gnawing on the bone.  Woof!

Caprice cheese cellar - the amazing selection was brought out and laid next to me, and I took in the fragrance from different types of cheese while the others picked what they wanted, one by one.  When it was finally my turn, I again surprised everyone by taking only two…

Comté, 4 years - I asked for just the shavings that had collected around the big chunk.

Coulommiers fermier - a few others had gotten slices of this, but I asked only for the gooey pool of liquefied cheese… and made the others a little jealous.  After all, this was the best part!

Virgin mojito, berry panaché, frozen lime chocolate, minted strawberry sorbet - I guess this was meant to be a deconstructed strawberry mojito, but I didn't quite get it... OK there was some lemon meringue with mint, strawberry sorbet with mint... Well at least it's fruity and "light".

Bergeron apricot, peanut biscuit, apricot mousse and iced peanut butter - this was better than the first dessert, because it's been a while since I came anywhere near peanut butter.  Starting from the bottom: apricot coulis, sablé breton, sponge cake, apricot mousse, peanut butter ice cream, apricot marmalade and finally a squiggly meringue.  Still don't understand the obsession with using sponge cake these days...

Vee and I both brought wines for dinner, and I was ever so grateful that he decided to bring a backup bottle as we needed it tonight...

Egly-Ouriet Brut Rosé Grand Cru, dégorgée en Novembre 2009 - toasty, flinty with strawberries.

2004 Roulot Meursault Les Narvaux - flinty with a smoky finish.  Nice acidity balance.  Softer and not overpowering.

1996 Chapoutier Ermitage L'Ermite - when we asked for the wine to be served, I saw the two sommeliers sneak off out of sight with the decanter… which looked a little suspicious.   The reason? Il était un petit bouchonnée… I'm not very sensitive to TCA so I asked Vee for his opinion, and he thought it was every so slightly corked.  There was pine needle and forest in the nose, but no finish to speak of.  I had brought this bottle because I wanted to offer a glass to Vincent, but obviously didn't go through with it.

2003 Comte Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée La Colombière - pretty alcoholic on the nose.  Very sweet nose with black cherries.

This was a near-perfect evening… Timothy had taken very good of us in Jeremy's absence.  While I often enjoy the more modern and creative side of cuisine, I would happily return time and again to Caprice for Vincent's updated classics.  There have been many cherished memories here, and time and again Vincent, Jeremy, Sebastien and team have brought smiles to our faces and joy to our lives.  Caprice without its founding chef de cuisine would surely be losing a part of its soul, its DNA.  We were all sad to have Vincent leave us, but happy for him to embark on a new adventure.

I'm not in the habit of collecting chefs' autographs, but tonight was truly special and the end of an era for us.  Definitely something to remember…

P.S.  I have refused to step foot in Thailand ever since news broke about the government's treatment of the Rohingya refugees a few years ago.  At this point, the only thing that would get me to break my boycott just might be the thought of visiting one of Vincent's new ventures...