Avant voyage

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I must admit to being a little surprised when I received an invitation to a "6-hands collaboration" in Shenzhen. Chef Alessio Durante of Opus 388 at the Mandarin Oriental Shenzhen and Chef Jerry Tian of Avant were taking turns hosting dinners at their respective restaurants, and they've invited Chef Paul Marcon - son of Regis and the latest winner of Bocus d'Or - to come all the way from Restaurant Marcon. I've never had the pleasure of visiting Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, and I thought this would be an opportunity to get a glimpse of what one could expect at the mothership. Similarly, I was also a little curious about Avant.

Everyone else was already in Shenzhen eating their way around town, so only two of us got picked up by the car at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. The trip across the border was quicker than expected, and we arrived at Avant with plenty of time before our dinner was due to start.

Well... the others did eventually show up, and I got to hear all about the drama from someone's trip to Yunnan with the three chefs...

We started with the sourdough bread from Avant and a tomato and rosemary focaccia from Opus 388.

Mushroom butter - made with a variety of mushrooms the chefs had brought back from their trip to Yunnan.

Le Caractère de Margaine, dégorgée 1 Juillet 2020 - the nose was perhaps a little muted, and most definitely did not resemble Krug... the way it was introduced to us. On the palate there was acidity but also a little grippy tannins on the finish.

We had three different amuses bouches - one from each chef.

Beetroot and elderflower liquid bonbon Celeriac, pomelo, cuttlefish, from Paul Macron - I had informed them of my dislike for beetroot, and the team very kindly prepared a different dish for me.

There was a good amount of acidity but also creaminess for balance. The raw cuttlefish tartare was so fine that it seemed almost like it's been minced instead of being diced.

Crispy tartlet, mushroom mousse, Hennessy X.O., Perseus Caviar Oscietra Superior n2, from Jerry Tian - underneath the very fluffy shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano we had caviar, porcini foam (translated as 'Champagne mousse" in Chinese), and cep butter. There was a prominent bitter flavor profile but I couldn't figure out where it could have come from.

Uni mille feuille, yuzu marmalade, from Alessio Durante - we had 3 different layers between the crispy millefeuille and the Russian sea urchin: soy sauce and dashi gelée, yuzu mousse, and yuzu marmalade... and suddenly it felt like eating a cream-filled millefeuille for dessert. But there was the savory and umami profile from the soy sauce and dashi, and the surprise of little bits of yuzu zest in the marmalade.

Starter: yellowtail crudo, anchovy puree, tomato water gel, za'atar, basil oil - the yellowtail (not sure why it was translated into Chinese as "黄鲔", or yellowfin tuna) came with a purée made with anchovies, tomatoes, and spices. There were pickled fruits and tomatoes on top, along with black olives.

This was pretty tasty, and the peppers provided a little bit of a kick. The flavors from anchovies were on the mild side, and I definitely picked up the za'atar. Very refreshing in this weather.

Primo: tiger-hands tortelli, Parmigiano Reggiano, double consomme', black truffle - underneath the milk foam there was a tortello filled with sarcodon aspratus (黑虎掌菌), literally translated as "black tiger paw". It was surrounded by a moat of Parmigiano Reggiano foam accented with black truffles, as well as mushroom consommé. I thought the combination of mushroom, truffle, and cheese was pretty classic, although I didn't understand why there needed to be two types of foam in one dish... and found the herbaceous flavors of pea tendrils distracting.

Next came two fish courses:

Monkfish, cep butter sabayon, wild mushrooms, zucchini, from Paul Marcon - the fish was first cooked in a cep and olive oil, then pan-fried to brown it for the beurre noisette flavor. The texture was very firm and springy. Served with chanterelles and zucchini cooked à la minute, both of which were pretty nice. Paired with a cep butter sabayon that was very thick and rich - although the high level of acidity there certainly helped.

Scampi, leek, mini-Ratte potato, Yunnan tea velouté, from Alessio Durante and Jerry Tian - lots of elements from China here... but on the side there was a purée made with Ratte potatoes, a morel, and some leeks. These worked very well together.

The scampi was covered in a velouté of seafood and lapsang souchong (正山小種).

The morel was stuffed with some porcini, and I really liked that there was some caramelized crunch on the outside.

2023 Nine Peaks Qi Chardonnay - nose was flinty with some tropical fruits. Tasted hot and alcoholic on the palate.

Meat: chateaubriand wagyu, gamba mushroom, heart of palm, nâmmi salsa - the chateaubriand came on top of some diced heart of palm. We had some veggies, nasturtium leaves and nasturtium flowers with two different sauces for the beef, but the two shades of brown looked so similar I couldn't really tell which was darker and which was lighter... Anyway, the lighter-colored sauce was made with Scotch and beef jus... and came with a spicy kick. The darker sauce was made with ganbajun (干巴菌), century eggs, and stinky tofu from Dali (大理) - and I couldn't really distinguish any of those flavors...

Naturally, the chateaubriand was very tender and well-executed.

The vegetable "spring roll" came with some nâmmi (喃咪) salsa favored by the Dai people (傣族) in Yunnan, and this was spicy and acidic. Kinda resembled the Southeast Asian sambal...

We were asked to pay special attention to these young shoots of Sichuan Dahongpao (大红袍) pepper trees. They definitely carried the distinctive flavors but were much milder than the peppercorns themselves.

2020 Muxin Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot - so not impressed with this wine that I didn't even take down any notes...

Pre dessert: raspberries granita, kyobancha espuma, tapioca pearls, Buddha hand - a very refreshing palate-cleanser featuring fruity acidity from the granita, while the kyobancha (京番茶) espuma came with a slight hint of bitterness.

Zhangping Shuixian (漳平水仙) tea

Dessert: poached pear, morels caramel sauce, hazelnuts, from Paul Marcon - the poire Williams from China came both raw and poached in vanila syrup. Topped with vanilla sorbet, and surrounded by a caramel sauce made with morels. I love anything caramel, and the mushroom flavors were obvious but not overpowering. Very nice.

Hitachigiku 35% Junmai Daiginjo (常陸菊 35％精米歩合 純米大吟醸) - made in Jilin and not Japan. Nose of banana and starchy rice. Not too sweet on the palate as there was some acidity. Lean and kinda dry on the finish.

Finally, we had petit four... with one from each of the chefs:

Porcini macaron, white chocolate ganache and black truffle, from Alessio Durante - there were some truffle flavors here thanks to the truffle shavings, but mostly this was just intensely sweet. Interesting to hear Noémie, Paul Marcon's wife, pronounce this as "macaroon"...

Rushan cheese tart, from Jerry Tian - made with plum, rose-flavored cream, and rushan (乳扇) cheese from the Bai people (白族) in Yunnan.

Green lentils sweet caviar, from Paul Marcon - the green Puy lentils were cooked in a ginger, vanilla, and citrus syrup. Funnily enough Your Highness called this the French mung bean soup (綠豆沙), but the rue (臭草) has been replaced by red sorrel leaves. I can't say he was wrong...

This was a pretty interesting dinner, because it was the result of 3 chefs who, having gone on a mushroom foraging trip in Yunnan just days before, incorporated the seasonal and local produce into this menu. There were fungus in almost all the dishes - including the dessert - so that was a surprise since I knew absolutely nothing about the menu before stepping into the restaurant tonight. I also appreciated the opportunity to learn about new and interesting ingredients from different ethnic groups - this time from Yunnan.

It was a fun ride back across the border after dinner, and I'm grateful to the kind people at Mandarin Oriental Shenzhen for the invitation and the arrangements. Looking forward to crossing the border for tasty eats again soon, but that will have to wait until after my big trip next week...