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I've been privileged to have developed long-term relationships with a number of restaurants which have remained in business due to their delicious cuisines. It seems easy to take for granted that the restaurants we love will always be around, without realizing that - especially in a city like Hong Kong with its excruciatingly high cost of rent, among other things - it's quite something for them to achieve any sort of longevity. It is therefore really something that
Caprice in the
Four Seasons Hong Kong is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
I don't know exactly when I first visited Caprice, as it probably happened in 2006 - before I started being regular with recording restaurant visits in this here diary. I do remember that I became a fan very quickly, especially of Chef Thierry Vincent and
maître d'hotel Jeremy Evrard. My friendships with them would carry on to their future posts and last until today, well beyond their long tenures at the restaurant.
I was ecstatic when news broke in 2017 that Hairy Legs would relocate to Hong Kong and takeover as the third chef of Caprice. I had been a fan since
I first visited Tasting Room by Galliot in early 2014, and eventually got to meet him in a social setting thanks to Mrs. Hairy Legs. He was on a clear upward trajectory - having taken the restaurant from earning its first Michelin star in the first year of operation (and one of only seven restaurants with stars in Macau at the time), to being promoted to two stars in its third year. Meanwhile at Caprice, after its fourth year of being demoted to two stars, I could see why management was looking for someone to take over the kitchen... and Hairy Legs seemed like a good choice to me.
He accomplished the mission he was hired for - getting Caprice promoted back to three stars in his second year running the kitchen. I remember watching the awards ceremony live on my phone while waiting for the ferry to Macau so I could attend the gala dinner, and screen-capping a few moments - including when he pumped his fists in the air on stage and receiving the plaque. I was so happy for him.
I am grateful he considers me a friend, and I've never not had a great meal since he took over at Caprice. I am therefore so, so happy to come back to the restaurant during the period when they celebrated its 20th anniversary. I was especially happy that my old friend Vincent Thierry was invited to return to the kitchen for the festivities, so that's why I'm here tonight.
The Candidate had previously considered dropping out from tonight's dinner, but later realized it's such a hot ticket that there were hundreds of people on the waiting list. I'm happy she decided to join us.
For the occasion, Valrhona created a traditional junk out of chocolate. I hope the staff get to eat it when the celebrations are over.
Tomato and piquillo jelly - on Parmesan cracker, topped with fresh Parmesan.
Lobster and wasabi tartlet - with lemon and basil gel.
Crispy roll with onions and anchovies - love the crispy texture of the
feuille de brick, and the filling was tasty as always. Topped with green olive and a slice of silver anchovy.
I normally would want to restrain myself when I know there's a big dinner coming my way, but I just couldn't resist taking a
mini baguette. And the Bordier butter, of course...
⟪Caviar pasta⟫: cold Setaro spaghetti, clams emulsion, almond sauce, by Luca Piscazzi, Pelagos at Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens - apparently inspired by the chef's childhood memories of eating leftover
vongole pasta from the family fridge. That's a big pile of caviar on top!
I could certainly taste the clam sauce, and how it melded with the strong ginger sauce. Unfortunately this was just way, waaay too salty - both from the sauce and from the amount of caviar - and now it was no longer a light and refreshing dish to start our meal with.
Mom's garden tomatoes in verbena elegance, by Guillaume Galliot, Caprice - this would be our last chance this year to taste the tomatoes from Maman Galliot and Monsieur Tomate. Love the tomatoes as always, but the verbena and basil cream was a little on the heavy side tonight... which would have consequences later on in the evening.
We would have liked to have had enjoyed the dish with a
tomatini made with the same tomatoes, but as the restaurant was on their last shipment and wanted to make sure they have enough supply for the last anniversary dinner tomorrow, they were not able to serve this to us.
Dommage!
Before the next course was served, the server brought out the "whole piece" for a performative presentation...
The air around us was quickly filled with smoky aromas, as a way to whet our appetites. And I was really looking forward to this dish, as Chef Mathew was the one chef whose cuisine I really wanted to get a sample of.
Crispy puffed rice-crusted monkfish, by Mathew Leong, Re-Naa - the monkfish had been lightly-brined, smoked, and then deep-fried. There was a garnish made with different members of the allium family, with onions and leeks being grilled, made into compote... etc. with a
yuzukosho (柚子胡椒) emulsion glaze. The fermented sea buckthorn and spruce oil sauce came with the chef from Norway. Unfortunately, while the sauce had interesting flavors and was kinda fruity, I can't really say that I liked it... and the two little
chanterelles drenched in the sauce became collateral damage.
The fish came covered in a layer of
nori, puffed rice, and toasted seaweed with lemon cream.The texture of the fish was very interesting, as it was half raw and felt soft and bouncy - probably a result of the brining. I liked the textural contrasts with the crust.
Langoustine, barely poached in a salad, the juices from the heads with argan oil, by Stephanie Le Quellec, Le Scène - I guess the argan oil
sabayon from Marrakech is not something I would see everyday, but it wasn't exactly outstanding, either. Yes, the execution on the langoustine was good, but that's not difficult in a kitchen with three Michelin stars, is it? The whole dish just looked and tasted so...
ordinary.
This was AMAZING. The shellfish flavors were soooo pure and strong, and I wouldn't have minded another shot of this. Unfortunately, this was also the best part of the dish and once we tasted this before digging into the langoustine, everything else just kinda went downhill.
This was the second time I tasted Chef Stephanie's cuisine in Hong Kong, and the second time she served up a langoustine that I found boring. I'm guessing her cuisine is just not for me.
Grilled Challans duck breast, fennel, sand carrot, marigold aroma, by Vincent Thierry, Chef's Table at The Lebua - zee duck was served with a purée of
carottes des sables and a pressed fennel cake with syrup flavored with star anise and cardamom, then topped with fennel salad, fennel (or was it dill?) flower, marigold leaves...
Zee duck was absolutely booootiful in terms of the texture, and the doneness was perfect! The meat came thick cut but it was still sooo tender and jiggly. Perfect with the duck jus.
The Antony family has been supplying cheese to Caprice since the very beginning, so it was only fitting that Jean-François came to present their goodies. I felt pretty bad that he was just standing alone over his station in one corner of the restaurant for most of the evening, as very few people went up to see him until they were ready for some cheese towards the end of their meal. He looked so lonely! I thanked him for coming back to Hong Kong, and mentioned that I had attended one of the
cérémonie des fromages when Jeremy was around back in the day.
Caprice cheese selection, by Bernard and Jean-François Antony - I noticed that Jean-François had brought with him quite a few items which I have never seen before, so I made sure to choose the unfamiliar ones to expand my knowledge base.
For my first plate I only chose 6 different types of cheese, along with some pear
confiture from
Christine Ferber.
Linthalois - with goat milk from Linthal in Alsace. This was very creamy, very soft and meaty. A bit gamey but not too much.
Tomme de mixte brebis et chèvre, from La Ferme Bidalot - with 30% goat milk and 70% sheep milk. This was interesting. A little salty but came with very big flavors. It's a hard cheese but powdery/grainy and moist at the same time.
Galet de Chartreuse - from goat milk in Savoie. This was dense and hard, and the flavors were not as strong as expected. A little bit of acidity here.
Tomme de Ghisoni - from Corsica. Strong flavors, and a little more waxy.
Coulommiers - it's a cheese I know well but I couldn't resist seeing how very, very ripe it was. The flavors were strong with a good level of salinity and a nice bitter finish.
Fourme de Montbrison - from cow's milk in Auvergne. This was not too strong for a blue cheese.
I went back for a second plate, trying out 4 more different types of cheese, together with a candied mandarin as well as
pâtés des fruits made with quince, pear and vanilla, and fig.
This looks like
L'Elǔtcha from Fromagerie des Cabasses - from sheep's milk in Aveyron.
Petit Baluchon - from goat's milk in Deux-Sévres. This was really nutty and a bit salty, but still got the acidity and a slight bitterness. Texture-wise this was very thick.
Charolais - from goat's milk in Burgundy. Salty, thick and creamy.
Arbori - from goat's milk in Corsica. The flavors of the rind were pretty intense, and the cheese inside was very salty.
Our pre-dessert was diced green apples with a vanilla foam underneath a meringue
tuile.
Chocolate lemon, by Andrea Bonaffini, Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River - the chocolate dessert - using four different Valrhona chocolates - was not as heavy thanks to the use of three different types of lemons - Amalfi, Sicilian bergamot, and Iranian fermented black lemon. The dessert was presented with a few spritz of lemon perfume in the air.
The Candidate and I brought along a few bottles to help with the evening...
2019 Lemaire Les Terres Jaunes, dégorgée en Mars 2022 - seemed to have some age on it, pretty nice and smooth on the palate, but maybe a little less lively. Nose was a little caramelized but not too heavily. Later on the palate improved, became a little grippy and lean.
1993 Fiorano Bianco - this was pretty oxidized and the color was fairly dark. There was a little flint on the nose, and there were some notes of straw, but pretty flat and boring on the palate.
1998 Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin Combe-du-Dessus - started serving some 2½ hours after opening without decanting. Still got that toasty popcorn on the nose, very fragrant and floral. So lovely now and a pleasure to drink.
1995 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline - started serving around 3 hours after opening without decanting. Got that eucalyptus and bacon on the nose, with a hint of toast, and even some pencil lead along with some cool fruit. Drinking really nicely now. About 4½ hours after opening this was really beautiful, and the violet notes really came out after dessert.
I was really, really happy to have been at the restaurant tonight. Of course I wanted to show my love for Caprice - a love that has developed over the last 19 years or so, and support Hairy Legs and the team. I was also really, really happy to see Vincent... and I did tell him - and made sure to do it in front of Hairy Legs - that his dish was my favorite tonight. It's good to see different chefs from around the globe present what they think is a signature dish for them, and even if the dishes don't perform near 100%, that's only to be expected. I was just happy to be there.
Thank you for allowing me to join in the festivities. Looking forward to the 30th anniversary celebrations!
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