20 years of Caprice

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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.

9 courses in 90 minutes

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For a variety of reasons I have neglected Goldfinger this year, and that's not a nice way to treat a friend. Thankfully B Bestie extended an invitation to a dinner at Andō for their collaboration with the team from August in Jakarta, giving me the opportunity to at least show my face...

As friends sharing my table were late, I had some time to chat with Chef Hans Christian and partner Budi Cahyadi. I admitted that, amazingly, I have never made it to Jakarta... as I followed the advice of Indonesian friends to go elsewhere. I've transited through the capital city's airport on my way to more remote parts of the country, but not made my way through the infamous city traffic...

A few days ago, I discovered to my horror that I had a board meeting to attend tonight. I suggested to B Bestie that I would just pass up dinner as I would have to leave the restaurant early, but he promised that the kitchen could speed things up for me, and there was plenty of time as long as I started at the appointed time of 6:30 p.m. Well... some people were pretty late in getting to the restaurant, and by 7 p.m. I decided I needed to start without them.

This "welcome drink" was apparently a "cold brew tea" based on lemongrass and ginger along with some grapefruit juice. Unfortunately I didn't like it... as it tasted medicinal.

Then came four snacks:

No meat

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It's been some time since my friendly neighborhood prime broker took me out to lunch, and I was pleasantly surprised when they booked us a table at Arcane. I had only visited the restaurant once for lunch, and that was many years ago. For some reason the place just isn't on my radar screen, even though once in a while I'll rememeber that it exists and make a mental note to find time to visit. Well, here's my chance!

I decided to forgo ordering à la carte and stuck to the three-course lunch set. I sometimes do this when others are paying, and try to see if I would consider the set as offering good value. Since I had returned from a week-long eating fest in Seoul with lots of beef and pork, today I chose dishes without any meat in them.

Salad of pickled plum, radicchio and chayote with burrata, sherry vinegar dressing - there's plenty of acidity in them pickled plums, which was somewhat tempered by the burrata's creaminess.

Chefs with Hair, 2025 edition

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Just five days after seeing Handsome Chef in Seoul, I was invited to join a collaboration with him and Juve Fan at Estro. These two guys have cooked together quite a few times now, and I did have the good fortune of joining them at their event in Hong Kong last year. I wondered what the dishes would be like this time...

This would be the first time I dine inside the Music Room, equipped with KEF speakers, McIntosh amps, and other goodies. Graziano asked those of us who arrived on time - which generally does not include Your Highness - to pick out something we wanted to hear. I jokingly requested AC/DC, and for the next hour or so that was what we got...

2019 Ca' del Bosco Franciacorta Vintage Collection Extra Brut, discorged in 2023 - very lively, toasty and yeasty nose with a little bit of flint.

Gimbap, tuna, smoked caviar, finger lime - the presentation here immediately reminded me of the gimbap (김밥) at Jungsik, because it also featured a hard tube of laver, caviar, and fatty tuna. There was the addition of a seaweed-flavored emulsion on the side.

Korea wedding trip day 6: once more into the pig

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It's our last day in Seoul, and we have a couple of stops to hit before flying off. Coffee is usually the first order of the day for Foursheets, and I honestly felt a little lazy this morning. Since there's a branch of A Twosome Place right in the lobby of voco Seoul Myeongdong, I figured we should just get our coffee and breakfast right here.

I got myself some kind of a bacon and cheese bagel, which was OK. I don't expect amazing bagels when I'm in Asia...

...but this coffee... This was REALLY SHIT. Totally bland and tasteless. This was most definitely the blandest coffee I can remember ever having. Together with our experiences over the last few days, it makes us wonder... do Koreans actually know to make coffee? I don't remember the coffees I had in Seoul last year being anywhere nearly as bad, and I know that this is a chain and all... but still!