exerda

Tried 3 different Michelin-starred restaurants in HKG this past week:

1. Akrame, 1 star, French, dinner. I felt overall that the value for price paid wasn't bad; I did the 8 course tasting menu + 8 wine accompaniment. The wines were good, mostly French (as it is after all a French restaurant), but probably a tad bit pricier than they should have been. The dishes were well-executed and plated very nicely, if the dishes themselves weren't something that just shouted innovation. Service was good, definitely 1-star level, but IMHO they took too long between courses--took 3 hours to finish the dinner, and not because I was a slow eater.

2. T'ang Court, 3 star, Cantonese, lunch. Probably best overall value; I chose the bigger tasting menu (6 courses, roughly $130 US IIRC). Every dish was very well executed, and the service was absolutely impeccable. Wines by the glass were affordable and good. Service fantastic and definitely at what I expect of the 3-star level. Only issue I had was that the folks at a nearby table were wearing shorts and sandals. Seriously?! The restaurant asks for appropriate dress; they ought to enforce it. (No, it didn't detract from the food; I just found it shocking that people would go to a 3-star place in vacation wear.)

3. RyuGin, 2 star, Japanese, dinner. The food was impeccable. Many ingredients flown in from Japan every day. Pricey--the most expensive of the three (with the set menu running around $250 US). Part of that price is the location, on the 101st floor of the ICC building with spectacular views of Hong Kong (unfortunately, the day I was there, it was so cloudy that the windows looked like lampshades, with nothing at all visible). Service was very good, attentive but not distracting. My complaints are the beverages: the wine list is good, but incredibly expensive (stuff like 1970 Penfold's Grange for around $1300 US); there are a few decent half-bottle wines, but still over $125 US. Cheapest sake was $100 US or so (and for a half bottle IIRC). Beers were Suntory Premium Malts and Kirin. Seriously? At least they didn't charge $50 US for a $1 beer. I can only imagine the Tokyo 3-star location is just insanely fantastic.

PsiFighter37

Is that too surprising? Even at the nice restaurants I've been to in Japan (and especially in Kyoto), all they have are the big Japanese macro brews. I agree that they should get with the times and offer Hitachino, Echigo, etc...but tradition is hard to break.

exerda

True, which is sad given the fantastic craft brew scene in Japan. Every trip to Tokyo I stop at least once at Ant 'n Bee in Roppongi and give 5 or 10 beers a try.

At least Hong Kong has a decent beer scene of its own these days (vs. Southeast Asia and boring generic watery lagers everywhere). But fodder for another thread...

offerendum

3 hours for 8 courses? Absolutely standard IMHO. Always shocked by Speed in American restaurants. Many Europeans don´t like it and see it as a breach of culture I can live with both but prefer a slow meal

exerda

I don't mind 3 hours for many meals, but based on the portion sizes, the wine pours, etc., I felt that I was often left waiting with no food or drink for too long several times during the meal.

If I'm out with friends and having a big meal, yes, longer is better. If I'm dining solo and eating small plate sized courses, 3 hours is too long IMHO.

PsiFighter37

It's really a matter of pacing. It's not Michelin-starred, but we had a 3+ hour dinner at Quay (in Sydney), and that was absolutely killer on us - especially the dessert section, where dinner was mercilessly dragged out for no reason at all. And yet when we had a 3-hour dinner at Chef's Table, that was perfect timing.

As for the topic of the thread...next Michelin-starred experience I have in my calendar is Bord'Ear (2 stars) in Amsterdam. If anyone else has other suggestions, happy to hear them out - pictures here looked fantastic, and it doesn't seem overly expensive. We're only planning on one high-end dinner in town, with the rest focused on local cuisine (although there seems to be a very hopping scene in town - so not too concerned about finding good eats!).

VivoPerLei

That was my experience at Hedone. The pacing was way too slow for the portion sizes presented.

Bohemian1

Given the richness of the food, I thought the pacing there quite good, especially if you have the wine pairings. As a comparison, portion sizes at Quince in SFO recently were comparable and the meal was about as long. Besides, who is in a rush?

+1
We tell most restaurants with tasting menus that we are not in a rush as a matter of course now.

exerda

I'm rarely in a rush when dining, but to me, if I am waiting 15-20 minutes with no wine or food (particularly in between earlier courses in a meal), that's poor pacing and leads to too long an experience.

IMHO, good service manages pacing properly. They don't rush you; they don't descend like vultures to clear the table and immediately bring out the next dish... but they also don't leave you twiddling thumbs for long periods.

T'ang Court did that when I was in Hong Kong. They were what I expect of 3* service. Akrame was what I would expect of 1*; they weren't as polished, and didn't have the pacing down right and thus dragged out a meal that should have been 45 minutes shorter based on portions, drinks, and the fact I was dining solo and clearly left "waiting" several times during the meal.

Bohemian1

I think that captures it nicely. The balance between attentive, but not fawning and the ability to the pace at which each cover likes to dine. Seamless service - that's one important aspect of that third Michelin star for me.

JBord

Well put. I expect a Michelin-starred restaurant to be attentive to the pace the diner sets. If the diner wants a slow, leisurely meal, the server should notice this by the diner's behavior and adjust. If I finish my plate quickly and am looking around the room bored, they should adjust to that as well. Also, if I'm in a hurry, I tell the waiter at the beginning -- "We would like to be finished by 8:00 as we have theater tickets this evening" for example.

VivoPerLei

I think you've nailed it. If they sense that you are finishing your courses quickly and twiddling your thumbs for twenty minutes, they should adjust accordingly. I believe more often than not they will. And, I did exactly as you suggest when I ate at the Typing Room - told them I needed to be out in two hours or less and they were happy to accommodate me.

I don't see much mention of the Typing Room, but I would have to say it was one of my best meals in London.

CGRA

HK :
- 40 mns for a 3 courses lunch menu at Pierre (it was 1.45 pm when I started the meal)

- 2.5 hours for a 8 / 9 courses menu at Amber (it feel long).
BTW The room is a little dark and they also use dark color plates. Food is good, service is very good. (food is not as tasty as Pierre or the MO grill or 8 1/2 or...).

uggboy

July 2016, our landmark birthday lunch experiences

To make my landmark birthday in July 2016 even more special, my fiancé and I booked a table for two at the two Michelin stared restaurant the Steirereck im Stadtpark in Vienna, Austria which we knew for about ten to fifteen years and wanted always to try. The restaurant is also ranked 9th on the 50 best Restaurants in the World list.

The architecture of the restaurant is futuristic and there is an organic herb garden on the roof.

When we entered we saw to the right the open kitchen and slightly more to the right Steirereck produce to buy. Straight ahead was the reception, where we were greeted warmly by a very young maître d', confirming our reservation we were brought to our table. It overlooked the Stadtpark and the interior of the Steirereck.

Even so the restaurant was large, it was private. There were walls dividing the space into pods. Two to four tables were sharing one area.

The interior was postmodern as well and we enjoyed the design tremendously.

My birthday was acknowledged by an imprint "Happy Birthday" on the table cloth. There was also a little stand where you could put your handbag which we found a thoughtful addition to our table.

The staff was very attentive, friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. For example we could take the brochure of "Le Grandes Tables Du Monde", where the Steirereck is a member, after asking nicely. The guests at the neighbor's table wanted their mobile phone charged, so that they could take photographs of their meal. Their wish was immediately fulfilled too.

We also liked the uniforms of the female staff, which fitted perfectly with the postmodern design, looked on the one side simple, but was elegant and free flowing on the other.

As drinks we had a bottle of still Voeslauer water, one of our favorites when in Austria, and a mocktail made with mandarin and lime juice. It was delicious, so he had a second one, but there were at least five others available to choose from. They were made right in front of us and the ingredients came on a trolley.

The bread selection was fantastic. There were at least twenty to thirty to choose from. The bread was shown to us and named and had been too many to remember. We both had olive ciabatta. My fiancé took another slice, but couldn't eat them all due to having "bigger eyes than his stomach was" as they say.

Next arrived the greetings from the kitchen, which was four different dishes, that showed by which other nations Austria has been influenced and included chips with potato cheese, falafel with sumac yogurt dip, semolina, roasted corn pudding and cucumber and tomato salad with yogurt dressing. The roasted corn pudding was an acquired taste. We both liked it, but it was the least favorite in terms of taste compared to the other offerings.

We chose a four course meal and started with "Schwarzauer" Mountain Trout with melon, cucumber and etiolated pea shoots and artichoke & veal kidney with radicchio and sweet clover.

Both dishes were delicious and melt in the mouth.

Next were the Viennese soft gulash from Alpine beef with leek -bread roulade and pickled vegetables and Jerusalem Artichoke with Pak Choi, pea shoots and Viennese snails.

The gulash was light-red brown and mildly spicy, while the other dish was the right combination between being soft and crunchy.

Our main courses were Wiener Schnitzel and barbecued sturgeon with kohlrabi, quinoa and elderberry.

Both were very good. The schnitzel was very thin and melt in the mouth. While the barbecue flavor of the sturgeon was strong. The kohlrabi, quinoa and elderberry were a nice counter balance.

Our desserts were cherries with shiso, rice and soured cream and Java coffee with yellow dates, plums and cinnamon flowers. We loved both.

Before we received the bill there was another sweet greeting from the kitchen with a typical Austrian pastry called a kicherl served from a traditional trolley, We had the choice of toppings including nuts, strawberries, dried figs, apricot and cherry jam.

We enjoyed each a beautiful hot chocolate to round up our memorable lunch at this modern gourmet temple in the heart of Vienna, the capital of Austria. The Stierereck has been consitently voted by several guides incl. Falstaff [100/100 points] as the best restaurant in Austria and it shows in our opinion.

Please view our Flickr uploads/memories:



We enjoyed our lunch tremendously, which cost 270.60 Euro (ca. 288.30 USD), and would love to return for another special occasion in our future when visiting beautiful Vienna.

Would we recommend this restaurant to a friend? YES! ^
Would we want to enjoy this restaurant for lunch/dinner in our future again? YES! ^

Thank you and safe travels.

offerendum

Thanks uggboy. I often thought about this restaurant and always decided against it. The menu is very special with many things on it which are not my favourites. Since I don´t eat meat any more it seems to be even more difficult. This restaurant seems to be one of the more controversial. It is named as a three star candidate by many people but provoces also constant critical voices.