Dinner in Hong Kong: Spring Moon and Amber

Hong Kong port at night is undeniably one of the most beautiful views in the world. All along the port are some of the highest buildings in the world with plenty of light shows to entertain or ads along the building throughout the night.

I enjoyed a couple of nights at the bars and restaurants in the city and both nights were amazing. I headed over to the top of Peninsula Hotel that I was staying at to enjoy the view up high. The drinks were amazing and so was the decor, with the only downfall being the blinds that draped over the windows preventing the view.

Hong Kong is a busy cosmopolitan city, where East meets West. So it's no surprise to know that you can find some of the best Chinese restaurants as well as French restaurants in the world located just across from each other. I tried out two restaurants for dinner, one Chinese and the other French to see how well they live up to the Hong Kong reputation.

Spring Moon
One Michelin starred Chinese cuisine located conveniently in the Peninsula. Upon entry you feel as if you are stepping into early 1900's Chinese era. Interior is decorated with luxurious dark wood and beautiful jade-and-porcelain antiquities. Their website states their wish to replicate Shanghai in the 1920's.

For the food, I was a bit lost. The menu is extensive like all other high end Chinese restaurants due to their wish to accommodate tastes from all regions of China. There were easily 80+ dishes to choose from. Unfortunately I knew only a few dishes so I went along with their recommendations and chef's specialties. The servers were extremely attentive and eager to show us their best dishes, which helped tremendously.

Lobster hot pot. Very fresh lobster with a spicy kick.

Fried chicken! Perfectly crispy skin with just a side of salt and lemon juice for flavor.

Wok-fried wagyu beef. So juicy and tender.

Tofu pudding and almond balls for dessert

Egg custard and coconut marshmallow, my favorites!

My favorite part was the tea. They had a tea tasting, similar to the wine pairing, for each dish from a set menu. The Tea Master came with his cart to create a little tea selection based on our food choices. Each tea has a story and comes with its own labeled clay teapot. The idea is that the tea masters use only one specific tea for each pot; over the years it will age and flavor the pot itself to the point of recreating the taste just by pouring hot water. They learn to label correctly as to not mix the flavors.

Amber
This two Michelin starred French restaurant is in the Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Our friend took us, noting that this is one of his favorite French restaurants in Hong Kong (perhaps since his new position in own French restaurant Caprice hasn't started yet!) I didn't get to see the decor inside because my party was whisked away to a private salon upon arrival, but the main dining room's hanging copper sculpture that I saw briefly was mesmerizing.

Modern high end restaurants often have a laboratory feel, but here the ambient lighting and soft wooden finishes makes you feel quite cozy and comfortable. We asked for the chef's 10-course menu. There is a lot of Japanese influence, with plenty of Japanese ingredients done in French style.

1. 5 tastes amuse bouche plates:

Left SOUR: lemon mixture and right SALT: saltwater sorbet with oyster leaf to recreate the taste of oyster, vegan friendly.

Left is SWEET: popcorn flavored puff right is BITTER: an odd mixture of bitter chocolate encapsulating a type of broth

UMAMI, seaweed puff with seaweed omelet 

2. Oyster

I skipped this since I'm not a fan of oysters, but it was wrapped in seaweed and lemon jello.

 3. Wild buri

A type of white fish with fillet wrapped around a belly tartare with plenty of fresh citrus tastes.

4. Asparagus

Seasonal asparagus with orange zest and citrus sauces. They made a little powder orange on the bottom to dip in.

5. Foie gras

Also skipped this dish, but it's poached with 'mushroom tea' and served with Japanese mushrooms and garlic.

6. Lobster

Lobster tail with tangy green tomatoes and plankton emulsion! Talk about odd. But it was super tasty and easily my favorite dish.

Lobster claw wrapped in a type of cabbage like vegetable.

7. Kinki

A popular Japanese fish served with tomato sauce that is also endangered thanks to its taste. Needless to say, it was delicious.

8. Wagyu beef

Super tender rare wagyu beef that oozes fat as you bite into it. Mmm. Served with sour red cabbage.

 9. Strawberries

Strawberry sorbet with tart yuzu granitta.

 10. Banana

Bananas with lime sorbet and chocolate mousse

End-of-the-meal-dessert. Yes, you get more dessert as a congratulations on finishing an entire 10 course meal.

From the beautiful presentation to play with tastes and textures, the plates were creative and definitely something to remember. There were a few times where I stopped and said - wait, what was that I just put in my mouth? - and found the concoction very agreeable.