Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Upper Modern Bistro (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Upper Modern Bistro has got a new field general this week. With owner-chef Philippe Orrico busy doing his thing at ON dining, he needed someone to cover for him at Upper Modern Bistro and now he has finally got his man in new chef de cuisine Julien Cadiou. Chef Cadiou has worked with some of the most highly acclaimed chefs like Alain Ducasse and Kei Kobayashi back in Paris and looks like he's the right man for the job.

 

Despite my slightly packed schedule today, I decided to come and greet Chef Cadiou personally while I check out his new food menu at the same time. It looks like that all the signature dishes like mini veal burgers and porcini mushroom soup are here to stay so that's good news for the fans.



I started things off with some green asparagus which is in season in France at the moment. Instead of its usual partner, Hollandaise sauce, they decided to serve it with grapefruit espuma, which was clean and refreshing. A dressing with lemon, orange and balsamic vinegar provided additional acidity to the mix.



I had a bit of a struggle selecting my main course here. Both the roasted spring chicken and confit Iberico pork cheek looked like great choices but I decided to go with my hunch. Slow-cooked cod fish with gnocchi pasta turned out to be fairly decent, although the whole thing was slightly over-seasoned (I did like the gnocchis and lobster sauce.).



Surprisingly, dessert was the most fulfilling part of this lunch. The Gianduja chocolate tart with Baileys espuma and vanilla ice-cream was exactly what I was hoping for - rich yet not too heavy. It was perfect.



Ever since Chef Orrico's departure to ON Dining, Upper Modern Bistro has been on a steady decline. It's nice to see Chef Cadiou finally on board to right the ship. It's still early so let's give him ample time to settle in and push the right buttons.

Food Rating: 5/10
Price: $$$
Address: 6-14 Elegance Court, G/F Upper Station Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central / Hong Kong Station
Tel: +852 2517-0977
Website: www.upper-bistro.com



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