Afternoon Tea at Le Salon De The de Joel Robuchon in Hong Kong
Bonjour!
If there's any language in the world that I would like to learn next to mastering my Mandarin, it would be French. Oh how I dream of having the French accent similar to that of Celine in the movie "trilogy" Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight. She speaks in such poetic tone that is just so nice to listen to. The same is true for my colleague G who's fluent in French. From him, we learn the proper pronunciation of certain words and while I still struggle to say the word "escargot" properly, I really do enjoy learning a new word each day.
Speaking of French, one of the highlights of our trip to Hong Kong last year was when we had the chance to have a very French Afternoon Tea at Joel Robuchon's restaurant. Believe me, I was so giddy while lining up that I couldn't keep still. Joel Robuchon has 3 types of restaurants located all at The Landmark -- Le Jardin (contemporary fine dining at the roof top garden), L'Atelier (the most popular of the three, a restaurant bar known for its degustation menu) and Le Salon de The (a French tea salon). Just recently, he opened a second branch of the Le Salon at the IFC Mall also in Central.
Finally, we were led to our table. Sadly, we were a bit late for Afternoon Tea thus most of the hot sandwiches have been sold out. Not wanting to let this pull our spirits down, we ordered the only sandwich left and that was the Le sandwich jambon gruyere (HK$ 58). Let me put this in English layman terms -- we got a Ham and Cheese Sandwich and it was a classy and pricey one. The sandwich was toasted and I love that they were very generous with the filling. The ham slices were thick and slightly salty complementing the melted cheese that was oozing out of the baguette. It was good but I got to admit that a Ham and Cheese Sandwich is still a Ham and Cheese Sandwich. I will definitely get the Afternoon Tea set next time to get more variety.
To go with our sandwich, we shared a piece of cake. The L'Opera (HK$ 42) is one of my favorite cakes after trying this at The Cake Club years ago. This is a mix of coffee and chocolates so it's perfect for those who are not fond of sweet chocolates as this one has a slightly bitter hint. Look how pretty our cake is! There seems to also be gold specks on top too. As I bit into the cake, I noticed that there's a variety of texture from creamy to slightly crunchy to fudge-y and back again. It was so good we made sure to lick our forks clean.
It was a very simple Afternoon Tea simply because we went late and the choices were very limited. We will definitely do better next time and will try to check out L'Atelier too. Nonetheless, we now know why Joel Robuchon is one of the most respected chefs in the industry. I can't wait to go back to try more of his dishes and I hope he'll be around too!
Le Salon De the de Joel Robuchon is located at the 3rd floor, The Landmark, 16 Des Voeux Road, Central, Hong Kong. For reservations, call (852) 2166 9000.
If there's any language in the world that I would like to learn next to mastering my Mandarin, it would be French. Oh how I dream of having the French accent similar to that of Celine in the movie "trilogy" Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight. She speaks in such poetic tone that is just so nice to listen to. The same is true for my colleague G who's fluent in French. From him, we learn the proper pronunciation of certain words and while I still struggle to say the word "escargot" properly, I really do enjoy learning a new word each day.
It was a very simple Afternoon Tea simply because we went late and the choices were very limited. We will definitely do better next time and will try to check out L'Atelier too. Nonetheless, we now know why Joel Robuchon is one of the most respected chefs in the industry. I can't wait to go back to try more of his dishes and I hope he'll be around too!
Le Salon De the de Joel Robuchon is located at the 3rd floor, The Landmark, 16 Des Voeux Road, Central, Hong Kong. For reservations, call (852) 2166 9000.
