Michelin Medley Hong Kong 2: Robuchon au Dome

After an arduously long day of being baked in the sweltering heat and hoardes of harried tourists in Macau, dinner at Robuchon au Dome was a true pick-me-up. 

The 3-Michelin star establishment is located on the 43rd floor of the imposingly opulent, bud-shaped Grand Lisboa hotel, whose reflective gold panels scream of meretricious ostentatiousness. Interestingly, Robuchon au Dome chose to distinguish itself from the overall style of the building, opting for black-and-white decor, including a stunning, morning glory-like chandelier and simple yet elegant furniture. Upon entry, we were also greeted by a pianist playing euphonious tunes on a carved wooden grand piano - how enchanting!

The most beautiful chandelier I have ever seen

Simple yet Elegant Decor

Mellifluous Melodies

To get the ball rolling, we were served two amuse bouches (the exact details of which I fail to recall),and while both of them tasted good, they were not outstanding per se. 

Amuse Bouche

Nevertheless, Robuchon quickly redeemed itself with the unorthodox platter of bread they offered, ranging from dried tomato buns to les tordus avec jambon. Other than sampling the array of bread, watching our server scrape "spools" of butter off two blocks of salted and unsalted varieties was rather amusing as well. Ah, who knew that eating bread could be such an entertaining affair?

Bread and Butter

Before our courses were served, each of us was presented with a beautiful dollop of burrata cheese in a tomato puree, topped with slices of asparagus. Whilst burrata cheese tends to be slightly unctuous, Robuchon's rendition wowed us with its incredible freshness and airy texture. Simply delightful! 

Pre-starters

As we had a choppy Hong Kong-bound boat ride to endure thereafter, we opted for the a la carte courses instead of a full-on degustation menu. For les entrees, we opted for the Caviar de Sologne and the Crab Mille-feuille (which seems to currently not be on their menu online), two invigoratingly refreshing appetisers that encapsulate the burst of colours, blend of odours and polyphony of sounds characteristic of le printemps. While the former had stronger flavours, especially with the brackish tang of the caviar, the dish struck an impeccable balance for the fine coral jelly and aniseed cream served along with the caviar offset its briny taste. Furthermore, the warmed seasoned leek with Mimoza (a herb) were cooked for just the right amount of time, such that the leek remained crunchy and possessed a sheen of vibrant green.

Le Caviar de Sologne

Just like the Caviar de Sologne, the Crab Mille-feuille was also an equally exhilarating dish, what with its layers of tomato, crab, vegetables, and other ingredients (which I regrettably fail to recall). While this dish may seem deceptively straightforward - so much so that it risks looking unimpressive - it was one of the most layered, nuanced and skilled dishes that I have ever sampled thus far, cementing the notion that simplicity can be elegance disguised.

For the mains, I opted for the Le Canard de Challans, a dish consisting of duck breast and foie gras cooked in rock salt with pepper in reduction of seasonal fruits. The pink hue of the duck meat resembled the blush of a nubile maiden, teasingly tantalising yet subtly subdued. Furthermore, the foie gras was well-seared on both sides, yet creamy at its core - A true melange of textures and tastes. 

Le Canard de Challans

Other than the canard, we ordered the Homard du Maine, a pan-fried Maine lobster with stewed green peas in Chateau Chalon broth with a hint of mint. Whilst the gravy tasted interesting, the lobster was slightly overcooked, such that it was a tad too tough for our liking. Nevertheless, Robuchon's efforts at presenting the dish well was commendable, for the lobster meat was rolled into a hemispherical form and plated artistically with the stewed peas and pea pods. 

Le Homard du Maine

Last but not least, for the mains, we opted for the L'Agneau, comprising French lamb au jus with herbs salad served with mash potato. Indeed, the lamb rack was seared to perfection and was exceedingly tender, whereas the mash potato was homogeneously buttery and immensely savoury. Kudos to Robuchon for having turned a rather ubiquitous dish into a strong contender, as well as for having reached the apogee of culinary excellence.

L'Agneau

To end off our meal, we decided to give their dessert table a try, opting for their wafer-thin vanilla crepes, raspberry and pistachio crepe and chocolate tart. While the vanilla crepes were paper-thin and bore testament to the pastry chef's top-notch skills, the vanilla balls tasted overly milky for my liking and lacked the full flavour of the vanilla seeds. In addition, although it was evident that the chocolate tart was created with high-quality chocolate, it tasted a little too similar to ferrero rocher for my liking and could have been more nuanced. Nevertheless, the raspberry and pistachio crepes stepped up to the plate and impressed with its fusion of fruity tartness and nutty fragrance, making for a great finish to our meal.

Dessert

Just before we called for the bill, we were pleasantly surprised by a post-dessert delicacy that had been specially concocted for us, consisting of apple sorbet with pineapple cubes and a myriad of fruity elements. The post-dessert treat was a delectable palate cleanser and provided some much-needed respite from the balmy weather, marking an end to our enjoyable meal. 

Post-dessert Sorbet

Finally, Robuchon au Dome presented us with a whole lemon butter cake on the house. While such a gift would probably not have cost the restaurant a hefty sum, it was undeniably a nice gesture that left us with a deeper impression of our meal there. 

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Robuchon au Dome, although the restaurant could train their servers to be more situationally aware for they failed to give enough attention to details at times (e.g. to refill empty glasses of water). Nevertheless, we unanimously agreed that our time at Robuchon was well spent, for the ambrosial cuisine and palatial interior made for a truly sublime dining experience.