This post refers to a meal we had in May 2023
The moment I walked into the dining room the memories came flooding back.
It was 2019. Hong Kong was under intense social unrest. Bryan had narrowly escaped being stuck at HK airport (later reports said people were stuck in traffic for 3-4 hours trying to get out) as the place became flooded with black masked protesters. His driver whispered “we gotta go. The protestors have arrived”. The two of them ran as hard as they could, luggage in hand, hopping into the car to make their “getaway” before it was too late.
They made it to Amber just in time. I remember sitting there, wondering if he would make it.
Who could have predicted what would happen next . . . that the government would need to do an abrupt about face regarding those masks. Pivoting from disallowing masks to requiring them.
It some ways, it seems like a different world. And in other ways, it feels like yesterday.
The pandemic coupled with the period of social unrest really does a number on one’s sense of time.
So as I walked into Amber, I did get a weird sense of deja vu. But I came to my senses and remembered that it’s 2023. The WHO had just declared that the Pandemic was over. At the same time, Hong Kong just announced that Covid cases were rising (up to 10,000 per day now), and the sale of masks had shot up recently.
We saw our friend sitting at the far table. This traveling nomad friend, a person who spends over 300 days of the year traveling, greeted us as an old friend. For me, I hadn’t seen him since a meal we had together in Paris. Bryan saw him more recently in a number of different countries: Spain, Mainland China, just to name a few. This is how traveling nomads connect: meeting up in exotic places all over the world.
I remember loving Amber the last time I dined here. They had just changed over to a dairy-free menu, and I was blown away by the exquisite use of soy, tofu-related preparations, coconut milk, and more. The meal felt light, healthy, comfortable . . . what would this meal be like?
We opted for the longer tasting experience, largely because it includes a course in Amber’s impressive kitchen.
Amber Longer Tasting Menu
The first few courses were really really good! A fresh mushroom tart made from thinly sliced button mushrooms. A soy-based custard topped with a deep black truffle paste.
One of my favorite dishes was raw sayori in a rocket puree. It was fantastic: super balanced, light, and incredibly fresh tasting.
Next, the signature uni + lobster jelly custard topped with caviar was just as good as I remembered.
It was spring, so the next course of a huge steamed white asparagus was certainly seasonal. This one was intricately decorated with stripes of sauce, topped with crunchy iberico ham. It was tasty, though it didn’t blow me away quite in the same way.
Next, shrimp dumplings (like a shrimp ball with a ultra thin also transparent skin) together with a few pieces of shrimp (well-done, not so bouncy) were served in a clear, shrimp head stock. The stock was quite nice, definitely shrimpy, and seemed to have a bit of a sherry or anise flavor to it.
That Course in the Kitchen
We went into the well-run gleaming kitchen to enjoy the next course: white fish (possibly sous vide) served with snap pea sauce. Again, one must remember that they are dairy-free, which means there is no cream or butter in any of these sauces. It’s quite impressive how rich and unctuous the sauces are, despite the lack of butter/cream.
Back to the Table
We returned to our table for our main courses: lamb with morel mushrooms and A5 wagyu beef with black garlic puree.
The black garlic puree seemed to also have some black seaweed sauce (the Japanese dark black paste), and the flavor was similar as well. It still reminds me to get some and try experimenting with it . . I was surprised it was a flavor that Bryan had never tried, even though I grew up eating it with our 稀飯 (congee), alongside the 豆腐乳 (fermented tofu)，肉鬆 (pork sung) and other Taiwanese condiments.
Desserts
The first dessert was a mix of citrus.
The second was a chocolate mouse tart topped with a sour raspberry sorbet (“eat it all in one bite, since the top is tart”).
Finally, we had a lovely array of fruits from Taiwan, including pineapple (delicious, so sweet!), lembu (my favorite!!), and “milkfruit”, a purple creamy fruit I’d never had before (it was only OK).
Amber - General Thoughts
All in all, it was a long meal but full of great food, lovely wine, and really interesting conversation. We enjoyed excellent champagne and a red burgundy (pinot noir) from a producer that has the name “Jesus” in it (brought by our friend). We talked about all sorts of topics, from whether the model of “open source” patent pooling could work for the biotech industry to whether humankind was going to "make it" as a civilization.
Of course we talked about restaurants: about food and cooking (our friend apparently makes a good chocolate mousse), about successful women chefs, like Helene Darroz, and about Michelin ratings (and whether to trust them).
I'm really glad Amber is still as good as I remember. Bonus on top was a chance to catch up with our traveling nomad friend. I guess we'll have to see where we meet up with this traveling nomad friend next (or perhaps more importantly, what will we eat when we meet up . . . .)
Amber Hong Kong
7/F, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental
The Landmark
15 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong
