Day 66: Konbini Ice Cream #4

Can you believe Joel Robuchon is also entering the konbini ice cream market? Tried the orange chocolate bar and woah, it’s surprisingly good and not sweet at all! But for a chocolate ice cream, it’s too expensive so #haagendazsfanforever

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Day 4: La Boutique de Joel Robuchon

Living in Tokyo, I don’t intend to cook at all so I’m basically thinking of my next meals all the time. Too tired tonight so dinner was just a croissant. But I still have to do it in style — it’s not just any croissant but the chocolate espresso almond croissant from La Boutique de Joel Robuchon which I’ve been eyeing for the longest time. Ok, and also because the bakery is only 5mins walk from my apartment. I heated it up in the microwave (should I be doing that to croissants??) and the chocolate coffee filling inside got all soft and melty. Bliss.

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Hong Kong: LE SALON DE THÉ de Joël Robuchon

Pistachio and raspberry croissant on the menu, who wouldn’t want to try that?!

I did, and paid with wasted calories, sigh. Tough and chewy, heating it up did help slightly but barely. I figured any egg tarts off the streets in Hong Kong will have a flakier crust than this one did.

For the record, my favouritest croissant is Pierre Hermé’s ispahan croissant! Nothing else comes close still.

LE SALON DE THÉ de Joël Robuchon
Shop 2045A, Podium Level 2
ifc mall, Hong Kong
(852) 2234 7422

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L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Hong Kong

While my amateur palate can’t judge whether my meal at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Hong Kong was worthy of 3 Michelin Stars, I have to say that it was an enjoyable one. They certainly did it right with the bread basket – a generous selection of mini croissant, brioche, baguette etc etc, served warm, baked in-house, and yes I had one whole basket to myself! Perks of dining alone, haha.

Then came a most dismal amuse bouche: some grilled vegetables, lettuce and avocado, big yawn. The default amuse bouche was a much more interesting chestnut soup with bacon and marshmallow pop (I eavesdropped) and it just goes to show how thoughtless the kitchen was in churning out amuse bouche for people with dietary preferences, sheesh. Come on, grilled eggplant and zucchini skewer (which even the culinary inept yours truly can make at home) at a 3 stars restaurant?

Ignoring that pathetic start, everything went well thereafter. Starter of chilled cauliflower cream was deceptively light, as the incredibly umami lobster jelly gave a solid boost to the whole dish. Very very nice, and this was my favourite out of all!

LE CRABE
spiced alaska king crabmeat, lobster jelly, chilled cauliflower cream

I thought I’d be wow-ed by roasted halibut since there’s everything I like on one plate: fish, broccoli, squid ink and coconut! But surprisingly, the flavours were rather muted.

LE FLÉTAN
roasted halibut, lemongrass oil, broccoli purée, squid ink farfalle, coconut cappuccino

The signature hand-whipped mash potato was served with every main and it was so smooth and creamy! As a disclaimer, I don’t like mash potato in general (just useless carb filler imo) but this was too good to ignore. Can’t (and don’t want to) imagine the amount of butter that went in though.

POMMES PURÉE
mash potato

I picked the safest choice for dessert: something chocolatey which I already knew I’d like haha. And I did! Wiped the whole plate clean, in fact. Tea/coffee and petit four were included and for HK$526 (approximately S$85), the 3 course set lunch (with lots of choices for each course) was excellent value for money! Highly recommended, period.

LE CHOCOLAT
dark chocolate mousse, raisins, salted caramel, rum ice cream

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon
Shop 315, 334 & 401 Landmark Atrium
Central, Hong Kong
(852) 2166 9000

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