Timeout: La Marmite

(Extracted from KC's restaurant review in Timeout)

There’s been a sudden influx of new French bistros in town and La Marmite is one of the most popular ones. Situated near the western boundary of Soho, this two-story restaurant is the newest venture to come from Aqua Group. Guests can enjoy a casual and informal meal around the high tables at the front, or a more serious sit-down feast inside the bistro and on the upper level. The focus is on authentic, hearty Parisian dishes at very affordable prices for the Soho area with hors d’oeuvres and desserts clocking in below $100 and main courses below $200.



We arrived on a weekday afternoon for a casual light lunch and were seated on the nearly-full ground floor. The à la carte menu is quite simple with only six to seven options provided in each course section, together with a weekly recommended blackboard special. To start, we went with the potted smoke salmon ($98). Served in a sealed small bottle, the salmon was hand-chopped into small, chunky bites and seasoned with capers and dill to form a delicious mixture, designed to be gulfed down with the crispy sour dough toast that comes with it. It’s a light and pleasantly appetising dish to start off the meal.



We also tried the classic French village dish of rabbit, foie gras and port pie ($198). The rich and creamy foie gras paired beautifully with
the light and slightly gamey rabbit confit and carefully balanced port wine sauce. This delectable dish requires about 20 minutes to prepare, so make sure you have an equally laissez-faire attitude when ordering this.



We had the Paris brest ($78) for dessert – an old-school Parisian pastry made in celebration of the “Paris-Brest-Paris” bicycle race. Made with choux pastry and filled with hazelnut cream, the pastry was assembled to order (to prevent moisture accumulating during refrigeration) with the outer shell carrying a delectable, light crispy texture. It was a nice and traditional ending to our hearty French meal.

春の味覺

(撰自KC在報章上的專欄文章) 收到一通試吃的邀請電郵，看真一點令人眼前一亮，出現在眼前的是老饕們眼前一充亮的名字：「Springalicious」，中文譯名就是「春天美食節」。 這是個有趣的概念，就是邀請了城中好幾間項級的餐廳的大廚們去設計Springalicious Menu。當中除了餐廳及大廚的招牌菜以外還會包括好些時令菜式，於四月二十七日至五月三日的一星期內推出。單聽到這裡已經覺得吸引了吧，看到參與的餐廳名單就更令人期待。2011年香港的春天美食節參與的餐廳有三十多間，當中也包括好些名店，如同是米芝蓮一星店的Bo Innovation（2850 8371），Cépage（2861 3130），南海一號（2487 3688），富豪金殿（2837 1773）及逸東軒（2878 1212）等。而為這段時間特地設計的餐牌都以比平時餐單價錢便宜的套餐價推出，所以在別的地方推出的Springalicious都會早早爆滿。 有幸被邀成為這個美食節的試食員之一，為期三星期在三十多間餐廳的試食活動，單靠想像也知道是何等大規模，亦要配服從中協調的公關公司的努力。首先的一局是灣來的The Pawn（灣仔莊士敦道62號2-3樓 2866 3444），看過特地設計的Springalicious Menu，當中以不少菜蔬去穿梭配搭，如前菜的烤蓎菇、黑松露及菠菜苗，主菜中以野菌及燒蔥頭去配襯烤鴿子，原條龍脷則伴上新薯及野菜菜，甜品就是用上蘋果去做成的三味。以菜蔬為主線穿梭不同的食材之中，清新討好之餘也滿有春天氣息。 更令筆者期待下一局的Bo Innovation。

鈇板女大將

(摘自KC在報章上的專欄文章)

之前在這個專欄也說過，在云云日本料理種類之中筆者最喜歡的就是鈇板燒。當中原因有很多，因為喜歡吃牛肉，也欣賞師傅用簡單的烹調方法直接的將食材的真正味道顯現出來。而鈇板燒最吸引人的地方，就是將整個原本在廚房內發生的工序搬出來在客人面前做一次。做得好的有如流水行雲，手法生疏的也無所遁形難以藏拙，是個百分百的「廚房真人show」。



最近帝苑酒店的公關大員告知酒店的日本餐廳稻菊（尖沙咀麼地道69號帝苑酒店1樓 2733 2933）邀得女日籍師傅主理其鈇板燒檯。談起女鈇板師傅，筆者立即想起以前的水車屋，那時的一班本地年青女師傅也實在做得有聲有色，但日籍的女鈇板燒師傅就如鳳毛麟角，當然第一時間去試試。



稻菊的鈇板燒檯就在餐廳的最埋邊，面前一片透日光的人造水幕，襯托著精緻的松樹擺設，仍然是一貫的高貴幽雅。跟正在打點食材女師傅井上雅美打個招呼，漂亮的面孔下是爽朗的聲線及肯定的對答，感覺專業。飯局開始，井上師傅在鈇板上為我們準備各種食物，只見她用刀一劃，輕輕手拉已將東星斑片及帆立貝處理好。又見其氣定神閒的跟大家交談，但一件件燒得火侯則好，外邊焦香及肉裡嫩紅的牛柳已放在我們面前。手法俐落，絕對是大將風範。



最欣賞的還是井上師傅對醬汁的調配，香味四溢的蒜蓉牛油汁正好帶出帆立貝的鮮甜，而生薑醬汁又跟嫩滑的斑片配合得恰到好處。原來她在鈇板燒的工作以外，本身也對烹調法國菜甚有心得，難怪在醬汁運用方面如此到家。