Review | Modern and classic dishes hit the spot at Somm in Central, in Amber’s old bar area
- Somm, at Hong Kong’s Landmark Mandarin Oriental hotel, serves new-bistro fare designed to go well with wine and sake
- Highlights included the wagyu flap steak with red miso, Japanese pork belly with barbecue sauce, and garden peas à la Francaise
While Amber at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hong Kong’s Central business district has been receiving a lot of attention for its new menu of dairy-free and sustainable dishes, Somm, which occupies the space that once housed Amber’s bar area, opened without much fanfare.
Somm serves dishes that go well with wine and sake. My guest and I ordered the usual two starters, two mains and two desserts, but we were given a couple of extra dishes, and our drinks were comped, the sommelier having recognised me.
The menu is brief: four “bites”, five starters, four mains, three sides and five desserts. There was also a separate list featuring Australian black truffles.
We were comped two bites (which are more generously portioned than the name implies): a delicious, very refreshing dish of David Hervé boudeuse oysters with spiced tomato granite (HK$118), and kadafi-fried taiyouran egg with sour cream and smoked pike perch roe (HK$118). The latter had crisp pastry contrasting with a perfectly done, very runny egg.
Hokkaido scallop with razor clam, sea lettuce and kyuri condiment (HK$248) was cool and light, with the diced kyuri – Japanese cucumber – giving a subtle crunch. Sweet, meaty, succulent pieces of crab leg (HK$378) were paired with a salad of soft butter lettuce leaves and a pale green blob of ethereal lemon verbena mayonnaise.
We saw the couple at the next table with the main course of wagyu flap steak with red miso, spring vegetable jus and black sesame oil (HK$388) and it looked so good we had to order it. The meat was fantastic because it wasn’t the predicable super-fatty beef that so many restaurants are serving nowadays (and which is excellent as long as it’s served in small portions, or else the fat is overwhelming) but it was just rich and tender enough. The sauce smelled stronger than it tasted, and complemented the beef well.
Our second main was just as good – although for the opposite reason. When we order pork belly, we want a sufficient amount of fat – because what else is the point of ordering this cut? Japanese pork belly with barbecue sauce (HK$278) had excellent layering of fat and meat, making it wonderfully tender and moist. It was served with Hakata cabbage prepared two ways – charred in a thick wedge, and lightly dressed raw leaves, both of which went well with the richness of the meat.
For the side dishes, garden peas à la Francaise (HK$68) took peas to another level. These were not frozen petits pois, or even fresh English peas; these were teardrop peas – tiny, crisp and sweet – cooked with bacon and lettuce in a classic French preparation.
We ordered the potato and black summer truffle gratin dauphinois (HK$98) but when our charming waitress set the dish on the table, I realised immediately that we’d been upgraded to the Australian black truffle version. Another classic French dish, and again, perfectly executed, with tender potatoes and just the right amount of creaminess.
For dessert, alphonso mango with lime and sake lees ice cream (HK$118) was refreshing, with sweet, fragrant fruit. Our waitress highly recommended the abinao chocolate souffle with cacao sorbet (HK$128), which we loved. The souffle had a liquid core that oozed out when we cut into it, and the sorbet was light but deeply flavoured.
Somm, 7/F Landmark Mandarin Oriental, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central, tel: 2132 0055. About HK$850 per person without drinks or the service charge.
