Le Rêve - Hong Kong

Le Rêve, means "The Dream" in French, is a modern French x Japanese fusion fine restaurant decorated with a series of dream collectors. My partner and I were excited to try this restaurant for our date night. We had no expectations of the food and dining room environment and were really surprised by the surprises on the menu. We went for this 6 Shades of Flavor Set. Both chose the Japanese Cod Fish. There is also a 4 Shades and 8 Shades of Flavor set for you to choose, the difference is in the number of Surprise Dishes. The Amuse Bouche has already set a high standard to start the meal. This basket of the house made bread was absolutely beautiful! The croissants were freshly warm and crisp with a heavy butter taste. Yum! The little sausage rolls were also amazing! Home made butter was really creamy, and for a second I didn't know what to eat, how the bread itself was brilliant. The first surprise dish was served after the appetizer. On the right was this Japanese shaving dish with roes on the top and chili paste on the sides. It was really fresh and properly cooked that it did not chew or fish at all! Very pleasant indeed even for a non-shelled fans like me. We were suggested to eat the shaving shell with this crème brûlée with sea urchin. We were a bit skeptical after the waiter told us the court, but decided to give it as we were told. A bite of savory razor, followed by a bite of sweet crème brûlée. Our taste buds were shocked with this contrasting sweetness/sexy, and it was definitely a novel and euphoric feeling! Second Shades of Flavor is a must have item in French Fine Ess Foie Gras. If you believe that this pan meerrote foie grass is common, then you are wrong. It is neither fat nor stuffy as other ordinary foie grass. The red wine sauce has filled up its already very enjoyable taste. The special thing about this dish is chestnut pure with Japanese mushrooms and the house made yogurt ice. If you feel that the foie grass is a bit too much for you, try to eat it with the chestnut red and yoghurt ice cream that facilitates the severity of this fat animal organ. Nevertheless, I decided to eat them separately to enjoy their individual flavors. No! Third shades of Flavor was this Lobster Tail with mixed pepper sauce under the bowl, mustard seed cream sauce and veggie foam in the bowl. This dish was a bit common compared to the other wowing dishes, but nevertheless very tasty. I especially like the crispy dried cale on the side. Here comes the second Surprise Dish, properly described on the menu as “A surprise prepared by Chef to accompany you in your dream”. This flaming piece of meat was a slowly boiled Iberico shoulder with rose wine. We were advised to enjoy it with the house made red wine / berries sauce with the pancakes as you eat a Beijing duck. The Iberico shoulder itself was very delicate, probably due to the cooking method. The lower fat layer made it very aromatic and delicious. I tried to eat them with Beijing duck style for once, and decided to eat them separately as I enjoy tasting the individual flavors more than they combine in this dish. The fifth shades of Flavor was this main Japanese Cod Fish in Saffron Clam cream, as well as tomatoes and red onion under the fish. The fish itself was standard, but the shell cream worked its magic to make this dish amazing. The cream had a strong taste of shells that added the fish. The tomatoes and red onion were like salsa, well worked with the cream to give some refreshing taste to the main. Last Shades of Flavor was a sesame ball in Japanese tea ice cream with black white sesame crackers, cherry chocolate, raspberries and popcorn. It was described as a “casual” dish as you can enjoy it as you want. The warm sesame ball tasted so good! Actually everything on the plate was very delicious and pleasant, especially the crisp popcorn.

Had quite a few creative fusion or tasting menu before but this one not creative enough for my tasting. Main dish was quite plain in comparison and the pork taste average. seating so tight i was bumped by other guest from behind. staff is polite enough. i would say the money not well spent for the evening.

French Japanese Fine Food On 10 F from “Zing!” with lounge bar area and outdoor seats, Le Rêve combines the culinary arts of French and Japanese cuisine, with exquisite fusion of fine culinary experiences to impress every table. Charcoal bread paired with smoked butter, Fried Seaweed At a warm temperature served and had a beautiful soft texture, the carbon bread tasted slightly sweet and goes well with the addictive smoke butter. Zucchini salad An impressive burst of aromas consisting of fresh zucchini, cucumber, okra, sous vide cherry tomatoes and an appetizing blend of Balsamico vinegar and yogurt cream sauce. Truffle cream soup Slowly shimmered for hours, the delicate chicken shreds were delected with truffle, cream and basil oil.

A French Japanese fusion makes me wonder which is which, feels slightly mixed identify with their dishes. Choice of 3 carefully selected courses of 4, 6 and 8 course with choice of wine pairing. There is also a choice within each of the 3 set courses for the main dish. I went for the 4 course which was set at HK$590 before service and no wine pairing. The waygu beef main course would set you back a further $200 or so. See attached pictures, pan fried goose liver with pear reduction sauce, comes with chestnut cream sweet) and a spoon of ice cream. The favours are interesting, the liver is of the tiniest portion for one I have seen; I would not be having that again despite the unique favours which was ok. 2nd course was a prawn served in a light soup cooked with some clams and baby eggplants the size of small blueberries with a touch of bitterness. Prawn was nicely cooked, plain straight grilled prawn, fresh served off the shells, the soup and clams were only okay, light bitter soup, not my choice. Main course was the lamb with some finely chopped beans and mint jelly, pretty standard dish did not see much Japanese elements inside except the really rare lamb, apparently cooked by lightly searing the surface, baking and pan fried the outer surface again, I state this because we did not have a choice over how well the lamb was cooked, it was 'decided best by the chef ', hence my take of the Japanese elements on this dish. The 3 of us ordered the same thing didn 't really have much of a choice tbh), so perhaps they were cooking one rack of lamb and cut them up, one of the smallest cut and thinnest slice of lamb chop at a supposingly classy restaurant, albeit the price wasn 't too bad for a 4 course. And lastly the dessert, basil ice cream served in a cone shape bowl sitting on top of a glass that was filled with mint and dry ice, not for consumption, just to constantly provide you with smell of mint, while you have the ice cream, not entirely sure what they were thinking about this, not too bad I suppose. The bread came in an interesting duffle bag like one for your fancy accessories, warm and soft, but in rare quantity. Services were excellent with attentive to details and clearly explained dishes and how they were cooked, did ask us about food allergy which is a win for me. Choice of wine is slightly on the short side, where 's the Japanese wine? Restaurant located up a building on 10/f it has a balcony with limited view, can dine outside, for smoking perhaps. Set came with coffee or tea, however the service was slightly slow and a 7:45pm dinner ended with 11pm when coffee and some complimentary orange cake and tart was served. One member of our group had to leave by then. Given the size of dishes, and the standard version of their menu, one would have expected faster service. Unfortunately I will not be returning to this place as nothing really appealed to me.

Menu has a variety and presentation is good. Staff know the food ingredients well and serve food in good manner though they do not present any emotion part and the restaurant lack that soft touch too. A bit of background may help and the sitting arrangement may need some adjusting as it felt like going to a normal well prepared eating place or canteen. The restroom need to have bit of air freshener as it has this moldy smell...