Diningcity.com has been hosting the popular Restaurant Week event for the past few years now, offering set meals from 50 fancy restaurants in Hong Kong. Lunch set starting from $98 and dinner set starting from $258. Booking a meal at one of these restaurants, however, is a near-impossible task as they were crazily popular and likely to be fully booked by the time you browsed through the other ones. So our advice is to act quick when it comes to booking one of them!
One of the perks about working in Central is that there are tons of nice yet expensive restaurants in our neighborhood. We picked Azure as it was one of the few left available on the list of restaurants. Azure belongs to Category A, and the lunch set is priced at $248 including a starter, a main and dessert with a drink. Located at the top floor of Hotel LKF, Azure is usually a bar/club where crowds of party-goers hang out over the weekends. During the day, it was a completely different picture-- it was peaceful and quiet.
The grand white staircase offers a clean and elegant atmosphere and the luxuriously decorate restaurant was made even more spectacular by the view of Central. There wasn't a lot of people when we arrived and the tables were given enough space from each other.
(1) One nice thing about the complimentary bread was that there were 3 interesting options for the butter they served with. Each of them had a different and delicious flair!
(2) We started with a Pan Seared Foie Gras which looked adorable with the plating and the Foie Gras was completely tasty and juicy too. Unfortunately, C and D just came back from their trip in London and they had the phenomenal meat fruit by Heston Blumenthal. So it was a hard dish to top for Azure. Otherwise, it was a delicate dish and we just wished the foie gras could be a bit larger.
(3) Another cute looking dish was the Carpaccio di Struzzo. We enjoyed the raw beef with the tiny piece of chips. The green sauce beside it definitely added a twist in the taste, however, the quality of the meat was a bit mediocre compared to other carpaccio we have tried before.
(4) The Lobster Linguini D ordered did not look as gorgeously breathtaking as the other dish; frankly it looked a bit ordinary. But we quickly changed our minds once we tasted the smooth and thoroughly cooked lobster with the faultlessly seasoned linguini. It was a superb and perfectly executed dish and it was for sure our favorite!
(5) C liked ducks but the Roast Duck Re-design was not as flavour-packed as the name of the dish would suggest. It was visually stunning and conceptually creative and playful dish having the duck cooked in three different ways, in particular, using duck meat as a filling for spring roll was a nice surprise. However, the taste of ducks was not consistent, perhaps due to the quality of the meat, and it did not live up to our expectation.
(6) As for dessert, the Black & White Sesame Cream Brûlée Served with Mixed Berries & Almond Tuile had a very nice twist to the normal cream brulee, using black and white sesame as its main flavor. It was refreshing and definitely reflected the standard of the restaurant!
(7) D ordered the beloved Mandarin Tart. Although it was a small piece, it was excellently chewy with a natural taste. Couple with a lime ice cream and chocolate bites, it was a nice dessert to round up our restaurant week lunch.
VERDICT
Ambience: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Service: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Food: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Overall remarks: Azure was admittedly rather pricey for what it had to offer, but if you don't mind the food, there was plenty to enjoy- the breathtaking view, a sumptuous decor, the elegant and classy design, the attentive staff and a convenient location in Central. It was quiet and peaceful, and you will definitely have an enjoyable and comfortable meal. But if you would like good quality food, then there is plenty of other options in Central.
INFO
Ambience: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Service: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Food: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Azure (website)
29 & 30/F, Hotel LKF by Rhombus, 33 Wyndham Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong
29 & 30/F, Hotel LKF by Rhombus, 33 Wyndham Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong
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