LSA Reviews: Experience pleasures of the sea at Plaisance by Mauro Colagreco

Plaisance by Mauro Colagreco has undoubtedly been one of the most highly anticipated restaurant openings in Hong Kong this year. The renowned Italian-Argentinian chef made history as the first non-French chef to achieve the prestigious honour of three Michelin stars in France for his renowned restaurant Mirazur. The restaurant was also named best in the world by World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2019.

A Review of Plaisance

The chef is a champion of sustainability and nature. At his original restaurant Mirazur in Menton, France, the menu revolves around the produce from its five-hectare gardens and nearby farms. In Hong Kong, Plaisance (which loosely refers to “pleasures of the sea”) will have the same approach, style and philosophy, but all about the ocean.

It’s a natural approach to the menu seeing that we are on an island and given Hong Kongers love for fresh seafood, said Colagreco at the restaurant opening recently. Plaisance, which has taken over the venue vacated by Shanghai Tang in Duddell’s Street, actually comprises three floors: the basement is an invitation-only private club, the ground floor is the casual dining and bar P Lounge, while the fine dining happens at Plaisance on the first floor.

Menton on the French-Italian border isn’t really on the tourist map; the closest airport is Nice which more than an hour away by train. So it was quite a treat to be able to try Colagreco’s food when he was personally in town for the opening. When he’s not in town, the kitchen will be led by executive chef Heloise Fischbach, who started her career at Mirazur and will also be familiar to fans of the now-defunct Ecriture where she served as chef de partie.

Plaisance offers a six-course Terra Marique menu ($1,988) and an eight-course Alta Marea menu ($2,488), as well as a three-course lunch menu ($788).  Our Terra Marique menu started with a substantial serving of welcome bites which included the razor clam tart, seaweed caviar cone, local flower crab, and morel mushroom.

The meal proper started with the kinmedai barbecued with tagète oil, paired with South African rooibos tea-tomato sauce, peach flavour tagète panna cotta, and spicy chili jam. I can’t say it was my favourite of the meal: the meat was a little chewy and the skin wasn’t as crispy as it looked. Temperature-wise, it was a little colder than I preferred.

But all that was forgotten with the beetroot caviar. This standout dish clearly showcased why it is one of Colagreco’s signature dishes. Baking the beetroot in salt transformed its flavour, eliminating the typical earthiness that can be off-putting for some. The buttermilk caviar sauce and caviar themselves added a richness that elevated the dish, making me a newfound beetroot convert.

The abalone, served atop koji rice in the shape of a crescent, with abalone liver sauce in the centre, had a pleasant presentation. However, I found the sauce a touch too sweet for my liking, making it tussle with the savoury taste of the abalone. On a positive note, the addition of truffles provided a nice touch.

Special mention must be made of the bread, a perfect loaf of pain du partage, shaped like petals on a flower which pulled apart for easy sharing. Added to Colagreco’s personal brand of flavoured olive oil, it took tremendous willpower to stop and make room for the other dishes to come.

The lamb rack looked deliciously tempting when it was brought to the table for one of my dining companions and I was starting to wonder if I had made the wrong choice of the monkfish since I already had fish earlier. While the lamb is on my to-try list for next time, I was not disappointed in the monkfish. The fish was incredibly silky and tender, and the accompanying jus made from a reduction of shellfish and infused with yuzu, fresh green Yunnan chili, Sansho pepper, and lime was delectably rich and bursting with flavours.

The pre-dessert, sake lee, was a refreshing palate cleanser. The combination of local cactus sorbet with a hint of sake and a kick of Yunnan chilli pepper was a unique and enjoyable combination. The rosemary dessert also showcased a wonderful array of textures and aromas. The ice cream, complemented by the crunch of chocolate, nori and black praline created a harmonious medley of flavours.

Overall, Plaisance by Mauro Colagreco delivered a memorable dining experience. While there were a few minor hiccups with the kitchen struggling to keep up, it didn’t overshadow the innovative flavours and impeccable attention to detail of Colagreco’s cuisine.

Cuisine

French

The Vibe 
The entrance to the restaurant can be a little forbidding with its large wooden doors and frosted glass. Once inside, you see a warm inviting bar and dining area that makes up P Lounge, the more casual part of the establishment. P Lounge serves an a la carte lunch menu at pretty decent prices with salads starting at about $108. However, when I went shortly after the review meal, it was clear that it still needed time to run in both with the kitchen and the service. The bar offers some interesting cocktails based on the oceans and tapas for the evening drinking crowd. There are ready set-ups for live music and a DJ booth for the evenings too. The main kitchen is upstairs at Plaisance where curved booth seats offer diners a good level of privacy but also a direct line of sight to the open kitchen. There are also two private rooms accommodating eight and six, respectively, for those wishing for a higher level of privacy.

Quick Notes

Price for two: 

Six-course – $4,000 (excl drinks and service charge)

Eight-course – $5,000

Address:

1/F, G/F and Basement, 1 Duddell Street, Central, Hong Kong

Tel. 3156 2600

Opening Hours: 
Lunch: 12nn – 2.30pm

Dinner: 6.30pm – 11pm