Le Comptoir’s two Michelin-starred contemporary French restaurant Écriture in Hong Kong has unveiled new signature menus — Library of Flavours and Summer Vegetal offerings in addition to a refreshed restaurant look.
The kitchen is helmed by executive chef Maxime Gilbert, who works closely with team members including Chef de Cuisine Heloise Fischbach, Pastry Chef Cyrus Yan, and restaurant director Marc Antoine Compper.
The eight-courses Library of Flavours menu begins with a selection of newly revamped seasonal amuse bouche: Yakitori of Mont Saint Michel Mussels glazed with peach syrup, lamb sweetbread nuggets with geranium egg white mayonnaise, a playful take on ratatouille, TARTatouille, Ecriture’s take on a ratatouille + tart, and bone marrow brioche French toast paired with homemade pigeon ham and pressed caviar.
Pastry Chef Cyrus Yan, Chef Maxime and Chef Heloise have revamped Ecriture’s entire bread basket offering with fresh homemade sourdough bread and homemade brioche feuillete, served with French butter from the region of Pays de la Loire.
Library of Flavours’ first course is Iwashi, Japanese sardines served raw with indigo tomatoes and a ratatouille consommé. The second course, Ebisu oyster, features Loire Valley French beans in garlic butter, tonburi cured in beef ham, sea water, oyster dashi, and sour cream.
Relish the grilled Nishimera Trout with potatoes, dill and pine, followed by the restaurant’s signature Akamutsu.
Choose between the main course of French Mieral Bresse chicken, chicken cooked whole in sourdough, served with grilled chicken thigh, sushi-rice, egg yolk, and Xiao Long Bao infused with red pepper bouillon – or Miyazaki Wagyu with Black Truffle, a supplemental option (+HK$788 per person) of cooked and raw wagyu beef mille-feuille with sea urchin and black truffle marmalade.
Adding to these are sweet delights like chocolate caramel Rocher, brown sugar madeleines, Miyazaki mango, wild French berry tart and chocolate cognac tart.
The eight-course Vegetal menu begins with green peas, served with pickled cucumber, kiwi, peppermint panna cotta, and lemon verbena oil, followed by a zucchini tart, served like a tatin cooked on socca with saffron dressing and zucchini flower tempura. The next course is the Kohlrabi, stuffed into delicate handmade tortellini along with spinach, leek, corn and basil. Wild Mushroom Xiao Long Bao is created with cepes papillote, girolles vin jaune, mousserons, and seaweed.
The next source is the seasonal Australian black truffle – in panettone with Eric Roy mini carrots, and apricot fricassee in raz el hanout sauce infused with chamomile.
Écriture’s creative version of Ratatouille sees a whole pineapple tomato “enratatouille”, wrapped in kombu and oven-roasted to bring out a robustly sweet and enticingly charred flavour. Next is Fennel, served as a palate-refreshing sorbet with aloe vera, wasabi, baby fennel salad from Eric Roy, and jasmine panna cotta.
End your meal with Cherry Tatin by Chef Cyrus Yan and Chef Tia Cheung, made with a delicate puff pastry, almond cream, fresh almonds, and milk ice cream to balance the cherry’s tartness.
