Having heard that Thierry Marx had left the Mandarin Oriental in Paris after 14 years, I was eager to hear what the hotel was going to do next in relation to their food. The chef from the Mandarin in Hong Kong is over for a short stint and cooking for the Camelia restaurant there now. I have to say that we noticed an instant upgrade in the level of cookery to before and rightly so as the chef had come from Pierre Gagnaire in Hong Kong. A welcomed change for everybody and this was the push that the restaurant needed even if it is only for a short while whilst they decide what direction to go in. The restaurant has no accolades or awards, but we enjoyed trying out the new menu in our room.
Lunch
I took the lobster Parmentier, green salad and Choron sauce. Firstly, I am not one of these people moaning when a dish is too small, far from it. I like it when dishes on a menu are not too big. But this did make me question the size. It was outlined as a main course and what came was half a lobster. There was a ridiculously small piece of lobster with an even smaller amount of Parmentier in the shell. It was gone in seconds and the small salad and Choron sauce still left me feeling hungry. The dish was presented well but maybe a whole lobster, or a different dish could be considered to address the tiny portion size
Dinner
To start- Green and white asparagus braised in seawater, John Dory, lardo fish stock reduction with sake and ginger vinaigrette, bottarga. Upon reading this I knew they had changed the chef before anyone told us. This dish was speaking to us and is everything we like ingredient and combination wise. Perfectly cooked asparagus, draped with a good lardo is already winning in my eyes. Add the reduction and the vinaigrette, topped with a strong bottarga. Everything was brought together simply but was in fact an excellent tasting starter using quality ingredients.
Langoustine quenelles, mussels and marinière juice, baby spinach- It seemed a shame to not have the Langoustine in its usual simpler form, it was unusual making them into quenelles. The ‘juice’ was more like a rich, delicious, and moorish sauce. Packed full of depth and flavour. The mussels were cooked well, not over. It was also clear that the mussels were of a superior quality, something we struggle with in London. Baby spinach, celery leaves on top to give some colour/contrast to the rest of the dish.
Main course- Barbecued grilled octopus, sauce vierge, burnt lime- Confidently cooked octopus, sitting on top of a sharp sauce vierge. One of the best we have had at The Mandarin. An ever so slightly burnt lime on the side to squeeze, bringing extra acidity to this dish. It was a good one and I do not think the restaurant has ever delivered this level of Octopus cookery in all the years we have been coming.
The highlight of the dinner- Brittany line-caught red mullet “à la torche”. You could tell this was in the hands of a Michelin starred chef and we instantly highlighted this. Delicately and carefully prepared, executed perfectly. I love this sort of dish and how simple it is. No where to hide, it is what it is. Done well, it was an exceptionally good plate of food.
Dessert- Tarte soufflé au chocolat, Vanilla ice cream. Always a winning combination, with a well-made pastry case on the outside, served warm and soufflé like in the middle. Chocolate of course, well balanced with the vanilla ice cream. Not too heavy either, it was small/light. Finished with a fresh mint tea. A perfect end.
