The best part about my stay at JIA Boutique Hotel?
Excellent Italian fare.
Bread basket
Foie Gras Brulée – the creamy, meaty, fatty taste of the liver blends beautifully with the smoky and sweet layer of burnt sugar that covers it
Langoustines Baked in Brioche with Artichoke and Puntarelle Salad – the langoustines are a teeny-weeny bit too mushy
Pan Fried Quail and Foie Gras with Onion Tarte Tatin – the quail is tender and delicate in flavor, the foie gras buttery and rich in taste, the tarte tatin flaky and the onions sweet. Beautiful textures, beautiful tastes.
Fettuccine with Roasted Pork Rack and Wild Asparagus – and never in my wildest dreams have I imagined pork could taste so good. It tastes almost like lamb. And the fettuccine, I daresay, is the very best I have had in this lifetime.
Linguine with Canarian Island Red Prawn and Crispy Artichokes – now whoever thinks Da Domenico serves the best linguine in town, please, you must come now to The Drawing Room to have a taste of this perfectly al dente pasta that has absorbed every bit of sweetness, every bit of the taste of the sea, from this red prawn from the Canary Island.
Braised Cod Fish with Clams, Lemon and Vegetable Mashed Potato – Spencer does not offer, and I am too shy to ask. Sorry.
Roasted Pigeon with Smoked Foie Gras Terrine, Caramelized Apple and Chocolate Red Wine Sauce – the pigeon is cooked medium rare and is so very tender. Maybe I’m just not too used to it, but I still prefer my pigeon fried, the classic Chinese way.
Trio of Wagyu Short Rib, Wagyu Beef Tenderloin and Ox Tongue with Whipped Potato and Red Wine Sauce – do not judge, because these three little pieces, they sure don’t look like much. Until you first bite into them, that is. These little cubes are all so rich in flavor, so velvety in texture that I cannot decide, even if my life depended on it, which little piece I like the very best. Oh, short rib, tenderloin and tongue, you three are the bomb!
Lemon Soufflé with Mandarin Marmalade – Spencer’s
Apple Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream – thin, crisp and flaky, and so light it leaves no guilty feelings even after I polish off the whole plate.
Wild Strawberry Tart with Vanilla Mascarpone Cream – highly recommended by our server. It’s sweet, it’s sour, but for me, it is just alright.
Petit Fours
Now if only The Drawing Room had tiramisu…
The Drawing Room: JIA Boutique Hotel, 1/F, 1-5 Irving Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Tel: +852 2915 6628
