Caprice at the Four Seasons Hotel, Hong Kong

Went to Caprice just after Christmas 2005.

It's the "posh" restaurant at the new Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong. The decor is very glitzy - with chandeliers and thick carpet. The centrepiece of the restaurant is its open plan kitchen - kind of an interpretation of the gastropubs that you would find dotted around London. Trying too hard I thought.

How was the menu? OK - classic French restaurant menu though nothing was written in French ... shame as that's one of the little things that reminds you "This is a French restaurant". Or was it a French restaurant?

And the food? Everything was cooked well, but not exciting enough to warrant a postcard home. My mum and sister ordered the Bresse chicken dish for two. It's carved at the table and served as two courses. It looked good but I was told the dish tasted of chicken.

And the service? Yes, interesting. The four of us arrived and I had to attract the attention of one of the garcons to get served a drink (surely not, that's the Four Seasons hotel!). While my dad and I ordered the Billecart-Salmon Rose, the maitre d' brought something different to the table ... needless to say, I'd politely suggested "Were you not going to serve us the Billecart-Salmon?" Many apologies later, a fresh bottle was opened for us.

And if you are going to serve us salted and unsalted butter, then you'd better tell us - that's what the waiters would do at Le Cinq at George V in Paris, so why not in Hong Kong?

I think there's much polishing that Caprice would need to do.

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