Le Moment - Amazing Apple Crumble!

Rating: ❤❤❤❤

Some of the world's most expensive and famous foods come from France. However, French food doesn't always have to be expensive and I've been on a quest to find affortable and delicious French restaurants in HK. I've heard that the apple crumble here is pretty good so I decided to check out Le Moment on a Friday night. 

Located in SoHo, the restaurant was quaint and cozy with chic black and white decor. Different bottles of wine lined one side of the wall, alluding to the unique and vast wine collection at Le Moment. At 6:30pm, the restaurant was pretty empty so we had the place pretty much to ourselves. 

After I called to make a reservation, the owner Bob had sent me his dinner menu and wine list ahead of time. The wine list was very comprehensive with descriptions and commentary on the flavors of each wine.  When we arrived, he came over to go over the dinner menu in a very detailed manner, explaining the source of the ingredients and the flavors of each dish. He's obviously very passionate about his food and wine, yet I can see how his eccentricity can be off-putting per previous reviews. It didn't bother us really and we had a great discussion with him about wine as we had just come back from Napa Valley. 

We each picked a main dish from the 4 course menu, which came with a salad, soup, and dessert as well. Besides the spring chicken, there were 7 main courses available for us to choose from and all of them sounded appealing to me! We ended up choosing the duck breast and pork rack for our dinner this night. 

After choosing our main dishes, Bob asked us if we can finish a bottle of wine and proceeded to pick 5 wine to recommend to us for our dinner. His philosophy is to pick wines that is not commonly served in HK so he had wine that was from Greece, Austria, Loire Valley, Oregon, Bulgaria, etc. His wine recommendations ranged from $380 - $580 per bottle, and we ended up choosing a red from Austria.

Blauer Zweigelt ($480) - the wine was easy on the palate and smooth to drink. It tasted like a pinot noir with hints of fruity and nutty flavors. It was the perfect blend of the earthiness from old world wines and the zest from new world wines. We had no problem finishing the bottle of wine between the 2 of us as it went very well with the food.  

Smoked Salmon Caesar - the salad was simple with pieces of smoked salmon on romaine lettuce. The smoked salmon was fresh and the salad dressing was light. While the salad was good, I found it to be a bit plain and underwhelming though. 

Soup of the Day - the tomato soup was piping hot when it arrived along with a piece of toast. At first I thought it was just plain old creamy tomato soup but as I took my first sip, I scooped up chunks of real tomato cubes from the bottom of the soup. The tomato cubes were still firm and raw so it was like taking a bite out of a fresh tomato while drinking the tomato bisque. The addition of the fresh tomato was a nice surprise which enhanced the overall texture and taste of the soup.  

Spiced Cured French Duck Breast, wild Berries Au Jus ($278) - it's true what Bob said when he described this dish - it was the biggest duck breast we've seen served in a restaurant (longer than our hands)! The duck was nicely cooked with a seared crispy surface while the inside was pink and raw. Some parts were a bit tough to eat though. The au jus was very tangy and appetizing which complimented the duck breast very well. A solid dish overall but not the best that I've had. 

Grilled Canadian Pork Rack with Black Truffle Wild Mushroom Reduction ($258) - the portions again were very generous as the pork rack was huge and thick! The black truffle sauce smelled amazing and aromatic. The mushrooms were really flavorful as they had soaked up the flavors of the truffle. The pork itself was nicely cooked - though it was not as tender or juicy as I'd like. The sauce went very well with the pork, and I had trouble finishing the pork as there was just too much. 

Onto my favorite part of the meal - desserts! Our set dinner came with a lemon tart but we can also change the dessert to another dessert on their menu for an extra $30-40. I had originally wanted to try their pear chocolate crumble but as they didn't have any that day, I settled for the apple crumble instead. 

Lemon Tart - the lemon tart that came with the dinner was really good! The pastry shell was crumbly while the lemon filling was tart but not too sweet. There was also some raspberry sauce on the side and this combination of sour on sour flavors went very well together! 

Baked Apple Crumble (+$30) - OMG best apple crumble ever! The crumble on top was baked to perfection as it was crispy and buttery. The size of the crumble was also perfect as it wasn't too crumbly or too clumped together. Underneath the crumble, there was a layer of thin apple slices, which were just right in flavor as they were not too sweet. It was the best apple crumble I've ever tried!

Verdict - Sometimes too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. The portions of the main dishes were a bit too big to enjoy comfortably and that last bite of meat with truffle sauce or au jus can start feeling like it was just too much. Overall, the cooked food was pretty solid but not amazing, yet the desserts are out of this world! I would come back to try their baked pear chocolate crumble next time!

Le Moment
G/F, 55 Peel StreetSoho, Central
3488 0733 

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