Plat du Jour - SoHo Prices in Quarry Bay

Rating: ❤❤❤

I stumbled upon this restaurant when I read an article introducing a new restaurant in Quarry Bay which aims to serve affordable French cuisine. Since I work around here, I thought I would just give it a try during lunch. I came here with a coworker around 12 but since we didn't make a reservation, we ended up getting seated at the bar which was pretty uncomfortable for dining. The restaurant was actually pretty big with plenty of seating in front and back of the bar so it was surprising that all tables were reserved already. The interiors looked like a chic French bistro with red leather chairs and hanging light bulbs. 

The menu was divided into 3 sections of starters, mains, and desserts with many classic French dishes like escargot, steak tartar, etc. You can pick any 2 courses for $185 and any 3 courses for $225. Relatively pretty pricey for lunch around Quarry Bay as most places cost around $100 and under. My coworker and I ended up choosing the 2 courses set with 1 main and 1 dessert each. 

We were given a bread basket with some baguette and butter to start with. The baguette was not warm and the butter was hard. It makes such a big difference when restaurants serve warm bread and soft spread so nothing special here. 

Beef Bourguignon (7/10) - I was watching Anthony Bourdain make exactly this dish on youtube earlier so when I saw this dish on the menu, I had to order it! It looked pretty good at first glance, but I discovered pretty soon that it was not hot enough. The meat and sauce were just lukewarm. The beef itself was a bit tough and lean to eat while the sauce was kind of plain. The side dish of potato puree was tasty though as it was smooth and creamy. 

Moules Marinieres (7/10) - one of my favorite French dishes! Unfortunately the mussels were pretty scrawny and tiny which were not as enjoyable to eat than if they were juicy and fatty. The sauce was pretty flavorful though with white wine, cream, parsley and shallots. The mussels also came with a side of french fries which were nice and crunchy to eat. If only the mussels were better, this would have been one scrumptious dish!

Apple Tarte Tatin (4/10) - what a mess this was! The caramelized apple tasted sour while the texture was like a dried fruit. The puff pastry was almost non-existent as there was too much apple to pastry ratio. The only good thing about this dessert was the vanilla ice cream...

Chocolate Tart (8/10) - this was their dessert of the day and fared much better than the apple tarte tatin. The chocolate mousse was thick and creamy while the taste was very rich in chocolate. The crust was crumbly and buttery which went very well with the velvety chocolate mousse!

Verdict - since they do not differentiate between lunch and dinner prices, I'm a bit on the fence about this place as it was pretty pricey for lunch without delivering the value and quality. I mean for the same price in Central, you can get a starter, main, dessert and drink for lunch at Mesa 15 with better quality. On the other hand, it is nice to see more choices in western dining on this side of the island. For the time being, this restaurant remains just a decent choice if you have to dine in Quarry Bay. Otherwise, I think there are better choices to choose from elsewhere. 

Plat du Jour
17-21 Hoi Wan Street, Quarry Bay 
2789 4200

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