The Fabulous & Beautiful (Branch 281) enjoyed a delicious and culinary experience at the innovative and stylish, Mercedes me. The unique venue, which includes a Mercedes car showroom, aims to be an intersection where the history and passion for the automobile crosses paths with the fast-paced culinary world of Hong Kong.

The menu matched the theme and had the va-va-voom of any leading automobile! The canapes were standout, particularly Iberico Ham Crostini and Baby Japanese Eggplant. Paired with a very chilled glass of Roederer Estate Brut, Anderson Valley, California, NV, it was a great way to start the dinner.

We dived into our starts and both packed such flavor: the Big Eye Tuna, Cucumber and Ponzu Sesame Sauce and then the Fresh Burrata, Tomato, Cherry and Black Salt. DELICIOUS! Both were paired with a Chardonnay, Marsannay Blanc “Les Clos”, Domaine Rene Bouvier, 2014.

Our three mains were divine: Scallops, Confited Garlic, Iberico Ham and White Asparagus were cooked to perfection and the Roasted Grass Fed Ribeye, Shiitake Stew, Wild Mushrooms left us feeling very full. The standout dish had to be the Duck Egg Yolk, Black Truffle, Shimeji and Onion Compote which paired so well with a glass of the Sangiovese, Brunello di Montalcino, Pian delle Vigne, Antinori, 2012.

After a rendezvous in the car showroom and a brief talk by the restaurant, we returned to our table to enjoy Caramelized Catalan Cream Foam, Vanilla Ice Cream, Orange & Honeycomb with a glass of Dessert Wine we enjoyed at our Christmas Dinner, the Jurançon ‘Ballet d’Octobre’, Domaine Cauhapé, 2015. The evening saw a small contingent of ladies trickle on into the early hours of Friday morning (we can blame he proximity to Hong Kong’s LKF for that, I’m sure)!

Text and images courtesy of Samantha Jayawardane