Photoless Review: Brasserie Le Fauchon

I returned to work on Thursday, Jan. 8 and all my coworkers were surprised to see me there... apparently they'd thought I wasn't coming in until the Friday. Though I was tempted to get up and leave so I could get more rest after my mother's gruelling Asian adventures, I was glad that I didn't when I found out that we would be going to Brasserie Le Fauchon for lunch.

Le Fauchon is a chain of restaurants in Hong Kong (which include Bistrot Le Fauchon and Le Fauchon Colour) that seem to target the business crowd. The Wan Chai location is relatively new and located on the first floor of the J Residence, a swanky new property in this busy inner-city district. If you're feeling lazy enough, you can take the elevator up, but we decided to take the stairs. This particular location had a large outdoor seating area, with one side dominated by white couches, and the other with heavy patio chairs. Propane patio heaters dot the entire area so that you won't feel cold even if eating in "chilly" 15°C weather.

The set lunches were reasonably priced, ranging from $68-$88 (~CAD$11-14). There was also an executive lunch set that was $148 (~CAD$24), where the salad is upgraded to include slices of smoked salmon, and includes three desserts instead of one.

Although the name "Brasserie Le Fauchon" would imply beer and French cuisine, we didn't drink, of course, and the posh office workers around us all drank wine. As for the cuisine, I would say it leaned toward Italian; the salad was basically a Caesar salad with capelin roe on top and risotto and pasta were both choices on the menu.

Backing up a little bit, one thing that must be noted was the butter that came with the bread. Instead of the usual Anchor butter packets you see at most Hong Kong restaurants, we were given two rounds of butter flecked with garlic and herbs. YUMMY.

I guess I could also give the salad a bit more credit and say that we were given a variety of greens (not just a pile of iceberg lettuce) and the capelin roe is a touch that you probably won't find in a lot of restaurants. The salad also came with your traditional Hong Kong choice of "cream" or "borscht", and by borscht they mean tomato soup with some cabbage thrown in.

Since my dining companions already called the risotto and pasta, I decided to try the pork chop with apple gravy. The meat was very tender, but the apple gravy disappointingly didn't taste of any apple at all. It only tasted of fat... and salt, I guess.

The highlight of the meal (aside from dining al fresca), was dessert. The "triple chocolate cake" was a swirl of white chocolate and dark chocolate, and my piece was cut just so that I got a good taste of each. My dining companion who ordered the executive lunch also gave me his crème brûlée, which I thoroughly enjoyed as well.

Reading this review again, it feels like I'm really harping on the restaurant, but while I was there it was a good experience... perhaps because I was growing disenchanted with Chinese food, and having western food of decent quality was a nice change of pace. I was actually looking forward to going again for my farewell/our end of the Chinese year lunch, (so I could snap some pics!) but the restaurant was full :(

Brasserie Le Fauchon (Wan Chai Location)
1/F, Shop 9, J Residence
60 Johnston Rd, Wanchai, Hong Kong
(852) 2528 1286