PLAT du JOUR Brings French Flavours To Pacific Place

Following the successful opening of PLAT du JOUR in Quarry Bay, a second venue has now opened in Pacific Place. This 160-seat restaurant is a more updated look to the sister property and offers all-day dining with quintessentially French dishes. mylifestyelnews discovers……

PLAT du JOUR in Pacific Place has one of the best positions on the lower level, it is hard not to miss with a fabulous original vintage Citroën delivery van taking pride of place out front that really adds to the Parisian charm. This location has a more expansive layout and exudes total French chic with intimate booths and cozy banquettes lined with warm red leather, plus the space transitions seamlessly into an expansive indoor terrace. The space’s grey hues and high ceilings evoke the romance of Parisian boulevards.

It looks like a winner as it is the perfect space for leisurely meals while people watching or hidden away inside the main dining room behind the reception/bar area. Under the culinary direction of Executive Chef David Parkin, PLAT du JOUR Pacific Place delivers a selection of dishes that reflect the best in traditional French cooking using carefully sourced ingredients.

It has very friendly prices, particularly on the wine list, to the point of being ridiculously cheap for the value they deliver and happy hour is even more amazing! The wine service is quite prompt and informative; the wait staff patiently asked about the speed of food and delivery in particular order for not hurrying you to finish your meal. Indeed, they do care.

We were recommended to try a French aperitif as we waited for our first course to arrive, and were delighted with the Noilly Prat  - white vermouth topped with soda and some frozen grapes sitting at the bottom of the glass. So to the food and well we don’t know about you but good bread is like manna from heaven. Their French baguette bread was so delish, with a great crunchy crust and chewy dough that we almost made a meal out of this alone and the French butter is just as divine when put together with the bread.

There is life after bread and the Home Tea Smoked Salmon and Escargot Bourguignon proved to be a marvelous beginning. The cured salmon fillet with fennel and grapefruit salad was so good and had a beautiful soft fresh from the water flavor.

The escargot was deliciously buttery and garlicky with a dash of parsley and there just didn’t seem to be enough for us carnivores. Less is more apply to this moment is definite as we know that there are more delectable dishes to come.

At this point we were also drawn to the wine pairing with some excellent 2012 Le Rocher Des Violettes La Negrette white wines from the Loire Valley and the 2013 Bourgogne-Aligor which really brought out the flavours in our food and we were transported to a hint of French terroir for a brief moment.

The next course was meant to just be the ‘soup’ course, but we decided that one of us would have the Lobster Bisque while we also could not resist the Crispy Ibérico Pig Cheeks.

The Lobster Bisque was very light and fresh with delicate seafood notes and very rich in texture, it felt like enjoying a great brandy with the depth of flavours.

The Crispy Ibérico pig cheeks were served with a confit of raw apple and pear together with homemade bacon, which were all a perfect accompaniment for the meat that was very clean-textured with a fabulous intense palate.

The sommelier came to our table and recommended two superb reds to compliment our choice of mains, so a 2014 Guffens au Sud French Syrah from the Vaucluse region and unexpectedly a 2013 Irony Pinot Noir from Monterey in California which knocked our socks off, catching us off guard for a moment as this pinot blew our minds and we took a moment to refocus on the food.

Our mains were ‘tres bien’, pairing the Côte de Porc with Coq au Riesling. The Berkshire pork came with potato puree, haricot verts and a brandy peppercorn sauce which all seemed to be just the right combination. The meat was very firm of texture and generous of portion, with a definitive flavor that was to be savoured, but not too ‘porky’.

The slow-braised chicken with glazed pearl onions, pancetta and pomme puree was the highlight of the meal thus far and turned out to be the dish of the night. The chicken was so delectable and tender, with the accompanying white wine creamy sauce was simply divine. As it is quite a large portion and what struck us was how unpretentious this dish was and just so delicious, we felt this summed up all the food we had enjoyed.

It is impossible to forgo desserts in a good French bistro and the Apple Tarte Tartin and Petit Baked Alaska did not disappoint. The Apple Tarte Tartin were soft in texture on a crispy pastry base and neither too sweet nor too tart.

The baked Alaska was ‘flaming’ great with a dense texture on the inside and light and fluffy on the outside, just perfect and devilishly delectable.

More wine flowed – a superb 2003 Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac with plenty of bottle age and we ruminated over the menu again and said to ourselves “who needs to go to Paris when you have this bistro right in the heart of Hong Kong”, so they are on a winner.



Every delicious dish we had embodied the sophistication and refinement of classic French cuisine and we could not be more delighted with our evening of savoir faire, PLAT du JOUR is indeed a night out of soirée spéciale.

Tried & Tested:

Location: 5/5

Design & Decor: 4/5

Food & Beverage: 4.5/5

Service: 4/5

Value For Money: 4/5

Experience: 4.5/5

Highlights:

Côte de Porc with Coq au Riesling

 Slow-braised chicken 

PLAT du JOUR Pacific Place

Unit 007, Level LG1 Pacific Place

88 Queensway, 

Admiralty, Hong Kong 

Tel: +852 2715 0511

Reviews are based on actual day of visit and experience. mylifestylenews reserves the right of final decision in case of any disputes. All images are photographed by mylifestylenews team without any photoshop enhancement and are the property owned by mylifestylenews unless otherwise stated.