by Aude Camus 
 
My culinary trip around Paris and Ducasse’s restaurants (which started in this first article here) is taking us to a new place today. But for a change of scenery, I am having you hoping on a boat.  Well, not just any boat but Ducasse sur Seine, the latest Parisian address of the most decorated Michelin Star chef alive born from his desire to have guests discover what he calls “the most beautiful avenue in the world”: the Seine. A beautiful encounter between two landmarks of French culture, don’t you think?
 
I mean, what better way to enjoy Paris than through sailing the Seine while tasting reinterpreted Parisian cuisine? 

Hop on board guys, let’s not be late, that boat is going to leave soon, and it would be a shame to miss it. At lunch time, you have to board between 12 and 12.30, boat leaves at 12,45 sharps. But the sooner you board, the sooner you get to enjoy a refreshing glass of champagne and the longer you get to admire the Eiffel Tower since the boat is docked at the foot of the Paris’ Iron Lady. 
 

Here we are, in a bubble. Literally speaking since the dining room features floor to ceiling glass walls offering panoramic view over the City of Light. And if it’s not enough for you, feel free to stand-up at any time, leave your table for a few minutes and enjoy a bit of fresh air on the deck surrounding the ship or on the upstairs terrace. The whole atmosphere of the place is an ode to Paris such as this carpet floor figuring a map of the city. Oh, but we are already sailing! I haven’t noticed before! That boat really is quiet and stable. 
 
So quiet it is actually hard to imagine an entire brigade is working hard under our feet. But believe me, I was lucky enough to be given a tour of the kitchen, led by Chef de Cuisine Francis Fauvel, and this one can compete with any kitchen in a fine dining restaurant. No less than 36 cooks and pastry cooks are working there over different shifts. 
 
Today, we are here to enjoy the lunch set, Déjeuner sur Seine, and I cannot wait to taste (again) Alain Ducasse’s seasonal modern French cuisine. As you can imagine, it’s delicious: light but tasty, modern but gourmet and with a beautiful emphasis on natural products. Very Ducasse. 
 
After 2h sailing on the Seine, admiring the beauty of the city and enjoying great food and smart company, we are arriving back to our departure point. But no worries, you don’t have to leave the boat yet. Petit-fours and coffee just arrived at our table and it absolutely not the spirit of the place to have you rush out. They do take hospitality quite seriously. If weather allows, the staff will even offer you to enjoy your coffee on the upstairs terrace soaking up more beautiful views from Paris and the Eiffel Tower. Well, let’s just enjoy those lovely extra minutes! 
 

Déjeuner sur Seine: EUR 100 for 3 courses / EUR 150 for 3 courses with wine paring / EUR 250 for 4 courses with wine pairing 
Sous le Ciel de Paris(when the boat is docked in the afternoon, starting from 4 pm): afternoon tea starting from EUR 35 
Nuit Étoilée: EUR 150 for 4 courses / EUR 250 for 4 courses with wine pairing /EUR 190 for 5 courses plats / EUR 290 for 5 courses with wine pairing
 
Ducasse sur Seine
19 Port Debilly – 75116 Paris 
 
 

 

This write-up is based on a lunch hosted hosted by Ducasse sur Seine (no monetary compensation). 









 

by Aude Camus 
 
Last march, I was lucky enough to meet and interview iconic chef Alain Ducasse in Hong Kong. In June, I was meeting the world’s most decorated Michelin Star chef alive for the second time, in Macau. This time not to interview him but spend the day by his side and be his interpreter. What a fascinating day it was. I did listen to every single of his words, translating for the journalists but also making sure to take notes for myself (I did write down the name of the Chef’s favorite bakery in Paris but unfortunately couldn’t make the time to visit when in France last week so will tell you more about this one another time) and soaking up the chef’s philosophy: “To eat more healthily and naturally is today both an expectation and a necessity that must be translated into the field of haute cuisine. Exceptional produce expressing their simplicity, a technique which has the elegance to take a step back to their benefit. This is the cuisine I sincerely love. Cuisine of Naturalness, released, freed. This very personal interpretation is indeed, here, in my restaurant at the Plaza Athénée” Speaking of Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, I had the great privilege of pushing the doors of this very unique place just a few days ago. I’m taking you with me for lunch at this 3 Michelin Star restaurant, number 16 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking and lead by Chef de Cuisine Romain Meder. 
 
Denis Courtiade, Manager of the Restaurant, gives you a warm yet elegant welcome in the hotel lobby before inviting you to follow him. He pushes the doors for you and here you are, in a futuristic and luxurious dining-room dominated by grey, white and gold tones. 

How can a place be so grandiose yet intimate? And look at those inox shell … how modern? Don’t they remind you of the cloche bells used for service in fine dining restaurants? 

Seating at my table almost feels like joining my own private little alcove. And here comes the Maitre d’Hôtel, welcoming us with a fresh tomato water. I’ve only been here for a couple of minutes but busy Paris and the heat (I’ve visited during a heatwave) already seem so far away. I just can’t wait to unveil the mysteries of “Cuisine of Naturalness”, a cuisine “natural, simple, healthy and good for you” and designed around the fish-vegetable-cereal trilogy to create a diet more in tune with nature and better for your health. 

All fishes are sustainably sourced, cereals come from small committed producers living close to their lands and vegetables are coming straight from the Jardin de la Reine in Versailles. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much attention to details anywhere else. 
 
I could keep going like this for hours, but shouldn’t we have a look at the menu while enjoying the amuse-bouches? Menu is short and seasonal, but one wouldn’t expect anything else.  
 
I am kicking-off this lunch with Volcanic hills green lentils and caviar, flavoured delicate jelly (EUR 190). 

A starter which actually comes in three different plates: small hot buckwheat pancakes in a plate, thick crème fraiche with caviar in the second plate, and an explosive combination of lentils on a delicate flavorful eel jelly topped with an outrageously delicious amount of caviar. This dish really is something! The combination between the smoky strong taste of the eel, the quite earthy taste of the lentils and the iodine from the caviar is fresh, surprising and highly addictive. I am also loving that you eat this dish kind of like a wrap, putting a spoon of everything on the buckwheat pancakes and eating them with your fingers. Licking your fingers in a 3 Michelin Star restaurant … shocking? Not here! There is nothing pretentious about the place, and I am loving it: marks of attention accompany you throughout the meal making you feel that you are very welcome here. Elegant simplicity is to be found everywhere, not only in the dishes. 
 
I was lucky to also try another starter, one to share this time. Again, sharing dishes isn’t really something you would expect to see in a 3 Michelin Star restaurant and I’m loving it that this place is breaking those codes and rules, making sure to always put the product first. Are you ready to dip-in those Taglioni Pasta made with stale bread flour, yogurt and golden caviar condiment (EUR 140)? Surprising cold pasta which flour is made reusing the remaining bread of the day before … what a great approach. 
 
Another glass of wine while waiting for our main maybe? You should definitely have one. This Clos Stegasta from T-Onios vineyards in Greece, recommended by Head Sommelier Laurent Roucayrol, is definitely a treat! And I loved hearing the story of this small independent vineyard, located on Tinos Island and where grapes grow organically. A wine which, again, perfectly goes along with the whole philosophy of the place. 
 
For my main dish, I’ve decided to take a trip down to the South of France with the Sanary-sur-Mer octopus, barbecued grilled zucchini, green fig (EUR 105). What stroke me first was how fresh this dish was despite being a hot one with barbecued grilled ingredients. Then, I loved the different textures of it. Last but not least, I totally felt for the sour twist of the fig absolutely perfect with the grilled zucchinis. 
 
Would it be a proper French gastronomic meal without a cheese platter? If you ask me, that’s an absolute no. But here, it’s even better than a cheese platter, it’s a cheese trolley. God, I do love a good old French cheese trolley! 
 
There was no way I would have left the place without dessert. First of all because I was just enjoying myself way too much not to want and make it last a little longer. Then because Jessica Préalpato, the Head Pastry Chef, was very recently awarded as World’s Best Pastry Chef 2019. The Lemon from Nice, kombu seaweeds with tarragon (EUR 45) is such an explosive treat with its acidic and iodine flavors while the Saint-Ricquier rhubarb preserved and melted, frozen kefir (EUR 45) is a sweet and slightly acidic combination of crusty and soft textures. Both desserts were surprisingly very natural, not sweet at all and offering a strong emphasis on the natural product. A perfect ending to the experience of Naturalness. 
 
Well, after 4h in this haven of elegance, simplicity and gastronomy, I guess it is now time to leave. But not without one last mark of attention from the team: a chocolate bar from the Manufacture du Chocolat Alain Ducasse. 
 

The “Jardin-Marin” menu (three dishes as halves, cheese and dessert): EUR 395
Lunch menu on Thursdays and Fridays (starter, main, dessert, 2 glasses of wine selected by the Chef Sommelier): EUR 210
 
Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée
26 Avenue Montaigne, 75008 PARIS



 

 


















 

Good morning Alain Ducasse and thanks for having me today. You have today 30 restaurants across the globe, why in 2003 have you decided to come to Hong Kong?
If I am not mistaken, I think we were the first one to come to Hong Kong back then. There was no other expat restaurant like us. I loved Hong Kong very much, I had been there before and even stayed at this hotel 30 years ago when it was still the Regent (editor’s note: the Intercontinental Hong Kong will undergo major renovation in 2020 following which it will be rebranded back as the Regent). I even had dinner at this exact restaurant, Plume it was named at that time. So, it was funny that 15 years later they would offer me to open my restaurant here. 
 
So, the Intercontinental Hong Kong came looking for you?
Yes indeed.
 
Was Hong Kong the first Asian country you were opening a restaurant in?
It was pretty much at the same time as Tokyo. I cannot really say which one was before the other. 
I love to be the first one. I love betting on a place. I don’t see the point of being the twentieth one. Hong Kong is such a dynamic place and it was a very strategic move. The way the FnB scene has changed here over the past 15 years … it’s not an evolution but more of a revolution. 

When opening the restaurant in 2003, you started with Spoon before renovating and rebranding as Rech by Alain Ducasse in 2017. Why this move? And why going for a French seafood concept rather than any of your other concept? 
I’ll tell you what, a concept is not meant to last more than 12 to 15 years. It was time to change and I wanted to offer something different. Here in Hong Kong, the locals love seafood, so I wanted to have them discover another way of cooking and therefore enjoying it. Plus, don’t you think the place, with this amazing view over the Victoria Harbour, was meant to be a seafood restaurant? 
 

I know that sourcing seasonal and local products is at the core of your cuisine. Yet, here in Hong Kong you are bringing French seafood. Why so?
It’s true that here most of our products are imported. We do work with local products when we can which is when the quality is equal to what we could have sourced in France. I would say that we are working with 80% French products and 20% local ones. Unfortunately, local sourcing isn’t equally possible in each and every country we are located in. In Japan we do source locally because the country has such a rich variety and quality of products, but Hong Kong is different. Something we never compromise with thought is the traceability of our products. No matter where we are in the world, we know where our products come from and we share this information with our clients because they also want to know. 
 
You are coming to Hong Kong 3 to 4 times a year; do you personally know some of the Michelin-starred chefs in town?
I do know Richard Ekkebus (editor’s note: Executive Chef Amber at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental). I’ve known him for year. He is such a great ambassador of French culinary tradition. I also know Guillaume Galliot  from the Four Seasons. 
 
If you had to tell me to go to one restaurant in Hong Kong?
I love Ho Lee Fook. Jowett (editor’s note: Executive Chef Ho Lee Fook) is such a creative mind and has a vibrant cuisine mixing different cultures. And I also love the atmosphere of the place, very dynamic, very refreshing.  
 
Speaking of mixing different cultures and cuisines, is this something that you are looking at for the future? Taking inspiration from the different countries you have restaurants in to develop a new cuisine?
Not at all. I’m French and I will always be cooking 100% French cuisine. I am not going to try and start to compete with chefs who have a unique savoir-faire, I would rather like to focus on my very own savoir-faire. 
 
Any upcoming Ducasse openings?
Not in Hong Kong. Hong Kong will always be one restaurant only. But we are opening at the Raffles Hotel Singapore later on this year and also working on something in Bangkok. 





 

March 2020 edit: RECH is now closed 

by Aude
 
Weekend brunch as its perks but aren’t you sometimes craving for something a little fancier? I mean unlimited buffet, free-flow Champagne … we all love it. But I also love having the option to go for something chicer: because I got something to celebrate or just because I feel like treating myself to lunch by world acclaimed Chef. Who says you always need a special occasion to enjoy yourself?
 
Weekend Lunch at Rech by Alain Ducasse is just the perfect treat if you are a seafood lover like me. Plus nothing quite like enjoying seafood while overlooking the sea right? And when it comes to the view, Rech by Alain Ducasse, definitely is a winner with its dining room overlooking Victoria Harbour.

Shall we start? This seafood platter just looks too yummy, would be a pity not to dig in right away: oysters, shrimps, whelks and clams ... what a fresh start. 

You’ll then get to choose a starter and a main and if I may, I’ll definitely recommend trying on the Grand Aioli. Not the kind of dish you would usually find in Hong Kong but such a yummy beautiful Mediterranean treat. 

By the time Rech’s famous Camembert reaches your table you’ll be pretty full already but believe me, you’ll find room for this one. Most likely the best Camembert I had in a long time and just perfect w/ a glass of red wine Intuition Un Coin sur Terre 2016. Just take your time, enjoy, there’s no rush … it’s the weekend after all!

In the mood for dessert? I bet you are! Choice is not easy but I must confess an absolute crush on their Topezienne tart! Probably my fav French dessert of all and the first I see one in Hong Kong and not just any one: a super yummy one w/ a strong taste of orange blossom, just the way I like it.
 
Another thing that I love about this weekend lunch? Service is on point! Plus, they won’t rush you out to give your table to someone else. Weekends are for resting and slowing things done and they do get it very well. Seat, relax and enjoy another sip of Moët & Chandon Rosé Impérial.