Delightful French luncheon buffet

Lunch Buffet table. [Photo by Donna Mah/For China Daily]

My dining companion selected one of the signature starters from the executive lunch menu, the foie gras trio (additional HK$50). Patrick says that he cannot "get rid" of it from the menu, but honestly, why would he?

This dish uses foie gras to produce three very different experiences. There is one that looks like a cream puff filled with what can only be called foie gras ice cream drizzled with a chocolate sauce. Another is a puff filled with pan-seared foie gras covered in the same sauce. Then there's the foie gras terrine with layers of fig paste. Each one was a different temperature and each one had its own interpretation of foie gras.

My own starter, Lyonnais chicken liver cake with wild mushroom sauce, which could be described as a warm savory mousse, was good but I think I will have the trio next time.

Our mains were pan-seared coalfish fillet with white wine sauce and chives for my companion, and roasted rib eye of beef with creamy blue cheese sauce for me. The beef was cooked to medium rare, as requested, and was a generous sized portion. I love blue cheese, so I enjoyed the sauce with my meat, but for some diners, this sauce may be a bit overpowering. My companion enjoyed her fish, but said it was a bit anti-climactic after the foie gras trio.

We declined dessert, but if I could have eaten more, I would have ordered the cheese from the Beaujolais Nouveau menu, which was warm Saint Marcellin tartine with quince paste. Sounds delicious.

If you go

Chez Patrick 2/F Garden East, 222 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. 852-2542-1401.

Cost per head: HK$168-370 (plus 10 percent service charge) for lunch.

Recommended: Lunch Buffet especially the Vietnamese Salad, Pork Snout Salad, Braised Beef with Black Truffle and Tete de Moine, and the Fresh Goat's Cheese; Foie Gras Trio, Roasted Rib Eye of Beef.