You have to look carefully to find Hong Kong's two French cr? restaurants, La Cr?rie in Wan Chai and Fleur de Sel in Causeway Bay, as both are hidden above street level in nondescript buildings.
But the sweet, wheat-flour dessert cr?s and savoury buckwheat galettes, authentically served open under a range of toppings as they would be in their native Brittany, are well worth the search.
Buckwheat packs a highly nutritional, gluten-free punch, the lace-thin crispy pancakes are a light, crispy base for toppings that vary from authentically rustic to deliciously rich, ideal for Hong Kong's hot summer weather, especially when washed down with traditional Breton cider.
La Cr?rie's cosy space is filled with chunky black wooden tables and chairs. The nautical Brittany theme of marine photographs on the walls, lighthouse shaped salt and pepper pots and staff in stripy tops, just falls on the charming rather than twee side, setting the scene for a fun, and pleasantly affordable, French meal.
You could choose to drink Ricard (aniseed aperitif) or kir (white wine and blackcurrant liqueur), but it would be a crime not to go for the cider, which is delicious, dry or sweet (Val de Rance, HK$45 for a cup, HK$140 the bottle), or at least the moreish cloudy apple juice (HK$40 a cup, HK$120 the bottle). Similarly, there are oysters, a salad, galette rolls and a tangy fish soup served with grated Emmental cheese and crunchy croutons on the side, to start, but unless you're ravenous, save your space for the galettes and tempting dessert pancakes later.
The main course galettes come as simple as La Complete, with ham, Emmental cheese, a sunny side up egg whose yolk makes a delicious sauce, and salad lightly dressed with a classic, delicious mustardy French vinaigrette (HK$68). More sophisticated is La Broceliande, of goat cheese crottins (soft round slices of cheese) and walnut salad (HK$92). The clean taste of the goat cheese provided a pleasant, mild base for the crispy fried crottin and salad, the walnuts giving a crunchy additional texture. The Eckmuhl was contrastingly rich, with addictive Reblochon cheese coating the potatoes, bacon and onion in a quintessentially French combination (HK$125). Portions are generous on the fillings, which gradually peter out towards the folded-in galette edges, allowing them to stay crispy.