BACCHUS Basement, China HK Tower 8-12 Hennessy Road Wan Chai Tel: 2529-9032 Open: Monday-Saturday noon- midnight, Sunday 6pm-midnight Bacchus is now having a Canadian game and wine promotion which lasts only until November 29. Let us hope they put some of these dishes on the permanent menu. Chef Frank Luong has created some wonderful dishes that showcase the unique qualities of the meats, which are so delicious that one wonders why they are not more popular.
Some people have an aversion to game because of its reputation for being strong-tasting, but this is what makes the meat interesting. If we want mild-tasting chicken, we will eat chicken.
Musk ox carpaccio is paper-thin slices of tender meat; the slightly strong flavour is tempered by a drizzle of olive oil, capers, cracked black pepper and large shavings of parmesan cheese.
Another winner is the caribou pie, which is a great warming winter dish. It is not really a pie in the traditional sense: it is actually a small ramekin of stew, topped with a golden round of puff pastry. But this does not detract from the intense, rich taste of the concentrated port wine sauce, filled with surprisingly tender bits of meat, mushrooms and soft roasted garlic.
We have had bad experiences in the past with wild boar, which can be tough and dry. The preparation here made us change our minds - tender slices of lean meat in a slightly sweet sauce, served over vegetables on a bed of cous cous.
Bison sounds like it would be another tough beast. It is slightly chewy, but not unpleasantly so, with the strong flavour of well-aged beef.
