French chefs are making appearances at two restaurants next week. Bruno Loubet is returning to Hong Kong for yet another guest chef stint at La Cite in Pacific Place. Loubet was the toast of London with Isola and L'Odeon, but he's since moved to Brisbane, Australia, where he has Bruno's Tables and Bistro Bruno. The dishes he's cooking at La Cite from March 1-14 show his new influences from Down Under - the likes of kangaroo terrine with pineapple and ginger chutney, and macadamia nut-roasted barramundi with grilled kipfler. Tel: 2522 8830 for bookings.
At Cafe des Artistes in Central, Arnoud Carre (above) from La Mediteranne in Mougins, France, is serving southern Provencal cuisine from March 2-6. There are set lunches from Tuesday to Friday, with four choices per course, at $165 plus 10 per cent for two courses and $185 for three. For dinner, Carre is serving a four-course degustation meal every night except Friday, when he's making a six-course black truffle dinner. The four-course dinner is $485 plus 10 per cent (items can be ordered a la carte) and includes a choice for starter of artichoke salad in vinaigrette with shaved black truffles from Provence or pan-roasted duck foie gras and chicken liver with duck tartare, turnips, apples and wild arugula, while the main course is a choice of pan-seared wild sea bass with grilled fennel and artichoke-mustard emulsion or half-wild Challand duck with parsnip mash and Picholine green olives. The truffle dinner is $595 plus 10 per cent, and the dishes can also be ordered a la carte. The six-course dinner includes oven-baked scallops and truffles in puff pastry with crispy pine nuts, oven-roasted baby Pauillac lamb with truffle mignonette, and chilled marinated red plums and Morello cherries in port, with dark chocolate and rosemary ice cream. For reservations, call 2526 3880.
YunYan Szechuan Restaurant in the Miramar Shopping Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a 50 per cent discount on 10 selected dishes. The list includes sauteed chilli sliced pork, steamed Mandarin fish slices with crispy yellow beans, sauteed prawns in garlic and chillies, poached sliced beef in chilli broth, and dan dan mien. For reservations, call 2375 0800.