Stephen If you are a diner with a serious interest in wine, Spoon would be your cup of tea. One of French chef Alain Ducasse?s many and much-hyped outlets, the restaurant has a real treasure in young Alsace-born sommelier Thomas Scheidt. Thomas has enormous wine knowledge, and can advise brilliantly. Moreover, his list is truly egalitarian ? half of the wines are from the New World, and he is thinking of expanding the Australian range (already listed are Vasse Felix, Shaw & Smith and even my old mate Phil Jones?s great Victorian pinot noir, admittedly at a budget-busting $2,260 for the 2001 vintage). A sleek place on the waterfront with harbour views, Spoon serves acceptable, expensive dishes cooked in what these days would be called a simplified Australian bistro style. Amazingly, the diner is invited to combine the ingredients. Placing the burden of a dish?s success in the eater?s lap is a clever marketing ploy (while allowing the kitchen to wash its hands of failures). Trumps for wine choice. Reggie This is the only venue where I have to disagree with Stephen. He looks askance at the combination-of-ingredients idea, but the purpose of that is to allow diners to choose their sauce and side vegetable within such categories as fish, beef, veal and poultry; and it is meant to make a dish foolproof because the chef has already put plenty of thought into it. Those who like it the easy way can opt for the conventional, horizontal combo, the chef?s recommendation. The food here may appear simple but the looks hide some complex work behind the scenes. For example, my order of duck consomme with angel hair vegetable and crispy duck ($105) came infused with jasmine tea. The dish was complex in flavour, and the finely shredded vegetable gave texture. My roast warm salmon with Bearnaise reduction (sans the egg; $280) was accompanied by herbs and spices. But I do agree with Stephen that the sommelier?s guidance was an essential part of the experience. We relished his recommendation of Vin Jaune Domaine Rolet to go with the Comte, a cheese that had been ripened for 36 months (with black cherry preserve and fresh herb salad; $110). Made with grapes from the French-Swiss border of Jura, this sherry-like wine has a nutty richness that goes very well with a complex and potent cheese like the Comte, also from Jura. G/F, Hotel InterContinental, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui Tel: 2313 2256
