A first taste of 12,000 Francs, SoHo, where the art of preservation is taken to new heights
The team behind Madam Sixty-Ate have a new venture, where the focus is on preserving methods – fermenting, salting, smoking and curing. Not all the dishes succeed but overall it’s an interesting idea, well executed
Madam Sixty-Ate in Wan Chai may have closed, but restaurateurs Bronwyn Cheung and Chris Woodyard have another curious dining establishment they recently unveiled, this time in SoHo – 12,000 Francs.
It is named after the amount Napoleon said he would reward the person who figured out how to preserve food to feed his armies – a prize won by confectioner Nicolas Francois Appert. In honour of that,12,000 Francs features preserving techniques such as fermenting, salting, and smoking and curing.
The restaurant has a relatively dark interior, which made it hard for us to appreciate the decor, but because we sat by the kitchen, we could watch the chefs plating the dishes.
We started with home-made malted sourdough bread (HK$40) that came with salted butter. The crusty bread came in handy to help us finish the foie gras parfait (HK$170) that was served in a glass jar and topped with chicken liver, pickled jalapeños and fried duck skin. The parfait wasn’t heavy and the interesting pickled and spicy flavours from the jalapeño cut through the richness of the foie gras, while the crunchy duck skin added texture. We’ve since heard that diners are clamouring for this dish to be available for takeaway and we’re not surprised.