Restaurant review: Rech by Alain Ducasse at Hong Kong’s InterContinental is pure class, but how to you pronounce its name?
Now a lighter, brighter space, French star chef’s replacement for Spoon serves delicious, imaginative dishes with a touch of whimsy, and servers are knowledgable and engaging
First things first – how to pronounce Rech? Retch? Wretch? Wreck? All sound horrible, as well as incorrect.
So we asked the French sommelier, who confirmed (politely) that our pronunciations were wrong. He explained that the namesake Mr Rech came from Alsace, a Germanic region of France, hence the un-French sounding name. (The correct pronunciation is Resh, we were subsequently advised.)
Rech by Alain Ducasse replaces Spoon by Alain Ducasse at the InterContinental hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. The interior looks entirely different from its previous incarnation, and seems lighter, brighter and more casual.
There were whimsical touches. The Bordier butter with purple seaweed and lemon is in the shape of a fish; breads and the amuse bouche (gratinated clams with bacon and breadcrumbs) are presented on stones. All our servers were knowledgeable and engaging, and when my guest couldn’t decide whether to order us glasses of white or red wine, and explained that she couldn’t drink much because she was driving, the sommelier suggested that we both have half glasses of each.
From the “raw” section of the menu, we ordered the mackerel, caramelised belly and shiso (HK$150). The raw fish was cool and refreshing, while the belly, with its soy glaze, was more substantial.