Saam Food and Drink 51Graham Street, Central Tel: 2645 9828 Open: Tuesday to Sunday, 6pm until late Cuisine: the press release says the chefs have "inspirations of a culinary journey around the globe", which makes the food quite confusing. Price: about HK$390 without drinks or the service charge. Ambience: hard wooden backless benches mean if you're not sitting against a wall, your back will be tired at the end of the meal. There isn't much by way of decor and the focus of the small room is the open kitchen. Recommended dishes: foie gras candy (HK$88) tasted much better than it sounds — a savoury white chocolate enrobed in creamy foie gras and a small amount of liquid cherry gastrique. I liked the slippery texture of the cuttlefish noodles, which came with sea urchin and salmon roe (HK$168) although the flavour in the yuzu foam was too faint. A main course of Maine lobster with oxtail ragout (HK$258), recommended by our waitress, had a generous portion of the shellfish, but the ragout and saffron rice would have been better hot. Pros: the service is friendly and helpful. Cons: Gangnam-style beef tartare with pear kimchi (HK$88) suggested Korean yukhoe, but the beef was minced too finely, and the dish lacked the cuisine's assertive flavours. We disliked the desserts. I'm not sure why anyone would pair the fresh, bright flavour of yuzu with caramelised bananas and coffee streusel (HK$88). The Granny Smith apple dessert (HK$88) had a great presentation — it came under a smoke-filled dome — but the smoke was overwhelming, and the only part that stood out was the refreshing apple sorbet. What else? The menu, which changes often, is projected on the wall and can be hard to view if someone is sitting in front of it.
