Stepping into Le Pan, an 18-month-old French fine dining establishment, the first thing that hits you is its sheer immensity. There is, however, sound thinking behind its commodiousness. Unlike Central, Wan Chai or Causeway Bay, where a clutter of deluxe dineries vie for patrons, Le Pan has the missionary-esque task of converting the gastronomically unaware citizens of Kowloon Bay into true aficionados of fine food.            

           

At the head of this wholescale culinary conversion is Chef Edward Voon, Malaysian-born, but Singapore-reared. Bankrolling his bid to properly educate the local palate is Pan Sutong, the Hong Kong-based billionaire businessman who founded Matsunichi Communication Holdings, the home appliance giant. Together, they have created a restaurant that is unashamedly, as Voon puts it, “contemporary French, reimagined”.

Thankfully, a legion of fine dining enthusiasts and eminent food critics have bought into the shared vision of Le Pan, with many seeing an excursion to Kowloon Bay as more than amply recompensed by the array of ever-changing, well-finessed Gallic gourmandry that is always on offer. 

Explaining his approach to building the restaurant’s reputation, Voon says: “I cook everyday as if it’s a competition. Whenever a regular returns, I throw out the menu and change things about for them. I love that kind of adrenaline and that’s also why we swap out over a quarter of the menu every month, giving me the chance to experiment anew.”

Eager to give this ceaseless rotation of fine cusinery a go, we started our tasting with Kristal caviar, botan shrimp, sea urchin, crustacean jelly. Much like the man himself, this starter was multi-layered and complex, with sharply contrasting flavours expertly woven into a wholly-coherent and supremely-satisfying platter.

Next up, a sumptuous appetiser of Cured ocean trout, scampi, verjus, ‘piperade’, Granny Smith apple. Divided into hot and cold servings, the warmer end of the spectrum featured a crunchy pastry-and-oba-leaf-wrapped scampi, rounded off with a tart Granny Smith apple butter sauce and a drizzle of basil reduction. The chillier choice – perhaps the stronger showing of the two portions – majored on cold trout, foiled wonderfully by a bed of vegetable jelly and topped with creamy salmon tartare.

Delicacy was the order of the day with our final starter – Cancale whelk ravioli, seaweed, fermented black bean beurre blanc, expertly paired with cod roe eggs. The tactical deployment of the (potentially overwhelming) black beans here, proved a surprising yet wholly appropriate addition, and a subtle nod to the Le Pan chef’s Asian roots.

Then it was on to the main course proper – beautifully-plated Brittany blue lobster, artichoke, cherry, aromatic sauce, a dish sure to find favour with even the haughtiest high-end epicurean fans. Indeed, the pairing of such a perfectly-cooked crustacean with lobster and pearl onion tartare was nothing short of inspired.

Skipping from one peak palate performer to the next, it was due time for the house’s piecé de résistance – Imperial pigeon au sang, petit pois, grelot onion, jus carcasse – to take centre stage. Whilst a notoriously problematic bit of poultry for many chefs, the pigeon à la Le Pan – sumptuously smoked in applewood and rosemary – was tender and proved quite the revelation.

After a series of unquestionably complex, yet wholly delicious courses, Chef Voon saw fit to end our gallop through Gallic gastronomy with an apparently simple dessert. The merest tincture of the proffered Yuzu cremeux, white chocolate, almond, lemon confit, however, was enough to dispel that particular notion. Tart yet sweet, creamy yet light, it was the perfect postscript to a truly marvellous menu, and a testament to his deft hand at composing complex dishes far greater than the sum of their parts.

Le Pan. G/F, Goldin Financial Global Centre, 17 Kai Cheung Rd, Kowloon Bay. (852) 3188 2355. www.lepan.com.hk

Text: Tenzing Thondup