I went to Hong Kong with my Princess for a short holiday with the objective of chomping our way through the culinary capital of the world. First stop, 2 Michelin Stars L’Envol.

L’Envol is a fine dining restaurant in St Regis Hong Kong. Led by Michelin-starred chef Olivier Elzer, this restaurant with an open kitchen features innovative French gastronomy with curated lunch and dinner menus. The name refers to “taking flight”, and it’s not difficult to see how: the restaurant is a a warm and inviting space that simply oozes luxury and all its trappings. 

Award-winning interior architect André Fu designs L’Envol with the sublime ivory hues of silk, agate and marble, seamlessly harmonising with the natural daylight and reflecting the culinary visions of Chef Olivier Elzer.

The tablecloth at L’Envol is in a soft toned champagne colour with a delicate pattern of linear ascending effervescence of champagne bubbles, illustrating one of the restaurant’s rituals, champagne; and the glassware is created by Cristallerie de Paris, a longstanding crystal manufacture in Paris.

Step into L’Envol and prepare to be captivated by an array of artfully plated dishes that celebrate the beauty of French cuisine. Led by Chef Olivier Elzer, two-Michelin-starred L’Envol offers an innovative interpretation of French haute cuisine, incorporating the use of selective seasonal ingredients and produce from France and Asia.

The passionate Sous-Chef Stephen Hsu was born and raised in Taiwan. He assists Chef Olivier with culinary creation by employing the skills and knowledge acquired throughout his career path at multiple Michelin restaurants at different cities, including Taipei, Shanghai and Singapore.

Tailored by Molteni Stoves, kitchen at L’Envol is designed with Chef Olivier’s diverse culinary attributes in mind. Teppanyaki, an inspiration from his mentor Joël Robuchon, as well as induction plates and a rotisserie which is employed for their classic whole roasted Bresse chicken, whilst they utilise a charcoal barbecue for the majority of fishes and meats.

The synergy between Pastry Chef Stephen Hsu and Chef Steven Jin is palpable as they work in tandem, combining their culinary talents to create a symphony of flavours that will leave you craving for more.

Festive Menu (Christmas 2023)

We were surprised they allowed the table to choose different set menus. Most fine dining establishments in Singapore would request that the table choose the same menu so that they can pace the timing. Princess picked the limited time Festive Menu.

Amuse Bouche

Once we finished our food and drink orders, the meal promptly started with amuse bouche which came in three parts.

Shallot cream with chives and homemade crackers 

The first small bite was sour cream chives dip with housemade crackers sprinkled with seaweed and spices. Nice little snack, but I expected something more.

Dry aged beef from Spain

This is not the usual Iberico ham. Cecina de Leon is a traditional Spanish cured beef ham and is the flagship product of the province of Leon. It is smoked using oak found in local forests which gives it a characteristic taste and aroma. Very tasty, another thing to look out for my charcuterie platter.

Palate cleanser – yuzu with blood orange 

Bread Service

I look forward to the bread service for these fine dining restaurant, but recently the variety has been limited. They served three kinds of bread – German pretzel, the traditional brioche and the sourdough.

Baked daily in-house, it is accompanied by a selection of butters which speak directly to Elzer’s long-standing affinity for caviar and champagne – champagne butter (L) and caviar/seaweed butter.

The seaweed/caviar butter delivers a profound umami flavor and possesses a finely textured consistency, achieved through the gradual addition of caviar during the churning process. On the other hand, the champagne butter exhibits a subtle tartness and a velvety texture, making it an elegant complement to the assortment of naturally leavened breads on the table.

Camembert terrine with red wine jelly with red wine poached pear

The third amuse bouche were identical in all ways, but Princess’ version came with a layer of camembert cheese instead as she would have foie gras in her next course. My Signature menu version came with foie gras.

The red wine jelly balanced the fattiness of the foie gras. The camembert version was lighter than the foie gras version, so the jelly taste was more pronounced. On top, a small slice of poached pear. The French never serves their pear raw.

Les Coquille St Jacque De Normandie

Normandy hand dived scallop & seaweed “blanc manger”

Next came the proper main courses. First up, an appetiser made from fresh Normandy scallops served in two ways – as a small canapé and as a terrine. The “blancmange” was made with scallops and topped with colourful seaweed with a small hip of caviar.

The small bite was, as you can see in the picture, really small. Everything is so pretty to see so far in the meal, and this was a miniature piece of art. But IMHO, too small to leave any impression of taste.

La Terrine De Sanglier

Wild boar terrine, topinambour & beetroot salad

This exquisite dish combines the succulent flavours of Wild Boar Terrine, the luxurious essence of black truffle, and the earthy allure of topinambour (Jerusalem artichoke) topped with some vibrant beetroots, it’s a symphony of rich flavours and textures that epitomises the essence of traditional French cuisine. The terrine was covered with a truffle-infused foie gras to give it that luxurious mouthfeel.

La Lotte De Petit Bateau

Brittany monkfish, celeriac & black truffle

It has very nice French name – “monkfish shaped like a little boat”. With sweet and meaty lobster-like flesh, monkfish is affectionately known as “poor man’s lobster”. Meaty and dense and slightly spongy to the bite, the fish was perfectly cooked. Served with celeriac chips and allemande sauce with “truffle” made from Chinese fermented black beans. Interesting.

Le Canard De Challans

Grilled Challans duck on the bone, salsify confit & black pepper sauce

Next course the final savoury cause, grilled duck from Challans. The whole duck was grilled instead of just taking the breast meat out as most fine dining restaurant would do. The result was a really juicy and tasty duck with smoky fragrance from their BBQ grill. Served alongside a consommé made from the bones of the duck.

 “Canard Challandais” is a unique duck, strangled for an incomparable taste and moisture. Maison Burgaud uses a secret method, of which we only know that the ducks are put to sleep before being slaughtered, and which allows the blood to stay inside the animal, making the meat more red and flavourful.

The consommé was infused with herbs through a teabag so that it would not overtake the beautiful duck flavours. And with that came the close of the main courses, and off to cheese and desserts.

Les Fromages De Notre Cellier

L’Envol cheese selection

We upgraded the single cheese choice from the Festive menu to the full cheese trolley experience. L’Envol delights every cheese novice and connoisseur with a wide variety along with ever-changing condiments presented on their signature cheese trolley. The condiments accompanying the cheeses change with the seasons.

During cheese maturation, their “Maître affineur”, Philippe Alléosse smears the cheeses with salted water which further nurtures the products. As the only partner of Alleosse, L’Envol has all the premium cheeses from this boutique Maître Artisan Affineur Fromager in town.

You may choose 5 types of cheeses, or let the expert waiter recommends the cheeses based on your preference – hard, soft, blue, goat or unpasteurised cow’s milk – they have it all.

From 12 o’clock position, clockwise :

• Munster – Coming from Alsace in eastern France, the Munster Cheese is often appreciated for its mild flavour, smooth texture, and creamy consistency, and comes in a smooth, slightly moist and orange-coloured rind. Princess liked it because it was gooey as it was torched before serving.
• Valbrie – Also called Brie au Poivre, it is a variation of the classic French Brie cheese that features the addition of black peppercorns. The term “au Poivre” means “with pepper” in French; it combines the rich and creamy characteristics of traditional Brie with slightly spicy notes from the pepper.
• Selles sur Cher – Selles-sur-Cher is a French goat-milk cheese made in Centre-Val de Loire, France.  Delicate and lemony, the Selles sur Cher transported me to warmer days, sitting outside sipping Sauvignon Blanc. Yes, the rind can be eaten, but I usually took it off because it’s just salt.
• Comté – Comté is a French cheese made from unpasteurised cow’s milk in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France bordering Switzerland and sharing much of its cuisine.
• Mystère D’Alléosse – A sweet and savoy marriage based on the Fourme d’Ambert with nuts, grapes and a touch of the mystery of Alléosse. Philippe Alléosse created this cheese with a mysterious ingredient that one had to try to understand it. What you never try, you will never miss. You have been warned.

Recently I discovered honey to be a perfect condiment with cheese, in particular blue cheeses. Of course they provided the entire honeycomb. The Madeira gelee was also a good alternative. I was surprised they didn’t have other candied or dried fruits during the lunch service, even though the price we paid for is the same for the Signature menu as the dinner service.

I asked for some crackers to go with the cheeses, we got more bread instead. In the end, they came back with some more of the crackers from the amuse bouche. We left those alone as they affected the tasting experience of the gourmet cheese.

After the wonderful cheese course, we ordered our coffees and waited for the first of two desserts to arrive.

A Douceur Surprise

Our pastry chef’s surprise delicacy

The first dessert which was the Chef’s surprise was no surprise. Princess was served the same dessert as my Signature course. We will talk more about it in the next week’s post about the Signature menu.

L’ananas De La Reunion

Poached Victoria pineapple, pandanus cream & saffron granité

In 2005, the Victoria pineapple from Reunion Island was awarded the red label for the best pineapple in France. Hence the name of the dessert – “pineapple from reunion”, very apt for the occasion. The poached pineapple was flambéd with brandy at the table side.

It was definitely a very pretty plate, so pretty we were reluctant to tuck in. The crown of the pineapple was made of pandan cream, something I did not expect find in a French restaurant. Served with a quenelle of saffron sorbet, which contraire to common sense, saffron becomes pineapple colour when soaked. The “curry puff” was made with a gelatine skin made from pineapple and filled with pandan cream. Made me think of pineapple tarts during Chinese New Year in Singapore.

Petite Fours

The Mignardise Trolley, a selection of chocolate, macarons, caramel, cakes and tarts featuring various texture, seasonal ingredients and extensive techniques, is the most exquisite finale to the delectable gastronomic experience at L’Envol.

The Festive menu was an experimental menu where many ideas were tested, like the use of Chinese fermented black bean with the monkfish, or the pandan in the pineapple dessert. The portions were quite small, and there were not many courses – only 10 in total. To make up for the bulk, bread was free flowing. For a normal size diner, I guessed it would be enough.

Next week let’s try the Signature menu.

L’Envol
3/F, The St. Regis Hong Kong, One Harbour Drive, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, China
Tel : +852 2138 6818

Visited Dec 2023

Michelin Hong Kong and Macau Guide 1 Star 2020, 2 Stars 2021-2023

Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant 2022 #88

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