A culinary atelier - Liberty Private Works

11 May 2011: Paul and Julie invited us to dinner at Liberty Private Works where I had previously tried to book on a number of occasions without any luck. The dinner service got under way as soon as all the diners (nearly all) had arrived and settled in with their aperitif. Liberty Private Works consists of a long bar table around which all the diners perch on high stools throughout the dinner service. All the dishes are written out in chalk on the blackboard at the centre of the restaurant. Most of the preparations are done in the larger kitchen of Liberty Exchange, vacuum packed or packed in containers, before being transported to this atelier-like place, when Viki and his team of assistants/assemblers put on the final touches for the dishes and assemble the various parts together. It reminded me of the way the Krug Room presents the dishes, but perhaps a little less elaborate in the presentation and a lot more intimate in the setting, encouraging interactive dialogue with the chef, without feeling like being trapped inside a glass cell.




Tuna, Cucumber, Radish

Truffle, Egg, Parmesan, Caviar

 I was most impressed by the first course: Tuna, Cucumber, Radish. It had everything in it: freshness, piquant flavours, multi-layered texture of fresh tuna, crunchy cucumber and radish, caviar that popped in your mouth and crispy rice! It remained my favourite dish throughout the entire meal! My second best dish was the Truffle, Egg, Parmesan, Caviar. The intoxicating smell of truffle filled the room when (I guess) one of these vacuum-packed bags was opened! Rich and creamy, earthy and truffly – it was the perfect dish to go with the Jacques Selosse Substance. I also really liked the Duck, Foie Gras, Orange, Earl Grey – I thought the flavours for the pink duck breast and breadcrumbed duck confit cube were excellent.


Mango, Coconut, Pomelo, Tapioca



Chocolate, Caramel, Milk, Salt

 The chef’s interpretation of the modern classic HK dessert of Mango, Coconut, Pomelo, Tapioca, was playfully presented, with a dollop of mango and coconut mousse topping the mixture of pomelo and tapioca. I thought I wouldn’t have room for the Chocolate, Caramel, Milk, Salt dessert – but I didn’t need a lot of persuasion (especially when I didn’t know when I would be lucky enough to get a booking here again!). I attacked it with as much enthusiasm as I did at the first course. It was a pretty amazing experience, from the first course to the eighth course, watching the team work seamlessly at assembling the dishes. What I found particularly refreshing and endearing about Liberty Private Works was the modest and unassuming approach of the chef, how he actually wanted to discuss the dishes with us, how he welcomed our feedback – positive and negative. Perhaps we’re too used to seeing chefs with their years of training in Michelin-starred restaurants, parade the dining room in the middle of the meal, confidently soliciting the presumed approval from diners. Viki seemed like a chef with a passion, rather than a mission to conquer.

I mentioned that we had the Jacques Selosse Substance. I had been waiting for the right moment to share it with wine-loving friends and Paul and Julie were the ideal couple to enjoy this bottle with (I believe in sharing a bottle amongst 4 people, so that we would have enough to keep going back to explore the wine, and to discuss its evolution over the dinner.) The Substance was for me a rather unique experience. It most certainly was not a champagne – it was more a gastronomic wine, one to be enjoyed with food. Blanc de Blancs. Made from a solera of multiple vintages (more than 10, I think), all aged in wooden pièces. Disgorged in January 2002. Golden/copper hue, with very fine bubbles. Creamy, rounded and mouth-filling texture, the richness carried off extremely elegantly with firm acidity. The nose suggests maturity (hint of rancio character), incredible intensity and plenty of complexity . Ripe pear, brioche, white chocolate, layered with ginger, cloves, nutty, savoury and slightly caramelized notes, topped up with minerality from the soils of Avize. Flamboyant, rich, and full of character, the flavours were so concentrated that they almost needed the bubbles to help get them around the palate. Lingering finish. So impressive. Simply in a class of its own! 19/20

The 1995 Leroy Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru was fortunately spared the worst of premature oxidation that generally plagued white burgundies from the vintages of 1995 and 1996, and tasted relatively fresh, showing complexity of citrus, floral, ripe apple and a hint of honey and remarkable balance. 15.5/20

The 1998 Bouchard La Romanée was in a rather understated style, rather reluctant to reveal itself – Paul called it “quiet”. The wine exuded elegance and a beautiful nose of cherry, floral, peppery and cloves, nuanced with earthy elements. Well-structured, albeit quite dusty, with the tannin refusing to be integrated, and plenty of fresh acidity. It will be interesting to see how it develops over time. 18/20

The 2009 Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes was candied fruit and confectionery/boiled sweet! On this evening, it tasted more like a young Marsannay or a Beaujolais Cru. Probably quite unfair to try it when so young, but it was hard to see anything that resembled Gevrey-Chambertin in the wine from this bottle. 14/20

Thank you, Paul and Julie, for a most enjoyable and educational evening – Paul, as usual, was very generous in sharing his phenomenal knowledge of burgundy with us!