Odette x Louise

A Special Two Night Event bringing Chef Julien Royer back to Hong Kong

With Chef Frankelie leaving to start Lala, Chef Loic Portalier returned to Hong Kong to take on the executive chef position and Chef and Founder Julien Royer dropped by to do a special two night event.

Chef Loïc Portalier is a highly accomplished French chef known for his innovative approach to French cuisine, blending traditional techniques with modern flair. Portalier’s career is marked by an impressive trajectory through some of the world’s most prestigious kitchens. He began his journey in France, working at renowned Michelin-starred establishments Epicure at Le Bristol Paris, Restaurant Paul Bocuse, and Restaurant Le Clos des Cîmes (Régis et Jacques Marcon). These experiences honed his mastery of French culinary techniques and instilled a deep respect for classic ingredients like comté and vin jaune, which he often incorporates with elegance and creativity.

In 2018, Portalier ventured to Asia, where he joined Louise as a sous chef. He later took on the role of head chef at Claudine in Singapore, further refining his skills in crafting flawless French classics. After Chef Frankelie’s departure, Chef Portalier returned to Hong Kong to lead Louise as Executive Chef.

Chef Julien Royer is a celebrated French chef renowned for his exceptional contributions to modern French cuisine, blending elegance, precision, and a deep respect for ingredients. He is best known as the co-owner and chef of Odette, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Singapore, which has consistently ranked among the world’s top dining establishments.

Royer’s early career took him to some of France’s most prestigious kitchens, including the three-Michelin-starred Le Moulin de Mougins under Alain Llorca and Les Crayères in Reims with Didier Elena. He also worked in London at The Greenhouse, broadening his exposure to international fine dining. A pivotal moment came when he joined Michel Bras’ three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Laguiole, France, where he embraced Bras’ philosophy of nature-inspired cuisine, emphasizing harmony between ingredients and their origins.

In 2012, Royer moved to Singapore to helm JAAN, a fine-dining restaurant atop Swissôtel The Stamford. Under his leadership, JAAN earned its first Michelin star and soared to prominence, showcasing his signature style: refined French cuisine with subtle Asian influences, presented with artistry and warmth. This success laid the groundwork for his next venture. In 2015, partnering with hotelier Loh Lik Peng and the Lo & Behold Group, Royer opened Odette—named after his grandmother—as a tribute to his roots. Odette quickly gained acclaim, earning two Michelin stars within a year and a third in 2019, a status it has maintained since.

Dinner began with Louise’s classic rustic sourdough and their soy sauce-infused compound butter with sunflower seeds. On the side was an amuse bouche, a small donut of tomato, parmesan bread infused with a bay leaf.

Next, a small piece of toasted brioche topped with a generous scoop of sea urchin and lemon zest, as well as another with a colourful langoustine salad topped with microgreens.

The first course was a tiny La Lune oyster, barely poached, surrounded by thin shavings of white asparagus and a chilled gelatinous white asparagus and dashi sauce. This was topped with some pickled shallot rings, a generous scoop of caviar and some orange zest. Earthiness and nuttiness from the asparagus, brininess from the oyster, a little bit of pungency from the shallot, the ingredients in the dish combined very well together.

The next course was a giant Yunnan morel mushroom, stuffed with a loose veal sausage mince, on a crispy piece of pan-fried sweetbread on a watercress puree, all dressed in an intense vin juane sauce. The acid in the sauce cutting through the rich fattiness of the veal mince. The natural spring in the texture of the mushroom contrasting with the looseness of the meat. An absolute highlight of the meal.

Continuing with the asparagus theme, a thick spear of asparagus, chargrilled and served with a fig confit, a rich cep mushroom sabayon sauce and crushed pralines and sunflower seeds for texture.

The final starter, a piece of John Dory pan-fried with olive oil and garlic, topped with some fried croutons on a bed of diced cucumbers in a verbena oil and pike roe sauce. Absolutely perfect execution on this one, great combination of textures and flavours. It helped that Chef Julien presented us this dish himself, explaining how it was prepared and the way he thought about the preparation.

The lamb saddle was presented to us before carving, and on the plate there were three perfectly cooked pieces of lamb for the main: the saddle, belly and loin. The thin cut of lamb belly on the right was encrusted with chopped chives and puffed quinoa. A large block of fatty saddle was presented in the middle, and a small piece of lamb loin on the left. On the side was a refreshing lemon quinoa mix and Japanese eggplant topped with garlic flowers and garlic crisps.

The pre-dessert was a herbal sorrel sorbet, on top of a apple and aloe vera jelly with a single sugar crystal leaf on top. This was nearly identical to the pre-dessert we had at Odette. Refreshing!

Inspired by the colour white, the dessert was a sake meringue ring, with puffed rice in a caramel sauce hidden within. On top was a rice pudding and Hokkaido milk vanilla ice cream covered with a piece of rice paper, silver foil and a generous sprinkling of white sugar “snow”.

The petit four - a liquid chocolate filled truffle, a cheese and ham roll and a classic madeleine. Interestingly, they only brought one set of petit four to share between the two of us.

Similar to our visit at Odette, they gave us a parting gift box with a jar of homemade Odette jam!

I wasn’t sure what to expect when booking for the event, but we knew that we had a great time at Odette and if Chef Julien was involved, we were in. Overall, the food was a lot closer to Odette than Louise. The team pulled out all the stops while the “big boss” was here and we had an absolutely amazing time!

Total Damage: 4400 HKD/2 people