Amber, the two-star Michelin restaurant at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, will reopen for service on Thursday, 2 May. After closing the restaurant for renovations in December, Culinary Director Richard Ekkebus has spent the last four months exploring new ingredients, contemplating the changing needs of diners and crafting a bold new culinary philosophy.
Since opening in 2005, Amber has been at the forefront of culinary exploration and creativity. Continuing this pioneering spirit, chef Richard Ekkebus taken a thoughtful approach to fine dining to address diners’ changing expectations and health concerns. In a radical departure, the new menu dispenses with dairy products, minimises refined sugar and reduces salt, inviting diners to appreciate flavours in their purest form. Amber’s new philosophy also speaks to the rising number of lactose-intolerant diners and allergy-prone guests. Through his dedicated research and ongoing experimentation, chef Ekkebus is able to offer all Amber guests – including those with special dietary needs – a consistent, seamless dining experience.
Replacing cream, milk and butter, ubiquitous ingredients in French kitchens, chef Ekkebus pushes creative boundaries to capture these flavours using soy, rice, cereal and nut milk. Where salt is needed, umami is amplified through fermentation processes and the natural sodium in ingredients such as seaweed. To elicit fatty flavours, chef Ekkebus has over 40 non-saturated plant-based oils at his disposal. Sugar is replicated through natural ingredients such as agave, maple, honey and raw sugars.
Drawing on his years of experience working across four continents, and driven by his innate sense of curiosity, Richard Ekkebus has reexamined how to best express taste. Through this considered approach, the celebrated chef created 50 new dishes, each one finely constructed to showcase the clean flavours of the natural ingredients.
“In developing this new menu, my intention was to strip away artifice or gimmickry and enhance the dining experience by presenting seasonal dishes that are sublime in their subtlety,” explains Richard. “At the end of the meal, discerning diners want to feel nourished and comfortable, a feeling that can only be achieved through clean, pure ingredients. That is the new definition of indulgence.”
Amber’s lunch menu comprises three, four or five-course options, including vegetarian formats. At dinner, guests can choose the five, six or seven-course menu or select the all-vegetarian option. To honour the restaurant’s rich legacy, Amber’s much-loved signature dishes will also be offered as additional extras.
This lighter, subtle approach is reflected in Amber’s new interiors. Acclaimed New York designer Adam Tihany, the founder of Tihany Design who oversaw the restaurant’s original interiors, has returned for the renovation. Less formal and more contemporary, the new design features warm, neutral colours and organic forms, creating a softer, more inviting environment. Curving low partitions snake through the restaurant creating pockets of intimate dining spaces.
Tihany Design’s creative scheme extends to the entire 7th floor of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, which has been transformed into a multi-venue dining destination. Alongside Amber, guests can visit:
- SOMM, featuring casual French neo-Bistro fare using predominantly Japanese ingredients and Hong Kong’s widest selection of wines, sakes and champagnes by the glass.
- Sushi Shikon, a quintessential Ginza sushi experience by Master Chef Masahiro Yoshitake, the first three Michelin-starred Japanese chef in Hong Kong.
- Kappo Rin (opening mid-late May), a casual-counter dining experience in collaboration with Chef Yoshitake, the eight-seater restaurant celebrates modern Japanese cuisine.
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