A collaboration between one of the world’s best chef’s and The Lo & Behold Group, Louise is a tribute to the simple joys of honest cooking and familial love, chef Julien Royer—of two Michelin-starred Singapore restaurant Odette, currently ranked 18th in the World’s 50 best—returning to his roots and reimagining traditional French classics.
From all-day casual dining in the restaurant’s Parlour to a full à la carte menu in the Dining Room, diners at Louise Hong Kong will embark on a culinary journey from the honest and heartwarming to the simply inspired. Using only the most exquisite ingredients to create the finest flavours, Royer seeks to pair the very best produce with cooking techniques that blur the lines between fine dining and the everyday.
Franckelie Laloum joins Royer in Hong Kong, assuming the role of executive chef, and the duo have set about creating dishes such as the earthy pan-seared French veal sweetbread, with lemon confit, brown butter lettuce cream and potato gnocchi; heirloom tomato tart with Luigi Guffanti burrata and basil sorbet; Black Angus beef tenderloin, Kampot green peppercorn sauce and grenaille potatoes; La truffade, a simple side of sautéed potatoes, young Cantal cheese, garlic and parsley; and a selection of dishes that nod more to Hong Kong than France: sautéed legs, parsley, garlic crisps and roasted Hong Kong yellow chicken, and Niigata rice ‘en cocotte’ with an option of black truffle both set to star as highlights.
Architect Andre Fu of AFSO Studio breathed new life into an existing heritage property, Louise located in a two-floor building in the gardens of PMQ and designed to emulate the chic, colonial home of a fictional expatriate French lady named Louise, who has travelled the world and finds herself in Hong Kong entertaining guests with exceptional food, style and panache.
Lashings of greenery welcome diners before they step into the Parlour, a light space with a bevelled green marble bar, bespoke triangular banquette setting, original Thonet chairs and authentic rattan furniture. Kitsch and comfortable, it’s a real juxtaposition to the Dining Room, which—reached via a carpeted staircase—is filled with natural light, an extravagantly lavish yet intimate space featuring mango yellow sofas, pale olive velvet curtains with dusty pink trimmings.
Encouraged to make themselves at home as Louise offers a sumptuous selection of appetisers, main courses, sharing plates, desserts and cheeses, Julien Royer and his cohorts have created a slice of theatrical elegance, from which—much like at Odette—the accolades look set to roll in.
Interiors Photography, Mitch Geng / Food, courtesy Louise Hong Kong
