Amber.

Amber

At Amber the sourdough comes with a butter made from cashews and coconut, because Richard Ekkebus has kept dairy out of his French kitchen since 2019.

Why go

Richard Ekkebus, a Dutch-born chef, has run Amber on the seventh floor of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental since 2005.2 He closed it for four months of renovation and reopened in May 2019 with no dairy on the menu, a change he made for his guests' dietary needs.3 He told Vogue Hong Kong in 2025 what he thinks matters now: The true luxury of tomorrow will not be wagyu beef or caviar, but full transparency about where and how our products are sourced.6 The inspectors gave Amber a third MICHELIN star in March 2025, after two since 2009.2 They say his dairy-free cooking entails creativity and imagination, which his kitchen never fails to deliver.4

Amber's signature dish sets aka uni, a red sea urchin from Hokkaido, on a cauliflower mousse with lobster jelly and caviar. The inspectors call it truly admirable that the kitchen developed the dish to fit a menu without dairy.51 Matthias Ruhl, who reviews starred restaurants on his blog Travels for Stars, ate it in May 2025 and found the flavor came from the intense, very creamy cauliflower mousse, and from the lovely caviar, with the uni light beside them.1 Bloomberg's reviewers, who paid for a dinner for three in 2025, put it first on the list of what they would order again: It's remained on the menu for years, and rightfully so.2

The two 2025 tables split on the rest. Ruhl, weeks after the third star, found a few amazing dishes that clearly fit Michelin's three-star judgment. But there were also a number that fell way short, coming in at a one-star level or even below. He also found the desserts heavy: apparently the lack of butter doesn't guarantee a light dinner.1 Bloomberg's table left sure of the kitchen: If you choose to go big for a special occasion, you can count on Amber to deliver something fresh.2

Order this / avoid

• On the menu: the aka uni with cauliflower mousse, lobster jelly and caviar, an add-on at HK$498 in November 2025.2
• On the menu: the pork rib from the Basque Kintoa breed, with matsutake mushrooms cooked en cocotte in a fig leaf. Bloomberg in 2025: the pork proved exceptional, though the accompanying matsutake cooked en cocotte in fig leaf stole the spotlight.2
• On the menu: the white asparagus soup dotted with shrimp oil, in spring. Ruhl in May 2025: the lovely asparagus flavor was extremely strong.1
• On the menu: the blue lobster with charred leeks, pickled shallots and a shiso mousse. Ruhl in 2025 found the lobster merely ok and the vegetables the best of it, all going wonderfully with the foamy, herbal shiso sauce.1
• Avoid: the wagyu supplement, HK$750 in November 2025. Bloomberg's table passed on it: the pork delivers without the premium. Ruhl had the A4 wagyu on his menu in May 2025 and found it chewier and fattier than I would have liked.21
• Avoid: the dark chocolate dessert Ruhl was served in May 2025, whose mousse he found very heavy, to the point of being almost inedible.1
• Drink: the house's signature wine pairing, HK$2,288 in May 2025. Ruhl found the wines all very good, in some cases exceptionally so (a 2013 Dom Perignon and a 2017 Austrian Shiraz in particular).1

What locals & experts say

• Matthias Ruhl, Travels for Stars (May 2025, 16/20): these were easily the prettiest dishes among several recent three-stars that I've been to.1
• SCMP 100 Top Tables (2026): Amber stands as Hong Kong's pre-eminent modern French restaurant, finally elevated to three Michelin stars in 2025 in a long-overdue evaluation.7
• Oliver Li, the chef of Jee (2024): It's a very innovative kitchen that is pushing non-dairy cuisine.8
• MICHELIN Guide (three stars, Green Star since 2022): Every ingredient has a carefully thought-out role to play.42

Good to know

• Price: at dinner in 2025, six courses cost HK$2,058 and eight cost HK$2,888 with a tour of the kitchen. A three-course weekday lunch starts at HK$928.2 Wine pairings ran from HK$888 for wines from China and Japan to HK$2,888 for Dom Pérignon in May 2025.1 Bloomberg's table of three paid HK$10,657 with service, some upgrades and a glass of wine each.2 Corkage is HK$1,000.7
• Vegetarians: each tasting menu has a vegetarian twin at the same price, adaptable for vegans.12
• The room: long and narrow, with most diners seated side by side. The windows look onto office buildings. Two private rooms seat up to eight.21
• Timing: lunch and dinner.3
• Booking: book online, or call +852 2132 0066.23
• Where: 7/F, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, 15 Queen's Road Central.4

Verdict

should-visit — Go for Richard Ekkebus's French cooking without cream or butter, and add the sea urchin on cauliflower whatever else you order. The 2025 eaters split on the rest: one table would come back for the sea urchin and the pork, the other found the desserts too heavy. Six courses cost HK$2,058 at dinner in 2025, and weekday lunch costs less than half that.