RESTAURANT SCENE - HONG KONG, CHINA
Restaurant Scene - Hong Kong, China - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Flavours of Hong Kong | |||||
| By: Michael Shaw, Issue 41 – Summer 2010 | |||||
| (Restaurant Scene - Hong Kong, China) | |||||
| FOOD AND WINE WRITER MICHAEL SHAW TOOK AN INSIDER’S TOUR OF HONG KONG’S VIBRANT RESTAURANT SCENE, FROM GRAND MICHELIN TWOSTAR STYLE TO THE CITY’S CHERISHED-BY-LOCALS HOMEMADE NOODLE BARS. | |||||
| Below par restaurants in Hong Kong just don’t last that long. The residents are regular and discerning diners and as a result, the overall dining standards of the city are higher than most. But while Hong Kong’s cooks work hard to meet the high standards of their patrons, they can’t take full credit for the excellence of the Hong Kong food culture. There’s a consensus view among the food-educated, that of the world’s great cuisines, China has about three of them: Cantonese, Shanghaiese and Peking. Working with that kind of food heritage provides a distinct advantage. For those reasons and others, a visitor to Hong Kong will easily stumble upon excellent fare all over town in family-run, street-level cafes as well as in sophisticated, style conscious establishments that present confidently executed regional Chinese dishes. And while seemingly without effort the city serves up impressive Chinese fare at all levels of dining, it also hosts an accomplished international food scene. Sitting at the centre of many important trade routes, the city’s best international restaurateurs take full advantage of the fact that the world’s finest produce passes through their shipping ports and airports. For decades now, some of that produce has been finding its way into the kitchens of the city’s great chefs. On this most recent visit I spoke to chefs and sommeliers who routinely source their products from all over the world with stunning results: always seasonal, much of it organic, used in dishes executed with reverence for the ingredients. In the short time I was there, I dined upon D’anjou pigeon, foie gras, scallops from Brittany and fresh Alba truffles all accompanied by wines selected from the world’s best offerings. Seventeen percent of all the world’s category one and two fine wines are sold or traded through Hong Kong; only New York has a larger market. For the Hong Kong restaurant scene this means there are surprises for wine lovers at every level. On this visit I dined at the world famous Cepage restaurant with Peter Simic, one of the best noses in Australia, and the sommelier had even him stumped and impressed. The wine in question was a Lebanese Chateau Musar cabernet sauvignon from the Bekaa Valley; stunning, perfect with the dish and most unusual. Even at local Cantonese restaurants I regularly find wine lists that include affordable French, Italian and Australian wines that are well kept and selected to match the cuisine. The recent Hong Kong government cut to zero tax on wine means the prices are happily surprising too. In one stopover visit you’ll not get close to trying everything Hong Kong offers a gourmet traveller so I’d suggest you stay a little longer and at least tick off these extraordinary Hong Kong restaurants: | |||||
| Cépage | |||||
| From the entry at street level to the dining rooms themselves Cépage is all understated elegance. Clean lined modernity paired with a century-old European chandelier sets a striking tone. Chef Thomas Mayr creates dishes with sometimes lusty subtlety, and sometimes with ripeness and strength but always with respect for the produce and never alienating to the senses. It would take too long to retell the menu at Cépage (it’s available online), but one dish, a layer of tomato jellee, with a serve of osetra caviar, over that a savory tulle, surmounted by perfect tuna-belly tartare and a spoon of avocado mousse was extraordinary. This is how the menu is there; neither fusion nor classic, nor alienatingly modern, but modern indeed. Even at prices way above what you’ll pay elsewhere in Hong Kong and far less than Sydney, Cépage is a must for the passionate gourmand. | |||||
| Amber | |||||
| Situated in the Landmark Oriental Mandarin Hotel this restaurant is as impeccable as the hotel itself. Chef Richard Ekkebus creates brilliant modern cuisine in a room designed by famous restaurant designer Adam D Tihany. With 4320 polished copper tubes hanging like a swirling flight of twilight starlings circling the ceiling, the décor is dramatic, lavish and inviting. Again the description of the menu could go on and on, but if one dish were to demand description it is again a caviar dish. In a topped sea-urchin shell, a layer of cauliflower panna cotta, topped with sea urchin roe and glazed with a layer of lobster jell-o (that’s a menu descriptor!). All of this is finished with a generous dollop of beluga caviar and gold leaf. It was truly sublime and matched with Speigel Heidler, Gruner Veltliner. The thyme flower ice cream splashed with warm EV olive oil was wonderful and unexpected. There are special meals occasionally such as the Nuef De Pap evening with six courses paired with NDP wines at around $220 AUD. You will need to call ahead for a booking. | |||||
| West Villa Restaurant | |||||
| While the overall standard is high, there are practitioners of Cantonese cuisine that stand out and West Villa Restaurant is one of the best. Ask the staff to help build a balanced meal, but some exceptional offerings include the crispy skin chicken, the papaya soup, salt and pepper fish and the chicken feet. There are other sites owned by the same family but it’s this Causeway Bay restaurant that has the Michelin nod. | |||||
| Yung Kee Restaurant | |||||
| The specialty of the house at Yung Kee Restaurant is roast goose, and they do it very well. The rest of the menu is standard Cantonese fare executed superbly. They also have a very creditable wine list with some fine French whites and reds. | |||||
| Mak’s Noodle | |||||
| It’s tiny, inelegant, hard to find and has the most seriously delicious wanton noodle soup I’ve ever had in the nearly thirty years I’ve been travelling to Hong Kong. Of course everything is made in store, and in the morning you can see them through the window making dumplings and wontons. Legend has it that the wealthy from Beijing who crave Mak’s noodles will divert any trip to Hong Kong for them. | |||||
| Peking Garden Restaurant | |||||
| Peking Garden Restaurant is the flagship of a group of restaurants that together serve 540,000 people every day. Here they aim high and deliver well. Each of their high-end outlets provides regional cuisine from Shanghai, Hunan or in the case of the Peking Garden Restaurant, Beijing of course. House specialties like Barbequed Peking Duck and a sublime “beggars chicken” baked in clay have well earned accolades. The dessert “soufflé balls with mashed bean and banana” is a must. | |||||
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