"Wanna join us for dinner in Shenzhen this coming Tuesday night?" Crazy propositions such as this will normally be politely turned down, but when my friend RC asked this very question just a few days before, within a minute I told him yes and cleared out what's originally on my diary that evening to make the long trip across border for the meal with a few good friends of ours.
Ensue in Shenzhen has been operating in such low profile that the news of its opening 3 months ago was spread largely based on word of mouth with bookings available by referrals. But for the few in the know who went and tried, they all heaped praises to its faultless execution and dining experience like no others in the area, Hong Kong included - that certainly set up the high expectations I had.
A smoother-than-expected ride after work brought us from downtown Hong Kong to downtown Shenzhen in less than an hour. The restaurant sits on the top floor of the new Shangri-la Hotel in Futian District, the so-called “new CBD” of this booming city just adjacent to Hong Kong. The restaurant shared little in common with the hotel other than its address - while the five-star hotel lobby resembles just about any luxury properties in China with extravagant design, the restaurant upstairs was more subtle and “wabi-sabi”, with a dark decor and wooden theme with the dining area on one end and the kitchen further back. Only through a glimpse of all the fancy equipment in the spacious kitchen or the designer tableware used gave ones the hint that Ricky Li, the owner of the restaurant, spared no expense in his aspiration to become China's finest.
And he also partners with the best culinary team one could possibly find on earth. Chris Kostow is considered one of the brightest minds in this generation of chefs, with his restaurant at Meadowood Napa Valley often mentioned as the best in America and possibly the world (Michelin 3-star, World's 50 Best, so on and so forth) Many in the Ensue team worked directly with Chef Chris in Napa previously and he himself traveled and stayed in Shenzhen often to work on the menu - and we "caught" him while he just arrived in town on the same day of our visit. The private room they put us in featured the same rustic and elegant style as the rest of the restaurant and in stark contrast to the neon signs and shiny facade of the skyscrapers that were in clear view from the window on one side.
As we settled after a brief tour of the restaurant including the impressive kitchen area, we began what turned out to be a 4-hour dinner in epic scale. Herbal tea was first prepared and served in a ceremony-like ritual, a simple cup with a bouquet of herbs and a small piece of old mandarin peel gave excellent aroma, followed by a few courses of bite-sized amuse-bouche dishes. A large piece of scallop was poached with dashi, cut into perfect square than wrapped with a thin slice of celtuce (local stem vegetables with a crunchy texture) topped with celery leaves; then it’s a piece of potato cut into tater tots size, deep-fried and served with kaffir lime for a touch of acidity combined with the soft and creamy texture of the potatoes.
Third one was my favorite – piece of freshwater eel from the nearby Shunde was seared with fat from beef deckles, then wrapped with a thin piece of "paper” made with soaked Longjing tea leaves and an equally thin piece of ox tongue from Chaoshan. Interesting combination of common ingredients into something elegantly presented, with the earthy hint from the eel matched well with the rich ingredients and the tea aroma sort of brought this into a perfect harmony in two bites.
Seasonality played a big part in Chef Chris’ menu which showed in the next two courses. First it’s a tartlet with a buttery shell, chestnut puree and grated black truffles, then a neat quenelle of ossetra caviar was presented with kabocha squash “blini”, and whipped sour cream and “allium jam” on the side. The caviar came from a farm near Hangzhou (“same source as ones used by most top restaurants around the world these days”, as explained by Ricky) and the blini was like a mini version of the local “pumpkin cake”, done thick and fluffy with the texture of soft sticky rice. I like that brought a sense of volume that filled the mouth with the umami flavor of the caviar. The allium jam reminded me of the scallion oil used as dipping sauce for Cantonese style poached chicken, and it worked surprisingly well as caviar condiments with the mild grassy taste.
The razor clam dish showed excellent understanding of local ingredients by the team and used them for something extraordinary. The clams – small sized which gave great texture – was gently poached, chilled and cut into even smaller chunks. They were then tossed with julienned Chinese celery, served with shiso oil and clam juice, and garnished with Sichuan pepper leaf. It’s then served in a rustic hand-built ceramics deep dish finished with a light glaze. Overall the dish was refreshing and I could get the flavor of every single ingredient burst on my tongue, and the hint of tingling Sichuan pepper taste stayed long after.
Two more seafood courses were served – Aji, or horse mackerel, was dry-aged for 5 days and served crudo style with just a quick sear on the surface. It’s mixed with a vinaigrette made with fermented green tomato juice and garnished with parsley oil and herbs. There’s also a hint of sweetness – almost like a dab of jam added in in the midst, and some bits of pickles for the added texture. Next was what chef described as “the perfect bite of crab” – on the plain porcelain round plate was a piece of king crab leg, slightly toasted on charcoal fire for this hint of smokiness, topped with the creamy roes from hairy crab and more picked crab meat underneath. And on the side, a small bowl of crab broth, boiled down from the shells and through repeated boiling and clarifying to make it clear like a consommé but loaded with intense flavor. It’s served with a warm cup of Shaoxing wine, a reserved bottle aged over 20 years in a specially-made Jingdezhen celadon porcelain jug. “So where do you source the hairy crabs?” “Well, we can’t find any in the market that we are satisfied with so we brought a lake and raised our own”… that summed up how serious they were in terms of the ingredients they chose.
The Poussin Baked in Bread is one of the signature dishes Chef Chris has at The Restaurant at Meadowood, and over here it’s a version made with local “Sunflower Chicken” (raised at a farm which used sunflower seed to feed), baked whole in a sourdough bread with wakame seaweed stuffed underneath the paper-thin crispy skin. It’s carved and served with a bouquet of local vegetables – bok choi, gai lan and choi sum – on the side and a generous spoonful of chicken jus. The meat was done perfectly tender and moist – similar to sous vide but you wouldn’t quite achieve the same with plastic bag and waterbath – and the best part was definitely the sauce. It’s the purest form of the best chicken flavor – some extra sauce was put on the side in a mini pot and I didn’t hesitate to just drink it after I finished the course. At least no one was looking since we were in the private room.
The abalone dish was inspired by one served at
Sushi Yoshitake in Tokyo, where chef turned the abalone liver into a creamy sauce to serve alongside, but it’s something totally different. The piece of Australian abalone was poached and grilled, then served with a piece of eggplant confit and the liver sauce underneath, and on top, dehydrated red amaranth leaves. The abalone was super tender with mild flavor, contrasting well with the rich liver sauce.
We turned up a notch in richness with the next two meat courses. The free-range rice duck (so named because it’s traditionally raised alongside rice paddy field in the region) was slightly aged, with the breast roasted in open fire with skin-on, carved into long piece and serve whole. The leg was turned into a confit and then a ragu mixed with bits of water chestnut. The sauce was a reduction from the bone broth with added angelica (known locally as dong quai and used traditionally for its medicinal value). The distinguished flavor from the angelica gave the dish a local touch and the duck breast was perfectly done, the meat was cut effortless through with a knife and with the thin crispy skin well-seasoned.
Australian wagyu beef was used in our next course. “Not our first choice”, said Ricky almost apologetically as he explained the dish to us, “but we are unable to import American beef in because of the trade war” – that showed one of the challenges faced in terms of ingredient sourcing in this part of the world. The piece worked just fine to me to be honest, with the firm texture, rich meaty flavor and balanced fat, and it’s served with an assortment of Yunnan mushrooms done in various methods, some cured in baijiu (Chinese clear liquor) lees, some sautéed, some sliced raw. The sauce was made with the bone reduction and served appropriately by pouring from a large piece of bone into our plate at the table.
I felt it’s almost like a tribute to Cantonese cuisine when chef ended our savory courses with a small bowl of congee. The congee, made with Wusheng rice from Northeast China and cooked with pure water taken from a deep underground well and seafood stock, has the smoothest texture like a soft polenta, and on top, some shaved Alba white truffles with awesome aroma. Probably the first time I had congee with white truffles, and the twist? “The cost of making the congee was as much as the cost for the white truffles”. Oh wow that's not what I would have expected.
A pair of light dessert was served at the end – first the cherimoya sorbet served with pears in different textures and candied with Osmanthus and kambucha syrup, which worked well as a palate cleanser after the rich main courses. Then it’s an interesting combination of duck egg yolk confit with a small quenelle of coconut icecream, and served with a soft duck egg white meringue and coconut water. I love the exotic flavor and of the right sweetness with a hint of savory taste from the egg. An impressive array of petit fours was served also form a layered box – first the slice of candied apple wrapped in shiso, then a salted plum jelly, pineapple “explosion” (white chocolate with pineapple puree filling) and a walnut chocolate, rich milk chocolate mixed with bits of walnuts made into a walnut-shaped piece which were our favorite by consensus for its intense nutty and creamy taste.
It's such a pleasure to sit with Ricky throughout the evening and heard him share the story of how the concept of Ensue came about and some of his philosophy and thoughts. Wines for the evening came from his own collection and as you would imagine, was exquisite and well-picked for the dishes. Began with a well-aged boutique champagne, blended with biodynamically grown grapes, followed by a Alsace Riesling for our amuse-bouche courses. It’s dry and intense, super floral on the nose, some dried apple and ripe apricot and a touch of mineral. The chardonnay from Burgundy showed creaminess and good acidity with citrus and marzipan worked well with the few refreshing seafood courses.
After the Shaoxing wine for the crab, we moved to red first with an ever-elegant Burgundy. Couldn’t ask for a finer expression of what Burgundy was about than this bottle – 6 years old and came of age, medium bodied, aroma of violet and rose, red fruit like cherries and baking spices, well rounded tannins to finish. For our beef main course, a bottle of mature Napa Valley cab was opened. Another classic with ripe currant and hawthorn taste and some sweet tobaccos and minerals and kept in excellent condition especially for one that’s almost 40 years old.
Same can be said of the vintage port that was poured at the end to pair with the petit fours, a wonder older than my great grandfather but showed none of the tiredness. Rich body, a mouthful of full and jammy plum and blackberries, some secondary flavor of wood, cloves and herbs and such long and memorable finish. Just like the meal itself which would probably be one that we would long talk about, and one definitely worth the special journey.
P.S. We each departed with a bag of gift from the restaurant and chef, each personalized along with the copy of the menu. Guess what’s in my bag? A little bottle of that chicken jus we had (the one that I finished bottoms up from the sauce pot)
When? November 12 2019
Where? Ensue, Level 40, Shenzhen Futian Shangri-la Hotel, 4088 Yitian Road, Futian District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Menu Highlights? Young Chicken baked in Sourdough, Brassicas, Whelk, Cooking Juices
Drinks?
2007 Champagne Jestin Extra Brut
2011 Domain Trimbach “Clos Sainte Hune” Riesling
2013 Domaine Dujac Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru Mons Luisants
23-year Special Edition Shaoxing Huadiao Yellow Wine, Shaoxing Dongfeng Brewery (1996 Release)
2013 Domaine Prieure Roch Nuit Saint Georges 1er Cru Le Clos des Corvees
1982 Diamond Creek “Volcanic Hill” Cabernet Sauvignon
Bordelet Poire Granit NV Pear Cider (Cuvee 2017)
1863 Taylor’s Single Harvest Port
Web:
ensue-sz.com
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