Another Sunday; Another Brunch

Our friends at church organized yet another brunch outing after Sunday service recently, this time to Gough’s on Gough on a weekend when our friend F was working in the FOH of the restaurant. I was at the restaurant when Chef Cary Docherty just came on board about 6 months ago and loved my dinner there, and as I keep hearing good things about his cooking and the restaurant’s new menu, I thought it would be great to check out their signature Sunday brunch, featuring some British classics.

The meal has been a few weeks’ in the making as the restaurant has become increasingly popular and hard to book, plus we need to work out the schedule of all 10 of us to finally iron out the date to go. And we also coordinated the wines we brought over to share beforehand. Not much was changed in terms of the Sunday brunch menu from what we had the last time, with 3 courses – appetizer, main and dessert – offered on prix-fixe basis, with choices of main courses and desserts.

We began with the seasonal green asparagus and Hollandaise sauce. Hard to go wrong with this classic combination really – with stalks of green asparagus (French import, we were told) blanched then finished with grated parmesan on top, and on the side was a dollop of Hollandaise espuma. I could argue the portion was a bit stingy (we were given only a few plates to share) and the asparagus were on the soft side/borderline crunchy but they were perfectly seasoned.

There were a few choices of main course available but for me it’s the no-brainer. The big slice of Hereford beef rib was done medium rare and served with the rich gravy, and on the plate was the Yorkshire pudding, duck fat potatoes, carrots and watercress salad. Came in generous portion and everything was well executed, just as what I would expect. On the side there’s also a plate of baked cauliflower and cheese to share – that was delicious too with the rich and creamy flavor.

For dessert, we got to choose between a traditional trifle, a pineapple upside down cake and Stilton cheese with all the condiments. I went for the cake and it was decent. Soft buttery cake coupled with candied pineapple coulis on the side. Could live with a bit more spice to make it more interesting, but it’s good as it was.

Went with a couple bottles of champagne plus a few reds for the afternoon. Interesting contrast of notes from the two champagnes from two different makers, with the aged Krug Grande Cuvee (hinted by the old-design label) still gripped with nice acidity and effervescence, while the 1999 Dom Perignon was more about notes of bread and minerals. For our main courses, a pair of Bordeaux Grand Cru Classe plus one from a famous winemaker family in Italy’s Veneto region offered a good comparison of wines with (somewhat) similar blends and of similar age.

Didn’t quite knock my current choice of the “Best Sunday Roast in Town” off the list, but this is a lovely, easy-going meal nonetheless.

When? June 23 2019
Where? Gough's on Gough, 15 Gough Street, Central, Hong Kong
Menu Highlights? Roast Rib of Hereford Beef
Drinks?
Champagne Krug Grande Cuvee
2006 Champagne Dom Perignon
2009 Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste, Pauillac
2010 Chateau Leoville Poyferre, Saint Julien
2008 Quintarelli Giuseppe Rosso Ca' del Merlo Veneto IGT
Web: goughsongough.com