Steakhouse Treats

Turn of the year saw a new chef on board at Henry, the steakhouse at Rosewood Hong Kong with Bay Area native Mario Tolentino giving the place a West Coast twist with some new dishes on the menu. Fast forward a few months later we were there to check out some of the new dishes over dinner in early June. 

Not much has changed in terms of interior and decor, given the restaurant was barely a few years old. I still very much enjoyed the comfy leather couches and long table overseeing the open kitchen from afar, plus the wooden-themed long bar typical of the classic American steakhouses. 

We were given a treat of way too many food, as usual, and I ain't complain about it. We started with a pair of appetizer bites - "An Ode to San Francisco" featured a few seafood items (bluefin tuna, scallops, sea urchins and red seabream) served crudo style dressed with olive oil, capers and espelette for the enriching flavor. Devilled egg was prepared using Japanese uni (sea urchins) and topped with crispy pork crackling and caviar. I like the twist over the classic version with more intense flavor and better texture. 

Steak Tartare is always a staple item of any steakhouse and Henry's no exception. Here it's served table-side with much fanfare on a fancy wooden cart, with soy-cured egg yolk whipped and mixed into the hand-chopped tenderloin with generous shavings of Parmagiano Reggiano and black truffles on top. 

We then moved onto a couple cooked seafood dishes. I am super anal about crab cakes and I thought Mario's version was okay with plenty of picked lump crab meat stuffed in. (but then I am not a fan of the deep-fried version) The second dish was Hokkaido scallop, pan-seared than served in the shell with black truffle marmalade, cauliflower espuma and caviar on top. 

Afterwards it's the main attraction of the evening - MEAT! We were served a few plate-ful which included beef brisket, tomahawk (45 day dry-aged and finished with whiskey flambe), Miyazaki ribeye cap, plus baby back ribs and roast chicken. That's in addition to the dirty rice (with lobster sausage, lumb crab and oysters) and a few more sides. Among them my favorite was the beef brisket with the moist texture and intense flavor and the fatty pieces of tomahawk from Snake River Farm. For sides, I love the macaroni cheese best, baked with four types of cheese and grated truffle mixed in.

As the dishes were cleared and leftover doggy-bagged, five desserts were brought in and presented on our table. FIVE - all in American portion. I hardly managed a bite of each and the sweet corn sundae with caramel popcorns was the clear winner. We started with a bottle of new world chardonnay - full-bodied, golden color, vanilla aroma, ripe citrus, some stonefruit and plenty of minerals - that's followed by another new world red (Shiraz from Barossa) - full-bodied, black fruits on the palate, with hint of baking spices and cocoa. 

We couldn't have asked for a more sumptuous steakhouse treat and it's just what I needed to kick off the long weekend of eating and drinking. 

When? June 2 2022
Where? Henry, 5/F Rosewood Hong Kong, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon
Menu Highlights? 44 Farms Beef Brisket
Drinks?
2017 Bodega Monteviejo Lindaflor Chardonnay, Mendoza, Argentina
2016 Auld Family Wines "William Patrick" Shiraz, Barossa, Australia
Web: www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/hong-kong/dining/henry