New Faces

Other than the new faces, with chefs Gaurav Kuthari and Dhiraj Kumar now taking charge of the kitchen, nothing much has changed at Chaat when we went for dinner a few weeks back. The place was still crowded as ever – many dubbed this the hardest restaurant to get a table at this side of the harbor. 

Well I guess it’s a somewhat misleading statement to say “nothing much has changed”. True the tasting menu they have prepared for us included some of the tried and tested dishes that makes the restaurant one of the most popular in town – that included the signature samosa served as a cone, or the prawn balchao served with the perfect goan peri peri marinate on a mini roti, or the tandoori wagyu beef cheek that started off as an off-menu dish and now became a staple with melt-in-your-mouth tender texture and rubbed with herbs and spices. All of those were still excellent – and of course there’s no reason why it won’t with the kitchen team worked smoothly like a well-oiled car and delivered food in consistently high quality. 

And then there are a number of new dishes that we tried as a preview to their upcoming (now past) Diwali special menu. Like the Lamb Chop Nihari, roasted and served in a mildly spicy curry sauce with a touch of saffon and gold leaf garnish (because, after all this is a Michelin-starred establishment in a 5-star hotel which was just ranked as world’s second best – and no they didn’t make me say that) Or the Salmon Tikka, which I almost mistook as chicken, with the big piece of salmon fillet served tandoori style with Kashmiri Chili, Mustard Oil and Garlic. I love the lamb chop so much and I didn’t even like lamb in the first place. The side dish of Dal Makhani deserved special mention too, rich and smooth and salivating. 

We finished with two desserts – one old, one new, including the crowd favorite Chocolate Naan, and the new dish of Black Sesame Kulfi topped with the colorful Rabdi Falooda garnishes. In the spirit of trying something new, I went on to try some of their cocktails rather than resorting to beer or wine. Both the gin-based Lal Quila and the tequila based Hara Cherrapunji were lovely, but of course we must end our meal with Masala Chai, served in a ceremonial fashion by the server.  

So still as good, I guess that answered the question you had in mind. 

More photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/g4gary/albums/72177720311494484

When? September 26 2023
Where? CHAAT, 5/F Rosewood Hong Kong, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsimshatsui
Menu Highlights? Lamb Chop Nihari - Slow-cooked lamb curry with Saffron
Web: www.chaat.hk