Feuille x Lasai

I am not surprised when the name Feuille often came up whenever the question about the best recent restaurant opening in town popped up. They seem to go under the radar when they opened in Spring 2023, but since then they did attract quite a following for its straight-forward, vegetable-focused French cuisine in a casual setting. 

I was there when their founder chef David Toutain was in residence (flying in from Paris) to present the four-hands menu with Chef Rafa Costa e Silva Restaurante Lasai from Rio, for a unique Rio-Hong Kong-Paris collaboration and the first in this young restaurant. With both chefs champions in their respective regions for the “farm-to-table” concept, the special menu featured some interesting combination of seasonal produce with local ingredients with some dishes created only for this 2-day event. 

This evening we began with something familiar, the signature welcome drink from Feuille with Kombucha served with chia seeds in a small porcelain cup – the refreshing citrusy flavor was salivating. A few bite-sized appetizer courses followed with the theme “Grains and Seeds”, and I thought the combination of yuca and sea urchin was the most interesting one with the uniquely Brazilian yuca deep fried and served underneath tongues of Japanese sea urchins and toasted sunflower seeds for the contrast of land and sea flavors. 

One might argue Abalone is more of an Asian ingredient but here it’s done in a rather exotic style, with thin slices of gently poached abalones served with douglas fir-infused dashi custard and parsley sabayon on the side. I love the flavor profile on this one with so many things going on in one bite.  The “Feuille Bread” was lovely, served hot with Coriander “Pil pil” dipping sauce on the side. 

The Ma Yau dish was another of my favorites of the evening, with fillet of Ma Yau fish (threadfin) served with clam espuma (with both the fish and clams coming from local market), bok choy and chive sauce on the side. Local Three Yellow Chicken was used for our meat main course, with the chicken slow poached in milk and served with a creamy sauce infused with sake and smooth parsnip puree. 

Moving towards the last part of the menu was “Flowers and Fruits” and “Origins” with lighter and sweeter flavor. I especially liked the combo of sorrel panna cotta, passionfruit sorbet and candied mandarin for the refreshing tastes. Over the course of evening we were treated a nice flight of wines too that went along well with the dishes, featuring boutique winemakers and some of the finest in their respective regions. 

(Dinner was by invitation)

When? October 31 2023
Where? Feuille, 5/F, The Wellington, 198 Wellington St, Central
Menu Highlights? Parsley - Abalone - Douglas Fir
Drinks?
2015 Champagne La Rogerie “Heroine” Blanc de Blancs
2019 Clos des Centenaires Roussane
2012 Domaine Gourt de Mautens IGP Vaucluse
Web:
(Feuille) www.feuille.hk
(Restaurants Lasai) lasai.com.br/english