Roganic 2.0 x 2

The team at Roganic certainly did a good job building up our anticipation for its re-opening at Lee Garden after a 6-month hiatus. While we enjoyed the food at its old location numerous times (both at Roganic and Aulis, their experimental kitchen next door), it always feels like the restaurant was in a borrowed space at a random shopping mall corner. Still in a shopping mall, albeit a fancier one, on the side of Causeway Bay, the new space is now properly designed from ground up with everything built to fit the restaurant's style, from the wooden decor connecting the restaurant to its British Lake District roots, to the spacious open kitchen showcasing the team's cooking and the dedicated outdoor area where some of the ingredients were grown in-house highlighting the dedication to the "farm-to-fork" philosophy which restauranteur-owner Chef Simon Rogan has been a champion for.  

Canto x Chiuchow

I was a Ming Court Wanchai a couple of weeks for the special collaboration event featuring the dishes created by their Chef Tsang Chiu King and guest chef Cheung Yat Fung from Beijing's Michelin 3-starred Chao Shang Chao Restaurant. 

All's well that ends well

I wrapped up the year 2024 with a bang with a fine dinner at Sushi Kumogaku on the last week of December. I have been to the restaurant a few times before but this was my first time coming here for dinner - partly because the restaurant is super popular and kind of hard to book. Chef Kin and his team was making final preparation behind the counter already as we walked in and seated at far end of the L-shaped counter in the main dining room, which could seat up to 12. 

End of An Era

I always feel we didn't appreciate Roganic enough for what the restaurant and the team brought to the local dining scene since their opening  in 2019, breathing a new life into our old concept of "fine dining" with a more casual, no-nonsense approach that's quite unique at that time and has since become more a commonplace. 

Second Visit

On the whole nothing much has changed since my last visit to The Cristal Room 6 months ago, well, except now they are bestowed with a star in the latest edition of Michelin Guide. It's well-deserved, by the way, and certainly helped their cause to become one of the hottest restaurant openings in town in recent times. 

Weekend Brunch at Grissini

I had a lovely weekend brunch recently at Grissini of Grand Hyatt when they invited me over at the newly renovated private room. There's no better time to visit on a perfect sunny day with sunshine beamed through the floor-to-ceiling window... felt like I was at Amalfi Coast with a glass of Aperol Spritz in hand. And I reckon the long table was just perfect for a cozy day time function with privacy.  

Zest x Mizumi

There’s a sense of déjà vu when I dropped by Zest for a special lunch hosted by Chef Konishi with guest chef Hironori Maeda from Mizumi in Wynn Macau back in early June. I just came back from a week-long holiday in Kyoto and Osaka, but with this meal I felt like I was back in Japan once again. 

The Magistracy "Private" Room

Décor of Magistracy Dining Room definitely appeals to certain type of people – those who read and dreamed all about the Victorian era glamor or binge-watch on Downton Abby, for example. Probably same can be said about their style of dishes but to a lesser extent; after all old-school British cuisine never got a good reputation even to the locals. That mixed impression set the tone of my mood as I set foot into the restaurant – now in its second year of operations - for the first time recently and checked out their latest menu, reinvented by Chef Alyn Williams who just came on board. 

New Hokkien Place

New restaurant openings in this area were not common let alone a decent one, so Ming Pavilion came as a welcoming addition when they opened their doors inside Island Shangri-la. The restaurant specializes in Hokkien Cuisine from Fujian Province, surprisingly another rarity in local dining scene.

Wing, A Few Months Ago

This is a throwback post to one of the meals we had at Wing in recent months. Chef Vicky never failed to wow us with some of the best executed Chinese dishes in town no matter what occasion we came here for, and this time there's no exception when we came with a couple of friends. 

The Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic

Combining the view to die for on top of Gloucester Tower with the most glamorous décor filled with Baccarat pieces scattered inside the open dining area was The Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic, the newest (and arguably the hottest) restaurant in town sitting inside the Forty Five restaurant complex. Also remarkable was the open kitchen which sit right next to the dining room with no boundary in between, giving a home-like atmosphere to the otherwise elegant, almost condescending space.

One to Watch

At the Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau ceremony last month, there were no happier faces than chefs Romain and Adrien, whose restaurant Racines has gotten its first Michelin star in the 2024 Guide. I had the chance to dine at the place just a few months ago and this certainly came as no surprise, given how much I enjoyed the meal at this small bistro-style venue in the quiet Tai Ping Shan Street neighborhood in Sheung Wan. 

Rooftop Teppanyaki

Forty-five has quickly become the talk of the town with a few fine restaurants opening in quick succession in this complex spanning multiple floors on top of Gloucester Tower. I had a chance to visit two of their outlets in March, starting with Kaen Teppanyaki in one Monday evening.  

Petrus' Seasonal Menu

We forgot how nice the view was from Restaurant Petrus until we got up there and paid a visit a couple months ago to check out Chef Uwe’s winter menu. And the food too, at this legendary restaurant with a legendary chef at the helm. 

All About Dried Tangerine Peel

You couldn’t help but feel the passion Chef Li has for his favorite ingredient Dried Tangerine Peel (陳皮) whenever he started talking about it. From the different types of tangerines that were used, to the way they were prepared in his hometown of Xinhui 新會 in Guangdong Province near Guangzhou and Shunde (which arguably produced the best dried tangerine peel), to how they were dried and aged and different flavor and aroma profiles developed, Chef Li is like a living encyclopedia for these all. And a few months ago, he even came up with a Dried Tangerine Peel-themed special menu at his restaurant The Legacy House at Rosewood Hong Kong, which was quickly sold out.

Old Friend at a New Place

I visited Nobu Hong Kong for the first time a couple of months ago. Yes I have been to Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s restaurants quite a few times but somehow this branch right at home eluded me for so long. Anyway, happy to make amend for this when the restaurant reopened at now The Regent at almost the exact same spot in the building when it was still called The Intercontinental. 

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. 

Old School Classics

Few months ago I had a chance to check out Hong Kong Cuisine 1983 in Happy Valley and tried some of the exquisite Cantonese dishes by Chef Silas Li. Tugged away in the side street of the quiet Happy Valley neighborhood, the cozy restaurant up on the first floor in a commercial building does have a speakeasy feel to it with classy traditional decor. 

White Truffle Treat

I knew we were onto something quite special when I saw a large white truffle sitting in a jar on our table as I walked in to Castellana the other night. I visited the restaurant earlier this year but happy to be back, this time with a few friends and during the prized white truffle season. 

Old Face, New Place

I admit I did find it a little surreal when I saw Chef Manav in his new chef outfit at a new restaurant. His departure from his last gig a few months back certainly took many by surprise, but his new restaurant, Leela, on the other side of the harbor, is promising and represents quite a change in culinary direction and style.