Hong Kong - Liberty Private Works

Cod and seafood dip

Snacks: Clam, Iberico 

Snacks: Quail Egg, Lamb

LPW Signature: Tuna, Sea Urchin, Espelette, Rice

Abalone, Butternut Squash, Risotto

Walu, Hearts of Palm, Celery, Apple

LPW Signature: Egg, Truffle, Parmesan, Caviar

Chicken, Foie Gras, Porcini, Crones, Black Truffle

Venison, Gingerbread, Cherry, Pumpkin

Banana, Chamomile, Fennel, Peach

Sea Salt, Caramel, Chocolate, Chili

Warm Madeleine

 Mochi, White Grape

Review: LPW is one of my favourite restaurants in Hong Kong. I think this actually might be my fifth visit! I still remember my first visit at its much smaller cash-only location on Wellington Street. The current Stanley Street location is dimly lit and boosts floor-length windows that show a great view of Central at night. The restaurant is one massive chef’s table that sits around 26 guests intimately. Throughout the 8-course meal you have a front row seat to watch Executive Chef Vicky Cheng and his team hard at work cooking and plating each dish. Vicky's creativity and passion shines through his visually stunning and equally delicious dishes. Congratulations on the engagement by the way! 

Yuls and V were my dinner dates for the night. We began our meal with a light cod fish dip and some finger snacks. We were then presented with a white tablet and a small test tube of rosewater. The white tablet was actually a compressed hand towel that reconstituted when I poured the rosewater over it. What a thoughtful way to begin our meal! We started with the signature spicy tuna, sea urchin and crispy rice.  I loved the contrasting texture of the tuna/sea urchin with the crispy popped rice. Definitely a decadent seafood party going on. Next up, the abalone was tender and sweet, almost earthy. The walu had a light crispy exterior and the apple-celery sauce brought a brightness to the dish. We also loved the signature egg and spinach raviolo nestled in parmesan cream and topped with caviar. This would have to be my favourite dish from LPW. Stuff of dreams! The egg oozed out perfectly when I cut into the raviolo and I mopped up all the egg/parmesan cream up with a freshly baked baguette. The caviar added a welcomed hint of umami. Did I mention that everything was perfectly seasoned? Next we had the foie gras wrapped in chicken with a generous shaving of black truffles. Our last savoury course was the venison, plated beautifully. Look at all the colours! At first I was a bit apprehensive of it but it was tender and slightly gamey in a good way. The cherry added a tartness to the meat and the gingerbread crumbs spiced it up. It was overall a well-executed dish because each bite brought something different to my taste buds. The desserts focused on contrasting textures and flavours. They weren't too sweet, which I appreciated. Don't leave LPW without trying a homemade mochi!  They're amaaaazing. We ended the meal with freshly baked madeleines straight out of the oven, and a mochi and a white grape test tube shot that looked identical to the rosewater napkin at the beginning of the meal. I love these fun little touches.

On a side note, Vicky's other restaurant Liberty Exchange (aka LEX, or happy hour invasion of that bit in between Exchange Square and IFC) serves up delicious and reasonably priced set lunches, small bites for dinner (think mini lobster rolls and salted caramel ice cream sandwiches) and brunch. I can’t wait to try the chicken and waffles!

Date of visit: January 10th 2015

Liberty Private Works
Address: 26/F, 11 Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong
Phone: 5186-3282
Hours: Mon-Sat  7:30pm - 12:00am
Reservations open 4 weeks in advance

Hong Kong - Neighborhood

Wagyu Tartare

Buttered Tagliolini

Food photos are a must!

Bone Marrow Risotto

Potato Gnocchi with Iberico Ham and Parmesan

Cheese Selection

Chocolate Palette

Vanilla Ice Cream

Complimentary canelés to end the night

Review: For our first taste of Alba white truffles this year, Big and Small picked Neighborhood, a newly opened joint by Chef David Lai from Bistronomique and On Lot 10. The quaint and modern restaurant is situated next to a little park and quite hard to find at first. Once we were seated, we were presented with a bowl of "white diamonds" nestled on uncooked rice. We were like little kids at the candy store, so excited to pick our own truffle! Their truffles were HKD 26 a gram and weighed on a digital scale at the table. Our truffle was more than enough to go between the three of us. We were given a truffle shaver set to the thinnest setting and we shaved the truffle on everything except the cheese and chocolate dessert! I was recently told that white truffles are in fact very 熱氣 - you can actually get nose bleeds after consuming heavy white truffle meals! But I guess once a year won't do too much damage.

We liked the al-dente Buttered Tagliolini for its subtle flavours that let the white truffle shine. The Wagyu Tartare didn’t have an overly acidic dressing and the raw yolk brought a great texture to the dish. The Homemade Gnocchi with Iberico and Parmesan was light and fluffy but could’ve had more potato taste. The Bone Marrow Risotto had large chunks of delicious fatty marrow throughout and the herbs cut through the fattiness, but the rich flavours sadly overpowered the truffles. For desserts, we liked the intense and creamy dark Chocolate Pallete and we used the last bits of our truffle on Vanilla Ice Cream, so decadent! They also served a great Fourme d'Ambert.

Overall I think the addition of white truffles elevated the food, but without the icing on the cake these dishes would still be delicious. The portions are small but reasonably priced, great for trying many dishes at once. The vibe is perfect for dates and there’s also a full bar. Their menu changes every week, so I'm looking forward to see what they have in store after the truffle season ends.

I recommend: Buttered Tagliolini, Bone Marrow Risotto, Chocolate Palette

Neighborhood
Address: 61-63 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong
Phone: 2617-0891
Hours: Mon-Sat 6pm-1030pm

Hong Kong - RyuGin

Updated February 20th 2015

 Monkfish liver from Hokkaido and Aka clam with spring onion in mustard miso sauce

 Simmered abalone with winter vegetables served with grated radish sauce

 Shiitake mushroom egg custard topped with Matsubagani crab

 Poached Gillardeau oyster and mashed turnip soup in winter style

 Assortment of sashimi

 Charcoal grilled Alfonsino served with crispy scales

 Wagyu ribeye sukiyaki with onsen tamago

  Premium sea urchin on steamed rice with simmered fresh seaweed

 Bottarga grey mullet roe on steamed rice with simmered fresh seaweed (for Bf who can't eat sea urchin)

 RyuGin Specialty -196C pear candy and +99C pear jam

 Deep fried spring roll, sweet red beans, strawberry, shiratama mochi

Date of visit: January 16th 2015

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Watari crab salad under chrysanthemum flowers

Enter the Autumn Forest - Simmered abalone, mushrooms, pine nuts on hot egg custard

Poached Gillardeau oyster wrapped with shabu-shabu Wagyu beef and grated celeriac jelly

Flavor of autumn - Charcoal grilled Matsutake mushroom in Ichibandashi soup

Assortment of sashimi

Slow cooked blue lobster and selection of vegetables with Manganji pepper flavoured sauce

Large eel grilled over Binchotan charcoal

Ikura salmon caviar and Kobashira on steamed rice

Tea before the dessert courses

RyuGin specialty -196C apple candy and +99C apple jam

Kyoho grapes and Nashi calpis jelly with sense of sudachi and shiso flower

Matcha to end the meal

RyuGin Hong Kong is the first overseas branch of RyuGin Japan. It offers only one menu, a kaiseki of ten courses that highlights fresh seasonal ingredients flown in from Japan daily. I enjoyed each delicious and unique dish, but I had a few favourites. One was the Gillardeau oyster wrapped in Wagyu beef (or Boyster, according to Bf). The “Boyster” was presented in its original shell and thoughtfully cut into two bite-sized pieces. The flavour of the sweet and tender beef was more pronounced in the beginning, while the brininess from the creamy oyster came after. The tangy celeriac added brightness, bringing the dish together. It was definitely a well-executed dish. I would’ve never thought beef and oyster could be eaten together, let alone be this delicious!

Another notable dish was the grilled eel. The skin was super crisp while the meat was kept soft and sweet, with a hint of smokiness. The glaze was not too sweet, which I liked. Hands down one of the best eel dishes I have ever had. I also loved the molecular gastronomy dessert, which was a candy “apple” filled with powdered liquid nitrogen apple ice cream and topped with piping hot apple jam. Hot, cold, crunchy and fluffy all at the same time!

A lot of fine-dining restaurants serve expensive ingredients, slap a hefty price tag on them, and leave it at that. At RyuGin, you are paying for the skill and technique, heart and soul the chef pours into executing each dish. He condenses and amplifies the flavours of the ingredients without overpowering your palate. The chef is able to create a symphony of flavours and textures that work so well together. This is the epitome of Japanese kaiseki.

Aside from the food, you get a stunning view of the harbour from 101/F while enjoying impeccable service. The dark decor and wooden panels that separate each table create an intimate dining experience. The staff was attentive and very knowledgeable about each dish, from the source of ingredients to cooking techniques. Portioning and timing were perfect. The dishes arrived at an appropriate speed and I didn't feel rushed or that they took too long. After the dessert courses I was perfectly satiated.

Note that the menu changes every few months, so some items pictured above may not be available. My visit was on October 3.

RyuGin
Address: 101/F, International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Phone: 2302-0222
Hours: Mon-Sat 6pm-930pm, Sun 12pm-3pm, 6pm-930pm