Where to eat in Hong Kong and Macau right now?

Even with the slowdown in Hong Kong and Macau, the scene for gastronomy has never looked better.

Amber – aji, Japanese fruit tomato, basil puree, lemon verbana, amaranth and Manni extra virgin olive oil

 

The Chairman – flower crab in aged Shao Xing wine

 

Asia’s 50 Best stalwarts the likes of Amber and The Chairman remain perennial favourites for visiting foodies to Hong Kong. Chef Richard Ekkebus of Amber recently quietly removed his eight-year-old icon of Hokkaido sea urchin with cauliflower panna cotta, lobster jelly and caviar, much to the chagrin of some diners. Not that he needs to worry, for new dishes like the standout of aji (horse mackerel) sandwiched between Japanese fruit tomato with basil puree, lemon verbana, amaranth and Manni extra virgin olive oil continues to come to the fore on the menu seasonally.

Still, a visit to the dining mecca is incomplete without a reservation at one of the city’s stellar new restaurants, most of which are smaller chef-led establishments rather than outposts by overseas celebrity chefs.

An hour across the waters, Macau is glamming it up for the soon-to-open offshoots of L’Ambroisie Paris and Maido Peru. Until these debuts in new glitzy hotels are ready, there are reasons aplenty for the hop over to Macau. Key among them is the collective achievement by a trio of restaurants in the 2016 book of Michelin.

With so many eateries and so little time, here are our recommendations on where to eat.

Neighbourhood – handmade tagliolini with salted egg yolk and Manjimup black truffles

Hong Kong-born, Berkeley-schooled former Spoon HK head chef, David Lai, slides back into the foodie radar with this bijou 30-seat eatery tucked deep in the bowels of Hollywood Road’s undulating backstreets. The French-informed, bi-weekly changing sharing plates menu is borderless and features seasonal local and imported ingredients like truffle poached artichoke with a punchy anchovy aioli dip and crudo of Hokkaido scallops with sliced green tomatoes in a piquant olive oil dressing perfumed with lemon and coarse black pepper. Expect more truffle-heavy dishes during the truffle season. During our visit in mid June, we were greeted with homey and rustic dishes like the handmade tagliolini tossed with savoury salted egg yolk and a Ducasse-style warm vegetable dish served in truffle jus, both arrived with a rain shower of Manjimup black truffle shavings. Man Hing Ln, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2555 2202

La Bombance – teriyaki foie gras, toasted onigiri, Miyazaki mango, Parma ham, deep fried biwako ayu and yuba topped with deep fried white bait

 

The name La Bombance may sound bafflingly French or Italian but make no mistake, this Causeway Bay offshoot of Tokyo’s one Michelin-starred restaurant of the same name fields the same Japanese-rooted new Tokyo cuisine that it’s been known for since 2004. Perched on the 30th floor of V Point building, the 50-seat restaurant boasts stunning views of Kowloon and beyond across the glistening harbour. Even then, this panorama does not steal the show from the 9-course kaiseki menu that pairs the best of seasonal Japanese produce with European and, in time to come, local ingredients. Chef de cuisine, Koya Takayuki, spent 10 years learning the ropes in the restaurant’s Tokyo flagship and at La Bombance, the tasting menu features seasonal delicacies like the dish of teriyaki foie gras on toasted onigiri, Miyazaki mango wrapped in a fold of Parma ham, deep fried biwako ayu and a rich slab of yuba topped with deep fried white bait. To end the dinner on a high, chef Takayuki fields the biggest highlight of the meal – black truffle kamameshi (traditional Japanese dish where rice is cooked in an iron pot) drizzled with soya flavoured egg yolk. 30/F, V Point, 18 Tang Lung St, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong; +852 3188 3326; bombance.com

Ta Vie – Caesar salad with Hotaru fire-fly squid

Six years after his time with Ryugin (including 3 years opening Ryugin in Hong Kong), Hideaki Sato has come into his own at Ta Vie. Tucked on the second floor of the positively boutique Pottinger Hotel at Wellington Street, the 36-seat restaurant sports lots of marble, dark wood and grey striped upholstery in a quaint dining room that will not look out of place in Europe. Sato-san spent 10 years building a foundation in French gastronomy before joining Ryugin and his new digs banks on the chef’s grounding in French techniques and his Japanese heritage to field a cuisine that puts the spotlight on seasonal Asian ingredients. Fist size Shimane rock oysters are pan seared and served shell-on with a heart-warming pig trotter cassoulet sauce while Caesar salad is reimagined as lettuce, Japanese mountain asparagus and Hotaru fire fly squid in a perky dressing perfumed with the fire fly squid instead of anchovies. In line with the restaurant’s focus on Asian ingredients, the beverage programme features a series of house-brewed tea including chilled gyokuro and pu-erh as well as Japanese wines and sakes to go with the food. French wines are, of course, available too. 21 Stanley street, 2/F, The Pottinger, 74 Queen’s Road Central, Central; +852 2668-6488; tavie.com.hk

Pigeon with plum-marinated grapes and plum wine jelly

One of the most affordable tasting menus in the city resides on the 26th floor of a building on Stanley Street, Central, with wrap-around floor to ceiling glass windows and a U-shaped, 26-seat counter presided by chef de cuisine, Bjoern Alexander, a native of Germany. Here, Alexander helms a cramped, open kitchen where he whips up playful, if experimental, modern European dishes with Japanese twists categorized as young sprouts (starters), branches (mains) and roots (desserts). Notwithstanding the difficult-to-understand menu concept, the tasting menu is surprisingly extensive with five starters (two uni courses, two oyster courses and a King crab), four mains and two desserts. Highlights during our dinner included a pigeon course with plum-marinated grapes and plum wine jelly as well as chilli studded langoustine with lime cream, black garlic shavings and fried tapioca balls. 26/F Stanley 11, 11 Stanley Street, Central; +852 5186 3282; twentysix.hk

Jade Dragon – char siew

Jade Dragon (Macau)
Recently upgraded from one to two Michelin stars on the 2016 Macau guide, Jade Dragon serves up a repertoire of classic and modern Cantonese fare by chef Tam Kwok Fung, who has more than 30 years of Cantonese fine dining experience under his belt. Befitting the sheer grandeur of space, presentation of the cuisine has just enough fanfare to keep diners glued to their seats. Steamed grouper fish arrives beautifully perched in a bowl of Hokkaido milk egg custard spiked with aged hua diao wine while free-range chicken with shallot and ginger are served flambe style in an aluminium foil. Tam also has an uncanny ability to marry unusual ingredients, often yielding surprisingly delicious results – hot and sour soup is served with Japanese kagani crabmeat to lend a naturally sweet taste to the broth while French lobster makes an appearance in the finale dish of lobster rice in a light lobster bisque served with daikon, toufu skin and crispy rice. Diners who want dependable classics will not be disappointed with the soups (the double boiled seafood soup in winter melon is to-die-for) and the prime cut BBQ iberico pork pluma char siew. Level 2, The Shops at The Boulevard, City of Dreams, Estrado do Istmo, Cotai, Macau; +853 8868 2822; cityofdreamsmacau.com

The Tasting Room – carbonara style abalone “pasta”

The Tasting Room (Macau)
The only other French restaurant in Macau rated in the 2016 Hong Kong Macau Michelin guide apart from Robuchon au Dôme, The Tasting Room is, like its Cantonese stablemate, also recently elevated to two Michelin stars. But unlike the glitzy Jade Dragon, The Tasting Room is comparatively low key, if intimate, with a sumptuous green-toned 54-seat dining room proffering glorious views of the Cotai strip. Executive chef Gaillaume Galliot hails from Raffles Grill Singapore and Jaan Beijing before he uprooted to open The Tasting Room Macau. Over the years, he has gained a solid reputation for his creative take on modern French creations with signatures like the carbonara-style abalone “pasta” with 36-month aged Pata Negra ham and the onion soup served with a scoop of sweet onion sorbet. If you have a sweet tooth, Galliot’s chocolate banana mille feuille beckons for desserts. 3/F, Crown Towers, City of Dreams, Estrado do Istmo, Cotai, Macau; +853 8868 6681; cityofdreamsmacau.com

Shinji by Kanesaka Macau – sushi course

Shinji by Kanesaka (Macau)
Nine months after its debut at Crown Towers, Shinji Kanesaka’s first Greater China outpost snagged its first Michelin star in 2016. Famed for its Edomae style sushi in both Tokyo and Singapore, the Macau offshoot boasts the same hinoki wood counter and minimalist interior by designer, Junzo Irikado. Chef de cuisine, Toru Osumi, spent 5 years cutting his teeth with Kanesaka’s Tokyo flagship and a further half a year honing his craft with the sushi master’s Singapore restaurant. In Macau, his omakase menu glistens with the season’s freshest fish, flown in daily (except on Sundays) for the restaurant’s discerning sushi aficionados; think sushi of nodu guro and kisu alongside all time favourites like chutoro and otoro. For nothing but the best, order the Omakase Shin that comes complete with a bowl of Japanese rice topped with Bafun uni, shrimp and chopped otoro and chutoro. Level 1, Crown Towers, City of Dreams, Estrado do Istmo, Cotai, Macau; +853 8868 6681; cityofdreamsmacau.com

The Upper House

 

Island Shangri-la

 

With 300 guest rooms, Crown Towers at the City Of Dreams is not the biggest hotel property by Macau’s standard but it’s certainly one of the most zen with a bamboo tree-lined lobby decorated with screens in soft gold and aquatic blue and a lofty ceiling that that soars to seven meters high. Continuing the zen theme, the rooms are functionally minimalist with a walk-in wardrobe, a coffee machine and floor-to-ceiling windows offering unblocked views of Cotai. With a spa and three Michelin stars-decorated restaurants in the house, there is no need to step out of the hotel unless it’s Lord Stow’s Portuguese egg tarts you’ve after (in which case, you need to cross the road to The Venetian). Estrado do Istmo, Cotai, Macau; +853 8590 3000; cityofdreamsmacau.com