Yurt, Hong Kong’s first Central Asian restaurant, has assumed this challenge and opened with grand fanfare. As Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan have finally found a home of eating in the city, diners have had their palates roused with this SoHo restaurant. Cue the Instagram shots. 

The restaurant is co-founded by two Kazakhs, namely Xeniya Tregubenko who leads the front of house. She is the restaurant’s storyteller who has jointly designed the menu with the head chef to serve dishes central to her youth in her homeland and those pertinent for representing the larger Central Asian community.

The à-la-carte menu has the baursak (HKD55) standing at the top of the page, featuring a handful of plump homemade fried dough pockets served with a tangy white truffle sauce. Immediately, the theme of Yurt reveals itself: carby with love, plus hearty meat to come later. This dish is popular throughout the region.

The second starter I tried was the acichuk (HKD98) which features a bed of sweetened quinoa with red grapes and juice and cherry tomatoes placed on top. Described as a popular salad in Uzbekistan, the salad acts as a palate cleanser to prepare for heavy meats coming later. Simple and basic, yes, but pleasant to enjoy with the fruity tomatoes.

I tried three main course dishes available on the menu currently (as of early January) upon my visit to Yurt. The first was the pilaf (HKD140). Plated in a cute fashion with the fatty beef cuts placed atop the rice to soak up any juice, each bite is heartier than your traditional Middle Eastern pilaf. The rice comes with a discernable bite with slightly-hardened chickpeas coming in for a balanced texture. I wish there were more raisins to bring more sweetness to a buttery dish.

A recipe traditional to cultures stretching from Latin America to the Middle East to Eastern Europe, this is how Central Asians largely prepare the dish.

For the bashbarmak (HKD140), already a viral dish at Yurt, homemade square raviolo-like noodles and shredded potato and carrot meet in a simmering beef soup. It is the perfect recipe to cure sickness, marks Xeniya, or warm one’s soul. Beef cuts stand alongside the horse meat sausage (+HKD90) at the top of the soupy bowl. 

Imagine if you bring beef jerky together with lightly salted margarine and a low-grade meaty Wagyu cut and you have the taste of horse meat sausage. It is stringy, falls apart on the palate, and hits hard with a salty beef-like flavour. You can now tell your parents you’ve tried horse meat now and enjoyed it!

The dolma (HKD125), a vegetarian main course option, brings much needed veggie balance to the meat-heavy menu with eggplant, zucchini, and carrot paste all meshing together. 

For dessert, I enjoyed the aport (HKD108) which may elude the not-too-sweet-loving dessert crowd of Hong Kong. I liked it, alot. A not-too-sweet cheesecake is plated in the centre of a curving bowl with additions of green apple puree, caramel, and rock sugar layered on top leaving you dazed but done with the meal in style.

Our verdict of Yurt

I ended the meal with a large belly protruding with five plates of food packed inside, yet I was not stuffed. Yurt’s special ingredient is a teaspoon of homely and indulgent Central Asian know-how. The recipes are not bastardised to fit within the Hong Kong palate, but shown in their full strength. Ryackhmet! 

Yurt, G/F, 32 Elgin Street, Soho, Central, 6845 7149, book here

This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.

The post Yurt review: Hong Kong’s first Central Asian restaurant that soothes your soul appeared first on Foodie.

The celebrated food master made her name opening French-meets-Chinese TATE Dining Room more than a decade ago and with soy-speciality Mora opening in the same neighbourhood nearly four years ago. Now, JIJA by Vicky Lau has come to market.

If her first two restaurants are an ode to cherished flavours from her roots in Hong Kong, JIJA, found inside the new Kimpton Hong Kong hotel, is a celebration of southwest China, namely Yunnanese and Guizhou cuisine. 

Upon opening, JIJA has launched their five-course dinner tasting menu (HKD590) to introduce Hong Kong diners to the snappy, fragrant, and peppery Chinese fare. Formerly, our city has only played host to lowkey Yunnan rice noodle restaurants, so this restaurant is a refreshing welcome.

The meal kicks off strong with a trio appetiser selection: chicken liver parfait, rushan cheese spring roll, and lime shredded chicken. Served with scallion focaccia, the parfait is frothy, moist, and unctuous, perfect to get your tastebuds working.

The cheese spring roll introduces a herbal note to the palate with tomato & fennel pollen sandwiched in between the haloumi-like cheese, whilst the Sichuanese oil-coated chicken wakes you up for more meaty stuff to come. 

For a choice of soup, I went for the smoked tofu pumpkin & wild mushroom soup. The soup is cooked with morel but lacks a woody and beefy mushroom punch expected from the fungi. The flavour profile from the soup is more subtle and soothing than loud. JIJA’s host and co-owner Romain Herbreteau did mention that they may call the dish a ‘bamboo soup’ in the future owing to the ingredients’ more important role in the dish.

The wok-fired Chinese chive deluxe comes to the table following the first two courses. This dish brings a Yunnan twist to a Cantonese classic with jizong mushrooms which amps up the salty hit of each bite. Dried squid and baby silver fish is also added into the mix. The chives themselves are super fresh and offer a crunch and sweet ending. In Hong Kong, it really is hard to find fresh vegetables to eat, but not here.

For the main course section of the menu, I picked the dry aged roasted pigeon, tempered on the Josper grill and served with a lemongrass dipping sauce and pigeon jus. Crisp on the outside and pink inside, each bite on the bird is plump and slightly fruity.

As a final main, the dai sou beef soup noodle comes with a brimming fragrance and a strong beefy hit. It is evident that the soup noodles and soft beef chunk has been brewed from the beginning with spices flowing through each component of the bowl, rather than the soup made and noodles and beef added later.  

And if I hadn’t had enough for this menu, I ended the meal with one too many pickings of the Yunnan Paris-Brest, a Chinese twist on the French choux pastry dessert. The desserts’ peanut praline cream part is utterly consuming and a naughty sweetness to indulge in.

Our verdict of JIJA by Vicky Lau

JIJA is the place for you to explore what Yunnanese cuisine is about. Each dish served in their five-course dinner tasting menu is dynamic and vigorous. Dishes like the chicken liver parfait, roasted pigeon, and dai sou beef soup noodle are standouts for presenting the power of the cuisine and its aromatic depth.

JIJA by Vicky Lau, 15/F, Kimpton Hong Kong, 11 Middle Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, 3501 8555, WhatsApp 6806 5505, book here

This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.

The post JIJA by Vicky Lau review: Yunnan cuisine takes the posh stage in Tsim Sha Tsui appeared first on Foodie.

Opened at Nan Fung Place in Central by Hong Kong hospitality veterans chef Asher Goldstein, restaurateur James Ward, and sommelier Simone Sammuri, the new Mediterranean restaurant is a worthy successor to the trio’s Middle Eastern and North African restaurant brand.

Mirroring its warm, inviting interior, Carmela’s dishes are fresh, light, and vibrant, both in appearance and flavour. The menu features a relatively small but nicely curated selection of sharing plates inspired by Greece, Italy, and the entire southern Mediterranean region. The dishes are thoughtfully conceived, presented beautifully, and taste as good as they look.

We began our journey across the Med with the whipped mackerel “tarama” (HKD78) paired with the garlic and sage sourdough fougasse (HKD50). Served warm, scissors are provided with this traditional Provençal flatbread, a chewier cousin to Italian focaccia that arrives golden and glistening with olive oil. 

“Tarama” is short for taramasalata, a deliciously smoky and salty Greek dip made with salted and cured fish roe. Carmela tops its version with whole trout roe for an extra burst of umami brininess.

Next up were the grilled zucchini flowers (HKD150), a change of pace from the  pungency of the tarama. Here, the zucchini flowers, earthy and offering a natural sweetness, are filled with a cream cheese mixture enhanced by the tangy, citrusy brightness of preserved lemon. 

The house-smoked sardines (HKD178) are a standout plate at Carmela. Dressed simply with tomato and fresh herbs in a pool of extra-virgin olive oil, the sardines take centre stage. The fish’s delicate smokiness is underpinned by a rich texture and mild salty flavour that combine to deliver a certified home run.

The ultimate sharing dish, the lamb shoulder (HKD258) is a scrumptious DIY affair. Instead of serving a chunk of roasted lamb, the well-seasoned meat has been shredded and compressed into a cylinder and presented with a variety of accompaniments, including eggplant cream (similar to the smoky Middle Eastern aubergine dip known as baba ganoush), sliced fennel, pistachio salsa, and roasted red pepper. A basket of freshly made socca, thin chickpea pancakes, comes alongside. The idea is to use all of the elements to design your own perfect bite. 

On the side, the potato gratin (HKD88) is an inventive take on the popular comfort-food recipe. Carmela eschews the heaviness of cream and butter and crafts its gratin into crispy cubes of layered potato goodness that retain a soft, melting centre.

For a sweet send-off, the coffee panna cotta (HKD88) is our pick for dessert at Carmela. This classic Italian number has been given a contemporary upgrade with a touch of espresso, with the slightly bitter coffee flavour balancing the custard’s creamy sweetness.

Our verdict of Carmela

The FRANCIS trio have done it again, this time debuting a sexy Med restaurant in Central that is destined to be a hit for years to come. Carmela is the definition of pure Mediterranean charm, elevated and made modern.

Carmela, Shop G06, G/F, Nan Fung Place, 173 Des Voeux Road Central, Central, WhatsApp 9489 9212, book here

This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.

The post Carmela review: FRANCIS team expand in Central with this charming modern Mediterranean eatery appeared first on Foodie.

At the latest izakaya to open in Wan Chai, the robata sits as the heart of YŪJŌ, as it should. It’s here that executive chef Wai charms guests with his creativity and friendly smile. 

The dinner menu presents small plates, salads, raw bar selections, skewers, and main courses that blend the authenticity of classic izakaya recipes with chef Wai’s own ingenuity. We suggest sticking with the small plates, raw bar items, and skewers for the optimal dining experience.

We enjoyed all our starters, particularly the firecracker garlic edamame (HKD48) and golden daikon (HKD59).

Possibly the best edamame we’ve ever laid our hands on, the garlic-chilli sauce coating the glistening fried soybeans is seriously good, with the crispy chicken cracklings the cherry on top.

The daikon is a much more subdued plate that reminds us of the traditional Cantonese dim sum dish of turnip cake (lo bak go). The garlic togarashi dusted atop the first simmered, then fried daikon helps to lift what could be a very hefty dish.

From the raw bar section, we recommend the seafood tartare millefeuille (HKD268), even though it’s a killer to eat without making a mess. Presented beautifully, this dish features three layers of seasonal fish tartare (in our case, scallop, tuna, and spicy salmon) between crispy rice-coated nori sheets. 

An entire page of YŪJŌ’s menu is dedicated to skewers, and this is where the eatery shines. If you’re a fan of rare yakitori cuts, go for the chicken heart (HKD30), which offers a satisfying chew and slightly gamy flavour.

Chef Wai innovates the classic skewer selections with the likes of the handmade chicken wings stuffed with foie gras (HKD58) and mentaiko prawn wrapped in chicken skin (HKD48), both juicy and savoury.

The skewer champ for us, however, was the French quail leg (HKD88). This small bird manages to pack in a lot of rich, earthy flavour, pairing well with the woodiness of rosemary.

In terms of the mains, the ika risotto nero (HKD178) is a YŪJŌ signature. Whilst we were wowed by the risotto-stuffed-squid presentation, we weren’t as smitten with the dish’s execution, finding the grilled squid to be rubbery and the squid-ink risotto far too sweet. We feel that with a few tweaks, this dish could be a true stunner.

Another larger plate that many diners would enjoy is the chilled flat udon (HKD68) made with ultra-wide Gunma udon. The udon is traditionally meant to be dunked into the accompanying bowl of mild dashi-based broth. We liked the bouncy texture of these Japanese noodles.

Our verdict of YŪJŌ

More than just dishing out creative Japanese food, there’s a social aspect to YŪJŌ that stands out. The space itself is extremely inviting, offering plenty of counter seating, high communal tables, lower tables for two, and even a few outdoor seats. This is the kind of neighbourhood spot we need more of in Hong Kong.

YŪJŌ, Shop G06, G/F, Hopewell Mall, 15 Kennedy Road (enter at 163 Queen’s Road East), Wan Chai, 6946 3920, book here

This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.

The post YŪJŌ review: new modern izakaya shows creative potential in Wan Chai appeared first on Foodie.

As Hong Kong Island’s first luxury hotel, born in 1963, continues to innovate and change, with chef Terence Bouloud and Tokyo’s The Pizza Bar on 38th opening locations in the hotel in 2026, Junior has come on board to change things up at this historic location.

Owing to his Michelin-starred journey thus far, in kitchens in Paris, Lyon, Monaca, and Dubai, he comes to the Mandarin with swagger, but ready to learn as the restaurant prepares for a quick renovation in February 2026 before his new menu and vision comes to life next year.

We began the meal with Junior’s grilled seasonal vegetables platter, a taste of premium Japanese produce dusted with tangy pepper spices and combined with dollops of lemon puree and a champagne sauce. This dish is not designed to blow your socks off but exhibits that simple cooking can be powerful.

Onto the second course and this is where Junior begins to show his magic. As a self-obsessed fan of ramen, he likes to play around with Japanese flavours and ingredients. The grilled red mullet, shiso puree, and smoked mandarin confit packs a punch – a light one albeit.

The texture of the fish is springy, giving off a strong sea salt flavour, evidence of its freshness and simple preparation. This is helped by the aromatic shiso puree and mandarin cuts that do not overpower the fish but help with the digestion.

Up next comes the powerhouse of this teaser menu, the grilled chicken marinated with tarragon, and served with salsified potato, sauce supreme. The chicken is plump and coated with a light dusting of salt to drive a real juiciness with each bite.

The sauce supreme helps wet any dry parts of the protein with the potatoes bringing in different textures.

The Tahitian vanilla, chestnut, pear, dark rum ice cream dessert arrives last for a sweet ending to cleanse the palate and leave you light enough to leave with a clear body and mind afterwards.

Our verdict of Mandarin Grill + Bar

Whilst this menu will be shared with diners until the February renovation next year, chef Junior has teased that the new Mandarin Grill + Bar will have a grand choice of á-la-carte, tasting menus, long and short, new bar snacks and bites, and an option to leave the dinner planning to the chef team themselves. This was a lovely intro for great things to come.

Mandarin Grill + Bar, 1/F, Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road, Central, 2825 4004, book here

This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.

The post Mandarin Grill + Bar review: new chef Junior Nadje ushers in the modern era for the 62-year-old dining palace appeared first on Foodie.

Classing themselves as a modern European restaurant, Hugo’s now sits inside the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui, previously operating in Asia’s first Hyatt property in the city. It reopened in 2009 after first closing in 2005.

The story of Hugo’s is as such: the restaurant is conceptualised by the mythical Bavarian restaurateur Hugo Ludwig Wilhelm von Gluckstein (a rather stereotypical name). His food is age-old and tales too. But the spirit of the 20th century is still alive in the dishes and experience.

The castle-like restaurant in which we are sitting at is like no other in Hong Kong. It is part inspired by the style of the time in 2009 and the stately homes of Central and Western Europe. The food is largely French.

We start off with steak tartare (HKD418). Dressed in brandy and formed table-side to gawk at and snap (pictures) at, the meal is impressive from the off. Unlike other tartare dishes locally, this meaty appetiser holds a tangy and pickly flavour profile, helped on with the dashes of tabasco. It awakens the palate, without overpowering your tongue.

Onto the second appetiser of the night, the oven-baked Camembert (HKD288). The fragrant cheese is served with small baguette chunks and rosemary fig marmalade, the latter helping balance the potent cheese touch.

For those with discerning cheese tastes, this is the dish to order, namely for its strong meeting on the nose and tongue. Each swipe of the cheese begins with notes of honey, cream, pine nuts, and pink salt, before tuning out with the classic Camembert aroma that wafts throughout your head. This is a good dish for lovers of cheese but avoid if you are scared of cultured milk!

A new dish on the menu, courtesy of the recently-arrived executive sous chef Lewis Scarfe, the roasted Rhug Estate Welsh lamb rack (HKD648) wowed us. This lamb dish continues with the overwhelming French feel of the place, whilst remaining true to the five-decade-strong theme of Hugo’s. 

The lamb itself is plump without being too fatty and salty and peppery on the skin without overwhelming the iron-rich insides. The meat is helped on with mint jelly and English mustard to add some sweetness and potency to each bite, as well as the black garlic puree, braised cabbage, and rosemary lamb jus to bring depth.

Our second main course of the night was the tournedos rosini (HKD768). This dish features a plump and lightly-salted US beef tenderloin topped with pan-fried foie gras and standing on a crouton and spinach.

With the beef lending its strength to boost the flavours of the dish, this dish did not perform as well as I expected. I was hoping for a strong beefyness from the jus dotted along the plate and a tenderloin cut that carried saltiness on the outside and a light sweetness on the inside. 

And last but not least, an experience at Hugo’s would not be complete without another table-side show for the crepes suzette (HKD148). It is a decant bite with strength coming from the orange chunks, potent vanilla ice cream, and grand marnier.

Our verdict of Hugo’s

Overall, Hugo’s performs like it says on the tin: it is an adventure into another world to explore how Europe ate last century. You will forget you are eating at a restaurant in one of the city’s most busy neighbourhoods. The signatures are good, but I hope for more modern additions to the menu in the future that would pair nicely with the classics.

Hugo’s, Lobby Level, Hyatt Regency Hong Kong Tsim Sha Tsui, 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, 3721 7733, book here

This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.

The post Hugo’s review: classical European food enjoyed inside a Kowloon castle appeared first on Foodie.

Opened in mid-2024 by Epicurean Group, WAKARAN is chef Tommy Tsui’s bold interpretation of modern Asian fusion cuisine – zeroing in on Japan and Hong Kong in particular – executed via elevated Western techniques. 

The artsy interior underscores chef Tommy’s creativity on display at the open kitchen counter. The black wooden floor tiling, white brick walls, and large-scale mirror installations are interjected with pops of vibrant colour from the AI-generated abstract artwork – a pleasant surprise from the eatery’s staid Ship Street entrance.

We were treated to the “Layered Essence” dinner tasting menu (HKD648 pp), a total of seven courses with aperitivo, plus a few cheeky extras – and we left WAKARAN nearly rolling ourselves out the door. For each dish mentioned, we’ll include the à-la-carte price if it’s available to order separately (usually coming in a much bigger portion).

In the amuse-bouche section, the yan-min crab “croquette” (HKD68 à la carte) is an expected opening bite marrying crab, horseradish, and mozzarella cheese in creamy harmony.

The only dish on the menu that didn’t hit for us was the second amuse-bouche. The golden itoyori crudo (HKD158 à la carte) seemed flat and one-note despite the Japanese golden threadfin bream being dressed up with plum and ginger chutney.

The abalone porridge (HKD78 à la carte) in the “From the Sea” section is a WAKARAN signature for good reason. The texture of the congee is much smoother than we’re used to at typical Cantonese spots around town, and although we’re not normally fans of the “chew” associated with abalone, the abalone here is pleasingly tender to the bite. We lapped up this rich, comforting porridge, with the chicken skin component adding even more savoury smack.

One of the extra courses that we devoured was the Wagyu and uni maki taco (HKD188), another WAKARAN fan favourite. The deep-fried maki and rice shell is an ingenious vehicle for the maki, which is here topped with thin slices of super-fatty Wagyu crowned with a mound of sea urchin. It’s a good thing each taco can be eaten in just a few bites, as we’re not sure we could handle more than this amount of richness.

Also in “From the Sea,” we couldn’t quite detect the “hot and sour” element of the hot and sour “ma yau,” though the fish itself was well cooked, displaying its distinct crispy skin and flaky flesh.

By this point of the tasting menu, we were already bursting at the seams, but we soldiered on to try the KFC (HKD98 à la carte) in the “Land” section of the menu, a top-notch Korean fried chicken rendition featuring two delicious contrasting sauces: yuzu honey and Sichuan mala pepper. We would have licked the plate clean if we had room to spare.

Diners get a choice of one of two main courses on the tasting menu, and you can’t go wrong with either one. The homemade pasta with Japanese sakura ebi red prawn has the slight edge over the smoked pigeon (+HKD48 or HKD248 à la carte) owing to the deeply umami sauce coating each strand of silky noodles. We were hoping for a bit more smoky punch from the bird.

A cup of on-trend pistachio affogato (HKD88 à la carte) completes the tasting menu with a potent hit of caffeine- and Baileys-laced nuttiness.

Though nominally a food review, we also want to shout out the cocktails at WAKARAN, which include the newly unveiled series of “MBTI” gin and tonics inspired by the popular Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test. For instance, the INTJ (HKD168) features a funky mix of Porcelain gin with mandarin and Sichuan peppercorn. If nothing else, these cocktails make for great talking points!

Our verdict of WAKARAN

Fusion cuisine often gets a bad rap for being a pretentious marketing technique; the blending of the cuisines can be superficial or executed poorly. WAKARAN belies that notion. The dinner tasting menu includes plenty of bang for your buck and is the way to go to experience the full breadth of chef Tommy’s fusion prowess.

WAKARAN, Shop B, G/F, Pinnacle Building, 9 Ship Street, Wan Chai, 2866 3681, book here

This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.

The post WAKARAN review: Asian fusion restaurant on Ship Street impresses with its playful creativity appeared first on Foodie.

First, they joined as a two Michelin-starred restaurant in 2018, before being demoted to one from 2023 onwards. Cured in an early 2000s interior design style, the restaurant has decidedly aged, but to its benefit. 

As Taiwan, and largely Taipei, grows into its modern self, slowly but surely, some relics of the past stay put, and The Guest House is one of them. Previously named the Sheraton Hotel Member Club Restaurant and shut off from public visitors, The Guest House reopened in 2005 to the public.

The cuisine presented here is a blend of Sichuanese and Huaiyang, the latter symbolising lighter and delicate flavours of China, plus with additions of Taiwanese ingredients and techniques. 

Our Chongqing-born waiter, full of recipe history and knowledge, begins our meal with the delicate free-range chicken with green Sichuan pepper oil (TWD980/HKD245). Bathing in a bright green pool of oil, the chicken is delicately poached and soft to touch. It glides onto your palate and leaves a nice peppery and scallion-y flavour to last.

A highlight of Huaiyang cuisine, the shredded hundred layered bean curd with special sauce (TWD420/HKD105) dances onto the table next.

Firm to touch, the bean curd offers a pleasant texture for the tongue to enjoy, soaking up the soy sauce-vinegar mix of the special sauce to cleanse the palate, but also tease it for strong flavours down the road.

Where The Guest House wins its star is in this dish, the beef jerky with crispy lotus root (TWD1,280/HKD320). According to the restaurant, the chefs cut, freeze, slice, air-dry, and then deep fry shoulder tenderloin into 0.1cm thin pieces to reveal a translucent cut.

With a coating of dried tangerine peel and sauce on top, the jerky gives into a nice crunch. The blend of the tangerine and beefy flavours is a warm hug. Soothing yet meaty. 

Following this, we prepared for another starry dish: the supreme chicken soup with minced chicken and egg white (TWD680/HKD170 pp.). What you may assume is the traditional and typical silky tofu addition found in the centre of a chicken soup is actually chicken here!

The chicken is ground down to a minced paste and cooked within the chicken soup. What results is a heart-warming course. It reminds me of grandma’s cooking.

The more meaty side of the meal commences now, with both the deep-fired pigeon with Sichuan pepper (TWD1,880/HKD470) and the special flavored beef short ribs (TWD1,880/HKD470).

Fried and served table-side, the pigeon is meaty, gamey, and salty, boosted by the intense aroma of the sizzling peppercorns below. Whereas the beef short ribs, caked in a pepper and plum sauce, are dizzyingly tasty. Each bite trades between hot fire and pickled sweetness that is intoxicating to enjoy.

The meal ends with sweetened red bean pancakes (TWD520/HKD130), a pleasant end to a fantastic adventure on the 17th floor. 

Our verdict of The Guest House, Taipei

The Guest House enshrines coastal Chinese traditions and Taiwanese recipes in a menu that is simple, but far from when sampled. Whilst the interior is dated, it is appropriate for a more classical-style meal in Taipei. I will be back for a visit the next time I visit the capital and you ought to too!

The Guest House, 17F, Sheraton Grand Hotel, 12, Section 1, Zhongxiao East Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan, 100, +886 2-23211818, book here

This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.

The post The Guest House, Taipei review: a pleasant Chinese meal focussing on delicate flavours appeared first on Foodie.

As Gough Street continues to survive in unique ways, emblematic of the border area of Sheung Wan and Central, the space that BEDU left, confident and ever approachable, was bound to be filled by yet another independent venture. This time, Mt. Yotei’s new concept Kyanbasu comes forth.

Different from the original Causeway Bay-based lamb grill restaurant, this new restaurant focuses on lamb yakitori, possibly one of the first to ever focus on one single meat in the city. 

I went to check it out for a Tuesday dinner. Our meal begins with the lamb tartare (HKD158), a dish that will undoubtedly attract diners to start their lamb exploration but doesn’t quite hit right on the palate. Compared to beef, the raw lamb doesn’t possess a strength to it, requiring one to mix together the sancho pepper, plum, and radish together to muster some taste.

What follows shows greater strengths to Kyanbasu. The broth-forward lamb soup with croaker fish dumpling (HKD138) kickstarts your lamb journey properly. Stewing lamb chunks until they disintegrate into a consume of sorts, you are getting a real taste of lamb: gamey, boney, and soothing down the throat. The lamb spring roll (HKD78), designed to dip into a buttery & herby sauce, also boasts of fatty lamb flavours.

The lamb yakitori bites continue in the meal as sticks of juicyness are brought to our table. The lamb neck (HKD42) kickstarts the sticky affair with a base flavour for the lamb expected for stage two of the dinner. However, salt is needed to amp up the irony flavour.

Both the lamb front tongue and lamb middle tongue (HKD78) offer a bounce in texture for each bite, another way to inject a squirt of fat in one’s mouth. The chicken skin gyoza (HKD48) is a glorious menu item that brings together plump bites of both chicken and lamb in a soft bite. It is a salty and juicy explosion.

Up next comes pigeon, showing that not everything has to be lamby at Kwanbasu. The dry-aged pigeon breast (HKD98) is smokey, vegetal, and full of iron flavour. It cleanses the palette from the fat of the lamb, whilst the dry-aged pigeon leg (HKD98) focuses solely on the firm meat.

As the meal comes to the end, we are treated with the two best dishes on the menu: dry-aged lamb shoulder rack (HKD198), served with a garlicy, salty, and slightly spicy dust to clean the plate, and lamb cha siu (HKD238).

Expensive, yes, but worth it, the dry-aged lamb carries a prolonged flavour shared in the other lamb yakitori items, but distinct in this cut. The aroma is stronger and hits harder.

The lamb cha siu could deserve its whole 600-word-long review. Similar to a pork cha siu, the meat and fat ratio is perfect to allow for a savouring of its indulgent and smoky meat. I wish the dish was served with a wasabi-forward sauce, instead of a sweet one, because it has the potential to be a 10/10 dish.

Our verdict of Kyanbasu by Mt. Yotei

As sad as I was for BEDU to leave us, Kyanbasu by Mt. Yotei confidently takes its place and with Japanese swagger. Their dry-aged lamb yakitori and plates meet on the palate with strength. Not gamey, but robust with a heavy meaty hit.

Note: you kinda need to enjoy lamb and gamey flavours if you are to try this joint.

Kyanbasu by Mt. Yotei, G/F, 40 Gough Street, Central, 2893 2238, book here

This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.

The post Kyanbasu by Mt. Yotei review: where powerful lamb bites take the show in Central appeared first on Foodie.

The restaurant is semi-hidden at the foot of the Kai Tak Stadium inside the Dining Cove, a new space with a lot of promise but not much action just yet. It is envisioned as a West Kowloon version for East Kowloon: dining by the sea in a quiet neighbourhood.

For those expecting a mouth on fire and the classics, including pad thai, green pork curry, and som tum, you’ll be out of luck here. Phaya Asura is all about bringing Thailand’s more delicate flavours to Hong Kong, courtesy of a Hong Kong co-founder who grew up in Bangkok.

Their tasting menu for two (HKD768) is an apt format for dipping your toes in the water here. We start with an amuse bouche, the tomato symphony, which brings a warm and slightly-sweet tomato and chilli puree with pomelo on top of fried tofu skin. Absent of spice and salt, here is an introduction for the warm side of Thailand.

What came next was one of my favourite dishes of the meal, the banana blossom salad, paired up with lychee and chicken too. Using the flower petals borne out of the banana fruit, this salad excels with a texture more rare in Hong Kong. Each bite is floral with hints of jasmine. The chicken brings a contrasting meaty bite to the scene.

For the grilled & fried section on the menu, we chose the zesty & crispy larb corn. Whilst the tasting menu is designed to elicit warm and umami tones of the cuisine, this dish didn’t perform as well as the others. I wanted a strong larb (salt and pepper) hit on the corn bites, but the flavours didn’t strike as hard.

Up next came the coconut shoot and the Phaya Asura curry, both paired up with fluffy jasmine rice. The coconut was a nice palate cleanser to prepare us for the masaman chicken curry, cooked with unripened durian for additional fragrance and funk.

Do not expect a heavy salty hit with the curry, but a soothing sip that warms the heart and ups the romance in the restaurant.

For a final show, we were elated to find dessert coming to the table, including both the organic sago soup and the pandan balls delight. The sago itself was imported from southern Thailand and is far from the factory-made sago found locally. It is bouncy but does not resist when bitten hard. The salty coconut milk helps to amp up the herbal slightly tea-strong flavours of the soup.

As for the pandan balls, you’ll find stronger sweetness here with a sweet peanut crunch clashing with the pandan balls and coconut milk and meat.  

Our verdict of Phaya Asura

Visit Phaya Asura for a) a visit to Kai Tak Stadium’s developing food scene in and around the main action of the new neighbourhood, and b) to understand how Thai cuisine can exist beyond the stereotypes dominant in Hong Kong.

Phaya Asura, Shop DC-005, G/F, Dining Cove, Kai Tak Sports Park, 38-39 Shing Kai Road, Kai Tak, Kowloon City, 3628 3616

This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.

The post Phaya Asura review: a Kai Tak restaurant showing Thai food isn’t just spicy and salty appeared first on Foodie.