CAFE GREY DELUXE

Hong Kong

Located in the ultra chic and stylish Upper House Hotel, Café Grey is a Hong Kong landmark for fine dining and some of the city's best panoramic views overlooking Victoria Harbour. With world-renowned formerly New York based Gray Kunz as the patron and head chef, expectations were very high and the hard-to-get reservations were made 2 weeks prior to my arrival in Hong Kong. The interior of the restaurant does nothing but raise the expectations even higher; the beautifully decorated dining room is in line with the modernist and simple theme of the hotel, adorned in dark timber tones that are elegantly lit up with bespoke light fittings that gild the dining room. Tables are arranged in an open yet cozy space, where our table was perfectly located in the centre and seats were in a comfortable and plush sofa/booth style. Everything from the sterling silver candle holder, to the high thread count napkins and fine bone china made us even more excited about our meal ahead, which lasted a solid three hours. 

The menu, presented in a leather bound book, made our mouths water and stomachs rumble. To start, we opted for the crab cakes that come served with a lime and mango salsa, the steak tartare with gaufrettes on a bed of beef carpaccio, and the yellow Hamachi carpaccio tartare. All were delicious and beautifully presented, with special mention to be made to the Hamachi which was just sublime; we had to order another one. For mains  I  requested to try the burger, which is not on their dinner menu, but allegedly the best burger in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (unfortunately I forgot to take a picture before I  devoured it). Despite people giving me strange looks for having ordered a burger for dinner in such a place, it was definitely worth it. It was perfectly cooked and the beef was a fine mix of Australian beef and wagyu. My friends opted for more socially acceptable items of the dinner menu. The sea bass in a creamy white wine sauce with chives, topped with caviar was a rich and delicious choice, as well as the sea bass stew which came served in a lobster broth with mixed vegetables. To conclude our epic meal we ordered the deconstructed banoffee pie and the panna cotta, which were both prepared to perfection and perfectly capped our perfect dinner. The high quality of the food, the beautiful presentation, the exceptionally attentive staff and incredible vistas across Hong Kong, make Café Grey one of my favourite restaurants and worth every penny spent.

www.cafegrayhk.com

OHISAMA

London, UK

Yet another Japanese fusion restaurant has opened in London. Aside from the continually expanding burger scene, new Japanese restaurants and pop ups seem to be dominating the headlines. Upon getting word that an ex-Nobu chef of 15 years has opened a new restaurant in Marylebone, the table for dinner was immediately booked and my imagination ran loose fantasising about what dishes would be served, as Ohisama still does not have a website. Recommended by a friend as having some of the best sushi in London, I can say that my friend’s statement was right on target. Currently operated as a BYOB establishment, Ohisama can go by unnoticed and even seem unappealing from its shop front, with its uninspired interiors and harsh fluorescent lighting. Suffice it to say the ambience will not draw a crowd through its generic glass doors and onto its small sushi bar by the entrance; which is more tolerable that the seating area in the basement that is quite depressing with a tomb-like feeling.  As harsh as the interiors are, one does not go to Ohisama for the scene but to indulge in the food, where all the heart, soul and energy have been poured. The food is exceptional with only a few disappointments; such as the spicy tuna roll, which was less than mediocre; quite frankly surprisingly awful, especially when compared to the spicy tuna roll of Kurobuta. The fried oysters are also not recommendable with an overbearing taste of salt and oozing dollops of oil. Such disappointments however now seem only but a minor infraction in an otherwise delicious meal. The lobster salad was fresh and crunchy, as was the yellow tail sashimi with jalapeño. Both are identical to those served in Nobu; it doesn’t take a genius to recognize such signature dishes. The wagyu beef tataki with ponzu sauce is also a winner as it’s seared to perfection with a sauce that makes you want to drink it on its own. The highlights of the meal were the delectable razor clams which I still dream of, the incomparably fresh fatty tuna with a sauce that puts any sauce to shame, which was also featured on the house special roll: the Dr. Watson roll; a heavenly maki of essentially yellowtail. The icing on an otherwise pretty perfect meal was the eel maki with foie gras, which as a roll I feel is a testament to the finesse and creativity of some of the food offered at Ohisama. Despite its unattractive exterior, Ohisama ends up winning you over with its fresh and delicious food. London will soon be hearing more and more of this small outpost in Marylebone, as it wins over one Londoner at a time.

BEAST

London, UK

London’s latest arrival on the culinary scene comes courtesy of the team that have brought us the delicious Goodman Steakhouse and the London breakout, and now staple: Burger and Lobster. Suffice it to say expectations were high and our palettes restlessly eager to try what new offerings were to be bestowed upon us in this new mecca of meat and crab. Some important facts to know about Beast, firstly it offers a set menu consisting of beef as a first course and crab as the second, so if you’re a vegetarian this place is not for you. As a matter of fact considering how good it is, if you’re a vegetarian it’s about time to consider eating meat (no offence intended). Secondly, Beast accommodates its diners on communal dining tables in its candle lit dining room; three dining tables sculpted of heavy wood and set with candelabras, creating a medieval and equally mystical vibe to the restaurant, one of a wine cellar almost. One last and important detail to note is that dinner at Beast costs £75 a head excluding drink and dessert.

Now in terms of my experience at Beast; it was nothing short of sensational. Arriving at the restaurant, the ambience on its ground entrance floor is quite the antithesis to what was to come after. The entrance features an oversized beast (bear) sculpture in a triple height glazed and marble floored lobby, giving it a very corporate and sterile ambience. Once my reservation details were gathered by the maître-d, I was shown to the lift to take me down to the restaurant. In the basement, a waitress addressing me by my name (nice personal touch) was waiting and escorted my party and me to our side of the table. Moments after being seated, a smiling waiter briefed us on the concept of the restaurant, took our drink orders and prompted an oncoming waiter to serve us with the antipasti. The antipasti consisted of parmesan cheese (a whole wheel of parmesan was presented) with pickled onions, artichokes and olives. We nibbled on parmesan while sipping our wine until our first course arrived: the meat. The beef served at Beast is Nebraskan beef, served in a New Orleans style steak, which basically means one thing: it’s delicious. The meat was of an exceptionally high quality, which is to be expected from the patrons of Goodman steakhouse. Cooked to medium, it was tender, juicy and melted in my mouth. The steak was served with a side of a smoked tomato salad, green salad and asparagus as well as a delicious creamed truffle sauce to compliment the steak. The tomato salad was divine, and the truffle sauce heavenly although the steak was too good to have a sauce with it; instead I enjoyed it with the grilled asparagus. Upon completing our meat we were given at our request a 10-minute break until the crab arrived. The King Crab from Norway surpassed any crabmeat I have had (excluding a clambake in Cape Cod years ago), extra-large in size and rich in meat and just simply heavenly. Despite how full we already were we could not resist ordering dessert and opted for one of each type: the cheesecake and the lemon mousse. The lemon mousse had an excellent texture and a refreshing zest, and the cheesecake that was a deconstructed concoction of bliss just blew my mind. The whole experience at Beast was a triumph, and as it slowly garners attention it will undoubtedly become an ‘it’ place contending among the London heavy weights.

Update: Beast now also has an a la carte menu. 

www.beastrestaurant.co.uk

BERNERS TAVERN

London, UK

Living in a city like London, one is spoilt for choice from available brunch spots, and having been here for eight years, I can safely say a lot of the places opening tend to conform to a prototypical, prescribed vibe. The trend has succumbed to being all about the rustic and home cooked, which was fine at first but after the surplus in their emergence it's been quite some time since something new and energising has graced London. Enter Berners Tavern; a triple threat of an establishment, designed by the famous hotelier Ian Schrager, housed in London’s new and ultra hip Edition hotel, as well being led by the Michelin starred chef Jason Atherton (who’s restaurants Pollen Street Social and Little Social have been reviewed on the Food Grid). With such impressive credentials and a highly publicised opening, expectations were very high. I visited Berners Tavern for Sunday brunch, and with whatever preconceived notions of what a tavern should look like, this place puts all those ideas to rest; if only all Taverns were this beautiful.

The restaurant is housed in one huge and majestic open space. Upon entering the restaurant my eyes twinkled looking straight at the chandelier suspended from the adorned high ceilings, while the walls are covered in paintings and photographs from the Renaissance to the post modern. Despite the grandiose features of the space, it does not make you uncomfortable, in fact the warm tones and palettes lend it to feel like what a tavern would indeed feel like: relaxed and actually cozy. This reminds me of Fitzgerald quote from the Great Gatsby: “I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy”. This was very true to what we were experiencing in this place, where despite the largeness of the space and how busy it was it felt very intimate and not at all loud, which can usually expected in such a setting. 

When it came to the food, it was nothing short of extraordinary. Prior to the arrival of our orders we were served with the customary bread and butter, and the bread was so fresh and delicious that we knew we were in for a treat; the bread is usually a sign into the quality of the food. To start we sampled the poached eggs with avocado on toast, which was sublime. The eggs were perfectly cooked, the avocado was zesty and refreshing and the toast provided that ideal crispiness to accommodate the eruption of flavours in my mouth. For my main dish, I could not resist ordering the cheeseburger (call me crazy but I am always compelled to order one when I go to a new place), and my friend ordered the Sunday roast. Both orders were complimented with a side of duck fat chips and steamed broccoli with roasted almonds. Both the burger and the roast were to die for, and the portions were very generous, which left us both giddy with joy and satisfaction. The steamed broccoli is a must, its lemony flavours matched with the roasted almonds made it the ideal side dish. Accompanying our meal was the Dill or no Dill cocktail that was so good we each had two. For dessert we sampled the chocolate filled doughnut and the caramel apple éclair with cream and salted caramel ice cream. Both were very good and were a sweet conclusion to our very successful meal at my now new favourite dining spot: Berners Tavern.

10 Berners Street, London, W1T 3NP

www.bernerstavern.com

THE PANTECHNICON

After a gruesome long winter, it seemed that spring had finally arrived in London last weekend with sunny, clear blue skies and people outside basking in the sunshine. Having walked from Kings Road to Knightsbridge, we decided to make a pit stop for some afternoon dessert at one my favorite local eateries: The Pantechnicon. When we arrived it was really busy, but since we were only a party of two we managed to find a small table in the corner. In this heat we both decided to have a glass of their amazing iced tea, and I topped mine with some Schweppes lemonade to make it an Arnold Palmer. We ordered the milk chocolate mousse which came served with a dark chocolate ganache and mint sauce. It was epic, the taste was superb and the mint sauce perfectly complemented the bitter dark chocolate taste of the ganache, and the mousse itself was soft and delightful. What blew my mind however was the rosemary crème brûlée with a honey citrus salad and lemon iced gelato. Never mind the spot-on texture of crème brûlée, the taste itself was perfect. It was so unique and refreshing; it excited my palette with every bite. It was the perfect light dessert for such a nice warm day. The Pantechnicon has never disappointed me; mainly known for their amazing burger and great Sunday roasts, their desserts are also well worth taking note of. 

 

 

10 Motcomb St  London SW1X 8LA

THE CLOVE CLUB

I went to the Clove Club recently, a newly opened restaurant and bar in the beautiful Shoreditch Town Hall. I heard so many good things about it, so I was really looking forward to it. The Clove Club turned out to be even better than what I had expected. The restaurant serves a set menu of five dishes, and the bar also has a range of small snacks. I went for the set menu, a collection of contemporary and locally sourced British food. I'm always a bit sceptical towards British cuisine, as I've had experiences in up-scale restaurants that were no different from my local pub. This, however, is not the case at the Clove Club. My first bite of the Radishes, Sesame and Gochuchang had me convinced. I spilled a bit on the table and had to scrape it up to make sure I got everything, that’s how good it was. The Buttermilk Chicken & Pinesalt served on pine branches is basically gourmet fried chicken, and a superb one at that. The duck ham is cured and prepared in the Town Hall, but I didn't love it. My favourite main course was the Rib of Beef, Ramson & Potato, although the Tarragon sauce of the Grilled Squid was pretty extraordinary. There was no salt or pepper on the table, but none of the dishes required any additional seasoning anyway. The Blood Orange, Sheep’s Milk Mousse & Wild Fennel was an exceptionally fresh dessert, with very contrasting textures. I preferred it to the sweeter second dessert of Caramel Ice Cream, Barley & Oats, which was a tad too sweet and heavy to finish with after a big meal. The presentation of every single dish was immaculate and simple, and these photos definitely don't do them justice. The interior is simple; high ceilings, bare wooden or marble tables, and an open kitchen. The crockery and cutlery is specially designed by one of the chefs. The acoustics aren't great and there’s no music, so we just had to join in and yell like the rest of the guests. Next time I’ll drop by the bar, where reservations aren't needed, and try some of their simpler, small dishes.

Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, London EC1V 9LT