Newly opened Haku in Tsim Sha Tsui – French-Japanese omakase

There’s been a lot of hype around Haku, the creative French-Japanese restaurant helmed by the former chef of The Ocean, Agustin Balbi. And for the most part, it lived up to expectations.

Once customers make it past the low-key entrance inside Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui, they’re whisked into a Japanese restaurant setting.

The omakase menu (around HK$1,500) is handwritten with a calligraphy brush pen and servers are attentive.

After a series of amuse-bouches that included sweet Hokkaido corn in a squid ink tart, and pickled beetroot nestled in a red rose, the meal began with raw Fukuoka oysters with a lime and green apple granita, garnished with a kinome leaf for a mild peppery finish.

We enjoyed the second course of several types of Kumamoto tomatoes with bellota ham. The dish was finished with sake rice lees that had been dried and ground into powder, which had an intriguing cheesy smell and taste.

Another dish we savoured was the foie gras terrine with duck consomme jelly on top, decorated with cherry pieces and jam. This was a creative idea, but the black lotus chips were too oily for our taste, only adding to the richness of the foie gras.

The Hokkaido uni on brioche was probably the most photogenic of all the dishes. However, there was a layer of aubergine that was completely lost, and the brioche was too soft to hold everything together. It was near impossible to eat it elegantly.