Japanese fusion food to die for in Hong Kong at ex-Nobu chef’s Silencio in Central
- Silencio got off to a bad start – “A confirmation email doesn’t mean there’s a table for you” – but the quality of the food shone through from the first bite
- The charcoal-grilled red prawns with yuzu soy was so good that we couldn’t bear to eat anything after that would interfere with the lingering flavours
My first sampling of Silencio’s “hospitality” didn’t win them any points.
I had booked online under a friend’s name and gave her email address but my phone number. She received the confirmation email, but several days later – just a few hours before we were due to eat there – I received a phone call from the restaurant, saying they didn’t have a table for us.
“But we received the confirmation email,” I argued. “A confirmation email doesn’t mean there’s a table for you,” was the reply.
I tried again a couple of weeks later, and kept my phone by my side in case they wanted to cancel again. Instead, they called to confirm. When we arrived, the restaurant was half empty.
Silencio calls itself a “contemporary izakaya” but it was less casual and far more stylish than any izakaya I’ve visited. There were musicians performing at one end of the long space, fortunately at a volume that still let us talk (it helped that we were at the other end of the room). In charge of the kitchen is Sean Mell, who was previously executive chef of Nobu Hong Kong.
My guest and I tend to be traditionalists when it comes to Japanese cuisine, and we were sceptical of some of the menu – particularly the speciality rolls with toppings such as Singapore chilli crab, “California yoga” (with avocado and cream cheese), and smoked salmon and cream cheese with crispy bagel chips.
Any qualms we had about fusion Japanese food melted away with the first bite of our first dish, “Kim Jun” sashimi – kinmedai with Asian pear and kimchi salsa (HK$150). It was refreshing, balanced and had just the right amount of subtle chilli kick. Akamutsu and foie gras torchon nigiri (HK$180 for two pieces) was also very good, with the shaved foie gras melting into the lightly torched fish.
We were reluctant to order tuna, but as mentioned, we were wary of the other speciality rolls. Fifty shades of tuna (HK$250) had two pieces each of akami, chutoro and otoro, and we were advised to eat it in that order. While that made sense because it was going from leanest to fattiest, it was the reverse in terms of flavour: the silky smooth akami was our favourite because it had the richest taste, with the other pieces becoming increasingly bland, even if they were more tender.
A salad of Kumamoto tomatoes with Parmesan dashi and tomato “clouds” (HK$130) was just fantastic. The tomatoes were cool and sweet, the dashi was deeply flavoured, and the tomato clouds were appropriately airy.
Corn tempura (HK$120) had good flavour, but didn’t need the topping of caviar and sour cream.
Charcoal-grilled red prawns with yuzu soy (HK$350) had us speechless. The prawn flesh was cooked rare and smooth, but the giant heads – with all their gooey fat – were so rich and delicious that even though we had planned on ending the meal with rice or noodles, we couldn’t bear to eat anything that would interfere with the lingering flavours.
Silencio, 6/F LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Lan Kwai Fong, tel: 2480 6569. About HK$600 per person without drinks and the service charge.
