Zest by Konishi: city views, bento boxes and fine French-Japanese dining
At this restaurant in Central, the long open kitchen means you can watch the chefs in action while enjoying the views and fine dégustation tasting menu
Set on the two floors once occupied by On Dining Kitchen & Lounge, Zest by Konishi offers French-Japanese dining on the 28th floor and Japanese cuisine that includes bento boxes on the 29th. The interior has natural lighting through large floor-to-ceiling windows and a long open kitchen where you can see the chefs in action. There is also a patio area to enjoy drinks while taking in the city view.
The dégustation tasting menu, available for dinner, is HK$1,380 per person, and wine pairings is an additional HK$780 for five glasses. We started with freshly baked pain de campagne and brioche with home-made butter topped with soy sauce powder, green tea powder and olive oil.
The amuse bouches of sweetcorn, popcorn crispy cake, chi ayu – a baby river fish caught in Japan during the summer – is paired with crispy rice crackers, shiso leaves, and umeboshi – fermented and salted Japanese plums – and chicken livers with mini grapes.
The heavenly first course, called The Green Garden, featured 20 types of vegetables and herbs including celery root purée, fennel jelly, black olive crumble, crispy quinoa and avocado. Next, the Australian abalone, braised in sake and kombu, had an al dente texture. It was served with Chinese cabbage and liver foam. The Nagasaki sea perch was steamed and served with walnut gyuhi, which had a mochi-like texture, and was stuffed with enoki and sautéed spinach, and drizzled with a fish and chicken broth.