Mixology for the Masses and Amazing Ramen

Talk of the Town

Our fabulicious marketing manager James Gannaban is one proud papa—of a cookbook he wrote that earned him third place in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards this year. The book is called “Multisensory Mixology,” and is the result of a months-long collaboration between James and local wiz mixologist Antonio Lai. This was back when James used to work for FINDS, which was (not surprisingly) the first bar/restaurant in Hong Kong to dabble in molecular mixology, inspiring a lot of copycats in the process. At its core, James and Anthony’s book makes molecular

mixology—defined by James as fusing bartending with chemistry, or “bremistry” as he delicately puts it—accessible to the masses. No need for fancy schmancy equipment to make a cherry wood chip smoke-infused JD and coke, or a wobbling panda colada (jello panda-shaped pina colada, duh). James and Antonio meticulously capture 13 cocktail recipes for you to recreate at home, and identify all the equipment you need, from weighing calculators to strainers and lime presses—much of which can be found at supermarkets or stationery stores. “Ten years ago, it was fresh fruit martinis at Drop,” James tells me. “Then there were the martinis with roasted fruits to bring out their intense flavors. Then came molecular. Is it a trend or is it here to stay?” He admits he doesn’t know, but is happy to have seen and done it. Whatever the case, it’s this cocktail phenomenon that led James to write his award-winning book. I still remember when I wrote my blurb about the book’s launch last year, and James sent this happy picture of himself to go with it. What a long way the book has come! “Multisensory Mixology” is available for $200 at FINDS (2/F, The Luxe Manor, 39 Kimberly Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui, 2522-9318).

Watch Out For…

Shugetsu (5 Gough St., Sheung Wan, 2850-6009): And the ramen trend continues! Those who know me know that I much prefer udon over ramen, when it really comes down to it, and am not particularly partial to the thin, scraggly noodles. But that’s why I’m actually super excited about Shugetsu, because it offers a really thick type of ramen that almost feels like udon. Owner Angela Leung explained to me during a media tasting that she is also an udon lover, but during a trip to Ehime prefecture in Japan, she found the best noodles of her life at a small shop called Shugetsu. Angela loved it so much she brought the brand back to Hong Kong, and now her shop makes the noodles fresh with its own machine, using two different kinds of imported Japanese wheat flour. One type of flour gives the noodles their texture, and the other their flavor. It’s a whole science, this business of making ramen—and you can tell the staff at her shop are serious about it, from the chefs to the kindly manager. There are three different types of ramen you can get here. The first is the tsukemen, which is basically eaten like soba—you take the noodles from a plate and dip them into a savory broth. Shugetsu’s broth is extremely savory, so here’s a word of warning for those with sensitive palates. With the tsukemen, there is also a small pitcher of plain chicken broth that you can pour straight into the original broth after you’re done with the noodles, so that you’re free to drink up the new diluted broth as a soup. It’s pretty neat. Shugetsu will also offer abura ramen, a type of dry ramen mixed with fish powder, wasabi powder and homemade scallop oil to create a very seafoody flavor. Last but not least, there are the regular soupy ramen noodles that Hongkongers can’t get enough of. One more fun fact: the shop will be offering their ramens all at a set price, no matter how big or small you want the portion. The idea is they want you to eat what you can, and not punish you with a higher bill just because you have an appetite equivalent to a family of five. Now that’s putting customers first!

Seems like Dining Concepts’ collaboration with Michael White for Al Molo wasn’t enough for the ginormous F&B group—now they’ve pulled in another big-shot American Italian chef, Mario Batali, for a glamorous fine dine in Central. When our lovely associate editor Hana first found out about this, she was ecstatic—having grown up in New York and all, she’s an ardent fan of Otto, one of the Mario Empire’s many, many restaurants. The one that’s coming to Hong Kong is called Lupa (3/F, LHT Tower, 31 Queen’s Rd. Central), and is set to soft-open during the last week of March. Lupa will be serving Italian American specialties just like its identically named New York counterpart, including escarole, walnut and pecorino salads and primis such as ricotta gnocchi with sweet fennel sausage. A quick glance at the original New York menu has me thinking that comfort foods like spaghetti alla carbonara and hearty mains like pork loin with braised cabbage and roasted squash will also be on offer—although it’s too early to verify at this point. Mario’s protégé Zach Allen will be heading the kitchen in Hong Kong.

Email me at [email protected] or follow me on Twitter: @adele_hklife.