Watch Out For…
Now that Hysan Place is up and running (and I’ve gone for three days straight since its grand opening), I definitely have a much better idea about what’s on offer, food-wise—and it’s very promising. Besides the restos I mentioned last week, there are plenty more venues to take note of. First: Tony Cheng, the mastermind behind The Drawing Room, Hainan Shaoye and Ammo, is at it yet again with the upscale Le Salon (Shop 1302, 13/F, Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Rd., Causeway Bay, 2115-3328), a French-themed resto that comes with its own croissanterie and café on the side. While the restaurant itself looks a bit intimidating—it’s the type of restaurant you’d want to dress up for—the casual coffee shop-like setting outside more than makes up for the serious business that goes on within. Beef bourguignon, bouillabaisse and other French classics are made by the book at Le Salon, while crepes and croissants (natch) galore are available at the croissanterie. Fresh from a media dinner, I’ll tell you that I love their pastries, and so far, the duck leg confit’s got my vote. BB1 Vietnamese Bistro (Shop 1202, 12/F, 2677-8001) is another resto of interest. Although I’m not the biggest fan of Golden Bull—which is part of the same resto group as BB1—the spanking new venue with bright interiors at Hysan Place at least looks much more appealing than its slightly dated, more-Canto-than-Viet sister restaurant. Meanwhile, Windy City group is blazing ahead with another Amaroni’s Little Italy (Shop 1401, 14/F, 2523-7818), an American-style Italian establishment that’s been winning crowds way the hell out in Kowloon Tong. What I’m really impressed with is Kitchen 11, the 11th floor food court, which tries hard not to look too much like a food court. Instead of plastic furniture and joyless colors, the space actually makes use of quirky wooden furniture and homey décor like display shelves by the walls to create a warm and inviting environment. The only downside is that it’s hard to find an exit from this floor—there’s definitely no logical way out, and you actually have to take an escalator UP before you can grab an elevator back down.
Filling out the list of cool venues in Tai Hang is the newly opened Lab Made (6 Brown St., Tai Hang, 2670-0071), a shop that exclusively sells liquid nitrogen-processed ice cream. Although the technology behind the product isn’t new, Lab Made is definitely the first of its kind in Hong Kong. Started by pharmacist Ronnie Cheng and his business partner, Lab Made abides by a made-to-order mantra and churns out each scoop of ice cream only when there is demand for it. Whereas commercial ice cream* usually takes at least 10 to 15 minutes to turn from paste into the finished product, liquid nitrogen freezing shortens that process to 20 to 30 seconds—the smoky dry-ice effect from the nitrogen also makes for a visually appealing spectacle for the consumer. Gimmicks aside, turns out there are also definite benefits to using minus 196 degrees Celsius liquid nitrogen for ice cream-making: the texture of the ice cream is much smoother, because the ice crystals that get formed are much smaller (or something like that—at least that’s what I took away after speaking to Ronnie over the phone). Lab Made also doesn’t use any preservatives, so you’re promised natural and healthy ingredients—at least as far as ice cream goes—all the way.
*Speaking of commercial ice cream, Haagen Dazs has come out with a surprisingly refreshing Summer Berries flavor that’s in sharp contrast to their more popular heavyweight flavors (Chocolate chocolate chip or dulce de leche, anyone?). Made with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, it’s also surprisingly mild and not as sharp and zesty as I would’ve expected. The PRs who came to our office to dole out free samples were very vocal about their use of 100-percent fresh milk from France, all-natural ingredients and zero preservatives. Which is all fine and dandy, but honestly: it’s ICE CREAM, dammit. Nobody eats ice cream because it’s HEALTHY. Just sayin’.
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