5 new Hong Kong restaurants reviewed: from high-end Italian Estro and omakase at The Peninsula’s Kushiro, to classic Cantonese dining at the rejuvenated Yung Kee
- Beloved roast meat institution Yung Kee is finally back after a long renovation, with a fresh vibe recalling the 60s heyday of Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love
- Times Square gains the Sichuan stylings of Chuan while Bacchus pairs an 800-bottle wine cellar with stellar East-meets-West nosh
We’ve been busy checking out the latest crop of new and revamped restaurants to keep our readers alerted to the town’s latest dining adventures. We checked out the new addition to the JIA Group family – Estro; the newly refurbished and revamped Yung Kee; Bacchus, with its 800-label wine list; Kushiro in The Peninsula hotel and the latest spicy Sichuan addition to Times Square, Chuan.
Estro
2/F, 1 Duddell Street, Central
To say the people of Hong Kong have a love affair with Italian food would be an understatement. From the localised version of baked spaghetti to Otto e Mezzo Bombana, the only three-Michelin-starred Italian restaurant outside Italy, it seems the love of pasta has permeated all levels of Hong Kong society.
By that token, it was hard to get excited about another Italian restaurant opening … until Estro. It could be the pedigree of being a JIA Group restaurant, the group in charge of Duddell’s and creative concepts like Ando and Mono. On the other hand, there is chef Antimo Maria Merone, a steadfast favourite among those who were fans of Michelin-starred L’Altro, helming the kitchen. The stars seem to have aligned for something exciting, and we weren’t disappointed.
For our hosted dinner, we sampled the eight-course set menu (HK$1,880). Highlights included the red prawn, coral pannacotta, lemon and Kristal caviar. Served in a ramekin-size bowl, the multilayered starter begins with a red prawn pannacotta at the bottom, then red prawn tartare dressed in Amalfi lemon and topped with a thick layer of caviar. The result is an umami delight. Elsewhere, the pastas were absolutely superb, where the ink gnocchi was combined with contrasting textures of cuttlefish and peas. We’re still dreaming about the comforting sweet onion flavours of Mafalde pasta Genovese.
The pigeon is a performance on a plate with the bird wrapped in fig leaves and cooked in clay, and the chef opens it table-side. Needless to say, the succulent texture and smoky flavours were near perfection. There is nothing to fault about Estro except that word of mouth is travelling so fast that the next table might be available only in 2022. But what can you do? We all love a fantastic Italian meal.