Review / Hong Kong’s best lockdown restaurant deliveries reviewed – is it worth US$140 for a Michelin-starred meal you have to cook at home, even amid Covid-19?
Ecriture, Petrus, Forum and New Punjab Club are among the acclaimed restaurants offering Michelin-approved takeaways and deliveries during Hong Kong’s evening dining ban – but at prices well into four figures, are they really worth it, whatever the occasion?
Hong Kong is still in partial lockdown thanks to the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Government restrictions have forced restaurants to cease dine-in meals at 6pm and offer only takeaway or delivery services later in the evening. And it’s not just pizza parlours and fast food joints doing this – exclusive Michelin-starred restaurants in town are adapting, offering to bring food to your door, too. But what is the experience like?
Island Shangri La’s Restaurant Petrus wants diners to enjoy as much of the usual dining experience at home as possible, providing reheating instructions so when you sit down to eat everything is oven hot. With two-Michelin-starred Écriture, their offerings are good to go straight out of the box with opulent plating instructions printed on elegant cards.
Elsewhere, the three-Michelin-star Forum has decided to concentrate on homestyle dishes, giving diners a teaser of its main menu. Chef Vicky Lau’s Tate has created a unique takeaway service – Date by Tate – that comes in a swish, custom-made, sustainable delivery box. Meanwhile Black Sheep Group has started its own delivery service too, and we try what its one-star Punjabi establishment, New Punjab Club, offers.
Keep reading to see what you can expect from these upmarket restaurant deliveries.
Petrus – one Michelin star
Restaurant Petrus has been known for fine French fare since before the Michelin Guide entered Hong Kong.
The price: starting from HK$1,088 (US$140), diners can select three courses from a limited menu and have it delivered to your door. We also sampled a five-course menu (HK$1,588) which included foie gras, prawn, beef roulade, lobster rice and cherry dessert.
Did it travel well? The meal arrived in three bags and more than 10 takeaway boxes, resplendent with not only the food ordered, but also bread, butter, petite fours and beautiful heating instructions on cards.
The delicate presentation of the foie gras as a sunflower made the directions to lift the whole thing onto a plate quite intimidating, and we were just happy to consume it straight out of the takeaway box. Reheating the beef roulade and lobster was simple enough and involved a minute or two in the microwave.