Welcome, September — and this week’s tasty listing of New Eats — with arms wide open, and of course, hungry appetites.
We’ve made our merry way into September, the season of mooncakes, mooncakes and more mooncakes ahead of Mid-Autumn Festival, which lands on 10 September this year. Between mouthfuls of lava custard, double egg yolks, white lotus paste and whatever innovative flavours creative chefs have managed to whip up, spare a moment — or a palate cleanser — for something other than crumbly pastry. Perhaps a warm bowl of ramen in line with the fingers-crossed, soon-to-arrive cool autumn breeze, comforting dim sum from the traditional Cantonese cooking experts at Duddell’s or take a gastronomic journey to the southern California coast with nostalgic flavours from chef Leonard Cheung’s childhood.
Your Ramen Cubism order is going to look a little different from this week onwards. The trendy Japanese ramen spot is adding three new creations to the rotation, unveiled by chef-owner Hayashi Takao who is visiting the Wellington Street location between 5 to 9 September. Also known as the ramen champion, Takao is the proud holder of three national titles back in Japan for his innovative creations, especially at his Osakan flagship restaurant Original Ramen Style Hayashi that brought queues of over 100 eager patrons.
In Hong Kong, Takao presents Ramen Cubism’s first-ever tsukemen: The Rich Bird, also available as a bowl of ramen of the same name. An indulgent base of 30 different varieties of miso, including yuzu miso and brown miso, is married to Takao’s renowned chicken broth prepared with Tanba chickens from Kyoto, and served with the restaurant’s signature Yumechikara wheat noodles. The third, and the highlight, is Ramen in Bubble, a photogenic, hand-crafted bowl presented with a citrus “bubble” dome over a salt-based red snow crab broth, prepared with the seasonal Beni Zuwaigani crab of the Tottori prefecture.
Ramen Cubism, UG/F, Yuen Yick Building, 27-29 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong, +852 2399 0811
The thing about chef Leonard Cheung‘s intimate yet interactive dining destination Cultivate is you never know what to expect. That’s a good thing, since the menu, consciously designed with seasonal flavours in whimsical presentation, is guaranteed to impress on each and every visit. In its latest evolution, the menu takes after chef Leonard’s own childhood spent in California while also acknowledging the sunny state’s own diverse and eclectic cuisine.
Upon the nine-course menu are the likes of an IN-N-OUT-inspired beef tartare, made with chopped prime beef tenderloin sourced from the family-owned Brandt Ranch from the area, and prepared with onions cooked down in a Dr Pepper and licorice reduction, a secret IN-N-OUT sauce and twice-fried fries; while the brunch favourite, French Toast, is revamped as a fine-dining savoury take with a brioche soaked in mushroom egg batter and finished off with a complex glaze of beef jus, marmite, mushrooms and winter black truffles. The menu ends with Blueberry Corn Picnic, featuring three variations of the pairing: an American-style cornbread with jumbo blueberries, Southeast Asian-style with pandan, Horlicks and peanuts and finally, a Cultivate make of marigold with freeze-dried corn and graham.
Cultivate, G/F, 29 Elgin Street, Central, Hong Kong, +852 5303 1230
Stepping into the second year at their Hollywood Road location, Common Abode’s Nordic cafe Hjem — named after “home” in Norwegian — introduces a complete re-haul on their easy, daytime menu. A first for the cafe is the Nordic afternoon tea experience, serving classic smørrebrød spreads and PLŪKT teas made with handpicked botanicals from the Northern Europe’s vast meadows and forests. Also available, a refreshing new brunch menu that gesture towards typical Nordic flavours: hot smoked salmon, prepared in the classic Scandi tradition; curry herring, served on rye; potato rosti, a Swedish take on the popular fry-up with pan-fried potato pancakes, bacon, sausage and a dollop of lingonberry jam; and refreshing seafood serves of creamy crab salad toast and a salmon patty burger assembled with Arctic prawn salad and pickled cucumber between soft brioche buns.
Hjem, 161 Hollywood Road, Tai Ping Shan, Hong Kong, +852 2362 9193
If you have yet to make it out to Simon Rogan’s dedicated bakery-slash-wine-bar at Wan Chai’s Lee Tung Avenue, The Baker & The Bottleman will be occupying their very own caravan stall at Quarry Bay’s Tong Chong Street Market from 5 September through 28 October. On the menu will be tried-and-true favourites from the original outpost including the photogenic giant cookie, walnut brownie and iced lemon cake, along weekday lunch and breakfast sets serving homemade granola, fresh baked pastries and fresh chicken salad. The breakfast pastry in particular will be prepared according to a daily schedule between Monday to Friday, with almond croissants kickstarting the week and an indulgent chocolate croissant to finish.
Tong Chong Street Market, G/F, One Tai Koo Place, Tong Chong Street, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
A new lunch menu aside — featuring Duddell’s classic array of traditional Cantonese fare from barbecued meats and seasonal Cantonese dishes — executive chef Yip Kar On is also serving a brand new menu of Cantonese dim sum classics showcasing the team’s expert craftsmanship. It includes an extensive range of dumplings, including a limited offering of pork and shrimp dumplings shaped as goldfish, and fish soup dumplings with grouper and fish maw. Also on the menu: beef ball made served in supreme both, deep-fried abalone puff, pan-fried fungus bun, steamed cheung fun, or rice roll, served plain or with the toothsome accompaniments of minced A4 wagyu and spicy Sichuan shrimp.
Duddell’s, Level 3, Shanghai Tan Mansion, 1 Duddell Street, Central, Hong Kong, +852 2525 9191
It might be September but it doesn’t feel quite like autumn yet. Not in Hong Kong, or Chinesology for that matter, with still a month to go on their summer degustation menu — available until 30 September. Prepared by culinary director chef Saito Chau, it features ten courses of Chinesology’s unique traditional-meets-modern Chinese serves, including the signature Oolong Tea Smoked Chicken. Also worth mentioning: A5 Kagoshima Wagyu Beef Cheek served with pear, Iberico Pork prepared with mushrooms, ginger jelly and a char siu sauce and new menu creation of crispy pan-fried Japanese Amadai served with a lobster-based tomato and egg base.
Chinesology, Shop 3101- 3107, ifc mall, 8 Harbour View Street, Central, Hong Kong, +852 6809 2299
Editor
After two years writing in luxury retail, Lorria now covers food and drink happenings in Hong Kong. When not taste-testing for the best fries in the city (shoestring, always!), find her at home obsessing over tableware and attempting a fruit garden on her tiny bay window. She is happiest by the ocean with a giant fishbowl-glass of Aperol Spritz.
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