Archive for category Wine

This must be the most obscure building in town. C, having worked in the Lan Kwai Fong (Hong Kong) area for more than 13 years had no idea this place existed. Even if you did know, the dark alley off the beaten track might make you think twice. But, as their owners insist, the surprise when you reach the restaurant is very rewarding. And we agree. Click here for a link to Google Maps to see their exact location.

Opened for just three months, the chef, Paul, was from an advertising background but loved cooking from a very young age. He aims to introduce French methods (his training) with traditional Shanghainese ingredients (his heritage). The other partners, Joe (also in advertising), contributed to the design elements of the restaurant and Chris, an ex-banker, served as the maître d.

Entering the establishment will wow you in its simple and clean design. A huge contrast to the dark alley entrance to the old building. With a maximum capacity of only 26, there are three tables in the main dining area that surrounds the centerpiece of the restaurant – the open kitchen. This gave Paul the opportunity to interact with us between courses, a nice personal touch. At the back, the owners enclosed the back courtyard area with a glass roof to provide a larger more private dining area. An adjacent outdoor area is a great place to lounge out before or after dinner. After touring the restaurant, we were given some old books… What??? To read??? Actually, the fixed menu (HK$538/US$69 per person, minimum of four) was hidden inside each book. A very unique presentation until they found out that they have to change the menu every month! The name for each dish was also very creative, often having left us to guess what we were to have next.

Our first course started with “Spring. Snow. Dutch Yellow.”, which translates to bamboo shoots with Hollandaise sauce and deep fried capers. The bamboo shoots were very soft and it felt like eating asparagus…very nice. The next course, “Treasure. Hundreds of them.” had nine ingredients finely chopped and arranged on top of a braised carrot. The fun was to guess all the nine ingredients for a round of Coke on the house. Unfortunately we couldn’t get the last two…Now we won’t give it away so don’t expect us to disclose it here. “Miss Quail. Mr. Sanuki. Wax Apple. Woflberry. All are Half Drunk.” was like drunken chicken, except that the larger quail from Australia was used instead. Cooked with eight year old aged Hua Diao rice wine (花雕) and served cold on a bed of Japanese Sanuki udon. Very good. The quail was cooked just right, keeping it juicy and very tender. The udon was nice and chewy, just how we like it. All half drunk as the menu described “North Atlantic Wild Scallop. Melting Ma Lan Tao. Shrimp Roe Oil.” was one of the easier to decipher items on the menu. The plump juicy scallops sat on a bed of mashed potatoes mixed with Kalimeris (ma lan tao/馬蘭頭)…a nice combination. “Diana Spicy Slow-cooked Beef. Wonton.” was also very tender. Diana is a friend of Paul’s and making subtle tweaks to her original recipe was a great success. The wontons were stuffed with pumpkin and onions to complement the pungent sauce.

We bought a bottle of 2000 Pichon Baron as they do not charge for corkage. However, they do offer a small selection of French biodynamic wines which are reasonably priced. The dinner concluded with a “Panna Cotta. Oriental Touch.” and for HK$50/US$6.40 extra, we tried their siphoned coffee to round off the evening.

We will be back to see how their creative minds tempt our taste buds with the new menu next month. And bring your cash as they do not take credit cards yet.

– 17.5/20

Fa Zu Jie (法租界)
1st Floor, 20A D’Aguilar Street
Central, Hong Kong
View location in Google Maps
T: +852 3487 1715
CASH ONLY

110420 Fa Zu Jie (法租界) - Entrance off D'Aguilar St.

110420 Fa Zu Jie (法租界) - Go through a dark alley

110420 Fa Zu Jie (法租界) - Walk up to the 1st floor