Asian Delights

Roka, (Shop 002, Level LG1, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, 3960 5988), a new restaurant that opened in July, brings the authentic robata grill to Hong Kong to add to the stereotypical Japanese meal of sushi, sashimi and tempura. The large grill in the middle of the restaurant cooks up several signature dishes, such as the kochijan fuumi no kohitsuji: lamb cutlets with hot pepper spices ($190). It also offers two set lunches – the sake teriyaki set ($168) and the robata gyu niku set ($188), both of which come with a main course, miso soup and salad. In addition to the unique concept, the restaurant boasts a large wine cellar with more than 500 bottles of wine and a bar that serves cocktails, sake, shochus and non-alcoholic drinks exclusive to the restaurant. Signature cocktails include the Okinawa Breeze, a mixture of watermelon, lychee yuzu and shochu ($68). Roka opens daily from 11:30am to 10:30pm.

With its French-colonial décor and massive Warhol-esque painting of Ho Chi Minh, Café Annam (35 Elgin Street, SoHo, 2545 9966) brings a fresh Vietnamese option to SoHo. Dining among whitewashed walls, motorized palm fans and wicker chairs, customers enjoy a menu of classic dishes from Vietnam in addition to Cuban liquor and French desserts. The fare tends to be fresh and light, with most entrées including crisp vegetables and herbs. Starters are the baùnh cuoán starter (steamed pork and mushroom ravioli with toasted shallots, $48) and the cua loät chieân cuoán (a fresh rice paper roll with crab and herbs, $58). The house entrées are the phôû taùi pho ($58) – a sliced rare beef sirloin rice noodle soup, served with raw beef that slowly cooks when broth is poured in, allowing diners to control how rare their meat is – and the chaû caù haø noäi (fish fillet marinated with turmeric and dill, served with vermicelli, $108). For dessert, Annam serves the French-inspired banana cream Napoleon ($42) and baùnh flan göøng soâ-coâ-la (chocolate ginger crème brulée, $48). All orders include a 10% gratuity charge.

Baba Nyonya Malaysia Singapore Restaurant (Shop 3, G/F, Cheong Yuen Apartments, 2-8A Tsat Tsz Mui Road, North Point, 2368 8706) packs a punch with its authentic, MSG-free Malaysian and Singaporean dishes in a very laid-back atmosphere. The menu includes staple Malaysian and Singaporean dishes such as assorted curries (ranging from
$45 to $78) and laksa (curry-based noodle soup ranging from $40 to $50). Start off your meal with a refreshing coconut
drink ($22) or Singapore-style honey lemon lime ($16), and move on to popular dishes which include juicy black and white pepper beef dumplings ($16 each), bak kut teh, a pork rib soup ($38 for a small size, $78 for a large), beef rendang served with nasi lemak, a coconut rice ($48), or the standard Singapore Hainan chicken rice ($48). Open daily between 11am and 11pm.

Delicious Italy
Like all standard Italian restaurants, Spuntini (G/F, No 4-6 St Francis Street, Wanchai, 2528 1060), a chic, month-old restaurant and deli, is a place where customers can find a large selection of fine wines and pasta. Spuntini’s unique claim to fame, however, is that it is Hong Kong’s exclusive purveyor of two-Michelin star chef Moreno Cedroni’s line of sauces, jams, and canned seafood. Their signature dishes include the octopus potato with antipasto ($98), where customers are served a plate of salad with, literally, the open can sitting next to it; or the tuna belly in extra virgin olive oil ($128), again, served in the can. A wide range of antipasti and desserts are also available at the deli – these include a grilled seafood platter ($98), or a lacrima dessert ($40) which is lacrima jelly (a Cedroni creation) with mascarpone and fruit, served in a funky martini-like glass. Open daily noon-10pm.

Fishy Business
If you have a fish and chips fix, consider heading to stylish Frog Face Fish (G/F, 43-55 Wyndham Street, Central, 2869 8535), which is working with Australian seafood and fresh fish purveyor Petuna on a Gourmet Fish and Chips promotion every Tuesday. Selections vary weekly, but expect some funky twists on classic dishes made with Australian petuna trout and blue-eyed trevally, priced at $195 per serve. On other days of the week the Wyndham hot spot also has plenty to offer: Take recommendations from the house and things cannot go wrong. On the a la carte menu, the beautifully roasted scallops with orange, fennel, rocket and toasted fennel ($115) will certainly stimulate your appetite with its sharp colour, and a main course of a crispy, fat, but not greasy porcini-crusted cod served with green pea purée, bacon and split pea dressing ($225) is simply delightful for a hot summer day when you don’t want a heavy meal. A three-course set lunch is also available at $108 per person.

Healthy Bites
Applegreen (Shop 3, G/F, No 5-7 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, 2368 1263) presents a sampling of Californian cuisine that centres around café culture. It boasts 15 main-course-sized salads such as the freshly grilled fillet of sea bass on top of a bed of baby spinach, freshly cut oranges and shaved fennel, tossed with lemon vinaigrette ($118), or the green goddess ($148), crab meat mixed with green peas, cucumbers and avocado, tossed with lemon cream. There is also a salad cart ($148 for a full-size portion or $88 for a half size) where customers are given a checklist of ingredients to create their own salad. Other appetizer selections include a made-to-order guacamole with salsa, sour cream and tortilla chips ($78) or spicy Ahi tempura rolls ($78), a twist on the classic Japanese Californian roll, or even one of the several pasta and meat dishes. Finish off your meal with desserts such as the fresh berries shortcakes ($58). Above all this, an extensive beverage selection includes fruity Japanese shochus ($38). Hours are 11am-11pm every day.

Made in Mongkok
Situated in the heart of Kowloon, Mongkok’s stick food, cheap shops and wet markets are an embodiment of Hong Kong tradition. The erection of Langham Place in 2004, however, began the transformation of Mongkok into an increasingly upmarket area, particularly with regard to its street-food culture. Through August, The Place’s (Level L, Langham Place, 555 Shanghai Street, Mongkok, 3552 3200) Mongkok Hawkers Fare Afternoon Tea Buffet - a smorgasbord of traditional HK street food - offers a synthesis of street fare and up-market dining. Snacks include red-bean puddings, fish balls in curry sauce, squid in curry paste, pan-fried bell peppers stuffed with minced fish, and pancakes with peanut paste. The buffet also includes regular tea items such as sandwiches, fruit, dim sum, and congee. Prices are $158 per person on weekdays and $168 for weekends.

Also in Langham Place, Tokoro (Level 3, Langham Place, 555 Shanghai Street, Mongkok, 3552 3330), is hosting two new weekend summer cooking classes until August 17 for the kitchen-(not-so-)savvy parent and child. Parents can learn the art of making Japanese sushi and maki with Tokoro’s chef de cuisine, Takanori Hirayama, starting with the basic techniques of cooking the sushi rice to handling and shaping it into a perfect oval mound. Executive sous chef of The Place, Giovanni Pugliano, will demonstrate to children how Italian gelato is made, and afterwards each child will also be given the chance to decorate their own chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla gelato with their favourite toppings. The price is $600 for one adult and one child, and with only 10 places in each class, everyone will receive the chef’s personal attention.

Sweet Tooth
This month, The Grand Hyatt’s (Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road, 2584 7822) Tiffin Dessert Buffet will serve the work of Chef Edmund Ip, who has turned several common savoury dishes into unusual desserts. Featured dishes are the rhubarb and peach champagne sherbet, vanilla ice cream sandwich and spaghetti ice cream. In addition to these dishes, the chef has also invented several new ice cream-based desserts, such as the Swiss roll hazelnut ice cream cake. The buffet will run Monday to Friday from 8pm-11pm and on weekends from 8pm-11:30pm, and costs $228 per person plus a 10% gratuity

Eaton Hotel’s Metro Buffet and Grill (4/F, Eaton Hotel Hong Kong, 380 Nathan Road, Kowloon, 2710 1863) has recently introduced two new desserts centred around Mövenpick ice cream. The first indulgence is a sticky toffee pudding, pineapple compote and tiramisu ice cream ($58), which brings together mascarpone cheese, biscuits, coffee sauce, Marsala wine, toffee pudding and grilled pineapple. If that’s too much sugar, Baileys white and dark chocolate mousse with mango sorbet ($58) is another alternative.

Patriotic Meals
Hello Switzerland, home to fantastic mountainous landscapes, a worrying number of cows, and gorgeous designer chocolate. To celebrate Swiss National Day on August 1, try The Swiss Chalet (G/F, 12-14 Hart Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui, 2191 9197), a cozy restaurant that’s been serving authentic Swiss food for years. Start your meal with Swiss air-dried ham, beef, bacon and salsiz with pickles ($95) or a puff-pastry shell filled with veal cubes, onions, calf’s sweetbreads and champignon mushrooms in a white wine and cream sauce ($86). If cheese is your thing, one of their 13 fondue choices is bound to tickle your fancy. Switzerland is famous for its veal, and there is no lack on the menu – try the breaded veal escalope filled with ham and cheese with French-fried potatoes and vegetables ($178), or thinly sliced veal meat with white mushrooms in a creamy sauce, served with hash brown potatoes and vegetables ($185). For dessert, owner Max Liechti recommends the off-menu oven-baked rhubarb served with ice cream and Schnapps ($85). A selection of Swiss beers ($66), wines ($295-$460 per bottle) and cider ($66) complements your meal. Opening hours are every day from noon to 2:45pm and 6pm to 10:30pm, except Sundays when only dinner is available.

Over at Chesa (1/F, The Peninsula Hotel, Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, 2315 3169) try the crabmeat pancake with beurre blanc ($230) or the very traditional barley cream soup from Grisons ($110). If you like fish, the slow-cooked citrus-flavoured salmon on sliced carrots with lemon butter sauce ($240) is a good choice and, to top it all off, indulge in the Chalet Suisse ($120), which is literally a small chocolate house that comes with vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate sauce.

As it happens, Singapore, often dubbed the ‘Switzerland of Asia’ for its clean, efficient, and wealth-management savvy reputation will also have its National Day this month. On August 9, the day itself, head out to the Bar of Soup (37 Staunton Street, Soho Central, 2522 2595). Founded three months ago by Singaporeans, this establishment is exactly what its name suggests: a bar that serves soups as well as sandwiches, salads and desserts with completely natural, MSG- and cream-free ingredients in a fusion between Western and traditional Asian flavours. The restaurant specializes in a constantly changing soup menu with six different soups each week - for example, chicken tom yam or chunky pasta - served with fresh baked bread ($48). Other staple signature dishes include the Singaporean roti john, a french loaf toasted with minced beef, egg and chili ($40) and the nasi lamak - coconut rice with chicken wings and chili sauce ($50). August 9th is their Streets of Singapore festival, during which traditional Singaporean street foods and desserts will be served, such as kueh lompang, steamed rice cakes with coconut topping ($20 for three), and kaya (coconut jam) toast served with two half-boiled eggs ($28). The restaurant is open daily from 11:30am to 10:30pm.