Fusion Gourmet  

Time of Visit:
Despite the mixed reviews, I decided to check it out and went there with a friend for a weekday lunch.
Food:
The bread was freshly baked I can tell and the butter had very strong creamy smell and was also very tasty which was hard to resist. Hopefully I hadn't added too much cholesterol to my body. I ordered the Kurobuta Pork set ($88) (I had Kurobuta Pork in its sister restaurant on the 5th floor before and it was good) and it was as good as I had expected. It came with a small salad too. Though simple, I felt fulfilled about it. I added $20 for a dessert - Strawberry Napoleon - and $10 for coffee. The Strawberry Napoleon was very impressive, though I suspected it is very fat but who cares??? The coffee is not bad.
Services:
Attentive and friendly - no complaint.
Environment:
The dining area is in fact inside a gourmet shop with a long table so that somebody that you dunno may sit next to you. Even though it is the case, I didn't feel stuffy and crowded at all and there is still an acceptable distance between unknown customers. The ambience is homey and cheerful but it is slightly noisy so you have to speak up a bit when chatting.

I didn't have time to check out the gourmet, bakery, fruit, meat and wine there. I will be back.....

Décor: interesting combination of a shop + a bistro in contemporary white … sells seafood, to wine passing through steaks
Ambiance: rather quiet for Sunday brunch
Sitting: spacious as there was not many guests… had this place been 50% full… it will be cramped
Service: Efficient but cool… slightly pompous!
Wine list: a number of second labels Bordeaux on the racks , plus a few more expensive ones in the wine fridge.
Food: The steak is well broiled. The mesclun salad is OK. The clam risotto is too filled with MSG… this is the most terrible part. The foie gras is well seared. The patisserie/cakes are only so so. Its is absolutely REVOLTING and TERRIBLE to charge for bread in a western style restaurant. Portions are just borderline reasonable, as we are all small eaters.
Cost: $660 for four for lunch… inclusive of service charge… no drinks and no coffee.. just plain water.
Value for Money? … 6/10
General: Will most likely not come back...other than perhaps shopping. They do carry some very interesting fresh as well as canned food, to include foie gras au torchon.

We checked out this place last night. Very casual dining but I liked the concept of having some grocery / meat produce in the restaurants, gives it a bistro feel. Highlight of the night would be the pork hock salad, which is really just arugla w/ proscuitto but had delicious sauce / texture. There are bits of potatoe as well as fried proscuitto in the salad that gave it a nice texture, and the tomberries added an interesting component. They are also quite generous with the proscuitto - a welcome change in HK. Would recommend it for a casual weekday dinner!

Went with high expectations and a huge appetite and was sorely disappointed. We had dropped in on a previous occasion but as we had no booking were turned away. We went again the following week, cheered by the sight of long tables of carnivores enjoying steaks, pork chops etc with fresh looking salads. As a starter I ordered the foie gras. I know that is a luxury item, but surely for 150 HKD, you get more than a piece the size of a bottle cap? I had two bites, each no more than the size of a 2 HKD coin. We also had the ham hock salad - which turned out to be prosciutto on rocket. It was a bizarre misnomer. For mains, we had the char grilled squid and the rib eye steak. Again, no bread, garnishes, side dishes or anything remotely resembling a proper meal. For a meal that cost around 700 (not including wine), it was a shambles. We immediately took the lift to the 2nd floor to have bibimbap and galbi at the Korean restaurant upstairs.

Compared to the Press Room for a proper French bistro experience, Fusion was super disappointing and left us hungry and disillusioned. Never again.

Oh yeah, the taste, not bad but nothing worth returning for.

Combining a restaurant and groceries / market at one place isn't something new, perhaps new to Hong Kong, but it has been quite popular in Mexico or at least for Mexican dining establishments to my understanding. Fusion Gourmet has been establishment following this model offering fresh produces along with a wide selection of meats and seafood as well for both its dining menu and grocery.

It has its own bakery as well but wasn't particularly impressed with their breads.

We had over 20 people so we got to put together all the tables to form the long commute table. I liked the setting although I had to shout across from one end to the other end to exchange a conversation. Then again, I didn't really know the people at the other end. (LOL)

The Caesar salad was alright with sufficient anchovies and just the right amount of dressing to make the flavors well balanced.

The Steak salad came with David Blackmore wagyu 600days grain-fed M9+ grilled ribeye cap steak. Humm ... long name for a salad but less sauce would be great so can get a better taste of the ribeye.

We also ordered some grilled Portobello mushroom by picking them right from the produces section. It was nice but a bit too salty if you ask me.

I forgot which fish my friend ordered (snapper?) but according to her she enjoyed it.

Another long name for the Short Rib - David Blackmore Wagyu 600days grain-fed M9+ braised beef short rib with shallots a la creme. I didn't order it but had a few bites. Alright I made my friend to give me a few pieces because I needed to try as many dishes as possible. It was not as tender as I hoped and the sauce was rather light in flavor and thicker would be better.

The Grilled U.S. Kurobuta Pork Loin was the highlight, it was soft, juicy and tender; rather surprising for a piece of grilled pork. I would come back again just for this dish for sure!

Likes:
- Great Atmosphere for big groups
- Grilled U.S. Kurobuta Pork Loin - Tender and Juicy, better than expected for sure. Thumbs up!

Dislikes:
- Short Rib - sauce can be thicker with richer flavor. Texture not as tender as expected but still a delight
- Bread was not particularly impressive even with its own bakery plus there was a charge to bread as well.

Original Blog Post with more pictures: http://www.jasonbonvivant.com/2010/04/fusion-gourmet.html
Avg Spending: HKD 300 per person

So after venturing around Sheung Wan we stopped by here, as the last time I went to Fusion Fifth Floor the owners told us they were opening a cafe...

Before the food.... a little bit about the store. When you walk in...you immediately see one long communal-style table (see restaurant-photos) - perfect for large groups! Apart from turning out food they sell organic produce, jet-fresh meats and seafood, gourmet sea salt and pepper, jams and spreads, a selection of bakery items like baguettes and croissants and some home-items...I couldn't help but to buy some before we left!

Anyway, at 5pm they were still serving their afternoon-tea set. All items were $68 with a coffee or tea. I thought this was pretty reasonable.

I thought about ordering one of their cakes but thought maybe it wouldn't be substantial enough, seeing as I hadn't eaten since......10am? So we went with the following:

Asian noodle soup with angus beef fillet
This was basically a Vietnamese pho but of course, with more quality ingredients. The (Wagyu? - whilst the owner recommended this she said it was wagyu) beef on top arrived raw and nicely marbled. The noodles were round rice noodles, a bit too soft for me but still acceptable. There was a little shredded carrots and bean sprouts just for decoration. The star was the soup. It tasted a little herb-y but you could tell it was beef broth, it was well-seasoned and tasty!

FG Grilled Club Sandwich
This was some tomato, lettuce, turkey breast, crisp bacon and crisp parma ham sandwiched between two slices of their daily baked Danish bread. I dissected half of it so I could see what was inside and also to share...hence the photo of only half the portion served!

The bacon and parma ham was very browned. There were three thin slices of fatty bacon and a little parma ham...I was very surprised they chose to fry the parma ham like the bacon because usually it is served just thinly sliced, no? They were both salty, but OK if eaten together with the slightly sweet bread and other filling. The turkey was actually quite awful. If you can spot it in the photo, yes, it is the sad white slice of turkey in between there somewhere! I love turkey and I have tried most types of deli-turkey available in HK. I have also (unfortunately) tasted deli-turkey which has been stored in the fridge and turned slightly 'off' but not yet 'bad' - and this was it. The turkey was clearly not bought that day as it tasted slightly sour already =(.

I guess the redeemable part was the Danish bread. It really was very light and buttery in taste, as well as a hint of sweetness to it. Hotter would have been better but I mean toasts don't stay hot for long do they? Anyhow, I also learnt that they do sell them by the loaf like Bo-lo'gne in Aberdeen st, and apparently cheaper too but I cannot compare as I have yet to try Bo-lo'gne!

Pure Kona Coffee
I am no coffee expert but I do love my coffee. This type of coffee is also sold at FG. The taste was clearly different from their Maui variety, as it is much richer and stronger in taste and you can tell the beans have been roasted much longer to achieve such taste and aroma. I added a little more milk than usual to compensate for the strong roast flavour and it was pretty ok!

As mentioned, I bought some groceries before i left. One of which is a choc-chip baguette ($20). To describe, this was a brown baguette with plentiful miniature chocolate chips which didn't really match the brown bread... It wasn't bad though! Remember to toast it before eating otherwise it is almost inedible due to the natural chewiness of their baguettes. Good with a little PB or jam =)

I would like to return soon for their dinner offerings as their menu (posted on their site) sounds enticing and has much more options!

Came here for a friend's birthday lunch today. In total there was 8 of us.

Environment: The place is pretty nice and kind of has a well lit 'wine celler' feel. When you first walk in you notice the dining area is in the middle and surrounded by a gourmet market. Chairs were comfortable and not too cramped. I think quite perfect for a lunch/brunch place.

Service: Overall waiters were knowledgeable and very friendly. I think there was a slight lag (about 10-15 minutes) between courses which I thought was a tad long but outside of that service were good.

Food wise you can either order straight off their menu (we did this) or you can choose any meat/seafood/vegetable from their counter and they will suggest to you a way to prepare it. We ended up sharing 3 appetizers and each ordered a main.

Cured Ham with Arugula Salad - I liked this quite a lot. The cured ham was very flavorful and it was a nice contrast between the bitterness of the arugula. Refreshing start.

Squid Ink Pasta - This was also quite good as well. Pasta was done al dente and the squid was cook well. I noticed some of the larger pieces of squid was a little underdone but maybe I am picky. Not that easy wiping off the squid ink off your mouth afterwards...haha.

Tomato Salad - Tomatoes (3 kinds) were nice and fresh but I would say the other parts of the salad were a little boring. Not bad I guess.

Sea Bass with Tomato Relish - My friends ordered this and I was quite surprised when they served up a whole fish. Sea bass itself was cooked quite perfectly (the meat came off the bone cleanly) but I thought the tomato sauce/relish was a little strange paired with the sea bass. It didn't taste bad by any means but just thought it would not be my top choice sauce wise. Still a decent dish.

David Blackmore M9+ Grade BBQ Wagyu Skirt Steak - After seeing the fish my first impression of this dish was "Wah...the portion is kind of small" but I guess getting wagyu steak for $140 is somewhat reasonable. The steak itself was quite tender and flavorful. The balsamic vinaigrette sauce was quite nice and much better than using the mustard they gave me later (the mustard totally overpowered the flavor of the beef). It also came with a side salad of arugula and crispy pancetta. Not bad but I didn't care for it too much. Overall a pretty good dish but the salad can be improved (even mash potatoes or fries would have been better in my opinion).

We didn't order any dessert in the end mainly because we all ate my friend's birthday cake. In the end I found the meal pretty good but there are some areas food wise they could improve. Was definitely a little different eating in a gourmet market.

Noticed FUSION GOURMET Opening around a few weeks ago but took me a while to check it out! Opened by the owners of the similarly-named restaurant upstairs on the 5th Floor, this brand new 1st Floor venture is indeed very interesting!

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It imports high quality fresh French oysters and other Seafoods such as Fish, extra-large Scallopes and Scampi's when its seasonal, also sells Australian Blackmore Full-Blood Wagyu and other meats and Goose Foie Gras.

On the other side, they sell carefully selected wines imported with a variety of cepage and nations.

Right opposite on the open-fridge are displayed a lot of Organically grown vegetables imported from different countries. Normally very rare to source items you won't find anywhere else in Hong Kong - including rare species of Courgettes, Salad Leaves and most but not least - many types of ultra-high Tomatoes, from super tiny ones to an assortment pack of Heirloom DNA'ed version from Holland.

AND that's not all! They serve food here, as well as sell Cakes. By the whole piece or as individual portions of around 6 Varieties. I ordered a Lemon Cheese Cake with Macaron and a Double Chocolate with Raspberry Filling version - both were excellent, the Cheese cake was probably the best I have tried recently, full of cheese flavours! The Chocolate cake also ultra-high quality. Pleasantly surprised.

They also sell a Danish Bread similar to Bologne's version or a brioche and their Home-made Croissants - aiming squarely at the Viennoiserie type of bread market! Yum, my croissant was flaky and full of wheaty taste, ending with a good Buttery lingering feel. I even like it better than Robuchon's one!

The also sell Kitchen-ware, Oils and Vinegars, Jams, all the interesting stuff!
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APPROPRIATELY NAMED AS FUSION GOURMET.
A VERY HIGH QUALITY SHOP.
LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING THEIR COFFEE IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS....!