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2018-05-19
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It's been almost a year since HAKU opened its door at Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui and I was still trying to get around their children's policy (12 years or older only) without success. Thankfully, I was finally able to break the ice with the help of my blogger friend, Tony this week. Thank you, Tony! I owe you a BIG one here.I have been following chef Agustin Balbi's career closely since his time at The Ocean. After his departure from Le Comptoir Group, I was pretty curious of what the talen
I have been following chef Agustin Balbi's career closely since his time at The Ocean. After his departure from Le Comptoir Group, I was pretty curious of what the talented chef had in store and as it turned out, he was getting ready for a new adventure at HAKU, a contemporary Japanese fine-dining restaurant with a European twist.
HAKU offers 2 multi-course lunch set comfortably priced at $380 and $450 respectively and there's also a tasting menu printed on the back of the menu (with no price printed) which we later found that come with a $850 price tag. The tasting menu was the one we decided to pick at the very end.
First up for us were a parade of small nibbles to get our palates ready. Those included a beetroot cone with salmon roes, dashi cream and shiso, and a skewer of Japanese flying squid.
They were accompanied by a cup of black tea consommé with katsuoboshi and chanterelles. A mini okonomiyaki was also in play, although I failed to recall the ingredients involved thanks a brief interruption by my little nugget.
I thought the beetroot cone was the clear winner here with all the different textures coming together nicely (though the beetroot flavor was a bit overshadowed by the rest of the ingredients) while the black tea consommé came in a close second with its clean and earthy flavors. Perfect palate cleanser and a very nice way to get things started.
Now that they've got my taste buds waken up, we were all set for the first course of the meal which happened to be one of HAKU's signature dish. On top of the crispy brioche toast, they have a layer of Hokkaido sea urchin (Grade A) and butternut squash purée, beautifully garnished with purple shiso flower.
Hokkaido sea urchin and butternut squash purée on a crispy brioche
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The second dish of the menu was Spanish octopus, which was nicely paired with sweet peas, mushroom and a pretty subtle brown butter sauce. A little less wow factor comparing to the previous uni dish but nevertheless a very solid offering.
Spanish octopus with sweet peas and mushroom in a brown butter sauce
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Koshihikari rice with Alaskan king crab and togarashi peppers
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Before we moved onto our main course, I ordered something from the a la carte menu - a certain signature dish from the chef's deep repertoire. Meet our chu-toro which has been aged a bit for some nice acidity.
I have been waiting for this dish for the longest time. Chutoro and Polmard beef topped with kristal caviar and gold leaf which is as impressive as it gets on paper.
We were supposed to spoon a little bit of everything onto the paper-thin potato wafers.
Chutoro and Polmard beef topped with kristal caviar and gold leaf
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Our main course was Kagoshima A4 wagyu, another premium ingredient that we were quite happy to spot on the menu. They were cooked on a hibachis (火鉢), a traditional Japanese "cooking stove" with charcoal.
As soon as it's ready, the wagyu was placed onto a plate next to a white asparagus while our server spooned the sauce made with oxtail over the top. There were a couple of in-season items here, first a morel mushroom sitting on the top of the wagyu and then we had the white asparagus covered with dashi cream and anchovy.
I thought the wagyu was really delicious. The marbling was perfect with the usual melt-in-your-mouth texture, yet the proportion of fat was right on the money so I didn't feel like I was chewing on a piece of marshmallow.
Kagoshima A4 wagyu with white asparagus and morel mushroom
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Tomato and strawberries (from Fukuoka) yogurt foam topped with a layer of granita made with strawberry and tomato water
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I was a little surprised to find HAKU's contemporary cuisine slightly less innovative than I originally expected but there was no surprise about all the premium ingredients. They were every bit as good as advertised. On top of their top-notch ingredients, I thought the execution on all the dishes was near perfect. Now I just need a way to get around the kid's policy again for my next visit.
张贴
