Best Bites and Sips is a roundup of the outstanding dishes we had within the last week: Those which renewed our love for established venues, caught our attention at a new opening, or freshly impressed upon us the creativity and skill of Hong Kong’s talented chefs and mixologists. From casual street snacks to meticulously prepared cocktail creations, these are the best dishes and drinks to try in Hong Kong — the ones we’d recommend you make a special trip for.
The best dishes and drinks we supped on and savoured this week:
Whisk, The Mira Hong Kong
The dish: Lobster (HK$1,288, part of the Fukuoka Finesse 10-course menu)
One of the most impressive meals I had lately — or perhaps even all time, now that I think about it — was at Whisk, which was offering a time-limited Fukuoka Finesse menu in early February. As part of an ongoing collaboration between The Mira Hong Kong and the Fukuoka prefecture, the degustation menu showcased ten exquisite dishes featuring region-exclusive produce. We’re talking “plump Ebisu oysters, sweetly Asari clams, piquant Mentaiko, lush Amaou strawberries, aromatic Jimono Farm Linoka Lemon and refined Yame green tea”… all rustled up to perfection by Chef William Lau.
Out of the 10 courses I sampled, there were a few highlights: the Ebisu Oyster, served two ways with citrus, barbecue sauce and charcoal (also the lead and featured image for this article); the Kabu & Caviar Flower, a delicately presented dish of fermented kabu leaf, obsiblue prawn and dill flower; and my favourite, the Lobster, cooked in yakitori style with a side of smoked nori.
Imported straight from Japan or handpicked locally, the ingredients were obviously of the highest level at Whisk, but I just gotta give it to Chef Lau’s skills. The Lobster was heated to the right temperature, so it was just cooked but still had that bouncy bite you’d find in sashimi. The dish came with a spicy mustard-like sauce, but I found that the Lobster’s flavours shone through the best on its own, without any condiments. — Charmaine Ng, Editor
Whisk, 5/F, The Mira Hong Kong, 118 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, +852 2315 5999
Bifteck
The dish: Extra Olive Oil Poached Grouper (HK$598, part of the dinner menu)
Bifteck is described as a “treasure trove of beef dining”, but the dish that really stood out to me when I tried its dinner menu was the Extra Olive Oil Poached Grouper. Cooked until tender and flaky, the mild flavour of the grouper was brought out by a gravy sauce, then topped with sprigs of spring onion — certainly a looker if there was one.
That said, if you’re going to Bifteck, I recommend you try out its beef dishes, which it is known for. All made with freshly sourced ingredients, the Veal and Beef Tartare, A5 Sirloin Ochazuke and Slow Cooked Australian M9 Outside Skirt were also part of the dinner menu and well worth a try. — CN
Bifteck, 23/F, QRE Plaza, 202 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, +852 2246 8805
TokyoLima
The dish: Columbus Paella (HK$498, part of the TokyoLima x The Optimist four-hands menu)
I recently had the pleasure of trying out a four-hands dinner for the first time at TokyoLima as part of the Pirata Re-mix series. Put together by chef Víctor Caballé Molina from the Optimist and Arturo Melendez from TokyoLima, each bite from the four-course menu was a wonderful surprise of Spanish Peruvian creativity. One dish in particular that I caught myself thinking about was the Columbus Paella with lomo saltado, a traditional Peruvian beef dish. The bomba rice was in perfect texture, with well-seasoned onion, pepper, broccoli and scrumptious stir-fried meat. The portion was just right for two girls, and even after half a tasting menu, we were still able to enjoy the entire rice course followed by dessert. Cannot wait to experience the magic of two chefs again! — Leanne Lam, Social Media Manager
TokyoLima, G/F, Car Po Commercial Building, 18-20 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, Hong Kong, +852 2811 1152
8Pots
The dish: Garlic Beef Hot Soup (HK$115)
For some reason, I was feeling hotpot but felt like most hotpot places are better suited for bigger parties or more expensive. But that was before I stumbled my way onto 8Pots, a Taiwanese-style hotpot spot that features customisable individual hotpot bowls.
I had the Garlic Beef Hot Soup, which comes with an assortment of different types of foods such as tofu, vegetables, fish cake, etc, and paired my beef with rice. Personally, I am an avid believer that hotpot goes best with rice. Even in all-you-can-eat situations where you might be trying to leverage your value, I just think hotpot and white rice is a no-brainer combo; the pairing with the garlic beef bowl is certainly no exception.
Although I was very satisfied with my meal, I felt like the sauce options aren’t as customisable as bigger hotpot places and felt like there could’ve been more meat. But then again, I almost always feel like restaurants underserve meat options. — Ryan Putranto, Multimedia Editor
8Pots, Shop E, G/F, Block A, Lockhart House, 440 Jaffe Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, +852 2970 2088
Dara
The dish: Sizzling Sisig (HK$88)
When visiting a Filipino restaurant in Hong Kong, it feels almost like a crime not to order sisig — at least for me. Sisig is made of chopped pork maskara, chicken liver, garlic, calamansi, onion, and chilli served on a piping hot plate. I recently tried the sisig at the newly opened Filipino restaurant, Dara in Sai Ying Pun. And I wasn’t disappointed at all. The pork is perfectly diced that easily melts in your mouth but the added chopped pork soft bone adds a crunch. I’m picky when it comes to eating onion because I hate the texture but the one here is surprisingly soft, I barely even tasted it. Squeezing the calamansi is optional but I highly recommend it as it balances out the greasiness. Sisig is best eaten hot and best paired with garlic rice for a much more fulfilling meal! — Jianne Soriano, Digital Writer
Dara, Artisan House, Shop 6, 1/F, Sai Yuen Lane, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong, +852 5107 4474
(Lead and featured images courtesy of Whisk, The Mira Hong Kong)
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