The food and drink happenings that you should know about this week
As the new school term begins, so do bright additions to two of Hong Kong's most loved restaurants, bringing fresh ideas and energy to the kitchen along with them. Elsewhere, the dining scene is enlivened with Mid-Autumn celebrations, new tasting menus, and tasty sustainability initiatives. Keep reading for more.
Meet Natalie Eng, Bâtard's New Pastry Chef
A sought-after table at Bâtard has become even more alluring with the addition of pastry chef Natalie Eng to the kitchen team. Joining fellow Singaporean and chef de cuisine Aven Lau, Eng brings her classical French training from Alain Ducasse’s three-Michelin-starred Le Meurice, Singaporean fine dining fixture Sorrel, and San Francisco's Neighbor Bakehouse. Most recently, she was executive pastry chef at Le Pan, working alongside chef Edward Voon.
At Batard, Eng will be introducing pastries that are "focused on technique and unique flavour profiles of the desserts. I very much like working with ingredients that people are not quite familiar with, whilst pairing them with what guests would already know," she explains.
As part of the dinner tasting menu, guests can look forward to a new fior di latte gelato pre-dessert, a Palmito sugar-laminated puff pastry paired with thyme-infused diplomat cream and chestnut honey, and a sphere-shaped, applewood-smoked Paris Brest filled with almond mousseline cream and praline with bitter almond sherbet. The menu ends with new petit-fours by Eng, too.
Eng's arrival coincides with new set lunch menu at Bâtard, available from Thursday to Sunday and priced at HK$500 per person. To enjoy the full culinary repertoire of Aven Lau and his team, opt for the daily six-course dinner tasting menu, priced at HK$1,188 per person. Find out more by clicking here.