Simon Rogan’s second act ticks the right boxes with simple yet refined execution
For the past few months, British celebrity chef Simon Rogan has commuted back and forth between the UK and Hong Kong, running his esteemed restaurants back home while opening Aulis, his experimental kitchen, and Roganic, the follow-up to his celebrated hotspot in London’s Marylebone. Unlike Aulis, a testing ground for newly created dishes set to be tested, Roganic’s offerings are often the fruits of the creative development process and fine polishing.
Passing the secluded quarters of Aulis beside the main entrance, Roganic resides at the centre of the sizable restaurant space. Surrounded by wooden tones with shelves of potted greens and flora, the establishment stays true to its plant-centric theme with moss and twigs lining the ceiling while brass light fixtures warmly light up the earth-toned space. Tables are evenly spaced across the room with much privacy for the guests, allowing each diner to enjoy the dining experience with a visual reminder of being in a forest, also coherent with the theme of the restaurant.
Serving two tasting menus without a la carte options, Roganic offers an eight-course short tasting menu and a full ten-course fuller one. Guests can also choose between a five-glass wine pairing or a soft pairing featuring cold-press juices and teas as an alternative. We began with the full ten-course menu, featuring four snacks to start, followed by starters, mains, desserts and petit-fours.
We began with snacks—dainty marigold-hued tartlets of pumpkin and silvers of crisp nashi pear as fillings, lightened with the herbaceous laurel bay leaf, a beloved prelude to a wonderful bowlful of pea mousse, with mint and sweet peas. The classic combination of cooling mint and spring’s top harvest of petit pois, each bearing juicy sweetness while contrasting with the creamy mousse. A duo of earthy snacks followed: thin wafers topped with fermented mushroom puree and yeast powder, the latter adding a surprisingly tang to the earthy puree, complementing the warm cube of truffle bread-and-butter pudding, a savoury counterpart of the British classic dessert.