Cover The pig and eel doughnut at Aulis
The pig and eel doughnut at Aulis
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From new menus for the season to charity dinners that bring a community together through food, these are all the events and happenings that you should know about this week
For those who have yet to plan Valentine's Day, these restaurants offering special menus for romantic occasions may be of use, as will the cake shops and chocolatiers that present sweet treats for your sweethearts. For everyone else, news of the latest food and drink events may be more compelling.
This week, there is news of two separate events that bring not one, nor two, but three chefs together to collaborate while other happenings bring communities together to celebrate women, mothers and raise money for youths. There are also new seasonal menus along with new cocktails to explore. Keep reading to find out more.
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This pot is on fire
Above Chefs Antimo Maria Merone of Estro, Maxime Gilbert of Écriture and Miles Pundsack-Poe of Ensue
Chefs Antimo Maria Merone of Estro, Maxime Gilbert of Écriture and Miles Pundsack-Poe of Ensue
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In a two-day event that takes place at Écriture on March 15 and 16, chef Maxime Gilbert will welcome chefs Antimo Maria Merone of Estro and Miles Pundsack-Poe of Ensue in Shenzhen, to present an exclusive eight-course menu for lunch and dinner. While Gilbert and Merone have collaborated before for the Basically Bouillabaisse dinner at Tatler Dining Kitchen, this will be Ensue’s first collaboration outside of China, bringing Hong Kong diners a taste of their unique farm-to-table concept. The menu takes elements from the classic pot au feu dish, a comforting French meat and vegetable stew of humble origins and translates it for fine dining with welcome snacks, followed by six courses—two from each chef, and desserts by all chefs.
The collaboration menu is available at HK$2,280 per guest for lunch and $,3,480 per guest for dinner.
Écriture, 26/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong
Women of the moment
Feste Group, the catering and events company behind Relish and Gingers, is holding a special lunch at The Vault Cafe on March 1 to celebrate International Women's Day and raise funds for Mother’s Choice, a local charity that works towards providing safe and stable homes for children without families and vulnerable young mothers in Hong Kong. The menu, prepared by two of Feste's power women: owner and managing director Abby Cadman and general manager Tegan Waters, will feature family recipes and dishes including Albanian byrek and lemon meringue pie.
Guests can enjoy as much food and drink at the event and will be asked to make a minimum donation of HK$200. All proceeds from the event will be given directly to Mother's Choice. Bookings for this event are available between 11am to 3pm with limited seats available. To reserve your seat, please contact info@feste-group.com.
The Vault Cafe, Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central, Hong Kong
Above Roganic's beetroot tartlet
Above stout ice cream with coffee and crispy milk at Aulis
Roganic's beetroot tartlet
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It's been four years since Simon Rogan's farm-to-fork concept Roganic and development kitchen Aulis opened in Hong Kong. To mark the occasion, both restaurants are launching new menus for the season created by chefs Oli Marlow and Ashley Salmon—Tatler Dining's Sustainability Champion awardee—which will be served by staff in new eco-conscious uniforms made by local designer Bettie Bespoke/ Bettie Haute Couture. What's more, dinner guests that visit either of the restaurants will receive a microgreen plant pot and sweet treats from The Baker & The Bottleman as a gift.
Highlights from Roganic's new menu include a beetroot tartlet filled with whipped duck liver parfait, which uses local livers from Hop Wo Ho Poultry, fermented blackberry gel and pickled beetroot, and line-caught giant grouper poached in caramelised butter with heirloom sweetcorn from Mr Wu (third-generation Taiwanese farmer), seaweed, miso butter and whole-roasted local shrimp sauce. At Aulis, the menu will feature the likes of a pig and eel doughnut topped with caviar, venison tartare in coal with caper jam and kohlrabi, and stout ice cream with coffee and crispy milk, among other items.
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Roganic and Aulis, Shop 8, UG/F, Sino Plaza, 255 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
By the people, for the people
Above Chefs Joanna Yuen, Uwe Opocensky and Sheldon Fonseca
Chefs Joanna Yuen, Uwe Opocensky and Sheldon Fonseca
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Rén (meaning people in Chinese) is a new social enterprise created to give back to communities through food. To kick off their launch, the group is hosting a pop-up dinner on February 23 at BaseHall 02 with three chef advocates: Uwe Opocensky of Island Shangri-La, Sheldon Fonseca of Miramar Group and Joanna Yuen, Tatler Dining's Best Pastry Chef 2020 and 2022, who participated in Off Menu 2022.
The dinner, titled The Thread That Connects People, will run from 7pm onwards and feature three courses and wine from Crown Wine Cellars. Proceeds will go towards Rén's youth programme and first beneficiary charity partner, The Hong Kong Student Aid Society which offers services to address the remedial, preventive and developmental needs of children and youth in need.
Basehall 02, LG/F, Jardine House, 1 Connaught Place, Central, Hong Kong
A new season ahead
Above Agora updates its menu to reflect the best of the season
Agora updates its menu to reflect the best of the season
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Spanish fine dining restaurant Agora has updated its signature menus with the nine-course Menu Agora (HK$1,388) and the eleven-course Menu Gran Agora (HK$1,788). Led by chef Antonio Oviedo, the menus make the most of the season with new dishes such as Vainas, a savoury green beans soup with olive oil, Rubia Gallega tartare, and Setas, a medley of wild mushrooms with migas, chorizo and mushroom espuma which are available on both. A Spanish wine pairing option selected by General Manager Anton Marquez is also available for HK$718 (four glasses with Menu Agora) and HK$888 (five glasses with Menu Gran Agora).
Agora (entry through the Gallery Gate entrance on Old Bailey Street), Shop 14, G/F D Hall, Tai Kwun 10 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2316 2005
House of cocktails
Above Tomato & Barley at Asaya Kitchen
Above Chaat's Gulabi Mahal cocktail
Tomato & Barley at Asaya Kitchen
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The DarkSide bar, led by Simone Rossi, at the Rosewood Hong Kong has released new cocktail menus for its restaurants including Bayfare Social, Asaya Kitchen, Henry, and Chaat which have been designed to match the various cuisines.
For the tapas-inspired restaurant Bayfare Social, cocktails are based on sherry with highlights including the one-month cask-aged Fino Negroni which blends Tio Pepe Fino sherry, EcoWidges gin, Aperol and Gonzales Byass Copa Vermouth Rojo. Other highlights include the Tomato & Barley, available at Mediterranean-pescatarian restaurant Asaya Kitchen, which uses fresh tomatoes for clarified tomato sake and matches it with Nikka Days Whisky, barley water, Marsala Secco, and London Essence Soda; Henry's San Diego cocktail which is inspired by farmer’s markets in California with flavours of beetroot and peaches; and colourful cocktails at Indian restaurant Chaat such as the Gulabi Mahal, a pink drink made with Hapusa Himalayan dry gin, Aperol, egg white, mango chutney, lemongrass and lime.
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A storyteller by day and a first-class food devourer by night, Fontaine is the Regional Dining Editor at Tatler Asia, overseeing dining content across all regions and shaping the brand’s editorial voice on food, chefs and culinary culture.
She is also Content Lead for Tatler Best and Co-jury Head for Tatler Best Hong Kong and Macau, guiding the awards’ editorial direction and evaluation process. With over a decade in the lifestyle and media industry spanning London and Hong Kong, she brings a cross-regional perspective to the table.
Follow her on Instagram at @fontimes.
