Cover Clockwise from far left: Vicky Lau of Tate Dining Room, Siu Hin-Chi of Ying Jee Club, Chan Yan-Tak of Lung King Heen, FIF chairwoman Michelle Ong, Grand Hyatt pastry chef Smita Grosse, Guillaume Galliot of Caprice, Richard Ekkebus of Amber, Wong Lung-To of Forum and Julien Tongourian of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, and Eric Räty of Arbor

Hong Kong’s gastronomes dined in the shadow of eight full-sized dinosaur skeletons as part of the First Initiative Foundation’s latest gala dinner. We take a peek at this unprecedented 16-hands dinner

In 2018, the First Initiative Foundation, helmed by chairwoman Michelle Ong, brought a real, 12-metre-long Tyrannosaurus rex fossil skeleton to IFC Mall in Central. For three surreal weeks, the remnants of one of the most fearsome creatures to ever walk the Earth loomed over shoppers in the luxury mall.

The intervening years have certainly been rife with the surreal; so in bringing back its annual fundraiser on July 6 and 7, the charity organisation has outdone itself with not one, but eight complete dinosaur fossils. It’s a poignant reminder of the humbling power of nature. “Understanding the impact that one dinosaur fossil had on the public, and the amount we gave back to the community, I thought it would be wonderful to do a larger version of the 2018 initiative, and bring back some enthusiasm and a whole lot of energy to Hong Kong,” says Ong.

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Above FIF chairwoman Michelle Ong
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Above The grand dessert finale from Grand Hyatt’s Smita Grosse is a recreation of a fossil site that include a medley of fruit confits and a namelaka mousse

Titled Dinosaurs Unleashed, the exhibition is being held in collaboration with—and at—the Hong Kong Science Museum. The huge logistical undertaking required to put the fossil display together required a culinary programme of equal scale and ambition. For the occasion, Ong put together a 16-hands menu that brings together eight of Hong Kong’s most accomplished chefs—together, their restaurants represent a combined 20 Michelin stars.

For each of the four savoury courses, two chefs worked in tandem, gradually elevating the intensity of flavour before culminating in a playful dessert by pastry chef Smita Grosse of Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. “I wanted to send out the message that the hardships are behind us, hopefully’,” says Ong. “This dinner is symbolic of many things, including strength, the ability to adapt, and savouring life through the good as well as the challenging times.”

Looking Back, Looking Forward

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Above From left: Caviar jelly with cauliflower cream by Julien Tongourian of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon; sea urchin with espuma rice by Guillaume Galliot of Caprice

To start, Julien Tongourian of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Guillaume Galliot of Caprice chose to ease guests into the hefty menu with a pair of subtle seafood creations. Tongourian pays tribute to Robuchon’s culinary legacy by recreating one of his most famous dishes: caviar in crustacean jelly with cauliflower cream, a multi-layered composition of flavours and textures that is a staple at many of the late chef’s restaurants around the world.

Meanwhile, Galliot picked one of his latest creations for Caprice. His dish builds on a bonito-infused jelly with shrimp and wasabi below a layer of sea urchin, topped with an espuma of basmati rice.

Speaking on the opportunity to cook under the shadow of ancient giants, Tongourian says: “I’m very excited for this dinner because I have a 12-year-old son, and two years ago he became interested in palaeontology—it’s his passion. I hope when the dinosaurs are here, I’ll bring my kid to see the exhibition.”

Cretaceous Comforts

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Above From top: Brittany blue lobster with fermented mushrooms, kabu, wakame and green yuzu in mushroom emulsion by Richard Ekkebus of Amber; cuttlefish noodles with kombu seaweed sauce and crispy silver fish by Vicky Lau of Tate Dining Room

Marine umami underpins the duo of dishes from Vicky Lau of Tate Dining Room and Richard Ekkebus of Amber. Lau, who is the only chef to be cooking for the second FIF gala in a row, chose to present a dish of cuttlefish noodles with kombu seaweed sauce and crispy silver fish, capitalising on a textural contrast of the ingredients, as well as the “living fossil” status of the cuttlefish, which has been roaming the Earth’s oceans since the Cretaceous period. 

Meanwhile, Ekkebus’s charcoal-grilled Brittany blue lobster with fermented mushrooms, kabu and wakame shines the spotlight on a crustacean he calls “the king of the ocean”. True to his current role as president of Food Made Good, Ekkebus has taken care to source the lobster from an MSC-certified fishery in France. The dish is finished in a green yuzu and mushroom emulsion “to bring a little bit of acidity and balance”, he says.

Land and Sea

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Above From top: Octopus and truffle dashi by Eric Räty of Arbor; crispy salted chicken by Siu Hin-Chi of Ying Jee Club

As with the evolutionary arc of primitive life on Earth, so does the menu begin to take tentative steps onto dry land with the third course. Eric Räty of Arbor takes fresh leg of octopus, freezes it, then massages the meat for an hour to achieve a tender texture. It’s then cooked simply with spring water, kombu and seaweed salt in a claypot for a clean flavour, then paired with truffle dashi, morel mushrooms, and soy sauce butter for a moreish, meaty bite.

The crispy salted chicken from chef Siu Hin-Chi of Ying Jee Club builds on the salinity of the soy sauce butter for a complementary flavour profile. A longstanding signature of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant, the dish involves poaching a locally sourced chicken in a rich broth before leaving it to air-dry for one day and one night, then deep-frying it to achieve the perfect combination of delicate, glass-like skin and succulent meat. 

A Concerto of Classics

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Above From top: Braised Oma abalone with rice and vegetables by Wong Lung-To of Forum; baked sea bass fillet with sweet soy sauce by Chan Yan-Tak of Lung King Heen

For the main courses, two stalwarts of Cantonese cuisine—Chan Yan-Tak of Lung King Heen and Wong Lung-To of Forum—bring the focus squarely back to the gastronomic traditions of Hong Kong. A veteran with over five decades of experience, Chan is revisiting a dish of baked silver pomfret with sweet soy sauce that he first cooked for Ong at a fundraiser dinner 11 years ago in London—though this time, the main protein has been replaced with sea bass. Requiring a careful control of heat to retain the fillet’s silken texture, the dish is an apt demonstration of Chan’s vast culinary knowledge.

As a complement, Wong presents braised Oma abalone, a variety found in the cold waters off the coast of Japan’s Aomori prefecture, served simply with rice and vegetables. Long a signature dish at Forum, Wong picked the Oma abalone “because it’s particularly supple, but it’s quite difficult to source,” he says. “You can tell the quality of an Oma abalone when you cut them open, as the texture should be soft like niangao.” 

Credits

Photography  

Stephanie Teng/Tatler Dining

Location  

Grand Hyatt Hong Kong