Some foodie inspiration –– should you need it –– for this short work week: Renewed classic Chinese favourites at China Tang Landmark, a very indulgent meal at The Peninsula’s Gaddi’s, sugary sweet openings with Gelato Messina and Buzz Stand, Seoul Kitchen on its first flagship at Lee Gardens Two and, excitingly, the arrival of new sparkling tea brand, Saicho, for a delightful alternative on determined dry months. Enjoy!
Gaddi’s one-night-only HK$10,888 ‘Gastronomic Memories’
European fine-dining institution Gaddi’s is inviting guests down a nostalgic, albeit prestigious (in program and price tag) path down memory lane. ‘Gastronomic Memories’, available only for a single Thursday evening on 7 October, harkens back to the 87-year-old institution’s glitzy heyday during the 1970s, following six momentous milestones in Gaddi’s rich history, beginning with where the establishment got its name: ‘The Origin: Leo Gaddi’, after the hotel’s beloved general manager, to ‘A Legendary Maître d’hôtel: Rolf Heiniger’, ‘The 70s: A New Era’, ‘The Aesthetics’, ‘The New Millennium’ and ending at current times, ‘The Michelin Star’.
Backed by a live jazz performance pulled from the ‘Live at Gaddi’s’ album first performed by The Keyman at the venue from 1960s to 1970s, the evening’s most notable act is chef de cuisine Albin Gobil’s six-course contemporised menu of curated classic French dishes from the ’70s, served with a pairing wines selection from the same era by sommelier Felix Law. A preview of the menu: Brittany turbot Argenteuil roasted in fig leaf and a matelote sauce with a similarly smoky 1975 Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac and roasted Limousin veal Prince Orloff, stuffed with gratin Dauphinoise and white Piedmont truffle, and enjoyed with full-bodied 1970 Château L’Évangile Pomerol.
“It is difficult to explain to people who haven’t been to Gaddi’s how it is not just another restaurant serving fine French cuisine,” muses Florian Trento, Group Executive Chef for The Peninsula Hotels. “People underestimate the emotional attachment to Gaddi’s… that first dance, the proposals. It has meant so much to so many people and families over the decades. After all, how many other fine-dining restaurants can claim they have been around for almost 70 years?”
Gaddi’s ‘Gastronmic Memories’ (HK$10,888) is available for one night only on 7 October. Reservations can be made via +852 2696 6763 or diningphk@peninsula.com.
Gaddi’s, 1/F, The Peninsula Hong Kong, Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong, +852 2696 6763
Messina announces itself on Pottinger Street
If you previously missed news of an excited squeal that followed the recent announcement of a Gelato Messina finally opening a brick-and-mortar in HK, you can read all about it here. The popular Australian gelato brand makes its way back into the city since its last appearance as a one-weekend-only pop-up at the Taste of Hong Kong Festival in 2019 –– true fans may remember the Milk Tea Bombe Alaska shaped as a giant meringue, or the Pavlova Sundae that debuted a coconut and lychee gelato, oozing with fresh fruit purée.
Fortunately, there won’t be any need for gorging on Messina gelato over a short, time-limited 48 hours; the 2002-founded, Sydney-based gelateria, best known for the fresh churned gelatos made with dairy from their own milk cows, ingredients –– strawberries; hazelnuts –– grown from their own dedicated farm and toppings, each and every crumb, baked in-house (here’s a fun BTS), is due to set up its first shop on Pottinger Street very soon. Stay tuned.
Gelato Messina, 37 Pottinger Street, Central, Hong Kong
Buzz Stand arrives to Hong Kong
Instead of yet another bubble milk tea to beat the heat (though, this boozy one is certainly worth trying), choose a refreshing beverage from the newly opened Buzz Stand, which trades conventional syrup for a healthier option: honey, sourced from Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture, namely, Sugi Bee Garden which is known for its all-natural beekeeping traditions since its founding in 1946. Here in Hong Kong, Buzz Stand puts together a menu that features premium Manuka honey or, uniquely, a range of fruit-infused honey. The made-to-order waffles and ice cream come drizzled with a honey of your choice, while the drinks –– which are what you should visit for –– are a more enticing range: Banana Smoothies with Manuka; Passion Honey, made with passionfruit, mango-infused honey and green tea; or Honey Mule, blended green tea with yuzu-infused honey, ginger and grapefruit.
Buzz Stand, Shop F87, 1/F, PopCorn 2, No. 9 Tong Yin Street, Tseung Kwan O, New Territories, Hong Kong, +852 2772 1127
Korean kitchen Seoul Recipe opens first flagship at Lee Gardens Two
Chances are, you’ve picked up a gimbap roll or a bucket of sweet and spicy fried chicken during the lunchtime rush at the stand-alone counters of Seoul Recipe housed in citywide supermarkets. And if you’ve ever wondered whether you can get more than just your next meal at the premium grocer, you’re in for a treat: Seoul Recipe has just opened its first 500 sq. ft flagship at Lee Gardens, stocked with frozen Korean favourites –– mandoo dumplings, tteokbokki rice cakes and premium galbi and bugolgi meats. Also in store, a new grab ‘n’ go deli counter stocked with popular Korean banchan, fresh fruit and seasonal veggies and an exclusive Gebang Sikdang soy-sauce marinated blue crab, which has endured as a Michelin-guide recommendation for four consecutive years.
Seoul Recipe, LG, Lee Gardens Two, 28 Yun Ping Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Saicho’s sparkling teas debuts in Hong Kong
Sparkling tea is some kind of ingenuity; charged with the satisfying fizz for a hot summers’a day, a mildly sweet profile that’s fragrant like a fresh pot of tea –– we’ve previously mentioned about how much we loved Fortnum’s version. Now, there’s another, possibly even better, sparkling tea to look out for: British-brand Saicho, founded by Hong Kong native Natalie and her partner, Charlie Winkworth-Smith, as an alternative for alcohol-free evenings. A growing favourite amongst the city’s sommeliers as a delicate pairing to refined menus –– on the list at reputed establishments including Amber, Tosca di Angelo, Cultivate and Duddell’s –– Saicho is set to also be a favourite at home with its three debuting flavours: Jasmine, made with green tea from Fujian mountains, and said to be most similar to champagne with floral notes; Darjeeling, brewed with leaves grown in the Himalayas; and Hojicha, made with roasted Japanese Sencha green tea.
Shop Saicho here.
China Tang Landmark chef Menex Cheung’s original ‘Savour’ menu
China Tang Landmark has always been a known go-to for authentic Chinese cuisine. In a bid to modernise traditional favourites, chef Menex Cheung, previously of five-star establishments in hotels stationed in Shanghai, Beijing and Hothot (Inner Mongolia), culminates his expert know-how of various Chinese regional cuisines, including Sichuan, Shangdong, Beijing and Cantonese, into a remake of the original ‘Savour’ menu. Now refined with an innovative twist, sample the likes of Mala Chicken, a Sichuan classic fused with Cantonese flavours –– the chicken is deep-fried for a crispy skin and marinated in mala oil; crispy marbled beef ribs with a house-made gooseberry sauce picked in Guangdong; and the return of the 2019 off-menu favourite, ‘The Bomb’. A wholly decadent creation of soft-boiled Spanish egg wrapped in Taiwanese rice, then deep-fried until golden brown, this Asian Scotch egg is served in a sizzling stone pot with minced pork belly and a bed of crispy, caramelised rice.
China Tang Landmark, Shops 411-413, 4/F Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong, +852 2522 2148
Header image courtesy of Gaddi’s; Featured image of Saicho
Lorria Sahmet
Editor
After two years writing in luxury retail, Lorria now covers food and drink happenings in Hong Kong. When not taste-testing for the best fries in the city (shoestring, always!), find her at home obsessing over tableware and attempting a fruit garden on her tiny bay window. She is happiest by the ocean with a giant fishbowl-glass of Aperol Spritz.
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