Wagyu Takumi (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

For the first time since the launch of the Michelin Guide in Hong Kong, there was no major surprise or controversy in the selection. As many expected, Caprice dropped out of the three-star selection following the departure of executive chef Vincent Thierry but the void was immediately filled by Demon Chef Alvin Leung's Bo Innovation and Chef Yoshitake's Sushi Shikon. 

Perhaps the lone surprise came from Wagyu Takumi, a new Japanese-French fusion restaurant who made its debut with 2 stars.



Wagyu Takumi is one of three restaurants opened by the Lai Sun Group on the ground floor of the Oakhill apartment complex, the other 2 being high-end Japanese restaurants with different specialties. Mitsuro Konishi, the executive chef of Wagyu Takumi, is a veteran in the business having worked in France at Taillevent as well as L'Atelier Joel Robuchon in Tokyo. He's particularly adept in incorporating Japanese ingredients into his French cooking.

Booking during the Christmas season was surprisingly trickier than expected. We were told by the reservation staff that they were closed on certain dates around Christmas. On other days where they were open, they couldn't guarantee our booking unless at least 1 group had already signed up and made an advance payment. That was odd but luckily we were able to find an afternoon with one confirmed booking.



Lunch started off brilliantly with a lovely barley risotto with seasonal mushrooms. It was a classy and well thought dish showing a lot of poise from Chef Konishi. The barley had great depth of flavors and it worked beautifully with the assorted mushrooms (8/10).




A crispy horsehead fish was our fish course and it reminded us of a similar dish we had at Liberty Private Works not too long ago. Again it was an excellent dish. The horsehead dish, pan fried to golden colors, was sitting on a parsnip purée with fresh tomato sauce sprinkled all over. The tomato sauce provided just enough to match the sweetness of the horsehead fish (7.5/10).



Charcoal grilled wagyu tenderloin and braised beef tongue were served with a port wine sauce. I haven't had such a tender and flavorful beef tongue for ages. It was pure joy! The charcoal grilled Japanese Hida-gyu beef tenderloin was equally mouthwatering. I could really see why charcoal grilled beef is a house specialty here (8/10).



Less flashy was dessert, a white chocolate mousse with strawberry and pistachio ice-cream. Nothing wrong with this dish at all but I guess we have set the bar a little higher now after the previous dishes (5/10). 



It was a wonderful display of talent by Chef Konishi but lunch cost a whopping $888 for 4-course (The only other at lunch was a 6-course tasting menu at $1380). Comparing to the lights of Caprice, Amber and L'Atelier Joel Robuchon, I thought it's totally overpriced.

Food Rating: 8/10
Price: $$$$$
Address: G/F The Oakhill, 28 Wood Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Wanchai
Tel: +852 2574-1299
Website: www.ginsai.com.hk/en/wagyu-takumi