When I come to think of it again, I do know a little something about TOWN - their head chef.
Chef Bryan Nagao was a pioneer in fusion cuisine back in the 1990's when he was at the helm of Felix, Peninsula Hong Kong's fine dining restaurant. After leaving Felix, he launched the highly acclaimed Kokage in Wanchai before going on a hiatus in San Francisco. Guess what, he's back!
In case you're wondering, he did have a hand in the Old Alba restaurant before finally taking the charge here at TOWN.
By glancing at their menu, I had a little trouble identifying the type of cuisine TOWN is offering. The ingredients seem to come from all over the world including France, Italy, Japan, Hawaii and Hong Kong. And what make matters even more interesting is the fact that Chef Nagao is serving Sicilian red prawn carpaccio with black truffle caviar, sucking pig with miso and a special Hawaiian sauce.....now you get the idea.
But I am not losing any sleep figuring what kind of cuisine we will be having. Instead, we're treating ourselves to a nice mocktail to get our mojo going. I had this very enjoyable Mango Delight to kickstart my palates.
Now, the signature dish we've been waiting for, Sicilian red prawn carpaccio with black truffle caviar, yuzu and croutons. The prawns were very sweet and flavorful. Only if the supporting cast could contribute a little more, it would have received a perfect score (7.5/10).
Angel hair and sea urchin are truly a match made in heaven so I was expecting a lot out of this spagettini with sea urchin, pata negra and lardo.
This turned out to be another excellent dish. The spagettini had a very creamy texture from the sea urchin and the strips of pata negra jamon helped to create an incredibly exciting bite (7.5/10).
Bryan's suckling pig was next. This was marinated with his special Hawaiian sauce overnight and served with clams, pancetta, baby spinach and a miso broth.
The first bite had me thinking Dongpo pork (東坡肉) but the flavors were far more complex.
Well, the meat itself was really tender and moist; however, we found it a little bland even with the special Hawaiian sauce and miso broth (6.5/10).
Surprisingly I found this Guinea fowl "Roulade" pistachio with lardo, salami, buckwheat, fennel and quince more successful than the previous dish, which was supposed to be a signature here.
Different parts of the Guinea fowl (leg and breast) were used to wrap around layers of seaweed, pistachio, mushroom and minced chicken creating a lovely mix of contrasting flavors and textures (7.5/10).
My friend was a big fan of soufflés so this yuzu soufflé with vanilla ice-cream was really a no-brainer for us.
The texture of this flourless soufflé was very fluffy and light which by itself was excellent but if they could make the yuzu flavor a little more mild, it would be far more appealing (5/10).
The return of Chef Nagao provides us with another intriguing choice when it comes fusion dining. I will definitely come back to visit him some time real soon.
Food Rating: 7/10
Price: $$$
Address: 10/F, Cubus, 1 Hoi Ping Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Causeway Bay
Tel: +852 2568-8708
Website: www.townrestauranthk.com
View Larger Map
Post a Comment
Please tell us what you think