Neighborhood (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

My buddy V and I are meeting up tonight for his early birthday dinner. Since he will be spending his birthday week in Tokyo, we thought we should get this one out of his way quick before he starts peppering himself with all the good food in Asia's gourmet capital later next week.



I love a food menu that is short and sharp so I don't have to spend half an hour flipping through the pages. Neighborhood has exactly that, with just 21 short descriptions based on what's fresh and seasonal from the market today, all on the same A4 page.



Aquitaine beef and oyster tartare ($225) - We thought we couldn't possibly go wrong by starting with their Aquitaine beef tartare. I love the refreshing and clean flavors from the raw beef meshing well with the small bits of raw oysters. Very nice to go with the bread.



Pigeon eggs with escargot butter ($150) - The pigeon eggs were really soft and pillowy, and I distinctly remembered one of the egg yolk being soft and yummy like a soft-boiled egg. Initially, I was a bit worried about the pigeon eggs working together with garlic and herb butter but they proved my worries wrong right after my very first bite.

And how thoughtful was that to serve them with a vintage escargot pot? 



Beef tripe gratin ($165) - I still recalled one of the best beef tripe gratin I ever had at Linguini Fini many years ago. They don't make this dish anymore so I was left stranded for years trying to find a place with the perfect beef tripe gratin. Now it looks like I have finally found it!

This was just very very good (and addictive). The shredded cheese and herbs were spot on and only if they could hold back a bit on the chili powder, it would have been perfect.



Sea urchin risotto ($240) - Amazing dish with a generous portion of briny sea urchin sitting on top of a bed of creamy risotto. Delish~



Chocolate palette ($85) - Surprisingly after just 4 dishes, both of us were already throwing in the white towel so at this point, we went straight for dessert. Between the chocolate palette and French toast with ice-cream, it was a pretty easy choice for us since we both like chocolate.

This was very tasty. Love the rich and velvety chocolate ganache and the hint of raspberry provided a nice kick of acidity.



It's been almost 3 years since I last enjoyed Neighborhood's comforting French-Italian fare. Like my previous visit, I found this meal to be quite enjoyable and satisfying. Perhaps I should seriously consider coming more often.

Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: G/F, 61-63 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central / Hong Kong Station
Tel: +852 2617-0891