I didn't hide the fact that I was a little unhappy about my first meal at Aulis last year but that didn't stop me from eyeing a trip to its casual sister, Michelin starred Roganic this month.
After waiting for a few weeks, it was finally our turn to visit the popular modern British restaurant (photo taken at 6pm when the dining room was still empty but it was buzzing at 7pm).
Little nugget already had a long day so we decided to have the short tasting menu tonight. First off, two small nibbles to kick off the menu in style.
Citrus cured salmon and seaweed tartlet - Citrus cured salmon roes served on a nori shell with a little sprinkle of seaweed powder. Very nice.
Chickpea wafer, fresh cheese, broad beans - This was even more delicious. The wafer was really nice and crispy, working well with the chickpea purée, cheese, broad beans and lemon dressing.
Then it was time for the restaurant's signature soda bread. But everyone seemed to be focusing on the accompanying brown butter which was so good.
Marjoram brined cabbage, soy and miso glazed shimeji, wasabi - If you're not a fan of Roganic's vegetable dishes, you shouldn't be here in the first place. Tonight, the local cabbage was again very fresh and crunchy, meshing really well with the shimeji mushrooms on top. I was a bit worried about the wasabi foam but I thought it delivered a lovely extra kick to the dish.
Pea, salted egg, hazelnut, whey - Next up was another vegetable dish featuring fresh local peas and home grown pea shoots that were matched with pea mousse, hazelnut, hazelnut oil, croutons, lemon jelly, whey foam and shaved salted egg.
Love the beautiful crunch from the mix of ingredients complementing the clean flavors of the organic peas very nicely. But surprisingly, the flavors from the salted egg didn't really register.
Poached bream, asparagus, caper, lovage - The thick slab of delicate mussel mousse combining well with the juicy poached bream.
The sauce made with mussels, lovage and lovage oil provided the fish with great depth of flavors. The green asparagus, black garlic and caper purée rounded out the very busy dish.
Wak Kee Farm Pork, artichoke, onion - Less successful was the pork loin from the local Wak Kee farm which was a little firmer than we were expecting.
Have you been hiding some McDonald's fries from us all this time, little nugget (it was one of his many toys actually!)?
Roganic - The restaurant's signature dessert with a homemade parfait made with burnt honey and chamomile tea, sitting on a base of diced pear.
The sweetness of the parfait was a pretty good match with the diced pear and pear juice.
Whipped woodruff yoghurt, blondie fudge, cherry - We were finally down to our last dish.
This tasted a bit like a cheesecake (a very light one) with the cherry sorbet providing some nice acidity to the mix.
We managed to finish everything in exactly two hours. That was just great great work of pacing by the kitchen, not to mention the marvelous job from the service team. I also love the fact that they welcome children at all age (which is difficult to find in Hong Kong). Needless to say, we will be back pretty soon.
Food Rating: 7.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 8, UG/F, Sino Plaza, 255 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Causeway Bay
Tel: +852 2817-8383
Website: www.roganic.com.hk
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 6:00pm - 10:30pm (Tue - Sun)
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