ATUM Restaurant and Dessert Bar (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I am taking the afternoon off to meet with mom and little nugget for something important this afternoon (more on that later) but first I needed to visit Tsim Sha Tsui for a few things including a quick lunch at ATUM. 

I have made no secret of my admiration for ATUM and its brand of modern European cuisine. It's unpretentious and pretty easy on the wallet. Two really important factors for a successful restaurant if you ask me.

Today's lunch started off with a creamy beetroot and tomato soup. Did I mention I'm a sucker for beets?

Soup was followed immediately by this creamy risotto topped with Korean kimchi, radish and dried chili strings. 

When the menu said "pork belly", I was expecting a thick slab of grilled fatty pork served on top of the risotto but I was thrown with a curveball here. Just some shredded pork belly in the middle of the risotto, with diced celery and carrot. 

And yes, there was something important that I needed to do with mom and little guy in late afternoon. Six years ago today, dad passed away peacefully a few moments before midnight. To me, he’s always been this philosopher that I struggle to understand. The language and context he talked about sounded like he’s from another world, an old world light years away from the modern world we live in (my son will likely think that way one day as well, I now realize).

Not surprisingly, he’s not the most popular figure among our family circle. He had always been seen as this stern and old-fashioned guy (and he was) by relatives and friends. I really wanted to change that so at his funeral, I gave a little speech about him shedding some light from a son’s perspective. He was more than a father for me I told everyone. He was my table tennis coach, my personal Chinese doctor (a self-taught one) when I needed one and my masseur. He’s a bit of everything for me. 

I hope one day I will be a bit of everything for my little nugget too.

Dad, I hope you find peace and happiness in a different dimension.

That's little guy and mom walking in front of me on our way to see dad. Little one kept telling us that he wasn't going to weep today, not in front of grandpa. I told him it's good to be a brave kid but it's alright to cry sometimes. 

Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 101B, 1/F, K11 Art Mall, 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: East Tsim Sha Tsui / Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 3586-1959
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 11:00pm daily