Daap (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

With Jelloman and little guy off to Shenzhen for three days, I am suddenly enjoying a wealth of Me Time over the long weekend. After kicking things off at Aulis yesterday, I am going to check out a hidden gem in Sheung Wan called Daap by owner-chef Luke Chan who cut his teeth at restaurants like L'Altro, Amber, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and 8 1/2 Otto E Mezzo Bombana I was told. I am especially looking forward to watching Chef Chan work behind the open kitchen. With his signature fusion dishes like creamy carbonara tossed with Chinese preserved meat (臘腸卡邦尼手工意粉), cordyceps cream soup (蟲草花忌廉湯) and chrysanthemum tiramisu (桂花提拉美蘇), it's going to be a real treat.

After arriving sharply at 12:30pm, I was being seated at the corner of the L-shaped counter table. There were about 8 of us just sitting around waiting to be served. Problem? The chef hasn't arrived and the restaurant manager refused to confirm that he's on his way!!! 😲😤

Not surprisingly, four of the guests decided to walk away at 1pm but I have all the time in the world so I decided to wait.

At 1:10pm, exactly 40 minutes since I sat down, the chef finally arrived and after giving the restaurant manager a bit of prep-talk, he started firing up the stoves. Since I could now confirm that I would be sticking around for lunch, it was time for something cool and refreshing. Iced Hong Kong-style milk tea ($25), anyone?

It didn't take long before the chef got the soup ready.

Roast chestnut velouté with morel mushrooms – I really enjoyed the silky texture of the chestnut velouté with the small dabs of olive oil and what I thought was coffee powder adding to the combination of rich flavors.

Very delicate.

Argentinian red prawns three ways pasta – The handcrafted pasta was pretty decent, and it was helped out by a very flavorful sauce made with dried shrimps (蝦米) and likely shrimp heads and coral. 

But the sauce was a tad too sweet for me, and I’d like to see more acidity (or perhaps more savory flavors too) in the dish for a better balance.

Sourdough pineapple bun with homemade milk tea ice-cream – Their chrysanthemum tiramisu was disappointingly off the menu so we were met with this new creation of pineapple bun and milk tea ice-cream. The bun looked as if it’s been reheated just now and we all know pineapple buns only taste good when they're fresh out of the oven.

It was a roller coaster ride from start to finish. At one point, I didn’t think I would be having lunch here after all but lo and behold, the chef arrived just in the nick of time when I was about to leave. It was an experience unlike any other but I was glad I stayed long enough to get this over the finish line. As for Daap’s fusion dishes, there was still room to improve but with Chef Chan’s passion, the best is yet to come.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, Wai Hing Commercial Building, 20 Wing Kut Street, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Sheung Wan

Tel: +852 9680-7456

Website: www.instagram.com/daap.hk/?hl=en

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 10:00pm (Tue - Fri), 10:30am - 4:00pm, 6:00pm - 10:00pm (Sat - Sun)