Racines (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

My buddy V was in Vancouver celebrating his birthday with his family back in September so I didn't get the chance to celebrate with him then. Fast forward to October, I finally got a ping from him that he's back in town and it was time to catch up and do our (belated) birthday celebration together in one go. Back when V was hosting my birthday dinner in April, he was trying to get us a table at Racines but without success. This time around, I decided to return the favor and to my pleasant surprise, the restaurant had a table for us at 6pm. Not a problem considering we can both get off work early this week.

Racines is an intimate fine dining bistro on Upper Station Street, Sheung Wan right across the street from Nordic fine dining restaurant, Embla. Co-helmed by Chef Romain Dupeyre who cut his teeth at world-class establishments like Caprice, the restaurant serves up Provencal cuisine with a modern twist.

We chose not to sit at the counter table but our seats were close enough to the open kitchen for us to share several exchanges with Chef Dupeyre who was really animated working behind the scene. 

So really nice and pillowy bread to start off the meal.

Our bread was accompanied by this smoked Espelette butter with plum jam on top. 

Our night officially kicked off with a trio of small nibbles (well, not really that small). First up was potato croquette with cod fish, coconut cream and parsley powder which was really tasty. Thought the kaffir lime and lemon paste, along with the fresh herbs really stood out nicely.

The creamy chicken liver parfait with tomato confit and pickled mustard seed certainly wasn't bad but both V and I thought the spicy escargot tart marinated with yellow wine was easily the best of the trio.

Camus artichoke, foie gras, gizzard, green beans – Our first starter of the tasting menu was a small salad inspired by the Salade Landaise, a country salad from the Southwest of France.

This was a more refined and lighter version featuring artichoke cooked in truffle jus, topped nicely by a layer of foie gras panna cotta 😋 and a jelly made with duck and port wine. A slice of smoked duck breast and duck gizzard confit along with diced vegetables like smoked corn, French Beans, piquillo peppers and girolles provided some nice, savory flavors and contrasting textures to the mix. The dish was finished off beautifully with a light truffle vinaigrette.

Tarbouriech Oyster, girolles, ceps sabayon, pork feet – Following the artichoke and foie gras dish, we have another wonderful starter featuring a star ingredient from France. 

At the base of the dish, we have ragout of pickled girolles, shiitake, pan-fried fresh girolles and shiitake, roasted pork feet, shallot confit, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic confit, and chives. The addition of ceps sabayon made with ceps-infused butter and sherry vinegar provided extra richness to the Tarbouriech oyster from the South of France and last but not least, there are the parsley foam and dry ceps-infused pork jus to finish the dish off with some porky and herbal flavors.

Mediterranean red mullet, bouillabaisse, octopus, fennel – Chef Dupeyre is a native of Nice, France so not surprisingly, one of his signature dish around here is his Bouillabaisse, a traditional Provençal fish soup originating on the Mediterranean coast of France.

Racine’s version came with perfectly seared Golden threadfin bream, octopus, Yunnan Potato and Rouille bringing harmonious flavors from the sea together in harmony.

US Brandt beef, eggplant, mirabelle, shiso – Our meat dish was rib eye cap superbly cooked in the Binchotan BBQ. This came with tremendous tenderness and smokiness, which was complemented nicely by condiments of mirabelle purée, sherry vinegar, eggplant and shallots. The sauce was a reduction of veal stock which was subtle and spot on.

Burgundy Clacbitou, sorbet, blackberry chutney, arugula – Even the pre-dessert looks like a piece of art. On top of the dish was a sphere made with soft goat cheese, delicately wrapped in fig leaves and transformed into an espuma infused with rosemary. Accompanying the goat cheese was a fruity blackberry chutney, which has been blended with Banyuls vinegar from the Southeast of France, pickled red onions, arugula, piquillos and fresh rosemary. A really refreshing dish to get our palate ready for the final dessert.

Root Jerusalem artichoke, hazelnut ice-cream, dulce chocolate – I love Jerusalem artichoke and even more so when it is served as a dessert. 

On the bottom of this, we have root Jerusalem artichoke espuma cooked with honey and tonka beans, mixed well with a flavorful hazelnut paste and tonka beans custard. At the heart of the dessert, there is the hazelnut ice cream with meringue and syrup made of tonka beans, topped off with a nice sprinkle of hazelnut powder and shaved dulce chocolate, micro lemon balm, for a terrific mix of nutty, sweet and lemony flavors. I decided to drop a few more bucks for some white truffle and it proved to be an incredible match with the artichoke and the rest of the ingredients.

Madeleine and cracker with what I thought was pistachio.

Chocolate with hazelnut and almond praline. I didn't think I could afford more food at this point on so thankfully, it was over.

Food Rating: 7.6/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 22 Upper Station Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Sheung Wan

Website: https://www.racineshk.com

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm (Fri - Sat), 6:00pm - 11:00pm (Tue - Sat)