Donovan by Donovan Cooke (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Donovan has been an itch I intended to scratch for a while and I finally got the chance to do so just before the Christmas break.

Perched on the 16th floor of Cubus on Hoi Ping Road, Donovan is a contemporary European restaurant helmed by Chef Donovan Cooke. Chef Cooke's career spans over three decades across three continents starting off in Europe where he worked under some of the culinary heavyweights including Michael Roux and Marco Pierre White. After eight successful years in Melbourne (with Chef of the Year Award in 2003), he landed in Hong Kong in 2004 taking the reigns of the Derby Restaurant and Bar at The Hong Kong Jockey Club serving as their Chef de Cuisine for the next six and a half years. Following a stint in Australia, he's back in Hong Kong with his latest venture, Donovan by Donovan Cooke offering modern and innovative European dishes.

Lunch started off brightly with a white miso brioche. The pillowy soft bun came with this nice caramelized crust.

Perfect to go with the accompanying seaweed butter.

Pan seared foie gras, pumpkin, pumpkin seeds – Despite its nice golden-brown color, I thought the pan-seared foie gras could have been a little more crispy on the outside and semi-liquefied inside. The sauce made with Sauternes could have been a little more powerful too.

Pea velouté, leeks, oyster – I am a sucker for French peas so this was right up my alley.

I thought this was a pretty intriguing combination matching the thick pea soup with crunchy slices of leeks, a scoop of sour cream and poached oyster.

Corn fed chicken, maitake, agnolotti, sauce supreme – The corn fed chicken breast from France, slow-cooked and poached, was really nicely done.

The chicken breast was paired with a maitake mushroom which has been cooked with sweet soy and.....

And an agnolotti stuffed with chicken wing meat, morel and onion, finished off with a nice sprinkle of fresh chives. I had no complaints about all three components of the dish. In fact, the chicken breast was beautifully cooked but I thought the trio did not really work together as a team in a harmonious way.

Chestnut cassanade, apple, prune – The chestnut panna cotta was nicely topped with apple and prune confit. A balloon of armagnac ice-cream and crushed nuts rounded out the dish. I like the lovely acidity from the small chunks of apple and prune cutting through the richness of the panna cotta.

The lone mignardise this afternoon was a homemade chocolate cookie with raisins.

I needed to head back to my office to wrap up a few things so I had to rush through this meal at an incredible pace. For this reason alone, it deserves a return visit.

Food Rating: 6.8/10

Price: $$$

Address: 16/F, Cubus, 1 Hoi Ping Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Causeway Bay

Tel: +852 5228-7006

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 10:30pm (Mon - Sat)