Goose King Roasted Restaurant 唯一燒鵝 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Another morning meeting had dragged on far longer than anyone wanted, and by the time we finally walked out of the conference room, it was already 1:45 pm. Everyone agreed it was time for a proper lunch before heading back to the office to get some real work done.

Unfortunately, the Hung Hom area around where we just had our meeting isn’t exactly a foodie’s paradise. After checking out a few spots with little success, we settled on Goose King Roasted Restaurant (唯一燒鵝). I have honestly not eaten here before, but one of the guys who used to work in the area insisted their barbecued goose was excellent so we took his recommendation.

Iced milk tea (凍奶茶) — The balance was a little off. The tea came through strong, but it lacked that fragrant depth you hope for.

Steamed rice with barbecued goose and pork (叉燒燒鵝雙拼飯) — The barbecued goose certainly lived up to the hype. It was leaner than ones from some of the more famous spots, yet the smokiness was unmistakable and deeply satisfying.

The barbecued pork, on the other hand, was a mild letdown. While texture was fine, it was simply too salty for my palate.

The guys asked me to settle the bill that afternoon, and why not? It had been a long, hardworking morning so we all deserved a little reward.

Food Rating: 5.6/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 4, LG/F, Ka Wai Plaza, 46-48 Ma Tau Wai Road, Hung Hom, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Hung Hom

Tel: +852 9234-6933

Opening Hours: 10:30am - 9:00pm daily

Delica Hans at Grand Lottle Hotel (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★★☆

I’m taking the noon flight back to Hong Kong, so I haven't planned anything in the morning. My driver was due to pick me up at the hotel at 10:30am, which didn’t leave enough time to venture far.

But I did remember that I left myself a personal note about one little place close enough for a quick visit — Delica Hans at the Grand Lotte Hotel, just a few steps from where I was staying.

Delica Hans is a French patisserie that doubles as a boulangerie, offering a small but delicious selection of pastries and baked goods. Of course, I didn’t come for the bread.

Pure Vanilla (₩18,000) — There were other tempting options like the hazelnut-themed Noisette d’Or and the Matcha Entremet among them but as a fan of Madagascar vanilla and in the mood for something sweet at breakfast, this felt like the better choice.

This was truly a vanilla lover’s dream, with multiple layers and textures of vanilla from top to bottom. If I’m being picky, a touch of something with stronger contrast, like salted caramel, might have brought out the vanilla even more. Still, it was delicate and thoroughly enjoyable.

I didn’t have a world of time to enjoy this. By the time I got back from Delica Hans, it was already 10:20am. And my driver will be here any minute! 

Food Rating: 6.8/10

Price: ₩₩₩₩

Address: 1 Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Closest Metro Station: City Hall / Euljiro 1(il)-ga

Tel: +82 02-317-7148

Website: https://www.lottehotel.com/seoul-hotel/ko/dining/bakery-delica-hans

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 10:00pm daily

Vinho (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★★☆

It was tough to find a dining spot during my stay in Seoul this time around. China’s National Day Golden Week likely brought an influx of tourists, making it even harder to book the top-notch restaurants. Thankfully, I was able to get reservations at all three places I wanted to try. Mission accomplished.

Vinho was my third and final choice for a serious dining destination on this trip. An acclaimed one-Michelin-star contemporary fine-dining restaurant in Gangnam’s Nonhyeon-dong neighborhood, it is a counter-only restaurant co-owned by Chef Sung-bin Jeon and award-winning sommelier Kim Jin-ho.

Like Y’east, which I visited yesterday, Vinho serves a multi-course omakase menu. It is best known for its contemporary cooking techniques, minimalist plating, and traditional Korean flavors re-imagined.

The counter seating was a major draw for me as the view into the open kitchen added another exciting element to the dining experience.

I was started off with a crispy corn chip with caramel and hazelnut, topped nicely with black truffle. I thought it was going to be flaky but instead it was much harder than I first expected.

Tomato, cheongyang pepper, olive oil, marigold — If the aim of this first starter was to wake up my senses, it certainly succeeded. Refreshing summer tomato sorbet was paired beautifully with the bright, lightly spicy flavor of ripe tomatoes, small dabs of cheongyang pepper paste, olive oil, savory pine nut sauce, paprika, and fresh marigold leaves. The fresh tomato flavor hit first, followed by an explosion of cheongyang pepper. 🌶️

Dubu, scallop, whey, caviar —  A layer of silky-smooth dubu (두부, Korean for tofu), made with white beans, black beans, and almonds, was topped with small chunks of scallop from Goheung. Gourd sauce, hazelnut oil, and a light white bean foam rounded out the dish, while zucchini and caviar added the final touches.

The dubu, scallop, and white bean emulsion came together beautifully for a soothing, palate-friendly dish. The umami-rich caviar was the icing on the cake.

Jack mackerel, lettuce, sourdough, parsley — I was told this was one of Vinho’s most iconic dishes.

Underneath the smoky sautéed lettuce was mackerel tartare with shallots, poached egg, and sourdough crumble, served with a tofu and anchovy cream on the side.

Chicken, green onion, ginseng, mushroom — This wasn’t the first Korean ginseng-chicken-inspired dish I’ve had in Seoul, and it likely won’t be the last. The sous-vide chicken breast was presented in a very simple manner, with a sauce made from chicken, vegetables, and traditional liquor, then finished with mushroom and red ginseng foam.

The meltingly tender chicken breast reminded me of the dish I had at Y’east yesterday. It was equally delicious and presented in an almost equally minimalist style, but I liked this version a little more because its lighter sauce let the chicken take center stage.

The dish was accompanied by a small bowl of vegetable broth. Unlike the chicken tea served with yesterday’s chicken dish, this broth was lighter and smaller in volume. This came with a small dumpling made from chicken leg.

Eggplant, Jeju salted anchovy, black rice, apple — The eggplant had been fried and dried for two days, then stuffed with shrimp paste, pickled garlic, and garlic powder.

It was served with an eggplant-peel sauce enriched with myeoljeot (salted Korean anchovy) and a black apple-herb sauce. I liked how the shrimp paste worked with the other flavors: the saltiness of the anchovy sauce, the fruity notes of apple, and the woodsy, earthy notes of sage, while the toasted black rice added a satisfying crunch to the filling. The combination of flavors and textures was fascinating — I don’t think I’ve had anything quite like it before.

Abalone, carrot, chorizo, potato — Charcoal-grilled abalone topped with stir-fried namoonjae (wild herbs that grow along Korea’s coastal shores) was served with two distinctly different sauces.

There was a sweet sauce made with Jeju carrot and a slightly spicy one made with shrimp mussel oil, both served over a bed of roasted pumpkin that I initially thought was Korean rice cakes.

A Korean rice-cake doughnut filled with cream cheese and topped with sea urchin was served alongside the abalone. I thought it was an interesting pairing.

At this point, they served a lightly infused sujeonggwa (Korean cinnamon punch) made with beet, tomato, cinnamon, and ginger as a palate cleanser.

Butter fish, pumpkin leaf, green pea, Bang-a — I was told this was another of the chef’s signature dishes. The mild-flavored butterfish was nicely complemented by an array of green accompaniments, including sancho pepper leaves, pumpkin leaves, green peas, and Korean mint (bang-a). Not bad.

Lamb, burdock, perilla leaf, fennel — I enjoyed this meat course a little more than the butterfish.

Beautifully cooked lamb fillet was served with endive, white fennel emulsion, and red burdock sauce. I found it refreshing to have the lamb served with a flavorful burdock sauce. At high-end restaurants, lamb is so often served with lamb jus, red wine reduction, or artichoke but burdock? That was ingenious.

Watermelon, plum, hibiscus, herbs — Watermelon ice cream, with a marshmallow-like layer underneath, was topped with a hibiscus tuile and finished with hibiscus sauce. There was plenty of acidity there, so it seamlessly worked as a perfect palate cleanser for me.

Pine nut, hojicha, espresso — I’ve found contemporary Korean fine-dining restaurants to be particularly good at pine nut desserts, and this one was no exception. The scoop of roasted pine nut ice cream worked beautifully with the pine nut praline crumble, pine nut espresso, and hojicha milk foam. Perfectly balanced.

Exactly two hours after I sat down, my amazing culinary journey through modern Korean cuisine came to an end. As I took an Uber back to the hotel, a few dishes stood out in my mind — the dubu and scallop, the ginseng chicken, and the lamb. My favorite was definitely the abalone with its two sauces.

As I looked back on this trip, which would end the following morning, it felt like I have exceeded what I have set out to do at the beginning. As always, I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience wonderful cuisines around the world. My appreciation of food has certainly defined my life so far, and I hope it continues to do so.

Food Rating: 7.5/10

Price: ₩₩₩₩

Address: #162 Wellstone Building, 108 Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Closest Metro Station: Gangnam-gu Office

Tel: +82 10-9677-2302

Website: https://www.restaurantvinho.kr/

Opening Hours: 5:30pm - 11:30pm daily