Counting stars

Counting stars

Confessions of a Michelin amateur making sense of Hong Kong's very best haute cuisine

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE

Michelin. The magic culinary mark which should, more or less, ensure your dining experience is on cloud nine, among the stars. Undoubtedly, it is the type of experience only money can buy. Yet, ironically, money cannot always buy it.

Diners enjoy Peking duck at Lung King Heen.

It's not the easiest thing to do — book a handful of Michelin-starred restaurants for every meal on an upcoming trip on a whim and expect seats to be free when you want them to be. This tedious first-world chore is something that can take weeks, or even months, of waiting and preparation. But if you spend just enough on your M Card Platinum (let's say 40 million baht-plus per year), chances are you'll be invited onto the top spenders' trip. This February saw Siam Paragon's team taking those top spenders to a plethora of gastronomic delights in Hong Kong.

It's the kind of daydream that foodies constantly have on their minds: a Michelin-starred eatery for every meal. On our three-day-two-night trip, we visited four famous restaurants, varying in rank. Surprisingly, some could only be described as "comme ci comme ca", while others deserve to be a sacred cow on the pedestal to be worshipped forever and ever, warranting a 3,000-word article of their own. Hong Kong, which started getting its first stars in 2009, makes for a particularly good place for an entry-level Michelin experience, mostly for not having too many overwhelming choices (like in Japan), with the garb gatekeepers and etiquette tyrants also being more lax. Smart casual will do, as the city has yet to adopt a snobbish attitude that looks down on jeans and trainers — especially at Chinese restaurants, where dressing up for a meal has never been de rigueur. In fact, if you enjoy dodging dishes served over your head and don't mind funky ingredients, make Hong Kong your food destination.  

For Michelin noobs (like myself), one word of recommendation: slowly accumulate your number of stars by working your way up in order to learn to appreciate the differences between a one-star and three-star restaurant. It's easy to spoil your palate when going for three-stars immediately, so don't cheat yourself out of a gratifying experience that can be found in one-star establishments too. However, if you don't see yourself coming back to that particular country, then by all means go all out with the best that money (and a lot of phone calls) can muster. Or just keep shopping at Siam Paragon — because they definitely treat their loyal customers.

Braised shark's fin in superior soup. 

Superlative dry abalone from Yoshihama with shiitake mushroom. 

Sun Tung Lok

I learned my first lesson regarding Michelin restaurants here — that stars are not always a ticket to gastronomic satisfaction. This two-star restaurant, which serves Guangdong cuisine, falls on the intensely sweet side. Unfortunately, both the ambience and food are no more superior than dining at a starless upscale Chinese restaurant in some mall, despite its "excellent cuisine, worth a detour" ranking. Bustling is the atmosphere, with waiters serving over, across or behind your head. The eight courses boasted shark fin, abalone and baked crab shells — the kind of ingredients this locale should excel in — yet, it was all rather meh, with our well-travelled top spenders and serious food connoisseurs finding it all too easily dismissible. 

HK$1,990++ (8,400 baht) per person. Miramar Shopping Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Visit www.suntunglok.com.hk

Crispy spring roll with crabmeat and truffle, abalone puff with baked diced chicken and barbecued pork bun with pine nuts. 

Stir-fried minced duck in lettuce wraps.

Double-boiled sea cucumber with Jinhua ham and brassica.

Steamed assorted mushroom dumplings with celery.

Lung King Heen

The first-ever Chinese restaurant to win three Michelin stars, this is undoubtedly the ultimate gourmet crown of Hong Kong. Do not die before you've had a taste of the food they serve here. Famed for their dim sum, Lung King Heen is nestled on the 4th floor of Four Seasons Hotel and dishes up a gorgeous view of the harbour and skyline. Our menu consisted of eight bites of dim sum and eight following courses. All of their dim sum is mouthwatering, but it is particularly the baked goods that really excite the taste buds. The abalone puff with diced baked chicken was arrestingly buttery; the barbecued pork bun with pine nuts was a crunchy and inventive spin on the typical; the crispy spring roll with crabmeat and black truffle a pleasure that sent serious aromagasms up the nose.

There are major "yikes" moments too. All the waiters around our table eyed each other tactfully to make sure everyone was ready. When one nodded, they lifted our domes at the same instant and at an angle (very movie-esque) to reveal a bowl of double-boiled sea cucumber with Jinhua ham and brassica. The spiky sea cucumber in the clear broth made for a big wake up call from the pies in the skies — those brave enough to taste it were greeted with what tasted like the non-fatty, jiggly texture of bone marrow.  

As the meal continued, it occurred to me that portions in Hong Kong, even in tasting menus, are hearty. In no way are they minuscule servings only large enough to fill a hamster, like in Bangkok. Take bites just to taste, rather than finishing everything — don't hesitate to save room for the more fascinating morsels to come. Whether minted or not, everyone spoke in unison that we were stuffed to our eyeballs and had to skip one of the courses: braised e-fu noodles with crabmeat and enoki mushrooms. It's a shame, as the noodles had to go through a painstaking cooking process of getting blanched, deep-fried, blanched again and finally stir-fried before being served.

HK$2,200++ per person. Four Seasons Hotel, Finance Street. Visit www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/dining/restaurants/lung_king_heen/   

Delicate langoustine bisque with pan-seared ravioli. 

Chocolate from Paris and crunchy praline. 

Seasonal matured cheese. 

Fillet and rack of venison with pumpkin and cranberries.

SPOON by Alain Ducasse

You never fully understand until you've lived it. Seven stars and a month later, I now live to tell the tale of how having two Michelin meals back-to-back is not as good an idea as it sounds. These affairs take no less than 2-3 hours, leaving only a small time gap to digest it all before the next meal starts. Unless you have the chronic appetite of a starving whale, it's probably better to go with one restaurant a day, in order to not overeat and enjoy every bite. 

For dinner, contemporary French cuisine inspired by one of the world's most celebrated chefs was chosen. SPOON lost a star this year and has dropped down to the one-star tier from two. Yet, it was one of the most memorable for its professional service, classy-chic decor and exceptional food. The fillet and rack of venison with pumpkin and cranberries was a stunning main, unforgettably tender and juicy. If you're a fool for lavish displays and sophisticated textures, the foamy soup, roasted blue lobster, silky duck foie gras and chocolates from Paris should send you to Epicurean heaven. 

HK$1,700++ per person. InterContinental Hotel, 18 Salisbury Road. Visit www.hongkong-ic.intercontinental.com/dining/spoon.php

Signature roasted goose.

Sauteed lobster in spring onion and ginger. 

Yung Kee

Gourmet roast goose is their A-game, and the restaurant is aptly nicknamed "Flying Roast Goose" because it's so good that tourists must buy takeaways to fly home with them. This is, in fact, a one-star signature all visitors to Hong Kong should try. The restaurant may be slightly drab and dark, but the goose's crispy skin and firm meat make up for that. Served in Chinese round table style, the dishes are all meant to be shared. Other highlights from the set included golden barbecued pork, poached kale in oyster sauce and flavourful deep-fried prawns. Traditional and ample, this Cantonese meal ended off nicely with a cooling black sesame sweet soup.

HK$1,200++ per person. Wellington Street, Central. Visit www.yungkee.com.hk

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