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HONG KONG RESTAURANTS
                                                        CA N TO NE SE



            ABOVE & BEYOND                                          CELESTIAL COURT             FORUM
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            28/F, Hotel Icon, 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong  Kong  2/F, Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel &   1/F, Sino Plaza, 255-257 Gloucester
            TEL: +852 3400 1318                                     Towers, 20 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha   Road, Causeway Bay, Hong  Kong
            www.hotel-icon.com/dining                               Tsui, Hong  Kong            TEL: +852 2869 8282
                                                                    TEL: +852 2369 1111         www.forumrestaurant1977.com
            Above & Beyond breaks the general adage that restaurants with a great view   www.sheratonhongkonghotel.com
            tend not to be very good at anything else. Located at the top floor of Hotel        Having operated for over four
            Icon, the perch ensures that guests get a panoramic spread of city lights   This Kowloon institution is   decades in Hong Kong, Forum
            during dinner time at the restaurant. The dining space may be elongated   decidedly old school, from the   has firmly established its
            and narrow, but the establishment lets their menu prove their worthiness   corridor of generic Chinese   reputation as one of the city’s
            as one of Hong Kong’s finest Chinese restaurants. Cantonese dishes fare   antiques to the chairs and the   best-celebrated Cantonese
            well with modern interpretation, with novelty ingredients adding a delightful   carpet which has seen better   restaurants. The dining space is
            surprise. Crispy five-spiced sliced Angus beef brisket is served warm as an   days, but locals flock here for   long and spacious, with private
            appetiser; the thin but tender brisket packs a punch in flavour but is not   the food. Classical Cantonese   dining rooms at the back of
            overpowered with spices. The fine-dining restaurant is popular for business   cuisine is all about subtraction,   the restaurant. Traditional
            gatherings and dim sum lunch, but it also serves an afternoon set featuring   and the ethereal dishes served   Cantonese braised dishes with
            treats inspired by international cuisines. The wine list is well-constructed   here are on the subtle side,   dried seafood reign supreme
            with abundant wine by-the-glass selections. Come for an early dinner, which   seasoned with restraint. The   at Forum, especially their
            is the best time to catch both the sunset and the city’s skyline with lined   selection of double-boiled   selection of premium abalone.
            with  lights.                                           soups is sumptuous, from fish   Most dishes are executed with
                                                                    maw with conpoy and black   traditional techniques, such as
                                                                    mushrooms to sea whelk with   in the popular deep-fried crispy
                                                                    porcini mushroom and pigeon.   chicken, with its thin and glossy
                                                  Forum remains     Their signature roasted suckling   skin, or braised mushroom and
                                                  a popular spot    pig stuffed with black truffle and   goose webs. Served bubbling in a
                                                  for classic       Chinese pearl barley is out of this   clay pot, the mushrooms are thick
                                                  cooking           world, packs a glorious crunch,   and goose webs meltingly tender.
                                                                    and requires pre-ordering two   The wine programme has been
                                                                    days in advance and well worth   upgraded, with even more prized
                                                                    the wait. There are a few dim   labels and better wine service
                                                                    sum items heretically available   by the resident sommelier, as
                                                                    during dinner for tourists,   well as servers with sound wine
                                                                    but, as expected, dim sum is   knowledge to help with
                                                                    decidedly much more delicious   serving and food
                                                                    during lunchtime. The steamed   pairing. If the
                                                                    Celestial Court shrimp dumpling   more elaborate
                                                                    features giant bouncy prawns   dishes are not
                                                                    wrapped in a chewy, snow-white   your thing, Forum
                                                                    skin, seasoned with restraint.   is a popular
                                                                    Service is courteous, but might   destination for
                                                                    be a bit slow on busy days—and   weekend dim sum as well. Distilling
                                                                    it’s usually busy most days of the   forty years of experience in the
                                                                    week—so a firm hand and voice   local restaurant scene proves
                                                                    is sometimes needed to get the   Forum a successful establishment
                                                                    staff’s attention.          with high standards.

            CANTON POT                                              GOLDEN LEAF

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            2/F, Lodgewood by L’hotel Mongkok Hong Kong, 1131 Canton Road, Mong Kok,   Lower Lobby, Conrad Hong Kong, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty,
            Hong  Kong                                              Hong  Kong
            TEL: +852 3968 7888                                     TEL: +852 2822 8870
            www.lhotelgroup.com                                     www. conraddining.com
            Hotpot restaurants in Hong Kong are a dime a dozen, but few offer an   For Cantonese cooking done with sophistication and restraint, the Conrad’s
            experience that is a cut above the norm. This Kowloon enclave is discreet   signature Chinese restaurant remains a stalwart among families and
            and hidden given its side street location, but it’s worth making the effort to   business types. The dining room is not overtly opulent but feels refined;
            seek it out. The private rooms offer comfort, with round tables that make   lunch is a livelier affair with groups enjoying dim sum (the gold leaf-topped
            easy work of communal dining; the comfotable upholstered chairs are also   har gao is a perennial favourite despite the price tag) but come for dinner if
            not the typical furniture associated with hotpot restaurants. Equally, the   you prefer a more hushed—but not uncomfortable—vibe to impress a guest.
            food is pitched at a higher level with ingredients such as morel mushrooms   Clarity of flavour is highly prized in Cantonese cooking, and you’ll find it here
            and Kurobuta pork making their way into juicy, generously proportioned   in dishes such as chicken lightly poached and served in a glistening golden
            dumplings, while the Korean Hanwoo beef is a must for meat lovers. If you   layer of chicken essence—a dish that appears austere but is deceivingly
            can’t decide between the various soup bases, the menu helpfully curates   indulgent in flavour. Others, such as braised aubergine with minced prawn
            a selection of themed sets: a Japanese version comes with a sukiyaki soup   and chilli sauce are less attractive in presentation but dance on the palate.
            base, with accoutrements such as Japanese tofu, Inaniwa udon and enoki   Some may balk at handing over the dollars for dishes that are seemingly less
            mushrooms. If you can, book the largest room for a group party as the space   inventive than those at more contemporary restaurants, but we applaud
            also comes with its own karaoke system.                 Golden Leaf’s confident rendition of traditional recipes with elegant refrain.

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