Roganic

Quite simply flawless.

Let us start with the location. Sino Plaza in Causeway Bay is the last place you would expect to find the restaurant of a man who made a name for himself in Lancashire. Roganic is nestled in the midst of this building. Wandering upstairs, past the clothing shop, turn left, down the corridor you greeted with a sign. An indication that all is well with the world, a beacon of hope that you are set to enjoy an experience. A restaurant that allows you to escape from Hong Kong and to spend the time enjoying the food prepared for you. Tables are set spaciously apart, real birch trees decorate the venue, waiters are seen elegantly gliding between tables. One feels like they have stepped into a different world, the only disappointment coming once your meal has finished and you begrudgingly meander back into the tumultuous streets of Causeway Bay.

The Scott and I took a seat on the desert kitchen counter and decided to go down the route of a short tasting menu. Beginning with the citrus cured salmon and seaweed tartlet. Pearls of salmon roe glisten, crowning a black seaweed pastry. The roe sits atop the finest salmon, crunching through the crisp pastry you get the first experience of what highly trained chefs are able to accomplish. Flavours build one after the other, the moist salmon is first to hit, fresh as it should be. A subtle, delicate crunch of the pastry adds saltiness and umami from the rich seaweed flavouring. The salmon roe pops into the mouth and the whole thing is set off by hits of citrus. If an amuse bouche can taste as good as this we are in for one hell on an evening.

This was followed up with a delicate morsel of a chickpea cracker topped with fresh cheese and broad beans. The ability to co-ordinate flavour is fully on show here. The cracker acts to both give texture and crunch to the almost mouse like cheese which itself is off set by the freshness of the broad bean. One suspects that the legume is grown on their own farm, none of this imported and flash frozen stuff here. The flower petals adorning the mouse add to the colour of the dish.

The next course was the one we were least excited by yet upon finishing were gasping at the joy it brought. Brined cabbage had been wrapped in on itself forming a parcel of acidity which when pan fried and browned on one side elevated this to another level. The star of the show has to be the miso glazed Simeji mushrooms. These would make a fool of anyone still proclaiming that a dish needs to have a piece of meat of fish to be complete. The mushrooms were rich, buttery and perfectly cooked adding texture and when tempered with the miso glaze bring the dish to a different level. The wasabi puree adds a needed heat that again balances the whole thing.

Balance seems to be some abstract word that is used too often without a proper understanding of its meaning. Much in the same way that wine enthusiasts talk about the bouquet of a tipple. But when eating food prepared with the skilled hands of these chefs no other word will suffice. These master craftsmen are able to balance numerous, complex flavours to make a dish whole. To bring together elements that don’t fight but complement one another, making it make it greater than the sum of its parts.

Balance is on show throughout but arguably it is in the most basic sounding of plates, “soda bread and cultured brown butter” that best examples it. Soda bread is something that I’ve made many times, it’s an easy no knead bread. Here there is plenty of golden syrup to add sweetness to the earthiness of the oats. The cultured butter adds depth and sets the back of the tongue off. Bring me more of this butter, lashings of it, bathe me in it. It’s a thing of beauty. The bread, which could have and been a bit warmer, and the butter are the purest example of great artists at work. This is not just bread, this is Roganic Soda Bread.

A dish of pea followed the bread. A palate cleanser of the highest quality. The pea puree, lightness personified, was enveloped by a salted egg yolk foam. Toasted hazelnuts add a needed crunch and a difference in texture. This is intelligent cooking. Bold in its simplicity but complex in its execution.

The two “heavier” dishes followed this. A fish course consisting of poached bream and topped with the a mouse made up fish and muscles is rich. The lovage oil adds earthiness and depth to the fish. The asparagus is surrounded by both black garlic puree and caper puree. The poshest of fish and tartar sauces.

Pork reared locally comes in two forms, both a loin and as a slither of belly. To say the two of these are cooked well is an understatement. The loin glistens whilst the pork belly melts, it wobbles under pressure from the knife and yields into the mouth. The initial disappointment about the lack of crispy crackling is quickly offset with little seeds of the precious crunch. The artichoke puree is as fine as you will find and the roscoff onion brings acidity. The depth of sauce comes only from many hours of reducing pork bones. Together this was a wonderful end to the savoury dishes. What comes next is precision personified.

The simply named “Roganic” is in fact a parfait of burnt honey atop finely diced pear and pear jus. Tasting like an adult Crunchy bar, sweet without being overbearing the only complaint was when it first arrived it was a little too set. Within a minute the parfait had softened and was at its best.

Whipped yoghurt flavoured with woodruff is like a pillow of pure bliss. The woodruff is subtle but there. The cherry sorbet was exquisite. Too often cherry can be too sharp but this was like eating the fruit straight from the branch but made better. Blondie fudge and the pastry add texture to what would normally have been a soft desert. The Scott and I were both muttering audile sighs of pure delight within the first mouthful.

The Scott had never been for a tasting menu before, both us were hesitant fearing that it may be overly stuffy and too complex. This is not the case at Roganic, the staff who are perfect in their personal touch help ease you through the entire proceeding. The meal leaves you full without it being uncomfortable. Faultlessly executed and faultless in flavour.

Roganic Hong Kong

Sino Plaza, UG/F 08, 255 Gloucester Rd