The bounties of the ocean
Many among Hong Kong’s renowned chefs seem quite fascinated by the steady supply of imported seafood on their kitchen table. In their deft hands the gloriously succulent prawns, oysters and lobsters are turned into delightful dishes to suit various palates.
On Nathan Road, in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui, the renowned Bistro on the Mile restaurant is offering a huge seven-day seafood buffet. Prices vary depending on whether it’s a weekday or the weekend and also whether the guest is a senior citizen (HK$215 plus), child (HK$189 plus) or adult (HK$299 plus).
The menu is usually changed on a daily basis. Fridays and Saturdays are especially rewarding for seafood lovers. That's when the chefs go all out to create the famous starred-dishes from many places of the world. The oyster bruschetta from Italy is one such favorite.
Lovers of Italian food such as myself are surely familiar with the original version of the bruschetta — toasted Italian bread slices topped with ripe tomatoes and chopped basil leaves, drizzled with good olive oil. The tomato is replaced with chopped oysters in the version served at Bistro on the Mile, making it a real treat! Among the oyster versions from Europe and elsewhere, there are oyster gazpacho shooters and braised oysters in Port wine, as well as oyster tempura, honey glazed oysters and baby oyster congee, oyster and bacon roll, oysters with bacon and spinach etc.
Executive chef Zero Yu of the Watermark restaurant on the Star Ferry Pier in Central has added a grand seafood selection to its popular steakthemed offerings to celebrate their 10th anniversary at this location. The new a la carte menu has many new dishes, featuring fish, prawns, crabs, clams and lobsters!
Very forthcoming on his fresh seafood philosophy, Yu says, "With the freshest catch, the seafood dishes will shine by themselves even when the simplest cooking methods are used! Therefore our new a la carte menu is focused on the natural flavors of the ingredients, infusing various cooking styles and innovative combinations."
The menu is quite exhaustive. I'm not a lover of ceviche, having been knocked flat by consuming it in Argentina some time ago. So I decided to skip that. The sauteed sea bream (HK$198) served in a wild mushroom broth proved to be a good choice. Other highlights include the wild-caught, Australian barramundi (HK$218), pan-roasted to give it a crispy skin, and a confit of ocean trout.
Those with big appetites will be thrilled by the grilled seafood combo for two (HK$648), featuring half a Boston lobster, seasonal fish, squid, scallops, tiger prawns and clams!
Until Sept 24, executive chef Matthew Bennink will be presenting healthy and sustainable seafood from the clean fresh waters of the Canadian West Coast at the Big Bay Café in Kerry Hotel Hong Kong.
Bennink teamed up with Canadian fisherman Steve Johansen from Organic Ocean to select natural seafood harvested by following responsible and “ocean-wise” practices from the oceans off the Vancouver coast. The wild catch on offer at Big Bay includes sea urchin, wild Pacific Humboldt squid, mercury-free Albacore tuna, wild giant Pacific octopus, Atlantic salmon and Pacific sockeye salmon, live sea mussels, Manila clams and lingcod.
Grilled and hot dishes include sous vide squid, beer batter lingcod with tartar and ikura sauce, marinated paprika octopus tentacles, and Atlantic salmon Wellington. Available at dinner time only, the buffet costs HK$600 per person.
Guests availing of the dinner buffet at Big Bay Café from September 15 to 24 are invited to participate in an online quiz. Three pairs of lucky guests who complete the quiz correctly get to enjoy a special dinner prepared by Chef Matthew in October.