Arkadiusz Rybak
Director of Bars
WORKING IN FRANCE and the UK prior to his move to Hong Kong, Rybak brings his sound knowledge of aromas and signature flair to The DarkSide.
What is a taste or drink that… ...reminds you of your childhood?
When I was a kid, I could eat a whole bar of chocolate or marzipan all by myself – it was my first addiction. Today I use those flavours in my cocktails. I mix lemon with marzipan, vanilla and chocolate. The lemon hint provides a refreshing note amidst the sweetness.
We recall childhood memories by smell and by taste. I actually had an experience two days ago when I was at The DarkSide and a member of my team was wearing a new fragrance. It reminded me of my grandma so I just stopped, and memories of comfort and good times came back and those few seconds changed my whole mood.
...reminds you of your first experience behind a bar?
Cuba Libre. I was working in Greece and made the biggest mistake possible, so it was not only my first experience but also my first failure. It’s actually a very simple drink – rum, Coke and lime – but I was a little nervous so I put all the ingredients into the shaker, including the Coke. After a few seconds it exploded and everyone was looking at me. It was everywhere, all over my shirt and everything. So that was one of my silly moments but a good lesson.
...represents your personality?
I think it would be chocolate because I love it so much. But my likes and dislikes change throughout the years, sometimes even with the seasons and environment. Travelling to and living in different places – for example, I used to live in New York – my diet totally changes. When I was younger and living in Poland, I used to eat a lot of fatty foods because it’s cold and you need them to survive the winter. But here, we don’t. Our environment has a big influence on our diet.
...represents your current mood?
Two things come to mind. One is a family recipe – a sour cherry soup. We eat that in the summertime to keep cool. But because cherries are very expensive here – and given they ripen here in winter but in Poland in summer – what we did with my grandpa is preserve it so we can enjoy it for the whole year. And that’s very common. People will preserve foods to make them available for the whole year.
...is timeless?
Martinis. The way they’re presented has changed from the first generation to our generation but they are small adjustments. People are always looking for new flavours and I think that’s the biggest challenge nowadays. It’s always good to go back to the old ways to be reminded of where you come from. It’s the basis of everything.
...reminds you of your greatest adventure?
I have two actually. One is oysters, the other a caipirinha. I went travelling to Australia, Brazil and Argentina with my friend. We did some island hopping and happened upon an oyster farm. There was one gentleman who looked after the oysters and tested the first one from each batch. He let us try one and the flavour was very creamy and very umami. It was an amazing balance of acidic and sweet, and not like anything I’d eaten before.
When I had a caipirinha in Brazil, it was totally different to any other I’d had overseas. When you’re in the country of the origin of the drink, it hasn’t been altered. It’s much much sweeter – Brazilians, they love things 10 times sweeter than anybody else, and I was quite shocked how their cakes can be that rich and their drinks that sweet. It was a bit too much.
...reminds you of your best day?
The first thing that comes to mind is my grandma’s apple crumble. It was very simple, but I remember the icing sugar sprinkled on top and the ice cream on the side so clearly. I think what the tongue memorises is something we take from home, something made especially for you, for certain times or occasions. We have family recipes from my great-grandparents that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Flavours are a bit like fashion in that what’s old always comes back as something new and brings with it memories. I’m aiming now to bring back flavours associated with old Hong Kong, like salted lemon.
I’m working on putting that into a drink so that people that enjoy the nostalgia.