One of the Most Beautiful Dishes and Learning at Tate in Hong Kong

I recently dined at the 2 Michelin starred Tate Dining Room in Hong Kong. The restaurant serves a menu which consists of Chinese French dishes, and after a month of travelling through Southeast Asia, and eating predominantly Asian food, it was a nice change. Plus, the setting was gorgeous. The restaurant offers a 5 and 7 course menu, I went with the 5 because I am getting tired of sitting through long meals again:

The meal started with a non-alcoholic shot which I don’t remember exactly the contents of, but it was subtle:

Next, the amuse. The square one was foie gras, and the green one was mussels, but I don’t remember what the round one was. I DO remember it being mind blowing with really strong umami flavors coming through with the bite:

One thing I really enjoyed about this restaurant was they introduced me to some culinary products I did not know about previously. Being a “foodie”, I always love learning and discovering new things. The first lesson of the day was about the different types of sparkling teas produced in Hong Kong. These are a good aperitif option if you don’t drink alcohol (though the best I’ve had to this day is produced in Denmark). Anyway, back to the meal, the first dish was called Ode to Century Egg. This dish excited me a lot when I read about the menu before coming because I love century eggs. For those who don’t know, century eggs are a Chinese delicacy made by preserving eggs in a mixture of various ingredients which turns them black. Don’t be put off, they are delicious, especially in congee.

Anyway, back to the first course of this meal. The dish was beautifully presented and did not visually look like a century egg, but I got it. The texture and some really mellow flavors of a century egg came through. It was served with a small brioche and what I believe was “tofu butter”. I would of liked the flavors of the century egg to be more prominent, but I still enjoyed the dish, especially with the pieces of crab in the dish.

Next, they served an ode to mushroom which was like a mushroom tart with a mushroom broth made with red mushrooms from Yunnan. The main part of the dish was good, but the star was the broth. This was my second culinary lesson of the night as I had not previously known about red mushrooms from Yunnan. The broth was a joy to drink and totally savory.

After this came the first main course – seafood. There was a choice between the scallop souffle and sea bass. I chose the latter. It was cooked very well with a very crispy skin and most meat. The sauce was an olive oil based one using an obviously high quality oil. The dish was good.

For the second main, it was pigeon or venison. I had the latter, but I want to show the pigeon dish my dad ordered because it is one of the most beautiful dishes I’ve seen. I looks like a Wellington but the outside is actually chicken mousse:

…and my dish, the venison. It was perfectly cooked and came with an aged black bean sauce, and tempura strawberry. Something I have not see before.

For dessert, an ode to chestnut which is not my favorite ingredient for a dessert in general. This was not memorable:

After dessert, some surprises. They made a lotus flower tea at the table. The tea was beautiful.

Following that, a gorgeous petit four cart. They were just OK.

Lastly, the final lesson of the night, I learned about French whisky! I never knew the French produced whisky. The one I chose had a taste of honey and was very smooth without any harshness.

Overall, I had a good time. The service was excellent. Each of the servers engaged us in interesting conversation. Each person was so unique in their background and what they had to tell us about each course. This is what I remember most about the evening. The dining room is chic. The food was good, but not mind blowing. Everything was cooked perfect and plated beautifully, it just lacked punch in most cases. That’s not to say it wasn’t good. I would recommend this to someone who wants a break from Asian cuisine. I would not return, but only because I would want to try other fine dining in the city. I would give the meal an 8/10.