Opia Hong Kong - A Hidden Jewel in Causeway Bay

Update 05.04.08 - Apparently, Opia has closed, as of April 30! This comes as a disappointment to me, since I have enjoyed a couple of great meals there. In fact, my last visit, which is captured by the writeup below, was a fantastic experience, and reasonably priced for such high quality food. A new restaurant will be replacing Opia at the Jia Hotel later this year, so stay tuned, I guess.

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Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island is a fascinating collection of old and new. Luxurious (and expensive) shopping malls (yes, plural) share street addresses with wet markets, open air produce stands, and nick-nack trading alleys. In this area lies the JIA botique hotel, and its restaurant, Opia. It's easy to miss the unassuming hotel and its tiny sign as you pass by on the street, but the food here is worth taking notice of.

I hesitate to use the f-word... you know, "fusion," as I don't want to scare anyone away. But Opia's menu is full of dishes containing elements of Japanese, Thai, Australian, and Mediterranean cuisines. Not to worry, if there were a template for how to select and blend these flavors flawlessly, it would be found here.

The discreet entrance to Opia along Pennington Street in Causeway Bay gives no indication of the sophisticated space inside. The stunning interior stands apart from the old world neighborhood just outside.

I have actually been to Opia once before, but not since Executive Chef Dane Clouston has revamped the menu after taking full control of the kitchen. I remembered that meal as one of my most favorite in all my trips to Hong Kong, particularly the soy-laquered Wagyu ox cheek, which remains an Opia signature item. Despite my lust for this dish, last night I went with the chef's degustation menu - a six course delight intended to introduce the diner to the essence of Clouston's food. Most courses had two options to choose from. Okay, enough chit chat - let's do this.

Japanese Inspired Oyster Shooter with Mirin Tamari and Seaweed Green Tea Soba Roll

Talk about a fantastic way to start off a meal - the briny, oceanic essence of a fresh oyster shares the stage with sweet Japanese rice wine (Mirin) and tamari in a bite that goes down way too easily. I would have liked a few more of these. The soba roll wasn't bad, either, but was nothing special. Apologies for the fuzzy photo - I was still trying to get my camera settings worked out for the low light when my stomach took over and the oyster just, um, disappeared.

Kingfish Sashimi with Black Bean Dressing, Crispy Wonton, Cucumber Oil and Shiso

Kingfish appears to frequent sashimi menus in Australia far more frequently than elsewhere in the world, which, after tasting this dish, I find quite depressing. The kingfish had such a nice, soft texture, and rich, creamy taste uncommon to many whitefish. All of the condiments were effective enhancements, adding texture and balance to the richness of the fish.

Dumpling of Quail and Foie Gras with Sticky Chili Relish, Salad of Crackling, Ginger, Shallot and Baby Cress

My server recommended this choice, and I was glad that I took his advice. The dumpling was full of savory roasted quail, bound together with a little foie gras. The salad was full of bright, fresh flavors and a variety of textures (fried ginger crisps, cilantro, fried shiso). The chili relish was sweet with a just hint of heat that lingered in the background - nice balance. It was altogether a great dish that represented well the essence of Opia's food.

Pan Seared Foie Gras with Toasted Onion Oil, Milk Chocolate, Caviar and Baby Basil

I'm sorry, did you say chocolate? Unbelievably great pairing of the ultra rich fattiness of the foie and the light sweetness of the mousse. The salty caviar was the perfect element to balance out this fantastic dish. And the foie? It was perfectly cooked, with a nice seared crust on the outside contrasting beautifully with the ultra soft, almost molten interior (the texture was remeniscient of bone marrow). The flavor was insanely rich and delicious.

Blood Orange Sorbet

A little sweet, with a natural light sourness. Cool and refreshing, it was a nice palate cleanser.

Sumac Spice Black Cod with Red Harissa Dressing, Queen Green Olives, Mint, and Saffron Yoghurt

My first thought when this was brought out to me was - holy crap that's a lot of strong flavors thrown together on that plate! There were lemon segments, mint leaves, pomegranite seeds, olives, shallots, a sweet chili sauce, and saffron infused yogurt all paired with a spiced slab-o-fish. I took a bite, and tried to see if the flavors were as wild and unfocused as I thought they might be. A second bite, and I was amused. I shook my head after the third bite, thouroughly delighted (and mildly surprised) that all of these elements seemed to exist in a harmony of bright, clear flavor, each one adding a note to the collective boquet. Not to mention, the fish was perfectly cooked (with nice crispy skin, too). The yogurt was key, I think, in bringing everything together. Another bit of genius from Mr. Clouston.

Strawberry Trifle with Sherry Jelly, Vanilla Sponge, Cream Custard and Pistachio Nut Praline

A nice way to close things out. The photo shows a quenelle of strawberry sorbet resting on top of the trifle and its tasty praline top. Inside were layers of the above listed elements, which combined to be fruity and creamy, without being too heavy.

What can I say? I love this place. The integration of Asian and Meditarranean flavors with modern Australian fare is done with wisdom and elegance. I know of no better place where the much hyped/poo-pooed fusion phenomenon is accomplished with such focus and success. Whenever I'm in Hong Kong, I'll be stopping by.

Opia
JIA Botique Hotel
1-5 Irving St.
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

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Chinglish Shop Sign in Dongguan

No surprise to see translation humor in China. This one was particularly funny.

A shop on the street in Dongguan City, China. Since those XXXL T-shirts I bought fit like muscle shirts, maybe I can find something here that will fit.

Mao Jia Fan Dian (Mao's Family Restaurant)

Dinner with the Chairman

Once again, coming to you live from the People's Republic! I had visited a Hunan style restaurant a while back which was decent, but it was a very casual neighborhood kind of place. I had a chance to step it up a bit with a visit to Mao's Family Restaurant, a chain of restaurants established in 1987 by a distant relative of the late Chairman. This place serves up a proud tradition of dishes representing fiery cuisine of Mao's Hunan provincial heritage. A new Moa Jia branch has just opened up right down the street from my hotel in Dongguan City, so I decided to bring some of my colleagues and check it out. Typically, my trips to southern China involve numerous Cantonese mega-meals, so I thought it would be nice to change things up.

The Chariman himself is waiting to greet you upon entering. You'd better like the food, though, or else!

Chrysanthemum Tea - The tea server jets his arm back and raises the teapot up next to his head, shooting a laser of boiling water right into your cup. Nice aim, buddy.

Ma La Xia - Spicy Numbing Shrimp - Although food here is primarily Hunan sytle, this dish throws a nod to neighboring Sichuan province. Shrimp are skewered, fried, and topped with garlic, dried chilis, and a generous helping of mouth numbing Sichuan peppercorns. This dish is always a winner for me, and it was great this time as well.

Snake - Well, this was a new one for me. When we were reading the menu, I thought it would be fun to order this. But when the dish was brought out, I was a little taken aback to see how, well, how snake-like it looked. But Rich!! (you're thinking) It is snake! I know. But, seriously, look at the picture. I had no idea the skin would be so vividly blue. And look at that piece right in the front. That's where the freaking head goes! I should point out that there was also a mountain of stir fried hot peppers and garlic.

Yup. That's me, eating snake. The taste was surprisingly mild and non-exotic, almost like fish - but with a lot of bones, which made it difficult to eat. Yeah, lots of bones. The peppers had a nice kick, too.

Eggplant and Four Season Beans - Fantastic flavor on this one. When I asked how it was seasoned, they told me that there wasn't any special seasoning, it was just normally seasoned. Whatever that means, it was great. I could have eaten this whole dish myself.

Hong Shao Rou - Red Cooked Pork Belly - We couldn't come here without ordering this, the Chairman's favorite dish. Five spice seasoned chunks of pork belly are stewed in soy sauce and spices, and were served over a bed of dried mushrooms and unidentifiable vegetables. The belly pieces were incredibly soft, with tender meat surrounded by soft, gelatinous fat (belly is, of course, what we use in the States to make bacon out of). The skin was left on, and had become soft and sticky. Of course, fat equals flavor, so this dish was obviously delicious. It was quite rich, though, as you might imagine.

Here is an inauspicious page of the menu, featuring, ahem, bull penis. Since I had already eaten one tubular meat product (snake), I decided to pass on this one. Okay... Maybe I would have passed anyways...

At the end of the meal, I was happy to have found a new place to put on my "regular spots to hit up when traveling to Dongguan City and staying at the Dong Cheng International Hotel" list (what - don't you have one of those too?). The food was good, and although moderately expensive by Chinese standards, it's still quite reasonably priced. One of my Chinese colleagues was unhappy with the portion size for the price, but the high quality and great taste was more than enough to balance that out for me. So if you're in Dongguan, go check it out for yourself. Just make sure to bone up on your Mandarin first.

Nobu Hong Kong

Chances are, if you've ever had a conversation with me about food, somewhere along the line, I've mentioned Nobu. I had always had an appreciation for good food, but it was Nobu that awakened the beast within. My first taste of Nobu was nothing short of a revelation - a turning point in my food life that redefined my culinary understanding and, consequently, ruined me for life. I will never forget the tastes and smells of that meal. Years later, I can still vividly recall my first bite of hamachi tartare, then wanting to lick my plate clean of the Matsuhisa dressing on my sashimi salad. I remember how the salty-sweet taste of saikyo miso perfectly complimented the rich butteriness of black cod, and how each dish appeared to be a visual work of art. I have since been back to Nobu several times - always a good experience - but nothing resonates quite like that first time. Now that I've exposed myself as totally biased... (I'll try to be objective. Really.)

So it is that I was thrilled to try out the newest branch of the Nobu empire during a trip to Hong Kong in December. Residing in the glorious InterContinental Hotel, it's just reaching the first anniversary of operation. Frankly, it's about time I went to check it out.

From what I've read, it seems like this restaurant has been received less enthusiastically than the New York and LA originals (see this review for example). Nevertheless, it's only fair that I reserve judgement for myself. I was dining with a few companions who graciously allowed me to select the courses for the evening (poor souls!). I wanted to hit a few of the classic Nobu signature dishes but also try out new menu additions and some of the Hong Kong special offerings. Here's how it shook out.

Menu:

Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeño
Salmon New Style Sashimi
Hirame Sashimi with XO Salsa
Creamy Spicy Prawn
Black Cod Saikyo Yaki
Toro Collar Steak
Nobu Style Fish and Chips
Japanese Cabbage Steak with Truffles
Sushi - House Special Roll, Hamachi, Unagi, Mackerel, Ama Ebi

A beautiful view of the Hong Kong skyline sets the tone for the meal to come.

Yellowtail (Hamachi) Sashimi with Jalapeño - Starting out with one of my all-time Nobu favorites. This was perfectly executed and tasted fantastic. I love the combination of the creaminess of the hamachi, the saltiness of the soy, the zing of the jalapeno, and the brightness of the cilantro and yuzu. Just a fantastic dish.

Salmon New Style Sashimi - Another Nobu standard. Hot oil is poured over seasoned raw fish, creating a half raw-half cooked preparation that melts softly in the mouth. This dish was also executed well, although, I confess that I kept thinking that I should have ordered the Kobe beef rather than the salmon for this dish. My bad.

Hirame Sashimi with XO Salsa - This was a selection from the Hong Kong special section of the menu. While I did enjoy this dish, I had expected the XO salsa to pack more of a punch than it did. Hirame is rather bland and neutral as a raw item and I thought it could have been enhanced with a more flavorful garnish. I understand the philosophy of not wanting to overpower the natural flavors, but why go for pungent XO sauce in that case?

Creamy Spicy Prawn - I goofed and ordered this instead of the Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce (another of my Nobu faves), but it gave me the opportunity to try a different arrangement of the same flavors. This dish was fairly substantial, featuring 6 large prawns topped with enoki mushrooms and creamy spicy sauce (basically homemade spicy mayo). While the taste was great, I was a disappointed that the prawns were overcooked and dry. Perhaps it was carelessness during the final pass under the broiler (notice the sauce on top is browned), or maybe they were already toast by the time they got there. Whatever the case, this shouldn't happen at a place like this. I didn't complain though, and give them a chance to remedy the problem. I have a hard time sending food back - it's just such a waste.

Black Cod Saikyo Yaki - Ah yes, the famed Black Cod with Miso. And with this dish, we were squarely back on track. The butteriness of the Black Cod (which isn't really Cod, but Sablefish) is a perfect foil for the sweetness of the miso glaze. And when the outside sugars are properly caramelized (as evidenced in this photo) and the inside is soft and moist... It was perfectly prepared. This dish so lives up to the hype.

Grilled Toro Collar - I had read that this recent addition to the Nobu menu was an instant sensation. Upon placing the order for this dish, the server advised me that it would have a strong fishy smell. Undeterred, I ordered it anyways. I suppose I thought that this would be similar to grilled hamachi collar I had eaten in the past - rich, tender, fatty flesh falling off of the bone. And toro being toro, I expected this to take the hamachi experience to the next level. Well, my inflated expectations did me in this time. It was, in fact, quite fishy, as I had been warned. There wasn't really a lot of fat in the meat, and it wasn't particularly soft in texture either. So 3 strikes. Considering that this costs twice the price of hamachi collar, I would stick with that next time.

Nobu Style Fish and Chips - Another newish menu addition I had read about. But this one delivered the Nobu experience. Cubes of golden yam and fish are formed into a terrine-like mold before being breaded, fried, and topped with a tartar sauce-like garnish. Crispy and delicious, each bite gets you that classic fried fish taste but also a bit of potato. So good, and unexpected from the outside appearance. I wish I had taken a photo of the inside of one of these lovely morsels, but they disappeared too fast.

Japanese Cabbage Steak with Truffles - I like the idea of taking something as pedestrian as cabbage and pairing it with something so over-the-top. The combination of the black truffles and the cabbage was remarkably good. The earthiness of the truffles really enhanced the subtle sweetness of the cabbage. My only complaint here was that the cabbage was not quite cooked as much as I would have liked. I suppose it's a matter of personal taste, but there was still a crunchy raw characteristic to it wheras I feel that a little more roasting would have softened the texture and enhanced the sweetness a bit more. Not to mention that this was being roasted in a wood burning oven, so there would have been additional flavor from longer exposure as well.

Assorted Sushi - House Special maki, with unagi, hamachi, saba, and ama ebi nigiri. Since I was lucky enough to choose, I made sure to hit a few of my favorites. The house special roll combines a bevy of fresh fish and is wrapped in a hand-cut paper thin sheet of daikon (now those are some serious knife skills!). A healthy dose of wasabi was the perfect compliment to the tasty sweet shrimp, but the hamachi and saba were utterly sublime and stole the show (mackerel can be strong and fishy sometimes, but this piece was awesome - as expected at this venue). The only disappointment was the eel - which tasted nothing like the fine specimen I ate on my very first Nobu visit - yes, even the eel blew my mind that day. This piece was not as fresh tasting, and the texture was not the fluffy perfection that I had expected.

At the end of the meal, my party and I were overall quite satisfied. There were some huge hits (hamachi with jalapeno, black cod with miso, Nobu style fish and chips) which were enough to outweigh the misses (toro collar, overcooked prawn). It appeared that the core essence of Nobu cuisine was indeed alive and well at the Hong Kong branch. I suppose if I have the chance to eat there again, I would stick to these classic dishes and sushi, which were all fantastic. It would be a stretch to classify dinner here as a great value proposition, but the quality of the raw ingredients is second to none. Of course, charging such high prices invites careful scrutiny. I doubt that any of the nitpicky complaints I mentioned would be quite as troubling at half the price.

Bottom line - if you want to see what Nobu is all about, don't be afraid to head over and give this branch a try. But do yourself a favor and choose the basic Omakase (chef's choice), where you will get a house selection of the signature dishes of Nobu Matsuhisa. Just make sure to consult with your server on any particular likes or dislikes if necessary. All said and done, I think my previous Nobu experiences have not clouded my judgement here, but rather have invited me to be even more critical than I otherwise might have been.

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