Fish & Meat is opened by Maximal Concepts, the same guys behind Blue Butcher, Brickhouse, Stockton and now Mott 32. It’s mostly modern Italian recipes. It’s proven to be very popular and you will need to book many days in advance. Since we visited more than once, here is a run down of some of the dishes for your reference.
A really Cozy and Dimly Lit interior -
From my camera’s point of view, it probably can’t take really nice food photos for the restaurant. Luckily I had foodies on both nights who assisted in providing some iPhone lighting ! : )
Bread by Eric Kayser of Paris fame -
It’s quite aromatic but more softer. The home made butter usually runs out after the 1st round of dinner service.
Farm House Jam, Swedish Vodka, Homemade Blueberry, Thyme Jam, Prosecco – $120
A lovely cocktail and plenty of jam if you like this style, slightly girlish in a good way. ~ 7.5/10
Sea Urchin Bruschetta, Lardo di Colonnata, Rosemary – $120
Over 2 different nights, we actually ordered this 4 times over to encore. The urchins are actually from Hokkaido Japan and so fresh and proves a great bargain. Although real food connoisseurs will instantly relate this to the New York Marea’s version and which might look slightly neater, this one here with the Josper Grill toasted bread is definitely not too shabby. ~ 8/10
Marinated Raw Ahi Tuna, Compressed Watermelon, Soy & Basil Vinaigrette - $135
This was really good actually and fairly strong in the Tuna taste. It also worked well with the watermelon and soy flavour as a package, the additional red shiso leaves really accentuated the dish for me. A surprise package.. ~ 9/10
Roasted Bone Marrow Crostini, Lemon Zest, Garlic & Parsley – $115
This was pretty decent, the marrow flavour was not too gamy over-powering, just right for me. ~ 7/10
Pan-fried baby Spanish Octopus, White bean puree,
Garlic, Parsley, Chili and Sicilian Lemon – $120
Actually this was charred so correctly right in looks, and knowing octopus, you either have to slow-cook them until tender or quick sear it. The biggest surprise was that this had the texture of slow-cooking and so tender, yet crispened on the edges. The bean puree was a nice touch and overall this was a strong concept, although to me it could have more of the additional flavours impact as is advertised, especially the chili and lemon bit. ~ 7.5/10
Sauteed Clams, Pancetta, Chili Flakes, Garlic, White Wine, Clam Emulsion – $160
Reasonably priced, and adorned with yet again lots of young purple shiso leaves, I really liked the clam jus emulsion. However the bottom butteriness and pancetta ham in the recipe sort of over-powered things a bit. Like the above Pan-fried Octopus dish, I thought this could be more balanced, but this time it was a crowd pleaser already except for a slight heavy handed buttery input. ~ 7/10
Fresh Tagliatelle, Truffle and Chicken Emulsion, Crispy Chicken Skin (Limited) – $120
This is one of the most popular items at Fish & Meat and apart from the also limited Duck Egg Raviolo, probably best reserved before you arrive as it’s limited per day. This was really addictive and despite being quite creamy, the truffle essence and the really crispy thin chicken skin was so adorable indeed. ~ 8/10
Fresh Italian Beer on tap -
A Menabrea today.
Basil Pesto & Pine nut Cocktail -
Really convincing in taste than the recipe would suggest, almost like an Italian Caprese or Pesto sauce, just without the tomatoes. Perhaps it’s personal, I really liked this cocktail mix. ~ 8.5/10
Californian artichokes ‘Barigoule’, Black Label Galloni Prosciutto, Mustard Vinaigrette – $170
Have no idea why this would cost $170 to be honest. I mean, it’s just a simple ham salad and really tiny and we got suggested this by the kitchen, but had to swallow the bill.. : @ ~ 5/10
Homemade Cannelloni, Maine Lobster, Salmon and Spot Prawn with Fresh Peas – $165
Homemade Cannelloni is such an ambiguous term, if you eat out enough in Italian joints you finally do notice one thing. It doesn’t actually guarantee the pasta is home-made, it just means it was stuffed in-house and then coined as such, it’s a manipulation of word play. Much like most linguine and spaghetti dishes are not house extruded pasta, but bought as dry packets, whereas tagliolini or chitarra are usually freshly made only because it uses a simpler pasta machine. This dish was cheap and only had a handful of Salmon taste, not much prawns or lobster essence. At least it was affordable and the pasta shells really are homemade here. ~ 6.9/10
Soft Duck Egg Raviolo, Ricotta Cream, Burnt Sage Butter, Pecorino – $110
The edges of the raviolo were made to a slightly crispy state, and the burnt sage was powerful. The duck egg was surprisingly really runny wet, the ricotta cream can be a bit sour tangy. ~ 7.5/10
Roasted New Zealand Langoustines, Charred Sicilian Lemon Aioli,
Wild Oregano – $195 x 2 (Double Serving here)
I liked the charred lemon aioli which was slightly powerful, but somehow this batch of langoustines were breaking apart a bit too easily, even if fresh langoustines or scampi can by default be mealy anyway. The grilled aroma and sweetness was there to be fair.. ~ 6/10
Roasted French Turbot, Carrot Puree, Brown Shrimp, Smoked Prawn Butter – $290
I honestly couldn’t taste much of the smoked prawn butter, but actually this was cooked so well to compensate. The external layer was fried crispy, but the meat within was silky and fresh tasty. I do wish the recipe to taste more true to its intention, but it was enjoyable enough. ~ 7.5/10
Australian Kobe Prime 32 Oz, Bearnaise sauce, Salsa Verde – $1280
The char-grilling aroma and mallaird reaction bit was great and effective, but somehow I thought it was too balanced. It had some oil, it had a faint meatiness, but the best Australian wagyu I have had before carried both in a lot stronger way. And if imported from Japan’s side, the melted oiliness will be more prominent and aromatic. This wasn’t bad per se but I wonder if it became being cooked more, it will melt and release more flavours? ~ 6.9/10
Diavola style French Free Range Yellow Chicken, Caramelized Onions, Jus – $230
I loved the marination of this and it penetrated into the crispy skin, which was quite caramelized from some sugar in the marinade. Some pieces of the meat were silky and whilst some were a little dryer.. Overall the flavour was excellent!! ~ 8/10
Whole Roasted Italian Sea Bass, Fennel, Romesco Sauce – $690
The skin was also crispy yet coated with a fair bit of salt. Disregarding this short-coming, it was cooked well. But the price isn’t that friendly compared to all the other dishes, after all I guess it is not a Japanese fish? ~ 7.9/10
Sauces to go with the above Steak -
Done pretty well..
Sweet Corn Polenta – $60
This was really memorable to me. It was so sweet and surprisingly it’s flavour reminded me of Horlicks !! Topped with some Parmesan cheese … This version definitely deserves a 9/10
Chocolate Lava Cake with Salted Caramel and Vanilla ice-cream – $90
Easily the best in Hong Kong, it was rich, it flows viscously, the side of Salted Caramel and the flakes of salts were aggressive in a nice way.. Can’t wait to have it again! In fact this reminds me of the Salted Caramel ice cream in sister restaurant Blue Butcher. ~ 10/10
Whipped Mascarpone Cheese Cake, Shortbread Crumble, Raspberry Ice Cream – $70
Out of all the desserts, I just didn’t get this. After two tries it was too light in texture and taste for me, perhaps if it was light yet also more intense in flavour, I will like it more?
Sicilian Lemon Tart, Country Clotted Cream – $70
This looked a bit thicker than wobbly, but surprisingly the flavour was more tangy than I thought and it almost had a bruleed top. Really liked this and the pastry was crumbly. ~ 8/10
Price: $450 + 10% Per Person (A combination of Two Separate Meals, One paid by myself and One by Restaurant’s Media Tasting. )
Score: ♕♕♕♕ to ♕♕♕♕♕
Address: 中環雲咸街32號2樓
2/F, 32 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong
Ph: 2565 6788
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