Hong Kong is a crowded place were everyone likes to eat out. It's inevitable that good places (especially on weekends) will be fully booked or will have a queue. This is why it's useful to know places that have excellent food yet, for one reason or another, always have available seating.
One great place a friend introduced to me is Town by Bryan Nagao. This cozy and elegant restaurant is hidden away on the 10th floor of the Cubus building on the backside of Causeway Bay. Its slightly off-the-main-road location makes it a bit harder to spot. As a result, it's never crazy crowded.
I've visited for both lunch and dinner and in both cases the food was excellent. The restaurant has been awarded a Michelin Plate, and the food derives influences from Japanese, French, and Spanish cuisine.
3-course lunch
The 3-course lunch is a great way to enjoy lunch at Town. There's a beautiful salad bar full of carefully designed gourmet salads with a colorful assortment of vegetables, cheese, and various cured meats.
I love the wide variety of really, really nice salads!
Honestly, the salad bar is so nice I would be tempted to get the "Healthy Light Lunch" option, where you get soup, salad buffet, and dessert for HKD 218. Otherwise, for a bit more (HKD258 to HKD288), you can add a main course as well.
Roasted kabocha squash!
My first plate: quinoa, roasted kabocha, arugula salad, fennel salad, beautiful caprese salad with yellow tomatoes, smoked salmon, and more.
My friend and I shared two different main courses. The Beef cheek was light in flavor and low in salt. The meat was very soft and tender, and had lots of gelatin. The mashed potatoes were solid and the crispy green beans were quite nice.
The Cod was unfortunately a bit dry, like it had been sitting in the oven for a bit too long. I've had better executed cod, though the sauce was pleasant and portion size was just right.
Dessert, a light multi-layered pastry with berries, was lovely, light, and refreshing.
This beautiful dessert consisted of thinly sliced apple, black vanilla ice cream, mango sorbet and cream, plus a shortbread cookie.
Dinner
On another night, Bryan and I came for dinner. We began with a Beef Tartare which was quite good.
We also enjoyed some lovely Tempura Shrimps, Candied Walnuts, Spicy Aioli, which reminded me a bit of the traditional Chinese version of this dish. [HKD 188]
The Tagliolini, Uni, Pata Negra, Lardo di Colonnata was another excellent dish that included generous amounts of sea urchin. The lardo and pata negra (i.e. jamon iberico) added a nice salty and fatty component to the dish.
[HKD358]
Suckling Pig ‘Kalua’ is one of the restaurant's signature dishes and comes with a pomegranate ponzu sauce, smoked eggplant puree, corn puree, and lotus root. The skin was crispy, the meat was tender, and the dish worked well with the various accompaniments. [HKD 358]
I am a huge fan of souffle and the Yuzu Souffle, Yakult Ice Cream did not disappoint at all. It was light, airy, and just perfect.
[HKD128]
Town by Bryan Nagao - General thoughts
Overall I have enjoyed both my meals at Town by Bryan Nagao. The salad bar is especially fun, but overall it's a lovely, quiet place to enjoy good conversation together with well-executed food and a pleasant environment. The prices are on the high side and the portions are not especially big. However, in exchange you get excellent quality ingredients and good, honest cooking. I've already gone back once and I am sure I'll go back again.
Town by Bryan Nagao
10/F Cubus, 1 Hoi Ping Road
Causeway Bay
This is the thirty-sixth post in the updated #50Postsin50Days – Take 2 Challenge. Other posts in this series will be added to the bottom of the original post.
