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    Home » World Travel

    Zoku Wan Chai Hong Kong

    Published: Jun 15, 2021 by Jennifer Che

    Zoku Hong Kong

    It's hard to imagine trying to open a new restaurant, let alone a new hotel in the midst of a pandemic. However, we've certainly seen both happening all throughout Hong Kong. Right in our backyard here in Wan Chai, a small boutique swanky hotel called the Hari Hotel just opened. Inside there are two restaurants, an Italian restaurant called Lucciola and a Japanese restaurant called Zoku.

    Zoku Hong Kong
    Amuse bouche - Japanese oyster, uni, and ponzu

    Bryan knows I love Japanese food (way more than he does, to be honest). So when he found out about Zoku, he tried to make a reservation. It turns out that reservations were a bit difficult to secure! I guess Hong Kong people still LOVE trying out new restaurants and despite the cloud of the pandemic still hanging over us.

    Japanese Fusion at Zoku in Wan Chai

    Zoku is a Japanese-inspired restaurant from Chef Phillip Pak who counts Nobu Matsuhisa as his mentor and spent three years at Matsuhisa (in Aspen). The food is certainly fusion-esque and most certainly reminded me of Nobu. In fact, I had those thoughts even before knowing Chef Pak's connection with Matsuhisa.

    Upon glancing through the (quite extensive) menu, we ended up choosing the tasting menu because it looked the most interesting. Zoku has a very large menu, including all sorts of Japanese food. There are many different types of creative makimono (roll sushi), temaki (hand rolls), sushi and sashimi, as well as grilled seafood and meats (kushuyaki), tempura, and more Western style main dishes. It was almost overwhelming. To me it made sense a restaurant inside of a hotel would offer so many types of food to cater to all types of guests. At the same time, the breadth of Japanese dishes made me wonder what are the restaurant's specialties? Can it even focus?

    • "She's Old Fashioned" - Shiso infused bourbon whiskey, shiso bitters, shiso syrup
    • Zoku Hong Kong
      Yellowtail Sashimi
      Pickled radish, yuzu soy, serrano pepper

    The tasting menu was indeed very fun, and definitely a great way to sample so many different dishes. I also think many of the most interesting dishes are only available as part of the tasting menu. All in all we found the food to be well executed with interesting and creative flavors.

    A Yellowtail Sashimi totally reminded me of Nobu, who many say invented the yellowtail + jalapeno combination from his time training in Peru.

    Zoku Hong Kong
    Wasabi prawns, wasabi mayo, avocado, chives
    Zoku Hong Kong

    One of my favorite dishes from our first tasting was the Wagyu Dumpling (young leeks, soy vinegar, garlic oil, scallions), which was just so perfectly executed. The flavors were really balanced, and the textures were perfect. We both loved it.

    • Zoku Hong Kong
    • Zoku Hong Kong
    Toro, Uni and caviar temaki, puff rice, chives

    It's hard to go wrong when you combine toro, uni, and caviar. Zoku's version is certainly beautifully presented and clearly created to impress (yes, there's even GOLD on top). I thought it was tasty, though I wasn't particularly blown away by the dish, mostly because I have encountered this combination so many times already.

    Zoku Hong Kong
    Chilean Seabass, sautéed Brussels sprouts, yuzu herb butter, and oyster cream
    • Zoku Hong Kong
      Wagyu steak, grilled spring onion, seared foie gras, spicy miso sauce
    • Zoku Hong Kong
      Grilled broccolini / grilled asparagus

    The main dishes were good - solidly executed and enjoyable - but did not stand out to me the way the earlier dishes had. I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the grilled vegetables, which had a really nice smoky char.

    Zoku Hong Kong
    Dessert was fun, a nice fusion of desserts from all over, including mochi cake with coconut sorbet, miso caramel, and coconut tuile.

    Kagoshima Tasting Menu

    We came back another time about a month later. This time they were doing a completely different tasting menu called the Kagoshima Tasting Menu, which costs HKD888 a person for 7 courses. You can add a Shochu pairing for an additional HKD388 per person.

    Zoku Hong Kong
    Kagoshima Yellowtail Trio included the yellowtail fish prepared three ways: as nigiri with the classic Nobu jalapeno on top, sashimi on shiso, and tartar on a Japanese sweet potato chip.
    Zoku Hong Kong
    Tobiuo “Flying Fish” Ceviche included fresh pieces of flying fish marinated in a lime/yuzu juice and tossed with Mandarin oranges, kumquat, cilantro, tomato, and red onion.
    Zoku Hong Kong
    Soft Shell Crab Tempura was heavily breaded and crunchy, and came served with sweet soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.
    Zoku Hong Kong
    My favorite course from this tasting was the Tonjiru, a beautifully flavored miso-based pork soup. Zoku's Tonjiru includes daikon radish, tomato, potato, burdock root, and cabbage together with pork slices in a fragrant and flavorful miso-dashi based broth. It was absolutely delicious.
    Zoku Hong Kong
    Pork Kushi Katsu was made with Kurobuta pork and came with a choice of three different sauces: homemade tonkatsu sauce, ponzu onion mayo, and sweet soy sauce.
    Zoku Hong Kong
    Kagoshima Wagyu Steak grilled on Binchotan came with fresh wasabi, sudachi lime, and negi (scallion) salad. Simple, but tasty.
    Zoku Hong Kong
    Mandarin Sorbet came with a tiny little "cheesecake" on the side and kumquat.

    General Thoughts

    There's nothing quite like Zoku in the Wan Chai area, so I can see why it's quite popular and hard to book. The food is good, with some really excellent standouts. I believe it's a great, reliable place to get your fix of many types of Japanese food all under one roof. I think it's great that Chef Pak keeps it fresh by changing up the tasting menu. It makes people like me want to come back more often.

    Another plus is that the restaurant has a terrace, though I have yet to actually sit out there yet!

    Finally, the drinks are quite good. I really enjoyed the She's Old Fashioned cocktail, and it was fun to try different sakes with our tasting menu.

    We'll be back!

    Zoku Hong Kong
    Hari Hotel
    2/F, 330 Lockhart Rd, Wan Chai

    Zoku Hong Kong

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    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

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