Cover Local three-yellow chicken feet flavoured with malt and lemon (Photo: Aera)

When you've got good taste but no money, these are the places to head to for your fine-dining fix

It’s true: fine dining is getting more expensive by the day as strained supply lines and a tough labour market continue to place pressure on those operating at the pinnacle of the restaurant industry—but there are still relative bargains to be found. With names like Bo Innovation's Alvin Leung, and Ricardo Chaneton and Agustin Balbi of Mono and Andō having opened "diffusion" restaurants that translate their fine-dining expertise into relaxed settings, it's easier than ever now to savour casual fine dining, as it's known.

Without further ado, get to know the tasting menus with the best value around town.

Don't miss: Editors’ pick: Best phở in Hong Kong

Permanently closed   |   Central
Tatler Asia
15/08/22
15/08/22

Must Try

  • Plaa: Taiwan threadfin, coconut beurre blanc, Siam tulip flower
  • Larb: Hokkaido scallop, blade coriander, yellow capsicum
  • Neua Massaman: Wagyu cheek, Massaman curry, morel man goong

Meaning ‘fish’ in Thai, Plaa has the pedigree of chef-patrons Richie Lin of Taiwan’s Mume and Ian Kittichai, a lead judge on MasterChef Thailand, while head chef Santipap Tonkanya executes the restaurant’s ethos of bold, seafood-centric Thai cuisine in a nine-course dinner tasting menu. Priced at HK$1,280 per person, diners can expect a symphony of traditional Thai herbs, spices and sauces, including shima-aji with green chilli and celtuce, soybean fermented abalone with a green curry-flavoured liver sauce; and grilled lobster served with southern yellow curry and rice—all within resplendent interiors by David Chipperfield Architects.

Chinese   |   $ $ $ $   |   Sheung Wan
Tatler Asia

Awards

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2024 Michelin 1 Star

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2024 Michelin Green Star

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2024 Tatler Dining 20

Must Try

  • Cold noodles with yellow chicken, soy milk bouillon and red bean paste
  • Local threadfin cooked on the skin with whipped soy milk and fermented tofu
  • Mapo tofu

If Tate Dining Room offers one of the most expensive tasting menus around town, then chef Vicky Lau's tofu-centric restaurant, Mora, offers one of the cheapest. Headed by chef Choi Ming-Fai, the kitchen turns out a seasonal French-Chinese menu that tells the story of tofu over eight courses, priced at a reasonable HK$1,088. Encompassing anything from tofu skin with mackerel and cuttlefish mousse, to three-yellow chicken roulade with mapo tofu-style sauce, it's a journey of flavours both delicate and punchy, but ultimately friendly to the gut—and your wallet.


Mora

Address: G/F, 40 Upper Lascar Row, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong


Western   |   $ $ $ $   |   Wan Chai
Tatler Asia

"Demon Chef" Alvin Leung’s fine-casual restaurant under the Lubuds hospitality group serves a hybrid cuisine born from a mix of Cantonese cuisine and Leung's culinary influences from around the world. Featuring an eight-course dinner tasting menu, Cafe Bau offers dishes like grilled squid with spicy Shatian pomelo jam, hand-cut penne cacio e pepe with preserved clams, salt-roasted beetroot with Pat Chun vinaigrette, and slow-cooked local oxen brisket for only HK$998 per person.


Cafe Bau

Address: Shop 8, Podium 1/F, J Residence, 60 Johnston Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong


Western   |   $ $ $ $   |   Wan Chai
Tatler Asia

Serving Nordic-inspired cuisine in Wan Chai, newly opened Aera is helmed by chef Chevalier Yau and his team, who turn out a seasonal menu that includes dishes like honey peas with pear and gardenia oil, uni rice with clam soup foam, and three-yellow chicken leg soaked overnight in maltose. Comprising a whole ten courses, the dinner tasting menu offers great value at HK$1,188, but the lunch menu is even easier on the wallet at the bargain price of HK$178 per person.


Aera

Address: G/F, 6 Stewart Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong


Permanently closed   |   Central
Tatler Asia

Must Try

  • Ruby beetroots with Taiwanese mango, feta
  • Three-grain mapo tofu with pickled yellow carrots
  • Pavlova yellow with peach and passionfruit

Sister restaurant of Arcane, Moxie offers the same philosophy of sustainable pescatarian dining that is as kind to the environment as it is to your wallet. Take the five-course tasting menu for example, which clocks in at HK$688 per person and entails dishes like raw Hokkaido scallop with white asparagus and tomatillo, gazpacho with fruit tomato and black olives, and Fremantle octopus with macadamia ricotta, peas and peaches. Served from 6pm onwards, the menu can be bolstered with a wine or mocktail pairing from HK$258 up. If you can sneak out of the office early, the early bird dinner menu makes for an even more unbeatable offering, with two courses comprising soup of the day and a choice between pan-fried sea bass or shiitake bolognese for HK$248, plus the option to add dessert for an additional HK$68.

Italian   |   $ $ $ $   |   Sheung Wan
Tatler Asia

Nestled amidst the hustle and bustle of Sheung Wan, Le Galet is a bistro set within an antique shop where diners are transported back in time to the days of yore—think aged wooden furniture and pendant lamps. On the dining side, it’s worth digging into their three-course lunch menu which includes a tempting array of dishes to choose from such as carrot and orange cream soup, homemade fettuccine carbonara and pan seared fish fillet. And if you’re popping in for dinner, they also offer an exquisite six-course tasting menu featuring the likes of carabineros prawn with mango salsa and salmon roe, foie gras with pear purée and egg, and prime striploin with stem lettuce and wasabi mayonnaise for the price of HK$788 per person.


Le Galet

Address: 25 Lok Ku Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong


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