My half year resolution is to explore Kowloon side a bit more, specifically the food, but the vastness of the area and the sheer number of restaurants and cafes and dai pai dongs has me in a tizzy and at a loss of where to start. But, one must start somewhere, and I am fortunate to have a food loving and romantic other half to take me out on date nights, and one such evening I found myself being taken to the Michelin-recommended WHISK at The Mira in TST.
WHISK
The Mira is smack bang in the middle of the heavily built-up shopping area of TST and is not lacking in amenities with the Mira Mall next door and six places to wine and dine at. The Mira was yet another another place on my hit list that…I hadn’t quite hit until yours truly got WHISKed there, (haha, I love puns),and low and behold I found myself travelling up a lift and trying to get out of the wrong lift door, confusing, lift malarky(!) and gazing at plush, crop circle-centric carpets and admiring the twinkling lights of an impressive chandelier. WHISK, a contemporary European restaurant, is edgy but stylish, especially in the evening where diners are bathed in candlelight. The ambience is quite lovely but not too stuffy and reserved, paving the way for a casual yet elegant experience.
WHISK Interior
Their a la carte menu has a good range of starters, mains and grill selections, which are all mouth-watering to read but a new addition is their degustation menu Voyage 2.0, which allows for 5, 6 or 7 ‘culinary stopovers’ in European gourmet destinations, (HK$820, HK$960 and HK$1,280 respectively). The menu explores a variety of dishes influenced by Scotland through to Finland and looks quite exciting, though we did not try it that night.
We decided instead on starting with their Celebration Starter of Pork Belly Carpaccio, Beef Tongue, Duck Confit with Apple & Foie Gras for 2 people. This rather extravagant looking platter was a delicious if quite rich beginning to what would be a meat heavy main course, but as voracious carnivores it didn’t matter one iota. The foie gras was beyond smooth and the pork belly carpaccio was wafer thin and oddly went well with the duck confit and apple medley, even if it was a pastiche of meats!
Celebration Starter
My other half can’t resist Suckling Pig if he sees it on the menu, so he naturally went for that. I, on the other hand, opted for the 200g Wagyu Chuck Flap from Spain. The presentation is extremely simple, nothing more than the meats arranged in the middle of an expansive plate with no adornments save a sprig of foliage. We did, however, order side dishes of mashed potato- heavenly velvety and green beans which were unfortunately overpowered by a heavy dose of ginger. My Chuck Flap was a beautiful hunk of meat, some parts more rare than I would normally like, but with my black pepper sauce, all was dandy and the Suckling Pig was succulent and flavoursome, the skin perfectly crisp. I was starting to get meat sweats at the end of my chuck, I think I am losing my carnivorous edge!
Suckling Pig
Chuck Flap
By this point we were full to bursting but we noticed that they have a Flaky Apple Tarte served with Vanilla and Almonds for 2 people and we could not resist. This gorgeous, flaky, tarte was spectacular and arrived in a hot, shallow pan which fed the eyes in its almond and sugar dusted glory and, I fell in love. The sweet apple aroma hits you first, then with that first bite of the tarte and the creamy vanilla ice-cream melting and mixing with the light pastry and sugary delights, you enter dessert heaven. This is the apple tarte I had been searching for in HK. Sublime.
Flaky Apple Tarte
Sweet things to finish
So there ended our night, tummies happy and smiles from me towards my beloved. The service was stellar, with very helpful staff and more importantly cheerful dispositions! We did not have any wine, but if you want to have a tipple, then there is no shortage of wines to choose from with some good vintages at reasonable prices. Otherwise you can go to Vibes next door and indulge in a cocktail or two! If lazy lunches are more up your street, you can check out their Sunday free-flow champagne brunch.
Chopstixfix rating: 4/5
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WHISK, Level 5, The Mira Hong Kong, 132 Nathan Road,Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong, Opening Hours: 12:00 noon – 2:30 pm and 6:00 pm – 11:00 pm (Tuesday – Saturday)/ 11:00 am – 4:30 pm (Sunday) / Closed on Monday. Tel: +852 2315 5999
(Apologies for the poor quality of my photos, I left my camera at home! But many thanks to The Mira for their pretty interior pics!)
September 17, 2013 at 9:41 pm
OMG …… Absolute food heaven. Food to die for …. Love, love, love it.
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