Test Kitchen
Kwame Onwuachi
of course,” he said. “But in fact it’s very not useful—all it does is put extra pressure on the team when they need to focus. I’d really like to act more like an owner than pretend to be a celebrity chef.” So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Check out my video coercing Jamie to profess his love for HK Mag here: instagram.com/hk_magazine.
Taste Test
Test Kitchen is taking the concept of the pop-up restaurant to a whole new level. Based loosely on LA’s Dinner Lab series, TK is all about putting an up-and-coming or talented-but-lesser-known chef in the spotlight, via a one-time dinner at a secret location. The inaugural meal in Hong Kong featured American chef Kwame Onwuachi, who was the winner of the Dinner Lab’s “9 Chefs, 10 Cities” competition last year. It was a very fitting start, since chef Kwame’s former sous-chef Vincent Mui is the guy behind Hong Kong’s own Test Kitchen. The dinner, held at Man Mo Cafe,
featured plenty of tasty locally influenced dishes—like fresh abalone, pompano with lapsang souchong cream, wagyu beef paired with quail egg and shimeji mushroom—and at the end of each course diners rated the dishes, giving them a mark out of five for creativity and flavors. The scoring concept is all in good fun, but they presumably do allow the chef to take on constructive feedback and criticism. Wanna be in on the next meal? Sign up at www.testkitchen.com.hk to get all the updates.
Gaga for Ga Gi Nang
Tuck into sang choy bau filled with corn and ceviche at Ga Gi Nang (G/F, 15 Po Tuck St., Shek Tong Tsui, 3565-6641), a Mexican Asian joint in newly MTRaccessible Shek Tong Tsui. Sounds scary but it does look awfully cool.
Email me at adele.wong@hkmagmedia.com or follow me on Twitter: @adelewong_hk.
All of our reviews are independent and anonymous!
Woo Tung Yakiniku Dining Bar ★★★★★ Yakiniku. Shop F, G/F, Fu Fai Commercial Centre, 27 Hillier St., Sheung Wan, 2623-0028.
the final vegetable dish when they saw our grill was empty. Our dishes, from boneless chicken with garlic butter ($79) to beef brisket slices ($89) were all of great quality. Somehow, you magically leave the restaurant without the stench of BBQ smoke in everything you wear.
This mezzanine space on the corner of Hillier Street is a small spot to down Asahis and snack on barbecued meat. HIT The service at Woo Tung was exceptional for a BBQ do-it-yourselfer. Not only did the servers come and flip our meat for us, but they also brought our dishes in order of how flavorsome they would be, and automatically brought
MISS The meat may be great, but everything came in dainty morsels. After six dishes for three people, we were still hungry. Either the menu wasn’t versatile enough or the marinades could have been kicked up a notch: everything was either meaty or garlicky. Maybe the missing ingredient was more alcohol… BOTTOM LINE While food is generally good here, you’d better make like the typical salaryman and let the booze fill you up. Open Mon-Sat noon-11pm, Sun 6-11pm. $$-$$$
Our Policy Reviews are based on actual visits to the establishments listed by our super-sneaky team of hungry reviewers, without the knowledge of the restaurants. Reviews are included at the discretion of the editors and are not paid for by the restaurants. Menus, opening hours and prices change and should be checked. New restaurants are not reviewed within one month of their opening. Reviews are written from a typical diner’s perspective. Ratings are awarded in accordance with the type of restaurant reviewed, so the city’s best wonton noodle stall could earn five stars while a fancy French restaurant could be a one-star disaster.
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