Neighborhood Hong Kong

The last meal in HK for 2024 , so I wrapped up the year with a revisit to Neighbourhood and ordered the remaining dishes on the menu that I had never previously tried , and as usual it was all hits no misses .

Boiled artichoke was a staple growing up , I wasn’t super fond of it as a kid and then grew to like it as an adult but the preparation was always so tedious . Thankfully all the work is done , the asparagus flower is paired with chicken liver mousse and terrific black truffle which packed a punch .

Seasonal poached shrimp are served whole and lightly dusted with espelette pepper , the sweetness shines.

Bone marrow is blanketed by a generous serving of caviar and served with luscious mashed potato , the combination of the three is pure luxury , and while I loved all parts , I would be stupidly happy with a big bowl of the potato purée !

I really enjoy Shirako with European flavours so combining it with raclette , thick bacon and boiled potato was sure to please .

I rarely have room for dessert here but seeing I was about to board a 15 hour flight where I was quite happy to skip a meal , dessert became irresistible.
French toast is a HK staple , here it has cracking texture resembling creme brûlée and is topped with ice cream and truffle . Decadent yet still pretty light . Less

Back to Neighbourhood for more rustic and smashable dishes .

Started with a terrine of heirloom tomatoes with burrata - a great spin of a global appetiser staple . The tomato terrine was vibrant and had a great sweetness and acidity .
Beef tartare with Shima ebi , the prawn meat is served raw , the prawn oil seasons the beef and the prawn shells and head add texture . Sustainable and delicious .
Tough to avoid ordering the grilled baby squid , sizzling in garlic and perfect to mop up with bread .

Mussels were served with a light rockfish soup , again satisfying and addictive .

Local small fish were fried with a light dusting of flour and served with lemon and horseradish cream , the fish equivalent of eating popcorn .

Finally , the salt baked chicken - the 120 day old New Territories chicken is a great vehicle for this technique, the flesh is full of flavour and super tender. Chicken rice has plenty of chicken oil and soccarat . Plus a generous serve of Chicken offal is scattered thru the rice , I imagined chicken liver served this way would be dry and overcooked but that was certainly not the case , also chicken testicles are rather delicious . Less

I booked Neigbourhood with the intention of having some heartier dishes as the weather was sure to be cooler . It was “cooler” but still a balmy 30 degrees so the order became fairly light , but it was certainly satisfying !

Abalone and porcini was the standout dish , the porcini was tender and slippery , the abalone ribbons beautifully yielding , a light emulsion , some espelette and some bitter greens gave this great balance .

Prior to this some quality Parma culatello, I used to be in the “don’t order charcuterie in restaurants because I can buy at home “ camp , but living in Asia getting quality charcuterie is easier said than done . This hit of salty pork is a great start to a menu .

Fried baby whiting with horseradish cream were crispy and addictive .

The lentil, coddled egg and caviar salad is a @davidtlai staple . The egg is the dressing and the backbone of the dish , the texture contrast between the al dente lentils and the caviar is fun too .

A complimentary dish of Japanese greens with amazing persimmon and Parmesan shavings was a terrific palate cleanser . Thanks to the kitchen for sending it out .

Finally a simplified Mille feuille rounded out the meal , the pastry was super crisp and lacquered , with cream and freeze dried raspberries adding points of interest .

Have booked Neighbourhood again in a couple of weeks , maybe it will be a couple of degrees cooler then ! Less

Neighborhood- Michelin Star and Asia’s 50 Best restaurant. The world famous chicken rice is a must order! We also had short rib with gem lettuce and “potatoes that taste like hash browns but better”; baby squid and duck garganelli. Also not pictured was the classic staple warm vegetable casserole, Mille feuille and tart tartin! Everything was consistently impeccable as always!!! Thank you chef @davidtlai 😋😋😋 #neighborhoodhk #soyummy #nomnomnom #bestchickenrice #hongkong #hongkongfood #michelinstar #asia50best @michelinguide @asias50bestrestaurants Less

Back to Neighbourhood last night and ordered all the fav dishes .

The Salt baked chicken is a must pre order . Coming out of its salt crust , it is lightly tanned, perfectly juicy , and full of flavour . The rice is studded with morels plus all the chicken bits , gizzards , heart, liver etc.. are found after a bit of a forage . The rice also plays a starring role and you must grab your fair share of the rice crust at the bottom .

Mackerel was the smoked fish of the day , judiciously handled and the highlight just may be the horseradish cream which gives it the perfect balance .

Celtuce , anchovy , Parmesan is a terrific take on Caesar salad , utilising both the stem and Celtuce leaves . It’s delicious and I always ponder why I don’t try to emulate this at home .

Baby squid is served sizzling with a mix of garlic and espelette , mop it up with sourdough bread .

Seasonal veg casserole with bacon and black truffle is an excellent warm fricasee that also gives some salad vibes . Love the softness of the carrot and Sunchoke interacting with bursting sweet peas and then the savory hit of bacon and black truffle .

Thanks to @davidtlai for another great meal Less

First visit of the year to my favorite restaurant in HK. The Man in White T-shirt pulled out all the stops for us tonight.

The dried perssimon and bottarga was delicious as before. The garganelli with the soft shell king crab was freaking amazing... when the crab shell could be eaten as "chips".

The two preparations of spring lamb were fantastic as well. Wish we had more stomach space.

Full account of dinner on my blog: https://www.diarygrowingboy.com/2024/03/it-doesnt-have-to-be.html

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Somehow 6 months have flown by since my last Neighbourhood visit , so popping in for a quick bite before boarding an evening flight was the very least I could do . This visit just cemented that I have to return ASAP.

Sizzling and tender baby squid with a trinity of garlic , herbs and chilli pepper , all balanced and evoking strong Mediterranean vibes .

One of the better tartares that I have had ( and I essentially love them all ) , beef and Sicilian red shrimp is combined , the shrimp both chopped and left in pieces is a delightful sweet note , the herbaceous sauce which lies somewhere between an oil and a pesto is a great accompaniment. Absolute harmony

Revisited with an old fav , a hockey puck of black sausage , a perfect fried egg and a scattering of mushrooms .

Finally a Sichuan accented pigeon with terrific figs , very satisfying. Less

#chef @jimmy_limty ‘s famous Singapore style #curryfishhead . #neighborhoodhk x #jlstudio #taichung #4handsdinner , second series of Hong Kong x Taiwan collaboration. #fishhead is a staple of Neighborhood, and this curry version was the perfect solution for our menu. It’s so absolute yum we will try to replicate it on our regular menu. @jlstudio_tw @hongkong_tourismboard_ @asias50bestrestaurants @theworlds50best #asias50best #theworlds50best @michelinguide #michelinstar #3michelinstars #oadtop100 Less

2022 Top 10 Dishes
(No. 9 in chronological order)

Fish Skin, Fried Shirako, Potato Salad, Neighborhood, Hong Kong
December 2022

Neighborhood is one of those places I really miss when out of town. The menu changes everyday depending on what seasonal ingredients is available and David always manage to come up with new dishes that just works. Fried shirako here added creaminess and texture to the dish and the flavor reminds me of Chinese-style salt and pepper preparation

In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 Less

Thank you #hktatler for the timely dose of much needed encouragement. #neighborhoodhk is grateful and proud to be in good company of esteemed peers, and to be a part of the brilliant and ever evolving kaleidoscope that is #hk #fnb industry. See everyone again when we reopen in April! #tatler20 #tatlerdining #tatlerdininghk #hkig #hkchef #hkfoodie #cheflife #foodie #foodblog #foodblogger #hkrestaurant #chefsofinstagram Less

There are a few places that do good caneles, Neighborhood is one of them. They do a mini version as the final sweet treat. And if you are not into dessert 🤔, there are always some good cheese around. David knows his thing. Always the good stuff

littlemeg_best2019 #littlemeg_best2020
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#littlemeg_hk #littlemeg_neighborhood #neighborhood #neighborhoodHK #food #foodstagram #foodies #foodpics #instafood #instagramers #amazing #gourmet #iphonesia #photooftheday #bestoftheday #igdaily #theartofplating @theartofplating @gastroart @gastronogram #gourmeffe #dessert #sweet #canele Less

As this place was highly recommended by a lot of international bloggers, I really thought I have to go there. After we have checked the menu, select basically every course on the menu, we tried to figure out why this location is hyped so much. OK, it is in Central, the quality of the food was fine, but you will find hundreds of restaurants in Europe with the same style and quality. Maybe that is the reason. The service and hosts are really great, but the food was disappointing for me. And also the wine list was the same like all over Asia - labels, no really good stuff. Less