@roganichongkong is a modern British restaurant in Hong Kong, but make no mistake: this isn’t where chefs find a 43rd way to make ‘three yellow chicken’ fancy, nor believe their tweezered rendition of ‘fish and chips’ is the one to rule them all. Roganic tethers loudly to terroir, and the way @rogan_simon foregrounds Hong Kong producers — through a British accent — feels apt and alive. In a city where British food can skew either too frumpy or precious, this matters.
Yes, there is three-yellow chicken, but the poultry cedes to the White Dragon corn, snappy with soaring notes of caramel; the glorious sauce made from all the fats and whole-hog trimmings; and the black garlic vinegar that cuts through the richness. At Roganic, byproducts are imbued throughout the meal. One may begin with scallop crackers (a play on salt and vinegar chips and reminiscent of a prawn cracker) made from the remnants of the crustacean, alongside cured ocean trout belly in a beetroot cigar. A mid-course may feature stuffed seabass over a silken cauliflower puree and a bright caper jam.
I remember the dishes by their intricate pairings — beetroot and slow cooked ox tongue is a challenging but ultimately appealing combination. And gratitude is due to Mr. Lin and his asparagus: crisp and uncloyingly sweet, encircling raw Hokkaido scallop under a disc of elderflower gel. Also terrific: a pre-dessert of aerated Kyoho grape, as bitter as it is fresh; and the frozen Yoshida cheese dessert, a playful reinvention of an oft-overlooked course.
There’s something for everyone, not only in texture and tenor (acidic, bitter, sweet) but also in temperature: frozen, cold, lukewarm, hot. At Roganic, find Causeway Bay bay ladies who lunch (well), exchanging gifts in Hermes shopping bags; couples bent over housemade oolong kombucha; and solo off-duty chefs along a communal table that snakes around two bulbous, undulating pillars. This is a transportive and trendy place to dine.
I tried Rogan’s food at his Claridges London outpost a decade ago. Much has changed since, including the elevation of L’Enclume to 3*, but I’m happy to report that there is polish beyond the pageantry at his HK outpost. Go.
