Belon Hong Kong

(SWIPE FOR MORE PICS) The first pic was @chezcalvert at ODE x BELON in TOKYO (2018), the city he is heading to. At that time he probably never imagined he would open his own restaurant in Tokyo, at least not so soon. He probably never expected to be at no.4 of Asia’s 50 Best this year. He did it the “hard” way - worked really really hard waking up early in the morning and went to Belon to make bread at 8 or 9am. He was extremely hand on and knew any details on any dishes you asked him. He covered all the savoury dishes AND (pre)desserts & final madeleines. Even down to the final 8 months in 2020 he still kept turning out new dishes. There was no short cut. No fast lane.
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When I first visited Belon in 2017 I was amazed by the pigeon pithiviers, foie gras, sourdough and mille feuille, all of which Daniel managed to make into the best in town. Over the years they remained on menu but had already elevated to even higher level.
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After I finished my meal in June I told him right away, his cooking had now become noticeably matured, more finesse, precision, and creativity. The sweetbread in brioche, the girolles “tarte fine” with lardo, etc. were all original and his own. He is no longer at the same level.
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In my first post I wrote about Daniel I said “Precision is not just a skill, it is an attitude, a stubbornness to drive for perfection. It does not just require talents but also diligent practices and patience, and unimaginable level of attention to the tiniest details. This is actually the strength of Japanese chefs, their natural mentality, something hard to come by in HK when fast and mass is considered smart”. And guess what? Now Daniel is going to Japan, the place where he belongs if he wants to continue to challenge himself.
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I have spent a lot of good times with many friends at Belon, the pictures were some of my memories there. Perhaps the best creation by Daniel was a very good team: @giginicolas_ @vvnisme Ashim Kevin and Lauren and many others, thanks for your kindness and smiles. You all made big difference in my experience.
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Thank You Daniel, for so many dishes and memories you have made for me. I will wait for my next meal by you, in 🇯🇵 🤗❤ Less

(SWIPE FOR MORE PICS) GIROLLE MUSHROOM “TARTE FINE” WITH "LARDO DI COLONNATA” AND THYME
(Circa 2020) @[instagram] Belon, Hong Kong
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This new dish of this year was a clever creation. The base was very thin layer of puff pastry, crispy and flaky. Girolle mushroom mousse sat above was topped with slightly pickled girolle mushroom, fine chopped celery and almond silvers all covered with a blanket of lardo di colonnata (one of my favorite Lardo). The sauce to finish was almond emulsion with thyme oil.
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While the appearance was not very glamorous, I was the most impressed by the balance of flavors. The earthiness from mushroom with the savory lardo; That nutty flavor from the sauce with the slightly pickled girolles. If there wasn’t the acidity from the pickled girolles the dish was be too rich and dark. Now the holistic flavor profile was lifted, resulting in a pleasant harmony between all the ingredients in the dish

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#littlemeg_best2019 #littlemeg_best2020
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#littlemeg_hk #littlemeg_belon #belon #food #foodstagram #foodies #foodpics #instafood #instagramers #gourmet #iphonesia #photooftheday #bestoftheday #igdaily #theartofplating #gastronogram #gastroart @theartofplating @gastroart @gastronogram #gourmeffe @gourmeffe @worlds50best #asias50best #girolle #mushroom #lardo #thyme Less

What is inside the white truffle cream cake? Literally, crepes, piedmont hazelnut cream and (@chezcalvert stressed “lots of” ) white truffle slices, in many many layers. The sweet cream was so creamy and rich, but I believe his words that there were a lot of truffle was the aroma and flavors was so intense, it hit the brain one bite after another. So so so good. I felt like in heaven.
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See the video after the picture, you could feel the texture more. So ethereal.
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Thank you Daniel for almost making my best birthday meal! 🙇‍♀️🙏🏻🥰 #littlemeg_best2019
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#littlemeg_hk #littlemeg_belon #belon #food #foodstagram #foodies #foodpics #lefooding @lefooding #instafood #instagramers #yummy #amazing #gourmet #iphonesia #photooftheday #bestoftheday #igdaily #theartofplating #gastronogram #gastroart @theartofplating @gastroart @gastronogram #sweet #crepe #cake #whitetruffle #truffle Less

For all the fans of @chezcalvert don’t worry this is not baby Daniel but the prince of @thejowski . He is still available ?
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Belon serves good food, has a great hospitality team (@chezcalvert @henry.quach did I get it right ?), it fits into the category of top of the best restaurants in HK. Does that mean it is a place that people like to go back?
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For me a restaurant can be great but I only want to return to those when the chef is respectable and with integrity.
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Daniel has gotten a lot of recognitions in the past few years, got on to Asia’s 50 Best, one Michelin star, etc. But he is still one of the most humble and eager to learn young chefs I have ever met in town. He is always friendly and sincere to those who appreciate his work and to his team (I hope ?). And as @davidtlai Chef David Lai of Neighborhood said “(Daniel) works more hours than anyone in the industry”. Talented, hardworking and discipline do not always happen together. Daniel has those, and plenty of OCD for precision and perfection ?
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This is why Belon is always filled with friends and loyal customers. Chefs in town or from overseas like to bring their family here for brunch. In fact last time at Belon I told my Japanese friends I spotted @guillaumegalliot chef of Caprice every time I was there, and 20 mins later he walked in with his beautiful wife again ?. Even my queen Meg’s Mama loves the food (although she can never figure out all my favorite chefs: David, Danny and Daniel and just call Daniel 法國鬼仔 despite Daniel not a French ??) and the other two D’s and many others are fans of Belon AND Daniel.
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On the flip side, it is not because of just relationship game that Belon climbed up the 50 Best list. In fact the 3D chefs, Daniel, Danny (Owner of Chairman) and David did only one rather low profile collaboration in the whole year, really no high profile marketing or hold free tasting meals. They all got higher and higher on the list mainly because they cook daxn good food and have great personality. Relationship may get you high, but only real skills, real food and real character will get you far. Less

Modern French bistro serving food which is on the verge of fine dining. The home made bread is one of the best you can get and even satisfies the discerning Austrian diner.
Chef's Daniel pies are simply sublime! His newest creation the sweat bread pie is soft in texture but within the pastry it totally works. His classic pigeon pie is extraordinary. He will take it off the menu soon, so rush to get it before it is too late.
Two other great dishes worth mentioning is his Saba (mackerel) with asparagus which is an surprising combination but works very well and his Hokkaido Scallop with Shio kombu and Pomelo. The barely cooked scallop is inside a very thin pasta and thus creates a wonderful buttery texture. Less