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Despite the challenges of Hong Kong’s competitive dining scene, determined chefs continue to open new venues that sate the unwavering appetite of the city’s food lovers. Chefs like Gavin Chin exemplify the drive and courage to embrace the challenge of our city’s ever-changing culinary landscape.
Patrons may know this young chef from the neighbourhood French wine-bar Brut! His new restaurant, House of Culture, which has been almost a year in the making, is finally serving patrons in Sai Ying Pun, a good five minutes walk from his former kitchen. Despite being inconspicuously tucked among bamboo scaffolding, the space’s impression of unfinished construction does not deter patrons, as evidenced by occupied tables on a Saturday night.
The term ‘house of culture’ implies a space that highlights diverse cultural expressions. As you walk into the restaurant, the word ‘Culture’ debossed on the wall serves to reinforce this concept. If you are unaware of chef Gavin's Australian roots and his culinary experiences, it is hard to find the anchor of the concept just based on the restaurant’s interior – it’s not immediately apparent what culinary adventure awaits. The muted apricot and salmon colour palette may remind you of a Saharan desert-inspired setting. But, upon closer inspection, the textured wall with flickering light blue lights resembling water connects you to the lake and caves of Margaret River in Western Australia.
The 46-seater restaurant features a bar and open kitchen which allows guests to peek behind the scenes of each offering. The menu offers an a la carte option of starters, mains, side dishes, and desserts, and allows you to choose craft cocktails or Australian wines to your liking. Drinks that should definitely be on your must-try list include their House Martini ($120), which is a satisfying twist on the classic Gibson with pickled pink shallots. For those looking for something refreshing and easy to drink, the pandan-flavoured Caipirinha ($120) is a great choice. Diners with a more adventurous palate can try their lamb-fat-washed Old Fashioned ($120), a complex blend of sweetness, smokiness, and saltiness, resulting in a full-bodied drink that can be enjoyed throughout the evening.
The menu features a variety of cuisines and offers creative dishes that are not limited to any specific country. You can explore a range of options, including ceviche, laksa, curries, and rendang, which bring together Asian flavours with French techniques. The prices for dishes start at $68 and go up to $368 for main courses intended to be shared by two guests – in line with the price ranges commonly found in similar restaurants in the area.
For starters, I recommend trying the vegetable dishes, and the baby kailan with toasted kombu oil and yuzu jelly ($98) is a great choice to awaken your palate. It's a combination of smoky, umami flavours and the satisfying crunchiness of the kailan, with a refreshing sourness from the yuzu jelly. The roasted golden beetroot ($128) is not for everyone’s palate, but it offers a distinctive flavour that is worth exploring, with a unique contrast of sweetness from the golden beetroot and an earthy bitterness from the red variant, balanced out by the addition of smoked honey and whipped ricotta. The standout dish from the appetiser selection is undoubtedly the prawn doughnut with laksa broth and coffee oil ($138), which happens to be a signature dish from chef Gavin’s days in Brut! It’s a punchy combination of layered flavours and textures. The doughnut, filled with a mixture of prawns and herbs, starts off crispy and transforms into a soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture as it soaks up the aromatic laksa broth. That said, the calamari ($138) with yuzu dashi-soaked squid, sake kasu, and macadamia fluff was not a popular dish at our table. It was a bit too experimental, and it was unclear what it was trying to achieve.
For mains, you’ll find another one of Gavin’s signature dishes, Mum’s Chicken Curry ($238), a tried-and-tested offering that could be a delight to patrons who are used to tasting this in Brut! Served on a bed of light Madras curry sauce, the dish features four pieces of brick chicken that have been grilled with lemon and butter, accompanied by tangy sour preserved vegetables and pickled shallots. To complement the dish, a side of crispy sticky rice, cooked in bamboo over charcoal, is served. The dish that seemed to be in high demand that night was the rendang short rib ($368). We were fortunate to have snagged the last piece before it sold out. The beef’s remarkable tenderness, which allows it to practically fall off the bone, is a result of a meticulous 12-hour slow-cooking process. As a garnish, the dish is topped with moss, green toasted coconut, and Thai basil, which adds visual appeal and a touch of texture – however, it does not significantly impact the flavour of the beef. What sets this dish apart is the addition of the flavourful Malaysian Rendang reduction; it adds a layer of complexity that is not typically found in rendang, which is traditionally a dry curry dish. Unfortunately, his signature dry-aged threadfin fish ($238), initially served at the hidden bar, The Green Door, didn’t quite live up to the original version. The new rendition features herb butter that is less flavourful compared to the previous housemade orange kocht prawn head and scallion butter. Nevertheless, pescatarians can still enjoy the perfectly grilled fish that effortlessly melts in the mouth. Other must-tries include side dishes like the fermented charred pineapple ($68) and sweet burnt fennel ($68) served in orange jam and gremolata.
As for desserts, the mandarin granita served with smoked Hokkaido milk, and cream corn and thyme ($108) is a good palate cleanser, while the comforting marshmallow ice cream with chocolate crumble and banana mouse ($108) will definitely be popular for those with a sweet tooth.
Chef Gavin’s adherence to his comfort zone of tried-and-tested signatures is evident in the menu, but the inclusion of both familiar and innovative dishes offers a good balance of options.The House of Culture has the potential to draw in residents from the surrounding area, offering them a worthy choice for an enjoyable dining and socialising experience. There’s still room for improvement in crafting mouth-watering signatures that will surprise and delight customers, and we are eager to return and see what chef Gavin has in store for the future.
Here’s what our star ratings mean:
★: Not recommended
★★: A disappointing experience
★★★: A good experience
★★★★: A very good to great experience
★★★★★: An outstanding experience
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