[image]
[title]Nothing beats a set dinner. Sure, ordering à la carte gives you the power of choice but if all you can choose is set menu A or set menu B, you know you’re in a restaurant that’s confident of the quality of its offerings. Chez Ed in Causeway Bay’s Zing! building is indeed confident of its offerings. And so it should be because its offerings are incredible. Just choose the eight-course menu or the 10-course extravaganza and then prepare to be dazzled.
Chez Ed opened last summer on the 15th floor of the restaurant-heavy building and it’s done a roaring trade ever since. It’s helmed by a man who’s well-known on the Hong Kong dining scene. Chef Eddy Leung pioneered our city’s private kitchen industry more than 10 years ago with Poison Ivy and he’s also worked for some of the biggest restaurants in the SAR as executive chef, including at The Ritz-Carlton. He’s the boss of eateries like G7 Private Dining and Lobster Bobo in Central but Chez Ed is certainly his flagship restaurant.
Chez Ed oozes class. It’s minimalist and chic when it comes to the interiors and it boasts both an open kitchen and a small terrace outside that looks over Happy Valley racecourse. There’s an air of luxury in here although it also suits the casual diner and families too. The staff are super-friendly and explain each dish in the set menus in minute detail, plus the wines on offer that pair so well with the food. The dishes themselves, which boast international flavours and ingredients but also feature a little French flair in much of the offerings, change on a monthly basis to match to the seasons. Chef Leung’s love is on show in each creation, although he is also backed by a hugely experienced team who can be seen passionately cooking up the meals in the open kitchen.
One of the favourite dishes to sample here at the moment is the warm lobster salad with Yubari melon and golden Shenki caviar. This is particularly fitting due to the fact that chef Leung is a man who just loves lobster, shown by the impressive meals he creates daily at Lobster Bobo. This Chez Ed creation is a fine combination of rich lobster meat and an array of briny but not overly fishy flavours coming from the caviar. Also recommended near the start of your journey are chef Leung’s seared Hokkaido scallops with crispy bacon and 36-month jamon iberico. Prepare for a taste sensation as the salty meat flavours hit the plump ‘n‘ quality scallops.
Chef Leung’s signatures include the creamy scrambled egg with Tasmanian black truffle shavings, which isn’t on at the moment but is when it’s in season, however one dish that keeps the diners flooding back in is the 12-hour slow-braised wagyu beef cheek with smoked black angus rib-eye steak on a bed of mashed potato and gravy. The cheek is rich and mixes really well with the creamy potato, plus the slices of rib-eye offer a little salty edge that can be enhanced with the sweet flavours of the accompanying carrots and green beans. This is a dish that demands attention. And the signature 48-degree salmon confit with ikura and beurre blanc sauce is another total winner, with the chunk of salmon arriving so delicate yet so juicy, with its earthy notes being brought out by the fishy roe that sits on top alongside the brackish beurre sauce. Absolutely divine.
Other dishes that come highly recommended at the moment on the set menus are the 24-hour oxtail consommé with a piece of steamed foie gras, the roasted Australian rack of lamb with pesto crust, ratatouille and rosemary jus, and the French duck breast with caramelised figs and natural jus. Plus, to finish, you can’t beat Chez Ed’s dessert platter. So many flavours, textures and temperatures are on show here with the 72 percent warm chocolate soup, the 3.6 milk and pudding panna cotta, the handcrafted macaron and the green tea ice-cream. This platter ends the meal on a high note.
There. If that hasn’t whetted your appetite for a gastronomic journey in the heart of Causeway Bay, then nothing will. Chef Leung has created a masterpiece at Chez Ed and diners look forward to the new creations he comes up with on a monthly basis. Head 15 floors up the Zing! building for an innovative, luxurious and supremely tasty experience you won’t forget for a long time. 15/F, Zing!, 38 Yiu Wa St, Causeway Bay, 3104 4664; chez-ed.hk.