Celebrity Life

The Carlyle hotel-inspired bolthole -- slated to open on the uppermost floors of Rosewood Hong Kong later this year -- will offer a blueprint for the eponymous group's vision of "a new kind of international members' club". We venture north of the harbour to discover just what that entails...

Hitherto, the Hong Kong ecosystem of private members' clubs has been split broadly between two camps: at one end, you have venerable institutions catered to the needs of the city's professionals (the FCC) and those who surround them (the KCC); at the other, a burgeoning array of social haunts meant to profit from the growing number of Silicon Valley types -- hawkers of crypto, CBD cafes, and other speculative investment opportunities -- who reside here.

Call me Debbie Downer, but neither feels like an especially glam place to visit. After all, such clubs justify their patronage by way of mostly pragmatic considerations: a convenient location; access to business networking opportunities; affordable gym membership; and so forth. This, as Rosewood Hotels CEO Sonia Cheng well knows is where Carlyle & Co. can break the mould -- by conjuring a little glamour into Hong Kong's mostly comatose members' club scene.

Best thought of as a kind of pied-à-terre to the Rosewood Hong Kong (spanning the 54th-56th floor of the hotel) Carlyle & Co. is, in effect, Cheng's answer to the boutique members' clubs that have dominated pop culture these last 20 years. In Hong Kong -- where bureaucratic red tape is frequent; and decent-sized real estate scant -- her hotel group's latest venture feels especially impressive -- if for no other reason than the sheer audacity of it all.

In recent weeks, the first details of the club's leviathan 25,000 sq. ft. premises have begun to emerge, inspired in broad strokes by the "intriguing, inimitable and ultimately indefinable" style of The Carlyle in New York (incidentally also a brand owned by Rosewood Hotels). To orchestrate this vision of Hong Kong-via-Manhattan, Rosewood turned to British designer Ilse Crawford, whose approach has imbued the club's many rooms with a light, playful sensibility -- affording each a healthy dose of individual personality.

For fusty decadents like yours truly, the gentlemen's spaces -- including a barber, shoeshine, and capsule store by an award-winning haberdasher -- hold immense charm -- even though they espouse just one of many eclectic visual styles members will enjoy each time they navigate the club. The aforementioned differ significantly from spaces like the Cabaret Bar and Sitting Room, both of which employ the medium of painting (by artists Jean-Philippe Delhomme and Christina Zimpel respectively) to celebrate The Carlyle hotel's legendary Bemelmans murals.

Supper & Supping

In the spirit of its progenitor, the various dining venues at Carlyle & Co. seem to be accompanied by an august sense of occasion. The crux of the action happens at the brasserie, which (like any decent club restaurant in Hong Kong) serves a medley of Western, Chinese, and all-day delicacies. Here, the focus is on simply cooking the freshest produce the club can source -- various of the small plates are smoked, cured, or otherwise preserved in-house -- yet it's hardly the most theatrical outlet. That honour belongs to Café Carlyle, an intimate supper club intended as the local chapter of the eponymous tippling destination in New York. Members can expect this to be the repository of the club's live musical programming, which (consistent with the historic acts that have taken to the stage at the Carlyle hotel) will include an assortment of uniquely American artforms like jazz, funk, and blues.

Members craving a dose of sunshine can also take a selection of food and drink on the club's 55th-floor terrace, which (much like the Rosewood property at large) enjoys the sort of view that's conducive to sonnet writing or spontaneous tears of joy. Flanking one end of that terrace, you'll find the local chapter of Bemelmans Bar. Like its namesake, the menu here is split roughly equally between fine wines, punchbowls and classic cocktails; though, at the weekend, you can expect a certain frenetic atmosphere to take hold, as the space merges with the terrace for live DJ performances against the backdrop of Victoria Harbour.

Cosy quarters, brimming with personality

Though Carlyle & Co. members can easily book themselves into one of the 400-plus rooms at the surrounding Rosewood property, the entire 54th floor of the club is given over to eight themed suites -- all of which celebrate the history of The Carlyle hotel. More or less equal in size, each offers an inviting and distinctive interior personality. If you're retiring following an evening spent drinking (one too many) Martinis for instance, the 'Tommy' seems an apt choice -- named for and inspired by the legendary Bemelmans bartender Mr. Tommy Rowles. Other known personalities include Dorothy Draper, the original 'modern Baroque' decorator of The Carlyle's interiors; and Eartha Kitt, the renowned actress and Broadway musician. For dedicated students of café society, a stay in every single suite would seem like money well-spent.

A variety of membership packages are available at Carlyle & Co., with or without health club membership. To learn more about rates (or inquire about eligibility) visit Carlyle & Co. online.

The post The Best New Menus in Hong Kong in April 2021 appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

As the new season sweeps the city, award winning chef Vicky Lau of Michelin-starred Tate Dining Room is clearing the decks for a refreshed eight-course menu that not only celebrates the season's best produce, but couples the intricacies of French cooking and premium Chinese ingredients with touches of nostalgia, too. We took a peek at the new menu (priced at HK$1,680 +10% per guest) and we're liking what we've seen so far.

Bringing her edible stories to life once more, Lau's new dégustation is a continued chapter of odes to ingredients of the season. They display distinct Chinese traditions and flavours with the flair of French cuisine. Take the Ode to conch in the first course for example, which is dedicated to the fresh sea conch. This seafood is thought to have healing properties and widely used in soups, and sometimes medicine, for Chinese food therapy. Here, the fresh, tender conch meat is combined with the umami of seaweed jelly, sweetened with pumpkin purée and presented in the shell itself.

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Other highlights at Tate Dining Room include a signature dish; the Ode to pâté en croûte, which takes the French classic of meat terrine baked in a pie crust, and adds a Chinese twist. A layer of fresh abalone sits between a pork and Chinese mushroom filling. It's then topped with a Chinese Xiaoxing wine jelly, sliced to reveal the centre and served with white asparagus and black garlic.

Meanwhile, the Ode to kumquat makes use of the orange fruit that is Native to Northern China and bears an auspicious meaning of good fortune across the country. In this dish, plump servings of Hokkaido scallop are paired with pickled daikon and a traditional French Grenobloise brown butter sauce before the tang of kumquats and dried scallop finish off the dish.

Of course, with some of the finest French produce to back you up, you almost can't lose. The Ode to Challans duck is exactly this. Pan-roasted duck breast, which makes use of the hand-reared ducks recognised for it's lean meat with bags of flavour, is served with a fig and red date compote, as well as a savoury duck jus.

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The creative marriage of French-Chinese cuisine can also be found in the Ode to Brillat-Savarin. Taking on the soft, buttery, white-crusted triple cream brie from Burgundy, this dish is escorted by rye toast and plum gel along with a variety of Chinese condiments such as ginger, hawthorn bar, dried plums and bergamot. To follow, the dessert takes the humble chestnut -- commonly used in Chinese and French cuisine -- to blend classics from both regions. Inspired by Hong Kong's baked sago pudding with chestnut cream, the Ode to chestnut envelops those flavours into a chestnut sago soufflé served with Pu'er ice-cream.

We also hear that the final chapter, an Ode to chinoiserie, is quite the spectacle. Where guests can open a customised chest of drawers that reveal an assortment of small pastries inspirited with the memories of Lau's Chinese upbringing. Think Rose chocolate fans, chocolate bon bons infused with red date, ginseng, green tea and sesame, guava marshmallows, mini mango kaffir lime gateaus, and much, much more.

[caption id="attachment_162259" align="alignnone" width="6500"] Chef Vicky Lau's seasonal ode is an innovative French x Chinese eight-part menu.[/caption]

Wine pairing options are also available and offer blends from France and China’s notable wine regions for an additional +HK$190 for a glass of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, +HK$480 for three glasses and HK$780 for six glasses.
For the full menu, visit the the Tate Dining Room website here.

The post Tate Dining Room’s New Seasonal Menu Revels in French Cooking and Chinese Nostalgia appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

If you’re well-versed in Chinese geography, you already know that Jiangnan, literally meaning south of the river, refers to the region beneath China’s Yangtze River including cities such as Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Shaoxing amongst other neighbouring provinces. But what do you know of its cuisine and the heritage behind it?

Well, let’s look at history. According to an abundance of fourth century stories; including one about a Chinese official abandoning his post to go home for his favourite Jiangnanese dish, you could say that Jiangnan cuisine is missed by all who enjoy it -- emperors included.

Today, the regional cuisine is just as loved for its delicate balance of lighter flavours that harmonise gracefully with the seasons and landscape, and closely associated with hong shao, a slow red braising technique that produces dark and rich gravies, as well as plenty of pickling, drunken and rice dishes.

[caption id="attachment_155944" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Old Bailey in the Centre for Heritage and Arts, Tai Kwun.[/caption]

Enter Hong Kong’s very own Jiangnan eatery Old Bailey; a JIA Group restaurant which swept the city with its fresh and unique stance on this regional Chinese cuisine since opening in Tai Kwun last year. This season, they continue to champion the culinary philosophy of Jiangnan with Executive Chef Wong Kwan Man, a native from Yangzhou (the old gastronomic capital of the region), at the helm to launch a series of new seasonal menus, a la carte dishes, cocktails and mooncakes.

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A New Season for Jiangnan Cuisine

Three new tasting menus offer a seasonal taste of Jiangnan, including a 10-course option (HK$500) for vegetarians. The 'Green Taste of Jiangnan’ experience combines a selection of vegetarian versions of Old Bailey’s signatures such as steamed veggie Xiaolongbao, Sweet and sour bean curd, and a Village-style Hangzhou sautéed green chilli with aubergine. While a classic ‘Taste of Jiangnan’, which is a 9-course menu (HK$600), includes favourites such as spicy Mala xiaolongbao, a Red-braised lion's head (don't worry no actual lions were involved in the making of this pork meatball), along with Osmanthus-flavoured Jinhua ham with crispy bean curd sheet and mantou. A more extensive route can be found in ‘An Exquisite Taste of Jiangnan’ where a comprehensive 10-course meal (HK$800) offers premium dishes of Longjing tea-smoked pigeon and the ever-popular hand-pulled noodles covered with Hairy crab roe. Both meat-filled tasting menus can be complemented by curated wine pairings for HK$450 and HK$500 respectively.

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For those that prefer to go a la carte, newly added highlights like the refreshing Marinated Japanese yam complemented by preserved plum or the season’s first steamed mud crab, served whole and meaty with 15-years-aged huadiao wine are excellent choices. The whole Ten treasure duck, an elevated rendition of the Shanghainese eight treasure duck, also comes highly recommended and is available either braised or deep-fried with salt and pepper but must be pre-ordered 24 hours in advance. We’d also suggest a traditional serving of hand-pulled noodles with Clams and chilli, a Jiangnan delight to complete the meal.

Tai Kwun-inspired Cocktails

In honour of the historic and cultural arts hub its situated in, Old Bailey introduces its new cocktail menu with eight Tai Kwun-inspired drinks for the season. We recommend the Big station, a literal translation of Tai Kwun, which adds spicy herbaceous tones to a classic gin-based white lady cocktail, or Brick walls, an homage to the the prison yard walls, that also uses gin with bergamot black tea, cold brew coffee, tonic water, grapefruit zest. Meanwhile, the Guard house 1858 negroni-style cocktail uses a floral foundation of white peony and elderflower mixed with Lillet blanc, Cedars classic, Suze and aged mandarin peel, to represent the guard house building that became the first halfway house, named Bauhinia House back then, for female rehabilitation in 1984.

[caption id="attachment_155951" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Old Bailey's (left) savoury and (right) sweet Shanghai-style mooncakes.[/caption]

Handmade Shanghai-style Mooncakes

With Mid-Autumn looming, Old Bailey is offering authentic Shanghai-style treats to mark the festive tradition of mooncake gifting and eating. The handmade mooncakes are available in limited quantities and offer sweet and savoury filling options. Each flakey, buttery short-crust style pastry wraps around sweet red bean paste or a more dark, peppery pork flavour. Old Bailey's gift box will present 6 mooncakes (HK$238) and will be available for pre-orders starting 22 July 2019 on their dedicated form, which can be accessed here.

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