Asaya Kitchen (plus the spa and wellness and pool centre) is situated on the sixth floor of the stunning new
hotel Rosewood Hong Kong.
The restaurant and hotel’s interiors were designed by Tony Chi, who is also the mastermind behind the Rosewood hotel in London, not to mention countless other luxury hotels around the world.
Asaya’s elegant and spacious design with neutral colour palette immediately creates a feeling of balance and calm. With beautiful Carrara marble floors, Hans Wegner wishbone dining chairs and an all-white open kitchen, it certainly ticks all the right interior design boxes.
There is also an outdoor area with a beautiful bar, sun loungers and an infinity pool that overlooks Hong Kong Island. The pool is reserved for hotel guests, however, you can dine outside or sit at the bar and enjoy a drink whilst taking in the magnificent views.
I would recommend starting with the green juice ($90) for a serious health kick or the zero-alcohol Bellini ($80) if you want something special but without the hangover later on.
We choose to eat sharing style, choosing a few options from the menu. I think Asaya’s food works really well shared this way, but they do also offer lunch sets ($185/2 courses or $275/3 courses), and you can pick the dishes from the regular à-la-carte menu, which I think is excellent value, especially considering the surroundings.
Chef Renaud Marin, formerly of Cochin and Upper Modern Bistro in Hong Kong, heads up the kitchen. The food is all responsibly sourced, and the team try as much as possible to use local seafood and produce, minimising the eatery’s carbon footprint. The menu is meat free and focuses on healthy plant-based salads, pulses and seafood.
We began with the semi-dried tomato tartare ($140), which sat atop bulgar wheat and came with toasted pitta. It was really flavourful, and I loved the texture. The pitta had been crisped up and drizzled with olive oil, and it reminded me of the beautiful Mediterranean flavours from my childhood holidays.
Next we had the cuttlefish salad ($145), which is a mix of quinoa and avocado in a light citrus dressing. I enjoyed the delicate taste of the cuttlefish, which soaked up the beautiful yellow citrus colour of the dressing.
A highlight was the sea bream carpaccio ($165), a generous plate of fresh sea bream carpaccio topped with pickled carrot, gem lettuce and citrus dressing. The salad was shaved very fine and created a delicate feel in the mouth.
One of the larger hot dishes was the grilled octopus ($160), served with vegetable tian, smoked aubergine caviar and a tomato emulsion. The octopus was perfectly tender with a delicious, smoky, charred taste, and it was all tied together with the Mediterranean vegetable tian and sweet tomato emulsion.
For dessert, we first had the roasted Victoria pineapple ($95) with coriander honey, yoghurt sorbet and coriander cress. The herby honey gave the tart pineapple the perfect sweetness, and I adored the tangy yoghurt sorbet, which gave the dish creaminess without the heaviness of ice cream.
My absolute favourite dish – and one that I could happily eat every day for both breakfast and dessert – was the rose petal rice pudding ($85) topped with freeze-dried lychee and pistachio. The Middle Eastern flavours elevated a very humble and comforting dish to new heights. I really didn’t want to share this and will be trying to recreate it for a lazy weekend breakfast at home.
Verdict
My experience at Rosewood’s Asaya Kitchen was very positive, both for my health and my soul. The space is like a little slice of heaven in Hong Kong, and I left feeling recharged, inspired and energised – and that’s without having had the pleasure of using the hotel’s spa. I would especially recommend it for a weekend lunch treat or poolside drinks on a sunny day.
6/F, Rosewood Hong Kong, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, TST, 3891 8732, book online
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