“You must go,” my colleague dictated. “When are you coming?” asked a friend in their chef team. “Is it the best?” queried another food journalist. Fine-dining restaurant Roganic holds a strong footing in Hong Kong’s dining discourse, and its reputation matches its strengths.
Roganic is a success story of celebrity chefdom in Hong Kong, opened in February 2019 by British chef Simon Rogan, a champion of the farm-to-table movement in the UK. Where many guidebook-loved and TV-celebrated chefs have failed in Hong Kong, Simon succeeds.
Serving tasting menus crafted with local and sustainable produce, Roganic brings the farm to the city, importing produce from organic sites in the New Territories and regional farms. It only took Roganic 10 months to receive its first Michelin star, and the restaurant has maintained a Michelin Green Star for three consecutive years.
It was a quiet Wednesday lunchtime when I joined a friend to sample the Full Tasting Menu (HKD1,180 pp), a melange of 12 dishes created by the Roganic team. With the departure of Ash Salmon from Roganic in late 2023, executive chef Adam Catterall directs the menu in 2024.
Lining up our hands for our dining marathon, lasting a cosy 2.5 hours, we latched onto the Spanish mackerel and sand carrot tart, featuring a dusting of fennel pollen and calendula. The meaty nature of the mackerel paired with the light pickling of the carrot awakened us to the power of flavour combinations at Roganic. The chef team excel with this introductory bite, capturing a rich, vinegary tone.
Friends who have previously dined at Roganic instructed me to watch out for the truffle pudding, a bread-and-butter-pudding-like slice caramelised in birth sap and infused with black garlic and Corra Linn cheese. I want to predict the death of truffle mania soon, but Roganic will be the last holdout, delivering an earthy taste with hints of honey, cashew nuts, and a cheesy bite at the end.
Peppery tones come to play with the sunrise tomatoes, sourced from Farmhouse Productions in Kam Tin, dressing the dish with nasturtium, cod roe, and a gingery green tomato sauce. The green tomatoes and base sauce carry strong umami flavours with a piquant and tangy touch. The sauce is the closest thing to a delicious black pepper sauce, painted green for a healthy plate.
Roganic’s regional produce strategy is evident in the May Queen potato dish, importing the spuds from Yunnan and serving them in black onion ash with a pickled walnut and lovage sauce. The mellow potato balls are elevated with the elegantly earthy onion dusting that bursts with salt and the brown and green sauce that elicits a familiar Indianesque masala flavour.
I have dreamt of trying the hen of the woods mushroom, an edible fungi found in humid forests that carries a very similar gamy flavour to duck. It is sautéed in miso butter and placed atop a creamy fermented horseradish and lemon thyme sauce. This dish stands out as the best in our lunch. Earthy, salty, and buttery tones match a sharp, aromatic, and acidic sauce that represents the highest of ingenuity to elevate the mushroom.
Another standout on the menu is the 14-day dry-aged duck, decked with Boltardy beetroot, baby turnip, and an addictive raspberry vinegar sauce. The duck fillet holds a strong gamy flavour that would be absent if it had not been aged for two weeks, matched with a honeyed skin and a tart raspberry sauce that elevates the red meat. The beetroot purée helps to introduce more sweet touches to the dish.
One of two desserts shared during our lunch tasting, the frozen Tunworth cheese is a creative dish that exhibits the strengths of Roganic’s chefs. Featuring dollops of Alpine plum, buckwheat crumb, and lemon thyme, the dessert is a playful fine-dining rendition of Dippin’ Dots with a creamy-woody-milky-honey touch.
Did I cry when receiving the last dish at Roganic? No, but I was upset there couldn’t be more. The Ruby Red strawberry dessert, paired with frozen mint chips, buttermilk, and a base of Earl Grey cream, again highlights Roganic’s jolly direction of cooking. The strawberry bite is perky and reminiscent of milky, strawberry-laced Eton mess.
Our verdict of Roganic
I left Roganic elated and narcotised by the sweet and salty treats filling my heart and stomach over the course of a magical 2.5 hours. The dining experience here stands in stark contrast to uptight fine-dining venues common in Hong Kong. Roganic is confident of its dining mission to provide rich and earthy produce with signature flair and approachable service.
Roganic, UG/F, Sino Plaza, 255 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, 2817 8383, book here
| Order this: Full Tasting Menu for lunch or dinner with a choice of sparkling wine or glass of champagne Menu: Roganic menus Price for two: HKD2,360 | Atmosphere: unpretentious, uniquely casual, and amicable; the server team deliver great plates and banterous conversation Perfect for: fine-dining experiences in Hong Kong with an appreciation for farm-to-table cooking and the power of vegetables |
This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.
