Where do we book when we want to spoil ourselves with an expertly curated, multi-course tasting menu but don’t have a lot of cash to splash?
With many fine-dining tasting menus in Hong Kong regularly clocking in at HKD1,500 or more a head, it can be tricky unearthing top-notch yet affordable options. But, dear readers, you’re in luck – we’ve taken the guesswork out with our list of the top tasting menus in Hong Kong that won’t break the bank, with each featured restaurant offering a tasting menu priced at under HKD1,000 per diner.
The best affordable tasting menus in Hong Kong
WHISK
Though chef William Lau – the winner of our Foodie Forks 2024 Rising Star Award – has recently departed creative French-Japanese restaurant WHISK at The Mira, the hotel’s experienced culinary director, Sheldon Fonseca, is continuing the focus on seasonality and sustainability at good-value prices. WHISK’s midweek menus are particularly wallet friendly. First up, Wednesday Wagyu & Wine (HKD1,188 for 2) is a four-course beef-focused affair, with dishes such as Polmard beef tartare with nori waffle and Wagyu oxtail ravioli paired with a bottle of Old World red wine.
For sake connoisseurs, the Oma-Sake Dinner (HKD1,188 for 2), available on Tuesdays and Thursdays, is the way to go, offering another sensational four-course fusion menu, this time matched with a bottle of sake from Akita Prefecture. You read that right – each of these menus has a price tag of just HKD594 per diner! Even better, if you book via the Mira eShop, the service charge will be waived.
WHISK, 5/F, The Mira Hong Kong, Mira Place, 118–130 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, 2315 5999, WhatsApp 6273 3588, book here
Roganic
Celebrating five years in Hong Kong, we think Roganic, British chef Simon Rogan’s Michelin-starred import, is the city’s best sustainable fine-dining restaurant, yet again bagging a Michelin Green Star this year for its commitment to using locally sourced ingredients, with some grown in-house. Head chef Adam Catterall’s seasonally refreshed 11-course Full Tasting Menu (HKD1,180 pp) is a fine-dining steal. Highlights include the cured Spanish mackerel in coal with apple, three-yellow chicken with Sweet Jean sweetcorn, and Roganic’s signature truffle pudding caramelised in birch sap – a desert-island dish if there ever was one. The nine-course Short Tasting Menu (HKD780 pp) delivers Roganic’s seasonal, sustainable flair at an even more affordable price tag.
As reported by Foodie earlier this month, Roganic Hong Kong is headed to a new location in the city in late 2024, bidding farewell to its Causeway Bay venue on Sep. 15. We’re eager to learn in which Hong Kong Island neighbourhood we’ll next be able to sample the restaurant’s incredible tasting menus.
Roganic, UG/F, Sino Plaza, 255 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, 2817 8383, book here
Leela
Our favourite Indian chef Manav Tuli departed CHAAT at the Rosewood to open Leela in partnership with JIA Group last autumn, charming diners with his inventive tributes to the rich and diverse culinary traditions of India. The restaurant’s six-course tasting menu (HKD988 pp) is the ideal way to sample the breadth of the chef’s finesse at a very reasonable price point, especially considering the quality of the local vegetables, seafood, and meat showcased. Currently wowing on the tasting menu are the Lucknowi tokri chaat (a deep-fried potato basket filled with lentil dumplings, chickpeas, and sweet, spicy, and sour chutneys), baked Chettinadu duck samosa, coconut sea bass, tandoori lamb chop, smoked butter chicken with bone marrow and beef cheek biryani, and chocolate-chilli chaat.
Leela, Shop 301–310, 3/F, Lee Garden Three, 1 Sunning Road, Causeway Bay, 2882 5316, WhatsApp 9379 8780, book here
Zoku Restaurant & The Terrace
The Hari hotel’s snazzy Japanese restaurant Zoku offers a wide range of enticing menus, from brunch and lunch, to happy hour, to a sake and sando menu, but it’s the eatery’s beautifully presented Discovering Zoku six-course tasting menu (HKD888 pp) that stands out. It kicks off with a selection of otoshi (similar to one-bite amuse-bouche) the likes of Wagyu with crispy rice and quail egg, followed by a cold kaishi dish such as shime saba (cured mackerel). Sushi is up next (we like the hamachi roll accented with ebi tempura, avocado, and yuzu), with a warm otsumami dish like kushiyaki ensuing. Then it’s time to select a main course and dessert (the hirame shioyaki, or salt-grilled halibut, and molten green tea cake are winners). Zoku also deserves a shout-out for its uber-polished service, which makes all the difference when enjoying a leisurely tasting menu.
Zoku Restaurant & The Terrace, 2/F, The Hari Hong Kong, 330 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, 2129 0338, book here
Above & Beyond
Michelin-recommended Above & Beyond, located on the top floor of Hotel ICON, has been standing sky-high (literally) in Hong Kong’s Cantonese fine-dining sphere for over a decade. For a blowout Chinese meal with a modest price tag, executive chef Chi Ki Wong has put his heart and soul into a series of tasting menus, and several are priced at under HKD1,000 per diner. We usually opt for the Peking duck tasting menu (HKD788 pp), where the gleaming, lacquered bird plays a starring role. Delicate dishes such as braised crabmeat broth with seafood and stir-fried shrimp with truffle and wild mushroom accompany the richly flavoured duck in all its crisp-skinned, juicy glory.
Above & Beyond, 28/F, Hotel ICON, 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, 3400 1318, book here
Clarence
At Olivier Elzer’s contemporary French restaurant Clarence, the acclaimed chef takes a lighter, Asian-inspired approach to Gallic cuisine, offering a fresh perspective. The four-course set dinner menu (HKD688 pp) allows diners to customise their own menu, selecting two hot starters, two cold starters, a main, and a dessert or cheese course from a variety of choices. You can’t go wrong with the classic frog legs and Dover sole. The eatery’s relaxed, convivial ambience is another reason we head back to Clarence again and again.
Clarence, 25/F, H Code, 45 Pottinger Street, Central, 3568 1397, book here
