It’s pretty much true to say that in Hong Kong you have everything you could ask for on your doorstep. This, being the general consensus, is what makes so many foreign thrill seekers so attracted to living there and exactly what makes a wildly international restaurant like Aberdeen Street Social so relevant to this mega city. Shining a light on modern British cuisine and taking every step to devise an agreeable social atmosphere on all levels this is a restaurant that for that reason, defines contemporary.
The entrance area in Aberdeen Street Social
The social bar area at Aberdeen Street Social
A collaboration between entrepreneur Yenn Wong and chef-cum-restaurateur Jason Atherton, whom mastered his trade working under the likes of Gordon Ramsey, Marco Pierre White and Nico Ladenis and as head chef at London’s Maze restaurant, Aberdeen Street Social is located in Hong Kong’s Soho area.
Sitting, in fact, at the main approach to the ex-Police Married Quarters, which has now taken on new life as PMQ – a centre for design and creative industries – Aberdeen Street Social occupies a special place at the heart of the city’s creative ecology.
The restaurant area at Aberdeen Street Social
Interior design at Aberdeen Street Social
Directly in line with this Aberdeen Street Social boasts an internationally aware menu which is supremely executed, no doubt having been established to charm Hong Kong’s intercontinental glitterati.
The outside terrace area at Aberdeen Street Social
On the occasion that Glass visited the casual-yet-swank hillside eatery on a balmy Hong Kong winter’s night we were first wooed on entering by its modern interiors, put together eclectically by Shanghai-based interior designers Neri & Hu.
Hokkaido scallops with artichoke and sea vegetables
Our first dish on the four-course à la carte menu, Hokkaido scallops, artichoke and sea vegetables, was benign and had all the cool, lean seafood flavours you want when you’d much rather first take in such fascinating surroundings. The incognito location which allows the restaurant to rest between the Mid-Levels and Central looking on to Victoria Harbour gives you the feeling of not being loomed on by the city, but with peaceful out-of-harms-way views looking down upon the bustling Soho district.
After enjoying the spacious outside terrace dining area, second to be consumed was the smoked eel with cured foie gras, spiced orange, puffed rice and unagi sauce. This was just as well considered as the first dish, and like many of the entire menu’s other offerings, is intended to wow its diners by way of the frozen shards foie gras, which also adds to the taste as it happens, giving it a somewhat more refined zest.
Roasted lamb loin and slow cooked neck with burnt onion grits, carrot and cumin and sheep’s cured purée
As we continued over fine wines, a more substantial dish was to come in the form of roasted lamb loin and slow cooked neck with burnt onion grits, carrot and cumin and sheep’s cured purée, an option with a lot of meat on its bone. The lamb loin and tremendously tender neck, slow cooked to practical perfection, was just what we required to round off the first two fish fancies with something a little more robust.
After talking ourselves into finding room for dessert Glass settled on Carrot Cake with yuzu curd, cream-cheese frosting, ginger-beer foam and pecan crumble, which although sounds like an endless list of ingredients and overwrought flavours, worked in sweet and lightly savoury harmony. The most delectable end, all in all, to a collection of distinct flavours and unique interpretations of British cuisine.
Deserving props have to go to executive chef, Chris Witmore, the maestro behind the a la carte menu and head of the culinary team at Aberdeen Street Social, who has worked along with Jason Atherton since 2005.
Carrot Cake with yuzu curd, cream cheese frosting, ginger beer foam and pecan crumble
Following our meal, Glass took the opportunity to explore and decided upon retiring to the downstairs room, which features a long bar and opens up into an outdoor patio. This was ideal for some light post-meal socialising, and overlooking the simple gardens, would make an enviable spot for an unpretentious afternoon tea, some British comfort food or just some bar bites at any time of day.
Making Aberdeen Street Social, no ifs, ands or buts, the most sociable place to wine and dine in a city where social interaction goes a long way.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of Aberdeen Street Social
Aberdeen Street Social, PMQ, JPC G/Floor, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central, Hong Kong (entrance at Hollywood Road intersection of Aberdeen Street)
Tel: 2866 0300
Opening Hours:
*Downstairs:
All-day casual dining and drinks until late
Lunch (reservations for parties of 10 or more) – Monday to Friday 11.30am – 5pm
Brunch (reservations for parties of 10 or more) – Saturday, Sunday & Public holidays
11.30am –4pm
Dinner (reservations for parties of 10 or more) – Monday to Sunday 6pm – 11pm
Bar drinks served till 12 midnight Monday to Sunday
*Upstairs:
Modern British cuisine in an intimate environment
Lunch (reservations) – Monday to Sunday 12pm to 3pm
Dinner (reservations) – Monday to Sunday 6pm to 11pm
Weekend Brunch (reservations) Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays 11.30 am – 3.30pm