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16. November 2015: Restaurant Ronin

| February 4, 2016 | 0 Comments

I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E ! ! ! ! !

That is the only way to describe my experience at the Ronin! The place was recommended to my by a former SWISS stewardess. And wow, I must say, I absolutely loved it! It actually starts with arriving there. I was already informed that there was no official sign to the restaurant which makes finding it way easier. However, that is the entrance to the restaurant – and no, I am not talking about the obvious door to the left but rather the “hidden door” to the right.

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The whole restaurant is basically one long bar with chairs to both sides.

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We were lucky enough to get seats right at the bar where we were able to watch the bar tender how she prepared the drinks.

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I started with a “Japanese Cocktail (Asbach Uralt Brandy, Orgeat, Angostura Bitters)” (100 HKD) which was perfect for cleansing my palate.

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When Jeremy, which seemed to be the head waiter, approached us to take our order, we basically told him to kind of surprise us (considering allergies) and he came up with a marvelous suggestion. The whole course started with “pea leafes” which is definitely something I would never have thought of to try. But it was actually great.

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The next course was a “Shigoku Oyster with apple and ginger juice” (42 HKD). And while I usually am not a big fan of oysters I must admit that the combination with ginger and apple juice was actually great.

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The next course was a “sashimi platter” with four different kinds of fish. The first was “striped amberjack with wasabi and soy”, the second “sawtail radish”, the third “Thai seabream with dried egg roe” and the last one “cold smoked saba mackarel with amazu”. While I have never tried the majority of the fish, I must say that all of them were absolutely delicious! I especially liked the seabream with the dried egg roe.

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The next course was a “Sanma Tartare, Myoga, Spring Onion, Chips” (160 HKD). This was interesting in taste (I have never tried Sanma before) but also the way it was served because to the right you can see two double-fried fish skeletons. And, well, they were our “toast”, respectively the equivalent to the toast one would serve to a tartare in Europe. While at first it was quite unusual, I must admit that it was actually not only interesting but also very much delicious!

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Next in line was the “Kisu, shiso tempura, ginger, tensu” (110 HKD) followed by …

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… the comparatively boring “grilled itoyori, olive, tomato” (130 HKD) compared to the previous courses but still great in taste.

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My absolute highlight that evening were the “KFC crabs” (110 HKD). Basically, they are fried crabs – just like that. With everything. With their shell. With how they come. It does not look too appealing at first, admittedly. However, once you have pulled yourself together and tried the first one, you realize how tasty they are and what a nice crunchiness they actually have! Absolutely loved it!!!

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The “triggerfish served with chestnuts in yuzu honey and kyoto shichimi” (150 HKD) was very interesting. The fish is rather smooth but the sweetness of the honey adds a little extra. While the consistency of the chestnuts is great it was sometimes a bit too hard for my personal gusto almost like you would bite a piece of wood.

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The second last official course was the “Seabream karaage with pickled jalapeño tosazu” (250 HKD). Basically it looks like fish nuggets but it is a bit more than that because the fish which seems like decoration is actually edible. And – like the “toast” for the Sanma tartare – it is double-fried. We managed to eat almost the whole fish – besides the head which was a bit too much for us. But the fish nuggets as well as the whole fish with the slightly spicy jalapeño sauce was great.

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The last course was another highlight – the “Kagoshima beef, maitake, egg yolk” (390 HKD) did not only look incredibly appealing when served but was also unbelievably good. The idea was to stir everything up – which we did – and then to eat it piece by piece. And, oh my god, it was absolutely breath-taking. The meat was thinly cut, intense in its aroma and the combination of the egg yolk with the crunchiness of the potato chips and the sprouts was amazing! You can imagine how happy we have left that place and off to our flight back!

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After this amazing dinner, and actually already during that, we talked a bit to Jeremy who told us that there are two other restaurants which are run by the same people – definitely something to try when the next time in Hong Kong. As a little “good bye present” we got a “Coffee Soshu” which was cold coffee but very aromatic!

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And just to give you a glimpse, respectively some more impressions of the beauty of this place – they have a tremendous collection of various whiskeys, a lot of them from Japan. Definitely an amazing place for whiskey lovers!

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The place manages to combine elegance with simplicity. As can be seen by the set they are putting for every customer. You really feel like arriving in an amazing environment and feel like you want to spend a lot of time here. Unfortunately, for us, we had to catch a plane back to Europe. If I had gone here the first night, I would definitely have returned again to try the dishes I would not have tried the first night!

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When you are in Hong Kong – going to Ronin is a must! The place is amazing, the service is friendly (but yes, you have to be a bit patient) and professional, the dishes are to a large degree incredibly mouth-watering, and the prices are more than fair! But, make sure to book in advance as the number of seats available is rather limited!

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Contact Details:

Restaurant Ronin

On Wo Loan 8

Hong Kong (CN)

Tel.: +852 25 47 52 63

E-Mail: seats@roninhk.com

Homepage: http://roninhk.com

About the Author:

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.
2'300 HKD (incl. tip) Filed in: Hong Kong (CN), Restaurants
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