Baked in Wanchai

Pin It

V is back in town for a few days, and since I happen to be free tonight, I decided to catch up with him over dinner. As our other friends were either out of town or deathly ill, it came down to just the two of us again. Wanting something casual but wanting to check out a place that was new to both of us, I suggested we hit Chouchou - the slightly more upscale sister restaurant from the people behind Babette.

While I really relish being pampered at fine dining restaurants, what Hong Kong really lacks is a collection of bistros and brasseries that serve straightforward French fare that taste good, without burning a hole in one's wallet. Unfortunately Jean May - a crowd favorites which rose to fame during the pandemic years - closed down recently. So I'm kinda on the hunt for more places where V and I can just bring a couple of bottles and chill.

The menu here offers a number of classics often featured at brasseries, and I was pretty happy to start ticking them off tonight.

Tarte fine aux champignons - 'tis the season for mushrooms, and I love having a pile of them in a puff pastry. Would have been even better if they did it as a vol-au-vent but I was still very happy.

Foie gras au torchon - doesn't get much more classic than this... and I could never say 'no' to toasted brioche. There was a condiment of pear and cocoa that was rather interesting.

Tourte - we were trying to see which dish to share, and felt this would be more interesting than côte de boeuf. When this arrived, I initially feared that it wasn't big enough and that we would need to order up more food. How wrong I was...

So this may not be the venison dartois from Hairy Legs, but it's still damn respectable with layers of Comté, jambon de Paris, potato, truffle sauce, and smoked pancetta (what? not lardons?) Very hearty and satisfying. And most important of all, went very, very well with our wines.

The tourte came with some sucrine lettuce on the side. Was that Marie Rose sauce on top?

Jardinière de légumes - always a good idea to have some veg for balance.

Île flottante - one does not often see this classic show up in Hong Kong, so I jumped at the chance. Fluffy meringue with a nice vanilla sauce. Happy.

V and I each brought a "casual" bottle, and as usual I was happy to pay the corkage. Originally we were meant to give up our table for the next seating, but seeing that we were paying HKD 1,000 for corkage that was pure profit for the restaurant, the manager told us we could take it easy and finish our wines.

2008 Gourt de Mautens Rasteau - popped and poured. Pretty nice and floral on the palate, and a little soapy. There was also a hint of funkiness, but pretty enjoyable.

2006 Jean-Michel Stephan Côte-Rôtie Côteaux de Tupin - started drinking more than 1½ hours after opening. This was definitely showing very well, with plenty of fragrant, woodsy notes. Drinking beautifully, and exactly how I was hoping it would be.

Well, we didn't finish the second bottle at the brasserie. We adjourned to V's Whiskey joint and hung out there. I was within 2 minutes' walking distance from a bunch of the afterparties for Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, but tonight, I treasured time with an old friend a lot more.