CHINESE NEW YEAR AT HKK

Chinese New Year may've been yesterday, but you can carry on the celebrations, as the Chinese do, all week and beyond, thanks to HKK's fantastic specially crafted Chinese New Year menu that they're serving at their Michelin star restaurant, near Liverpool Street, until the 20th February.

I've reviewed the tasting menu at HKK before, and was expecting the same menu with little tweaks to add a CNY vibe, but their CNY menu is completely different (bar the duck course) and actually better than the menu I'd had before, in my opinion. To start with, the menu itself is beautiful. Not only does it give you the history of each course, but you're allowed to take it away with you as a memento of the meal you've had there (which is helpful when there are that many courses!)

Having just got back from a sake tour of Japan, I was interested to see that the first drink matched with the menu is a sparkling sake. In fact, the drinks paired throughout the meal are from all around the world - from Japan, to Venezuela, to France - and they all worked fantastically with each course. The cost of the CNY menu is £88 per person for food, plus £48 for the drinks, and I think if you're going to go for it, then definitely get the drinks too. I know it's not cheap, but as a special treat it's definitely worth it.

Course number one of nine (!) is the prosperity platter - a fresh and tasty salad of jellyfish, mouli, seaweed, ginger, leeks, roasted peanuts and crispy salmon skin - that's tossed high in the air for good luck and happiness. This is served with grilled spiced and salted Welsh pork with mustard and a goji berry foam, and a dried oyster sauce and iberico ham dumpling with black moss. All of which get the meal off to the perfect start.

 

Next is the Tai Ji supreme seafood yin and yang soup - made up of a fresh cods roe soup (my favourite) and an egg white, bamboo shoot and Cornish crab soup, served with a spoonful of chopped langoustine. Utterly delicious, and very clever presentation with the yin and yang still in tact when it reached the table.

When they brought us the dumplings, I assumed they'd be the same ones I'd had at HKK before, as they look the same. But, of course not. The green dumpling is dover sole with imperial caviar, and was Georgie's favourite of the trio. The pink one is scallop and Chinese chive with caviar, and the pastry dumpling is filled with chicken and abalone, and was the one I preferred if I had to choose from the three. All really good though, the dumplings are served with a tangy, fruity bitter fortune cocktail made from gin, rhubarb, grapefruit and apple.

Up next is the same roasted cherry wood Peking duck dish that's always served at HKK, and which you can read about here, and this is followed by what was probably my favourite dish of the evening (though it's almost impossible to choose) - lobster, noodles, mushrooms and XO sauce. Everything was cooked and seasoned to perfection. The noodles are eaten on the seventh day of Chinese New Year and are known as longevity noodles, symbolic of a long and healthy life.

The final savoury course is Sichuan Mala Lamb, and is comprised of three sticky pieces of lamb fillet, served with an array of fresh, cooked and pickled vegetables, and paired with a gorgeous Tempranillo 2011 wine.

 

The first of three puddings was SO good - vanilla and mandarin dumplings, which are white chocolate shells filled with a mandarin syrup, and served with Diplomatico rum, whose PR I'd been for drinks with before going to HKK. The rum and white chocolate were absolutely heavenly, and I could have happily finished on this course.

But there was more to come. Georgie's favourite pudding - green apple parfait, cardamom cake and crispy apple noodle, with loads of other apple textures on the plate. It was a work of art, but I was so full by this point I just couldn't enjoy anymore food!

Finally, the tray of togetherness - eight different sweet including jasmine tea shortbread, jellies, financiers and red bean paste sweeties. Mine were devoured at home the next day as they'll let you pick the ones you want to take away.

The Chinese New Year menu at HKK is spectacular. I don't know anywhere in London that compares, so if you can treat yourself, or your loved ones, then do it. They've got availability most lunchtimes and dinners between now and the 20th, and there's a vegetarian option too - full info on both menus and bookings details here. Happy Chinese New Year!!