A brand new culinary gem tucked away on Gough Street, Gough's on Gough is the brainchild of British furniture brand Timothy Oulton. With its flagship store located on Gough Street and over 40 stores worldwide, the distinctive brand is known for its vintage British charm and authentic style, combining traditional craftsmanship with pioneering designs. Timothy Oulton's first ever restaurant follows in the same vein, with cuisine reminiscent of the English seaside and hands down the coolest interior decor and design pieces in town! Think goose feather and oyster shell walls, marble, gold, brass, fresh roses, zebra heads, intricate table settings and lots and lots of hand-finished leather. I attended the pre-opening trial dinner where we enjoyed Executive Chef Arron Rhodes' summer tasting menu, which showcased impressive techniques upon the finest seasonal harvest.
Prior to heading up Gough's on Gough, Arron received training at renowned establishments such as 3* Hof Van Cleve in Belgium, Restaurant Andre in Singapore, and most recently, worked in the kitchens of Central (Ranked #1 in Latin America 50 Best Restaurants 2016) as well as Maido (#2). Influences from his past roles can definitely be seen throughout the 7-course tasting menu at Gough's on Gough.
I think it's safe to say the experience went beyond our expectations. It began at the entrance, where a tank full of gold-flecked Brazilian piranhas greeted us (nothing fancy).
The feedings apparently involve red meat and fish heads. I didn't know piranhas were so pretty - especially the gold flecks on their sides. They've been imported specially from South America.
Head up the gorgeous marble staircase and you'll arrive at the bar, where guests are encouraged to enjoy a drink from the menu of aperitifs - the traditional pre-meal drink. I was addressed by name, which was a nice and personal touch.
The guys at Gough's on Gough knew exactly what I wanted when I vaguely said I felt like something "refreshing and sour, not too sweet". The bartender whipped me up the Sparkling Amero Sour from the champagne cocktails section. It's made with Amero Ranazotti, Grenadine Syrup, Champagne, Star Anise and a generous splash of lime.
Normally, I would group the amuse-bouche dishes together - but these ones deserve individual recognition. These were the "Beef Pop Shots", Chef Arron's delicious take on the classic French tartare. Encased within each 'shot' is raw beef, egg yolk, and an injection of ponzu.
The warm potato filled with cous cous was rustic and comforting, and was shown off in all its tasty seasonal glory.
This is called "English Seaside", and one bite is enough to understand why. The Scottish Brown Crab mousse (was so light it was almost a foam!) sits on a squid ink cracker, and is eaten with the sea whelk. Quite literally tastes like the ocean.
Drawing inspiration from his Nikkei culinary experiences in Peru, Chef Arron created this Purple Corn dish, with avocado, baby corn, leche de tigre and crunchy kaniwa, which is a South American type of baby quinoa. This was my first time trying purple corn (and kaniwa!), and I loved it with the warm avocado and sauce.
The sour dough is baked in-house daily, and paired with home-made English butter. Ate this so fast.
My favourite dish of the night. The uni custard with dashi, sea urchin, trout eggs, shimeji mushroom, and teriyaki. The warm dashi custard was beautiful, like a reinterpreted Japanese chawanmushi with a more intense and nuanced flavour from the urchin.
The Fresh Water Trout was presented nice and colourful, with a matching light curry sauce poured at the table. The Dutch mussels and trout were perfectly cooked, and so tender. The dish is accompanied by 3 types of Italian tomatoes, sun-dried in-house.
The Australian grass-fed Beef Short Rib with porcini, tempura-battered shallot, and mashed potato were, simply put, heaven. The gravy + creamy mash + beef; what a combo!
This was a surprise welcome addition of grain-fed Australian sirloin beef, as it's not officially part of the tasting menu. It comes accompanied by Boulangere potato, mash and onion.
The first dessert was the fresh lychee sorbet with passionfruit mousse, mascarpone and gingerbread crumbs. Super refreshing way to cleanse the palate after the decadent meal.
Inspired by his travels to the Nordic island nation, this is Chef Arron's take on the Icelandic Skyr - a type of yoghurt that we thought almost resembles cottage cheese because of how thick the texture is. It's prepared like a granola dish, with blueberries, honey and oats.
To wrap up, we had coffee and tea in elegant cups with the petit four pictured above. From left to right in a clockwise direction: Hazelnut Chocolates, Blackcurrant Marshmallow, Raspberry Chocolate and Financier with Coconut & Rum.
Gough's On Gough is set to open its doors to the public in early July. Stay tuned for some seriously delicious modern British food in the heart of Gough Street, Central!
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Restaurant Details - Gough's On Gough
Tel - 2473 9066
Address - 15 Gough Street, Central
Website - goughsongough.com
Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/goughsongough/?fref=ts
Instagram - @goughsongough
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