2-starred ARBOR's Nordic-Japanese autumn tasting menu by Chef Eric Raty

I always find it such a treat to come back to Arbor, a restaurant that remains dear to my heart for all the wonderful anniversary and birthday memories that I've had here with Jon over the years. We had the pleasure of enjoying Chef de Cuisine Eric Raty's autumn degustation menu, which was filled with the same intricate craftsmanship and creativity that rocketed the restaurant to its well-deserved two-MICHELIN-starred status.

One of so many of my favourite things about Chef Eric's menus is his re-interpretation of Japanese cuisine. His passion and deep understanding of Japanese flavours and sensibilities shine through in every dish. I'm always caught off-guard with unexpected flavours of home like the cold mozuku tomato consomme soumen with oyster, an elevated re-creation of simple home-style sunomono, and fork-tender abalone marinated for 18 hours using just the power of konbu and seaweed.

Another dish I loved was the off-menu sabazushi, which maintained a beautiful balance of lightly pickled vinegary saltiness, just a touch of wasabi, and umami imparted from the kombu it was wrapped in. The shari was also perfectly cooked and seasoned.

Below is the menu we experienced a week ago, and is of course subject to change depending on season and availability of ingredients.

Super fluffy oven-fresh kombu brioche with butter that seems to change every time we go here! This time, we had the mentaiko butter (phenoms) and long-time favourite miso butter.

Sabazushi with apple vinegar ginger.

Cured Hokkaido ikura on sushi rice with langoustine mayonnaise on crispy nori cracker.

Sea bream sushi prepared the traditional way.

Fukuoka Ebisu oyster and somen noodles swimming in tomato consomme and mozuku (a type of seaweed), topped with sudachi slices. Loved how refreshing this dish was.

Abalone slices marinated in kombu and seaweed for over 18 hours, served with ginnan (yay they're back in season!).

Wild amberjack sashimi in shoyu pancake, served with buri collar, ponzu jelly, sour cream and horseradish emulsion.

Seasonal matsutake, morels and black trumpet mushrooms in truffle dashi sauce served with yakitori-style tsukune meatball.

The meatball.

Beautifully cooked Brittany pigeon breast with a caramelised Okinawan dark sugar + sansho pepper powder crust. The pigeon is served with red plum, black garlic miso, beetroot slices and beetroot candy, Hibiscus flower pickles, and pigeon jus. The pigeon's leg is also served as a confit with a chicken skin tuille.

Maine lobster with tomato sauce, pumpkin puree, and fermented passionfruit jalapeno sauce that had such a fun kick to it.

Japanese plum wine jelly with meringue, sponge cake, sable, raspberry, candy kombu chips, and yogurt marshmallow with raspberry juice. Such a refreshing dessert!

Ended the meal with an absolute show-stopper of a dessert. You can see it's made to look like a sushi roll, with golden pearls of hybrid caviar to resemble rice, and a filling of genmaicha cream topped with kombu oil. Inside, there's a surprise of chewy homemade mochi and seaweed wakame shortbread base. The nori that encircles the whole thing is actually crisped wakame nori. So much delicious harmony and balance for such unique ingredients!

ARBOR DETAILS:

Tel: 3185 8388

Operation: Lunch & dinner daily

Address: 25/F H Queen's Central, Hong Kong