Exquisite The St Regis Hong Kong swung open its doors this April to welcome guests into its elegant cocoon amidst the hustle and bustle of Wanchai. The hotel’s Chinese restaurant, Rùn, designed by Andrè Fu as a modern tea pavilion enriched with traditional accents, offers fine-dining Cantonese cuisine.
Guests are spoilt for choice with the dim sum, fresh seafood, nourishing soups and signature roasts on offer. Chef de Cuisine Hung Chi-Kwong is well-versed in refined Cantonese cuisine, having led the kitchens of Cuisine Cuisine at The Mira and, most recently, Man Wah at the Mandarin Oriental before donning his chef whites at Rùn.
We recently sat down for a sumptuous tasting at the restaurant to see if the menu is worth its salt.
Our dinner started with crispy fried pumpkin in salted duck egg yolk and tender stewed beef.
A beautifully presented dish of sweet, vinegary lotus root stained with red guava juice and sprinkled with gold dust followed, because, of course, everything tastes more magical when it’s gold!
We next tried a sampler plate of signature appetisers, so the portions pictured are not representative of the actual dishes on the menu. The marinated shredded chicken with tea tree mushroom ($168) was light and refreshing, a perfect complement to Hong Kong’s heat. The Ibérico pork char siu ($368) was melt-in-the-mouth tender with a caramelised honey crust and just the right amount of fat, while the deep-fried Wagyu beef puff with black pepper sauce ($98 for 3), wrapped in an intricate lattice of puff pastry, was almost too pretty to eat.
Served in a baked coconut is the double-boiled conch soup ($328), infused with kelp, goji berries and young coconut. The sweetness of the coconut permeated the soup, making the nourishing broth incredibly light with a subtle sweetness.
The pan-fried snow crab claw (off-menu), topped with shrimp mousse in sweet-and-sour sauce, is a Cantonese classic. The juicy, plump crab paired well with the crescent of Chinese steamed bun, flash-fried to give it an irresistible crunch.
We’re not big fans of bitter melon, but the stewed Ibérico pork and bitter melon in fish broth ($168), topped with fried sakura shrimp, was delicious. The astringency of the bitter gourd undercut the richness of the pork and broth.
The spotted garoupa fried rice ($138/person) was a healthy spin on fried rice with the addition of quinoa, which added textural contrast. We especially liked the bursts of sweetness from the corn kernels.
Dessert was a refreshing chilled bowl of pink guava sago with cream and coconut jelly ($68) and the most adorable milk pudding and bird’s nest bunnies ($88 for 3). We almost didn’t want to dip in our spoon to decapitate those bunnies!
Verdict
Chef Hung Chi-Kwong’s delicate, refined Cantonese cuisine is definitely a treat for the eyes as well as for the palate. Each dish, although recognisably traditional, is elevated with a unique twist on a classic, making Rùn a restaurant that both younger and older generations can appreciate.
2/F, The St Regis Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Drive, Wanchai, 2138 6808, book online
This write-up is based on a complimentary media tasting provided in exchange for an honest review and no monetary compensation. The opinions expressed here represent the author’s.
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