When it comes to eating out, there’s little I love more than long, leisurely meals. So Hong Kong’s indulgent brunch culture is perfect for me. We have brunch options galore, but there’s always room for a new one. Enter Kinship.
If you haven’t yet been to this new comfort-food-heavy restaurant, let me give you some background. It was started by American chef Chris Grare (former Executive Chef at Lily & Bloom) and British chef Arron Rhodes (former Executive Chef at Gough’s on Gough). We went for dinner soon after it opened and ordered the Let Us Feed You menu and had a taste of the rich, creative dishes on offer (I’m still thinking about the chicken liver mousse with oat crackers!). Dinner was very indulgent, so I was curious about Kinship’s new weekend brunch menu ($388/person).
The new brunch menu is a mix of American and British dishes, as in there are four starters, two of which are more American (corned beef hash and biscuits and gravy) and two are more British (black pudding and egg with roast mushrooms and salt-baked beetroot with citrus and mint yoghurt). As for the three mains, two are more American (pancakes and fried chicken and waffle) and one is more British (roast sirloin of beef).
Let’s share…
Eating the four starters at the same time seemed a bit random, but they are all good in their own right. However, the American ones were probably my favourites. It’s not easy to get biscuits and gravy in Hong Kong, and these biscuits are moist and fluffy with a light, creamy sauce. And I really liked the corned beef hash, which had a sweetish sauce along with tender pepper ribbons and soft potato chunks.
Mains
We ordered the fried chicken and waffle and roast sirloin for our mains. The chicken and waffle dish was pretty good, featuring large, boneless chicken nuggets and a maple-syrup-spiked hot sauce. Part of me wants to say I wish they had been more generous with the chicken, but I really was too full to even finish this portion.
But the roast was the star of the show. Just look at the size of that slice of beef! It was incredibly tender, and the sides of roast potato and carrot and Yorkshire pudding were very well prepared. When I took my first bite of potato, I actually dropped my fork and said, “Oh. My. Goodness.” My friend replied, “Yeah, I know. That’s a really good potato. And I don’t even like potatoes!”
Boardwalk treats
Brunch comes with two desserts: an ice-cream sundae and a Bakewell tart with poached cherries. Both were good, though by this point we were too full to have more than a couple bites of each.
Verdict
Kinship is a fun place. There’s hip-hop playing all brunch long, and the decor is industrial-chic yet comfortable. Layout-wise, it’s a big, rectangular space, so diners can see all the action around them (the other guests and the open kitchen). All this to say Kinship is a relaxed, tasty place for a comfort-food brunch.
3/F, LL Tower, 2 Shelley Street, SoHo, Central, 2520 0899, 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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