db Eats HK: Vasco

Hong Kong has been enjoying a flirtation with Spanish cuisine over the last few years that has recently blossomed into a full-on relationship.

It all started in 2012 with Jason Atherton, who opened two laid-back tapas bars, Ham & Sherry and 22 Ships a stone’s throw from each other on Ship Street in the city’s trendy Wan Chai district. Serving an inventive menu of tapas inspired by Spanish, British and Asian cuisine alongside an all-Spanish wine list, the success of both ventures spawned a legion of imitators keen for a slice of the action.

Breaking the mold is fine dining venue Vasco in Central, which opened last July with unashamed Michelin ambitions. Going against the grain of the current trend for casual dining in HK, Vasco specialises in five and seven-course tasting menus that force diners to slow there frenetic pace if only for a few hours.

Meaning “Basque” in Spanish, Vasco is the brainchild of Martin Berasategui, one of Spain’s most revered chefs with seven stars to his name, who opened the venture in collaboration with Drawing Room Concepts. At the helm is affable Italian chef Paolo Casagrande, who wound up in Hong Kong by way of the two Michelin-starred Restaurante Lasarte in Barcelona.

Housed on the 7^th floor of the recently refurbished Police Married Quarters (PMQ), the 60-seater venue boasts two private dining rooms and two semi-private dining rooms in a hat tip to the Chinese love of eating away from prying eyes.

Interiors are an unusual mix of industrial chic and upmarket dining room, with olive green velvet booths and bouquets of fresh flowers sharing space with stainless steel lamps and a grated glass ceiling, which injects cool into the calm.

Casagrande pays close attention to the seasons, meaning the tasting menu is revamped four times a year, while single dishes are often switched up to keep things interesting.

One of the highlights of my languorous lunch came early on in the form of five swooshes of butter (mushroom, spinach, beetroot, tomato and salt) in a kaleidoscope of colours, from purple to pea green.

Open-jawed in delight when presented with my palette, I proceeded to paint with them, slathering generous swipes onto hunks of piping-hot, homemade sourdough. The mushroom butter was so divine I asked for a second helping.

From the get go you’re treated to Casagrande’s artist’s eye for detail. Dishes are exquisitely crafted mini works of art. They’re so pretty in fact; it feels a shame to eat them. A quartet of amuse bouche were made with such attention to detail, they could have been the work of the miniaturist in Jessie Burton’s novel.

The star of the show is dollop of foie gras resting between two wafer-thin slivers of biscuit that melts in the mouth and seduces the taste buds. Another playful teaser – saline Japanese sardines served with a citrus-scented “snow”, is served in a cracked china egg.

The first course is a solitary silky, charcoal-smoked oyster swimming in a soft onion cream. Theatrically billowing with smoke, nestled in the oyster is a “pearl” that bursts with the salty essence of the sea on biting, making the dish almost 3D in character and bringing its origins dramatically to life.

Next came a super rich dish of roasted foie gras in a nori and duck consommé infused with citronelle, horseradish and hazelnut. Creamy, salty and unctuous, the cintronelle lifted the decadent dish into a lighter realm as its layers revealed themselves in tantalising stages.

Less impressive was a red Palamos prawn and sea urchin, which, while the most visually stunning of the line-up, was served cold and left me just that. Aiming to evoke a miniature beach, I got the impression that Casagrande was trying a little too hard to wow, forgetting in the process that a cold, congealed seascape isn’t a joy to eat.

He was soon back on track however, with the simple combination of black truffle and egg yolk paired with pork carpaccio, which pushed all my buttons in a warm, earthy vital dish that tasted timeless.

A snow-white hunk of spinach-glazed Dover sole with mandarin cream and green chili was ambitious but worked surprisingly well, the moist, meaty fish enlivened by the fiery chili and invigorating citrus, though the fish was so expertly cooked it felt sacrilegious sullying it with other flavours.

Continuing with his daring streak, the meat of the matter: chargrilled pigeon was served with pools of sunshine yellow pineapple foam. So rare its flesh was practically purple, I dived in expecting the sweetness of the pineapple to overpower the delicate bird, but instead was treated to one of the most unusual and exciting flavor combinations I’ve encountered in the last year.

The feast ended on a refreshing note via a white chocolate and anise panna cotta with a celery granita that blew away the cobwebs. Hearteningly in a city obsessed with Bordeaux and Burgundy, wines at Vasco are distinctly Spanish in character and run the gamut from top drops like Vega Sicilia Unico and L’Ermita from Priorat to more affordable bottles from Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Rías Biaxas and beyond.

Among those I enjoyed during lunch were Lopez de Heredia Gravonia 2004, which looked like liquid gold and offered alluring notes of honeycomb, almond and hazelnut. Also on pour was Cune Imperial 2007 Rioja Reserva, which seemed remarkably young for its years with its intoxicating combination of savoury notes wrapped around red fruit that slipped down like velvet.

Priced at HK$980 for the five-course tasting menu and HK$1,280 for the seven-course offering, lunch or dinner at Vasco doesn’t come cheap, but it takes diners on an exciting edible journey through northern Spain via arguably the most accomplished Spanish-inspired cooking being served in Hong Kong right now.

Vasco, 7^th floor, Block B, PMQ,
35 Aberdeen Street,
Central, Hong Kong;
Tel: +852 2156 0888