dbHK eats: The Continental

dbHK heads to newly revamped Swire restaurant, The Continental and discovers simple, season-driven dishes and an awe-inspiring wine list.

The concept: The Continental stands bravely among the hulking high rise hotels of the Shangri La and the Conrad on level four of swanky “lifestyle hub” of Pacific Place in Admiralty. A single-storey brasserie, it opened in October 2014 as Swire’s standalone restaurant and rumbled along quite happily for a while, rarely provoking much in the way of comments until Swire decided to give it a revamp and now it’s come roaring back with a new menu, new chef and new lease of life.

The décor: Emerald green and chestnut brown aren’t two colours that would obviously team up but somehow the Continental makes it work with vast swathes of white space and glass to balance it all out. The lounge has been extended from the bar near the entrance and there is more “intimate seating” in the dining room. Somewhat jazzily, there’s also a new DJ booth on the terrace to soothe the after-work crowd who pour in from the offices in One, Two and Three Pacific Place.

Kenmare smoked salmon

The food: Newly appointed executive chef, Joey Sergentakis is on board fresh from a stint with Gray Kuntz at Café Gray. Growing up in Brooklyn in an Italian/Greek family all involved in the food or hospitality industry, Sergentakis remembers queuing up in all weathers at various Brooklyn farmers markets with his grandfather and brings the same distinctly seasonal approach to his dishes. There’s a six-course tasting menu, a plethora of seafood – the 1kg Brittany Blue lobster needs ordering 48 hours in advance – and separate lunch and dinner lists presented on those enormous, one-sided A3 menus much favoured by French brasseries.

The Spanish mackerel marinated in sake with yuzu cream came smothered in trendy, under-the-sea ingredients of sea grapes and nori powder which made you feel smug about getting most of your five-a-day from just the first dish while the tender Kenmare smoked salmon had a tangy citrus injection from the lemon coulis and an explosion of umami from the caviar. For me, the confit of beet cured salmon with dill cream was the star because it contained only about three ingredients and made the ingredients simply shine.

The Rangers Valley Black Market beef tenderloin was a medley of flavours with the leek ash giving a subtle smokey hint that teamed up nicely with the creaminess of the Fourme d’Ambert blue cheese and sweetness of the Port wine marinade.

Desserts were an extremely straightforward and well-executed duo of lemon meringue tart and white chocolate panna cotta that in no way deserve to be over complicated and fortunately weren’t – thankfully the woeful ‘deconstructed’ method has yet to filter into the Continental’s conscience.

Sadly not the whole bottle: La Lagune 1985

Drinks: Affable sommelier, Eric Chan was on hand to supervise any wine choosing – though with a wine list this good, it would be hard to pick something potentially calamitous and with an extensive Coravin list, it was easy to sample numerous excellent wines without going overboard.

Charles Heidsieck Brut by glass kicked things off very nicely, followed swiftly by Cos d’Estournel Blanc 2012 and Philip Colin, Chassagne Montrachet “Les Chaumée“ 1er cru 2010.  On the red front, things ramped up considerably with Tignanello 1998 and Château La Lagune 1985 and dessert wines from Austria and Niagra ended the evening on a deliciously sweet note with enough acidity to hold their own against the desserts.

Bar manager, Timothee Becqueriaux is an extremely dab hand at cocktails, especially those laced with absinthe which aren’t as lethal as they sound, considering we were able to power through a Strangled Parrot containing Tanqueray shaken with chocolate absinthe, basil, lime and pepper and a Clover Club with Tanqueray shaken with Cocchi Americano, lemon, raspberries, egg whites and sugar. Like with all good bartenders, Becqueriaux is happy to make anything to your liking and most cocktails are at the wallet-friendly price of HK$55 at happy hour.

Verdict: It’s clear the team go well together, with all dishes, wines and cocktails co-existing in a harmonious epicurean triangle. The Continental has really taken itself to a new level without becoming overly formal and is versatile enough to adeptly handle any lunch or dinner situation – whether it’s a hasty business meeting or lavish evening affair.