Now readily available four seasons throughout the year, duck was originally associated with the cooler months of the traditional hunting season. Rediscover the rich autumnal flavours of this game meat below.
Posso
After running a successful handmade pasta business during the Covid-19 pandemic, Max Wong went from supplying small restaurants to opening one of his own. Tucked away in a small street in Sheung Wan sits his pride and joy, a cosy Italian neighbourhood haunt inspired by Venetian cicchetti. “[Cicchetti] is not something people are familiar with but it’s really about small plates, chit-chatting, and having a glass of wine,” says Wong.
At Posso, you’ll find that Wong’s love for handmade pasta is stronger than ever with largely untapped recipes on offer. However, the chef-owner’s culinary creativity extends to much more than the beloved carby dish. One of Wong’s most recent à la carte creations is a pan-seared French female duck breast, chosen for its pleasant, creamy game flavour and tender meat. It is served atop a rustic bed of kale, beetroot and chestnut mushrooms sautéed in the duck breast’s leftover fat, and paired with a sweet duck bone broth with masala wine and port wine sauce. A burnt honey, sumac and carrot purée made in-house adds a pop of yellow to the plate, while slices of raw figs complete the dish.
“The figs cut through the sauciness, the duck, the puree and everything. It just gives a little bit of texture and lightens up the whole dish, so even if you’re eating this during the day, just under 30 degrees, you don’t feel like it’s too overwhelming.”
G/F, 12 Kau U Fong, Sheung Wan; @posso_hk
*Note: Posso will be closing its doors after November 1, 2024
Louise
La Terrace by Louise offers a laid-back yet sophisticated respite in the heart of Central crowds, crafting an elegant range of cocktails and dishes made to enjoy in shared company. On the menu, refreshing bites like fresh oysters and croque monsieur catch the eye, yet a true culinary gem sits among them: pâté en croûte. A traditional French delicacy that has existed for centuries, this savoury pastry is often seen as the pinnacle of charcuterie, yet is apparently facing a decline in popularity.
“Like any shop in every country in the world now, whatever takes time is disappearing,” shares executive chef Loïc Portalier. “[Pâté en croûte] is something very technical, it needs a lot of skill, patience and it’s something people don’t want to do anymore. There’s very few artisans who are still making it; it’s not very rare but there are less and less of it.”Fortunately, Chef Loïc and his team are an exception.
The pâté en croûte at Louise is a true labour of love and an almost artistic show of culinary finesse. It takes half a week to make, allowing a day to hand-knead the dough, a day to rest it, and two days to marinate the stuffing in port wine before the dish can be assembled with the added layer of jelly. The end result is a luxurious French chicken, foie gras, duck, pork shoulder, belly, collar, and chicken mousse mosaic. Each golden-brown slice is served with pickles and mustard. “We use the pearl onion pickles and dijon mustard to refresh the palate because [the dish] is quite rich. If you don’t have something to balance and cut through the richness a bit, then it can be very heavy.”
PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central; @louise.hkg
Racines
This year, Racines earned its first-ever Michelin star—and rightfully so. Chefs Romain Dupeyre and Adrien Castillo continue to pay tribute to their French backgrounds, crafting dishes that are both nostalgic and inventive. Their new autumn menu begins with a fresh rendition of a classic Salade Landaise from the Southwest of France. “We’re honouring traditional ingredients from the region and bringing them to life in new ways,”says Chef Romain. “It’s a rustic dish but we’ve given it a modern twist by playing with the textures and lightening it up to bring out the flavours.”
A lively, lightly seasoned array of finely diced vegetables—including but not limited to, French beans, piquillo peppers, pickled red onions, sun-dried tomatoes and pan-fried corn—serve as the base, while a foie gras panna cotta-stuffed Camus artichoke takes centre stage. Duck, with its already distinct taste, deepens the flavour of the dish when served in myriad forms.
“We use duck liver to create both a foie gras panna cotta and a terrine, so you get two different textures in the tasting experience. Then we add smoked duck breast for even more layers of flavour and texture. The duck jelly, made with red port and truffle juice, keeps things lighter, so the dish doesn’t feel too heavy, especially with the addition of local duck gizzard confit.”
22 Upper Station Street, Sheung Wan; @racines.hk
Photography: Samantha Sin
Styling: Ella Wong
