Restaurant review: Asaya Kitchen at The Rosewood in Tsim Sha Tsui serves up tasty, healthy vegetarian and seafood dishes
Cuisine: Mostly vegetarian with some seafood dishes
Price: About HK$500 per person without drinks or the service charge.
Ambience: The main dining area has low tables and chairs with a view of the open kitchen. There’s also a lovely alfresco area with a large bar, but it was a bit too windy to eat outside on the night we visited.
Pros: My guest and I, worried that we would be hungry without meat, had planned to eat tacos afterwards, but that proved unnecessary. Although the food was light and healthy, it was also filling and satisfying. Our dishes were served at a good pace.
Cons: It wasn’t easy to tell from the prices how large the dishes were going to be. The “to share” dishes were as expected, but the ones from the “garden” and “nutrient rich” sections were also pretty substantial.
We were served a trio of thin, cracker-like lavash (a type of flatbread), and while we loved the cumin and sesame seed versions, the fennel pollen one was far too hard.
Recommended dishes: Our helpful waitress highly recommended the semi-dried tomato tartare (HK$140), saying it was a signature dish. It was lovely and light, with flavourful tomatoes on a bed of toothsome bulgur, and served with bagel crisps.
Warm petits farcis (HK$185) – stuffed small vegetables that included mushrooms, onion, tomatoes and peppers – was another winner, with each vegetable having its own distinct taste and texture.
From the “nutrient rich” section we thoroughly enjoyed the hot, comforting mushroom tea (HK$125). The broth was intensely mushroom-y, balanced by vegetables (corn kernels and tiny peas) and soba noodles.
The grilled octopus (HK$185) – tender, meaty and delicious octopus tentacles served with crisp lettuce leaves, crunchy almonds and bulgur – was a more substantial dish.
Our one dish from the sharing section was cauliflower cocotte (HK$190). The head of cauliflower had been cooked so it was tender and moist. While we liked it, it could have used a little more of the creamy egg dressing it was topped with.
For dessert, the roasted Victoria pineapple (HK$95) – in thin slices and topped with yogurt sorbet – was cool, slightly tart and palate-cleansing.
We loved the rose petal rice pudding (HK$85). It was creamy and rich and not too sweet, with the delicious freeze-dried lychee adding a nice crunch.
What else: Go somewhere else if you want meat. The menu is primarily vegetarian, with a few seafood dishes.
Asaya Kitchen, 6/F, The Rosewood, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Tel: 3891 8732
