It’s no secret that every Wan Chai eatery is desperate to snaffle passing trade by being bolder, glitzier and more in-your-face than its neighbouring rivals. Should such one-uppery and ostentation leave you with no appetite, then one of the district’s more discreet dineries – Takumi by Daisuke Mori, a bastion of well-finessed Franco-Japanese cuisine – should maybe loom large on your ‘to nosh’ list.

Set squarely at the less-travelled end of Wood Road, this craftily-concealed cuisinery is fronted by an unassuming, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it access point. Once home to Wagyu Takumi, Chef Daisuke Mori now holds sway here, with his new restaurant having won a Michelin star of its own for two successive years. 

Maintaining that it’s his experience on the global gourmand trail that gives him his edge, he says: “I’ve worked in many places across the world and that really opened my eyes, making me willing to experiment with different ingredients and cooking styles. At Takumi, though, we’re solely focussed on fusing Japanese simplicity with a typically French aplomb, while using only the finest produce both countries have to offer.”

Keen to see if his philosophy truly delivered, our chef-selected tasting menu opened with Homemade pasta with Japanese sugar tomato, “mi-cuit” Aori Ika. The mi-cuit (a French technique that outwardly sears an ingredient while leaving it tender within) Aori Ika squid was perfectly complemented by the tender sweet tomatoes, with a judicious basil oil reduction neatly binding the dish. 

With Mori’s innovative East-meets-West flair immediately to the fore, the dish was served unexpectedly cold. Given the summer heat, this proved to be an unusual, yet wholly-refreshing, departure from the norm.

What else to follow but Pan-fried hairtail, baby corn and French green pea? Having never partaken of the hairtail fish, this was a revelatory introduction. Most memorably, the fish’s unusual ground sourdough crust gave each delicate bite that added crunch. Served with a kinome-miso sauce, the dish calls to an underwater garden. 

For the soup course, Chef Mori presented Black abalone with shiitake consommé, with Hong Kong’s most-loved mollusc proudly taking centre stage. Seared to secure a caramelised and slightly smoky texture before being be-brothed, these succulent sea snails were amply garnished with ginko nuts and black truffle shavings. 

Scarcely had the consommé been consumed than the Grilled Wagyu tenderloin made the grandest of entrances. This particular premium beef would quell the quibbles of even the most quarrelsome critics, even before its custom-picked condiments – including Salsifis puree, Aomori garlic confit and fresh wasabi – hoved into view. Arguably amounting to five different dishes in one serving, the only complaint – and, I suspect, a common one – might be that is there is not nearly enough on the plate to sate the inevitably-drooling diner.

Finally, it was dessert time, with Chef Mori unveiling his summer special Hokkaido melon with Sauternes wine and basil sorbet. Pitching symmetrical spheres of Hokkaido’s famous Yubari melon, marinated overnight in sweet Sauternes wine, against a cold melon soup, with a striking basil sorbet mediating between the two, this took us well into premium pudding territory. 

It was a fitting finale to a fantastic feast and an apt testament to the Chef’s finesse in subtly fusing Japan’s finest ingredients with weaponised French preparatory techniques. This dish, as with the entire menu and the establishment itself, proves that tactical, bold – but informed – blending is the gift that, in the right hands, just never stops giving.

Shop 1, G/F, The Oakhill, 16 Wood Road, Wan Chai. (852) 2574 1299. 

Text: Tenzing Thondup