Harbour Grand Hong Kong Press

LOVE Revealed ─ Valentine’s Day with Kit Mak

07/01/2013

Harbour Grand Hong Kong has invited Ms Kit Mak, celebrity chef and food stylist, to create two sets of unprecedented menus for gourmets to experience at Le 188˚ Restaurant & Lounge throughout the month of love – February, in 2013.

Love is not limited to Valentines but all mankind. Kit elaborates, “It is love that holds the world together. Parents love, love in friendship, love amongst siblings, romantic love. . . I celebrate different kinds of love in my recipes. There are meanings behind ingredients, and I embrace them, transform them into ‘savourable’ love.” Kit has designed two menus, one that runs through February is dedicated to the love of all. The other menu that is available from 8 to 14 February is devoted to lovers.

The Month of Love

In the 6-course set menu, Kit reveals parents’ love through olive, the symbol of abundance to Israelis, in the Pumpkin Cream Soup with Grilled Hokkaido Scallop and Warm Black Olive Oil. Freshly blended olives are cooked with olive oil for up to four hours. It is subtly placed in the plate next to the protagonist, scallop. As the pumpkin cream soup is poured, black olive oil slowly surfaces, creating free-form curves decorating the soup. It enriches the colour and the flavour of the soup. Parents love is very often unnoticed and seldom expressed especially in the Asian culture. Yet they are always there, providing us plentifully, just like how the olive trees supply the Israelis.

Pan-fried White Cod Fillet with Masala Spice and Lemon Pepper Mayonnaise says much about love amongst siblings. The sourness from mashed lemon skin and juice, the spiciness from ground pepper and Masala spice, plus the sweetness from honey and egg yolk – how would it be if all blended together? Interestingly, it is the home of everyone. Brothers fight with one another over a toy, get jealous of nothing important, yet in times of troubles, protecting each other. This is love. This is the flavour of the sauce. Complex and unforgettable.

Thyme, belonging to the mint family, is native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean. The word thyme is derived from the Greek thumos which signifies courage. Kit puts thyme under the spotlight in the Chocolate Lava Cake in Blueberry Balsamic Vinegar and Thyme Ice-cream to connote love in friendship. The unusual lava of blueberry and balsamic vinegar embraced by the chocolate cake is like surprises one uses to cheer up a depressed friend. The key character, thyme ice-cream, epitomizes one of the fundamental elements in friendship – courage. In face of darkness, danger, uncertainty and all kinds of adversity in life, real friends walk side by side, supporting one another.

The Week of Love

Is love simply about chemistry? Kit Mak reveals her interpretation in the 7-course menu for this week.

Black Truffle Crab Meat Bisque depicts how lovers are brought together. Through the magical hands of Kit, crab is taken from the ocean while black truffles dug out from the land. They are put together, just like how God plans for lovers. When they meet, both flavours are boosted. Isn’t this just like how two persons of polarizing characters come together and compromising with each other? It is impossible to compromise, without love.

Roselle represents faith. Kit merges red wine with black vinegar and mixes with roselle sauce. Sourness is wrapped in the sweetness, perfectly uplifting the flavour of this dish, Pan-fried Beef Loin with Foie Gras and Roselle Red Wine Sauce. Life is made up of sunny days and rainy seasons. When lovers can weather through the course of challenges, faith blossoms in their hearts.

Rose Panna Cotta with Violet Macaroon is a beautiful ending of the dinner, and a joyous beginning of lovers’ future. Red rose stands for promise, and violet for purity. Kit offers her final blessing to lovers – the purity of love and the promise that will last forever.

Love perseveres.

Reveal it.

Cherish it.

At a venue of desire – Harbour Grand Hong Kong.

Discover Kit’s concept in designing the menus, please click here.

Surf our site at: www.harbourgrand.com/hongkong, or become our fans at our page on Facebook.

Contact: Wings Mok – Director of Marketing Communications

Tel: 852-2121 2637

Fax: 852-3908 6869

Email: wingsm@harbourgrand.com

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