Ando: Japan meets Argentina in this delightfully different eatery in Central

Chef Augustin Balbi combines his Argentinian heritage with his experience of living in Japan to produce his new-style cuisine at Ando. The former The Ocean and Haku chef says this time his cuisine is personal, it is about his journey.

There are two set dinner menus, the seven-course Presentacion, (HK$1,288, add HK$1,088 for wine pairing) and the eight-course Experiencia (HK$1,688, add HK$1,288 for wine pairing). We tried some signatures from both menus starting with Like Home – abalone, hanaho menegi, celery and hijiki seaweed. The dish was flavourful as the abalone is simmered for six hours in soy, saki, mirin and dashi, the stock is left to set into a gel, with the celery adding the crunch.

Next was Departure, a selection of raw seafood set in small pentagon-shaped white dishes that highlight the ingredients well. The seasonal sashimi included amberjack, red prawn, scallop, akami – lean tuna – and flounder, all were fresh and we especially enjoyed the smokiness of the tuna and the sour and spicy kicks of the lime and akegarashi with the amberjack.

More interesting was the To Neca’s House – a cold soup with toasted almonds, garlic, kombu, ebi, razor clams and grapes. It is a recipe adapted from his grandmother’s sister and has an aromatic taste of summer. We also enjoyed the steamed kinmedai with romesco and burnt leek, and the Kumamoto Wagyu with banana shallots, mushrooms and roasted piquillo pepper sauce.

Dessert, a dish called A Second of Love, was delightful: a tofu panna cotta base layered with diced nectarines with a dash of Japanese whisky, followed by a layer of shio ume granita blended with black sugar and shio ume soda foam. The heavier dessert featured dark chocolate, passion fruit, caramel and wagashi beans. We recommend the wine pairing.

The decor is minimal, in dark hues, with the focus on the open kitchen, which is brightly lit.