![]() ![]() I approach the dairy-free cheese with caution, but it has acidity and vigour. The beluga caviar from ‘The lake of a thousand Islands’ (千岛湖) shines prominently atop smoked sturgeon custard, kabocha squash and cashew yoghurt foam. It’s incredibly clever and the Asian accents are unmistakable. The second is a horse mackerel, in a light acidulated pool of fermented green tomato juice, flecked with aged mackerel fats. Eastern China-sourced razor clams are braised in a Szechuan emulsion, extracting its lemony and floral characteristics without overpowering the delicate mollusc. A bit of a wild child that further articulate the following two dishes. It’s a bouquet of candied peaches, fields of white geraniums in full bloom. Sommelier Della Tang tips a 2015 Sattlerhof Serbauberg Sauvignon Blanc 2015 into a slender stemmed glass. The penchant for aesthetics shows in the chestnut stuffed tart, with a lavish shower of winter black truffle forming a pyramid. I’m enamoured by the tidbit of fermented fried potato dusted with gingko nut and lime leaf powder, a schemer of garlic mayo references the pervasive tater tot. Tea smoked river eel from Guangdong wrapped in nori, and then charred celtuce wrapped scallop poached in Chinese superior stock. The thrill begins the moment the amuse-bouche lands. It’s no wonder the young and affluent are flocking there. Ensue falls in the ranks of the upper echelons, with exquisite tasting menus paired with a sturdy wine selection. Global fast-food chains have had their moment and only recently, more creative dining concepts have found their feet. Despite living a life in the fast lane, the development of dining trends has been sluggish. ![]() Through this, one gains a better insight into the dining maturity of the city. A table of four young, smartphone-welding, WeChat millennials spends the breaks between courses documenting their culinary escapades on the internet rather than engaging in any actual conversation. Here at Ensue, it’s easy to make the food the centre of your attention, but some take it too far. There’s a certain romanticism to this-like a ‘Lost in Translation’ moment that sentimentalises dislocation and solitude. But come nightfall, the vignetting sets the tone for a quiet night in the Californian mountains except for natural light disturbances from the nearby skyscrapers. In daylight, Chinese inflections from pitched shingled ceilings to a majestic ceiling pendant depicting gingko leaves and blossoms are apparent. It’s aligned with the decor, a plush orchestration of Western and Asian influences by New York-based Chinese designer Chris Shao. The tasting menu unravels with a cleansing welcome tea of roasted buckwheat with aged citrus peel. ![]() Chef Kostow takes the same Californian farm-to-table culture to the Far East, blending his adoration for local produce with Cantonese tastes and ingredients. One night in November last year, I stumbled out of Ensue and thought it was one of my best meals of 2019. His credentials include being the youngest American-born chef to earn three Michelin stars at the tender age of 33 at The Restaurant at Meadowood, and consistently maintaining that culinary honour for over 9 years now. A $US7 million-dollar investment funded by 26-year-old Ricky Li of investment firm Dingyi Group Ensue is chef Christopher Kostow’s first endeavour outside California’s Napa Valley. But two weeks ago, they started taking reservations. 7-month-old Ensue, in Shenzhen, had barely found its footing before it was forced to bear the brunt of the crisis. Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda efforts aside, the government’s implementation of drastic measures to contain the virus from the get-go is admirable.Īs efforts to breathe new life into the economy are underway, even restaurants are reopening their doors. In fact, we should be celebrating the resilience of the Chinese people and their sacrifices made in this outbreak. There could be the Wuhan virus in there!” Call it misinformation or plain ignorance, but such statements should not be tolerated. I’m not one to play the blame game or take sides, but it’s getting ludicrous when I hear comments like, “Be careful, it’s Made in China. ![]()
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