Where to Eat: Top Restaurants to Try This November

This month, seasonal ingredients come to the forefront at our favourite restaurants in town.

White Truffle Galore at Castellana

With winter well and truly underway, it also means the return of white truffle season, and there’s no better place to indulge in the luxurious ingredient than at Castellana, where executive chef Romeo Morelli is pairing it with the best Piedmontese cuisine in town. This year, his Alba White Truffle Menu features everything from Piedmontese poached egg with Chanterelle mushrooms and Castelmagno and hazelnut stuffed ravioli to homemade angel hair pasta with guinea fowl, grilled Antarctic cod with Piedmontese milk, caviar and Cervere leek, and Brittany blue lobster with zabaione and mushrooms, all obviously complemented by generous servings of Alba white truffle. The four-course set goes for $2,880 and is available for both lunch and dinner, but Castellana will serve it’s usual a la carte menu too. – Jeff Yeung

Sushi Kissho Opens at Raffles Macau

Hailing from Japan is Sushi Kissho, the first international outpost from Sushi Miyakawa’s sushi master Masaaki Miyakawa, who’s only one of six sushi chefs to achieve three Michelin stars in Japan. Emphasising seasonality, the exceptional omakase experience highlights the most premium ingredients the country’s various regions have to offer, such as Kinmedai from Shizuoka, Aji from Kagoshima, Chu-Toro from Toyama, Kohada from Kumamoto, Akamutsu from Nagasaki, Shima-aji from Kagoshima, O-Toro from Toyama, Ebi from Kagoshima, Uni from Hokkaido, and Anago from Nagasaki. Of course, there’s also chef Masaaki’s signature dish as one of the biggest highlights of the menu: Shimane black abalone in liver sauce. The sushi rice is no afterthought either, combining sasanishiki, koshihikari and yumepirika all cooked with Kuromatsunai Hokkaido Suisainomori mineral water to achieve the purest and most balanced of flavours. Sake lovers can also opt for the pairing, which features a diverse range of rare and premium labels including the N.V. Chitose Winery, Kerner ‘Kimura Vineyard’ from Hokkaido, the 2022 Grace Wine, Koshu ‘Toriibira Vineyard’ Private Reserve from Yamanashi, the Wa 8 Junmai Daiginjo ‘Silver Label’ from Yamaguchi, the Dassai Junmai Daiginjo ‘Beyond’ from Yamaguchi, and the Suntory Yamazaki Cask Umeshu Whisky Blend. – Jeff Yeung

Duddells Refreshes Dim Sum and A La Carte Menus

As if we ever need more reasons to revisit the one-Michelin-starred Duddell’s, the Central neighbourhood favourite has unveiled a whopping 19 new dishes across its dimsum and a la carte menus, giving you plenty of new things to try. Highlights from the former include the fish broth dumpling with fish maw, the beef ball in supreme soup, the spicy lobster spring roll, and the steamed vegetable rice roll with crispy dried mullet, while our favourites from the latter range from the braised three-yellow chicken with South African abalone and Cantonese steamed egg with grouper and dried flounder fish power to the deep-fried egg custard with scallop and caviar, and the typhoon shelter style crispy pork belly. As you’d expect in November, the restaurant is also serving up seasonal hairy crab dishes, so be sure to book your visit soon. – Jeff Yeung

Amber’s New Seasonal Flavours at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental

There are a lot of changes in the air for Landmark Mandarin Oriental with the recent grand farewells for MO Bar and PDT and the slated renovations for its hotel suites – but wait! Some things stay the same, and Amber is here to shout, across rooftops, that they’re still operating and they have a stellar festive menu that diners should not miss. With two Michelin stars and one Green star, the Chef Richard Ekkebus’ restaurant continues to deliver finesse and impact with its contemporary French cuisine. Two seasonal highlights include Roe Deer Loin served with Neck & Foie Gras a la Royal, Beetroot, Mas A Miel and Plum, and the Normandy Scallop with Salt-Roasted Celeriac, Scallop Garum and White Alba Truffles and Toasted Hazelnut Butter. The former, a rich and Gamey dish perfect for winter, and the latter, delightfully light and aromatic – and if you take the eight-course menu, will be served in the kitchen, where Chef will shuck the scallop, plate and garnish the dish right before your eyes. – Stephanie Ip

Cloudy Bay Pairing at Cotton Tree Terrace

With its notes of citrus, lime leaf, apricot, and orange blossom, there’s something special about Cloudy Bay’s 2024 Sauvignon Blanc. Although this has been a challenging year for the Wairau Valley-based vineyard, which battled both sharp frost and severe drought, it still managed to yield an exceptional harvest. To celebrate, Cloudy Bay has partnered with the Murray Hotel’s Cotton Tree Terrace for one month on a special menu complete with wine pairing. The accompanying dishes chime with the fresh notes of the wine, with plates such as seasonal oysters served with green apple jelly and red prawn carpaccio, while sea bream and clam dill cream or wagyu beef tenderloin served with truffle jus elevate the menu from being simply lunch to a special treat. Rounded off with a sumptuous mille-feuille, it’s all the flavours of summer, even if it might be passing us by. Available until the 30^thNovember. – Madelaine Clark

HUE Dining Introduces Its New Sea View Celebration Menu

HUE Dining is well known for its modern take on Australian cuisine coupled with great views and impressive venue design. Continuing to elevate experience, HUE Dining a new menu curated for any occasion. The experience starts off with a Welcome Cocktail for Two that is prepared in front of you which sets an elevated tone for the night.
It is followed by two starters: a choice of Oysters with fresh lemon and apple-raspberry mignonette dressing, or Bluefin Tuna with squid ceviche, paired with Ricotta-filled pappardelle. Caviar & Ice cream upgrade as a palate opener for HK$110. The main stars from the menu are the HUE Wellingtons: King Salmon Wellington wrapped in a lemon herb pancake with cep mushrooms and spinach or the classic Clayton Organic Beef Wellington. We ended the night off with a made-to-share Pavlova and the Pistachios Layer Cake. Enjoy the five-course celebration menu priced at HK$1,280 per person from Sunday to Thursday and HK$1,380 on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of Public Holidays. – Samson Jr C De Guzman

Censu Reveals New Seasonal Dishes

Headed by renowned chef-founder Shun Sato, the modern Japanese Izakaya Censu introduces new seasonal dishes for everyone to enjoy including tasty offerings such as Tuna Sashimi marinated in truffle seaweed soy, crunchy Pickled Daikon, and Soft Shell Crab with prawn three cheese mousse and spicy sweet & sour sauce. Classic Yakitori options are also available including a tender, charcoal-grilled chicken thigh wrapped in Peking rice paper and the Aburi Fancy Scallop that is served with glass noodles and Hokkaido scallop. Our favourite picks are the iconic Censu Cup Udon 1.5 that features dan dan noodles with three yellow chicken marinated in spicy sesame sauce garnished with watercress and the Hamachi Kama which is Hamachi Collar bathed in Bonito Apple Ponzu. – Samson Jr C De Guzman