20
DESTINASIAN.COM – AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2019
CORNERSTONE
Given his recent star turn on the Netflix show “The Final
Table,” one might expect Shane Osborn’s new restaurant to
be a splashy affair. After all, Osborn was also the first Austra-
lian chef to gain a Michelin star when heading the kitchen at
fine-dining institution Pied à Terre in London, while his Hong
Kong flagship, Arcane, is usually booked solid. Yet Corner-
stone has quietly opened on Hollywood Road, with no phone
or website, and a discreetly signed marble entrance that’s easy
to miss. With seating for just 24 people, the stylish interiors are
as concise as the menu, which changes regularly under the
watch of head chef Neal Ledesma. Top-notch produce shines
in dishes such as oxheart tomato and burrata with pesto,
and red prawn with lemon thyme and olive oil. The smoked
Scottish salmon (from London’s H. Forman & Son) served
with malt bread is exceptional, and the wagyu bavette is awinner in the steak-sandwich stakes. With
no dish over HK$200 (US$25) and no ser-
vice charge, Cornerstone is a restaurant
that merits seeking out any time of day, or
even every day (49 Hollywood Rd., Central).KINSHIP
Chris Grare and Arron Rhodes are strap-
ping chefs. This is relevant to understand-
ing the meals that await at Kinship, the
offspring of a bromance that began when
they met soon after arriving in Hong Kong
seven years ago. Both came from fine-
dining backgrounds but shared a vision
to cook home-style meals for friends and
family. With American Grare primarily in
the kitchen and Englishman Rhodes over-
seeing the front of house, the food has a
global outlook with a States-side bent: beef
tartare with fresh lime sambal, roasted car-
rots served with almond butter and fresh
curd, roasted spring chicken, sticky barbe-
cue pork belly, a 20-ounce steak with blue
cheese potato, and a classic-in-the-making
Mr. Whippy dessert with salted caramel
sauce. This is dude food for the #metoo
era. Done up in international hipster style,
Kinship is a place that’s as good for small
groups as it is date night, with enough buzz
to hide awkward silences, but not so loud
that you can’t hear yourself talk (2-4 Shelley
St., Central; 852/2520-0899; kinshiphk.com).LOUISE
Julien Royer’s Odette restaurant in Singa-
pore topped the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants
list in 2019 with boundary-pushing, Asian-
influenced modern French cuisine. Louise,
his first venture in Hong Kong, is different.
Here, Royer mines his childhood and roots COURTESY^ OF^ DISHTAG;^ COURTESYOFKINSHIPGOOD TO GO TOP TABLESAbove, from left: Burnt-
onion risotto at Kinship,
the latest restaurant
venture by veteran
chefs and good friends
Chris Grare and Arron
Rhodes; Cornerstone’s
Shane Osborn.
TAKE FIVE
Nostalgia, comfort, and honest produce-driven food define
this quintet of new restaurants in Hong Kong. BY KEE FOONG