Nothing beats a good private kitchen, where you can spend hours over a lovely meal that has been lovingly prepared just for you in a homely setting away from the crowds. Chef Studio by Eddy, tucked away in an industrial building in Aberdeen, is one shining example of an excellent private kitchen.
From the moment we arrived, I was instantly impressed as the lovely Chef Eddy Leung was there to personally greet us and guide us to our table. Certificates, photos and medals line one wall, behind traditional birdcages and candles, giving the room a warm, homely feel to it and removing any hint that this was once an industrial space. It is in fact such a lovely space, that on the night we were there, a couple was getting married!
Eddy is a truly genuine person who cares about nothing more than seeing his customers leave with a smile as big as his. His lovely personality comes through in his cooking, which he insists is always ‘real’ food with ‘real’ flavours. Most, if not all, of the herbs used to create these real flavours are grown on the restaurant’s balcony, again giving it that home-cooked, unassuming air. The seven to eight course set menu changes on a monthly basis, depending what’s in season.
Ours began with what we thought would be quite a humble, simple dish: scrambled egg with smoked salmon and caviar. This was not your average scrambled egg, however. Cooked in a bain-marie, it was the smoothest, creamiest egg you could ever imagine and paired perfectly with the delicate smoked salmon and salty caviar. If I was this amazed by such a simple dish, I knew I would only continue to be amazed by what was to come.
Indeed, the following dish of pigeon consommé, served in an adorable teacup, was equally as impressive. The rich broth had been slowly maturing in flavour over two days through a rather complicated cooking process, resulting in a heavenly, deeply comforting dish unlike any consommé I have ever tasted. Goji berries, barley and small chunks of pigeon meat were an added bonus to give it some texture.
Perhaps the best dish of the night was the lobster with rice rolls. The chunks of lobster were perfectly buoyant, generously doused in a wonderfully creamy sauce. What I loved most about it was the addition of soft, fresh cheung fun (rice rolls), adding an unexpected yet lovely Asian touch.
As if to tease us, a glass pot containing whole truffles was then placed in front of us, before Eddy himself returned to the table to grate said truffle over a bowl of creamy risotto. This dish is not always included in the set menu, yet, knowing how truly divine it is, Eddy insists on sharing it with as many diners as possible, even if it means sharing a portion between two. The rice was wonderfully al dente and heavenly creamy, generously covered in large chunks of incredible truffle. It was certainly decadent enough for us not to need our own portion, even if I was sad when it ended!
Another of my favourite dishes was the duck breast with vermicelli. The gorgeously tender duck was first cooked sous-vide, before being pan-fried, resulting in juicy, delicious meat that melted in the mouth. One drop of sesame oil was enough to give the vermicelli beneath it a slight Asian touch, while the buttery cubes of foie gras took it to a whole other level.
To cleanse the palate after such a rich dish came a roselle flower sorbet – light, refreshing and did exactly what it was meant to do, before the last savoury dish of the night: Wagyu beef with roast potatoes. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was tough, yet it was not as amazingly tender as we had anticipated it would be. Nevertheless, the flavours were spot on and the roast potatoes were a perfect balance of crispy and fluffy.
Dessert was milk pudding topped with mango served in a sweet little glass jar. This could not have been more of a perfect dessert to finish off the perfect meal. It was refreshingly light and fluffy after so many courses, yet still had depth and plenty of flavour.
Dinner at Chef Studio by Eddy costs $780 with free corkage and no service charge. If you’re impressed by the food (which you will be) Eddy prefers you to buy one of his recipe books, of which all the profits go to building water pumps in some of the poorest areas of China. Whilst Chef Studio may be more expensive than some private kitchens, I can assure you it is 100% worth it. Eddy told us himself “I like to cook with my feelings, with my heart,” and this is evident in every single bite. I will most definitely be back.
Chef Studio by Eddy
Room 5B, Kwai Bo Industrial Building
40 Wong Chuk Hang Road
Aberdeen
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 3104 4664
