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Item: Chesa
Rating: 3
Author: noralein

Chesa

4.5

389 Reviews

Taste

Decor

Service

Hygiene

Value

17087

Tsim Sha Tsui

$401-800

Swiss Hot Pot Wine Hotel Restaurant

310

noralein

Level4

194

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When my dining companion asked where we were going, I struggled between "kesa" and "chesa" given how linguistically diverse Switzerland is. That was when I looked up the word and found out that "chesa" means “home” in the Swiss dialect Romansch which, I thought, was intriguing because all but one dish on the menu was named in French, plus Romansch is spoken by a very small number of Swiss, even in Grisons, where Chesa seems to source some of its food from. I suppose the key takeaway from the choice of name is Chesa's goal to make one feel at home. Yet, the quietness of the restaurant—with other guests almost murmuring—made for an ambiance less cozy than it was dreary. Waiting staff looked emotionless, too. Without folk music playing in the background, with dim, red lights and long candles, we might as well be in a vampire movie.

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Looking around, one would see mostly diners born before the 70s sitting comfortably and acting like return customers, although the early bird dinner at $330 per head has no doubt managed to attract younger couples looking to experience fine dining on a special occasion, making sure to take photographs of themselves and their newly acquired, boxed Chanel accessories carefully juxtaposed with Chesa's background setting.

Ask anyone in Hong Kong about Swiss fine dining, and chances are you will be met with a blank stare. I didn't seem to leave Chesa feeling much more informed, either. While Chesa's menu bears witness to many regional influences and, like traditional Swiss food, potatoes, bread, root vegetables and cheese seem ubiquitous, for those who are really not interested in rösti or Swiss sausage, the selection takes care of that. You can have perfectly region-neutral dishes such as rack of lamb, pan-fried duck liver, or even roasted spring chicken (with potatoes, or root vegetables, or cheese, or some other interesting flavor combination). Fish and shellfish are also cooked more or less in a typical "Western" fashion. In fact, at the end of our meal, we found out that dishes that overlapped with a meal at a friend's wedding three months ago (at the Peninsula) tasted exactly the same. Was it because Chef Trento's responsible for all Peninsula made dishes that he didn't care enough to recreate them more frequently, or is Chesa now officially a general Western restaurant with only fondue and raclette to distinguish it from others?

Authenticity aside, I thought the food was good overall, if a little over-priced depending on what you are looking for. A filling meal without drinks came down to roughly $1900 for us. Although Chesa's ski shelter setting created by revamped, white-washed walls is rather special for Hong Kong, I may still prefer to have more distinguishably Swiss cuisine, which has always been more down-to-earth in my memory, in a less pretentious and contrived setting.

Anyway, let's look at the food rundown:

Bread basket to start

Unimpressed.

Scottish Salmon Tartar $265

Horseradish fresh cream really helped elevate the dish, but overall it was said that this was more or less just standard.

Pan-Fried Duck Liver $340

The duck liver strikes a balance of airiness and intensity. Very impressed and the fabulous brioche croùtons tasted fluffy and crumbly at once. Portion-wise on the heavy side for an appetizer.

Cheese Fondue (we chose Montagnarde) $290

Initially did not plan to get fondue because I knew it would turn an otherwise fine dinner into a heavy one and I did not want that on that evening. And it did turn out to be way too much for two people to share. While the cheese (mostly emmentele and gruyère) did smell and taste flavorful and rich initially, it's not appropriate to consume a third of a pot of this unless you've been skiing the past eight hours. Verdict: bubbling cheese can't go wrong, but make sure you order this only if you're a party of four or more.

Organic Beef Cheek Stew $370

Beef cheek was less tender cooked this way, but the clear broth was savory with the freshest of the freshest root vegetables. Portion-wise perfect.

Seared Scallop and Shrimps $390