Rating: ★★★★★

Address: 1/F, 9 Sing Woo Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong

Telephone: 3480 0512

My friends and I recently heard about Ocean, a private kitchen in Happy Valley, whose chef apparently used to work at Mandarin Grill and Bar. Good private kitchens are usually very difficult to book, so I was very happy to be able to get a table for a Thursday night only 2 weeks beforehand!

I arrived late for dinner and as soon as I sat down, K said to me, “I think the owner of this restaurant is a Christian.” And he was right. We soon learned that the restaurant is opened by a couple, Ocean and her husband, and through a strange twist of fate they decided to start up a restaurant of their own and name it “Ocean” to symbolise God’s all-encompassing love. Ocean told us that they do not advertise their restaurant, which explains why this fabulous restaurant is still relatively unheard of!

We loved the impeccable food at this restaurant, and Ocean and her brother, who helps out at the restaurant as a waiter, were attentive and caring the entire time. K and I have both done zero research for this restaurant beforehand (as we both only just got back to Hong Kong from travelling), so it was another pleasant surprise when the bill came to only around $450 per head (service included), which was a real bargain for such an intricate meal!

(1) Our amuse-bouche was a Cucumber with sweet corn paste, which was light and refreshing.

(2) The prawns in this Thai Prawn Salad were fresh and crispy, and we loved the citrus pomelo jelly which was really refreshing and compatible with the prawns!

(3) The Cream of Mushrooms was creamy and delicious, and had lots of fresh, flavourful mushroom bits in it.

(4) We were then presented with a Lime Granita as our palate cleanser.

(5) We loved this Slow Cook Spring Chicken with Potato Gratin & Chicken Jus as it was juicy and velvety. There was a world of difference between this tender spring chicken and the rubbery stuff you sometimes get at other restaurants!

(6) The US Prime Rib Eye Steak with Red Wine Jus had great taste and texture, matched with a magnificent red wine jus.

(7) After such excellent appetisers and main courses, K and I were totally unaware that the best part of the meal was still awaiting us. The Coconut & Pineapple in Five Textures and the Dark Chocolate Mousse with Banana were phenomenal! I had the best time digging into the coconut foam (a bit of molecular gastronomy here), coconut and pineapple ice-cream and desiccated coconut jelly, while K diligently and silently devoured the playful chocolate mousse with corn flakes on top and chunks of banana at the bottom. This was our conversation at the time: “This is so delicious!” “This is so amazing!” – followed by a few minutes of silence until we wiped our plates clean.

Everyone gets a personal message upon leaving the restaurant – thanks for your thoughts Ocean!

Conclusion: We genuinely appreciate the quality of the food, the spacious interior of the restaurant and the warm and welcoming service; however, as Evangelicalism is a central theme of this private kitchen, we do not recommend it for religiously neutral occasions (e.g. business functions). The restaurant can be reserved for private functions for a minimum spending of $5,500 from Monday to Thursday, and $6,500 from Friday to Sunday, and hosts 26 persons at maximum capacity.