The road to restaurant Path according to Executive Chef Marvas Ng is paved with food intentions from its approachability down to its plating.
The culinary road one takes at Path is open-ended if they will, an antithesis to the sometimes dictatorial modes of restaurant dining one might be accustomed to: check-in, dine, wine, dessert, and cheque, please. One can start from the top of the menu and work his or her way down or vice versa (“Guests can choose what they want from the menu, decide how they want to eat – whether big plates or small plates. Even dessert first, if they like!”) or if lunch can not be stretched from a measly thirty minutes to a leisure one of two like they do in France, curated set menus organised as small and large plates from the main menu is offered. If the multiplication of time is achievable, Chef Marvas does it omakase-style.
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However, do not consider Path as fine dining restaurant establishment. Firstly, everything on the menu is pronounceable (just in case, however, the tartare in the USDA Prime Beef Tartare “Tarlet” is pronounced tar-tar) because Chef Marvas believe it is “one of the small details that is super important because it is one of those things that make people feel like we understand them and they understand us.” Secondly, he says it so himself. “I don’t consider Path true fine dining and would request for you to not consider us as a fine dining establishment, either. However, there is definitely a lot of fine dining elements in all aspects, especially in terms of flavour and guest experience. We pay a lot of attention to detail, and we seek perfection. It’s my training and my own personal habits.”
If fine dining is not a point of restaurant practice at Path then what does one make of the fare then? How does he or she makes sense of its elegant plating (kudos to Chef Marvas as it takes some culinary chops to make Hokkaido Scallops actually look exciting) served in an elegant establishment by a service team that exudes an equal amount of elegance? Chef Mavas thinks that “at its core, it’s deliciousness” but deliciousness, however, takes some dedication.
“There are many details to consider such as the seasonality of ingredients, taking different taste profiles into account. Flavours of different ingredients also change profoundly with seasons; the produce gets fatter or leaner, sweeter or juicier. We are constantly trying to connect with Mother Nature!”
“Good old French cooking takes up a lot of time because we have to make sure that everything is cut uniformly. It involves equal parts of elbow grease and muscle soreness because we were always carving and dressing meat or filleting seafood. In fine dining establishments, even the small plates involves hours or days of hard work for the chef; sauces are usually reduced from a large pot of stock. We have to strive for perfection in everything. And I believe a lot of this can only be achieved through passion, patience and repetition. Especially because it takes years of training that can seem quite harsh to people looking in from the outside.”
“Everything is taken into consideration when designing the plating – all the way to the temperature of the food, and definitely my years of experience in French fine dining play a part. Once you’re trained however, it is actually quite fast – but new team members will probably take a long time.”
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It is, on one hand, easy to see how the above words have manifested into a restauant meal at Path. The simplest example is Path’s Signature Butter-Roasted Herb-Brined French Poulet: a chicken that has been brined in a selection of Chinese herbs such as angelica root, codonopsis and Chinese lovage root before being served with confit chopped ginger. Another French take on the classic Asian dish? The chicken is served with crisp vegetable rolls. However, another path opens up: one has the autonomy for the alcohol he or she is served.
“Pairing Asian food with wine is becoming more mainstream now, especially in Hong Kong and other Chinese cities. But it is true that it can be more complex – it’s not always white with fish/seafood, not always red with red meat. I am lucky to be working with 1855 F&B which has a sister company 1855 The Bottle Shop – they’ve always been working with wine and have a really knowledgeable core team, so I’m receiving a lot of expert help with my wine programme.”
“The goal with the wine list is also to make it an adventure, a journey even for long-time wine-lovers. We have bottles with interesting provenance like Lebanon or South Africa, and wines from rising star winemakers who may not be very well known but produce wines that make critics like Master of Wine Tim Atkins pay attention.”
Is there a map however one needs to follow when dining at Path? Frankly, not really. Is there one rule Chef Marvas has, however? Of course, “for me, the menu is never perfect, but we want to ensure the journey is as perfect as possible for every single guest.”
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