Executive chef of the Kee Club's restaurant Gianluigi Bonelli, has worked in four 3-Michelin star restaurants - El Bulli, The Fat Duck, Le Calandre and Don Alfonso. Bonelli is an avant-garde chef whose culinary creations provoke all the senses and fully engage the mind.

I recently had dinner at the private club's Venetian Dining Room and found the entire evening to almost defy description.

A New Language

The menu is the first sign that this is to be no ordinary dining experience. Dishes are not named instead the key ingredients are simply listed, which at first makes the menu appear to be written in a foreign language. However, like learning a new language it takes a little practice and then what was once foreign becomes easily understood. This was the same with the menu, after reading through a few options a certain order and sense arose, which made choosing which dishes to order easier.

The friendly and knowledgeable staff are happy to help and can enlighten you on what to expect.

The menu is changed every 5-6 weeks to keep things fresh for members who dine there on a regular basis.

Awakening the Senses

For starters we choose the 08/ Crab – Cake – Nitro – Dust – Daikon – Vietnam – Coconut – Essence – Passion – Fruit (soft shell crab), and 08/ Scallop – Peanut – Butter – Harusame – Noodle (H) – Soba – Noodle (C) – Cucumber – Turnip – Sea – Urchin (Thai perfume). The number refers to the year the dish was created.

Before they arrived we were kindly sent Potato – Corn – Dust – Prawn – Tempura. A small dish with potato and corn puree and crunchy crushed corn, with a tempura prawn served on the side in a funky metal stand. This gave us our first hint of what was to come from the molecular-gastronomy-inspired food. The flavours worked well together and the dish was quickly finished. This heightened our excitement about what was to follow.

The crab dish was outstanding, one of the hits of the evening with us both. This dish in many ways was a good representation of what Bonelli is doing…combining different textures and temperatures so that each mouthful is a surprise to the senses and the mind. The variation in texture coming through in the combination of crab, crab cake, minced crab, crab semi-iced powder and passion fruit jelly. The temperature diversity coming from the varying crab temperatures, such as the ice-cold powder (nitro), warmth from the Vietnamese coconut milk served on top and hot from the soft shell tempura crab served on the side. This was such a great dish that describing it as sublime does not even come close.

The scallops were served with two types of Japanese noodle – one cold (Soba) and one warm (Harusame) served with fresh sea urchin sashimi, finished with a spray bottle containing perfume of Kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, and lime. We were less impressed by this dish. For us there was just too much going on, too many things on the plate, but the scallops themselves were divine.

Inside Bonelli’s Mind

As seafood lovers we choose two fish mains. I ordered 08/ Sea bass – Zucchini – Tapioca – Avocado – Pop – Corn – Dill. This consisted of pan-fried sea bass served on a bed of tapioca mixed with corn mousse and fresh courgette, with a macadamia and potato flan on the side. I found the texture of this dish to be lacking in contrasts compared to the previous dishes, too much mush and not enough crunch. It was however very comforting to eat and the use of tapioca was interesting.

My dining partner ordered Black – Cod – Fish – Aloe – Vera – Red – Radish – Yuzu – Melon – Scampi – Sweetbread – Tortellini (Miso – Soup). The black cod confit was served with scampi tortellini, aloe vera and covered with miso soup, with a yuzu sorbet on the side. This dish provided more insight into Bonelli’s mind and was a trip for the senses and tastebuds. Each flavour came forward one after the other as listed, resulting in an uplifting synergistic experience. This dish left my friend to comment “I don’t want to get the taste of anything else in my mouth”, as he considered having more of the outstanding bread.

Zee Best Part

The charming Maitre D described the desserts as the best part. First off to tempt our sweet sensors was a treat called Strawberry – in – Texture. Aptly described it consisted of fresh strawberries, strawberry sponge, strawberry foam and strawberry ice cream. A simple dish that clearly showed the chef’s love for texture and temperature contrasts.

We just had to try the 02/ Dark – Liquid – Chocolate – Soufflé – Ginger – Sorbet. Our thinking being that if this dish was still on a menu that changes every few months, when 99 per cent of dishes are new, then it must be good. It was a classic chocolate soufflé and the ginger was a nice touch, but compared to the preceding dishes it was safe; it must be a hit with the members.

We also indulged in 08/ Mango – Cube – Liquorice – Sablé – Yogurt – Hot – Lime – Eucalyptus – Meringue. Dessert is never my favourite part of the meal unless it is a superior dark chocolate mousse, this however was a dessert that had me rethinking this stance. It consisted of a light mango cake served with liquorice ice cream and cookie, eucalyptus and yogurt meringue. All the flavours were powerful and fresh yet they did not fight with each other for attention, and the eucalyptus blew my mind and refreshed my palate.

Final Thoughts

I love that this meal pushed me out of my comfort zone, at first it was jarring, then it was engaging and then it was thrilling. As the diner you are invited to play your part in the drama because you control what textures and flavours you put together, making it a unique journey of discovery until the last morsel.

Is there a certain level of pretension with Bonelli’s cuisine, yes, perhaps even arrogance, and definitely drama. After all, Bonelli declined to have his photo taken for this article, neither would he allow images to be taken of his food. And one only has to check the You Tube video, “The Cook, the Lover, his Muse and her Dreams” (search his name) to feel justified in saying so. But does he have the right to be? Certainly. He is one of Hong Kong’s most talented chefs, whether you like his food or not, it will be a meal that you will always remember, as much for the stunning, artistic presentation as for the unpredictable experience.