There’s no vegetable that conjures up scenes of summertime quite like sweetcorn. Its flavour shines brightest at the peak of summer and its vivid yellow-hued kernels burst with the vitality of the sun itself. Three chefs explore the sweetcorn’s versatility beyond an outdoor barbecue staple or beloved salad topping.
Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic
“We see that [our customers] are super super exposed to food from all around the world,” says Cristal Room head chef Marc Mantovani. “You won’t surprise them with caviar, with wagyu beef, or with lobster. So that’s why we always try to do something different.” The Limousin Sweetbread from the restaurant’s latest seasonal menu is proof of this. Less familiar to the Hong Kong dining crowd, sweetbread is a type of offal common in classic French cuisine.
By contrast, corn is not a prevalent ingredient in French cooking; while maize production is substantial in the Rhône-Alpes region where chef Marc is from, corn is primarily viewed as animal feed. Yet in his Limousin Sweetbread dish, sweetcorn is given its time in the spotlight as an edible piece of art. A puree is crafted using two sweetcorn varieties from Hong Kong and Japan—their leaves included—and set with gelatin to create a “honeycomb”. Atop sits the delicate veal sweetbread, which has been poached in milk infused with osmanthus and lavender, aged in beeswax to allow the flavours to intensify, then served ultra-crispy and glazed as a nod towards local Cantonese cooking.
43/F Gloucester Tower, LANDMARK, 15 Queen’s Road Central; @cristalroombyasp
Golden Gip
Chef Nigel Kim describes Golden Gip as “a dai pai dong serving Asian food with a Korean twist”. On the menu, guests will find fresh interpretations of dishes from various Asian cuisines such as cheung fun with kimchi pork or scallop sashimi with grape makgeolli. The typhoon shelter corn however, stays true to the typhoon shelter-style of cooking that originated from Hong Kong’s fishing community. It is traditionally used for seafood such as crab, which is among Kim’s favourite dishes of all time. “I frequent Under Bridge Spicy Crab in Causeway Bay and enjoy taking my out-of-town friends there,” he shares.
Golden Gip’s addicting typhoon shelter blend features deep-fried garlic, dried soybeans, black bean crisp, a generous amount of green onion and two types of chili—long red peppers that are sweet and slightly juicy, and Bird’s eye chili to bring the heat. “Using corn instead of crab has more similarities than you might think: they are sweet in different ways, and you need to use your hands to eat both,” says chef Nigel. “Eating is more than just flavour; it involves the five senses, and we keep that in mind, as it is what CENSU CREW is all about—celebrating the five senses and the little joys in life. As kids, we all enjoyed sweets and eating with our hands; let’s bring that back!”
1/F, 17-19 Wellington Street, Central; @goldengip_hk
Bakernisa
Annisa Tang has long dreamed of pursuing dessert making professionally. After graduating university, she enrolled at the famed Le Corden Bleu in Paris where she learned extensively under chef Pascal Pinaud and attended a short course at Bellouet Conseil at his recommendation. After a few years working at various pastry kitchens and cafés around Hong Kong, Tang launched an online bakery and patisserie in late 2023 all on her own. “Bakernisa serves as a personal record of the flavours I have enjoyed throughout my life, particularly during my studies abroad and my pastry journey in Paris,” she says.
The Sweetcorn Pumpkin Basque Cheesecake originated as a special birthday treat for Tang’s best friend, and draws inspiration from Korean-style pastries often seen online. Its creamy cheesecake base is flavoured with the juice of locally grown sweetcorn, resulting in an earthy sweetness that is complimented by chestnut pumpkin mascarpone cream. As the flavours are rather subtle and nuanced, Tang brings excitement in the form of contrasting textures. Whole corn kernels are embedded throughout like buried gemstones, while a layer of lemon almond crumble offers an unexpected crunch and zing to every bite.
Photography: Samantha Sin
Styling: Ella Wong
Editor
Alyanna Raissa J. Payos
