Spices at BlackSalt

Everywhere in Hong Kong is now hip. Every ‘old’ area has been 'revitalized' with new and trendy shops and restaurants. Sai Ying Pun (西營盤) is no different. We went there not for its famous claypot rice (but there's a famous claypot rice stall in every district), but to BlackSalt for a dose of Indian and Himalayan flavors.

We won't survive without spices, and that doesn't mean just chilli oil, XO sauce or Sichuan pepper thingies. At BlackSalt, I raised my brows at 'ema datshi' on the menu. That is distinctly Bhutanese, not Indian. But the restaurant touts itself on 'Indian fusion food'. Okay. That would range from Sri Lankan to Nepalese, and perhaps just for trend's sake, Bhutanese. Apparently the menu is derived from the family heritage of Chef Taran Chadha and his wife Sheela, as well as their culinary inspirations.

The kitchen still gives out complimentary cute little papadums with dhal and a bit of yoghurt. The vegetarian smoked eggplant stew with kidney bean 'meatballs' and pistachio parmesan was on point. They also offered dumplings. OHHH. Momo! I love dumplings. Ordered two pork and two vegetarian. These jhol momos are so good; the ratio of skin and filling was perfect, and that jhol achar was really classic tangy. Loved it. Beer, wine and whisky here are pricey though. Singapore prices. Zzzzz. I had forgotten how pricey Hong Kong is when it comes to alcohol.

We opted for a main of spring chicken tikki masala (I did wonder why it wasn't spelt 'tikka'). When the restaurant first opened, people criticized this dish for the overly sweet flavors instead of spicy. Two years on, we found it to be evenly balanced. The masala was now more tangy than sweet, and the kitchen obviously went stronger on the spices. With dishes like this, we needed carbs. Opted for BlackSalt's house specialty of beer naan. It was tasty, and went great with all our food. Beer naan. Genius! I left most of the chicken for the man to clean up. I was full from the other food items, and was very happy with the tikka masala and naan.