Thomas & T's

營業中

休息中

With typhoon signal number 3 in effect, and the HKO announcing the number 8 to be hoisted later in midnight, we braved the winds and rains (not that much really at the time) to come to Thomas & T’s, located at 22/F of FOCO in Central, a fusion cuisine combining Japanese and French elements, under the helm of Chef Thomas Tam.Seated in the middle of the long counter, facing Chef Thomas and his team busy in preparation, the staff welcomed us warmly. The Omakase Menu is $1,680 each and I also order a bottle of 林本店 SOLDIER BLUE 純米大吟醸 無濾過生原酒 ($880). The aromas are elegant, with a nice balance of acidity and sweetness, and slightly fizzy on the mouth.The first course features Toyama Bay Amaebi which has been marinated with kombu to remove water contents to enrich the shrimp flavors. In the middle layer is a lemon sponge, a lemon gelatin with the chef inserting a needle to pump air in, to give its unique Q texture. On the bottom are Aomori apple slices for crunchiness and finish with some prized caviar and gold floss on top.The second course features delicate Matsuba crab meat together with white corn, which supplements sweetness and crunchy bite. With Shiso flowers and vinegar jelly as condiment to pair, Chef Thomas jokingly said that he originally planned to make a jelly to match, but he ran out of that, so replacing with bird’s nest instead. While enjoying his sense of humor, we also applaud his skill to harmonize the different components in taste.The sous chef then prepares a couple of sushi for us, starting with the seasonal Ishigaki-gai. The Bering Sea cockle has a wonderfully crunchy texture, sweet and rich in umami, with a few drops of citrus juice to freshen the palate. Very delicious.The second piece of sushi features Shiro-Ebi. Coming from Toyama Bay, the small white shrimps are very small in size and has been marinated in kombu to remove the excess water in the body before kneading into sushi. Paired with a bit of charcoal salt. Nice.The fifth course showcases Hokkaido Hotategai, with the jumbo-sized scallop having a soft and sweet taste. In the middle are some Bafun-Uni to offer further umami and flavors. On top the chef shaved in an abundance of Karasumi, with the pollock roes giving rich savoury taste. An interesting twist is the conpoy powder at the bottom, with the chef steaming the dried scallops, air-dried, and grounded, to further enhance the taste.The sixth course uses Japanese chicken liver, soaked in whisky for four hours, and made into a puree. Using the preparation technique of pate, together with some pomelo, the liver puree is sandwiched by two white toasts, and then dusted with the snow-white, white truffle powder, for its aromatic wonders. The chef has made a lot of effort to prepare the powder using molecular cooking techniques. Rich and flavorful.The seventh course features Hokkaido Kegani. Picking the meat from the horsehair crab right before dinner, the chef added in some homemade pickled pinenuts for additional texture, the crab mustard for its delicious flavors, and a sauce made with bonito and seaweed, for complete culinary enjoyment. Very good.Next comes the eighth course, with the chef grilling a fatty Hyogo Kinki to put on a nori sheet to serve. The channel rockfish is seeping with fish oil, highly fragrant and delicious with the Sakura shrimps on top adding intense flavors. The chef has marinated some Japanese shiitake mushroom with soy sauce and then chopped into small pieces to substitute sushi rice, offering a nice bite with additional flavors.With Matsutake in season, Chef Thomas has prepared a few dishes featuring them. Finely chopping into thin slices, he put the prized mushroom on the Awabi, adding some fresh lily bulb and sushi rice, before drizzling with a rich abalone liver paste. The abalone is tender and not rubbery, full of umami richness, plate-licking good in taste.The tenth course is a Clear Chicken Broth with Shark’s Fin. Chef Thomas again jokingly said that the shark’s fin was used as vermicelli had run out. He also put in some matsutake mushroom slices to add to the fragrance. The soup is delicious, full of flavors, and hot in temperature, warming the stomach comfortably.Continuing with some sushi, the chef took out a slab of 10-day aged tuna, and after trimming the sides, prepares a slice of Chu-Toro for sushi. On top of that the chef further cut another slice from a dehydrated and air-dried lean tuna meat, having aged for four months, reminiscent of tuna ‘ham’. The rich flavors was amazing, and it is a big investment because of the need for temperature control and high cost of tuna.The twelfth course features Hokkaido Shiro-Uni. Using a nori sheet to hold, the chef has put in a generous amount of white sea urchin for this sushi. The sea urchin has a rich taste, and generally I would consume the whole sushi in one go, but this one is so big in size that I must take in a few bites to finish. Highly satisfied.Then comes the Claypot Rice, where Chef Thomas again put in his secret ingredients, this time it is Fish Maw and Matsutake. A luxurious version with the prized mushroom, the fish maw is very soft, and they have deliberately scooped more burnt rice crisps at the bottom of the pot for us too. Paired with his homemade chili oil of good spiciness, it is just amazing.The fourteenth course is Tuna Hand-Roll. Using different parts of tuna and finely chopped into small pieces, the chef mixed them up and prepares the hand-roll, with rich flavors of tuna, pleasant and rewarding.The Tamagoyaki has a fluffy and spongy texture, with a tiny bit of sweetness besides umami in the egg mixture. Nicely done.Instead of the typical miso soup, Chef Thomas prepares a Crab Bisque Espresso, roasted the shells of the different crabs and then adding tomato, celery and other vegetables to saute, along with whisky, to prepare a broth. After blending them together, it is served in an espresso cup. It is intense in flavors and super delicious.Coming to an end, the dessert is Pistachio Ice-Cream. The homemade ice cream is creamy and good in sweetness but not excessive, rich in nutty pistachio flavors. With some egg roll crisps underneath to provide additional texture, Chef Thomas shared with us the philosophy why he put the effort to make the ice cream himself, to use the best natural ingredients for the health and food safety of customers.Service is very good, with both Chef Thomas and the manager having continuous conversations with us, interacting on both the restaurant and food, plus casual matters. The bill on the night is $4,664 which is reasonable. A good place to enjoy Japanese-forward fusion cuisine in a nice ambience. 繼續閱讀

With Hong Kong shut down by a T10 storm for most of the day, I was in trouble as I had a large family gathering originally planned for Thomas & T's. When we called Thomas with our issue, he said, "no problem, we will come to your house to serve." Flabbergasted by the offer, of course I said yes. Not only did Thomas & Team do a wonderful job preparing the food in our kitchen, but my entire family of 18 was blown away by their perseverance amongst this storm. Amazing food and wine pairing - they catered to my family's pickier eaters, and the kids preferences as well. When my brother in law said he didn't eat fish, Thomas loaded him up with wagyu beef. The uni hand rolls were exploding with uni! Chicken Meatballs with mushroom were so freshly made and loaded on crunchy mushrooms pieces. Too many dishes to describe. Needless to say, they left our house after the meal and we were completely full. GREAT JOB THOMAS! 繼續閱讀

Chef Ecy’s Dining Experience:🥰 Food | Ambience | Service | Price | Easy Access | Restroom Cleanliness | Cake Cutting Fee🙂 Corkage Fee | Easy Parking😠 Pet Friendly | WheelchairThis cozy restaurant looks like a contemporary Japanese restaurant serving Omakase but in fact it is a fusion type of restaurant mixed with Japanese / French & other Asian cuisine. They don‘t have a detailed menu and you will be surprised with what they are serving. Each time when you go there you will be impressive by the beautiful dishes presented to you. It is recommended you have to tell the chef upfront anything you don’t like or cannot eat or have allergy so the chef can prepare in advance for the special requirement. Omakase has 2 kinds to choose for lunch. They include appetizers, sushi, tamagoyaki & roll, soup & dessert. The price ranges from $680-880 per head. For dinner, it‘s $1680 per head. Of course, the dishes & ingredients are more special with different varieties at night. This restaurant opens every day for lunch & dinner. There is corkage fee being charged but if reservation is for a private party, corkage fee is negotiable. This restaurant is located in a Ginza style commercial building in the SOHO area, the core of Central district, adjacent to the Central-Mid Levels Escalators and right next to Hollywood Road. It is easy to access. It‘s close to Tai Kwun too. You can take bus, minibus, taxi or even MTR to go there. It‘s 8-min walk from Exit C - Hong Kong MTR station. If you drive, there is hourly parking nearby like Universal Trade Centre on Arbuthnot Road but need to walk a distance. This restaurant is located on 22/F but there are lifts going up and down in the building. In front of the building, there are a few steps connected to the side road, so wheelchair may not be so convenient. Once you get into this restaurant, the ambience is very cozy & warm. Everywhere is clean & tidy. Simple decoration with a very long sushi bar counter table. The venue can take no more than 15 customers at a time. Big windows are on one side overlooking the open city view of Central. Bright daylight available for lunch and colorful night view for dinner. There is restroom inside the restaurant. It‘s big, tidy & clean. Their service is excellent with sufficient staff serving all the customers even if it‘s full house. The executive chef is very sincere, polite and positive in character. He is there all the time, cooking, serving and introducing customers every dishes he made. What ingredients he used and how it was cooked. Some dishes even have stories behind. There are sushi with wet-aged fish (鯛魚, …) or dry-aged fish (toro 吞拿魚魚腩…). It’s a relatively modern technique compared to traditional sushi methods. Dry-aging concentrates flavors, tenderizes the fish, and reduces moisture, leading to a firmer texture and more intense umami. One of my favorite dishes is aged 馬友, the skin is panfried with the scale on & it‘s served with a sauce that is made from the salted fish馬友. It‘s nicely presented & tasty. We are so impressed! Another dish is the shelless prawn but I was told the specialty of this dish is the prawn shell. But I can‘t really see the shell? Well, surprisingly the shell was grilled and the shell powder is already sprinkled on top of the prawn meat. Many more amazing dishes to come…. the BBQ pork rice! It‘s so good. This is not the real pork but taste like pork with a mini fried egg (quail egg) on the side. The imitated pork is made from a kind of fish (劍魚腩) grilled with a special bbq sauce with chinese wine. The texture is similar to the fatty pork! There is soup too! It‘s a fish stock with many vegetables blended together. It‘s served nice & hot! Many other dishes like oysters, uni sashimi…. wow they are all lovely! Especially the uni sashimi, the quantity is very generous! For the dessert, it‘s an ice-cream with flavor made by the white rabbit creamy candy (大白兔奶糖). This is a classic treat, especially in Chinese communities, it’s a popular Chinese confection, known for its creamy, milky flavor and the unique edible rice paper wrapper. The rice paper wrapper is also presented as the rabbit‘s ears on the ice-cream ball! Well, I can’t write any more in details how I enjoyed so much in this meal. My overall dining experience in this restaurant is full of surprise, impressive, satisfaction and very delicious! The flavor of all dishes are just right, not too salty, not too sweet! It’s really a great deal…. Excellent! 繼續閱讀

Dinner. Have always been a fan of Chef Thomas and his selection of fine Hermes tableware since his Decree by T days. Same deco as before. Counter seating approximately 10. One omakase menu of 17 courses.Here’s what we had. Diced Pickled Ginger and turnip.-Tuna topped with smoked French caviar and tangy notes of Japanese mustard-亦貝 from 山口縣 (Yamaguchi) with squeeze of lime-花竹蝦 covered with jelly sheet sprayed with moutai -German white asparagus topped with shreds of Parma ham and shavings of aged salted egg yolk. Sauce was also made with asparagus. Couldn’t really taste the yolk- could be saltier.-Scrambled egg with crab meat mixed with caviar. Served with crispy crackers made of sushi rice and squid ink slow cooked at 80 degrees for 8 hours. Umami was uncanny- gratefully accepted the extra ones that chef offered.-Tempura Morel mushroom stuffed with squid (big one weighing 2kg). Sauce made from Maitake mushrooms.Shredded steamed Hoikkado crab topped with liver on a bed of rice + salmon roeKinki cooked atop Stone heated to 400 degrees. Chef kept a tub of ice on the skin to keep it crispy ensuring fish would not overcook. Served with rice in seaweed with Sakura Shrimp. Loved the fish oil oozing out.-Chicken liver puree served on toast topped with white truffle oil powder.-Steamed egg with abalone, sake, diced lychee and Uni. -Toro aged for 2 weeks; fatty bits lightly singed on coal, giving off a smoky aroma.Served with Toro “ham” made with meat from the tuna’s back, air dried for 4 months. Rice was mixed with a bit of Italian balsamic vinegar. Chef gave us an extra serving of toro ham- which was really salty; but no salt was added during the aging process. -福袋 containing Japanese sharks fin in Abalone sauce served in Chicken broth.-Hoikkado Rishiri Island (利尻岛) white uni -Fish maw steamed for 20 mins, then soaked in ice water overnight then steamed for 20 more mins; then stir fried with bean sprouts, 九菜, sakura shrimp, Scallion etc. Extremely tasty- PickyEater was impressed, especially after the addition of Chili oil. -Tamago with 准山-Crab soup which tasted way too fishy for me. Lychee sherbet. In summary: oceanic paradise reimagined with Chef’s innovative Japanese/French fusion touch. Each and every dish was an exquisite showcase of chef's creativity, blending delicate flavors with artistic presentation. 繼續閱讀

上星期五 Happy Friday，放工後同team mate黎中環Thomas & T’s，試下傳說中嘅新派Omakase～重點係……我人生第一次食 Omakase 呀！！真係超期待！❤️一入門就見到長長嘅壽司枱，師傅 Thomas 同幾位員工已經準備好招呼我地～一坐低即刻奉茶，仲準備埋醃蘿蔔同薑片，清酒我地自備，店員都幫我地即時處理好，服務超貼心🍶💰$1680/位 +加一，共16道菜色最深刻嘅一定係——👉🏼以醉蝦汁醃製嘅魚膠壽司，上面仲要即席噴上茅台酒！嗰陣香味真係震撼，一啖落去，醉香濃郁，回味無窮～仲有 🧡04海膽，每瓣分明，鮮甜滑溜，完全係新鮮嘅代表！環境舒服，師傅每上一道壽司都會介紹來源、做法、建議食法，店員又不停斟茶斟酒，招呼周到 👍🏼最後我地請佢哋幫我地影張大合照，結果師傅 Thomas 企中間影📸兩邊店員幫手打燈，影出黎張相靚到不得了～超級專業！希望唔使等太耐就可以再黎回味一次～🥰 繼續閱讀