So Impressed by the Warm Octopus & Shrimp Salad - W52, Central, Hong Kong

I've heard many different feedbacks regarding this place. Thus, when I received an invitation to try out this place, I was intrigued and would love to give it a try. The place is stylish and modern, a really sleek-and-chic looking bar downstairs, a modern yet cozy dining room on the second floor, and a nice chef's table area with a gorgeous view on the third floor.


The meal started with a bread basket served with celery root and carrot dip. The bread's very nice when they're fresh and warm, my favorites are the crispy bread sticks and the focaccia. My dining companion loved the sweet dip so much, he asked if I could make this dip at home :)


The golden crispy stuffed artichoke hearts with Pecorino cheese and herbs lived up to its name, it was golden, crispy, and flavorful down to the puree.

The next dish is my favorite of the night.

The warm octopus and shrimp salad with cannellini beans, onions and green olives was a true delight!

The octopus meat was deliciously tender, the shrimps were succulent, fresh and sweet, and the cannellini beans were swimming in a sea-tinged delicious broth. The sweet paper thin onion slices and the flavor of olives elevated the dish even more.

It was so delicious, I had to post another picture of the dish :)

Our host picked out this wine with our meal.

I am not a wine expert, but I found this one easy to drink, and it went really well with my meal.


We had the oven roasted black cod with balsamic vinegar and onions. The fish was perfectly cooked, I was impressed, W52 does their seafood very well! In terms of flavors, the onions and the balsamic made the dish a tiny bit too sweet for my personal taste, but fortunately, the tomatoes and capers helped balancing the sweetness. A wee bit more savory touch would make this dish a check mate for me.


The stewed herbed baby goat with Tuscan black kale and chestnut is something I've never tried before. The baby goat was absolutely tender down to its bones, and the sweetness of the tender chestnuts went beautifully with the nutty kale and bits of bacon. There were bits of fat in the kale, which I'd prefer to be rendered, but other than that, it was a good dish.

Moving on to the sweets...

I love the table side presentation of the Baba and Limoncello with vanilla cream.

Our server halved the sponge-like cake, slather generous amount of vanilla cream on each side and poured this liquor to be soaked by the cake.

The cake absorbs the liquor literally like a sponge. If you love liquor soaked sweets, this dessert is the one for you.

I was not convinced when I heard the name of the next dessert, lemon panna cotta with coffee. Seriously? Lemon? And coffee? but what did I know? It was such a pleasant surprise.

The lemon panna cotta was silky smooth and not overly tart, served with sweet and refreshing coffee granita and pieces of mini merengue with raspberries. Lemon and coffee! I'd never think of putting them together, but it worked. The sweet and icy coffee granita contrasted the satiny smooth panna cotta nicely and I love the tiny pops of the sweet and crispy mini merengue.

I'd like to thank Ms.C of W52 for inviting us, we had a lovely evening.

I would go back for the warm seafood salad, or maybe try out some of their pasta dishes, ideally for lunch when they serve antipasto buffet ;)

PS. Although it was a weekday night, the place filled up as the night went. Thus, a reservation is recommended. Dinner (not including wine and drinks) costs about HK$5xx per person plus service charge.

W52
G/F-3/F, 52 Wyndham Street
Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 6768 5252
www.w52.com.hk