We were actually pretty excited for dinner cos we had never try Argentina cuisine and what’s more with a touch of Japanese influences. So we brought our hungry stomach with us to Ando located at Central Hong Kong. The friend said there was only one seating available but when we reached, it felt like a few tables were already seated and had started on their food. We weren’t late just so if you are curious

It’s a small space but yet it was full house that evening. We were seated near the kitchen though I wasn’t quite focusing on them since I sprained my neck and couldn’t turn my head. lol

(From left) Piparras, Asparagus, Shiro Ebi, Passion Fruit, Wagyu Tartare, Fermented Chilli

We started with some welcome bites that were brought out quickly. Started with the first one, it was a tartlet of green asparagus and avocado mousse. I don’t know what quite to make of this. Like it failed to set the stage for dinner. Moving on to the shiro ebi with passionfruit, this was much better. You can taste the sweetness of the shrimps with a little citrusy punch of passion fruit and yuzu kosho. Ending off with the wagyu beef tartare, this was pretty decent too. The fermented chilli mixed with sundried tomatoes were sweet savoury and you could taste the heat in this

Had a cup of drink concocted of lemongrass, ginger and lime which was a little underwhelming

Sourdough Bread, Sunflower, Flax Seeds

We thought the bread went well with the sunflower oil. The friend was sad the staffs never asked us if we wanted to take away our bread cos we overheard them asking the next table. They simply just cleared our table 😦

Balfego Tuna

Ajo Blanco, AO Nori

This was good. The Spanish tuna went really nicely with the cream and extra virgin olive oil. The whole dish was balanced, fragrant and it definitely open up your appetite. Also love the tiny crunchy bits for that added texture

Line Caught Tai

Razor Clams, Cava

The fish was nicely done. The friend found the seasoning a little too heavy on the skin but I thought it was alright. But the skin was really crispy and flavourful and I love how it complements well with the razor clam and Japanese mountain mushrooms

Hokkaido Snow Pork

Braised Shallot, Sansho Pepper, White Kombu

Pork cooked over charcoal, I found the pork a little over in my opinion. It was slight dry, tough and you could tell when you slice it. I have never tasted pork like this. It was a little sad since the pork bone sauce was quite delicious

Kumamoto Wao A4 Wagyu (+520)

The beef also had its fair share of disappointment. This beef tasted more like Angus (which was another add-on option) than wagyu itself. If you had eaten Angus and Wagyu, you could tell the difference. This wagyu was slight tough and not tender in any way

So there came the drama. We told the staff the pork was tough. They said it’s meant to be like that. They didn’t do anything to tenderise the pork. But in my head I’m like isn’t this Hokkaido Snow Pork? It’s supposed to be this tough…? I felt like showing them what ChatGPT responded to me when I asked ‘Is Hokkaido snow pork tough?’ Okay never mind. Then we told them the beef was also tough. It’s not tender like how wagyu should taste like. They also said… it’s meant to taste like this. Then they went to take this card and explained to us this is Kumamoto Wao Wagyu which is one of the rarest Wagyu you can find. The meat is more like A3 to A4 and not so marbling as A5

To be honest, I was quite offended. The friend immediately texted another friend about our experience with the beef and the said friend replied – Bullshit. lol

I felt like the communication was done wrongly. If they had first agree with our thoughts/opinions before explaining or defending their food, we wouldn’t be this upset. But the way they were so defensive about it felt like we were just picky customers that don’t know our food and it felt a little condescending to be honest. I think restaurants need to understand, your customers don’t just eat at fine dining restaurant for the first time. Some people travel far and wide, dining internationally at various establishments. Even if you as a chef are so sure of your food, you should still give credit/consider what your customers think, especially so if you pride yourself as a fine-dining restaurant. And if you ask customers for feedback – like how’s the food/how’s everything so far, then you need to be able to accept the feedback regardless good or bad. Else, don’t ask. It’s as simple as that

Arroz Caldoso, Ika

Moving on to the cactus soup with a bitter aftertaste from the mains, the cactus soup was actually enjoyable. Love all the flavours that came together

Strawberry

Dessert took a long time to come. I don’t know why. We definitely had our tables cleared faster than the other table but the other table’s dessert came faster. It’s a beautiful strawberry dessert and it tasted as good as well

Dessert wine on the house

And more desserts and petite 4

Desserts were generally good. I told them to keep their pastry chef. lol

And if you wonder, they did service recovery. They waived our supplement add-on, waived our service charge and gave us a glass of dessert wine each and well, we appreciated the thought. Cos if they didn’t, we would be even more upset. lol. But I just found the whole experience was quite disappointing as you could tell our enthusiasm just died after the mains and plus it was a birthday meal. It will certainly leave a bitter taste whenever we think about Ando now. Initially, when one of the staffs found out it was our first visit to Ando, he confidently said it won’t be our last. Lets just say I love his self-confidence

Ando Hong Kong

1F, Somptueux Central, 52 Wellington St,

Central, Hong Kong