Fond of fondue? Nothing beats coming together to share a cosy, communal meal while the dulcet tones of festive music warble in the background, especially when the centrepiece of the table is a bubbling pot of melted cheese. Whether you prefer to dip your ingredients in cheese, or have them slathered in sheets of cheese, the Swiss were clearly onto something good when they came up with fondue and raclette. If you’re feeling the cravings, let us set your mind at cheese – there are more than enough restaurants around town that dabble in fondue and raclette when wintertime rolls around. Here are some of the best places in Hong Kong to get you brie-lieving in the power of melted cheese.
Chesa at The Peninsula Hong Kong
No list of cheese fondue and raclette restaurants in Hong Kong can be complete without including the OG: the one and only Chesa. Opened in 1965, this institution of Swiss dining at the ‘Grande Dame of the Far East’ has been plopping pots of hot cheese in front of diners for decades, and the down-to-earth alpine cottage interiors only add to the charm.
Four choices await: the fondue moitié-moitié ($370) with Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgois; the fondue montagnarde ($390) with Emmental, Appenzeller, Gruyère, Parmesan, and smoked mountain bacon; the fondue forestière ($420) with porcini and morels mushrooms, Gruyère, Emmental, and fresh herbs; and the raclette du Valais ($270), where hot-melted cheese is served over new potatoes, pickled onions, and gherkins. You may not be skiing in St Moritz this winter, but you can still eat like it.
Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic
For a fine-dining (and slightly unconventional) take on the rustic fondue tradition, leave it to chef Anne-Sophie Pic to dream up something elegant and tantalising. Her signature dish, Les Berlingots ASP, consists of French bonbon-like pasta pyramids encasing a rich filling of 24-month-aged Comté fondue. Served in a Paris mushroom consommé with oolong tea and smoked vanilla, the flavours are complex, savoury, and irresistible. It’s not the dipping kind of fondue, as the cheese is encased in delicate wrappings, but it’s a stunner nonetheless. You can enjoy it as part of the Noël Éclat ($1,980) dinner tasting menu, available on December 24 and 25.
Helvetica by Nocino
When it’s cold and windy outside, the motivation to get dressed and venture beyond the home for food is drastically lowered. Chef Matthew Ziemski of Nocino and Helvetica by Nocino understands this, so he has launched a new collection of artisan cheese fondues ($90) for you to enjoy in the comfort of your own four walls instead. Eight different flavours, ranging from savoury to sweet, are available for you to choose from, and each 220-gram fondue pack is good for one to two people. We recommend planning a gathering so you and your family and friends can sample as many of the options as possible.
Built on a blended base of Swiss cheeses and a splash of dry white wine, the selection includes a classic Gruyère and Emmental; squid ink and smoked scamorza; pickled jalapeño, basil, and almond; black truffle and brandy; beef jus and preserved walnuts; spicy pork and garlic, and chocolate and salted caramel for dessert. Shop for your favourite flavour online at helveticahk.com or from Nocino restaurant outlets.
Prefer to enjoy the fondue in a restaurant? Nocino offers it as a dine-in option ($168) as well at its Tai Hang, Kwun Tong, and Central locations from now until the end of December.
Finds at The Luxe Manor
Nordic restaurants Finds is teaming up with heritage cheesemaker Tine for a special lobster brunost cheese fondue afternoon tea ($338 for one person, $588 for two persons), putting a Norwegian twist on the beloved Swiss dish. For those unfamiliar with brunost, it’s a brown cheese that gets its flavour and appearance from the caramelisation of milk sugars during the boiling process, resulting in a sweet, salty, and caramelised product.
For an indulgent and intensely moreish experience, the lobster bisque and brunost cheese fondue, made with Atlantic lobster bisque and brunost, should do the trick. Guests can also opt for the sweeter roasted Hokkaido pumpkin and brunost cheese fondue as their base. Both fondues come with a range of ingredients for dipping – tiger prawns, smoked salmon, Hokkaido scallops, sourdough cubes, fig crisps, and a range of seasonal vegetables, for example. It’s a step up from the usual bread and potatoes! Available until January 31.
Get ready for the return of Zoku’s beloved sukiyaki cheese fondue! Blending Swiss and Japanese cuisines, this creative melding of culinary cultures sees Emmental cheese, Tokachi cheese, and premium sake used as the base for the fondue. Go for vegetarian accompaniments ($688 for two persons) such as shitake mushrooms, broccolini, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, Japanese sweet potatoes, taro, and shishito peppers, or meat and seafood accompaniments ($988 for two persons) like US prime beef, Kyushu chicken thighs, and Hokkaido scallops, in addition to the range of vegetables. Add $228 for a selection of seafood tempura: soft-shell crab, tiger prawn, and octopus spring roll. Guests can finish their meal with a matcha layer cake and white chocolate mousse.
Zoku’s fondue set is available on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays for dinner only until January 31, and will be served at The Terrace, Zoku’s outdoor terrace and bar.
From now until January 15, Black Sheep Restaurants is bringing the Chalet des Alpes pop-up back to 18 Shelley Street in Soho! Inspired by alpine escapes, Swiss chalets, and après-ski culture, Chalet des Alpes brings high-altitude celebration to the heart of Central. While fondue and raclette are the focal points of the dining programme, the menu also includes a selection of charcuterie and salade de mâche mimosa before moving on to dollops of raclette over cornichons, pickled onions, radish crowns, and new potatoes, and the fondue moitié-moitié with Emmental, Gruyère, white wine, and kirsch, served with baguette for dipping. A decadent tarte au chocolat noir wraps up the meal.
You can customise the experience with three beverage packages: Piste Verte ($1,088) for the full meal, mulled wine, soft drinks, and sparkling tea; Piste Rouge ($1,288) for the full meal, mulled wine, red and white wines, and beer; and Piste Noire ($1,688) for the full meal, mulled wine, free-flow champagne, cocktails, beer, and Swiss red and white wines.
Aside from dinner and drinks, you can also take part in games of Nageln, giant Jenga, foosball, and more. Plan ahead for this – Chalet des Alpes does not accept walk-ins, so bookings must be made and paid for in advance. Diners can also enter into a giveaway hosted by Black Sheep Restaurants and Switzerland Tourism to stand a chance to win an eight-day adventure for two to the Swiss Alps, with a first-class Swiss Travel Pass and flights covered by Swiss International Air Lines. Make those alpine dreams come true!
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Hong Kong newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox
Recommended stories:
Sham Shui Po’s historic umbrella shop Sun Ngai Shing Sun Rise Co. will close at the end of this year
Ayumi Hamasaki cancels Macau concert amidst Sino-Japanese political tension
Where to get mulled wine and hot festive drinks in Hong Kong this Christmas