Central Hong Kong’s culinary scene welcomes a pioneering concept with the launch of Roucou, the city’s inaugural cheese omakase experience. Guided by cheese expert Jeremy Evrard, this unique tasting menu transcends traditional cheese boards, integrating eleven diverse and globally-sourced cheeses—ranging from classic French soft varieties to emerging Japanese innovations—into meticulously crafted savory and sweet dishes. The establishment, located on Aberdeen Street, offers an unprecedented journey into the world of over 1,800 cheese types, spotlighting their complex flavors and remarkable versatility.
The menu at Roucou showcases an extraordinary breadth of dairy craftsmanship, transforming familiar cheeses into sophisticated gastronomic courses. This distinctive approach moves beyond simple pairing, utilizing the texture, salinity, and aromatic profile of each cheese as a core component of the dish.
Discovering the Global Cheese Spectrum at Roucou
The eleven featured cheeses provide a compelling snapshot of global dairy heritage, with a strong focus on premier French appellations and notable Italian classics, rounded out by newer Asian entries:
1. Brillat-Savarin (3-Week Aged): Dubbed the “Foie Gras of Cheese,” this French triple-cream variety, with its high fat content (up to 75%), offers a fresh, creamy texture. The younger iteration is served innovatively with caviar and crispy nori, offering a savory, silky mouthful.
2. Brillat-Savarin (3-Month Aged): With extended maturation, the flavor deepens, gaining greater saltiness and complexity. Roucou utilizes this richness in a modern dish combining the melted cheese with sea salt foam, crab broth, and a refreshing mince of mango, papaya, and sweet peppers.
3. Chabichou: Hailing from the Poitou region, this AOP-certified goat cheese is known for its wrinkled rind and dense, creamy interior, often cited as one of France’s finest. Roucou pairs its concentrated goat flavor with citrus soy dressing alongside kelp-cured snapper sashimi (Tai).
4. Parmigiano Reggiano: The “King of Cheeses,” this Italian hard cheese, aged 22 to 24 months, is recognized for its granular texture and balanced notes of nuts, fruit, and savory umami. It adds a salty, textural layer to delicate asparagus and herring roe crisps.
5. Camembert: A soft, mold-ripened classic from Normandy, appreciated for its mushroom and butter notes. In an inventive Japanese fusion, Roucou serves thick slices of Camembert layered with tuna belly (toro) and wrapped in seaweed, creating a rich, smooth, and texturally varied bite.
6. Salat (Salers Parmesan): A French semi-hard cheese from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, made using milk from Salers cattle. Its flavor profile features subtle acidity and savory notes of burnt nuts and hay.
7. Beaufort D’Alpage: This “Gold of the Alps” is a firm, complex cheese, essential for traditional fondue, produced from summer mountain milk. Its floral and nutty characteristics complement the rich seafood bisque and succulent turbot dumplings at Roucou.
8. Crayeux de Roncq: A rare, wash-rind soft cheese from Northern France, recognizable by its orange rind achieved through regular washing with beer and brine. Its intense aroma, suggesting leather and spirits, is paired expertly with binchotan-grilled Omi wagyu beef and mashed potato.
9. Roquefort “Le Vieux Berger”: A globally renowned blue cheese made from sheep’s milk and matured in natural caves. Its intense salinity and strong, piquant flavors are balanced by being spread on sourdough bread.
10. Japanese Brown Cheese: A testament to contemporary Asian dairy innovation, this newer cheese variety features a caramelized exterior, offering notes of nuts and subtle sweetness, utilized here as a topping for an indulgent dessert of 55% Ecuadorian dark chocolate and hazelnuts.
The Omakase Experience: Context and Implication
The omakase format—where the chef dictates the menu—allows Evrard and the culinary team to precisely manage the sequence and composition of the dishes, ensuring each cheese is presented at its peak flavor and best integrated into complementary ingredients. This concept elevates cheese dining from a passive platter experience to an active, structured tasting menu, reflecting a growing consumer sophistication in Hong Kong’s fine dining market.
Roucou, located at 28 Aberdeen Street, serves as a significant resource for local gourmands seeking education and exploration beyond mass-market varieties. By presenting cheese as a primary course ingredient rather than just a condiment, the venue champions the diversity and cultural significance of international cheese production. Operating hours are Tuesdays to Saturdays (closed Sundays).