Arriving at the SHO Shaun Hergatt at New York is no small feat. Though is immediately familiar to the locals and residents from other areas of the city. Of course, tourists will find that to bring a GPS with them may be the difference between getting there promptly, or missing ones reservation.
SHO Shaun Hergatt is the perfect place for those who wish to indulge in some of the most exquisite Asian fusion cuisine. The walls are covered in silk, and are decorated by an extremely varied collection of artifacts from various Asian countries. It is, for all intent and purposes, a quirky, yet perfectly minimalistic interior décor that sets the mood for what’s to come: the cuisine.
Though it may seem, at first, that every single plate on the menu was concocted decades ago in some far-away kitchen isolated from the rest of the cooking world, it quickly becomes apparent, once the food begins issuing from the kitchen, that this is not at all a bad thing. Delicate mille-feuilles are constructed on foie grass and gingery pistachio wafer. Scottish salmon is served in a broth infused with Thai basil. And it is impossible to forget the quail, which is simmered in a red-chile-spiked Malaysian coconut-milk curry, and caramelizes with a faint cornstarch crunch. It is supreme.
The man behind these creations is Australian chef Shaun Hergatt, who was once part of the team the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain. Known for a Ritz like appetizer known as, “The Golden Egg” (a single poached egg set in a cauliflower purée with caviar), Shaun Hergatt’s cooking has also been described as one of, “rock-solid classical technique with a subtle internationalist sensibility.”
Art-fusion cooking may not be favored by the trend-conscious dining circles uptown, yet it’s alive and well in this excellent eponymous restaurant in the financial district, that is going to be a memorable tasteful experience.
Text: Andrés Ordorica ± Photo: Lucy Schaeffer