Hong Kong restaurant ANDŌ will welcome Penang’s Restaurant Au Jardin for a two-night dining collaboration on 26 and 27 August 2026.

The event brings together ANDŌ’s Chef Agustin Balbi and Au Jardin’s Chef Kim Hock Su for the first time, following the reopening of ANDŌ. After the Hong Kong dinners, the collaboration will travel to Penang for a final service at Au Jardin on 10 September.

Both restaurants hold one Michelin star, but their menus are shaped by different culinary influences. Chef Balbi draws from his Argentine and Spanish background together with the discipline and techniques he developed while working in Japan. Chef Kim expresses Penang’s culinary identity through French techniques, locally sourced produce and indigenous Malaysian ingredients.

An Eight-Course Menu Across Four Culinary Traditions

Created specifically for the collaboration, the eight-course tasting menu moves between Japanese precision, Spanish and Latin influences, French technique and flavours associated with Penang.

The meal begins with snacks including Our Fish & Chips with Szechuan Pepper Emulsion and Brown Butter, Nori and Uni.

Seafood-focused starters include:

• Heirloom Beetroot with Almond Milk, extra virgin olive oil, horseradish and scallop tartare
• Tuna with capers, red onion and umami emulsion espuma
• Freshly baked thosai bread with chutney butter

The thosai course reflects Malaysia’s multicultural food heritage while connecting the opening dishes to the main portion of the menu.

Main courses include Amadai à la Plancha with saffron, seaweed and fennel, followed by a rice dish pairing mussels and Yi-O rice with prawn noodle broth. The latter combines Japanese ingredients with flavours rooted in Penang.

Desserts begin with Tomatoes, Strawberries and Jasmine, followed by a richer combination of Mascarpone, Chocolate and Coffee.

Petit fours conclude the meal with a Mate Tea Catalana Tart and Fermented Tofu Financier.

Two Chefs Connected by Place and Produce

Chef Balbi and Chef Kim first met during a Krug Champagne trip in Sweden. Although they work with different cuisines, both chefs build their menus around personal identity, regional ingredients and the people who produce them.

ANDŌ’s cuisine reflects Chef Balbi’s experiences across several cultures, including his Latin heritage and years spent working in Japan.

Chef Kim opened Au Jardin in 2018 and describes his approach as “La Cuisine Naturelle”. The restaurant works closely with farmers, fishermen and artisans to reinterpret Malaysian ingredients through contemporary French cooking.

Rather than attempting to merge the restaurants’ cuisines into a single style, the collaboration focuses on the shared values behind their approaches to cooking.

About Restaurant Au Jardin

Restaurant Au Jardin is housed in a restored warehouse in George Town, Penang.

The intimate 40-seat restaurant serves contemporary French cuisine informed by Malaysian terroir and seasonal local ingredients. It received a Michelin star in Malaysia’s inaugural Michelin Guide in 2023 and later appeared on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2026.

Event and Venue Details

Hong Kong Dinners

ANDŌ × Restaurant Au Jardin
ANDŌ
1/F, Somptueux Central
52 Wellington Street
Central, Hong Kong

Dates: 26 and 27 August 2026
Service: Dinner only
Menu: Eight-course collaborative tasting menu
Price: HK$2,588, plus 10 per cent service charge, per person
Reservations: Contact the ANDŌ reservations team or book through the restaurant’s official website at www.andohk.com

Penang Dinner

ANDŌ × Restaurant Au Jardin
Restaurant Au Jardin
George Town, Penang

Date: 10 September 2026
Service: Dinner only

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Images: ANDO and Restaurant Au Jardin