by Aude
Who doesn’t know La Cabane? A French institution in Hong Kong! La Cabane has been around since 2010 with the opening of their Wine Cellar followed in 2012 by the opening of the Bistro. Am personally a fan of the bistro and always in for a yummy lunch (their set lunch is def great value) or a very pornfood dinner with a few glasses of wine.
Who doesn’t know La Cabane? A French institution in Hong Kong! La Cabane has been around since 2010 with the opening of their Wine Cellar followed in 2012 by the opening of the Bistro. Am personally a fan of the bistro and always in for a yummy lunch (their set lunch is def great value) or a very pornfood dinner with a few glasses of wine.
Over the past 3.5 years in Hong Kong, my path has been crossing the one of Cristobal, Director and Co-founder (with his partner Karim), several times but I had never taken the time to seat with him and properly discuss the whys and hows of La Cabane. What better occasion to do so than a yummy lunch on a sunny Thursday? (By the way, set lunch on that day was chilled peas soup w/ mint and a crab/avocado/quinoa tartar … yummy, yummy and yummy again).
As a quick reminder and/or for those of you who are not familiar with La Cabane, they have 3 main activities: Wine Cellar / Bistro / Wine importer
The wine is really at the core of La Cabane’s concept but it’s not just any wine, it’s biodynamic wine meaning wines made employing biodynamic methods both to grow the fruit and harvest it and resulting in wines w/ no added inputs. Objective? Staying true to the grape variety and allow it to fully express its specificities.
The wine is really at the core of La Cabane’s concept but it’s not just any wine, it’s biodynamic wine meaning wines made employing biodynamic methods both to grow the fruit and harvest it and resulting in wines w/ no added inputs. Objective? Staying true to the grape variety and allow it to fully express its specificities.
But what did grow this common passion for natural wines? For Karim, an old friend, Jean-Yves Peron, a former oenologist who has been working on producing natural and organic wines in Savoie (French Alps) since 2004. For Cristobal, an eye-opening professional expatriation, in the late 90’s, in Japan where the idea of growing things locally and tracking the origin of the products is very strong compare to other Asian countries. Two very different backgrounds but a common love for wine and the pleasure associated to drinking it. Thus the idea to launch La Cabane with a willingness to share different passions: Cristobal and Karim passion for wine but also the passion of those who make the wine (they work directly w/ 95% of the winemakers whose wines they are selling, not going through any intermediary), showing that there are other ways of doing wine.
Today, biodynamic wines are starting to be a thing but launching La Cabane in 2010 was quite a risky bet especially in Hong Kong where traditionally (and due to a British heritage) people tend to see wine more as an investment rather than a treat. But seems like betting on wines w/ high drinkability rather than on investment wines wasn’t such a bad idea because here they are, 8 years later, working with more and more winemakers from all around the world and toasting with me to 8 very drinkable years!
Today, biodynamic wines are starting to be a thing but launching La Cabane in 2010 was quite a risky bet especially in Hong Kong where traditionally (and due to a British heritage) people tend to see wine more as an investment rather than a treat. But seems like betting on wines w/ high drinkability rather than on investment wines wasn’t such a bad idea because here they are, 8 years later, working with more and more winemakers from all around the world and toasting with me to 8 very drinkable years!
Also took this opportunity to ask them to share a few of their fav places around town. Where would you go for:
A lunch w/ friends:
Cristobal– La Cabane, of course!
Karim- Shugetsu
A fancy dinner:
C – Bibo, given that I was #1 fan of Serge et le Phoque whose resident Chef Nicholas Chew has moved to Bibo after the closure
K - Frantzen
A night out:
C – La Cabane also! Or the Old Man
K - Piqniq
A weekend getaway:
C - there are so many options in the region but I really enjoyed the environment friendly resort Song Saa in Cambodia
K – The Philippines
A long holiday:
C –preparing a trip to Shikoku in Japan which should be super exciting but meanwhile I loved our family stay in Formentera (Island south of Ibiza) last summer... paradise!
K – France
Karim: a few others of my fav foodie addresses are Alvy’s for pizza w/ kids on the weekend, Bedu for Tapas w/ friends and Beet for a business lunch.
Wanna know more about biodynamic wines? Here are a few events La Cabane will be participating in or hosting in the next few weeks:
Oct 18: Intro to Natural Wines at The Hive Central
Oct 19: “Grand Bourgogne Tasting” at La Cabane Wine Cellar from 7 pm to 9 pm – open to all
Oct 25: Wine & Dine Festival
Nov 2: “Pinot Noir of the World Tasting” at La Cabane Wine Cellar – open to all
Nov 15: Release of the Beaujolais Nouveau at La Cabane Wine Cellar – open to all
Nov 30: “Pet Nat VS Methode Traditionnelle Tasting” at La Cabane Wine Cellar
Dec 14: “Champagne Tasting” at La Cabane Wine Cellar – open to all
A lunch w/ friends:
Cristobal– La Cabane, of course!
Karim- Shugetsu
A fancy dinner:
C – Bibo, given that I was #1 fan of Serge et le Phoque whose resident Chef Nicholas Chew has moved to Bibo after the closure
K - Frantzen
A night out:
C – La Cabane also! Or the Old Man
K - Piqniq
A weekend getaway:
C - there are so many options in the region but I really enjoyed the environment friendly resort Song Saa in Cambodia
K – The Philippines
A long holiday:
C –preparing a trip to Shikoku in Japan which should be super exciting but meanwhile I loved our family stay in Formentera (Island south of Ibiza) last summer... paradise!
K – France
Karim: a few others of my fav foodie addresses are Alvy’s for pizza w/ kids on the weekend, Bedu for Tapas w/ friends and Beet for a business lunch.
Wanna know more about biodynamic wines? Here are a few events La Cabane will be participating in or hosting in the next few weeks:
Oct 18: Intro to Natural Wines at The Hive Central
Oct 19: “Grand Bourgogne Tasting” at La Cabane Wine Cellar from 7 pm to 9 pm – open to all
Oct 25: Wine & Dine Festival
Nov 2: “Pinot Noir of the World Tasting” at La Cabane Wine Cellar – open to all
Nov 15: Release of the Beaujolais Nouveau at La Cabane Wine Cellar – open to all
Nov 30: “Pet Nat VS Methode Traditionnelle Tasting” at La Cabane Wine Cellar
Dec 14: “Champagne Tasting” at La Cabane Wine Cellar – open to all
