Mora by Chef Vicky Lau and Percy Ho unveils latest bean-to-table soy menus

MORA (摩), the intimate 28-seater modern French Chinese restaurant founded by Vicky Lau, together with co-founder Romain Herbreteau and Head Chef Percy Ho, is now open at the historic street of Upper Lascar Row (摩羅上街), Sheung Wan. This iconic location connects MORA and Hong Kong’s fascinating history with the Chinese character 摩, representing “texture”, which will be the common thread of the texture-inspired menu rooted in one of Hong Kong’s oldest culinary traditions: soy food.

The origin of tofu dates back to over two centuries ago in China. During the Han Dynasty at around 200 AD, Emperor Liu Bang’s seventh son, Liu An accidentally added gypsum into a mixture of yellow soy beans in the water. The curdling effect that took place resulted in the unplanned invention of the world’s first tofu. Today, tofu is a beloved ingredient across the world. Described as a superfood, tofu is a popular and more sustainable protein substitute to meat. Favoured for its many health properties, tofu has been discovered to be rich in essential minerals like calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.

MORA is proud to unveil its latest innovations in soy, using 100% house-made soy and tofu ingredients for its new CHARACTERS OF SOY Lunch and Dinner menus from its central kitchen facility. The modern French Chinese menus move away from the traditional format of appetisers, entrees and desserts, and instead separate courses by textural nuances. Every soy-based dish is served in tasteful portion sizes with consciously selected ingredients in a bid to minimise food wastage, and to reduce carbon footprint as much as possible.

Soy-based cuisine at MORA: New lunch & dinner tasting menus

Now open for dinner from Tuesday – Saturday and lunch from Friday-Saturday, MORA unveils its very first dinner tasting menu (7 courses at HK$1,080 + 10% per guest) and a refreshed lunch menu (6 courses at HK$680 + 10% per guest). The menu offers a unique beverage pairing of discerning and sustainable French wines, highly pure sakes, and specialty Chinese teas with character.

The lunch and dinner degustation journey begins with the first textural category, SILKEN, which features a refreshing selection of dishes homemade velvet tofu served with savoury condiments of century egg mimosa, shredded Chinese-style preserved duck floss, preserved radish, and sustainably farmed Ossetra caviar; and cold noodle in soy milk chicken bouillon and bean paste, which is created using homemade supreme broth, local three yellow chicken breast, Gyomuyou udon from Akita, fermented soybean chili paste, and deep fried chicken skin.

The second category, CRISP, offers one of the most delightful sensory textures. Soy-inspired dishes include a duet of shima-aji tartare with ‘Thousand’ tofu sheet (for lunch only) where shima-aji is cured for half an hour with sugar and salt and delicately placed upon yuba tofu sheet; salad of pickled wood-ear with seasonal mushrooms including premium maitake and Chinese shiitake; and brioche cube with whipped soy cream made from fermented bean curd. For dinner, an alternative new dish will be a duet of Sea Urchin, Octopus and Crab with Sesame Tofu Foam and Smoked Eel Terrine with Woodear Mushroom.

Dinner guests will enjoy a further dish of one-sided crispy threadfin with savoury soy milk soup, using cured and grilled Taiwanese threadfin, homemade soy milk bouillon infused with threadfish bones, Koya tofu, dried Sakura ebi and Chinese preserved vegetables.

The soy journey continues with the texture of JADE, which features red tofu marinated crispy three yellow chicken. Red tofu is a mixture of bean curd, red rice yeast, and chilli, which is fermented until creamy, and is typically used to elevate meat dishes with a new layer of complex umami flavour.

The category of DEW offers MORA’s seasonal changing MORA tofu stew of the day – lobster. The mapo tofu features two types of local tofu (hard and soft), to be served with minced beef bean paste, sakura ebi, Sichuan pepper oil, Canadian Boston lobster, and Koshihikari rice.

The final category, ICE, is a celebration of sweets. Lunch concludes on a refreshing note with a winter dessert of soy milk flan with soy sauce caramel, Mora’s version of a Chinese tofu pudding (豆腐花) using homemade soy milk; while dinner ends with a hearty almond tofu mousse with strawberry compote & soy pulp crumble.

MORA’s Sustainability Approach

While tofu and soy products are historically ingrained in Chinese cooking practices as alternatives to meat, Chef Vicky Lau explores the versatility of soy with a new and sustainable approach.

• Ingredient Sourcing

MORA is proud to have built strong relationships with local farmers and producers and seeks to empower the community by sourcing locally as much as possible. Examples of local tofu / tea producers it works with? All ingredients are sourced sustainably, from the wine to its fish and non-GMO soybeans.

• Society

MORA’s location in Upper Lascar Row, known for its collection of Chinese calligraphy, arts, antiques and vintage stores, is significant for its preservation of cultural and historical relics. MORA aims to do the same through its exploration of soy – a food product that has been part of the Chinese diet for over three thousand years.

One of the key areas of restaurant sustainability that is often overlooked is employee welfare, and MORA takes the welfare of its staff seriously. MORA’s dedication to support the local community extends internally to its fair treatment of staff.

• Environment

Aware of the role that the F&B industry plays in global greenhouse gas emissions, MORA is committed to its goal of reducing its carbon footprint and implementing effective waste management.

Portions are designed to reduce needless waste and leftovers, and MORA uses soy milk and tofu made in-house while fully utilising leftover soy products. With the knowledge that commercial kitchens are one of the most energy-intensive building spaces, MORA’s all-electric kitchen offers energy and carbon savings over the use of natural gas (methane) – whose global warming potential is 28 times higher than that of CO2.