This review has been some time coming...
Fusion cuisine in the Netherlands has had its ups and downs throughout the years. In all honesty, fusion of Dutch cuisine with anything else rarely succeeds. Hanting manages to successfully combine French and Chinese cuisine in a way that not only appeals to epicurists and epipurists alike, but has even convinced some of my Dutch friends to drag out their wallets on occasion. For me, that is the true mark of a restaurant in the Netherlands; once you've convinced the Dutch that it's worth spending money on, that is the final seal of approval you need. Well...that and a Michelin star.
The four course tasting menu was the perfect meal for me. It provided me with a perfect view into exactly what this restaurant was capable of. Of course fresh ingrediants are to be expected, but the inventiveness of the presentation and the unique combination of flavors was the eye opener for me. I suggest the four course menu and to allow the staff to pair wines for you; you will not be disappointed. The first course was a razor clam paired with sea foam, the plate decorated with dots of puree of various vegetables, each unique and each intense. The second course was a salmon...what could only be described as a sashimi...but was in reality anything but. It was accompanied by a selection of greens and a very light ginger dressing. The third course, a filet of mackerel prepared in butter and served with carrot, turnip, and potato sliced paper thin and glazed in an herb-ginger preparation was the perfect third course, followed by the final course, a lamb shank served over perfectly prepared rice with an accompanying trio of chinese vegetables. Combined with the perfect atmosphere and the ever-attentive staff, one of the most enjoyable meals I've had in Den Haag ever.
Perhaps the most surprising thing for me was that no one in The Hague seems to know about Hanting, or of those that know of it, no one has been. It is time for that to change. read more