The Principal is located at one end of Star Street, on a site that used to house Chan Wan Chow Memorial College, whose principal for 14 years was the mother of Paolo Pong, one of the founders of Press Room Group. The Principal, the group’s latest and most high-end of restaurants, is therefore named as a tribute to Pong’s mother. Inside, the airy location does not play overly much to the scholastic theme. Menus and wine lists are bound like school folders, plaid upholstery and exposed brick arches to the private room gives the restaurant a faint collegiate feel, but not to the point of cliché. While we did not have a problem with the interior per se, we did feel that the casual decor might lead diners to expect café fare, when in fact, the food offered at The Principal is very much refined haute cuisine.

Chef Jonay Armas hails from the Canary Islands and has trained with such Spanish greats including Santi Santamaria and Paco Roncero. However, apart from a Spanish suckling pig on the main course, the menu is more modern pan-European rather than Iberian. We start with a smoked eel with pineapple ice cream and poached tomatoes; a plate of white asparagus; and a slow-cooked egg with ceps and truffles. We loved the eel, with its bouquet of flavour thanks to the smokiness of the fish contrasted against the sweetness of the ice cream. Be warned though, the portion size is so petite that if your companion wanted a nibble, half your appetiser would be gone. The white asparagus is impeccable with a warm mayonnaise and romesco sauce. While it may seem a spartan dish, it also exhibits admirable restraint on the part of the chef to just let these simple ingredients shine. The most disappointing was the egg and ceps dish: by no means bad, it does seem bland and unimaginative compared to the other two. For mains, we sample the suckling pig and a Kobe sirloin with foie gras custard. In a town where Cantonese suckling pig trump most other contenders, The Principal’s suckling pig certainly stands its ground. We loved the lemon puree and bitter endives served on the side, giving a kick to the crispy skin and succulent and fatty meat. The perfectly cooked sirloin from Kobe was also wonderful: so buttery soft it could be cut with a fish knife, it does not require the mini baton of foie gras that comes with it. Make sure not to neglect the side of baby carrots and turnips on the plate though: while they may look like nothing special, chef Armas has somehow managed to make them taste intensely vegetal, as if they were picked from a garden outside just minutes before. The excellent mains are a hard act to follow and indeed, desserts are the most disappointing element at The Principal. A chocolate mousse lacks richness and is not helped this time by a sour lemon puree; while the coffee and caramel option with Grand Marnier custard and hazelnuts is also not terribly memorable.

The Press Room Group’s wine director Kavita Devi Faiella has spent a lot of time on the wine list at The Principal, and it shows. A comprehensive tome includes wines from exotic places such as Slovenia, Bulgaria and Israel, it invites diners to stray far beyond their usual safe choices, especially when these are also available by the glass, not just the bottle. For those who find it difficult to choose from the 750 labels offered, The Principal also highlights a wine of the week, where a magnum of wine is selected and offered by the glass; as well as a “Library” section of the wine list, with 12 featured producers Faiella feels is especially worth trying.

The service at The Principal suits the haute cuisine offered: we are given two types of olive oils, as well as gourmet salts, and that’s just for the bread. The staff are keen to please and efficient, as well as knowledgeable about the menu. However, there are a few minor kinks that need to be ironed out: for instance, we were asked how our meal was, an enquiry that is appreciated, but not when it interrupts a clearly animated conversation twice. Also, while the staff-to-customer ratio is high, it can be strangely difficult to get the attention of a waiter.

A three-course meal for two including wine and coffee comes to about HK$1,900. While this is certainly not cheap, nor is it expensive when factoring in the high level of skill exhibited by the chef, the premium quality of the ingredients, and the excellent wine list.