L'Atelier Gourmand, Annecy, France

In my 2nd last full day in Les Houches, the snow fairy still hadn’t arrived with her dusting of icing so we decided to take a day trip to Annecy. Y and M had previously passed through Annecy in the summer and found it to be a lovely town though during the drive M wryly noted that “wow, the landscape pretty much looks the same as it did in summer” … hence the reason we were not on the slopes and making this drive!

We started off around 10.30 am and made it to Annecy just in time for lunch. Perfect. The healthier ones amongst us suggested a walk around the lake before we indulged ourselves, which took us around the northern end of the shimmering Lake Annecy with the stunning French alps as the backdrop and the clearest water I’ve ever seen. It’s a lovely spot and evidently everyone else did too, judging by the number of local residents out for a trot with their kiddies or rugged up in their Sunday best fur coats. We crossed the Pont des Amours a Annecy (the Bridge of Love) and sauntered along, past the Merry Go Round back into the old town of Annecy.

They love their mussels in France
Originally uploaded by choccis.

But hungry stomached beckoned and more importantly, we needed to start our hunt for foie gras. I had spent a week in France and not a slice of my addiction - pan fried foie gras - had crossed my lips. There were quite a few “traditional” touristy French restaurants in Chamonix, with lots of fondue, onion soup and steak and fries on the menu but no foie gras. I had my taste buds tantalised a week earlier with foie gras pate. We’d found a really rich, fine, melt in your mouth version at the local supermarche “Shopi” which went deliciously well with those Melba toasts. But I needed to indulge myself with my favourite version; pan fried on a hot grill until medium rare and served with a sweet dressing.

That is when we stumbled L’atelier Gourmand. A quick glance at the menu, I think I yelped like an excited Amazing Race contestant, “we got a winner”!

Trilogie of foie gras, L'atelier Gourmand originally uploaded by choccis.

We found ourselves seated in modernly furnished dining room decorated with interesting art pieces. However, it was the menu which drew our attention and we quickly found ourselves in a dilemna. The trilogy of foiegras or foie gras risotto? Ravioli with crab meat or seafood linguine? Foie gras risotta as a main or entree? Y selected the Loire Sancerre white for us and we sipped that in anticipation.

Foie gras risotto,
originally uploaded by choccis.

Beef carpaccio,
originally uploaded by choccis.

I eyed J’s entrée enviously which came as a generous hunk of pan fried foie gras nestled comfortably on a creamy, very subtly flavoured risotto. M's steak carppacio salad also looked (and apparently tasted) delicious. Y and I succumbed to the temptation of the trilogy of foie gras … which turned out to be almost too much foie gras (is there such a thing)! The pan fried foie gras was delicious - not the finest texture - but it went down very well with the spiced ginger toasts and onion chutney. The 2nd and 3rd parts to our trilogie included a very creamy foie gras terrine and a large slice of foie gras marinated in port or was it red wine (something was lost in translation).

Pan fried fish fillet with sauteed
cabbage and chorizon, L'atelier Gourmand,
originally uploaded by choccis.

My main course consisted of delicious lightly pan fried fillet with a creamy, buttery sauce with lots of rosemary and a hint of lemon, on some sautéed cabbage, topped with slices of chorizo (a nice contrast). Although I thought my chorizo was on the chewy side, everything complemented each other really well.

Our dessert? The et café au lai … and a walk back through the lovely old town of Annecy with cobblestone walkways.

Overall: 4/5 stars

Interesting reads on foie gras

• http://www.frenchselections.com/deco/foiefaq.hts - Everything there is to know about a foie gras
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foie_gras - If you want to know your types of foie gras preparations
• http://www.portlandfoodanddrink.com/?p=835 - Debate in the US re: foie gras which has lead to restaurants taking it off the menu in US

Debate or not - I can't wait to try pan frying the foie gras they are selling at Citysuper. Yum!

Hong Kong Seafood Hut, Melbourne, Australia

Lobster, all 4 kgs worth

When we all headed back to Melbourne for Yuey's wedding, we were lucky enough that Ron made the trip back with us. Ron's Dad used to be in the seafood trading business so he has access to the most wonderful edible specimens of the underwater creatures.

But with all the great seafood, you need someone with a good wok to dish it all up. Because of Ron's Dad's connections, we also managed to convince the Hong Kong Seafood Hut, just off Glenferrie Rd in Hawthorn, to serve up the 4 kgs of lobster for us. And the chef really did it justice with the traditional ginger and scallion stirfry, served on a bed of noodles. No one was surprised that there wasn't much left standing after a while.

Divine. Absolutely divine.

2 Liddiard St Hawthorn 3122, Melbourne, Australia
Tel: (613) 9819 9906

P.S. Of course, you need to have good connections to get fresh seafood. The good connections is more relevant from a price perspective. The restaurant itself has a range of excellent live seafood in its tanks.

Cafe De Paris

The last time we went to Cafe de Paris, we were celebrating one of my gf's birthdays. Like me QH adores food, with a special place in her heart (and stomach) for crabs. And even more importantly, she also loves to cook and throw dinner parties, so I've learnt many a dishes (e.g. fried crab with ginger and scallion) and sampled many delicious crab dishes at her place.

A colleague had very good things to say about Cafe de Plus, plus it was just around the corner from QH's pad. But I must say that my first experience with Cafe de Paris at QH's birthday dinner left me with mixed feelings. Excellent foie gras, delicious steak, but terrible service. Or is that what we should really expect at a French restaurant with French waiters?

Tonight, another fellow foodie gf and me and going for our 2nd review of Cafe de Paris. It's SC's first time and my 2nd ... since I have this rule that any place I review should have at least 3 visits, we thought it would be a good chance to go for a girly, indulgent dinner.

Ok, so I am supposed to be on detox. But can anyone really pass up foie gras??

More later.

Tru, Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong

I've been re-reading an entertaining book by Ruth Reichl, food critic at the New York Times in the 1990s. "Garlic and sapphires" unravels her tale of traversing the New York restaurant scene. We see her world through her behind the scenes tales of how to prepare yourself for a food review (from choice of compansions to disguises to know what experience a "real" customer gets), food reviews reproduced from NYTimes and even some of her recipes. Its a delicious read for a foodie but I think the most important tip I picked up is that she never reviews a restaurant she hasn't visited more than 3 times, usually more. I truly experienced the importance of this repetition last night at Tru.

I had recommended a restaurant to a fellow foodie at work who was meeting up with a friend from out of town. I'd been to Tru twice before and was impressed with the Thai and Vietnamese cuisine served in a modern, funky decor. The servings were generous, tasty with lots of different herbs and spices and best of all, prices were reasonable (one walked away paying less than $300 for a full meal). I'd visited the much acclaimed Lotus shortly after and still found Tru trumping.

On my third visit last night I was disappointed. We ordered two of my previous favourites, including the duck and lychee salad and deep fried barramundi. On my first visit, the duck and lychee salad was a small hill with roast duck tossed with sweet lychees, tossed with thin slices of spring onion, garlic and a slight hoisin dressing. The deep fried barramundi came upright, the skin scored with thick cuts to make removing the flesh easy, then generous serving of sweet tangy chilli gravy. Tru must have been doing some serious accounting because this time the salad was half the portion and the barramundi looked like a much much younger relative of the last one we had, and felt like it has been in the oil for a tad too long ... we also tried out the coconut crepe with crab meat (lovely crab meat but not sure about the sweet chilli dressing), pad thai (not the most exciting version I've had) and some vegetable curry (delicious but in hindsight perhaps we should have opted for something more exciting like the lamb in taramind sauce).

When the the waiter came around with the bill later and asked "how was your meal", I couldn't help but tell him my disappointment with this particularly experience ... I appreciated him asking but it seemed that he wasn't quite prepared for my answer because he continued smiling and nodding and didn't really seem to understand that we didn't find the meal that great.

Maybe Tru had an off night. I might have to traverse back one more time just to find out! But for now ...

Overall: 2.5 of 5 stars.

2/F, Grand Progress Building, 15-16 Lan Kwai Fong, Central +852 2525 6700

Melbourne Melbourne

Culinary highlights of trip back to Melbourne which somehow began and finished with crab!

Pacific House, Richmond - First stop back landed me in this small linoleum joint which serves just about the freshest Cantonese style seafood. Mud crabs with scallion and ginger, lots of Chinese wine and finely diced garlic. Then there's the steamed garoupa with lots of soy sauce and peanut oil and thinly sliced scallion.

Strawberry eclair at Laurents,
originally uploaded by choccis.

Laurents, Collins Street - Strawberry eclair with mildly sweet whipped cream, topped with amazingly light pastry and almond flakes. Fresh. Sweet. Feels like eating candy floss ... a few bites and you wonder where its gone.

Melba Cafe@Langham Hotel, City - The chocolate fondue. Ok so its a little cheesy but its amazing how beautiful endlessly flowing chocolate looks. Its like the real life incarnation of a Charlie and chocolate Factory fantasy!

The Street Cafe, St Kilda - The seafood platter filled with all kinds of goodies.

Duck accompaniments at Old Kingdom,
originally uploaded by choccis.

Old Kingdom - Cheesy interior with red lanterns with matching furniture, its like a local suburban Chinese restaurant but this place also serves the best Peking duck in the world. I know this is a BIG call, but I've spent a lot of time in Beijing and am yet to find any better. I'm talking thin stretchy but strong pancake (secret ingredient's egg) which you use to securely wrap large pieces of crispy duck (with no visible fat). The duck slice has been generously sliced by Simon the owner himself to give you a big hunk of the duck meat, which you place on the pancake with one cucumber and one spring onion ("Remember, only 1 per pancake!!" - Simon says) and the lovely specially mixed hoisin sauce.

The rest of the duck is served as 2nd and 3rd eats: stir fried bean sprouts with duck meat and tasty tofu duck bone soup.

Canton Lake, Box Hill - Snow crabs fried in goose liver sauce. Decadent, rich but utterly divine. Not for the faint hearted and prepare to leave your health warnings behind.

Snow crabs in goose liver sauce,
originally uploaded by choccis.

Chez Patrick, Soho, Hong Kong

It's been a fortnight of non-stop eating. I don't know whether it's because I've started this Food & Dining Blog that's led to want to try out new places, or the eating that's leading to all these posts on this site.

Another foodie girlfriend had organised dinner with a few of mates on Tues evening at a fairly new place called "Chez Patrick" in Soho. I'd never heard of the place but was excited to be continuing my eating frenzy by trying out another restaurant.

Food: This little place serves beautiful nouvelle french food in a small cosy white washed restaurant. I was a little surprised by the small size of the menu: one can either opt for 3 or 4 courses choosing from the selection of appetizer, mains, cheese plate and dessert.

Once I saw the foei gras on the appetizer on the menu, my heart was set. I know I know, I just don't seem to be able to resist this melt in the mouth decadent dish whenever it appears in the menu. Its a dish where I actually really appreciate it when the restaurants are not particularly creative with it. Just serve me the (hopefully A grade) foie gras, pan fried with a bit of salt and pepper with the inside still pink and soft, served with cooked[apple/pear/fig/any other fruit] with a drizzle of sweet and tangy/balasmic sauce. That's exactly how Chez Patrick served the foie gras (good grade - soft with none of those stringy bits), and I loved it. My girlfriend opted for frog legs with a garlic and fennel sauce which she thought was not too bad.

The mains came with three choices: duck, fish or veal. I immediately dismissed the fish, having had it for lunch that day. I was tempted to opt for the veal which came with the foie gras raviolli but decided it might be overkill to have foie gras for both lunch and dinner. Instead, I ordered the duck breast with "munster" sauce. Now I have to admit, I love my brie, cheddar and parmesan and that new olive cheese the deli lady recommended to me a few weeks ago, but my knowledge of cheese ends just about there! Upon our query, the waitress replied that it's a "strong smelling" cheese ... hence cheese lovers would really enjoy this dish.

When my main came, I was a little taken a back by the drowning of my duck breast in a pungent cheese sauce. On the bright side, the dish came with some very cute little "marbles" of squash, zuchinni and other vegs and a delicious potato gratin. I'm not sure I made opted for the poorer choice after trying my girlfriend's veal, which was a little on the tough side.

Service: On the whole, I wasn't really impressed by the service. Chef Patrick did the lovely by coming out to say hello to us personally, but the service from the waiters was not up to par. I felt a slight sense of nose in the air from the waiters. But more specific gripes include: Given our obvious lack of familiarity with the munter cheese, I would have expected the waitress to give more warning. The waiter also did not understand the difference between ice-cream or sorbet. Perhaps I am being a little harsh but when I'm paying this much for the food, I tend to expect more! That said, a new place always takes some time to settle down ... I wouldn't write it off complete yet.

Ambience: This restaurant is located in Peel Street Soho, just past Hollywood Road. Although it's filled with white, white doors, white walls, white dining chairs, the lighting, paintings and furnishings give the restaurant a very cosy feel.

Price: Pricey, $499 for 3 courses (including a small pre-dinner taster). The owners of the Malaysian restaurant were much amused when they asked about my views on the

Rating: 3 stars (yes NN, I agree with you!)

Ingredients, Wanchai, Hong Kong

(Note: Ingredients has now closed down)

I was going to take a girlfriend to Le Fleur (see below) but by the time I called them this morning they were fully booked. So we walked up Wing Fung street and stumbled upon the newly opened Ingredients, having moved over from their previous private kitchen spot in Gough Street, Sheung Wan. I've done a fair bit of gourmet eating & travel with this girlfriend of mine so I knew I was in good company to try out Ingredient's reincarnation.

Upon entry we noticed a ground floor dining area, but we were led to the lift and taken to the 1st floor, where there was a larger dining area, all in dark wood panels, high back chairs in dark brown leather, and gleaming white tablecloth. Very suave. Though in my mind I was thinking ... they must have made a real killing at the private kitchen!!

Food: I was relieved to find that the food is still as delicious as before. Steph selected a roasted lamb which rested on potato mash topped with a bit of soft roasted tomatoes from the lunch set menu, to be followed by dessert. I opted for the a la carte "fish of the day" which was a lovely pan fried garoupa steak, served with two small halves of roasted potatoes, and lovely fresh sauce including tiny pieces of chopped pineapple pieces which contrasted particularly well.

Ambience: Gone is the quaint little private kitchen, Ingredients looks poised to take over the serious world of restaurant dining, and looks like they might just do well.

Service: Not bad. Transition from private kitchen to restaurant seems to have been quite smooth, with the assistance of a manager/head waiter who knows all the right things to do leading the rest of the less experienced waiters.

Price: Not cheap, at $215 for 2 course set lunch, $260 for 3 courses. A little on the pricey side though, the open steak sandwich was around $160, as was the laksa. But then I rather they keep the price and quality up, cos that's what you're really there for.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Later we were informed that this little empire is due to open their 2nd floor and the roof terrace in a month or two's time. Hmm, looks like a nice little spot to organise a birthday party or two!

23 Wing Fung Street, Wanchai, HK. Tel: 2544 5133
www.ingredients.com.hk

Antipasto pasta

I used to make grilled vegetables a lot in my old pad back in Melbourne. The vegs were all so big and fleshy and fresh ... eggplant, capsicums, zucchini, huge portobello mushies. Tried it for the first time today, but decided to put my George Foreman griller to use instead. The result? Hmm not bad!

Pasta,
originally uploaded by choccis.

Start with:

• 1 red capsicum
• 1 green capscium
• 2 rashers bacon
• 1 eggplant
• 1/2 onion
• 1 can peeled whole tomatoes
• good lug of olive oil (around 1 cup)
• good lug of vinega (around 1/2 cup)
• salt & pepper
• 100 gm spagetti or fettucine pasta

1. Mix olive oil (reserve 1 tablespoon) with olive oil and salt * pepper to taste.

2. Core and cut the capsicum into quarters.

3. Slice eggplant into 1 cm pieces.

4. Marinate eggplant and capsicum with olive oil and balsamic vinegar mixture for about 10 mins.

5. Place on hot grill and grill until skin of capsicum is blistery, and grill the eggplants until there are dark grill lines on eggplant, which is soft (and not crispy).

6. Cut capsicum and eggplants into large chunks and reserve.

7. Slice bacon and onion into thin strips.

8. Pan fry onion for a couple of minutes, then add the bacon, frying both until onion is slightly browned.

9. Add cans of tomatoes and tomato paste.

10. Add sugar to taste.

11. Boil pasta with ½ tablespoon of olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt until al dente. Drain and leave aside.

12. Add sauce to pasta, toss with grilled vegetables.

13. Serve.

Refectory, Soho, Hong Kong

(Note: this restaurant has since closed down! Boo hoo)

Modern British Cuisine.

Surprisingly delicious "british cuisine". The first time I checked out Refectory was with a girlfriend on a 2-4-1 Monday dinner night. Its great being able to try out new restaurants knowing its only half the damage on the hip pocket if turns out to be a disaster. This restaurant is tucked away on Graham Street - probably fitting up to 40 people in the small cozy restaurant.

First off, we were served with fresh hot bread rolls from the oven. My gf and I decided to opt for the appetizer size mussels to share. Large, fresh, succulent mussels, cooked in a creamly white wine and shallots sauce. Delicious. We mopped up the rest of the sauce with the dinner rolls.

So far so good. Our mains of suckling pig and seared cured salmon were also surprisingly good. We were amazed to be served with three large cuts of suckling pig, soft moist tender meat, all topped with a light crunchy crispy skin. It was complimented with a gravy sauce, ratoutille and spinach, and some roast potatoes that tasted slightly caramelized. The generous piece of cured salmon was slightly seared with a soft uncooked centre, my gf thought it was a little on the "fishy" side but I thought it was quite delicious with the pan fried bacon & leek side. Between the two, I'd have to pick the suckling pig though!

The restaurant impressed me so much that I thought it was worthy a second visit. My experience has been that the second visit to a favoured restaurant never quite matches up to the first ... I suppose the first is always an exploration, and once the high expectation is set the second is critical analysis of the food and service.

So we recommended it for a dinner for the same Friday night with some friends. As usual, the 2nd visit was just not quite the same. We ordered the mussels to share, but gone were the "succulent", delicious mussels, they were replaced with tiny little ones which made us think that Monday (day of our first visit) is the market day! To my relief, the suckling pig was just as good, and the salmon seemed to keep everyone happy. I picked the Australian rib-eye as my main and it was on the chewy side.

For dessert, we opted for the sorbet and "burnt creme" with berries (creme brulee), nothing spectactular but both nice solid ends to our meal.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

California, Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong

For a long time, it just didn't occur to me that many bars in Lan Kwai Fong had another life - as a restaurant serving up food long before the party goers come.

Calfornia (we're not talking about the Fitness club, also located near Lan Kwai Fong) is one such restaurant bar. After 11 pm on the weekends it turns into a pulsating somewhat dubious - fun but some would say rather meat marketish - nightclub, it serves up pretty decent lunch sets at lunchtime, and good dinner grub. Lately, it's become a favourite among us girls that head out for a supper after our boxing classes in Lan Kwai Fong.

Ambience: The interior of the restaurant is dominated by the U shaped bar on one end, and booths lining the walls and tables in the rest of the space (some of which make way for the dance floor later in the evenings). Somewhat at a basement leve, one side also has high windows which look out onto the pavement of a lane linking D'Aguilar and Lan Kwai Fong.

Menu: It has a broad western menu ranging from nachos, tacos, meat & veg dishes, pasta, soups to salads. Our favoured post boxing grub right now include the Cobb salad, which is a hearty salad with grilled scallops, prawns, chicken, avocado, bacon served with asparagus and a bed of mesclun salads (tossed in a light salad dressing) gives us the illusion that we are not putting all the exercise to waste. My personal favourite is the honey mustard chicken wings served with a cheese dip. Stay away from the cheese dip, the honey mustard marinate is enough to give the wings the full flavour, and delicious it is. Recently we discovered the chicken tacos which comes presented on a large square plate complete with 3 deep fried taco shells, slightly spicy chicken and bean salsa, and small separately bowls of tomato salsa, guacamole, cream cheese and cheese.

Price: ~$100 for lunch, $200 for supper + drinks, and more for dinner.

Ratings: 3.25 out of 5

Little pots of comfort: potato gratin

This dish is a warm welcome on any cold winter day or served as a hearty side dish to any meal. The best part is that it is so easy to make!

You'll need:

• 2 large baking potatoes
• 1 large onion
• 200 ml cream
• olive oil
• 150-200 g finely shaved parmesan cheese
• 4 ramekins (about 10 cm in diameter)

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes (the thinner you slice them the faster they will cook) and the onion. Brush the ramekin with generous dose of olive oil. Start layering the ramekin with the slices of potatoes and slices of onion, pouring a little cream after every few layers. If you like your potato gratin cheesy you can also drizzle some parmesan cheese through the layers.

Bake in oven for around 30-40 mins or until potatoes are nice and soft. Drizzle more parmesan on top and grill for another 5 mins until cheese is golden.

La Fleur, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Cuisine: French

Occasion: Work lunch to celebrate new work mate's arrival at this eatery a stone's throw away from our office.

Ambience: Small little rustic restaurant with wooden chairs and tables and a lovely open )(but a lot more modern looking) kitchen. Restaurant would prob fit around 30-40 ppl, good place for both couples and group dinners.

Menu: It all started well with the waiter setting down two baskets of warm small bread rolls, fresh from the oven. (Any place that serves warm bread moves up an notch instantly, in my book!)

The lunch set menu came with various options: (1) thick slices of tomatoes with freshly shaved parmesan and balsamic dressing, (2) crab meat chowder soup and (3) small but thickly sliced pieces of smoked duck breast stuffed with duck mousse with a simple garden salad dressed with tangy creamy sauce. I went for option 3 and it was delicious.

The main courses included options of New Zealand Ribeye steaks, Australian cod fish Pork Loin baked with tomatoes and cheese, all served with potato wedges and baby green beans. My pork loin wasn't the most imaginative, being toppeed with melted cheese and a tomato/onion sauce, but it was succulent and quite satisfying. I started wondering whether they had marinated the pork in advance. The baby green beans were a tad on the overcooked side, but potato wedges were hot and crispy. My colleagues seemed happy with their thick wedge of pan fried cod fish and generous serving of rib-eye.

The only omission was dessert though I suppose I should have asked to look at the a la Carte menu, and plus, the restaurant had already correctly judged that we would stuffed from the lunch and require no more than a good cup of tea or coffee to round it off.

Price: Very reasonable. $65-80 for a 2 course entree + main set lunch, including tea or coffee.

Rating: 3 out of 5

(I've since paid a second visit to the restaurant and revised the rating from 3.75 down to 3. This time I tried the tomato and parmesan salad with the rib-eye steak, and I was a little disappointed that the rib-eye was on the tough side - even though it was cooked, as requested, as medium rare. My companion had the soup of the day, which was like a fish bisque; "thick" the waiter informed me, but it wasn't really the case. The pork chop was still excellent though!)

G/F, 16, St Francis Yard, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Tel: 2866 7337

Yau Guat Hei, Hong Kong

For good reliable hot pot in Hong Kong, look no further than Yau Guat Hei.

There's a branch in Wanchai near the Ngor Geng bridge, and another one in Happy Valley. The Happy Valley is the original, occupying over 7 stories of what used to be a hotel. This works well in Hong Kong, giving guests privacy of having hotpot in their own room complete with TVs, a little bit like karaoke rooms. On the lower flows are the communal dining rooms if you prefer your hot pot with a bit of background ambience.

Menu: There's no other place to start than the soup base. There's lots of difference types of soup bases, the traditional pork bone (ju kuat) with sweet corn is my favourite. The other day we had a hearty slightly spicy beef soup base which was also nice, but a little strong tasting in my view. I like my soup bases on the mild side so as to still be able to taste the original flavours of the beef/chicken/fishballs/vegs/tofu whatever it is that one throws in (unless the ingredients aren't that fresh ... in which case you are in trouble anyway!). I suppose half a good hotpot is half in the soup ... and Yau Guat Hei does well here.

The hotpot menu itself is a la carte, like a dim sum menu you just tick what you want. Everything you could possibly want is on the menu, from Jap egg tofu, to various types of vegs, to seafood to 6 types of beef, cabbage wraps, fish balls and wontons. You just order what you want as you go along, throw in the food that takes a while to cook. Then gently wave your beef slices in the hot boiling soup with your spoon web until it's done, dip into your sauce sauce / garlic / scallion mixture to cool slightly. Eat. Enjoy.

Price: Estimate around $300 for hearty meal with some beer.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

The Culture Club, Hong Kong

Not so cultured ...
15 Elgin Street (Lower), Soho, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: 21277936
http://www.cultureclub.com.hk
The website sounded promising:

"The art of eating. It's beyond taste & about touching your senses. We hope you can feel the art in our food & have an enjoyable experience at Culture Club, not only with our food but also the overall atmosphere as well as the people that you share the time with here."

Let me get this straight, the setting for the Cuture Club is fantastic. It's off the funky end of Elgin street, not on the main stretch but the bit past the intersection with Staunton street where it runs all the way down to Hollywood Road. The interior is filled with exhibitions of artwork for local artists, funky retro TV, and even a piano. There's an open kitchen and a large table (made up of 2 trestle tables) which seats up to 12. Very nice setting for a group dinner with friends.
From here it all goes downhill ...
Occasion: Good friend's leaving do.
Food: We had a set 4 course menu for $198. Starter was a carrot soup served with slivers of carrot which just didn't quite sit properly with the consistency of the blended soup. Second course was a pork shank served on braised eggplant. Both were delicious but the pork shank was a little on the tough side and definitely too small a piece. Well the boys got a generous serving which left us girls eyeing their plates ... Next came the mains, where we had a choice of squid rissotto (apparently that was nice), spagetti bologanese (strangely enough this was the best dish out of them all - the sauce was deliciously soft and meaty), smoked salmon salad (a bit strange as a main) and seabass on spinach with grape butter (one friend commented that her dish was cold). The chocolate brownie, which was a little dry, was served with cookies and cream ice-cream which was an overkill - vanilla would have been a better accompaniment, and the lemon tart was ... wow, really lemony!
Service: The hosts were really lovely. But the organisation of the kitchen was pretty poor - to be fairly this was probably limited by the small kitchen and license for only light refreshments. The mains came out type by type, first risotto, 15 mins later the seabass, another 15 mins later the seabass and strangely the only dish that didn't require any cooking (smoked salmon) came out last.
Ambience: It took over 3 hours for us to have a 4 course meal ... we would have been able to endure this interesting organisation somewhat if not for the other group in the restaurant. The other group of 20 were so loud that most of the time we could barely hear the conversation between us. Despite subtle hints there was no relenting in the noise level ... they started singing after their main course and it was at that point that we realised that they were a church group ... on a buck's night out ... with both guys and girls ... Isn't there a commandment that "thou shalt not annoy thy neighbour" or something?
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

About Chocci

I love to eat, cook, travel and photograph my experiences.

I started with a film Nikon F80, moved onto a D70, and now shoot with D300. This year I started taking the Panasonic GF-1 with me everywhere.

Born in Singapore, I grew up in Melbourne, Australia and spent the last 10 years in Hong Kong and London. I've been very lucky that life has taken me to cities where people are obsessed with good food. Or is it that I search for the food wherever I go?

Shikumen Bistro, Shanghai

It's been nearly 2 years since I last came to Shanghai and wow, its really blossomed. Maybe its a comparison with dusty Beijing ... Beijing looks like a scruffy bohemian cousin next to the glamour model Shanghai. Wide streets, bustling shops, lights, cabs where you can pay by Octopus cards and fabulous shopping and great food.

Ok so there are still guys who spit, people who still jostle you in the queues, traffic jams but on the whole things are getting really ... well ... civilised.

Em took us out to a fabulous French bistro Shikumen Bistro in Xintiandi where we had probably the best potato gratin ever. Finely cut to potato chip thinness it was baked to perfection with just the right dollop of cream and cheese, served in its own little tureen to keep warm. The boullaibaise was excellent, as was the steak which came served with lightly pan fried herb flavoured (basil? ) greens. (488 Huang Pi Nan Road near Tai Cang Rd, Tel: 021 6386 7100, get off near the Starbucks and walk past the water fountains then turn left, it's straight ahead from there).

We then dropped back to Em's pad to check out her cool apartment, very comfy and spacious. The evening was topped with an awesome massage at Samos Foot & Body Massage (Lin Xiu Fang, No. 462 Chang Le Lu, Tel: 021 62566511) where we opted to give our tired shoulders and body a little loving while Po and Em got their feet rubbed and pampered. Apparently we tried out no. 16, who really knew how to get to those muscles that no one else knew about. I'd never felt looser ... but after an afternoon of flying in cramped MU flight, I'm back to stiffness again.

Definitely need to drop by Shanghai again soon ...

Soho Spice, Soho, Hong Kong

47 Elgin Street, Soho
Tel: 2521 1600

Cuisine: Vietnamese & Thai

A surprisingly delicious and reasonbly priced Soho eat with good sized servings and fresh ingredients.

Menu highlights: The soft shell crab salad, beef curry with okra.

Price: $450 for two including drinks.

Verdict: 4 out of 5 stars

Korean Garden Restaurant, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

We went pass this little Korean restaurant while searching on Queens Road Central for another one that a mate had taken me to a while back. We dropped by 8.30 pm without a booking on a public holiday and the place was about 70% full.

Food: I already had my eye on the BBQ platter in the menu and with my dinner companion indicating that he is not that full (surprisingly) we decided to opt for the BBQ dinner for two. The dinner set came with a usual platter of Korean side dishes, the kimchi, bean sprouts & spinach, little bite size pancake slices, chap chae etc. We were nearly full just eating these little plates of delight.

The mackeral fish was quite nicely done and the BBQ set of pork, chicken, beef and squid were all delicious cuts of meats and well marinated (but mind you I have a sweet tooth).

Atmosphere: Casual dining place, lots of smoke so don't go in your best clothes. Good for catch up with mates if you have a craving for Korean BBQ.

Price: ~$300 for two

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

1/F Blissful Building, 247 Des Voeux Road, Central Hong kong
leefayuen.com.hk
Tel: 2542 2339