Mist, Japanese ramen, Hong Kong

Since our trip to Hokkaido in February this year, A and I have been trying to perfect the ni-tamago recipe. A fellow food blogger Chubby Hubby had helpfully posted a recipe which we tried out a few times.

But sometimes you just want to have it without the rigamole of cooking it.  Mist, an up market ramen restaurant in Hong Kong (is that an oxymoron?) gives this satisfaction.

It's the only place in Hong Kong so far where I've had ni-tamago cooked properly, a soft boiled egg marinated with the yolk still gooey inside.  Apparently the ingredients have been sourced from all over the place, with the eggs from Toyama and soy sauce from Chiba.  Well whatever it is, it works and the broth is flavoursome and the ramen tastes ... as good as ramen has ever tasted.

The menu is not cheap at around HK$100 per bowl of ramen but I think its worth every penny.  Try their ramen sushi as well, it's an interesting take on sushi ... who says you can't make sushi out of anything other than rice?

Mist
4 Sun Wui Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong  
+852 2881 5006
Reservations recommended 
http://www.mist.com.hk

 

Yin Yang, private kitchen, Hong Kong

  Yin Yang entrance  

My talented friend, a food blogger, travel writer and budding cooking show host all rolled into one, Nanamoose has already written about the owner and chef of Yin Yang, Margaret Xu in this article in Muse magazine, so I will not go into Margaret's background and her foray into private kitchen cooking.  What I will do is describe our experience at her little speakeasy in the heart of Wanchai.

Nanamoose and I had been planning to go there for lunch for the past year but always ended up cancelling for one reason or another.  It came close to the month that I was leaving Hong Kong: it was quite difficult to get a booking at Yin Yang at short notice, so we were lucky that Nanamoose managed to pull some strings to get us a table for dinner one Saturday night.  As she does with all guests, Margaret sent us the menu in advance so that we could pick a few of the dishes from the various options.

As my 10-7 job (yes those were the hours I worked) was in Wanchai, I had passed Yin Yang in a cab or walked past it many a time and never noticed it.  It is housed in an old Chinese building, with a sign of "Yuen Hap" construction co., above the restaurant. You would miss it except for the black and white flag hanging above (what appears to be) the doorway.  The decor is homely and eclectic, with jars and pots tucked in one corner and colourful shopping bags on the landing near the kitchen.  On another corner is a basket of organic vegetables which have come from Margaret's garden in Yuen Long. 

The dining room is made up of two rooms, one on the ground floor with an open counter / bar area, complete with a SMEG fridge that walked out of a 50s TV show, and a 2nd floor with a small balcony that looks onto Ship street.  The old "tang lau" windows have been kept intact.

Smokey roast chicken

The restaurant had received mixed reviews so I was slightly apprehensive.  Once the banquet started, it was a feast.  The food is gorgeous to look at, Margaret's obviously had fun preparing the colourful range of bite sized appetizers.  There's no fighting required cos there's enough for each guest to sample each and every one of them.  Some concoctions are a little strange, I can't say its fusion, I guess its a modern style of cooking using traditional methods.  Then the main courses follow, Margaret comes to our table to rip up the roast chicken with pride.  It was very good: crispy on the outside with moist and smokey meat.  We had razor clams which had been satisfying large and cooked till tender, then came the deep fried whole mandarin fish which was then lit on a bed of salt for that extra zing.  The flavours were all there ... I'd say the only thing which could be improved is the table service, some of the food was cold by the time it reached our table. 
Otherwise a really lovely dining experience that I like to relieve again, soon.

Yin Yang
18 Ship Street
Wanchai
Telephone +852 2866 0868
Cost: set menu starts from HK$550 per head

Sushi Kuu, Central, Hong kong

Fresh sushi in Lan Kwai Fong, sit at the bar and let the chef work his
magic. They have a full menu of hot dishes as well but the raw fish is
still the goer.

L'atelier de Robuchon, Central, Hong Kong

We heard from a little bird that the great chef himself was in town an
supervising the kitchen so finally checked it out one lunchtime.
Funky red and black bar tables overlooking the kitchens are def the
way to go. Fun watching the calm manner in which they execute the
dishes.
On the bright side the service was excellent - maybe the great chefs
presence was a factor - which is almost as hard to come by as white
truffle in HK and unlike white truffle money doesn't guarantee it.
Loved the fresh bread basket which was constantly topped up. Amuse
Bouche of foie gras cappuccino was lovely. I was a little disappointed
with the toast (dry, hard, cold) that came with my foie gras au
natural but the main of beef cheek was lovely.

Peace Cafe, Wanchai, Hong Kong

It was my friend N's vegetarian day today so she suggested that we have our girl's lunch at Peace Cafe. I must admit that I never venture beyond Ship Street (towards CWB) so I nearly got lost looking for this restaurant, which actually has a pretty prominent sign. It is located on Tai Wong East Street (the one next to Ship Street), and a little quiet oasis away from the hustle and bustle of Queens Road East and Johnston Street.

The food served here is an eclectic fusion vegetarian cuisine. Today we started off with a pumpkin soup with plump sweet wolfberries, followed by large round discs of beetroot topped with tofu. Our mains were eggplant ragu angelli pasta and a banana and zucchini curry with rice. The banana curry was mild, akin to a katsu curry, although my least favourite (I don't like cooked bananas usually), it was still very good. Serving size is generous, so three of us shared 2 main set meals.

Really liked this place and will definitely be back soon.

21-23 Tai Wong Street East Wanchai HK
Tel: 2527-5870
Email: info@worldpeacecafe.hk
HK$80 per head
http://www.worldpeacecafe.hk/eng/index.php

Ngor Tseh Private Kitchen

Flower crab in chinese wine & garlic

Last week we checked out a private kitchen run by Auntie Ngor (Ngor Tseh) in a nondescript building in Sheung Wan. Up the stairs and you're into a set of private rooms which are beautifully decorated with Chinese antiques. Extremely modest for someone whose private kitchen is booked out for the rest of Fridays in Sep and some of Oct, Ngor Tseh was stoked to hear that we had stumbled upon her private kitchen through a newspaper review and asked us to forward her the review.

Serving up the special Ngor Tseh's soup

A week ahead, Ngor Tseh rang head to discuss the menu with us, making suggestions based on our palate and how adventurous we were feeling. On hearing that we had pregnant ladies in the group, she decided to leave out the snake and crocodile meat. Instead, we had a full banquet that included crunchy prawn toast, tender smoked duck, tea smoked chicken (that was my favourite), a large tureen of Ngor Tseh's soup which had obviously been simmering for hours before our arrival. The sang choi bau mix was made with dried oysters for a surprisingly good twist, and the flower crabs (blue swimmer crabs) cooked in garlic and fa diu wine was lovely (though not sure why I was the last one still eating it while everyone had moved onto the rice!).

As with all private kitchens you can bring your own wine and drinks with no corkage charged. Minimum of 10 persons per booking, up to a maximum of 14.

Tea leaf roast duck

Lai Wai Ngor (Lai Jong Catering Ltd)
Tel: 9013 0686 or 2543 2202 (Reservations in advance essential)
Email: catherinelai1016@biznetvigator.com
Address: Flat 01, 3/F Des Voeux Building
25 Des Voeux Road West
Hong Kong

Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun Shop, Hong Kong

"I discovered this place with great congee!" ... A excitedly told me one hot afternoon. "In IFC? I asked" rather bemused ... I didn't know there was a congee shop in IFC. Lovely!

So turns out the Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun Shop from Hung Hom has a branch now in the IFC. The congee was indeed good, though both times they ran out of the fish fillet with spring onion congee that A wanted. The wantuns (why on earth are they spelt that way?) were indeed tasty, the broth was shrimpy and meaty all at once.

Still doesn't beat my Wong Chi Kei for price, convenience or comfort factor, but definitely on the list for "to be visited" especially as a last stop before boarding the airport express outta Hong Kong.

Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun Shop
Room 3016-3018
International Finance Centre
(directly above check in counters, 3 floors up)
Tel: +852 2295 0101
Must try: wanton/wantun noodles in soup, congee

Dry wonton noodles.  Messy but the best way to serve it!

My favourite congee place still remains Wong Chi Kei, the Hong Kong out post of a Macanese institution. Old style dark wooden decor, it has a friendly brisk service and great location just next to Tsui Wah near Lan Kwai Fong. Must try: deep fried wontons, crab congee, beef brisket dry noodles. The congees are large, so it's worth sharing with a friend.

Wong Chi Kee
G/F 15B Wellington St. (Central)
+852 2869 1331

 

Nino's Cozinha, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Nino's Cozinha is a tiny Portugese restaurant tucked away on the higher end of Ship street just off Queens rd east (as opposed to the lower end which is between Queens rd east and Johnston road).

What caught my friends' attention was a cute Macanese teenage boy hanging outside the restaurant. After chatting to him, she found out that his Macanese uncle actually runs this restaurant.

The restaurant probably only fits about 20 people, so it really is essential to book. The place was tightly packed when we went. There was a list of interesting tapas and small dishes to try, but being a working day lunch we opted for the set lunch. The crab and leek soup was a milky and surprisingly brothy soup - we were expecting something a little creamier. That said, it was light and fragrant and they were generous with the crab meat.

The main course was a generous serving of oven grilled sole marinated with herbs - I tasted cumin and perhaps parsley. It sat on a bed of cabbage leaves cooked al denta and a lovely hot tomato salsa sauce.

The highlight was really the apple pie dessert, which is probably the best apple pie I have ever tasted. Warm out of the oven, the pastry was light and just the right level of sweetness. No side ice-cream required - its too good on its own.

Shop 3, G/F Greatmany Centre
31 Ship Street
Wanchai Hong Kong
Tel: 2866 1868

Verdict: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Tung Po, North Point, Hong Kong

Steamed lotus leaf rice

"Is this where the locals eat?" asked our Japanese friend, Maki, who was in Hong Kong for a short holiday.

It sure is. Tung Po Restaurant is located on top of a rather wet wet market in North Point where the locals come to gather for good seafood around fraying wooden round tables. The woks are hot, wok hei even better and we just love having the beer out of the bowls old school style.

Must try: blue swimmer crab (fa hai) steamed with egg or Chinese wine & garlic, lotus wrapped rice

It's a no frills kinda decor

Fabulous flower crabs

Don't go to the wrong shop ... though its kinda hard to miss

Fresh seafood on display

The friendly chef

Tung Po Seafood Restaurant

Tel: 2880-9399 (Reservations necessary)

Price: Around 200 HKD per head, depending on what seafood you order.

Address: Java Road Cooked Food Centre (located in the middle of the 2nd floor)
2/F, 99 Java Road, North Point
Hong Kong

Spuntini, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Our work relocated to new digs in Pacific Place several years ago. Although it was a longer bus ride for me in the morning, I was quite happy to move away from the hustle and bustle of Central and closer to the wide ranging lunch options in Wanchai. My last work place was in Citibank Plaza - and if you've ever been there, you'll know what a big contrast it is. Luckily for me, some close friends have gradually ended up in this end of town for work so there's never a shortage of lunch buddies.

In particular, Star Street is a little oasis, full of gorgeous cafes and restaurants. Spuntini is a new addition to the Star Street family of restaurants, "part deli, part wine bar and part café". Its website sounded promising: "Two-starred Michelin chef Moreno Cedroni is known throughout the world for his simple yet delicious creations, and Spuntini is the first restaurant in Hong Kong to introduce his unique brand of Italian products to greater China."

Unfortunately, Spuntini leans towards being an good example of what I consider one of the biggest shortcomings of Hong Kong dining scene: good food, crap service. Well, perhaps in this case that is a bit harsh, but there were certainly enough WTFs to make us wonder about returning. It all began with the waiter taking our order for lunch.

Firstly, the lunch menu includes a range of set lunch items (soup, plus a main course of pasta, rissotto, roast of the day and tea/coffee) ranging from 90 to 120 HKD. On the back is the a la carte menu which includes a full list of antipastos which you could order separately, or a 2/3/4 item antipasto platter. After we had ordered individual lunch sets, D thought it would be good idea to try some anti-pasta as well. So the conversation goes something like this:

Us: "Hi we'd also like the olives and eggplants as a double item antipasto to share." (We thought the full size portions would probably be too big to share on top of our lunch sets).

Waiter: "Oh sorry we are out of olives today."

Us: "You are? Err ... no olives?" (At an Italian deli, hmm) "Ok that's fine. How about the mozarella with tomatoes to replace the olives, to go with the eggplant instead. Still the same two items share."

Waiter: "Ok." (10 secs later) "Oh sorry actually you can't have the mozarella with tomatoes as part of the 2 item platter, it can be only ordered on its own."

Us: (Errr but isn't it listed on the anti-pasto menu?) "Err ... ok, then how about the grilled peppers."

Waiter: "Ok. Oh wait sorry we are out of grilled peppers today as well."

Us: "Right". So we then went through list and finally managed to find something which (1) was available and (2) was not prohibited from being part of the 2 item antipasto menu.

Then S said, "I'm sure I saw olives in the deli window, what is the waiter on about?".

Sure enough there was a huge bowl of kalamata olives in the window. The waiter replied "No those aren't olives". I replied that they sure look like olives to me. Waiter "Well they aren't the same olives, the ones in the antipasto plate are mixed olives".

Right. All we wanted were olives at an Italian deli so we ordered them anyway. Maybe the difficulty in getting to these olives were a sign because when the platter came, we counted 6 olives, with two small pieces of eggplant ($38). The olives were really too salty.

We were then given a small amuse bouche, which I thought was a lovely touch until I tasted it. It was a badly executed fusion concoction: vietnamese rice paper roll wrap over spaggetti and some vegs. It was all rather bland and chewy.

The soup accompanying the set lunch was a minestrone soup which came served in a jar. Cute, and reminded us of some rustic french restaurants, but a little out of place at Spuntini.

The mains, thank goodness were good. My seafood rissotto was generously proportioned with grilled scallops and prawns and the rissotto rice done just right. D's roast chicken looked pretty decent and S said she had never had a more beefy lasagne before ("I have to dig around to find the pasta!").

The dessert was the highlight of the meal: the tiramisu (one of two desserts available) and it tasted and looked beautiful.

Then came the time to order the set tea/coffee. Camomile tea? That's extra 10 HKD. Latte? Same surcharge. When they say tea/coffee included, they mean only the standard red tea and plain black coffee.

Spuntini
Shop A, G/F, 4-6 St. Francis Street, Wanchai
(852) 2528 1060

Verdict: 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Hot Pot, Hong Kong

Tis the season to warm up our tooties with some steamy hot pots of seafood, marbled beef, squid balls scooped outta the bamboo shell and all other manners of goodies. Here's my quick take on two of my recent two fav places in Hong Kong.

Ying Kee Seafood Hotpot, Hong Kong

My galpal Q and I share a few things in life: tennis, crabs, seafood, crabs, travelling, massages, crabs ... did I mention crabs? One week Q mentioned that she and OB had been to a fantastic hotpot place in Sheung Wan recently which served the freshest baby abalone (at $10 each) and crabs to go in the hot pot. When Q suggested that we try the place out on a Friday night, I was looking forward to the meal the whole week ... and I wasn't disappointed!

Turns out I'd been to Ying Kee before with another bunch of friends a few years ago. This place is on the 1st floor of Lucky Commercial Building in Sheung Wan. Unassuming decor with tanks of seafood at the entrance, this place is low key but fabulous. This place has got the three essential ingredients to a great hot pot right: (1) freshest seafood, (2) great soup base and most importantly (3) a consistent powerful flame. So go for the baby abalone, the crabs, US sliced beef and the squid paste which you scoop out of a bamboo container bit by bit. Don't forget to cool down with the sugarcane juice.

I'm going back again this Saturday night.

1/F Des Voeux Road West, Sheung Wan. Tel No: 2548-8897

Spring Autumn Hot Pot (春秋火锅)

Kind of a mid to high end hot pot place with table cloth and ingredients beautifully arranged and served on a little plates. The soup base is great, so is the beef balls and squid balls, but my fav has to be the delicious marbled beef. Requires booking in advance as it's not a big place so it's always full.

26 Leighton Road, Causeway bay. Tel No: 2878-1128

La Mer Brasserie ... or La Merde?

Let's start with the good parts. The ambience is lovely. Comfy dark wooden furnishings and dim lighting. On one end of a restaurant there is a fresh seafood bar with lots of fruits of the sea waiting to be pointed at "I'll have that thanks". Surprisingly the food is also priced reasonably, with soups around 50-70 HKD, entrees from 100-200 and mains from 150-250. I was wondering how they would pay for the rent in LKF until the bill came later ...

Food: Ordinary. The meal began well, we ordered two large buckets of mussels to share between the group ... we were quickly served with lovely fresh fat mussels in big colourful pots (though given its name - surely fresh seafood must be expected) cooked in provincale sauce - tomato based - and the other in a white wine and herbs cream sauce. Both were delicious. But the french fries which accompanied it were a little tired looking. For entrees, my girl friend and I shared the esgargot - tasty, garlickly, sitting on a potato mash which was surprisingly a good match - and the soup du jour - a pumpkin and crabmeat soup which was a little too sweet for my liking. For the main course I opted for the duck which was served with ... actually the main course wasn't too memorable ... I can't actually remember now what it was served with! That in itself is perhaps not such a good sign.

For desserts, the restaurant helpfully provides a dessert platter option where you can select 4 out of the 5 dessert which included the chocolate mousse (nothing earth shattering), shortcake creamy concoction with avocado and strawberries (fresh, quite interesting), an apple tart and pinenuts slice. None of it was anything to write home about!

Service: Any place which plies unsuspecting guests with endless bottles of sparkling and mineral water ... at $40 per 500 ml bottle surely needs a peg or two taken off the service mark. Especially when some guests specifically asked for tap water at the beginning of the evening. Put it this way, our water bill came up to 2/3 the bill of our wine! More to the point, we could not quite understand how each person had supposedly drunk around 1 litre of water each (roughly 20 bottles x 500 ml), on top of the wine we had consumed. When we questioned the bill - it wasn't until we threatened to write to the management that they agreed to cut the bill down for us to a more reasonable figure.

Despite this, most of the night was very enjoyable, great friends catching up over some lovely wine (Oyster Bay sauvignon blanc) is always a good night out!

Rating: 2.5 stars

Verdict: Average food at average prices

Cost: $450 per head (not including wine)

La Mer Brasserie, Lan Kwai Fong Hotel

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

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

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

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