Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Nadaman-Shanghai

A lunch set about $100 dollars :-


No wonder it's very popular with Japanese ladies who have small appetite. But all their other set lunches are quite reasonably priced, guess it's because the hotel is located in Pu Dong?

Friday, July 13, 2007

魯一居

Was around the area and eager to try out the restaurant. Not many Shandong restaurant in Hong Kong.

Well, the menu looks more like a normal Shanghai/Beijing restaurant and didn't notice much special Shandong dishes. Would be helpful if there is some indication for the specialties.

Guess we didn't pick the right item...

Stir fried walnut and chicken(醬爆雞丁) - the chicken is alright but some larger pieces didn't have much flavor, also the walnuts are stale, which ruined the whole dish.

Ordered the Shandong fish dumpling and this showed up. When questioned, the waitress told us that the fish dumplings were sold out. Wonder why we were not told when ordering? Anyway, since it's already there and was very hungry, decided to have the pork & vegetable dumpling in chili sauce(紅油抄手) and not to sent it back.

The dishes were all very oily(even the stir fried vegetable with garlic), and felt stuffed after the meal and didn't even feel like having dinner afterwards.

Saw a lot of articles on newspaper and magazines recommending this place, was quite disappointed.


Monday, July 09, 2007

茶餐廳

我在茶餐廳品嘗到愛》

作者:周淑屏及洪佩珊著

C處借來了這本書,讀後有感而發。我對茶餐廳的記憶,多數與J有關。 J為少數不挑食的乖寶寶,又肯陪我試新地方,不介意從5元魚蛋吃到4位數字的法國大餐。

我倆以前常去灣仔巷子裏的一間茶餐廳,二人叫一份午餐分、加2杯飲品。印象中那間茶餐廳的份量很大(因為1時前午市的主要客源為裝修師父),總是你推我讓要對方把飯吃完。茶餐廳的阿哥們到後來見到我們就會自動放下2個碗仔給我們分飯。可惜這家茶餐廳現在已結業了。

美都是 J的好介紹。焗豬扒飯、西多士真是百吃不厭。人多的時候還可以叫個廈門炒米。加一杯奶茶或凍唂咕,看廟街的攤販開檔,有一搭沒一搭的聊聊天,消磨一個悠閒的黃昏。也許這是我對美都的印象比作者來的好的多的原因吧。

還有在旺角極之好吃車仔麵和炒出前一丁匆匆擠在永遠人山人海的蘭芳園吃的葱油心多多/豬揼兜撈丁、豬扒包和絲襪奶茶是澳門茶餐廳的豬扒包...

不論一個人或是一堆人,趕時間或是消磨時間茶餐廳都是個好去處。同意C的說法 - 我愛茶餐廳



Monday, June 18, 2007

一碗麵

Choose this restaurant for Mom as she likes noodles. So there's a lot of comment coming from her.
Smoked fish (薰魚). Mom orders it whenever she sees it on the menu and usually finished the whole plate by herself. Uhm..I only remembered to take a photo after we each took a piece. The dish remained untouched after that.
Boiled pork with garlic sauce. It's tasty and a bit too spicy for me. But Mom commented it's not made in the "traditional" style, were you cook the meat than slice it thinly instead of using "hot-pot" type of pork. Well, it's not a "traditional" Chinese restaurant so maybe shouldn't be too fussy.
Vietnamese spring roll. Mom again think it's not very "authentic". (See, I'm really not picky when it comes to food)
The famous $180 beef noodle. The noodle is chewy but not hard, and even for someone who doesn't like noodle like me think it's very good. The beef is very tender and richly flavoured, with very thick soup. It's good but guess it's very personal opinion whether it's worth that much.
This was highly recommended by a friend and otherwise probably would never try/or even notice the mango cake. This turned out to be the best ! Soft and fluffy cake with lots of cream and mango and mango puree on the plate. Well, it's $40 per piece but...

Mom classified this as a "try once and no need to go back" type of restaurant. Won't say their food is not nice, just considering the price, environment and the food, it's not that outstanding.

Nobu again

Anago sushi. tender, delicious and melt in your mouth.

Salad that came with the set lunch.Black Cod Saikyo yaki. If my Mom said it's good, then it's really good.

Australia Wagyu steak with Terriyaki sauce. Well, maybe should just get a piece of Japan Wagyu steak from the supermarket next time. Nothing wrong with the steak, it's juicy and tasty, just nothing special either...
Of course, the perfect view.

Also had Green tea cake with sesame paste and lime sorbet. Uhm...the combination is surprisingly pleasing.

The price for the lunch is enough for a decent dinner, but then again, the view at night is going to be a lot more expensive...

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Cakes

Wonder why someone on no-carbohydrate diet ate so many cakes...

These two were from Antique...(counter in Sogo)

Well, a bit too sweet...
Had this one in IFC. A bitter sweet chocolate tart. Yummy, perfect match with a cup of coffee.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Green T House - 紫雲軒

No photos allowed in the place but it such an interesting place that must be recorded. Came across it on an in-flight magazine and was surprised there's such a place in Hong Kong. More information could be found on their website:

http://www.green-t-house.com/hong.html

Cyberport was desert at night(wonder if it'll be crowded during the day) with no one in the Arcade at about 8pm. The tea house looks more like an Art gallery than a place serving tea/meal/wine.

Had a warm oolong with green apple while pondering over the menu. The oolong tea was very refreshing with green apple and lemon in it.

Was aiming to have a light dinner and would like to sample more dishes, so ordered the tasting menu to share:

1. chopped walnuts with mustard sauce and goat cheese on slices of pear - this dish came with a tall vase and a even taller "silver willow(銀柳)" as decoration. Have to remove that from the plate to avoid knocking it over while eating.

2. strawberry champagne - more like a strawberry puree but it's nice and refreshing

3. lobster clear soup - simple and nice, and interestingly with a bit of tea in it

4. Simple green salad - butter lettuce with a bit of sea salt and a piece of apple/pear

5. Seared scallops - very nicely done succulent seared scallops with a Thai dressing

6. Crispy chicken with Szechuan pepper - luckily it's not spicy, the chicken pieces were tender, served with fried tea leaves, cashew nuts and of course, Szechuan pepper

7. Lobster mushroom emotions(that's what it's called on the menu) - lobster with very rich mushroom sauce on the side, a lovely combination

8. Venison loin with raisin red wine sauce - served with some chopped green apple/pear?, beans and raisins

9. Flower tea prepared in front you and served in a bowl

10. Tea-ramisu - well, it's nice but nothing like the conventional tirimisu

11. Dark chocolate and white chocolate - the white chocolate had rose and Jasmin tea sprinkled on top, which gave it a very pleasant taste, but a bit too sweet, while the dark chocolate had oolong tea leaves in it, makes it a bit strange.

Though each portion was small, there's a lot of courses and was quite full afterwards. Each dish was beautifully presented and the best of all was all the dishes were delicious.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Nobu

Heard mixed comment about Nobu, some good and some think it doesn't live up to the fame.

It opens for lunch since April and it's a good way to try out an expensive place and see what the food is like.

The lunch Omikase is $588, and here it goes:
Yellow tail sashimi - the fish was very fresh and the tangy dressing helped to bring out the sweetness of the fresh flash.
Seared tuna with pepper sauce - the tuna was again of very good quality, and the pepper sauce gave it an interesting twist. Pity it's a bit spicy for me.

Grilled yellow tail collar with teriyaki sauce. This was wonderful, the fish was juicy and the sweet teriyaki souse with lemon was just lovely. The huge piece was reduced to a few pieces of bones in no time.

Tenderloin with chili sauce - not sure whether they've marinated the beef for too long, the texture of it was strange. An anti-climax after the three wonderful fish dishes. We told the waiter that we what we thought about the beef and the manager quickly offered to prepare an replacement.
Grilled shrimp with OX sauce and mushroom tempura. The shrimp with the fried dried scallops shreds and thinly sliced chillies was done just right, the shrimp was crisp and fresh and the OX sauce not too strong so it compliments the shrimp.

An separate order of Cod fish Saikyoyaki lunch set. It came with rice, pickles and miso soup. The serving is very generous and though the cod was a very thick piece, the miso could be tasted in every bite of the succulent fish.

Back to the last dish from Omikase, salmon, white fish(?), yellow tail and toro sushi. The toro simply melt in the mouth and each of the white fish sushi were prepared with a little twist, either with Shiso or with ginger and spring onion. Though the sushi rice is a bit sweet, think it's at least as good as the best ones I've had in town.

The four layered dessert - milk foam, Whisky ice cream, chocolate crunch cake and coffee moose. Lovely dessert if you don't mind a bit of alcohol.

Was very impressed as I don't usually like fish, yet love all the fish dishes that day. Great food plus attentive service always make a lovely dining experience. No wonder the place was full during lunch time.

Chesa

Like the cosy and friendly ambiance, also the wonderful food.
Foie gra with Figs. The sweetness of the figs was simply lovely with the goose liver.
Lamb tarter - from the lamb promotion menu. Interesting but well, the lamb tarter was smaller than a bite..
Lamb loin with white asparagus. The lamb was tender and with a rich sauce.
Cannolini with crayfish - a rich and hearty dish.
Souffle - the all time favorite, insubstantial yet satisfying.

This is a lovely place to go with family, friends or lover to spend a leisurely evening.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Pho Hoa

Tried out this "new" Vietnamese restaurant.

The rice noodles is nice and they'll ask whether you'd like the bean spouts to be served separately.
The spring rolls are a bit tough and chicken wings are OK.

Supposedly a famous chain from Canada. Well, maybe my taste is more "Hongkongnese style", think there are better choice available in Causeway Bay and Wanchai.

Lunch at Harakan

Yes, it's probably high cholesterol and fat but also extremely delicious. The grilled good liver rice from the lunch menu is a big bowl of rice generously covered with four big pieces of goose liver. Sinfully yummy...

Monday, April 23, 2007

Lawry's, Lee Garden

Managed to have a table on Saturday night at around 7pm without reservation and agreed to return the table at 8:15 pm.

Lobster bisque was rich and delicious, but as everything is in American size, was quite full after the soup. The salad itself was refreshing and with just the right amount of dressing. Love the sprinkles of hard boil egg in it. However, the presentation is really funny. Can't really tell the purpose of spinning the huge metal bowl on the crushed ice while mixing??
The "famous" Lawry's seasoning.

Ordered a traditional cut to share. The roast beef is juicy, tender and full of flavor.
The Yorkshire pudding goes well with the gravy. The side order mushroom is alright but nothing special.

Had a bit confusion when we ordered one to share. We were told that they'll charge about $200 for another salad and mash potato. We were left with the impression it's their "policy" to charge for that if you order to share, even after explaining that we won't need any additional salad and mash potato. Finally we settled on telling the waitress we'll just need to order one portion and the other person will not be eating. Maybe a bit of miscommunication there?

Ichikawa, Taikoo

Haven't been to the this one for a while and picked it as an alternative to the original Korean restaurant. All decided on ordering the $135 dinner set, which you can choose a starter, a soup, a main, noodles/rice and dessert.

When everything arrived:
There were: 4 fried dumplings and one cold spinach; 2 miso soup, 2 pumpkin soup & 1 mushroom soup; 3 teriyaki beef, 1 grilled cod, 1 seafood hot pot; 2 rice, 1 rice with soup(茶漬飯), 1 soba & 1 Udon.
The Cod was nice with a hint of sweetness from the miso. Though it sounds like a strange combination, it also went very well with the sesame dressing left over from the spinach. Also tried the teriyaki beef, it's a bit too salty for me and a bit too much onion...

The food in general was better than I remembered, or maybe just because spend most of the time talking instead of focusing on the food?

Fragrant Flowers

Marco Polo lily - a stunning lily with a overwhelming fragrance. It's blooms are huge and very pretty.

One of my favorites - Lily of the valley. It's difficult to imagine the tiny flowers could have such sweet and great fragrance. Pity don't see them very often in Hong Kong.

Milk Deluxe

Tried the "deluxe" milk by Mengniu(蒙牛) in Shanghai and surprised to find it's rich, creamy and smooth. You won't be able to tell the difference between it and Japanese brands in blind tasting. At RMB$4 it's very good deal but wonder if it's going to survive at almost HK$8 per pack.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Jean Georges - Three on the Bund

Saw the ad of their brunch after having lunch at Whompoa Club (the two restaurants are in the same building), made a booking immediately to try it out.
Croissant and chocolate croissant with the brunch set arrived with three dipping (think they are chocolate, coffee and jam). The reason for forgetting the dipping is the croissants are simply wonderful. They arrived cold yet it's crispy outside and soft and fluffy inside. You can smell the salty buttery aroma when held it close. (Wonder how much butter goes into it...)

Mom and I both encountered our "unforgettable" croissant when we were in Paris. Coincidentally, both were bought near Paris train station. (But there's at least 20 years in between...) For unknown reason, we've rarely have croissant like that again (you'd think you can find anything in HK, Taiwan and China nowadays), until now...

Foie gras brule, dried sour cherries and candied pistachio. This was from the lunch set, which is RMB198, includes 2 dishes plus a dessert. You can choose anything thing from the menu. The sour taste of the cherries balanced well with the richness of the foie gras. Needless to say, I stole most of this dish.

Slow baked salmon, steamed wild mushrooms, sake ginger dressing. Uhm...this is one of the best fish dishes cooked in Western style I've every tried.

This is the brunch set - clockwise from the top left - brioche french toast, caramelized apple; buttermilk pancakes, warm maple syrup; smoked salmon, potato-horseradish gallettes, creme fraiche and eggs Benedict. The french toast is almost like a sponge cake and the eggs Benedict is just right with the centre running. It's nice to have a small portion of each type. The set also include juice and coffee besides the croissants, at RMB$168. No wonder the place is full and you can see the set on most tables.
Veal tenderloin and shank, potato cannelloni, Liquid Parmesan. The veal tenderloin and shank are just perfect. Not too keen on the potato cannelloni though.Roast organic chicken breast, kumquat-lemongrass chutney, mandarin sauce. This was a very nice surprise. Never expect to fin the chicken so tender and juicy, and taste so nice with the olive paste and orange dipping.
Warm chocolate cake. Rich, not too sweet and lovely with ice cream.Petite fours - the chocolates were nice but the best was the marshmallows!!(Macaroons are just so so.)
Originally asked about buying some croissants as take away(that's how good they are), and was told that the croissants were made especially for the brunch sets and not for sale. Luckily, later the very helpful and friendly General Manager, Mr. Godard, said he would go to the kitchen and find a few for us as Easter present! The two bars of Chocolates were Easter treats for ladies.

Enjoyed a lovely brunch and most important thing is finally convinced my parents that western food can be tasty too.

Will definitely go again when in Shanghai again and highly recommended to all visiting Shanghai.