Unexpected goodness @ Hee Kee crab general

Saturday evening, absolutely pouring with rain, venturing into Causeway Bay with no dinner reservation may not have been the brightest idea. We were originally wanting to have robatayaki at an oft frequented place, but unfortunately they were full house that night. Since the rain was getting heavier, we decided to step into the closest restaurant and hope for availability. This turned out to be Hee Kee crab general so I guess we were having crab that night~

Only after a short wait, we were directed downstairs to the dining room which was busy for a rainy Saturday night. Service was a little haphazard since there was only one waiter looking after our section, but that at least gave us time to study the menu and decide what to order. After we were served tea and pre-meal snack of preserved vegetables, we waited and waited… and waited for our meal to begin…

At first we thought to be patient, but after half an hour with no food arriving we flagged down the server to see what was taking so long. It was only then we were informed that both of our main dishes and soup we ordered needed to take a longer time to prepare, but what was most astounding was that they only had three available stoves to cook on… since this was the case, we just told him to serve up our fried rice and vegetables first hence our meal sort of began backwards…

Our egg white and conpoy fried rice was cooked to a nice dryness where it was full of wok hei. Both of us found it delicious… but that could have been our hunger talking.

The spinach in broth with salty and century eggs was tender where the yolks of the eggs were boiled to a nice mushy softness.

Half-way through the vegetables our crab finally arrived~! Satay crab with vermicelli served in a claypot. The meat of the crab was firm and pleasantly sweet confirming its freshness and I also adored the slippery smooth vermicelli soaking up the flavourful satay sauce. So good~

You would think the crab was the star of the show, but that was until the roasted beef on bone arrived~ On the menu, it looked like a decent sized serving of eight slices of beef, but in reality it was a whole hunk of meat de-boned and chopped into irregular slices. Gorgeously roasted, the outside was crispy while all the fatty juices were sealed inside the tender meat. This was jaw-droppingly good and definitely brought out the carnivorous side in us 😉

The pot of chicken feet and whelk soup was the last to arrive and unfortunately was the most disappointing item of the evening. They did not boil it long enough, so the soup was quite bland and they tried to make up for it by adding a lot of salt… not fooling anyone though…

So it’s true, sometimes no plan is a good plan and in this case Hee Kee was a surprisingly great find. The food was delicious despite the wait being somewhat ridiculous… but if you are prepared to wait maybe at least an hour for your dinner I would really recommend the crab and the beef~

Teaing~ @ Le Salon de The Joel Robuchon IFC

Lucky people at IFC now have a new place for tea~ Le Salon de The Joel Robuchon have now opened a new establishment inside IFC shopping mall and it is fabulous~

Located where the previous Jean Paul Hevin used to be (a few steps away from the Four Seasons hotel), its trademark outfit of black and eye-popping red certainly garners more attention than its predecessor. Like the Salon de The in Landmark it offers patrons both take away and dine-in options, but really if you have time, I would suggest dining in as the sitting area is not only stylish, but comfortable too~ Bright red cushy chairs paired with black and white marble table tops while the silver hanging feature dangles overhead… I can not think of a better way to pass a relaxing afternoon 🙂

And that is what I did~ Starting with their almond croissant and their new creation pistachio and raspberry croissant 🙂 The almond one is filled with almond paste where a scattering of toasted almond flakes topped the slightly chewy sweet crust and finished with a light dusting of icing sugar, while the pistachio and raspberry flavour is more balanced as the raspberry jam filling and freeze-dried raspberries pieces add a welcome tartness to offset the sweetness of the pistachio crust. What makes a great croissant depends on how many layers they consist of hence how flaky they become, and these were very flaky~ One bite sent numerous shards of pastry fluttering everywhere, messy, but I would not have it any other way.

It did not end there… just as I finished, some friends arrived and I ended up joining them for more food~

More croissants~ Pain au chocolat and chocolate, banana croissant. After two croissants already, I let them have this all to themselves, but I did try a bite of the chocolate, banana one which is already a winning combination. Sweet, mushy goodness wrapped in the same flaky pastry… indulgence with fruit just makes it seem slightly more healthier :p

For savouries, onion soup with emmental cheese gratin. Nothing beats piping hot onion soup where it is full of semi-melted onion slices, soaked baguette slices and a gooey topping of thick melted cheese~

I did not have any of the teppanyaki French pork cutlets, but they looked juicy and the side of buttery mashed potatoes never fails to impress.

Jaffle or toastie lovers may like the version offered here, rather than a thick slice of bread a wafer thin coating is filled with assorted ingredients. The one we had was filled with roasted ham and melty cheese, just right if you are looking for a snack or light lunch.

No afternoon tea time is complete without a tea set no? In Landmark the tea set is served on wooden boards, but at IFC a modern black and red three tiered structure is used instead. Definitely a big improvement~

The petite sandwiches and pastries did not seem to vary much from the tea set that is currently served at Landmark, but I was informed there may be new variations coming later on. The scones however, were significantly bigger in size which improved the overall texture. Before, it felt like I was eating a 3D biscuit topped with cream and jam, but now there is an alternating texture of baked firm crust with more of a pillowy inside. Rather than the traditional offering of plain or raisin, Salon de The serve plain and alternate between lemon raisin or Earl Grey orange scones. The Earl Grey orange was in circulation that afternoon and it was a fragrant combination of citrus tones where all that was needed was a generous smear of clotted cream~ If you are more partial to the plain scone, pairing it with the accompanying pineapple jam made it quite interesting, almost as if you were eating a Taiwanese pineapple cake (fung li su).

For drinks, rather than just settle for tea or coffee that is part of the tea set, we ordered the iced peach and passionfruit tea one of their signature drinks. Served in a tall glass, it is a lovely rose colour with pieces of diced mango, topped with a generous scoop of their homemade strawberry sorbet. Very fruity, the sorbet is a stand-out, velvet smooth with no hint of iciness at all. I would so recommend this for a hot summers day~

Overindulgence? Yes I would agree, but so worth it! I think I have found a new favourite place to tea~ 🙂

High hopes @ Catalunya

Catalunya. One of the hottest restaurant names that is currently on everybody’s lips. Not just because Spanish cuisine is taking Hong Kong by storm, but the kitchen at Catalunya is run by a team that has experience at some of the world’s best Spanish restaurants with elBulli being one of them, so surely the hype is understandable no?

So popular at the moment, reservations seem to need to be made at least one month in advance unless you are willing to take a late booking say after 9pm or settle for tapas at the bar. However, when I called to make a reservation, upon asking when the earliest date they had available for two at 7.30pm they actually had availability just one week away providing we returned the table at 9.30pm. 

Situated between Wanchai and Causewaybay, Catalunya really is in an awkward spot if you plan to take MTR or walk there, so if you do not drive I would suggest taxi as the way to go. The restaurant is quite dim with shades of burgundy and chocolate brown as the dominant colors in play. It is a big space, able to seat up to 140 guests, and not surprisingly it was packed with diners that evening making for quite a loud environment. 

The menu concentrates more on tapas which is largely what Spanish cuisine is known for, but if you are looking for something more substantial they do have a selection of mains too pending whether you fancy meat or seafood.

So we started the evening with some tapas.

Feeling like potatoes, I picked the patatas bravas with ‘all i oli’ which is the Spanish equivalent of fried chunky potato wedges. Quite a big portion, the irregular cut potatoes were fried to a golden brown, but the supposedly ‘spicy’ Bravas sauce was not spicy at all.

The ham, cheese and truffle ‘bikini’ is their little joke, where ‘bikini’ is in fact a toasted sandwich. This tapa has been quite popular from the reviews so it seemed like it was worth ordering. Four toastie soldiers arrived limp and lukewarm, with a thin layer of ham, truffles and slightly gooey cheese. Quite a filling tapa, the flavours were there, but it was not as ‘wow’ as others claim.

Caterpillar like, the avocado and lobster roll was stuffed with marinated lobster meat draped with avocado slices and scattered with salmon roe. I was not particularly taken with the filling, a little tart with bits of celery, but the avocado was perfectly ripe while the salmon roe was fresh and popped pleasantly in the mouth.

Rather than being served steak and shrimp for surf and turf, they serve it with sweetbreads and baby squid. Very savoury, the sweetbreads were slightly overcooked, making for a more solid than spongy texture. The calamari was lovely though, two snow white scrolls that were very tender. Compared to the others, this was probably the best tapa of the evening…

For mains, we settled for lobster rice which is Catalunya’s version of paella. Arriving in a black pot, it unveiled a generous portion of lobster atop a mound of rice. The lobster meat was super sweet and moist, but the rice was too al dente for my liking.

We were finished by 8:30pm, deciding not to stay for dessert since the overall dinner was just… underwhelming. I think our expectations were set too high resonating from all the hype, but if you have not been, it may be worth experiencing at least once.

Brunching~ @ Bricklane

What better way to enjoy Sunday than having eggs benedict~ Bricklane has been on the radar for a while now and friends that have been always recommend this as the ‘it’ place for eggs benedict. 

So Mr. C and I paid them a visit. It was around 4pm when we arrived, but just as we stepped in they told us that the kitchen had closed. Before we could be disappointed, they directed us to their other location which is diagonally across the street. Much bigger and definitely more comfortable, stepping into this other Bricklane made me feel as if I was back in one of the cafes in Sydney. Outfitted in bricks (so fitting lol) it had a laid-back, unpolished charm which just made it all the more appealing. They serve an all-day breakfast menu which is great for those people that like to sleep in and still want eggs when they wake up at ? o’clock in the afternoon or in the evening, and looking around at what other people were eating my assumption was pretty spot on. However if you do want something more substantial they serve other items as well, salads, pastas, cheeseburgers and fish and chips too.

Of course eggs benedict was on the agenda, the classic benedict offers a choice of either ham, bacon or smoked salmon as topping, but if you want something a little more special, Parma ham is also available. Seeing pancakes on the menu was a welcome surprise as they do not seem readily available in Hong Kong so the fact that Bricklane had them of course meant we had to order them. We also added a side of truffle fries as the table next to us were happily munching on theirs and they smelt divine~

There have been good comments regarding their coffees, but neither of us were in a coffee mood so instead Mr. C opted to try their rose tea latte. Delicately foamed with dried rose petals strewn on top, it really was a pretty beverage~… Unfortunately no matter how lovely it looked it could not hide the subpar taste. Way too sweet with barely a hint of rose scent we each took a sip and left it. Quite a shame really.

The eggs benedict lived up to its fame though. Two softly poached eggs on a bed of ham and spinach leaves all atop a well toasted muffin half. Poking my knife into the eggs, runny yolk spilled out in a gush which delighted me to no end as that is how well-made poached eggs are supposed to be. The hollandaise sauce covering the eggs was a sunny yellow mixed to the right thickness and tasted buttery with a hint of tartness. Surprisingly good~

Our truffle fries arrived in a cute metal bucket with a side of truffled mayo. Shoestring fries with a hint of skin on them were fried to a golden crunch. Super addictive especially with the creamy mayo, we polished off the whole bucket~

We were both looking forward to the pancakes, but they did not appear as appealing as we thought they would… Three stodgy looking, pale coloured discs with four mini sides of honey, butter, whipped cream and a quartered strawberry. They tasted exactly how they looked, heavy with no fluffiness at all and the fact they came with whipped cream from a can and no maple syrup was really disappointing 😦

Bricklane really is a great brunch place or even for a casual get together. Will I return? Of course~ for eggs benedict and truffle fries or even trying their big breakfast, but pancakes? probably not.

Hot pot~ @ Roast pot

People in Hong Kong love to hotpot. Even though traditionally, it is something that is supposedly eaten during cold weather, we continue to do so in summer time, even during 30 degree plus heat we just crank up the air con and go right on ahead.   

Wanting to hot pot one evening, rather than going to our usual place on hillwood road, we decided to try Roast Pot up on the second floor of Carnavon plaza which is often frequented by Mr. C’s friends. 

Thinking it would be very full since it was a Saturday evening, we called ahead to make a reservation, but surprisingly upon arrival there were only a few other tables occupied aside from ours. 

Service was rapid, as soon as we were seated they had already brought over the condiments container as well as asking for our drinks order. We already knew what soup base we wanted so we ordered that first, before taking our time to tick the items we wanted off their brochure-like menu.

Our pot of collagen giant garoupa bone soup base soon arrived, steaming hot and full of ingredients such as chicken feet, red dates and links of garoupa spine. We were served the soup first, milky and slightly thick from the collagen it was tasty with a concentrated flavour. Really good~

We ordered sashimi, which nowadays a lot of hotpot places are offering, both salmon and scallops. The salmon was soft and luscious, sliced into thick slices with tiger stripes of fat running through it, while the scallops were naturally sweet with a delicate velvety texture.  

And then to hotpot~

Top grade fatty beef. We ordered the small portion, but it was still very generous in size. Slices of tender beef with an even marbling of fat. The meat had a gorgeous beefy flavor and even when boiled to the degree of well-done it remained tender. Must order~

Coagulated pigs blood. Rusty red cubes of solidified blood mmm~ The ones here were quite good, a little chewy and left a slight sticky texture on the teeth.

Home-made ground squid paste. It arrived in a bowl with a small wooden paddle to scoop into the pot. Snow white with little chunks of still solid squid, we could taste its freshness, but it lacked a bounciness that we were both looking for.

Baby abalone and razor clams. Both were really fresh and nothing could really go wrong unless you overcooked it. Which unfortunately we did for the razor clams as they ended up too chewy, but that was our fault not theirs. 

Vegetables (yau muk choi). Very green, crisp and fresh. Nothing can really go wrong with vegetables.

American oysters. Coming in a serving of at least seven oysters, they were nicely plump with quite a strong sea flavour. Only problem with adding oysters to the pot was that the essence of the oysters seeped into the soup and from then on after, the vegetables tasted like oysters. 

Thinly sliced beef tongue. I loved this~ So tender with a slight sweetness to the tongue which is not often detectable. So so good and such a big serving too~

Lobster balls. Big chunky spheres of fresh ground lobster with a nice bounce to it. If you are a lobster lover, this is definitely for you.

We were so full afterwards! As usual I think we over ordered despite there only being two of us since we wanted to try so many things, but we managed, or Mr. C did, to eat most of it :p Aside from hotpot in the evenings they also do dim sum during the day so that may be worth trying, but I am sure we will be back for hotpot 🙂

Pizza~@ Pizza Express

I have never had Pizza Express before. Yes don’t look at me like that. I know that they are everywhere, but Hong Kong has such an abundance of choice, food wise, that pizza never seems to pop up in my mind. Until tonight. Not being able to recall the last time I had a triangular piece of baked dough on my plate, I decided it was time to refresh my memory.

Heading over to the TST branch on Ashley road, it was surprisingly full on a Thursday night and without a reservation, I had to wait 15 mins for a table. Nevertheless I spent the time deciding what kind of pizza I wanted. You can tell Pizza Express are trying to be more authentic and following the Italian way of making pizza from the listing of thin crust pizzas with the use of ingredients like buffalo mozzarella and Parma ham. If pizza does does not appeal to you, they also have a decent variety of salads and pastas to choose from as well as a nice selection of starters to tickle your appetites.

Unless there is Hawaiian as an option (yes I like canned pineapple on my pizza) I like the toppings on my pizza to be as minimal as possible. Hence the Margherita Prima was my pick for the night~ When it was placed in front of me I was pretty impressed with how big it was, but then again I guess they do expect you to share :p Baked to a crisp, the thin crust was nicely crunchy, topped with big splodges of gooey buffalo mozzarella cheese and spread with their specially made tomato sauce. So good~!

For a chain restaurant, Pizza Express certainly makes some pretty decent pizza. Will be back~

Dinner~@ Morton’s of Chicago

You know how you sometimes get a feeling where you crave a certain food and until you actually eat it, it never seems to cease annoying you? Well, I had that feeling for lamb chops. So to satiate my craving, we decided to head over to The Sheraton for a night of meat at Morton’s~!

Up on the fourth floor, the entrance of Morton’s is just around the corner from the elevators. You will come face to face with a closed door, but don’t be shy, just push through and you will be greeted by the smiling hostess. Dimly lit, the ambiance of Morton’s is more like that of a refined steakhouse, casual yet classy, ideal for most types of social gatherings whether it be family dinner, meal amongst friends/business associates, even an intimate dinner for two. 

Once seated, our server for the evening brought over the one-page menu and briefly outlined a summary as well as recommending certain items. While we were deciding, our bread arrived in the form of a huge onion bun~ Toasty from the oven and wafting an enticing onion smell, its warm and fluffy inside was just right for slathering butter on.

We started the evening with seafood, oysters and jumbo shrimp cocktail~ Both of us loved the oysters~ Served over ice, they were plump and creamy and a squeeze of lemon juice or in my case a generous smear of sweetly tart cocktail sauce was all that was needed. I was not entirely sure what kind they were, but Mr. C said they were Fin de Clair. So good~! The shrimp cocktail was nice too, firm and naturally sweet, the shrimp were accompanied with the same cocktail sauce.

More appetisers~ Mr. C loves soup so he chose lobster bisque, while I picked Caesar salad to fill my daily need for greens. I had a spoonful of his bisque and it was delicious. Smooth and thick with a rich creamy flavour, I admit I had a tiny bit of food envy :p

My salad was a pile of crisp lettuce leaves, well tossed in dressing with a scatter of shaved Parmesen slices. Nothing to complain about. The portion size was actually smaller than usual since the manager knew I would not be able to finish a normal sized one so he arranged it to be enough for one person. A thoughtful gesture thank you~

And then it was time for our main course! Double cut rib lamb chops for me~ a total of six cutlets grilled to a pinky medium with a nice char on the outside. Mmm.. so juicy with a slight gamey flavour and paired with my favourite condiment of mint jelly… Definitely a winning combination 🙂

Mr. C’s center cut filet mignon looked amazing too. Thickly cut, and seared to a medium rare, he looked like he enjoyed it quite a lot.

Just having meat becomes quite repetitive after a while so of course we ordered sides. Creamed spinach is always a favourite, but the lyonnaise potatoes won hands down. Slightly crispy with mushy insides, I could not stop eating them! Similar to fries, but healthier… Or not… :p

For desserts, Morton’s has a specially prepared dessert tray to show diners their sweets selection in actual size. What is with steakhouses and huge desserts?! They also do a hot dessert of souffle and your server of the evening will ask you in advance if you are interested as it takes some time to prepare since they make it fresh. However, as alluring as they all looked, all we wanted was a simple dessert, two scoops of vanilla ice-cream please~

We were so full after the meal, I almost regretted all the potatoes I ate. Almost. The evening was most enjoyable and needless to say lamb, or in the case of Mr. C beef, craving satisfied~

Memorable last dinner @ Cepage

Knowing that Cepage was wrapping up their operations in Hong Kong during the last week of June, Mr. C and his friends organized a dinner gathering to enjoy a final meal there before bidding farewell to this one starred establishment. Reserved for a Wednesday evening, the restaurant was surprisingly full on a weekday with most tables and their two private rooms being occupied. I guess we were not the only ones wanting to pay final fond sentiments to Cepage.

Only two set menus were available to choose from that evening and we all selected the Menu Epicurean. However, since Mr. C is not particularly fond of anago and I was wanting to change my dessert, we asked the servers if we could make some swaps with the Menu Decouverte which they graciously agreed to. 

A lovely looking bread basket was proffered for our selection with four varieties to choose from. Mini baguettes, sun-dried tomato focaccia, miso brioche and sourdough slices. The tomato focaccia seemed to be the favourite, tart, juicy tomato on a crispy herb oil infused dough, while the chewiness of the baguettes was pleasing. I know Mr. E certainly liked his baguettes since he had more than six of them!

The evening began with a trio of appetizers all featuring Caviar. We were advised to start with the pasta and then gradually work our way towards the left. The signature bundle of angel hair pasta tossed with truffle oil was beautifully presented. Al dente strands of thin pasta carrying a wonderful truffle fragrance was subtly savoury from the delicate brininess of the caviar. Just like before, it was an absolute pleasure to eat. If I had to pick a dish that I would miss most from here it would certainly be this! In the middle was a thick stalk of white asparagus with its tough outer skin peeled off revealing its tender inside. Juicy with a mild flavour, it was perfect in showing off the stronger taste of the caviar. A geometric pattern of marquise cut potato was the last appetiser. Spread with a thin layer of cream, the potatoes were nicely soft and like the asparagus, the slightly bland flavour of the vegetable was ideal with the caviar.

Our second appetiser was smoked anago with foie gras. When it was placed in front of me I was stunned at how big a portion of foie gras they served… Pan-seared to a gorgeous tone of  dark caramel, it was a little firm, but the center still retained a melty softness. So rich and decadent, I was only able to eat half before surrendering the rest to Mr. C. As for the anago, it tasted more like a lovely smoked ham than fish which was unusual yet strangely pleasant. And to relieve the heaviness of the appetiser, the accompanying cup of ginger broth did just that.

Mr. C’s replacement dish was pan-seared scallops. His favourite~ Two plump looking scallops with an accompanying dipping sauce. Looked really good and definitely a much lighter dish when compared to ours :p          

A covered dish when lifted revealed a single langoustine ravioli with Parmesan foam, showered with a generous shaving of black truffles. Bouncy langoustine meat paired nicely with the creamy Parmesean foam, and to me, truffles just made the dish that little bit more special 🙂

Amadai with lobster in broth was next~ I adore amadai~ no fishiness at all and it was pan-fried until each scale was gorgeously crunchy 🙂 It was a little tricky trying to maneuver the lobster meat out of its shell, but the sweetness of the lobster made it all worth the trouble in the end. Such a pretty dish, everything so artfully arranged and the colours of the ingredients just went really well together~

As we were waiting for our final savoury dish, the servers pushed out their signature roast chicken as a surprise from the chef. Thank you~ Served gueridon style, it was just as good as when I had it last time. Roasted beautifully, the chicken was tender and juicy whether it was meat from the breast or thigh and the skin retained a slight crisp. The potatoes deserve a special mention, soft and mushy with a crispy edge, they were delicious from being roasted with the drippings of the chicken. So so good…

And then our actual main dish was served. There was a choice between roasted quail and hide beef and I picked the quail. Stuffed with foie gras it was roasted and laid on top of a bed of ratatouille. The quail had a welcome gamy flavour while the stuffing of foie gras added a richness to the overall dish. If I was not so full from the chicken beforehand, I would have enjoyed this dish even more.

I did not try the hide beef, but it looked highly appetising as well. Cooked to a pink medium Mr C did say it was tender with a nice beefy flavour.

And for desserts~ The original dessert was a small cup of chilled Alphonso mango pudding with exotic sorbet. I had a small spoonful of this and it tasted exactly like a Mango Weiss bars, which essentially is a bar of ice block/cream where two-thirds is mango sorbet while the remaining one-third is iced cream. For me, I opted to change it for their chocolate souffle~ Tall, dark and handsome fluffy, it was sinfully rich and just so chocolaty… an absolute chocoholics dream dessert! Paired with a small bowl of Tahitian vanilla bean ice-cream, this really made my night 🙂

But it did not end there…

Extra desserts from chef~ Dark chocolate tart and a huge cherry clafoutis! Even though I was so full already, I could not resist sampling both. The chocolate tart made my inner chocoholic do a happy dance~ lusciously smooth and bittersweet ganache on a crisp shortcrust pastry.. so good! While the cherry clafoutis was something totally different altogether. It had a texture similar to baked custard, quite eggy, but not overly sweet and packed full of cherries. Pleasant, but really filling.

And so it concluded. A wonderful evening, great company and lovely food. Farewell Cepage, you will be missed~

Soft serve time~ @ Godiva

After passing by Godiva numerous times in IFC and being enticed by the large poster flaunting its new iced confectionery of chocolate soft serve, I have always been curious to try it. However, each time I was deterred by the line of people waiting… until today when I glanced in and there was no one there. Yay~! For $39 or $35.10 if you have VIP card, I received a decent twirl of creamy chocolate-y soft serve in a cone with its edges tipped with liquid dark chocolate and then dipped in crunchy bits. Looks super appealing right??

The problem I have with soft serve is that it melts a little too easily and even though I was very efficient in taking only a few photos, when I was finished the edges of the piped twirls had begun to melt a little. So without anymore delay, I took my first bite. Velvety smooth with a thick, full texture it still retained a slight airiness to remind you of its soft serve status. Flavour-wise it veered towards the dark side, but was still sweet enough to please most palates out there. The cone itself was one of those made from wafers, sturdy and crunchy, where the edge rimmed with chocolate was definitely the most enjoyable part… now if only they would dip more of the cone in chocolate… ~:p

Not bad at all, I would recommend trying at least once, but for me who prefers a more solid texture in my iced treats, I think I will stick with their ice-creams 🙂