Travel - Taipei, Aug 2011 - (Day 3 / 4)

On our 3rd day, we were able to get up before 12:30pm only because I made a lunch reservation at 1:30pm. When it comes to food, to urge to sleep becomes secondary! The place was Mitsui Cuisine which has become one of the must stop Japanese restaurants in Taipei on every visit. Mitsui and its chain of Japanese restaurants each has its own theme so to speak to provide a different experience to diners. I am not certain and I doubt Mitsui and all its outlets are the best (or the cheapest) in Taipei but so far all my visits have been very consistent in terms of quality and service.

Travel - Singapore (Feb 2011) - Part 2/3

My previous Singapore post I discussed on my justifications behind my humble opinion on hawker centers, their necessity to the city to be exact. For this post, in addition to froyo and more food adventures, my leisure walks over my few days there somehow heightened my sense of ... observations or perhaps released  my urge to express myself via writings on subjects more than just food. It is a refreshing attempt but I quite enjoy this little change.  One of the reasons for my visit to Singapore was to experience the cultures as well as the environment, both living and perhaps working as well. Moving to Singapore to work / live crossed my mind several times (for various reasons) but before doing so I wanted to travel there at least for once or spend more time there. While I weight the option of moving there, I noticed the increasing number of Singaporeans (of all ages, mostly in the mid / late 20s) in Hong Kong, especially in the Central Business District and perhaps all around Hong Kong to be honest. Now here is the million dollar question, why on earth am I planning to move to Singapore while many are making their move to Hong Kong or other major cities around Asia or even the world?

Gold by Harlan Goldstein ~ Revisited (Hong Kong)

I blogged about my lunch at Gold by Harlan Goldstein a long while ago and as promised I returned for dinner in celebration of H's birthday. How was the experience? I would definitely return because the food / menu was ... familiar in comparison with that of Tuscany by H under Harlan's management before his current venture into Gold by Harlan Goldstein. Oh by the way, service has improved especially with the pacing in between dishes. The few of us went a bit far with our limits by ordering two starters each followed by the main course and desserts of course!

Gold by Harlan Goldstein (Hong Kong)

By posting my Gold by Harlan Goldstein entry at this time,  I am expected to be yelled at by H and S because we have been planning to come since early Dec 2010. What do I have to say about my rudeness? any excuses? Well, (1) it was brunch that I tried so our upcoming "Golden" dinner at the end of Jan 2011 is still on! (2) as a gentleman that I am (*wink wink*), I have to do a quality assurance to ensure the upcoming experience would be a wonderful one! It was the least I can do to test it out first. (3) I wasn't detoxing HAHA.  Hope H & S can forgive me for what I intended to do. Harlan Goldstein should be a fairly familiar name for many local foodies and his name has been associated with many restaurants in Hong Kong whether he likes it or not unfortunately. Therefore, I should take this opportunity to clarify that Gold by Harlan Goldstein is the only one in Hong Kong that is under his helm, all others bearing his name are simply ... not. I read somewhere that he even said that "The only place you'll find the real Harlan now is at my new venture, Gold by Harlan Goldstein." Quite a bold statement by that just shows his confidence I assume? The following phrase I saw in one of the hanging pictures at Gold further reinforced my assumption: "Why go for Silver when you can go for Gold."

Oolaa (Hong Kong)

Life cannot be better when you can spend a wonderful Sunday afternoon with 3 lovely ladies over Brunch + Desserts! It certainly made the my day before Monday less miserable. I wish every Sunday can be the as eventful but of course at different venues. The culture of Sunday Brunch has been trending over the last few years in Hong Kong based on my observation especially with the number of establishments offering such menus. However, there are only a handful to be honest and there are more people like myself who are getting used to getting up late over the weekends and then head for brunch. Another interesting thing I realized is that people heading for brunch nowadays are increasing more causal, particularly ladies who obviously choose not to put any make up on. Don't get me wrong but I am just surprised, that's all.

Feast @ Hotel EAST (Hong Kong)

As mentioned before, I rarely attend tasting events but this time would be an exception for the following reasons: (1) Mochachocolata Rita was joining as well, (2) the gathering was relatively small scale and (3) I could have the chance to meet Patricia of  Sù Yán Tiān Shǐ 素顏天使™ , the man behind Cha Xiu Bao Josh Tse as well as Nana Chan whose food writing I enjoy very much. However, it was to my disappointment that both Josh and Nana could not make it. Ah well, that certainly did not deter from from having a fun and entertaining evening.  Thanks for the warm invitation by Swire's Hotel EAST (Hong Kong), our night started off on the rooftop lounge Sugar overlooking the Victoria Harbour.

Duecento Otto 208

When I first steped into Duecento Otto 208, I truly thought I was at the scene of Sex and the City, at a restaurant somewhere in New York city. Why? Well, the decor was hip and trendy with beautifully decorated wall-tiles, but the key was the people, the crowds that were present at 7pm on a weeknights. For the brief stay I was there, the place was frequented by model like females and males as well. I mean many of the girls were either in 4" heels and ultra tight pencil skirts or 3" heels and really short skirts! As for guys, many were in tight jeans and pointy leather shoes with tight shirts that somehow lost the few top buttons. Were these good distractions elements for the rustic atmosphere? It is really up to your personal preferences and mood perhaps?

Franck

This French restaurant located in Shanghai's French Concession area has built up its name as one of the best in town and I paid a lunch visit during my short stay in town. It is located inside Ferguson Lane, a charming red-bricked, hospital-turned trendy establishment full of history and of course different upscale cafes, art galleries and restaurants. I thought I was in Europe as soon as I stepped through the gate. It was a bit surreal when there was such a big contrast in terms of atmosphere compared with the streets outside full of rusted bicycles and individuals street vendors selling home grown fruits. Anyhow, I am here to talk about food, my opinion on the huge income disparity issues will be discussed here later.

Basement Restaurant

I know it is not an acceptable excuse but I really cannot find the notes I jotted down for my visit to this restaurant. I have to be very careful with the notes from now on! Anyhow, a group of us gathered here for our friend J's birthday celebration and we enjoyed the meal very much because I remembered how we all left with smiles on our faces. Perhaps it was the wine or the ice cream cake that put the smiles on our faces but one thing for sure, we had a good time. Since I lost the notes, I am not going go into details of the dishes but treat this entry as a photo-journal. I think I will return later to make up for the review for sure.

Blue Smoke Bar-B-Que

To sum up my review in one word for Blue Smoke B-B-Que, DRY! I am sure Mochachocolata Rita * and Gastronomous Anonymous would agree with me. A fairly new joint located in the heart of LKF, do come here with an empty stomach for some hearty food selection but remember to order some drinks to go along with their rather dry signature ribs.

Carpaccio

Carpaccio is another venture from DiVino Group which operates Spasso Italian at Harbour City and the Divno Wine Bar in Central. Situated in the new iSquare shopping mall, the resto is quite easy to find if once you figured out which escalator of the the many to take from the street floor! If you feel lost finding your way in this shopping mall, don't panic, you are not alone.

MisoCool

Cool name, but no so cool with it comes to food in my opinion. I mean it was alright, unexciting and boring? description too strong? It was rather boring when it comes to the food but had a great time chatting with friends. The decor at its K11 Mall outlet was trendy and contemporary with what I considered funky paintings and fixtures in this semi-open venue without walls.

Cafe Match Box 喜喜冰室

Cafe Match Box has been the new kid on the block for a while offering so-called traditional Hong Kong style cuisine with a bit of a fusion twist and I finally got the chance to give it a try. The retro decor was interesting and great for pictures.

Union J - Sunday Brunch Finally!

I know! I know! This entry is like my 3rd entries on Union J (1st & 2nd) , but hey, I like this place for being what it is! My foodie friend Babedolphin once mentioned that Union J is one of the few in Hong Kong where the chefs would actually deliver more than what are being described in the menu in terms of techniques and perhaps ingredients used. (Mr. Babedolphin put it in a slightly different way with more details of course, I will let him expand on his take in the comments section below) For me I like the atmosphere, I like the setting and I like how they don't try to pack tables close together even with the open spaces they have.

Did I mention my visit was on a Sunday? Yep, Union J started offering Brunch on Sunday ... wait, I mean they finally decided to OPEN on Sunday! Finally! So what do they offer on Sunday, particularly with its Sunday brunch offering? Well ... basically you can either go a la carte or pick from the list of 17 items! Took us quite a while to select because there were more than 5 items I want! I did not want to give up my Corn Beef Harsh for Smoked Bacon, I want both! I am not going to list all the items out, you can check out the menu below.

After a long 10 mins of thinking, I decided to go with Corned Beef Hash, Classic Egg Benedict, Spiced Pork Sausage, Huevos Rancheros and Bead Basket. Before I bring you to my dish, let us take a look of my friends' orders. I think we ALMOST ordered one of each items from the menu!

Wow, mine was a EGG FEAST! And such an pretty egg! Cannot see the items clearly? No worries, I zoomed in for some of them for your eye's pleasure! :)

The Classic Egg Benedict was pretty good, well prepare with yolk flowing out as it should be! The saltiness of the ham mixed well with the egg yolk and also the hollandaise sauce. Talking about hollandaise sauce reminds me of what Anthony Bourdain said and what I quoted from my breakfast venture at Mandarin Grill +Bar. I still like my hollandaise sauce so more the merrier!

The bread basket consisted of several kinds of bread and I liked the sourdough the most. I was getting a bit full at this point already!

This Huevos Rancheros was something new to me. I did not know what the heck it was when I was ordering it, all I know was that it has eggs and guacamole! Yum. However, it turns out to be rather disappointing in terms of of flavors which were rather weak and confusing in my opinion especially the spicy black beans paste (not spicy at all and very gluey ... interesting texture to be honest but flavors need some work) .... Almost forgot about the Tortilla chip which was ... soggy and almost impossible to cut apart or rip apart! Argh!

Look how pretty the egg was, I almost did not want to egg it and leave it there as it was for my eye's pleasure. Then again, I love eggs, I love food, how can I let decent food go to waste! Never!

Wait a second! Where was the Corned Beef Hash? Good question indeed, it was hiding under the pretty egg!! :) Nice touch! However, the texture was rather firm and flavors a bit too rich, but together with the egg the flavor balanced out so it was alright. Oh yes, the Pork Sausage was alright, no surprises there.

There were some disappointing items but overall it was a good relaxing brunch with good company and good atmosphere so I think I will come back soon to try the rest of their items

Likes:

• Atmosphere / Decor
• Wide selection of brunch items and portion was HUGE!
• Classic Egg Benedict - well prepared with yolk flowing out and flavors were good with the ham and hollandaise sauce

Dislikes:

• Huevos Rancheros - interesting marriage of flavors and a super tough Tortilla chips!
• Corned Beef Hash - texture was a bit too firm
  

Avg Spending: around HKD 250 per person

Union J
1/F California Tower,
30-32 D'Aguilar Street, Central
Tel: 2537 2368
http://www.elite-concepts.com/eatplusdrink.php?id=40


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Wildfire @ Elements

Movie in an hour and we were hungry so without much thinking we dropped by Wildfire at Elements. It has been a long while since I return to this establishment as in Wildfire for pizza / dinner. The venue was pretty open with one side opened to the mall. This open-window approach seemed to be a common design for many of the restaurant in this mall. It claims to be making traditional woodstone pizza but what exactly does it mean? Based on my humble knowledge, in Hong Kong and many countries, it is against the law to use real wood / logs to oven-bake pizza because of the resulting smoke I suppose. Therefore, many places use gas-powered woodstone oven instead. Gas-Powered Woodstone pizza is as traditional as one can get in Hong Kong. I think this is worth noting.

My friend ordered the Wildfire Seafood Gumbo soup and it certainly looked interesting with a little crayfish on top. It was alright, flavors were slightly too intense for my personal liking but my friend seemed to enjoy it.

Spinach and Apple Salad was very refreshing, a light enough dish that reminded me how much I need to go on a diet soon!

Wildfire came up with a special pizza in celebration of the year of the Tiger. It consisted of tiger prawns, mozzarella, cheddar, yellow bell peppers, artichokes, coriander, Chinese spinach, roasted cashew nuts and spring onions. Interesting combination of ingredients and I expected a rather strong flavors from it; but oh my, the flavors were very weak, even the tomato sauce was light. The crust was alright, texture was decent and it was the thin type I like but a bit soggy in the center-bottom, making it rather ... flimsy? Not sure if that is the right word ... HAHA.

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Check out their menu, it was rather hard to read because of the thick plastic in between!

From Life as a Bon Vivant

Alright, this review officially falls under the BORING category! ... HAHA

Likes:

• Comfortable seating perhaps?
  

Dislikes:

• Very weak flavors for the pizza (the special pizza in celebration for the year of the Tiger)
  
• I know I am too picky but check out the menu, it is rather difficult to read because of the plastic sheet in between the

Avg Spending: HKD 100 - 200 per person

Wildfire
Shop 1005-6, L1/F, Elements,
1 Austin Road West, TST
Tel: 2196 8099
http://www.igors.com/


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MO Bar @ Landmark Mandarin Oriental

I always wanted to try MO Bar's breakfast buffet but since I am not an early person, I will give their brunch set a try first. Its atmosphere and decor are truly hip and trendy and I enjoy returning once in a while mostly for drinks. I seriously doubt that the place was designed for serving food in full scale or as a restaurant because those chairs / tables are definitely not what I call comfortable eating chairs. Perhaps it is just me and my semi-traditional mindset?

The selection of cold and hot dishes were only fair, I actually expected a bit more. The cold dishes include with various kinds of salads such as Mediterranean salad, chicken and cashew salad and other cold items as such sashimi, cold pasta, smoked salmon, hams, and oysters. There was the option to select a made-to-order hot item from the kitchen but we opted for the hot items from the table instead. The hot selection included a huge glazed ham and a huge beef wellington, yum yum!

Once again, the selection was decent and many of the items were fresh, I think it was more of the decor and atmosphere that I enjoyed, especially on a Sunday morning / afternoon.

There were only a handful of cheese selection and my personal favorite was the goat cheese.

They do offer a chocolate fountain but I didn't feel like chocolate this afternoon, I want something more fruity! :)

Likes:

• Hip and Trendy decor / atmosphere, good to spend a relaxing afternoon. Other same grade hotels which offer brunch are often jam packed.
  
• Beef Wellington - outer pastry was puffy (but rather too thick I think) and beef fillet was tender and beefy

Dislikes:

• Chairs & tables not really designed for full scale dining
• Food selection rather limited for a brunch (compared with other similar grade hotel)
  

Avg Spending: HKD 300 - 500 per person

MO Bar
G/F, Landmark Mandarin Oriental,
15 Queen's Road, Central
Tel: 2132 0077
http://www.mandarinoriental.com/landmark/dining/mo_bar/


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Romankan Yokohama 浪漫館橫浜

When it comes to tonkastsu in Hong Kong, the first resto that comes to my mind has to be Tonkichi Tonkatsu Seafood and it is only natural for me to compared with each other. Since there were quite a number of buzz within the foodie community on this establishment within the new iSquare in TST area, I decided to give it a try. After being lost 3 times in this iSqaure mall, my brother and I finally arrived at this place.



Nothing really special about the place, the decor was rather boring in my opinion. What I do want to mention was their table arrangement. Again this is NO PLACE for SECRET ladies and gentlemen, considered your conversations being overheard! The table on the far end was SO CLOSELY PACKED that an accidental SQUIRT of LEMON JUICE MIGHT LAND ON the TABLE TOP 2 TABLES APART. Even Kate Moss might have trouble squeezing herself in between the two tables!



Similar to Tonkichi Tonkatsu Seafood, we were provided a bowl of sesame and a wooden grinder to make out own sauce. This was the fun part where I can play with my food! The aroma from the mashed sesame was wonderful, better than Tonkichi if you as me. The sauce on the other hand was quite strong both in flavors and aroma.




I ordered the Supreme Deep Fried Breaded King Prawns and Pork Fillet Set. While the batter was good, crunchy and not-overly-greasy, the meat was too dry and rather tough. I miss the tender and juicy version from Tonkichi Tonkatsu Seafood. The cabbages somehow tastes ... too raw if that can be possible. The vegetable flavors were too strong and the dressing provided was overly sour. I was hoping to find more than one type of dressing for the shredded cabbages but very disappointed to find none. Disappointing indeed.



My brother ordered the Curry Set but the Pork Fillet was again too dry. Japanese curry is known for its mildness or perhaps hints of sweetness to the curry but according to my brother, there were no hints of sweetness. Oh well, maybe I should have tried it to experience it myself. Perhaps next time because I do want to give this place a second try during non-peak hours so seating arrangement would be at least more comfortable.



Tonkichi Tonkatsu Seafood is still my favorite so far but I will return soon to try again during non-peak hours.

Likes:

• Very good batter
• Very efficient services but perhaps too efficient at times in terms of speed (ie: feel like being rushed)
  

Dislikes

• The meat slightly too dry
• Overly packed seating arrangement

Avg Spending: HKD 100 - 200 per person

Romankan Yokohama 浪漫館橫浜
Shop 603, 6/F, iSquare,
63 Nathan Road, TST
Tel: +852 2369 0788


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Sup 1

Many of my recent write-ups are long overdue reviews and this one is the same. The meal in the review took place on the 1st Jan 2010. I have been to Sup 1 several times and I often return not just because of their food but for their cozy, unpretentious atmosphere as well as attentive services. I prefer the upstairs sittings because of the coziness; if you want to talk about secrets, make sure you specify where you want to sit.

The quality of their food is decent and fairly consistence over the past year or so which I considered very important. We started off with Salad Frisee with Bacon and Poached Eggs. It looked rather plain when served but after mixing the yolk with the rest of the salad it became rather tasty with the ham giving off the the right saltiness to it.

Compared with the previous salad, the Caesar Salad was rather plain and no surprises.

The ran out of Baguette so they provided us with toast instead to along with the Duck Liver Mousse served with Baguette. Flavor was alright but it was rather too tough to be called a mousse. It was rather hard to spread it over the toast.

I don't think I will order this special platter next time. (Pigeon Confit with Parma Ham, Stuffed Duck Neck with Duck Meat and Black Truffle Merguez (Beef & Lamb)) No surprises at all and most of the items were rather salty, flavors were too rich.

I only tried a sip of the Bouillabaisse and it was too rich and too intense for my liking. I am not really into bisque related soup so cannot provide my take on this soup. But I think it was too watery, should have been thicker.

The Angel Hair with King Prawn in Tomato Basil Sauce was alright especially its sauce. The pasta and the king prawns were a bit overcooked but still enjoyable. Aside from the fact that it was tough the de-shell the prawns, a fairly decent dish.

an overly creamy Carbonara with overcooked pasta. Flavor was very good but just too creamy!

A very simple Roasted Chicken with Bacon and Mushroom but a rather well prepared dish which I enjoyed. Tender and moist with good flavors. Make sure you place this order as soon as possible because it takes some time for the time prepare with their one and only oven (as informed).

The Duck Confit in Casserole Rice was like a crossover between French and Chinese cuisine with the rice prepared in a Chinese style clay pot. I liked it. The seasoned shredded duck meat together with the semi-sticky rice gave it a nice chewing texture on every bite. It was surprising flavorable as I was expecting it to be rather salty.

Desserts were another story, the pastry we order was rather tough to chew on or simply overly elastic in my opinion. Good that we bought our own desserts!!

Woohoo! Milktop Pudding to share! Yum O!

Likes:

• cozy atmosphere and good services
  
• some interesting dishes like the duck confit casserole rice worth trying
• roasted Chicken with Bacon and Mushroom, simple yet tasty
  

Dislikes:

• Desserts are not their strength
• Carbonara too creamy

Avg Spending: HKD 200 - 300 per person

Sup 1
11 Gough Street, Central
Tel: +852 2522 5002


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