The Diner's Play Pen

Hong Kong: Mori Sushi 森壽司

2010-05-04T02:43:00.000-07:00

I've been MIA. My apologies for the inconsistency, no excuses.

Good news is, I'm back and I will try to write as much as I possibly can. My newest review is Mori Sushi, a hidden jewel in Central, Hong Kong. What I mean by "hidden" is down an alleyway leading to a chinese wet market with a door so nondescript that you would've missed it even if you knew what you were looking for.

It took me one full week to book a 3 person table for lunch at 1:35 on a weekday. The Japanese restaurant that seats no more than 15 person serves lunches at $58-$88hkd per person.

The set lunch comes with a small appetizer(we got spinach gomae), a salad, an entree (rice with sushi or cooked Japanese food), a miso soup and also a fruit plate.

The portions were average, weren't huge but sushi rice had more than enough seafood for a mere $58hkd. What a steal! For that price, the seafood was far more fresh than some restaurants charging $200hkd for literally the same thing.

The salmon/uni rice, priced at $88hkd was decent. The salmon sashimi was extremely sweet, however the uni was inconsistent. I had a few excellent pieces of uni and yet had a couple pieces that were bitter. Regardless, this restaurant proves to be of excellent value and worth visiting again.

Mori Sushi

G/Fl, 34 Graham Street,

Central, Hong Kong

(852) 2854 1800

Hong Kong: Big Binding Crab/ Big hairy crab 大閘蟹

2010-02-11T00:56:00.000-08:00

I know I was raving about this last year here, but after my Big Binding Crab 大閘蟹 this year, I think I might take a break next season.

This year, I had the opportunity to try the full set meal consisting of 7 courses from one of the more famous Big binding crab restaurants in Hong Kong, East Ocean. This set came to $260 HKD per person (before gratuity), which is a steal, as buying just the raw crab and taking it home to cook would cost around $200 HKD per person.

The first course was a Chinese soup with Shark's Fin (魚翅佛跳牆). You name it, it basically had everything in it, from veggies, to dried scallops, mushrooms, pork, chicken leg (eeks), bamboo shoots and even a decent sized piece of shark's fin (Shark's fin is a fine delicacy to the Chinese, it's pretty much flavourless but with a good soup base, it turns it to gold).

Second course was the Crab miso soup dumplings (2 pieces per person) (蟹粉小龍包). A little bland in flavour, the flavour of the crab miso was taken over by the pork.

The third course that came was a little fusion; French garlic toast served with crab miso dip. I was quite happy with this. The dip had a very strong aroma and taste, unlike the crab soup dumplings, however as heavy as the crab miso already was, there was a thick layer of oil on top.After carefully scooping the oil out, I piled on the crab miso dip on my toast and was on my way to ecstasy. Yuummm...

The crabs came next, two per person. There was an abundance in crab miso; strong in flavour, served very hot, tasted especially yummy with our chinese wine pairing. The restaurant provided a special sweet vinegar that essentuated the flavours, it worked, we polished our first crab inside out and onto the next.

Veggies came next. Just blanched veggies, needed something to wash my system out after this feast!

Dried shrimp udon came after. I swear, this was a neverending set dinner. I had a bite and gave it up. The hand-made udon was made extremely well; the soup base was sflavourful yet not heavy.

Finally, a dessert drink was served. It is a ginger tea with multi-colored sweet dumplings, supposedly this is to make you feel better after the huge heavy crab set. This was a bit too sweet, not enough ginger and I think I need about 8 more cups of this to even be close to cleaning out my system (ulgh so heavy). The soup dumplings were multi-colored starch balls.. I just took it all out and drank the soup alone. Colored starch balls aren't my thing.

I fell sick for a week after this meal. Although this is expected to happen when you have too much crab miso (which I did); and not enough ginger tea (which is also true), I can only bare with feeling like crap once a year.

Overall, East Ocean has executed this ingredient quite well, I admire how they tried to add a little bit of variation with most these dishes and incorporating a mixture of light and heavy flavours.

East Ocean Seafood Restaurant

http://www.eastocean.com.hk/

Osaka: Midnight Ramen: Kinryu Ramen 金龍ラーメン

2010-02-02T19:39:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, I lived in Osaka, Japan. Living there were some of the best times of my life, great friends, exciting new ventures, chillaxed work environment, most importantly, scrumptious food on every corner, any time of the day (yes.. they have AMAZING food at corner stores). Speaking of which, at a minimum of once a week, I'd visit a restaurant at around 4am (...ahh.. the days when I was still young), my all-time favorite place to go to after parties in Osaka was Kinryu Ramen 金龍ラーメン.
Note: TONS of restaurants in Osaka are opened until 5am; when the train starts off for the day.

We found this place only because it the most eye-catching restaurant that was still lit with bright lights at 5am.With a green dragon running through the entire red restaurant in the biggest shopping district Namba, you will probably find a picture of this place in every tourist in Osaka's trusty digi cams, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO MISS IT!!

The ramen at Kinryu, as most ramen shops, have to be purchased via a ticket dispenser in Japan, giving you the choice of size and soup base. Patrons are self-served and seated on raised tatami mats with short wooden tables; it's an "open-kitchen" allowing you to see everything going on; water/kimchi/shichimi/pickles/garlic are all unlimited at the counter in the corner. Simply put, it's no different from a Mc D serving ramen. The best part of the whole ambience is the ability to people-watch. It's always so interesting to do that in Japan, with the eccentric fashion, street performers and basically expecting nothing but random encounters.

Now what you've all been waiting for.. the RAMEN. The ramen is firm, a little chewy, this was perfect for me. I prefer my noodles with a bit of a texture, this might be my favorite part of the whole bowl as I'm not a huge fan of the Chashu (Japanese BBQ pork), I usually just have one piece and the rest of it goes to whoever I'm dining with. The noodles were the thin, round strands that are rarely found anywhere in Hong Kong. The combination is just delicious with the soup! For a small ramen, the noodles just like they're neverending (and NO, I'm no where near complaining, keep 'em coming!).
With a strong whiff of seafood, Chinese influenced broth, the tonkotsu soup base was light yet flavorful enough to soak the ramen with little fireworks . Believe it or not, I pretty much devoured this whole bowl all by myself. (snort*)

Kinryu Ramen 金龍ラーメン
1-7-13 Namba, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi
(06) 213-6825
***open 24 hours***

Hong Kong: Rare Okinawan Cuisine

2010-01-21T21:27:00.000-08:00

Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong are like burger joints, there's always a kaiten (Round-about) sushi restaurant or an Izakaya lurking around every mall or corner you take. It's no surprise that there's an abundance of Japanese cuisine variety, there's the shabu-shabu, sushi restaurants, izakaya, sukiyaki, yoshoku, noodle houses, okomiyaki/takoyaki, even Japanese-style burgers (MOS and Freshness burger), you name it, and we'll have it all here in Hong Kong. Being such a small city, Hong Kong has a large responsibility for serving the 7 million residents here PLUS all the tourists. In 2007, there was approxmiately 9720 sit-in restaurants. So technically speaking, if I tried 3 new restaurants a day, it would take me 9 years to accomplish this task! (Now don't even get me started on Japan.. they have over 20,000 just in Tokyo) Getting to my point, there's only THREE Okinawan restaurants in Hong Kong. I remember absolutely LOVING the food when I was in Okinawa, that was my first accquaintence with Onsen Egg (drooling just thinking about this), Goya (bitter melon that wasn't bitter at all), Umi-budo (tiny grape-like seaweed that is very much like caviar). I absolutely fell in love with the above when I was there, all of which can't be found made nearly as delicious anywhere else. Considering the large population and their undying love for Japanese food, it really made me curious why that was the case... so off I go for my first investigation.

Chura is my first stop, located on one of the busiest streets of Tsim Sha Tsui (Tourists galore!). It's located in the basement of Toy House building (it's quite a discreet yet interesting Japanese-style office building with statues of the Ninja Turtle hidden in the dim lobby), the basement is shared with another Japanese restaurant (Tonkichi) that is strikingly popular, serving Tonkatsu (fried pork) with rice, which I will happily make another trip just to take pictures for my readers.

On a Friday night, while passing by Tonkichi to reach Chura, there was a massive waiting line (approxmiately 2 hour wait), no one was standing outside Chura. A little scared but determined to accomplish this investigation, we stormed in. With intricate decor, running water and stone paths, the bright lighting conveyed a welcoming message. In we went, seated in an intimate booth close to the kitchen.

We ordered a number of dishes, of which included umi-budo, daikon salad, lotus root cake, deep-fried seaweed tempura, grilled saba and squid-ink pan fried noodles with Kurobuta pork.

The umi-budo served on ice is my favorite, I just couldn't stop munching on them! With minimal dressing(just a special soya sauce), they were refreshing and something unique. Hey it's vegetarian caviar without the torture of the poor Beluga's and it's extremely healthy too, what's there not to like about this?

The daikon salad was just the plain ol' "daikon salad" you can get at pretty much any Japanese restaurant.

The lotus root cake was deep fried with pork. The combination tastes like it's very 'Chinese-influenced', as there's a Chinese cuisine that essentially is comprised of the same ingredients, lotus root and pork. The lotus root was very juicy, thus no sauce was needed. I think the lotus root cake would probably taste good even without the pork, although it does have it's distinctive flavours when mixed together.

We had the Seaweed tempura next. This dish, I didn't like at all. The seaweed was very starchy and tasted like a deep-fried "sponge". Crispy on the outside and a flavourless sponge on the inside. Not exactly my cup of tea. At this point, I was starting to realize why this restaurant isn't as popular as the one next door.

Finally, we had the squid-ink pan fried noodles with Kurobuta pork. Doesn't sound Chinese-influenced at all, except for the pan-fried part right? WRONG.. It tasted like pan-fried Shanghainese noodles except with black noodles instead of the tan coloured noodles. Pork, being one of the main ingredients in Japanese cuisines (as beef is in America), being called Kurobuta pork, the meat should be tender and very flavourful, HOWEVER (yes, you saw that coming, didn't you?) the "Kurobuta pork" was just like any other pork. The dish just didn't tickle my tastebuds.

Squid ink pan fried noodles with Kurobuta pork

Pan-fried Shanghainese noodles

After all that, the three of us decided that the dishes were too small and we were not yet satisfied (even went next door for dessert after this!), so we ordered a grilled saba. This was ho-hum, nothing exciting, the typical grilled fish from any Japanese restaurant.

Verdict from my first investigation: The Okinawan dishes are mainly Chinese-inspired except for the umi-budo. Afterall, being in Hong Kong, why would you go to a Japanese restaurant for Chinese-inspired dishes? The Japanese dishes were not exceptionally good, the deep-fried seaweed tastes nothing like it does in Okinawa. Basically, if this was my only accquaintence with Okinawa food, I probably wouldn't be too excited about trying other Okinawan restaurants.

I still have two more chances of hope in revisiting my memories of Okinawa right here in Hong Kong. I hope I have good news to announce soon!

Chura - Unit A, B/F, The Toy House, 100 Canton Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui, 3105-8950

SEATTLE: Beecher's Handmade Cheese Cheese and Cheese!

2010-01-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

Had the luxury of visiting some of my favorite restaurants in Vancouver, Whistler, Seattle and Vegas, a few to list were *ta da*, In and Out Burgers, Beecher's Deli, Tojo's... and all that good stuff!

Let's start with Beecher's. It's a little deli in Seattle at the Pike Place Market that claims to serve the "World's Best Mac & Cheese". I, of course have not tried nearly enough Mac & Cheese to agree but what they're serving must be pretty darn close to the best. It's not exactly "Mac", more like penne, still got the same lovin' for it though. Crusted with baked cheese and chili powder on top and Beecher's special sauce mixed with their cheese is absolutely heavenly. It's already-made, so they just scoop it out of the trays and serve it in a bowl. It would probably be more fresh, if only I visited a little earlier in the day, it was good enough for me, the aroma of the cheese was strong; biting through the stringy yet saucy dish must be one of the best feelings in the world. I have yet to try even better Mac & Cheese, please let me know if you know of any!

You can even take it home and make it yourself! Of course, being the lazy person that I am, I rather just be served :p

Besides their Mac & Cheese, another favorite of mine, is their grilled cheese sandwiches. It's a simple dish and I do realize the only reason why it's so good here is because a. they make it as you order it, in a panini grill; and b. they're using their own cheese for this sandwich and their cheese are hella good.

If you're in Seattle with a few friends, I recommend you drop by for an afternoon snack and share these two phenomenal dishes.

Beecher's Handmade Cheese, 1600 Pike Place, Seattle, Washington, 98101. 206-956-1964
http://www.beechershandmadecheese.com

Opened 9am - 6pm daily
Average cost for lunch: $4.75-$8.25USD

Happy 2010!!

2010-01-05T18:39:00.000-08:00

It's been A DECADE since the Milennium!! Can you believe it? Sure makes me feel old. The last time I remembered, I was getting ready to the *party of the century* or at least I thought it was....!

I've come up with a few New Years Resolution for Diners Play Pen and here they are:
- Write regular updates 1-2 a week (well I guess even when I'm on vacation, I'm still working on this blog as I WOULD BE DINING)
- Get 100,000 hits by October 31 (I only have 8000 now, but I know if I keep this updated regularly, that will change right?)
- Write regular restaurant reviews on at least 5 foodie websites (I am on 3 now but not as consistent as I wish) by June
- Take a photography course (and get those sexy macro lens) by November
- Do more exercise (the amount I eat, I have no choice but to maintain my smokin' hot -round shape by working out)
- Travel, travel, travel... how else will I bring the world cuisines to you otherwise?

What are some of your resolutions? Do share!

SANYA: Hainan Attack at China Harvest

2009-12-15T21:44:00.000-08:00

Yea Yea.. I know, it couldn't have been the best English name they came up with, but China Harvest it is. To introduce Sanya, it is known as a tropical destination for lovers, golfers and those in Asia that need a cheap getaway. It's located at the Southernmost part of China, providing ample fresh seafood to the city daily. This restaurant however, was a change from the days of seafood we had previously. Located in the Hilton Hotel, China Harvest being their only Chinese restaurant, serving an abundance of 8 different Chinese cuisines, namely Shandong, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Canton, Hunan, Fujian and Anhui. This restaurant was recommended by 3 friends when they were told I was going to Sanya, so I saved this for my last day there.

As we entered the restaurant, we had to pass through a little courtyard and a fountain with a big water buffalo statue. The area was a nice little addition to the restaurant, a transition from a 5 star hotel ambiance to an entirely different setting. The setting was modern yet very traditional at the same time, with a bamboo garden in the middle of the restaurant surrounded by glass, square chandeliers hang from the ceilings covered with sheer rose gold cloth and blood red drapings hemming the whole restaurant. The table settings were exquisitely set up with gold and red with a cute pot of dried red peppers as the centre piece.

To cover their variety of different Chinese cuisines, we apt for dim sum, a main dish and fried rice; for two, that's already quite a feast for lunch!

We ordered two dim sum, one is the barbeque bun and the other is a fried dumpling with veggies and pork. They were both made very well, especially the fried dumpling. The crispyness broke off as you chewed it, not leaving any space for it to be soggy, and the filling was flavourful, veggies were still crunchy. But other than that, it was JUST dim sum, didn't exactly tickle my fancy.

For the main, we ordered Wenchang chicken, which is authentic Hainan cuisine. (By the way, did you know Hainan chicken rice originated from Thailand, and using "Hainan" was just the name?) Wenchang chicken is the authentic Hainan chicken and it's nothing like the Thai kind, with the green onion sauce.

Anyways. the Wenchang chicken is the breed of chicken, it's quite fleshy(chubby chickie) and considerably smaller, fed with coconut and peanut bran, giving the chicken quite a nice fragrance and more plump but not too greasy.

Our Wenchang Chicken was boiled and served with Ginger sauce and cold. I don't know whether it was just made really well or the chicken was just really tasty. The white meat was juicy but not greasy, delicious! I was a little worried that I hyped up the restaurant a little too much, but I wasn't disappointed!

Now the next one I must say is "ZE BEST"! It was fried rice covered with a thick sauce. I am having troubles deciding on how/where to start. The sauce had pork pieces, Gailan vegetables, Chinese mushrooms and shrimp. The shrimp was fresh (Seafood city), and the veggies gave it the right amount of texture to the soupy rice. I am starting to drool, just thinking about it.

China Harvest, 1/Fl, Hilton Sanya Resort & Spa, Yalong Bay, Sanya

Opened 11:30-10pm daily
Average cost for lunch: RMB$100-$150/person

KOBE: Revisiting my long time lover: Kannonya

2009-12-10T18:31:00.000-08:00

As the title attest, Kannonya is my long time lover in Kobe, Japan. It's simply my favorite place for cheesecakes. I wrote about this last year but this time going to Japan, I found Kannonya a new fan. The last time I was here has been quite a while ago, thus I got a little lost. :p

After 40 minutes of searching, we finally arrived. I paid more attention to the ambiance, the setting and basically the whole experience this time while I was there. After 3 days of non-stop shopping, I just wanted to relax in this small cafe. We were seated right by the window. Playing light tunes, the colour and lighting provided just what I needed in a midday break from the hustling Sannomiya city.

Instead of ordering a few different desserts like the previous times I was here, I announced that I was getting my OWN cheesecake. Hehe.. "selfish" I was called. Little did the name-caller know, when he finally takes a bite out of his cake, he too, would want his own. So about halfway through my cake, savouring every single bite with closed eyes and a dreamy smile, our name-caller devoured every single crumb, TA-DA... now he knows why I wanted my own cake! There I was, still chewing each bite with extreme pleasure. Who says chocolate was the only way to bliss? So is this, and this gets me there even quicker!

I just absolutely HAD to brag about my moments at Kannonya.. and how I miss that single hour I was there. Ahhh... bliss is a wonderful thing.

The comment I received from my partner: "The walk was SO WORTH IT!"

Kannonya 兵庫県神戸市中央区東川崎町6-1 Phone: 078-360-1537

http://www.kannonya.co.jp/menu/menu.htm

HONG KONG: High Tea at Mandarin Oriental Clipper Lounge

2009-12-06T20:51:00.000-08:00

After a long weekend of eating, eating and more eating.. how I can't NOT share?

Now we went to this restaurant quite some while ago, but the comments still linger quite clearly in my head.
For one of our friends birthday, we decided to take her to Mandarin Oriental for their afternoon tea. We chose Mandarin Oriental because it's somewhere we all haven't been for High tea and that it's a 5-star hotel, renowned as one of the best in Hong Kong, we couldn't go wrong with that! So we arrived at Clipper Lounge precisely at 3:15 as we purposely skipped lunch for this. Instead of the Chocolate tea buffet, we decided that we'd be more elegant and have the food served to us thus we ordered a tea set for 2 to share amongst the three of us.

Our server was friendly, exactly what you would expect from a 5-star hotel restaurant. Our tea and orange juice were served promptly. After a while, our tea set was served with raisin and plain scones. It looked pretty amazing with three-layers of cakes and pastries. How can any girl not go wide-eyed looking at that? The first layer was colorful, with orange, peach, yellow and green of sandwiches; the second layer was what appeared to be pies, tarts, mainly savoury snacks and the bottom layer were cakes! (Yum!)

We dove right into the first layer, each taking up one of the many colorful pieces; I started with the green (cucumber) one... i spat it out in a second. Who wraps sponge cake with cucumbers, and I thought they were sandwiches!? "Spat" and "spat", I heard and looked up. My fellow friends both spat out theirs as well. And with the same reaction: "Who wraps SALMON/PARMA HAM around sponge cake?" Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Clipper Lounge has succeeded in being innovative: wrapping salmon, Parma ham, cucumber and scrambled egg around creamy sponge cake. It was just a natural reaction to spit it out. We left the other ones untouched.

We washed our palettes with scones and strawberry jam. I must say that, the scones were excellent. It was fluffy, frothy almost, it pretty much dissolved the moment I started chewing. The jam was amazing, it must have been homemade. It was sweet but not artificially, the rose petal jam prominently fresh. I am not a big fan of butter cream, but according to last bit of butter cream left by the time we were done, I'd say it must have been pretty good.

Already disappointed with the tea set, we had to give it another try, thus we moved on to the second layer. This layer consists of pies and tarts. It was considerably better than the first layer but we were all still not impressed with the quality of the food. There was a prawn tart, whereby it was the best thing in the tea set so far. The prawn was fresh and the spices were just right; pastry was acceptable, although a bit soggy.

Eventually after laughing, chatting and catching up, we decided to move on to the bottom layer: desserts! The Blueberry Cheesecake was quite creamy but nothing really that special, the blueberries were quite sweet but not over powering. The granola/carrot cake did not look enticing at all, thus we all decided to skip that one. The chocolate cake, in my opinion is the best. I guess you can't really go wrong with chocolate though, especially when they are doing a chocolate tea buffet. The chocolate ganache was not too sweet, made with the right amount of alcohol, enough to get a hint of the flavour, the chocolate was extremely silky with a dallop of cream on top.

I probably wouldn't recommend this tea set, however the scones and chocolate cake are worth a try.

Clipper Lounge Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 1/Fl, 5 Connaught Road, Central. 2825 4007

Open Daily 3-6pm for Afternoon Tea

MACAU: Ali's Curry House

2009-11-30T22:03:00.000-08:00

Macau lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta, an hour ferry ride from Hong Kong. Because of the Portuguese background, even though just a mere ferry ride, the cuisine, the culture, even the way people look and talk are very much different from Hong Kong. Local Macanese food is made up of a blend of mainly Chinese and Portuguese cuisines although it uses the ingredients and seasonings from different countries, including those from Europe, South America, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia ingredients. And who said Macau was ALL about the casinos?

This restaurant that we chose in Macau was Ali's Curry House. It's a low-key, lovely lakeside restaurant that's a close proximity from the city, facing the Sai Lake and the Macau Tower. With both indoor and outdoor alfresco seating, the restaurant seats about 120. Seems like it's not that small of a restaurant, however if you don't make reservations ahead of time, expect to wait forever. (Note: this restaurant isn't like most other food outlets in Macau where it stays opened until the sun comes up, it HAS a closing time, and it's 11pm.)

The two times I've been here, I left with a very satisfied tummy, although a little bloated, nonetheless, my tummy was satisfied. The dishes aren't huge, making it possible to order a few more dishes to try out.They have a very extensive mouth-watering menu that makes it a difficult decision.

The first time I went, we started off with Shrimp on Toast, Baked Mussels and the Samosas. The Shrimp toast was very fluffy with a big shrimp on top, so fluffy that it reminded me of tempura, though it was a bit on the oily side. Samosas, again were too oily but it was bursting with flavourful curried veggies. TheBaked Mussels were perfect. Cheese was melted so that it was stringy, and the mussels itself was not only extremely fresh but they were large and were able to be pulled effortlessly from the shell.

As the name attests, Ali's Curry House, it's specialty is none other but Curry. They have a whole page dedicated to it, an assortment of curries are available, from Vegetarian curries to a variety of seafood curries, beef and lamb, basically everything that goes well with curry! We chose chicken curry. Not much of an exciting dish eh? You're wrong and I was wrong, they were able to WOW me with that dish. The flavours were so distinct, it's like you can differentiate the variety of spices, it tantilizes your tastes buds. It wasn't too spicy yet had a kick, the potatoes were soft where it just breaks apart in your mouth without chewing and the chicken was tender with a bit of sweetness. What was even better was that they had 5-6 different Naan bread selections, we chose the whole wheat naan (trying to be healthy after all those fried food). Only comment is that it wasn't warm enough and a bit on the hard side. Another bite of the curry, low and behold, it easily made up for the flaws of the naan.

That was it for my first time at Ali's Curry House. When we left, it started pouring rain! Getting a taxi there is fine, it's leaving the restaurant that's a a hassle. There aren't any taxi's there, so you literally got to stand on the streets and wave them down (rain or shine).
Totally not equipped for the rain, we ran out, frantically waving our arms for a taxi and after 15 minutes, soaked, we finally found one. That's fine, we thought, our lunch was worth it.

The second time we went was for dinner. Here are just a few other dishes we tried:

Beef brisket curry, and not wanting to make the same mistake with the naan, we opted for rice. The curry doesn't need anymore compliments, it gets enough; rather, this curry tasted very from the chicken. It was a lot meatier and a lot thicker. Needless to say, we cleaned out the dish.

Beef Short Ribs, it tastes exactly what you would expect from a good short rib dish, savoury, salty and juicy. It wasn't fatty but it was fairly greasy. It was cooked perfectly otherwise, I had to be STOPPED from hogging the whole dish to myself.

Portuguese Sausages, Thought we'd try something more "Portuguese" so we tried this. I didn't like it. It was far too salty and basically my tongue was numb and it stayed numb until i drank a full glass of water.

Duck Fried Rice, I didn't order this, only because I thought we already had enough food, with curry, appies, rice and all, but my companions did, and am I ever glad they did. Before this came, I was already full; I declared that I'd have just one bite to try it. That "one bite" didn't stop there, not even close, I think I had almost a whole bowl of rice after everything we had before that. The fried rice was dry, covering the hidden duck inside. Uncovering the rice, shredded duck was peeking through. The aroma of the duck literally filled-in the little space between me and the rice. The duck was very moist, shredded up with the duck skin making the fried rice a little chewier and crispier.

Overall this is worthy coming back to and it's a great place to take friends. Of the ones I've recommended, I don't think anyone has yet been disappointed!

Ali's Curry House Avenida da República no. 4-K, Lojas L-M, R/C, Macau
Open daily from 12:30 pm. - 11:30 pm, Reservations are a MUST: +853 2855 5865

Luxist Reader's Choice for Best in Food

2009-11-29T18:56:00.000-08:00

Luxist has put together the "Reader's Choice for Best in Food" awards. With a number of sumptuous nominations, there is still time for you to vote. Results will be announced in about 10 hours from now.

Each of finalists for the Readers' Choice for the Best Gourmet Grocer/Food Hall is a leader in the industry.

The Readers' Choice for the Best Online Gourmet Food nominees include a New York institution with a staff that travel the world in search of great artisan-produced foods.

The Readers' Choice for the Best Caviar Retailer for a Luxist Award include award-winning brands from Europe and the United States with each offering the highest of quality. Several offer some of the finest Russian caviar to be found, while one is a proponent of sustainably harvested roe with its own tank-farming system.

Nominees for Readers' Choice for Best Bread Bakery include companies that have been producing bread for decades. One opened more than 70 years ago and is now an institution in Paris, while another was launched in Belgium before expanding around the world. A Los Angeles-based nominee has developed more than 100 varieties of award-winning breads.

Readers' Choice nominees for Best Cheese Shop include some of the most respected shops in the world. These cheese shops, offer a full range of both international and domestic artisanal cheeses. They are the destinations for serious cheese lovers and chefs who are in search of the best.

Vote for the Best Caviar Retailer, Best Bread Bakery, Best Cheese Shop and more here.

HONG KONG: A vegetarian restaurant for meat lovers!

2009-11-25T18:48:00.000-08:00

Gah! What? A vegetarian restaurant for meat lovers? It must be, I need my meats for a fulfilling dinner. I've been to numerous vegetarian restaurants and no matter what how they've made their dishes or how full I become, I've never been fully satisfied. One of the girls that brought me there is the same way, we both need our meaty dinners.

Life's purpose is "be the change you want to see in the world." It sure changed MY view of a vegetarian meal. This restaurant served such gastronomic delights that I went twice in the same week! Price ranges from $40hkd for a starter to $110 for a main, such a good deal for such fine ingredients. Everything served is organic including Organic beers and wines! The menu indicates whether it's a vegan dish or gluten-free; quite handy for the health freaks (not me).

They always have a Soup of the day($45hkd), the soups are always hearty and very filling. Warning: share with a friend. It's such a nice soup to have on a cold winter day (although that only happens about a month out of a year in Hong Kong). Always loaded up with veggies in their soup and bursting with flavours. Organic DOES really make a difference. It is served with an organic sunflower seed bread.

The Life Salad ($80hkd) is mixed baby greens, julienne carrot, julienne beet, sprouts, nuts,
organic hummus & Life’s classic dressing. Served with Life’s organic flaxseed cracker. The salad was served in a large bowl and again, PLEASE SHARE. It's (again) organic thus the vegetables were naturally sweet, with or without the dressing. The dressing enhances the freshness of the veggies.

Now the mains. We could NOT possibly eat anymore at this point but since we already ordered, we didn't have much of a choice but to try everything. We shared 2 mains amongst the 3 of us. The Sesame scented tofu, seasonal vegetable & organic quinoa stir fry ($95hkd) was very flavourful, it tasted very Oriental... it's just LIKE Chinese stir-fry minus the oil. Finding such an unhealthy dish prepared so healthily is just like a fat boy finding hot fudge cake with ice cream on top... such a nice feeling. The tofu was barbequed with actually grill marks.. one of the hardest things to master according to my chef-friend. The only thing was that they added a bit too much salt, oh well, at least their ingredients are natural and healthy!

and the Whole wheat pizza with roasted garlic, mushrooms, smoked mozzarella & rocket ($95hkd), the pizza crust was a bit on the hard side, a bit like biting into a biscuit. I know, some people might enjoy that but I personall don't. I like it crispy, chips-crispy, not hard. The combination was excellent, I LOO-O-VE my 'shrooms. I was actually glad that it was not served in a very generous portion as we were already stuffed, however if I only ordered that, I probably wouldn't be that happy about it.

And... desserts.. we didn't order any! They had organic cookies and carrot cake or something like that.. it didn't sound too appetizing so we passed. Life needs only one more addition: a better dessert menu!

Life Organic Health Cafe Soho Central open daily from 8am - midnight, Reservations: (852) 2810 9777

HONG KONG: Oysters, oysters and oysters

2009-11-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know, I've been gone, how inconsistent of me... the good news is, the foody is BACK!!

A friend told me about this hidden restaurant tucked away under a highway in North Point, Hong Kong. You wouldn't even notice it if you didn't know exactly what you were looking for. Oyster C. You'll recognize it by the glass windows with red, blue, green pen marks all over it. Takes up to a week to make reservations on weekends, the ambiance is casual and no doubt a fun one, scribbles all over the wall from lovers writing messages to each other to testimonials of the dishes customers gush about.

Don't expect to see a hostess, no one is free enough to just stand by the door, asking if you have reservations. Seated admist a crowd of laughing drunken customers, the ill-dyed-mafia-looking server comes to us asking us in the most casual manner what we'd like. He takes the menu out of our hands before we even had a chance to take a glance. He then asks us what we DON'T like. He goes on in his casual but warm manner, telling us what oysters he is going to choose for us. Satisfied with not having to decide what to eat, we just smiled and nodded.

After a few moments, 8 oysters were served with the usual cocktail sauce, shallot vinegarette and a special olive vinegarette that i especially liked. The olive vinegarette was rather sweet, highlighted the bursting flavours. We were quickly done and ready for round two. We had a total of three rounds with and array of oysters from New Zealand, the States, Ireland and South Africa, with South African oysters topping my list.

Our server came back and brought us our Tom Yum Goong soup with lobster. The lobster was served on the side as a sashimi plate. Did you know that Tom Yum Goong is one of the dishes that excites all your taste buds? It's a bit sweet yet salty and clearly sour and spicy. The lobster is fresh but served with the Tom Yum Goong, the flavours were washed out, a bit of a waste.

Now this is my favorite part of the evening, when the server came back again, we knew and he knew, it was time for the mains. We requested pasta and not too much as we were already quite full. He asked what we didn't like, I pitched in what I liked, mushrooms and what I didn't, celery and corriander, preferably not angel hair pasta as I find that it gets soggy. He said he will leave out the celery and corriander but to prove me wrong, he said he's going to specifically use angel hair pasta! He was so confident that I just HAD to say YES.

Soon after, our pasta was ready. Our parma ham-mixed-'shrooms on angel hair ensemble was perfect. The pasta was dry, texture went well with the wine sauce. The parma ham was crispy and the mushrooms were not soggy. It was a bit peppery and unlike most dry pastas, it was not overly oily. The pasta and mushrooms weren't too rich, the parma ham enhanced the flavours as well as the texture.

Although our tummys really couldn't contain anymore food, not even water, we still HAD to have a dessert. Souffle caught my eye and asked our guy to serve it in 20-30 mins while our stomachs digested a bit of our previous food.

25 Minutes later, a fluffy ginger souffle in a ramekin appeared, the sweet smelling dessert caught the attention of a few tables around us. Despite the heat, the dessert was gone in merely 5 minutes. The flavour wasn't too sweet, and the texture was light, melted pretty much the moment it hit my tongue.

It costed about $80USD per person, including one wine. Considering the quality of the food, it was good value. This is not your idea of a romantic date but definitely a fun, warm place to go to with a few friends. Oh, by the way, no corkage which is a big plus!!

Another dish that we tried on another night and proved to be just as delicious:

Garlic Toast and Crab dip: this was on the heavy side and very very filling

TAIPEI: Favorite Restaurant in Taiwan..

2009-02-02T17:31:00.000-08:00

I think I found a gem. Thanks to one of my buddies in Taiwan for bringing me last time I was there, I've been craving it and am I ever glad that I got to pay this small cozy restaurant another visit.
This restaurant is located on a street known as the "food street" in central Taipei. This is the street where the infamous "Ding Tai Feng" resides... but no, my favorite restaurant is not the fancy Ding Tai Feng, rather, this one here is a low-key, down-to-earth, Taiwanese cuisine.

They serve traditional yet tasty dishes, such as pan-fried Pork liver(!!!), pork oil on rice(yes does not sound healthy), bitter melon with salty egg yolk, etc.

The pan-fried pork liver looks like foie gras.. but it's alot chewier and I think it's pan-fried with soya sauce, intensive flavours and the texture is very different, it's more powdery and doesn't melt in your mouth but doesn't feel as greasy and I like how it's chewy.

The rice.. pork oil(lard) on rice. haha.. man.. that does NOT sound good at all... but the aroma came all the way from the kitchen, it smelled so good. Not the healthiest option, the flavors just made working out for 2 hours all worth it.

Let me share a little story of my experience with bitter melons. First time I tried it was in Okinawa, Japan. Bitter Melons was one of their specialty. It was good, bitter but I could take it. I went back to Osaka, tried it there and practically ran to the washroom throwing up. Went to Hong Kong, my aunt told me bitter melon juice is good for skin, thus thinking I could just shoot it like a shot of tequila or something, committed to it. I think I spat it all over my clothes (and the person next to me). Swore to never have it again. So I lied and tried it in Taiwan last year and was impressed, comparable to Okinawa! As simple as that, I ordered it again on my own will at this restaurant, Bitter melon with salty egg yolk. The bitter melon was really juicy, really fresh and not bitter at all, in fact.. even a little sweet!

We ordered chicken drumstick, this probably disappointed us the most. It was just chicken. It was good, don't get me wrong.. but it was JUST chicken.

We didn't plan on ordering soup but the server recommended it and we were glad we did, how much we would be missing out if we neglected it. It was clams and asparagus. It came in a clear broth, I was personally expecting it to be not too tasty but I was surprised by the freshness of the clams. The broth was sooo sweet. SOOOO sweet, it was surprising to come from a soup that clear.

Very decent prices, for all that, it came to less than $20USD for TWO! If you're in the area, don't forget to try Ice Monster, it's right around the corner. It's a fresh fruit shaved ice restaurant. Dessert that compliments the meal very well!

(Had this last time.. omg. so good)

VANCOUVER: Kintaro

2009-01-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

Should be the most popular Ramen restaurant in the Lower Mainland. Whether it's in the cold miserable winter or sunny Vancouver, the restaurant always seems to be able to gather a little crowd outside their doors on Denman. Their hot steamy bowls of ramen on a cold winter day is always welcoming, their cold ramen on a sunny Vancouver afternoon will never be rejected.

The freshly made ramen comes with a rich vegetable and pork broth. You can have your choice of lean or fatty pork. The flavours vary between the traditional Miso, Shoyu, Curry or even CHEESE! Yes, CHEESE.. I love it! I must say, it will not disappoint cheese lovers. As the menu says "The ladies loooo-ve it!" Boy, do they ever know what ladies LOVE! Heavenly!!

The noodles here are nice and springy, but not overly chewy nor soggy. The soup is to die for, though you really can't have it more than once a month or you'd really probably die of cholesterol. The portions are big enough for a grown man, too much for a lady, especially the cheese ramen, really fills you up.

VANCOUVER: Cannery

2009-01-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

Mmmm.. how I love the aroma of the Lobster Oil at the Cannery.
The drive into the restaurant builds up anticipation as you drive through the cargoes, you feel like you are in the middle of an action film, you have to pass on a secret code to an intercom at the entrance, driving through hundreds, if not thousands of cargoes.

As you arrive at the restaurant, you find yourself in what appears to be the inside of a fishing boat, with nets and anchors at the entrance. You have a gorgeous view of the water and a relaxing atmosphere that makes it very comforting while you dine.

As you are seated, a basket of bread is placed in front of you, the server comes along and pours out a orange oil, take a deep breath, is that lobster? Yes. Their renowned lobster oil. I cannot get enough of it. I usually stuff myself up before my appetizer comes.

We went for the Dine-Out Vancouver promotion a few years ago. Good timing for me to introduce them now as they are now taking reservations for Dine-Out this year. (I know, I am missing out!)

We started with the Roasted Parsnip and Fennel Soup with smoked Queen Charlotte sable fish. The soup was creamy, a little on the rich side, surprisingly the cream soup didn't overpower the fresh flavors from the sable fish.

The other entree we ordered was the Ahi-Tuna Carpaccio seasoned with wild paprika, lemon gelee, chili oil and avocado salad. Very fresh and the tuna was grilled ever-so-lightly, keeping the juices and freshness. Mmm.. sooo good.. The chili oil was an excellent choice.

The main courses just stole the show.

1.) Grilled Swordfish Filet brushed with arugula and almond pesto, chipotle pepper sauce.
- Meaty texture accented well with the sauce, I love how the flavours aren't too strong, hey, it's healthy too!

2.) Slow-cooked Pork Shank glazed with tandoori demi, served with tiger prawns, sesame seeds and cilantro.
- Sooooo tender and the tandoori sauce was such an excellent choice instead of the usual boring sauces.

3.) Grilled BC Salmon over oyster mushrooms and baby shrimp in a scallion basil cream sauce.
- The salmon steak was a medium rare. Didn't ask for my preference but that is what I always prefer. I loved it. The sauce wasn't that good to be honest, I didn't think the cream sauce was that special, something you could get anywhere, however, I did love the mushrooms.

Desserts...

Orange Cheesecake over coffee crust, semi-sweet chocolate sauce. The cheesecake was far too heavy, and not very orangey. I prefer my crust crispy, unfortunately theirs was not.

Velvet Chocolate Tower filled with brandied cherries and raspberry coulis. The name and description left me with high expectations of an actual "tower", turns out to be a regular-sized dessert. Chocolate mousse on the outside, was not exactly "filled with brandied cherries", but chocolate was rich. Can't go wrong with chocolate.

Their prices are reasonable relative to other restaurants in the same category. Overall, the Cannery is one of the best in Vancouver in terms of everything... it is unfortunate that this place is relocating in 2010, I've got to return before then.

TAIPEI: Pepper Buns 胡椒餅 @ Shi Lin Market

2009-01-08T19:08:00.000-08:00

Pepper buns are a Chinese traditional snack from Fuzhou, then imported to Taiwan due to the popularity. This Chinese snack became a traditional snack in Taiwan. The strong flavour of black pepper is from the pork filling, being marinated with black pepper for hours, thus "Pepper Buns". Jia Xiang is one of the most renowned vender's in Taichung, winning the award “The best vender’s store in Taichung” in 1996. The pepper buns there are highly popular and have expanded to outside of Taichung to all over Taiwan.

Every bun is hand-made and then put into a special stove. After that, they will use their unique marinating methods to marinade the pork with dried chopped green onions. Sesame is placed on the top of the bun and charbroiled for 15 minutes.

The time and temperature in stove have to be precisely 280°, the oil of the pork will be absorbed by the skin due to the high temperatures. The skin would also become golden and crispy. Charbroiling the buns will make the buns less oily and more crispy.

Although the store I tried wasn't Jia Xiang, this was the next best thing. First time having it in Taiwan, regret not having the opportunity to try it in the past. If it wasn't for my friend that lives in Taiwan, touring me around the night markets, I would've never had found this delicacy.

HONG KONG: Dumpling Yuan 餃子園 : Traditional Pekingnese Restaurant

2009-01-05T17:41:00.000-08:00

You'd be quite surprised to be able to find such a restaurant in the middle of Central; where all men wear Prada shoes, all women are carrying Hermes Bags. It's a small dinky restaurant, dimly lit, not the cleanest place, a large table in the middle of the restaurant where you have to share with 8 other strangers.

Small but nonetheless busy always. THey serve very traditional Pekingnese dishes, nothing like the renowned Peking duck, more like simple vegetarian noodles, marinated cucumbers and simple food you would actually find in an average Beijing home. The portions are small but the prices relate to the portions as it IS located in the ultra-expensive Central district in Hong Kong with one of the highest rentals in the world!

As the name of the restaurant suggests, their specialty are their dumplings. They have a whole page on their menu dedicated to the different dumplings, veggie, pork and veggie, lamb, beef. If you're not kissing anyone that evening, I'd suggest the chives and pork dumpling. Always fresh, and always flavourful. The dough on the dumplings are not too pasty like most places, it doesn't fall apart when bitten into. The lamb dumplings are also worth a try.

Another dish that you'd wan to avoid kissing afterwards is their Pork with Garlic. It's delicious. Chilled pork with a dark sauce and lots of garlic on top. My only comment is that it would taste better if they chopped the garlic up a little more so there aren't chunks of garlic.

Zhen Jiang Ribs were extremely flavorful, must say, the presentation of this dish was not really appetizing but very flavourful. The ribs however were not tender enough. Good enough for a couple bucks.

HONG KONG: Thai Simple Kitchen

2009-01-01T22:16:00.000-08:00

Christmas and New Years have come and gone, time to get back on track and target better restaurants this year!

It's hard to decide which restaurant to start writing about first as all I've been doing this winter vacation have been eating non-stop.

Let's start with Thai food. Random enough? So we tried a restaurant called Thai Simple Kitchen in the hustling and bustling Causeway Bay in Hong Kong. The entrance is a small little corridor outside of a theater that brings you to an elevator and when you reach that level, you'd be quite surprised to find at least 15 people in the waiting area. It's quite a big restaurant with a large patio decorated with small Christmas lights. The menu is diverse with a separate vegetarian section, and alot of the dishes are rather creative. We ordered the typical traditional Thai food, just so we could give their quality a try. A Pad Thai, BBQ Pork's Neck and the most untraditional one, we ordered a Tom Yum Gong Steamed egg. Most dishes are in a sizable portion and are great for sharing.

The BBQ Pork's neck was delicious, very crispy on the outside and the sauce it came with was superb, not too spicy yet tangy.

The Pad Thai was decent. It didn't surprise us at all, had the typical texture to the noodles and flavour was good, not too exciting. This Pad Thai however came with large shrimp. Not being a huge fan of large shrimps, i wasn't too impressed, it did add to the presentation though. Very nice presentation in fact.

The Tom Yum Gong Steamed egg was very creative. Kept the juices from the soup, and had more texture than the original soup. It's great for sharing and for trying something new. The flavours were nearly as good as what the traditional Tom Yum Gong soup would be like but I do admire the chef's sense of creativity. Sure adds a variation to the already-much-explosive-flavoured-soup.

HONG KONG: Malaymama

2008-12-22T17:27:00.000-08:00

Malaymama, a tiny takeout/fast food restaurant in Sheung Wan. There are actually 3 restaurants on the same street that serve similar dishes, I like this one. I used to live close by at one point and when I wasn't meeting anyone for dinner, 2 out of 5 times, I would pay them a visit. THeir specialty is Laksa and their octopus spinach.

Their Laksa is not as spicy as the traditional Laksa, better suited for the locals tastebuds. Spices are available upon request. You can tell by the colour of the soup that the chef took a long time boiling all the flavours. It's not very thick but the coconut milk was delicious. The shop owner claimed that the soup was made of over 20 catties of shrimps. No wonder there's a strong flavour of prawn in the soup. The texture of the noodle was good that it retained its resilience of flour. The big shrimps were all fresh. If you have a big appetite, this would be excellent as the portions are huge, lots of prawns, veggies and meat.

What I really like is their Octopus Spinach Salad, served cold. Upon any order, you can add this veggie dish for $15HKD. I'm not sure if this is a traditional Malaysian dish but I enjoyed it. It is made with spinach and octopus(as the name defines), there's a special red sauce on top, spicy, tangy and a little peanutty, topped with crushed peanuts. The octopus is very fresh. The texture was crunchy, almost as if it was raw. Went great with the spinach as the spinach was cooked and thus the combination was perfect. The sauce went well with it, hinting Malaysian flavours with it's spices.

Pasta! Pasta! Pasta!

2008-12-16T17:44:00.000-08:00

As you may have already noticed, I dine out far more than I cook, and honestly, it's not because I don't enjoy it, I just don't like the preparation work of cooking. First time *actually cooking in my new apartment and it turned out better than expected!

This pasta doesn't have a name, since we just raided the supermarkets selecting products that we wanted to eat!

Ingredients:
- Tomatoes
- Chopped onions
- Olive Oil
- White wine
- Rubia Chorizo Sausauges
- thyme
- Holland Giant mushrooms
- Chili flakes
- ground black pepper, salt to season
- mozzarella
- spinach
- whole wheat organic spaghetti

1. Boil spaghetti in a large pot, turn heat off when it comes to a boil and cover pot for 15 minutes.

2. Drain and set aside.
3. Chop onions and cut each tomatoes into four slices

4. Simmer onions and tomatoes with olive oil/butter until soft

5. Add white wine, chili flakes and thyme, stir until almost dry, add more white wine
6. Wait until it comes to a boil, add Chorizo, mushrooms and spinach

7. Mix in spaghetti

8. Add salt and pepper and mozzarella
9. Voila!

TAIWAN: Ay-Chung's Flour-rice Noodles阿宗麵線

2008-12-14T17:02:00.000-08:00

These rice-noodles that are made by Ay-Chung have originated since 1975 in Taiwan. Available throughout various locations in Taiwan, they definitely deserve the hype.

The shop is very small, and there's no room to sit, so everything was take out only. Apparently, the average daily receipts are close to US$30,000 (NT$1,000,000) a day. Very local indeed, as you pass by the store in Xi Men Ding, you will see crowds of people scattered around the restaurant, one is the line-up, the others are just people standing by the pillars eating their noodles.

These flour-rice noodles is the only thing they serve in the whole shop, there is a man standing in front of two giant woks, scooping noodles from one and soup from the other into a plastic green bowl. This bowl of wheat-based noodles, its strands are as fine as angel hair, suspended in a murky brown soup as thick as gravy; thickened with a healthy dose of cornstarch, this soup clung to the noodles. There were pieces of pork intestine, needle mushrooms and bamboo shoots to add to the texture of the combination. Condiments includes hot chili oil and parsley.

You would not believe it, but I just HAD to get myself a bowl on the way to the airport, and yes, we were eating it on the taxi, scorching hot and the ride was a bumpy one but we didn't spill a drop!

VANCOUVER: C Restaurant

2008-12-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

Who likes Seafood? What about desserts? C Restaurant along the waterfront provides them both with contemporary class. Incredible food is only the start of the many praises I've got for this restaurant. The ambiance is fun yet classy, everything in this restaurant has good taste, from the snow white interiors, to their lighting, their cutlery, glasses, etc. Their ever astounding creativity surprises me every time, you could order the same dish 10 times and you would get something slightly different, always looking good. Despite their inconsistent presentation of their dishes, the flavour, temperature and taste have always been consistently surpassing my expectations (and high is that).

There was however, one disappointment, the service of the servers there were not as attentive as expected from a classy restaurant like this, and making reservations was a pain. We made reservations 3-4 days ahead of time and when the hostess called to confirm the day before, instead of marking us down for a table of 6, she only marked down a table for 4 and thus we had to reschedule our reservations.

Be prepared for forking out extra money if you are planning on ordering wine as their wine list is overpriced.

Lobster Set Menu we ordered from consisted of Lobster Carpaccio, Lobster Bisque, Lobster and a Maple Syrup Creme Brulee.

The Lobster Carpaccio turned out to be very fresh and sweet, the chives complimented it well.

Portion for the lobster bisque was not very generous, however, the bisque was very light and foamy, we begged for more.

The Lobster was shelled and placed on top of spinaches and potatoes. They used an apple sauce as the sauce. First time for me to have lobster with apple sauce and it was superb. The lobster was fresh and the apple added just enough sweetness.

I absolutely adore maple syrup and Creme Brulee has been my favorite dessert since I've known of it. This combination impressed me so much that I literally cleaned the bowl with my tongue... just thinking about this is making me drool...

Trumpet Royal Mushroom Risotto sidestripe shrimp, spinach, lemon parmesan broth

Grilled 'AAA' Beef Striploin goat cheese gnocchi, parsnip, rapini red wine jus

Milk Chocolate and Cinnamon Mousse Cake white chocolate ice cream, dried cherry

HONG KONG: Desserts @ Stonegrill

2008-12-07T17:37:00.000-08:00

Been to Stonegrill in Vancouver? Well I have a few times and never wanted to go back. A friend of mine brought me to the one in Hong Kong and I didn't have any expectations whatsoever. She told me it was good though, so we went. The ambiance is totally different as the one in Soho, Hong Kong is very classy, very elegant and looks very much like a French restaurant. The food was superb, much tastier than the one in Vancouver. I was impressed by their selection on their menu. What impressed me more was their desserts. The presentation was very exquisite, each artistically put together, didn't even want to touch them when they arrived because they looked so nice.

We ordered the Mille Feulle with mangoes and strawberries and blackberry with chocolate drizzle. The crust was very crispy, and their selection of seasonal fruits made a good combination.

We also ordered the Chocolate tower with iced mango filling. Never realized that chocolate tasted so good with mangoes. The chocolate was rich but the cake was fluffy, evened out perfectly, and I love the presentation of this one, very simple but very detailed.

HONG KONG: From the best city view

2008-12-04T17:17:00.000-08:00

No doubt, Hong Kong is the home to one of the best city views in the world, encompassing some of the greatest architectural designs all within this small cosmopolitan city. Dining while overlooking this magnificent view is one of the few luxuries that you cannot get enough of. For those of you who've been, for those of you who's heard of, Peking No. 1, 29th floor, Aqua-Tokyo. Aqua-Tokyo is a fusion Japanese Restaurant with a bit of an Italian mix as they also have an Italian kitchen on the same floor. There is also the Aqua-Spirit(the bar) up above, the view is absolutely breathtaking, when you're standing up there, basically, you feel like you have conquered the world. Yes, I may have exaggerated just a tad bit, but honestly... it is truly amazing to have such a view in such a tiny city.

You can expect to be served by English-speaking servers as the crowd there are mostly westerners. We were seated by the windows(score!), adjacent to the private rooms (double score!), overlooking the beautiful night view of Hong Kong island.

Our experience at Aqua was not as impressive as the view, I regrettably admit. The servers all spoke English but unfortunately were not too attentive and not too friendly. The music was a little on the loud side so don't expect to have a nice quiet romantic dinner. Romantic view and romantic furniture, romantic almost everything *but the ambiance.

The dishes were decent, some more impressing than others. The sashimi platter was pretty plain except for the delicious piece of foie gras sushi.

The presentation of all their plates were just as their restaurant's decor, elegantly trendy. I love the presentation of the black cod, although the texture was not as tender as I had expected, it was flavorful and juicy

The tiramisu at the end was pretty bad. It didn't look nice nor did it taste very good. The presentation looked like it was made in a rush, and the chef made a mistake and loaded on the cocoa powder to cover it up. The sponge part of the cake was dry and there was way too much cocoa powder, making a mess everywhere.

VANCOUVER: Brunch @ Feenies

2008-12-02T17:08:00.000-08:00

How I miss my regular brunches at Feenies... or my hair appointments at Marcus J (located right beside Feenies). Sometimes would go for the unhealthy choice of Feenies Weenie or the Burger... but for breakfast food, I really like their Salmon Blini.
The yolk is raw on the inside but with a well-done egg-white, so that the egg yolk doesn't break easily. The English muffin is warm and has a crispy crust and I love how the shower the blini with salmon roe. Adds a very interesting texture to the dish. The smoked salmon is fresh, going exquisitely with the Hollandaise sauce. Yumm... my mouth is getting watery just from looking at the picture.

The Roast Beef Rye Sandwich is also one of my favorites for brunch. Toasted rye bread with avocado, tomatoes and lettuce with a side salad greens. Healthy and fresh for a Sunday (hangover) morning. It helps that the Rye bread is so moist.

HONG KONG: Petits Cupcake

2008-12-01T18:27:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: This cupcake joint is GONE! No more addition to my weight! (that's me looking on the positive side of things, whimper*)

Petits Cupcakes are definitely not petite at all. Available at Elements Shopping Mall, this cupcake store is always busy. Though I must admit, their cupcakes could be better tasting, but presentation-wise, they win hands-down. They have the prettiest cupcakes, a big variety too, including flavours like Valrhona Orange, Smores, Sea Salt Chestnut Cream, Lemon Meringue, Mint Chocolate Chip, Baileys, Eggy, etc. $23hkd a pop. (Approx $3.50usd)

Lemon Meringue: The top part was a foam-like cream, with a lemon-ey filling. The lemon filling was far too sweet, the foam was fluffy, but the cupcake itself was too dry. The cupcakes, as you can see are works of art. They are all intricately made, however, they don't taste great. The cupcakes are on the dry side, and some are too sweet. I understand that cupcakes are desserts and they are supposed to be sweet, but for certain flavours, such as their Dark Truffle Cupcake, I would expect at least a little bitterness. Some of the cupcakes have a cream filling, unusual for a cupcake. The Sea Salt Chestnut Cream cupcake has chestnut paste filling, I enjoyed this one very much.Mint Chocolate Chip: I always like Mint Chocolate Chip, the chocolate chips on top were crunchy, very delicious chocolate chips, but the icing on top was not good at all. The icing was far too sweet, made me tooth numb and I couldn't even finish it. The chocolate cupcake didn't go well with the icing because they were both equally as sweet. Smores Cupcake: The marshmallow on top was too hard and the marshmallow as a filling was too heavy. I think I'd go somewhere else for cupcakes next time.

The Cake shop itself was a lovely experience. Decorated with a huge colorful Cupcake in the window display yet elegant once you step inside the store. Filled with hundreds of cupcakes, a little bit like a kid walking into a gigantic toy store.

Coupon for New York Fries

2008-12-01T17:04:00.000-08:00

For you all Hongkies, here's something special for you!

Click on image to print

Best chips

2008-11-30T16:58:00.000-08:00

"Flamin' Hot and Crunchy Jalepeno"

Honey Dijon my favorite, New York Cheddar - not so much

Two of my favorite chips in the whole entire world

HONG KONG: BO Innovations

2008-11-27T17:29:00.000-08:00

Steamed foie gras, sticky lotus leaf, "yun nam" ham: This is the first time I've had foie gras in this form, Chinese style, the foie gras, as it usually does, melts in your mouth, the flavor is trapped in between the sticky lotus leaf, giving it a fresher aroma

Slow cooked pork lasagna in chinese vinegar, braised lotus root in beet root osthamus

BO Innovations is one of my favorite restaurants in the world. They charge quite a bit for their chef's menu but very much worth it(EVERY bite of it). It's the only thing you should order there as a la carte ordering just isn't as satisfying. With the demon chef, Alvin Leung supervising every item on the chef's menu, you can be sure that everything served is to the highest of standards. BO Innovations is a fusion restaurant, mixing the east and the west in a very peculiar way.

"Famous in Hong Kong for combining Chinese cuisine with molecular gastronomy, Chef Alvin Leung of Bo Innovation shares his unique cooking philosophy with Lifestyle HK. " Lifestyle Asia

Alvin's dishes are known to be unpredictable, just like the demon; mischievous and breaking all the culinary rules. Who would imagine, dishes such as STEAMED Foie Gras, Aruvga Caviar with smoked quail egg on taro crust, etc... honest to God, if I heard of these dishes prior to trying this restaurant, I'd probably be grossed out, but I was fortunate enough to not see the description of the dishes before going the first time. I just kept going back for more afterwards and have recommended it to many of my friends, now recommending this fabulous restaurant to anyone who is in for an adventure.

Lobster, preserved duck egg with English mustard: Preserved egg is not necessarily good for you but once in a while, bite-size pieces won't hurt, besides, it tastes good.

Duet of Oysters: Salmon roe, oyster and ponzu sauce; ground up oyster mixed with tofu

For $880 hkd (Approx. $126usd), this is what you get:

Duet of Oysters
Smoked quail egg, crispy taro crust, avruga caviar
"bo" sashimi platter"
Shot of Waldorf salad
Spinach ice cream
Steamed foie gras, sticky lotus leaf, "yun nam" ham
Lobster, preserved duck egg with English mustard
Ox-tail shitake soup dumpling with lobster essence
Slow cooked pork lasagna in chinese vinegar, braised lotus root in beet root osthamus
Australian m-9 plus wagyu striploin, black truffle rice noodle roll
"bo" dan dan noodles
Almond foam, cognac chinese red date sauce
Crispy chocolate cake, salty kumquat butterscotch ice cream

"bo" Sashimi platter

Note: Pictures consists of previous dining at BO Innovation as well

Shot of Waldorf salad: Interesting way of your daily greens

Smoked quail egg, crispy taro crust, avruga caviar: The taro crust is like the stuff you have at dim sum(i love this stuff), and quail egg + caviar that melts in your mouth, can never go wrong

Ox-tail shitake soup dumpling with lobster essence: Freshness of lobster, ox-tail giving the soup dumping a very tender texture

Slow cooked pork lasagna in chinese vinegar, braised lotus root in beet root osthamus: Fatty pork, boy, this is soooo bad for me but I managed to finish it. The Chinese vinegar was made perfectly, not too sweet and not too sour.

Australian m-9 plus wagyu striploin, black truffle rice noodle roll: Striploin was okay, the truffle rice noodle roll on the other hand was superb. The sauce was made out of black truffle, you can smell the aroma from the kitchen!

"bo" Dan dan noodles

Crispy chocolate cake, salty kumquat butterscotch ice cream

The whole restaurant is truly a piece of art. Every single item on the menu are things that I've had in the past but never ever in the served combinations. I highly recommend this restaurant for those who like to try something extraordinary, something unexpected. You will not be disappointed.

BURNABY: Lobsterfest @ Hart House

2008-11-26T23:24:00.000-08:00

There's a special festival every year held at the Hart House restaurant at Deer Lake in Vancouver. In case you've never been, it's right alongside Deer Lake, in a heritage house. Every year, they have a Lobster Festival that lasts for only 2 or 3 nights, unlike other restaurants that usually have it for the whole season.

Why is the Lobsterfest at Hart House any different from all the others? Value! For $48Cdn, you get a whole lobster to yourself, with a buffet of appetizers, side dishes and also a dessert buffet. If you arrive early, there's an unlimited wine tasting session from 6-7pm!! Trust me, my friends and I enjoyed this perk in particular immensely.

You are seated in the garden area of the restaurant overlooking Deer Lake, beautiful greenery and a beautiful view of the lake. Be sure to have your mosquito repellent as we're dining on grass, and the mosquitos are out to get you towards the end of the evening. This venue is great for those who love dining outdoors.

The lobster is not only big, but it's good too. In my opinion, poaching is the best way to cook lobster, allowing the lobster to be tender and moist and extremely fresh.

The desserts however, were a little of a disappointment, they were just like desserts at any dessert buffet, nothing stood out. There was a very small selection of cakes and they weren't very good either. Their fruits, on the other hand were fresh and sweet.

HONG KONG: Pierside @ The Royal Pacific Hotel

2008-11-25T19:05:00.000-08:00

The Royal Pacific Hotel and Towers, situated along the Victoria Harbour on the busy Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, right above the Macau/China ferry terminals. Pierside, a restaurant/bar has taken a new turn recently. Being opened for almost a year, the original bar-to-be is turning into quite a restaurant. Pierside started out as an upscale bar with a live band every night, serving light dinners and finger food, they have now decided that their customer mix would much prefer an upper scale dining facility instead of just a bar.
Pierside, being one of the few 2-storey dining facilities in this area has reserved the lower level for alfresco dining in the daytime and a bar in the evening, while the upper floor has now turned into a contemporary restaurant overlooking the Victoria Harbour.
Jackie, their executive chef's specialty is fusion. And when I say fusion, trust me, it's very fusion. He has worked in many world class restaurants/hotels around the world. After achieving his culinary qualifications in New Zealand, he's worked in a few other places, such as Tokyo and Taiwan. Now you may have heard, food in Japan and Taiwan are just... Mmmm.. mouth-watering.
Having a creative chef in a fine dining environment is never a bad thing. Lately, he's been playing with a Wagyu beef set dinner which I haven't had the chance to try. According to friends that have tried it, they've loved it.
The set I've tried when I had dinner there was a full seafood menu. Starting off with humongous oysters from Australia... Sorry, I forgot the name.. The oysters were fresh, big and very creamy. I'm usually a fan of small Kumamoto oysters as they usually taste a little fresher, however, this one that the chef chose for us was fresh enough and not very salty.
I tried the snapper with balsamic dressing and garlic mash. The snapper had a flaky texture as it should, the balsamic was sweet and thick (just the way I like it), and the garlic mash was SMOOTH.

Oh yes, how could I forget to mention the bread!!? The rolls were warm, not as soft as I would like them to be but not bad, what I liked was their selection of condiments for the rolls, came with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar, butter, sea salt, and a special paste they made. It tasted like hummus with something added to it. I wasn't able to make out what the specific ingredients were but it was good.
Finally.. the dessert. This is a dessert I will never forget. The bite, the taste, the texture, the creaminess. We were served a special Tiramisu cake. Tiramisu's have always been one of my favorite desserts so I have certain standards, I am usually a fan of the traditional Italian Tiramisu's. This one I tried has just changed my mind forever. The tiramisu was frozen. The whole Tiramisu cake was placed in the freezer and flambeed when served. I love flambeed desserts, it adds such involvement to the whole dining experience. The wine sauce that was poured on top of the dessert had grapes drenched in wine, added a nice adult-ty taste to the sweet confection. It tasted like ice cream with a kick, it was like biting into ice cream with sponge cake, Mascarpone, coffee, chocolate and wine all at the same time. (This can never be a bad thing)

OSAKA: Za Don

2008-11-25T00:25:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: Sadly, I think this restaurant must have closed down, I tried visiting this summer and it was gone!! It's either that or I've totally lost my way trying to find it. :(

In case I haven't mentioned before, I go absolutely schizo for Japanese food. Having lived and travelled there, every single meal had a story in itself (which I may/may not share later). I try to go to different restaurants as the selection is just massive, this one here called Za Don, I've actually returned to TWICE! Located in Umeda behind the infamous HEP5 shopping mall, a tiny tiny restaurant that just occupies a corner of the building. It's about a 400 square feet restaurant, to be more precise, like a fast food restaurant where you buy your tickets at a vending machine then giving your ticket to the kitchen and from there, they prepare your food.

What I love about Japan is how everywhere you go, regardless of price, it's always spotless. This restaurant was not an exception, immaculate, each seat had their own supply of preserved ginger, Soya sauce and Wasabi.

Now the surprise came when the food arrived. Now bear in mind that these rice bowls costed less than $10USD. We ordered a Negitoro Don and a Amaebi/Salmon Roe and Uni Don. (Don means rice bowl in Japanese btw)

Look at the portions:

Extremely fresh and delicious.

DEEP COVE: Hidden Jewel

2008-11-24T17:01:00.000-08:00

Deep Cove - A cottage community on the West Coast of Canada, a great day trip from Vancouver . Beautiful scenery of the ocean, mountains, parks, forests - true West Coast culture.

Chefi's Seaside Restaurant Bistro is one of the hidden jewels in Deep Cove. Located on the main street, Gallant Avenue. A very small-sized restaurant, run by the owner herself, Jen. She has actually put together a small wine list, with every wine available by glass. Don't you just love that? Makes life so much easier.

The restaurant is small and nicely decorated, there's small patio with fresh flowers. I love the coziness of the ambiance, dimly lit and candles everywhere. It's such a romantic little restaurant, makes you feel like you've been transported to a small restaurant in Italy or something like that. And the service, it was excellent. Even if it wasn't Jen serving you herself, her servers were so sincerely nice, unlike the fake smiles you find in a lot of large restaurants. The servers at Chefi's were truly wanted you to feel like home.

Their menu selection is not big, but excellent value. For a Fillet Mignon, you're looking at paying $20Cdn. Their combination of their flavours is quite impressive with a restaurant of their size. Chefi's also changes their menu season to season, changing them subtly, keeping their favorites while offering new choices.
Their selection of seafood is always fresh, and I always order their mussels. The sauces are made well with a few selections to choose from.
Deep Cove is a secluded area with not much but scenery. It's a wonderful place for a quiet Summer Sunday afternoon, arriving just in time for lunch and leaving right after dinner.

HONG KONG: Wife Cakes (AKA Sweetheart Cakes) from Yuen Long

2008-11-23T18:35:00.000-08:00

Long ago in feudal China, a poor peasant couple lived with their old parents in a small village. One day, a mysterious disease struck the village. The husband's father became very ill. To raise money for the treatment, the wife sold herself to slavery. She became a maid in a wealthy family... don't think crooked.

To redeem his wife, the poor farmer made a cake filled with winter-melon and sold them. His cakes were so yummy that they became popular and he was able to make enough money to buy back his wife.

With his wife back by his side, the couple worked hard at their business. Soon their story and cakes spread far and wide.

Many years later, some baker came out with a Husband Cake. It's just to complement the Wife Cake, there's no significant story behind it. Unlike the sweet Wife Cake, Husband Cake is savoury in taste.

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For the first time, I got to try the infamous Wife Cakes from Yuen Long. According to a few local friends in Hong Kong, been told that Yuen Long was most well-known for their Wife cakes at a bakery called Hang Heung Bakery.

I didn't go there myself, rather had some colleagues bring them back while they were still warm. Wife cakes are puff pastry desserts filled with Winter melon and almond paste. The outside is a layered with thin layers of puff making the texture crispy while the inside is filled with a chewy warm paste that surprisingly doesn't cling on to your teeth (Don't you hate it when that happens?). I'm not sure what Winter melons are supposed to taste like but I did enjoy the aroma of almonds. I like the fact that the whole dessert wasn't too sweet, it was perfect. The puff pastry had its own character and flavour, the aroma smelled like cakes right out of the oven, made with butter I believe and that's always a luxury in itself.

Despite the drive out to Yuen Long, this would make an excellent winter dessert.

[Source: Wikipedia]

Flipping you out this Christmas with Angela Schwab Plates

2008-11-21T19:31:00.000-08:00

Something I've always hated was to stand around at a cocktail party, trying to juggle my paper napkin/paper plate while worried it's gonna rip on me, dropping all my canapes, creating a huge mess, not to mention embarrass myself in front of everyone. This plate by Umbra designed by Angela Schwab would be a gigantic help. I would be able to hold on to my plates tightly, guarding my food from falling and having Fido munch up all my goodies and be fashionable all at the same time. Brilliant design just in time for all those Christmas Cocktail parties. Hey, even better, it's now SOCIALLY correct to have your thumb on your plate!

I find that most plate design these days are too two dimensional, all on a flat surfaces with various designs on top. We are in desperate need of three-dimensional designs people. This simple yet highly functional plate is a cocktail party diva's dream come true. Now, Schwab has created one for us. Thank you!!

VANCOUVER: Diva At the Met (Metropolitan Hotel)

2008-11-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

Diva At the Met (Metropolitan Hotel):

Would never have thought of coming this restaurant if not for Dine Out Vancouver. Ever since the first time going to this restaurant, basically, there wasn't a year that I attended this event leaving this restaurant out. Their $35 courses are always worth it, the service always spectacular and the food always fresh and never a disappointment.

Appetizer: Spiced Butternut Squash Velout and confit pork belly, golden raisins & toasted almonds --- Butternut squash is always delicious, the soup was extremely creamy, the confit pork tasted just like bacon bits, however the almonds

Fraser Valley Duck Terrine pickled vegetable salad black pepper gastrique --- The presentation (seen above) was very nicely put together, the salad on the side was blah, the sauce was good but the greens were just blah. The duck terrine was flavorful but a bit on the heavy side, would be nice if it came with bread or crackers.

Leek and Potato Soup with Nutmeg Mousse --- Leek was a bit on the strong side, nonetheless, it went nicely with the nutmeg, mellowing it down just a tad and same with their other soups, creamy!

Entree: Moroccan Spiced, Seared Rare, Ahi Tuna creamy orzo provencal, olive tapenade carrot emulsion --- The Ahi Tuna was seared perfectly, crust was just done and the inside was warm. The carrot emulsion is not a common sauce for Ahi Tuna however it did go very nice with the entree.

Aromatic Braised and Glazed Veal Cheek warm, creamy onion tart thyme-scented jus --- The creamy onion tart thyme was excellent, sauces were great and the veal cheek was not as tender as expected. The greens on the side were a bit on the bland/boring side, plain boiled peas, a little bit of a disappointment. Presentation on the onion tart could be improved, taste was good.

[No picture avail for this one]

Aromatic Braised Short Ribs with sherry vinegar lentils, thyme jus --- Extremely full of flavour and so tender that it could be pulled apart without a knife. *thumbs up*

Wild Forest Mushroom Risotto with parmesan flakes and truffle oil --- The first word that came out of my mouth were "Wow!" A vegetarian dish like this, with flavours so heavily infused, the risotto were cooked just so precisely, tricking your mind into thinking that the whole kitchen just opened up for you. Intense flavour with so much heart put into perfecting this simple yet sumptuous dish.

Dessert: Upside Down Chocolate Souffle topped with Housemade pistachio ice cream --- We were already exorbitantly full by the time we got to this point in the evening and swore to only have bite of the dessert. Boy were we ever wrong. This lava cake was the best I've had, and NO, I'm not a bit exaggerating. I'm not the only one who felt that way about this cake. My company is not a big fan of desserts yet he we were fighting over the last bite of dessert.

Stilton Cheesecake rhubarb compote, port wine glaze --- The port wine glaze was excellent. Cheesecake was not "cheesy" enough.

VANCOUVER: Fleuri @ Sutton Place

2008-11-19T01:08:00.000-08:00

I must say... the customer service at this hotel was absolutely phenominal. Our server and the host was very helpful and extremely friendly. They were able to make us feel special. It's a nice restuarant and the layout was quite impressive in itself.

This was the menu. The sweet pea soup was best part of the whole meal. Very rich and smooth all at the same time! The Croque-Monsieur was delicious!

Appetizer: Sweet Pea Soup with Croque-Monsieur provided a dual sensation of smooth yet crispy at the same time!

Entree: Lemon and Oregano Glazed Cornish Hen with Oyster Mushroom Risotto in a Nicoise Olive Jus

Smoked Bacon Wrapped Beef Tenderloin with a Gratin of Sweet Corn and Gorgonzola au Jus

Dessert: Grand Marnier Creme Brulee and Dark Chocolate Marquise with Raspberry Mint Syrup - Now with a duet like this, can't really go wrong. The dark chocolate was rich, paired exquisitely with raspberry mint. Creme Brulee was perfectly made with a very thin layer of caramelized sugar and cold creme brulee, indeed proves to be my favorite dessert.

KOBE: Denmark Cheesecake [Kannonya チーズケーキ]

2008-11-18T18:35:00.000-08:00

Just to clarify, these are not original Danish Cheesecakes... these are "Denmark Cheesecakes" in Kobe, Japan. They're called Denmark Cheesecakes because they use cheese from Denmark to make this cake.

Only available at a cafe called Kannonya in Kobe, specializing in Cheese. These Denmark Cheesecakes are different from anything I have tried before. It's not the typical heavy cream cheese-cheesecake. Simply put it, it's a piece of soft sponge cake with imported Denmark cheese on top melted to perfection. Served warm, the sides of the sponge cake is a little bit crispy yet extremely spongey on the inside, warm cheese on top.

I was caught by surprise when I first bit into the cheesecake, I wasn't expecting it to be real cheese. The cheese comes off stringy as expected in melted cheese, but never expected from a cheesecake!

We tried the chocolate brownies which proved this cafe to deserve the reputation they have established. Rich in chocolate yet at the same time was not overly sweet.

Being the foodaholic that I am, of course I wouldn't let anyone leave the restaurant without trying the Warm Dark Chocolate cake. Very similar to the chocolate brownie but even richer, texture was pretty much the same as the chocolate brownie minus the walnuts. I like how they cut it into three rectangles, easy to share, cut and bite-sized, exactly my preferences.

This cafe is situated in a touristy area/mall called Mosaic, overlooking the beautiful harbour of Kobe facing the Observatory tower and Meriken Park hotel, this cafe gets a 10/10 from me.

HONG KONG: Guess who's coming to town!

2008-11-17T19:25:00.000-08:00

I'll give you a clue... infamous Poutine, gravy, dill dip....

You guessed it! New York Fries! (As ironic as the name makes it sound) Our Canadian fries is coming to town! Woohoo.. Can't wait for the launch.

Just enjoy the delectable pictures... I'm too excited upon hearing this news to write anything else.

Canadian Fries RULE! Come on people, chant with me.. *Poutine* *Poutine* *Poutine*

Hmmm.. Well I don't know if I would go THAT far to agree with that statement..

SEATTLE; Melting Pot

2008-11-16T22:45:00.000-08:00

Another warm and fuzzy entry. The Melting Pot, located throughout North America, how I wish there was one closer to my proximity. It's been around since 1975 and we're still loving it. Fondue all the way through. Their set meals are always delicious but can NEVER finish the whole thing regardless of how hungry we are. Set meal for 2 is around $60-$78, we ordered a set dinner for 2 to share amongst 3 people and we STILL couldn't finish it.... in fact, we weren't even close! The dishes are so heavy as you can imagine, but oh-so-so yummy. First course, you start off with a cheese fondue.. yes, this is my favorite... and for a surprise, NOT the dessert. They give you a selection of different cheeses to choose from, and then provide you with a platter of bread, fruits and other goodies. The "Surf and Turf" offers a choice of fresh meats and seafood with Caribbean rubs and flavors like vanilla rum chicken, peppered shrimp, lobster and jerk sirloin in cooking styles from Mojo bouillon to Coq au Vin herbs and burgundy wine. Offers a wide selection of sauces and dips. To be honest, I didn't really like this type of fondue. The soup tastes a little too salty and had too much wine added to it. (I prefer chinese soupy hotpot as opposed to this one) The dessert was overly filling but presentation was very nice and come on, it's chocolate, can't really go wrong. A little on the sweet side. This one featured here is the Yin and Yang, half dark chocolate and half white chocolate. Tried the Flaming turtle before, and didn't like that one. It is milk chocolate mixed with caramel and nuts, flambeed tableside. Way too sweet for my liking, however, I do like the selection of fruits and cakes. A platter of strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, spongecake and marshmallows comes with the chocolate fondue. Overall, if you are looking for something different from what you normally have, this is a nice fun alternative that gets everyone involved. Great for big social gatherings. Would love to go again sometime.

HONG KONG: Modern Toilet

2008-11-16T17:17:00.000-08:00

Concept restaurants have had their highs and now most of them are in their lows. Most of these restaurants are not about the food, people get bored easily. I believe the Modern Toilet can only follow through the same pattern as the past ones. While this concept restaurant is still fairly new and one of the only ones in Hong Kong, there is still quite a lineup during dining hours.
The concept is TOILETS. Nothing BUT toilets. The seats are toilet fixtures, the tables are sinks, the decor uses urinals and plungers, the specialty corner is a bath and shower fixture, the dishes are served on miniature toilets/bathtubs and drinks are served in miniature urinals.

This restaurant originated in Taiwan where all the creative F&B people reside. The food I must say was pretty notorious but the concept is cute. The owners claimed to have thought of this idea while watching Mr. Slump, a popular Japanese cartoon.

The dishes are mainly Asian dishes, serving dishes like Curry, Korean Sorak Pork with rice, Baked rice, Japanese milk hotpot, Szechuan spicy hot pot, etc.

Desserts are however, the most interesting. They had desserts such as chocolate ice cream placed inside a toilet; chocolate ice cream with strawberry drizzle, giving them unappetizing descriptions, bloody poop, stuff like that.

HONG KONG: Claypot Rice Joint

2008-11-14T19:02:00.000-08:00

As winter approaches, it's time to fill your tummies with warmth by enjoying Claypot rice! I have found the best restaurant in Hong Kong that serves this. The name of this restaurant is "Sun Wing Wah" on Tang Lung Street, behind Times Square.

Do be prepared that it's not the most hygiene restaurant in the world nor expect world-class service. Each Claypot rice costs no more than a mere $60hkd ($8USD) including a pot of rice and a generous serving of soup. The floors are appalling and so are the tables, but if you head down there between November and April from 6pm-10pm, be prepared for a wait. They also have an outside sitting area (that I doubt the health department knows about), however, to minimize the wait, that will have to do for now. The service is equally as bad as their floors. They hardly acknowledge you upon your arrival, they're too busy to care whether you wait in line or not.

Now is this restaurant worth the wait? Yes. I've been here at least 5-6 times and I've even brought visitors. Why? Because they make the best Claypot rice and it's even better when it's cold outside. Their rice has never let me nor my visitors down.

Clay pot cooking is a technique of cooking food in an unglazed clay pot which has been soaked in water so as to release steam during the cooking process. This technique has a long history, stretching back at least to ancient Roman times, and is commonly used in several cuisines in Southeast and East Asia.
The food inside the clay pot loses little of its moisture because it is surrounded by steam, creating a tender, flavorful dish. The evaporation of the water prevents burning so long as the pot is not allowed to heat until it is completely dry. Because no oil needs to be added with this cooking technique, food cooked in a clay pot may be lower in fat compared with food prepared by other methods such as sautéing or frying. And unlike boiling, nutrients are not leached out into the water.

Because of the heat lost to the evaporation of water, clay pot cooking requires higher oven temperature and longer cooking times than traditional roasting with dry heat. Clay pots may be cleaned by scrubbing them with salt; soaps or detergents should not be used, because the clay may absorb them.

It is typically served with Chinese sausage and vegetables. More often than not, the rice is cooked in the claypot first and cooked ingredients like diced chicken and chinese sausage are added in later. Traditionally, the cooking is done over a charcoal stove, giving the dish a distinctive flavour. Some places serve it with dark soya sauce and also dried salted fish. Salted fish enhances the taste of the claypot chicken rice, depending on the diner's preference. Due to the time-consuming method of preparation and slow-cooking in a claypot, customers might have to wait a period of time (typically 15-30 minutes) before the dish is ready. The walls of the pot help to diffuse the heat, and as the pot warms it releases the water as steam.

One of my favorites is this one (directly below). A raw egg is placed inside when the claypot served, and the yolk is cooked halfway by the steam of the rice, then it's mixed with the meat and rice, coating everything.

The best part of claypot rice is the layer of rice that is on the wall of the pot. It's usually crunchy yet not oily at all, similar to Korean Bibimbab.

[Source: Wiki]

OSAKA: Usagi: The rabbit lives!

2008-11-13T18:36:00.000-08:00

Usagi Restaurant is located at Kyobashi on the Keihan Line in Osaka. It's not easy to get to but this place is amazing. There is a huge hole in the ground that looks like a 7 storey shopping centre except it's all underground and it's all restaurants! The Usagi Restaurant was just one of them.

Friends took me here, knowing I like to try different Japanese cuisines. This one was more or less like a high-class Izakaya. The dishes they served were all slightly different from the typical.

Japanese Style pizza with Potatoes, olives, tomato sauce, ham and a very crispy thin crust

This was one of the freshest sashimi platter I've had. They're cut into bite sized pieces, just the way I like them.
Prawn Gyozas as they call it. Different from the gyozas we normally have. Very crunchy actually.. to be honest, I like the original gyozas more, the red stringy stuff kinda freaks me out. I pulled them all out.
And this one was my favorite. These little cubes are all sorts of different tofu. Spicy, Black sesame, egg tofu, cheese tofu, etc etc..
And they had a very big selection of desserts. We ordered two and both of them were very Japanesey with a familiar accent of creme brulee and lemon pie (picture at top of page).

VANCOUVER: Hot Pot Season

2008-11-12T17:05:00.000-08:00

I have still yet to try all of the Hot Pot restaurants in Hong Kong. So far, my all time favorite alternates between the expensive yet clean and safe Landmark on Cambie Street and a dirty, very local Fong Wing Kee in Kowloon Shing that serves ICE COLD COKE.

The best thing about Landmark is that they have the world's best Fish Tofu. I have never in my life had fish tofu as good as theirs. For those who don't know what fish tofu is, it's a fried ball of tofu with fish lined inside the tofu. The ball itself is hollow so when you poke your chopsticks through it, it absorbs all the soup.

Landmark also has one of the best fish congee in Vancouver at least. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you can only order this after 10pm as a midnight snack option. They give you a pot of steaming hot congee on the hot pot stove and fresh fish slices.

Fong Wing Kee on the other hand is not as classy. It's in a crappy area of town, it's dirty, the seats are uncomfortable and there's always pretty rude gangster-looking crowd hanging around.

If you can get past that, then you will be able to savor their slices of freshly cut beef that just melts in your mouth as soon as it comes out of the pot. They don't lay out the beef nicely like the expensive restaurants, basically they just pile them on top of the plate without any sense of aesthetic. When you taste the beef, you will understand why. They don't have to.
Another reason I love this place is because of their selection of ice cold drinks. Actually, they only have the basics.. but they are literally ICE cold. I've ordered a Coke Zero that comes in a plastic bottle with pieces of ice inside.

HONG KONG: Dim Sum at Yue

2008-11-10T01:17:00.000-08:00

Trust me that I am not biased when I say this: Yue at the Hong Kong Gold Coast Hotel is one of the best Dim Sum restaurants in Hong Kong, the most well-known place for Dim Sum.
Their XO Sauce is superb, their Shrimp dumpling has a very fresh taste to it, their deep-fried dumpling is extremely crispy on the outside with a soft interior. It even looks nice, with a carrot-like appearance. I am usually not a big fan or Pork Siu Mai, theirs was very tasty, I could've had seconds.

They have a set business menu that leaves you feeling like you've had 3 meals in one but also so satisfying that you wouldn't mind just living off their gigantic feast. The set menus are very good balance of soup veggies, fruits, meat, rice/noodles, a fruit platter per person and a dessert at the end. If you are in luck, they might have the fish soup. This has got to be one of my favorite Chinese soups. It's murky white, and it's made with nothing but pure fish bones and fish, boiled to perfection.

Don't forget to say Hi to their restaurant manager, Raymond, he's one of the most enthusiastic and humorous restaurant managers in town!

Classic Spanish Sangria

2008-11-09T23:20:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd give you one of my favorite recipes for the Classic Spanish Sangria

Give it a try and lemme know what you think!

INGREDIENTS

1 lemon
1 lime
1 orange
1 1/2 cups rum
1/2 cup white sugar
1 (750 milliliter) bottle dry red wine
1 cup orange juice
Any fruits that you want (Apples, pears, grapes, strawberries, watermelon, etc)

DIRECTIONS

Have the fruit, rum, wine, and orange juice well chilled. Slice the lemon, lime and orange into thin rounds and place in a large glass pitcher. Pour in the rum and sugar. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours to develop the flavors.
When ready to serve, crush the fruit lightly with a wooden spoon and stir in the wine and orange juice. Adjust sweetness to taste.

SHANGHAI: Soup Dumplings Xiao Long Bao 小籠包

2008-11-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

World Famous Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao!
I believe the most famous place for these Soup Dumpling

s are at a temple in Shanghai called the City God Temple (Cheng Huang Miao). The name of the restaurant is called NanXiang Man Tou Dian.
I love how this restaurant is all about bribery.
As you enter ground level of the restaurant, there are queues that go all the way out of the restaurant nearly to the next block(Approx. 60 people). If you go past the crowd and go up the stairs, you see another queue that goes all the way downstairs of about 40 people. As you go past THAT crowd and go to the third level, there is a lineup of about 20-30 people. There is one more floor on top of that, and there is a queue of about 10 people. Now the good part is, when you ask the people at the counter that you are in a hurry and HOW you can get a table faster, she will ask you for $50RMB. Immediately, you will be led to a nicer area of the restaurant and you will be seated.

And this is the index:
Ground Floor: 50% cheaper than the third level
Second Floor: 75% cheaper than the third level
Third Floor: Paying full price but you can order as much or as little as you like
Forth Floor: Paying full price and you have to order a set
Special Floor: Paying MORE, plus $50 and you have to order a set.

Isn't that awesome? And who says you can't pay to have things done?

The Shanghainese Xiao Long Bao are more well-known as this is where they originated from, however, to be honest, I like WuXi Xiao Long Bao more than Shanghainese. The soup is a little bit more sweet, the skin is much thinner and there's much more soup inside.

Here are some of the dishes we tried from the *Special Floor.

Appetizer Dishes The spinach was good, the fried stuff on the side were way too oily. The beans were decent, just like any other. The chicken was too oily and the Baozi on the top right hand corner were too dry. The Xiao Mai on the same dish were decent.

This was their soup, served in a bun. They gave you a straw for the stuff that was inside the bun. The presentation was very cute and something that seems very traditional. The taste, however was a bit on the bland side, the dough was soggy and very thick. The soup was very flavorful though.

And of course, the infamous Xiao Long Bao. Hot, gushing with soup, loved it with lots and lots of ginger and vinegar.

Now for the question: Do you the proper way to eat Xiao Long Bao? Eating Xiao Long Bao requires a certain technique, must say, eating it is an art within itself. Traditional secrets revealed:

Step-by-Step Guide to Eating Xiao Long Bao or Shanghai Soup Dumplings:
[Source: RasaMalaysia]

Pour some vinegar to the shredded ginger. (Xiao Long Bao's are always served with shredded ginger and Chinese black vinegar.)
Gently pick up a Xiao Long Bao with the chopsticks and make sure that you don't break the skin. You can do so by holding the Xiao Long Bao in the middle.
Gently dip the Xiao Long Bao in the ginger vinegar sauce.
Lift it up and place it on the spoon.
Nibble the side of the Xiao Long Bao and suck the soup/broth inside the Xiao Long Bao. (This is the best way of savoring the meaty, juicy, and flavorful broth/soup inside the dumpling.)
Add some ginger and vinegar (as you like) to the dumpling and eat the rest.
Savour. Hmmmm... Yummm.....

VANCOUVER: Desserts at Seasons at the Park

2008-11-04T19:19:00.000-08:00

Thanks to one of my favorite friends, our visit to Seasons at the Park at Queen Elizabeth Park was quite a pleasant one. We had these two amazingly delicious desserts.

Warm Chocolate Caramel Brownie with ice cream
Warm chocolate is always good with vanilla nut ice cream.

Chocolate Mousse Cake
Very clean presentation, large portions, very rich and very yummy.

HONG KONG: Double Star

2008-11-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

Double Star Cafe is a chain of restaurants that serves desserts/light meals in Hong Kong. It's cute, however, standards seems to be different at different locations. I went to the one in Admiralty and it was bad... but the one in Tsim Sha Tsui, Harbour City was good.
I went to the Double Star in Harbour City for their tea sets. It wasn't spectacular but it was decent considering the prices were not bad.

I ordered their Honey Latte. The presentation is very nice, very Japanesey. Honey layered the bottom, milk comes in next, then the coffee and of course with lots of foam on top, the way I like it!
We also ordered their Margharita Pizza. The portion was smaller than expected, only 4 small slices. Flavour was decent.

We also ordered a Creme Brulee. Although they did have a nice presentation,
I was not impressed. The candied sugar on top was an inch thick, could hardly bite through the sugar! But then again, Creme Brulee being my favorite dessert, I do have certain standards.
Souffle on the other hand was excellent. The 20 minute wait was well worth it!

Match made in strawberry Heaven

2008-11-02T17:29:00.000-08:00

Veuve Clicquot Rose and fresh cut strawberries

World's Most Expensive Desserts

2008-10-31T17:22:00.002-07:00

WHAT: Chocolate Purse
WHERE: Hotel Le Bristol; Paris PRICE: $43.50

Being last on our list of expensive desserts is far from ignoble. (And depending on the dollar's performance against the euro, it may creep higher in the months to come.) Laurent Jeannin, pastry chef at the hotel's two Michelin-starred Gastronomic restaurant, created this delicate satchel-shaped chocolate shell (complete with edible chocolate handles) that holds a serving of mint cream drizzled with raspberry sauce. In the warmer weather, enjoy yours while sitting in the restaurant's stunning outdoor garden area.

For more information: Hotel Le Bristol

What: Valrhona Chocolate Sphere
Where: Al Mahara, Burj Al Arab Hotel;, Dubai Price: $48

Warm chocolate sauce is poured over a very thin chocolate shell, causing the sphere to implode, revealing treats such as lemon tart with clotted cream and passion fruit soufflé with mango. For couples hoping to share a world-class dessert experience, there's the three-tier Chocolate Fountain, which uses Valrhona, Equatorial and Jivara chocolates to create a luscious wave of cocoa goodness. Think of it as upscale fondue. Very upscale—at $75 per person, two-person minimum, you might not want to waste the chocolate on the berries and pastries. Just use your spoon.

WHAT: Gold Leaf Laced Semifreddo
WHERE: Peacock Alley at the Waldorf=Astoria, ManhattanPRICE: $50

At the $50 mark, competition among the world's finest desserts suddenly gets heated. Among our favorites is the Peacock Alley's semifreddo, traditionally served at special private parties at the hotel's fine-dining restaurant. This chilled mousse on a crushed biscuit base is accented with golf leaf, Louis XVI-soaked prunes and vanilla-truffle foam. It's so popular that the restaurant recently added it to their regular menu. It's paired with a glass of orange-scented Cristal.

For more information: Peacock Alley

WHAT: King-size Imperial Torte

WHERE: Hotel Imperial; ViennaPRICE: $63

Mitchell Davis at the James Beard Foundation claims that desserts priced higher than $30 tend to be unpopular. That may not bother the next five chefs and chocolatiers on our list, who seem more concerned with craft, tradition and exhibition than sales. The torte at the Hotel Vienna, for instance. Legend has it that this chocolate-glazed cake was first created in honor of Emperor Franz Josef I to coincide with the hotel's opening in 1873. Made with almond, marzipan and cocoa crème under a milk-chocolate glaze, this handmade cake is presented in a fanciful wooden box and shipped to Ottoman lovers all over the world. A limited edition featuring gold leaf and Swarovski Crystals will be introduced later this year.

WHAT: The Madeleine Truffle
WHERE: Knipschildt Chocolatier; Norwalk, Conn.PRICE: $250 per truffle, or $6,000 per pound

Classic ganache—made of Valrhona chocolate and fresh cream and infused for 24 hours with vanilla pods and pure truffle oil—is shaped around a Perigord truffle, then dipped in Valrhona and rolled in cocoa powder. "The ganache must be whipped repeatedly to make it as soft and silky as possible, then it must be chilled so it's easier to work with," says a company spokesperson. The product of a long and painstaking process, these truffles are only made to order and presented in a silver box with a personal note from chocolatiere Fritz Knipschildt.

For more information: Knipschildt Chocolatier

WHAT: Chocolate Variation

WHERE: Mezzaluna; BangkokPRICE: $640

Our first expensive dessert priced under $1000 is served at the Lebua Hotel at State Tower. At this Italian eatery, dessert is a smorgasbord of tastes: a dollop of champagne sherbet made from Louis Roederer Cristal Brut 2000, gold-flecked edible leaves, a shot glass of crème brûlée with shaved Perigord truffles, strawberry chocolate mousse and a sliver of chocolate cake. It's all washed down with a glass of very rare—and very expensive—Moyet Tres Vieille Grande Champagne No. 7. (It's estimated that just 1,000 bottles exist.)

For more information: Lebua Hotel at State Tower

WHAT: The Sultan's Golden Cake

WHERE: Ciragon Palace Kempinski; IstanbulPRICE: $1,000

It takes 72 hours to make this edible brick of gold, available by special request for weddings, parties or, say, a Sultan's snack. Spiked with apricots, pears, quince and figs that have been marinating in Jamaican rum for two years, and flavored with shaved caramelized black truffles, this 24-carat gold leaf-covered cake is presented in a sterling silver handcrafted cake box with a golden seal.

For more information: Ciragon Palace Kempinski

WHAT: Macarons Haute Couture

WHERE: Pierre Hermé Patisserie, ParisWHAT: $7,414+

Pastry chef Pierre Hermé is famous for his macaroons—a layer of butter cream sandwiched between two meringue puffs that are as ubiquitous in France as chocolate chip cookies are in the United States. His frequently include ingredients like fleur de sel and balsamic vinegar, in addition to the usual chocolate ganache. For his latest "collection," customers can create their own macaroon recipe that's then made to order and personalized for the diner. There are, of course, caveats. "Certain flavors cannot function together," the world-renowned chef says. Also, the cost does not include any of the macaroons themselves, but simply the cost of "fittings" (one-on-one meetings about the recipe). The final price is determined by the quantity ordered and the scarcity of the ingredients.

For more information: Pierre Hermé Patisserie

WHAT: The Fortress Stilt Fisherman Indulgence

WHERE: Wine3 at The Fortress; Galle, Sri LankaPRICE: $14,500

This dessert debuted a year ago, inspired by the restaurant's other gem-studded treat, the Bombay Sapphire Martini. The star of the show is an 80-carat aquamarine gem nestled on a handmade chocolate stilt fisherman, a centuries-old fishing technique that is part of the resort's logo. Handmade glass utensils (not included in the price, though the stone obviously is) complete the presentation. None have been sold yet.

For more information: Wine3 at The Fortress

WHAT: Strawberries Arnaud

WHERE: Arnaud's, New OrleansPRICE: $1.4 million

These berries with bling aren't A. Casbarian's first foray into the world of absurd eats. He previously showcased a jewel-stuffed Turducken, a dish consisting of a gem-adorned turkey, duck and chicken stuffed and cooked inside each other. Now, his 90-year-old French Quarter institution has teamed up with rare jeweler and antique dealer M.S. Rau Antiques for a dessert featuring six port-marinated strawberries garnished with mint, cream and a nearly five-carat pink diamond ring that was once owned by the British financier Sir Ernest Cassel. The dessert, available by special request, is served by white-gloved waiters accompanied by a jazz band in one of the restaurant's private dining rooms, or on the balcony overlooking Bourbon Street. An 1825 Charles X crystal cave liqueur set is included (a $24,850 value), filled with rare port. Once sold, this particular dessert will be replaced with another one-of-a-kind treasure.

PHUKET: Thai Food, I love

2008-10-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

I've been trotting the globe trying to find delicacies from around the world. And I must say, the dishes with the most bursting flavours originate from Thailand. In a mere sip of the Tom Yum Gong soup, you can taste spicy, sweet, sour and salty. The art in making this soup is all about the timing. The moment you squeeze in the lime juice is the most crucial, in bringing out the freshness of your soup.

Another dish I adore is the Pad Thai. I love how the texture of the noodles are so chewy, mixed with some bean spouts gives you a combination between crunchy and chewy. Talk about sensation!

Nasi Goreng is actually an Indonesian dish, but the Thai style, mixed with original Thai spices makes it so flavourful.

This restaurant by the name of 3 Spices is along the Patong Beach in Phuket is wonderful. The service was excellent and their dishes were traditional. The ambiance, however, was a little bit modern for the dishes served, nonetheless, loved it!

VANCOUVER: Zakkushi - Charcoal Grill Diner

2008-10-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

Haven't written a recent review for a while and today, midweek is a good day to do so. Zakkushi - Charcoal Grill Diner. Original location: Denman and Robson Street, directly beside Dairy Queen. New restaurant: West 4th and Burrard. Located on your right hand side, the entrance looks like a big giant wooden wall, be careful, you might miss it if you're not paying attention.

The ambiance of this restaurant is traditional with nice seating arrangements, this (above) as the feature dining table, situated right in front of the restaurant.

Zakkushi has a similar flair compared with Guu, serving Japanese Tapa-style dishes. With Zakkushi, most of their dishes are on grilled on skewers. This seems to be the trend with Japanese food these days, they're opening so rapidly that it's hard to decide WHICH one to go to, whereas before, there was only one or two to choose from. This time at Zakkushi, I didn't select alot of the dishes, rather, I let my friend choose what he wanted to try. Please read my reviews below.

The first dish we tried was the Tako-Wasa. What this dish simply is, is fresh octopus with a light wasabi dressing. It tasted decent, although the wasabi flavor wasn't as strong as it tastes in Japan, most probably toned down for western palates. Goes perfectly with a bottle of Asahi.
This one is the Zuke Maguro Sashimi. Although the tuna was very fresh, the sauce did not have that extra kick to it. I prefer the one they serve at Guu or Hapa Izakaya.
Daikon Salad. This was bad. It was nothing I expected from a Daikon Salad. The way Zakkushi on Denman prepares this is totally different from the one on West 4th (or at least since the last time I was there). The one I remembered from West 4th, the daikon(radishes) were chopped up into strands, there was a fried lotus on top. I preferred that one much more, allowing the dressing to drizzle to every strand of daikon. This one at Denman however, were sliced into humongous pieces, making it no longer bite-sized and more difficult to eat with chopsticks, the worse part was that the dressing didn't get to alot of the daikon, making it feel like I was a rabbit gnawing on a piece of tasteless vegetable.

Roasted Black Cod with Black Pepper Sauce. This on the other hand was mouth-watering. (The fried lotus on top was what I was talking about in the salad) Now we all know that the flavor for black cod is rather bland, but paired with the black pepper sauce, it really brought the taste to life. The cod was grilled perfectly, as usual, very tender, and the fried lotus on top added a little texture to the fish, finished off with an excellent presentation.

Grilled Ika. I think Zakkushi should just stay with grilled foods and nothing else. This is what they are good at and they should NOT be trying the other stuff. The Grilled Ika was excellent.

Cheese Mochi Maki. This has always been a favorite dish of mine at Zakkushi. This is grilled sticky riche with Cheese on top. The sticky rice has a crispy texture on the inside, with warm gooey goodness on the inside, topped with melted cheese. Yummy!

And finally, Yakitori don. I didn't have a chance to try this as I was already rolling off my seat from being too full, but it sure looks good, doesn't it?

The MOST eco-friendly kitchen ever! By Philips

2008-10-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

Eco-friendly products are emerging left and right. Here is something that an eco-friendly chef would need, or if you have excess money to spend on your kitchen.

This future-themed kitchen is based around a table, comes complete with the ability to cook or heat water anywhere, thanks to some nifty sensors which detect your pan or kettle and apply heat directly underneath. You can then control the settings through touch sensitive LED panels.

The Green cuisine kitchen also offers you the option of reducing your water wastage by selecting the temperature of the water you'd like to emerge from the tap, it’s a clean freak too with an under-the-table composter that will compact all your peelings and left-overs and enable you to grow herbs on the table. Dunno bout you but I have never in my life come across a more eco-friendly kitchen coupled with both…sensibility and simplicity!

Red Chili Wontons

2008-10-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

I've had a lot of traditional Chinese food throughout my lifetime. May it be Cantonese dishes, Szechuan dishes, Beijing dishes, Taiwanese dishes, Shanghainese dishes.. the list is never ending. Of all these dishes, I must say, my favorite is Red Chili Wontons. I can have my own order of Red Chili Wontons(RCW) and never get bored of it. Now ONLY when it's good. And when I mean "good", i don't mean alot of garlic nor alot of excess seasoning. I don't like it with vinegar nor soya sauce.

My recipe:
Ingredients:
100-150 g Small wontons (the smaller, the better)
a bit of dried shrimp
1 stick of green onions
sesame oil, red chili oil,
pepper

1. Boil wontons until they are well done. drain and let them sit for a little while
2. Mix all the other ingredients together (Feel free to add garlic if that's what you fancy)
3. Mix with wontons
4. Garnish with green onions
5. VOILA!

Keep in mind, there are two types of RCW. One is the Taiwanese-style which I love and the other is the Shanghainese style with the soya sauce, vinegar and massive amount of garlic. I have yet to find the perfect Taiwanese-style RCW in Hk. Let me know if you know of any please!

Halloween Edibles

2008-10-24T17:18:00.001-07:00

As Halloween is coming along, all the mothers are either getting their kids ready for the big Halloween Bash or hosting a Halloween Bash in their own home. Here are some ideas for the party.... or not..
Edible is a company that prepares real-life insects, flavored to your liking! EW!! From Giant Chocolate Covered Ants to Scorpion Vodka, Wild Black Vanilla Pod spices, Giant Hornet's honey with a GIANT hornet inside the bottle, and this one, I like, nice and disgusting, Antlix Lollipops!

Think most mothers will actually consider just hosting the Halloween Party themselves this year after reading this entry. Don't worry.. they're actually supposed to be good for you!

"For centuries Insect consumption has been part of the everyday diet of many of the world's human inhabitants from the Aborigines of Australia and their favoured delicacy of Witjutie grubs to the night markets of Thailand where crisp, fried Locusts and Beetles are favourite snacks to be consumed with an ice cold beer! We in the west have closed our minds to Insect eating (also known as Entomophagy) but In doing so have forgotten that these are one of the most nutritious foods available, higher in protein levels than chicken and cholesterol free. Edible has sourced for your perusal some of the World's best known Insect delicacies and also created a few of It's own value added Insect specialties. "

Yes.. and all these Insects are grown specially for human consumption and meet all strict health and safety guidelines.. now, doesn't that make you want some?

Katie Lee Joel's Award-Winning Burger - Logan County Hamburgers

2008-10-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

Early mornings may not be the perfect time to share with you such an oily dish, but I would die in vain if I didn't share this with you. Former Top Chef hostess and cookbook author Katie Lee Joel was crowned this year's queen of the Rachael Ray's Burger Bash. Joel was the only participating female among the 18 chefs who submitted burgers. Her burger was a cross between a hamburger and a grilled cheese. (Yum yum yum)

The burger is a creation of Joel's grandmother who made the burger with cheap ingredients during tough times. It's simple, yet delicious and intensely comforting. The combination of the beef, melted cheese, and crisp bread is perfectly satisfying.

Here's the recipe, straight out from Katie's book:

Logan County Hamburgers
From The Comfort Table by Katie Lee Joel
6 Servings

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef (85 percent lean)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 medium yellow onion, half grated, the other half thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 slices white bread
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
12 slices American cheese, optional

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the beef, egg, grated onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix until combined.
Form into thin patties.
Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread.
Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the burgers about 3 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Drain the grease from the skillet.
In the same skillet, place six slices of bread, butter side down. Top each with a slice of cheese, if desired, some onions and a burger. Top with remaining slices of cheese, if using, and bread, butter side up.
Cook each sandwich until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.
Serve with mustard, ketchup, pickles, or any other desired hamburger toppings.

Cutlery for your kitchen

2008-10-21T20:25:00.001-07:00

Having moved in for less than 2 months, I've been on a bit of a hunt for wine glasses, dishes and cutlery.

As much as the cutlery by Ericka Hedgecock is not very practical, it sure made my day by just scrolling through her website and seeing some of her outrageously creative pieces that are not merely cutlery, but a work of art. Actually.. the soup spoon wouldn't be too bad, might actually be somewhat practical.

Salt and Pepper shakers

Food Critis Assaulted Outside Restaurant

2008-10-21T02:22:00.000-07:00

I better start being a little bit more careful with my criticisms, although I highly doubt mine are very harsh at all, so i shouldn't be too worried.

Last Friday, Steve Barnes, the food critic for the Albany Times-Union, was leaving a local restaurant when he and a friend were violently attacked by two assailants. The attackers approached Barnes and his buddy, punching them both repeatedly in the face. The victims have bruises and swelling, but sustained no serious injuries.

Barnes doesn't believe the attack was connected to the restaurant he reviewed, but he thinks this act of violence was targeted rather than random. The restaurant reviewer wrote about his plans to go to a particular eatery on his blog, and the men who assaulted Barnes and his friend had been seen hanging around the restaurant's parking lot for hours before the attack.

While he has no further clues as to who his assailants were, Barnes does have a message for them. "Yo, attackers: If I’m supposed to be nicer to somebody in the future, drop me an e-mail. Otherwise you’re just a coward. Black eyes fade, but cowardice and thuggery are permanent character flaws."

Watch your Calories

2008-10-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

With Thanksgiving (just passed in Canada and coming up in the States), Christmas, New Years and all those good meals are coming up in the next two months, it's time to re-evaluate whether or not it's worth it for all that intake. How many calories would a piece of turkey cost you?

1 serving of Light Meat, boneless, no skin, roasted = 184 Calories
1 serving of Turkey Breast, Boneless w. skin, roasted = 212 Calories

CalorieKing is making it easy for you. The skin itself will cost you 28 calories.
Give this site a try, and perhaps you'll be able to lay off some of those extra pounds, instead of going through that whole notorious New Years Resolution.

Thai Beef Salad

2008-10-19T19:34:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite salads at all time, Thai Beef Salad. Simple to make, doesn't take too long and is always fresh, with enough red meat to satisfy the meat lovers, and enough variety of veggies to satisfy all others. One word of caution is that, the Thai Beef Salad can be quite spicy, it's only good spicy. Yummy!

Preparation Time

15 minutes

Cooking Time

10 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 1/2 tbs fresh lime juice
1 tbs finely chopped dark palm sugar
1 tbs fish sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 (about 680g) beef rump steak
1 x 200g pkt grape tomatoes, halved
1 continental cucumber, halved lengthways, thinly sliced diagonally
1 red onion, halved, cut into thin wedges
2 long fresh red chillies, halved, deseeded, thinly sliced lengthways
1 bunch fresh mint, leaves picked, large leaves torn
1 bunch fresh coriander, leaves picked
1 bunch fresh Thai basil, leaves picked, large leaves torn
55g (1/3 cup) toasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
4 kaffir lime leaves, centre veins removed, finely shredded

Method

Whisk together lime juice, palm sugar, fish sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger and garlic in a jug. Place the steak in a glass or ceramic dish. Drizzle with half the dressing. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge, turning occasionally, for 2 hours to develop the flavours.
Preheat a barbecue grill or chargrill pan on high. Cook steak on grill for 2-3 minutes each side for medium or until cooked to your liking. Transfer to a plate. Cover with foil and set aside for 10 minutes to rest.
Place the tomato, cucumber, onion, chilli, mint, coriander, basil, peanuts and lime leaves in a large bowl. Thinly slice steak across the grain and add to the salad. Drizzle with remaining dressing and gently toss to combine. Divide salad among bowls and serve immediately.

Source

Australian Good Taste - February 2006, Page 18

VANCOUVER: 北の家 Guu - Kitanoya

2008-10-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

I didn't get a chance to go to Guu this time in Vancouver, a huge disappointment as Guu is one of my favorite restaurants. The ambiance of the little restaurant brings you to a small local restaurant in a small town in Japan, where everyone gathers on the weekend and everyone knows everyone else. Be sure to get there early if you want a table on the weekend as they don't take any reservations, unless you actually KNOW everyone working there.
I love how when you order, the servers are calling out your dishes to the kitchen, I love how it's immensely busy, I love the fun and ever-welcoming attitude and I love the aroma of grilled Japanese dishes.

Tuna Maguro

The presentation of the dishes is pretty, it's simple, on very japanesey plates and just thrown on artistically.

Pumpkin Croquette with Egg

Japanese Oden (Only avail. in Winter)

Grilled Ika

Chicken Cartilage (Great for snacking with Asahi)

Some of my favorite dishes includes their Spicy Ebi mayo, Pumpkin croquette ball with egg, Tuna maguro, Grilled Black Cod with Miso Mayonnaise and Salmon Yukke.

Spicy Ebi Mayo

Okonomiya

Grilled Black Cod with Miso Mayonnaise (super tender)

Daikon Salad

Yaki Udon

Guu is G'uud!

Cake plates for your kitchen

2008-10-16T01:07:00.000-07:00

Christmas is just around the corner, time to scrummage for those cake plates in the back of your garage. If you can't find them, do consider these ones. Cake plates with a slice of ceramic cake on them.
Portuguese designer Rosa Lemos has produced a range of cake dishes for Italian ceramics manufacturer Bosa Ceramiche.

The dishes feature a decorated ceramic wedge, which takes the place of the ‘last slice’ of cake.

The following is from Rosa Lemos:

To whom the last slice?

Usually the cakes are eaten slice after slice and reaching the last one, this one stays there, lost among smiles of courtesy, crumbling himself. With Akitoka, the last slice doesn’t go to anybody - it remains in the dish.

Akitoka is a dish for cakes that it plays with the fatality of the last slice. It’s a Rosa Lemos project for Bosa Ceramiche and it has shown up with success at Paris to Maison and Object 08 and to the FuoriSalone 08.

The dishes are available in the formats round and rectangular, with or without decoration. The decorated dishes are accompanied of stencil with the same sketch to decorate the cake with the sugar to veil.

HONG KONG: Hairy Crab Pictures

2008-10-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

Enjoy! Pictures from our Crab night...

SHANGHAI: Chinese Mitten Crab/Big Binding Crab/ Hairy Crab 大閘蟹

2008-10-14T00:50:00.000-07:00

Just in season for these infamous Shanghai Hairy crabs in Asia. Locals and tourists alike wait for these babies to be ready for steaming in the Autumn.

Crab-eating traditions began thousands of years ago.

People found a strange and terrible kind of "pests with crusts" in the fields eating grains. They had sharp chelae and legs that could injure the farmers.

Some were bitten by the pests and people closed their doors before sunset for fear of attack.

However, a bold farmer could not bear them any longer and sprayed a basin of boiling water on the pests.

Suddenly, the pests stopped being pests and the green crust turned to gold.

Some brave farmers took them back home and stewed them. A strong aroma came out of the pests, which enticed one man to try one after peeling the crust away.

He found it was the most delicious food he had ever eaten in his entire life.

The news spread quickly, and people loved the taste of the pests and caught them with a view to eating them. Since then, the harmful pests have become a delicacy.

Last year around this time in Shanghai, I had my Hairy crabs for the first time. It was at a Xiao Long Bao restaurant(yes.. strange) Ding Tai Feng. I'm sure many of you food lovers must have heard of this taiwanese-owned chain.

The servers de-shell the crabs in front of you while serving. The yellowy yolk is not to be missed, not much crabmeat in the legs but the yolk .. oh ..the yolk.. MUST TRY.

Along with their other yummy dishes, viola!

*Note* Some pictures are stolen from my cousin as I didn't take that many pictures last time I went

And for the people who are not coming to my place tonight... that's what we're having.. so you can just sit here, read my blog and be jealous! :p

Lux Tip: Eggs

2008-10-13T18:21:00.000-07:00

Want to eat like a king? Your cook's on vacation? Make some eggs.

No matter where you live, eggs are inexpensive and a terrific source of protein. Learn to do a few good things with eggs and you will always be well fed.

For a royal breakfast, try scrambled eggs with your favorite spices, as well as shallots or any finely chopped vegetable for texture. You can really throw the kitchen sink into a good scramble, but elegance is in simplicity. Add water or milk to your scramble to make it fluffier.

For a non-breakfast meal, add another inexpensive option, rice, to your eggs in a frying pan. Throw in some soy sauce and a little oil, and you have delicious egg-fried rice. You can throw the kitchen sink in here too, but it's best to focus on a key vegetable or meat--whatever you have handy.

It's just another easy way to make life more lux for cheap or free.
Source: Luxist

HONG KONG: Brunch at Amber

2008-10-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

Brunch at Amber at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental has never disappointed me. With their free flow of Veuve Clicquot, and their unlimited dessert buffet with their very own chocolate sommelier(Max) fixing up your dose of sweets for the day. Something surely not to be missed. The managers and servers there are very knowledgeable, providing excellent service, maintaining a smile and professionalism at all times.
Brunch Hours: Sat and Sun 11:00-3:00pm.

Parma Ham Taster

Although I'm not a huge fan, they had a pretty good selection and boy, does the presentation impress?

Tomato Confit

This on the other hand was a tasty and appetizing gazpacho. Refreshing and sweet. The serving wasn't too generous though, it was gone in two small sips.

Pan-fried foie gras with poached rhubarb and hibiscus and black pepper coulis

There are some dishes that I would probably prefer in a smaller scale restaurant, such as their foie gras, not one of the best but of course, still above average. The seasoning was near perfect, it was rather the texture where I had my doubts. The outside was not crispy enough, while the inside was amazing, melting in your mouth as you would expect.

Tasmanian Salmon

Tasmanian salmon - confit smoked and served warm. The generous hunk of salmon had a thin crispy skin, while the texture of uncooked smoked salmon, but it was warm, soft and tender.

Wagyu Beef

All I've got to say is that this was one of the best I've ever tried. Ordered it twice (Hence the two different platings)

Black Cod

Black Cod melted in your mouth, although it's not too flavorful, the texture made up for it. The garlic foam made a nice addition to the fish.

Dessert Selection included chocolate cake, creme brulee & macarons, opera, lemon tart, blue berry cheese cake, chocolate fondue(dark, milk, white), bread pudding and specialty chocolate milk, made by the chocolate sommelier.

Max

His station

Desserts:

VANCOUVER: Jang Mo Jib Kamjatang Recipe

2008-10-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

Jang Mo Jib, Robson Street.

Everyone living in the Lower Mainland all know about the Bubbling Pork Bone Korean soup(Kam ja tang) at Jang Mo Jib. The one in Downtown, Vancouver is the original one, the store that most prefer (1719 Robson, Vancouver. Tel: 604-642-0712), however, if you wanna get bubble tea after dinner then you can go to the one in Richmond (8320 Alexandra Road, Richmond. Tel: 6042330712).
If you're more adventurous then you can try making your own. Recipe from My Korean Kitchen

Ingredients

(It is enough to serve 3-4 people)

Pork spine or neck bone - 1.4 kg (You need to pick the right one. The bone I bought had hardly any meat. Then why is it so expensive? Is this really free in Australia and USA?)
5 medium potatoes
Crown daisy leaves (ssukgat) - 1 fistful
Mung bean sprouts (sukju) - 1 fistful
12 perilla leaves (so called sesame leaf, ggannip)
6 Chinese cabbage leaves (Baechunip)
2 green chilies
22 cups of water total

Vegetables and spice to get rid of pork smell

1/2 stalk of green onion (just use the white part for this recipe)
1 medium onion (peeled)
5 cloves of garlic (peeled)
1 thumb size piece of ginger (peeled)
10 whole black pepper seeds (un-ground)

Sauce (mix these well in a bowl)

Chili powder (Gochutgaru) - 3 tbsp
Minced garlic - 1 ½ tbsp
Ginger powder - 1 tsp
Refined rice wine- 2 tbsp
Anchovy sauce- 1 tbsp
Water - 1tbsp

Other condiments

Salt -1/8 tsp
Soybean paste (Doenjang) - 2 tbsp
Ground sesame - 4 tsp
Pepper -3 sprinkles

StepsⅠ

1. Soak the bones in cold water for 2 hours (to get rid of blood) . Drain away the water.
2. Put the bones into a big pot and add 7 cups of fresh water, then boil it for 5 minutes.

3. Drain the water (throw it away) and add 7 cups of fresh water - again. Add the all ingredients from the “vegetables and spice to get rid of pork smell” section. Simmer it on medium to low heat for 2 hours. When the water seems to get reduced you need to refill the water to maintain 5 cups of expected broth (I ended up adding an extra 8 cups of water - 1 every 15 minutes.)

4. While you are waiting;

① Rinse the crown daisy leaves, cut off the thick stems.

② Rinse the mung bean sprouts.

③ Rinse the perilla leaves and thin slice them.

④ Rinse the green chilies, take out the seeds, and thin slice them diagonally.

⑤ Clean the potatoes. Boil them in a pot until 90% of them are cooked. Drain the water and cool them down. Peel the skin off.

⑥ Rinse the cabbage leaves. Boil some water for 1 minute and add the salt. Parboil the cabbage. Drain the water. If the leaves are big, you can tear them up length ways.

Steps Ⅱ (after the two hours of simmering)

Sieve the broth into a separate pot. Then put the bones back into this broth but throw away the boiled vegetables.
Add the peeled potatoes, soybean paste, and the sauce (that you previously made) into the the pot.
Boil it until the potatoes cook completely.
Add the crown daisy leaves, mung bean sprouts, perilla leaves, green chilies, and cabbage leaves on top.
Add the ground sesame and pepper sprinkles.
You can start eating when the vegetables are cooked.
Enjoy your meal. (You can adjust the taste with some salt if it is necessary, but I didn’t add any.)

You need to start preparing about 4-5 hours before you are going to start eating. I know! It is a huge time consuming process. But trust me, it is worth the time!

Enjoy with kimchi!

Note: Recipe from My Koren Kitchen

Save Time De-corking Your Wine with the Slide Technique

2008-10-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

Noisy wine expert Gary Vaynerchuck offers a quick but smart tip for removing the foil sleeve from a bottle of wine without the tedious cover trimmers. His simple secret: Just pull it off. This may not be mind-blowing if you already knew this seemingly obvious trick, but if you didn't, it's a real time-saver.

How to throw a Cheese and Wine Party

2008-10-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

Will be holding one at my place in November, thus I've been doing a little research on my Cheese and Wines. These tips are some of the more useful ones I've gathered. If anyone has additional pointers, please do share.

Decorations

A wine and cheese party should be somewhat elegant but not too gaudy. You could have simple white tablecloths with white candles. Perhaps decorating the table with grapes and grape leaves or something seasonal such as fall leaves if the party is in the fall or holly, pine boughs and ornaments if it’s at the holidays. A summer party might be cute with light floral bouquets. Fruit – especially grapes go great with wine and cheese so you could have a 3 tiered centerpiece or large antique bowl filled with grapes and other fruit on the tables too. If you choose one large table a big centerpiece would be a nice focal point, you could even use and old architectural urn filled with ice and wine bottles or a large tiered platter with various tidbits on it.

You’ll want to have labels for each cheese that states the name and general flavor – you can expand on that by adding the origin and maybe some history if you feel ambitious. Each section of cheese could have it’s own cutting board and cutter – A cute idea would be to use the cheese boards that are made out of flattened wine bottles to cut the cheese on.

Wine And Cheese Party Pairing Tips

• White wines match best with soft cheeses and stronger flavors.
• Red wines match best with hard cheeses and milder flavors.
• Fruity and sweet white wines (not dry) and dessert wines work best with a wider range of cheeses.
• The more pungent the cheese you choose, the sweeter the wine should be.

• If you’re a cheese adventurist, meaning you go for the stinkiest of cheeses, pick a big wine to back it up. Try a French Bordeaux or a buxom California Cab. Ports and dessert wines are your best choice if you like mold-donned or blue-veined cheeses.

White Wines	Recommended Cheeses
Champagne or sparkling	Brie, Camembert
Chardonnay	Mild Cheddar, Gruyere, Provolone
Gewurztraminer	Swiss, most German cheeses
Loire Valley wines	Goat Cheese
Riesling	Gouda
Sauternes	Roquefort, Blue
Sauvignon Blanc	Goat Cheese

Red Wines	Recommended Cheeses
Amarone	Gorgonzola, Parmigiano-Reggiano , Asiago
Cabernet Sauvignon	Camembert, Sharp Cheddar, Blue
Port	Stilton, Gorgonzola
Shiraz	Sharp Cheddar

Final Words

• Purchase your cheeses in large wedges for an ideal presentation.
• Cheeses should be served at room temperature. Pull them out of the fridge a couple hours before your party.
• Serve most wines fairly cool — whites between 50-55 degrees and reds between 60-65 degrees.
• Let your reds breathe 15-20 minutes after you open them.
• Make handwritten name cards for all your cheeses and use a pretty upside-down fork display the card upright in the cheese.
• Display cheese on a pretty china platter, a wood cheese board, or even a slab of marble.

Links: Guide to Wine and Cheese Pairings, How to throw a Wine and Cheese Party

Enjoy!

PHUKET: Street Food

2008-10-08T21:29:00.000-07:00

I love how the street food in Thailand are all so colorful.

This one is a mini crepe, that is filled with cream and dyed coconut. Very sweet and easy to eat. Can be addictive but careful of those extra pounds.
These are a variety of different dishes, from Thailand fishballs to sausauges, to prawn cakes. WARNING: VERY VERY SPICY.... other than that, was unable to make out the other flavours.

Other sweets. The thing in the middle that looks like a sushi. It's not. It's seaweed with jelly in the middle.

HONG KONG: Caffe Vergnano 1882

2008-10-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

There aren't many coffee chains in Hong Kong that serve decent Italiano Coffee until I came by this chain, Caffe Vergnano 1882.

Their flavours are rich with complex notes. A bit on the expensive side for a cup of specialty coffee, around $40hkd(approx $5usd) for a regular size. Aside from their coffees, they also serve light meals such as pasta or panini's.

This one is Speciale Bicolore

NEW YORK: The French Laundry

2008-10-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

No, I haven't been yet, but this world renowned restaurant has been one that I've been longing to go to since I've known of it. Operated and owned by Chef Thomas Keller, The French Laundry has been known for its "serious food" yet fun and memorable.

Critics have been raving on and on about their 9 course chef menu, without a single repeated ingredient. With their ever impressive presentation of their food, eating is not longer just stuffing food into one's mouth but an art that is never duplicated.

Enjoy, pictures from their website:

HONG KONG: French Kiss

2008-09-23T23:52:00.000-07:00

Had this Vietnamese-infused dessert at a local Vietnamese restaurant in Hong Kong, Rice Paper. Dessert, French Kiss was a bit on the sour side, with raspberry ice cream, but must say, the presentation conquered all others. Layered with puff pastry with nuts and hazelnut inside, coated with sugar, topped with Raspberry sorbet