HONG KONG: From the best city view

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

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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.

HONG KONG: Brunch at Amber

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: