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.

VANCOUVER: Diva At the Met (Metropolitan Hotel)

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.

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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

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.

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: