Restaurants, bars, products, events.... Food and drinks reviews, topics and everything in between.
Thursday 30 January 2014
Harry Brompton's Ice Tea and Briska Cider
Harry Brompton's Ice Tea
I have always been a fan of ice tea, nothing beats a home made ice tea with a slice of lemon on a hot summers day. But when its comes into buying one on the high street, I just couldn't think of any decent brands at all, they all taste far too sugary with artificial flavouring which leaves me a bad taste in my mouth. So when I attended the Yelp's time travelling ball and discovered there is a new alcoholic Ice Tea in the market, I showed great enthusiasm to have a taste and oh boy what a great discovery.
http://www.harrybromptons.com/
Briska Craft Cider
I am sure we are now all familiar with the term "craft beer", but craft cider is something I am yet to encounter. Hand crafted in small quantities to ensure the highest quality, Briska is a Swedish craft cider born in Ă–sterlen, south of Sweden. According to their website, the Kiviks Musteri family has been operating the cider production since 1888 and the technique has been passed down by generations.
I first tried out their pear cider, as I used to drink a good amount of Kopparbergs, I was kind of benchmarking it but it turned out to be a no contest. The nose of the pear was very natural and refreshing, the taste was very crisp, light and fruity, but at the same time not overly sweet and no bitter after taste like I would find from other cider brands! I then gave their pomegranate cider a taste and it was just as good. It had a great balance of sweetness and sourness, lovely fruity aroma and taste thanks to the all natural content. In Briska, I thinks I just got myself the official choice of summer cider.
http://www.briska.co.uk/
Monday 27 January 2014
Le Coq
The great chicken feast
Brain child of ex management from the Salt Yard group and a relative newcomer to the trending rotisserie chicken scene in London, Le Coq is a neighbourhood restaurant located in Highbury and Islington. Rotisserie has become a bit of a smash hit lately, with a good number of chicken themed restaurants opening across London such as Chicken Shop and ClockJack Oven. Le Coq has been on my to do list for a while, and when I found out they had finally decided to take bookings, we booked in for a special group gathering.
Le Coq |
private dining den |
Sunday 26 January 2014
Le Grand Pokka Cafe
Style over substance
Pokka cafe is a well known restaurant chain in Hong kong and it has been around as long as I can remember it, the food is a mixture of Japanese and French cuisine with some specially sourced coffee from around the world. Le Grand Pokka Cafe is a new concept from Pokka Cafe, with a much upgraded decor and more luxurious items on the menu. We opted for a few set lunches and shared them between us, what really got me puzzled was we were offered some French croissants at the start, but instead of butter or salt, we were given olive oil and balsamic vinegar which was a bit of bizarre choice and I failed to understand the reason behind it.
Le Grand Pokka Cafe |
bread |
Friday 24 January 2014
Ozone
Cocktails in the sky
My visit to the Ozone turned out to be a fantastic experience, it is very different to your usual hotel bars that is for sure, with very modern and edgy decor with a feel almost like a night club in Mayfair. Cocktails here are also creative, along with a killer view, Ozone is definitely a destination if you ever visit Hong Kong.
118 International Commerce Centre / The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, 1 Austin Rd W, Hong Kong
http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/properties/hongkong/dining/ozone
Wednesday 22 January 2014
Cay Tre
Great "Tre"
Once again I am back at one of the most iconic Vietnamese restaurants in Shoreditch, Cay Tre. I am a massive fan of Vietnamese cuisine, for me it is almost a cross between Thai and Chinese with a French influence in the mix, and Cay Tre is one of the few places in London that managed to pull it off without engineering it to suit the western palate. This time around we went as a large group and went for the less known dishes.
Vietnamese feast! |
Tim Ho Wan
Dim Sum specialist
Tim Ho Wan was probably the most debatable restaurant when one of its branches was awarded a Michelin star back in 2011. As the dim sum joint in more of a cafe/ fast food setting, with hardly any space between each table and where you're most likely to be rushed out as soon as you've finished your food, it is easy to understand why it caused a bit of a stir to foodies and media alike. I've eaten at one of its branches last year and returned to the Michelin rated one at Shan Shui Po as all the service madness aside, the dim sum at Tim Ho Wan is real value for money.
Tim Ho Wan |
Monday 20 January 2014
Hong Zhou
Regional Chinese cuisine
Hong Zhou restaurant in Wan Chai, a Michelin rated restaurant is a little different to the usual Chinese restaurants you would encounter outside China, it offers regional cuisine in the style of Eastern China by the coast, from Hongzhou and Shanghai. While rice is hardly on the menu and well known for its very robust and rich flavours cooking. It is a popular place for dinner among the local politicians and governors in Hong Kong, so wondering what is the big deal about Hong Zhou, a group of us ended up there after a gathering for a late dinner.
Saturday 18 January 2014
Din Tai Fung
From Shanghai to Taiwan
Din Tai Fung is a very successful restaurant chain from Taiwan, with restaurants spreading across the Far East, Australia and North America. The cooking style is a bit of a combination of Taiwanese and Shanghainese cuisine, due to the founder coming from Shanghai and who started to learn his trade in the restaurant business in Taiwan before setting up Din Tai Fung. Din Tai Fung these days is now a global restaurant chain with countless awards attached to its name with no less than a Michelin star in its Tsim Sha Tsui branch at Hong Kong.
Din Tai Fung's mascot |
Thursday 16 January 2014
Pang's Kitchen
Comforting home cooking
Located near the world famous Hong Kong Jockey Club in Happy Valley, Pang's Kitchen is a single Michelin starred Chinese restaurant in the mood of simple comfort Cantonese cooking. It had become the talk of the city when it was awarded a star back in late 2012, the owner claimed that the star was actually damaging his business instead of helping it as the landlord saw that as an opportunity to increase the rent and the restaurant was struggling to the demand, with limited covers (only 30) and short of staff to cope with all the new customers flooding in after hearing the result. Whatever the outcome, nowadays it seem like it has becomes bit of a destination for tourists as I noticed on my arrival.
Pang's Kitchen |
Tuesday 14 January 2014
Sun Tung Lok
Gourmet dim sum
Sun Tung Lok, a 2 star Michelin Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong specializing in shark fin dishes, it has been established for over 40 years and it has now relocated inside a shopping mall by the ever busy Nathan Road. Sun Tung Lok created a massive buzz when it was awarded 3 Michelin stars back in 2011, one of the only 2 Chinese restaurants to do so in the world at that time (Lung King Heen is the other one). The restaurant has adapted over the years in terms of cooking style, it has now a much broader range of offerings such as dried seafood. I heard it has some of the finest dim sum at lunch time so I booked in for a weekend visit to check it out.
Sun Tung Lok |
The Time Traveller's Ball
Join in the fun on Thursday, 23, January
An award ceremony will also take place called "The Time Travellers' Awards", which
are to celebrate the best of London's past in 2013 and looking forward to 2014.
There are unique and different categories like "Best London Spot For A
First Awkwardly-Adorable Online Date" Anyone can vote on
those here if they have a favourite spot in
London (and the winners will be announced at the Ball).
The event is free, to have a chance to attend please register on this link RSVP on the official page to get on the waiting list.
For more information on the event, you can click here (Yelp Presents: The Time Travellers' Ball).
Sunday 12 January 2014
Hung's Delicacies
Marinated feast
Hung's Delicacies, a Chinese restaurant in North Point is all about traditional "Lou mei". Lou mei is a Chinese way of marinating/braising different types of meat and is usually made up of soy sauces, sugar, five spices, ginger and all kinds of local spices. It is a popular way to use leftover cuts or animals internal organs as the richness of the stock can cover off the overly bitterness and earthiness of the cheap cuts. Hung's Delicacies is famous for championing "Lou mei" but using fine quality meat which had created a buzz among the media and it has gained itself a Michelin star.
Hung's Delicacies |
Friday 10 January 2014
Ming Court
Smart casual hotel lunch
Ming Court at the Langham Place Hotel in Mong Kok is regarded as one of the very best Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong, popular to the locals as well as tourists, it has held 2 Michelin stars for 3 years but it was dropped to a 1 star rating in the 2014 edition. Not that I am bothered about it as I had a great dinner there last year and that was the reason I returned for lunch. I gathered that there was a new chef in charge who is the previous head chef's brother and ex executive chef at Fook Lam Moon, ranked as one of the Asia 50 best restaurants.
Ming court |
Wednesday 8 January 2014
The Grill at The Dorchester
Christmas dinner with Zomato
Located in the The Dorchester Hotel, one of the most iconic hotels in London's Mayfair on Park Lane, The Grill offers British dishes with a touch of modern vibe. I was invited by the wonderful people from Zomato to join up for a foodies evening there. As you would expect from The Dorchester, the decor of The Grill was elegant and classy, plenty of height with traditional colours and patterns to represent the booming years of the Great British Empire.
We were offered a special 3 course menu and started off with some canapes of mini lobster burgers followed by an amuse bounche of scallop. The lobster had a little too much mayo for my liking which covered the natural sweetness of the lobster meat. I also ordered some classic cocktails throughout the evening from the bar managed by the living cocktail legend Giuliano Morandin. My Sidecar had a perfect balance of Remy Martin, lemon juice and orange liqueur, as I would expect from the old school master.
Thursday 2 January 2014
Cafe Murano
Casual Italian joy
Cafe Murano by Angela Hartnett on St James Street is a new Italian restaurant on the former site of the original, much celebrated Petrus. Heavily focused on Northern Italian food with a regular changing menu depending on available fresh ingredients. The concept of Cafe Murano is pretty much Murano but in a much more casual and simpler manner, diners can have a quick lunch by the bar or just a single item off the menu instead of a full on meal which is ideal for people with little time but demanding high quality food at the same time.
bar |
Warm octopus was tender and moist, great flavour delivered by the well blended pesto with chickpeas in the mix. The sweet and sour mackerel was nicely seasoned, the raisins enhanced the rich flavour from the mackerel while the pinenuts added a nice crunchy texture, I just love how Italians handle seafood, simple ingredients but with bold and flavoursome outcomes.
truffle arancini |
warm octopus, chickpeas, pesto |
mackerel, raisins, pinenuts |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)