Fuel Espresso
Shop 3023, 3/F
(opp. back entrance of Lane Crawford, men's accessories dept., just off the escalators)
ifc mall
Central
Hong Kong
Monday, February 23, 2009
Coffee in Hong Kong - mall find
Just a quick one to say I finally tried Fuel Espresso in ifc. It's a Kiwi company (didn't know this when I went), and I can say it's pretty consistent with previous positive experiences with my fellow Australasian coffee geeks. Seating-wise it's bar-stools only, so not so much fr lingering as quick coffee breaks alla Italiano, but in an act of identity crisis there are handy power points for laptop users... Anyway, yay to more good/acceptable coffee in HK!
Fuel Espresso
Shop 3023, 3/F
(opp. back entrance of Lane Crawford, men's accessories dept., just off the escalators)
ifc mall
Central
Hong Kong
Fuel Espresso
Shop 3023, 3/F
(opp. back entrance of Lane Crawford, men's accessories dept., just off the escalators)
ifc mall
Central
Hong Kong
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
John Lethlean leaves The Age
... for The Australian???
In his restaurant gossip column Espresso, inside Tuesday food supplement Epicure of 23 Dec 2008, John ends with the below:
In his restaurant gossip column Espresso, inside Tuesday food supplement Epicure of 23 Dec 2008, John ends with the below:
A parting word of thanks
ON A personal note, this is my last Espresso column for Epicure after nearly 11 years of attempting to bring readers an insight into the restaurant scene of Victoria and abroad.
Indeed, this week's review of Mirka is my last for The Age too. It has been a privilege to work for Epicure over that time.
Thank you for reading.
According to 1001 Dinners, he was escorted out of the building, and Necia Wilden, his co-editor for the Good Food Guide 2009 as colleague in Epicure, has also resigned.
Word has it (see Tomatom) that they're both going to The Australian. Hmm...
John Lethlean used to be the reason I subscribed to The Age, but his reviews of late have been weird, to say the least, and the Good Food Guide 2009 was quite frankly a disaster. At first I was still so confident about it that I went (and dragged all my friends with me) to Punch Lane, which was awarded one hat this year. Needless to say it was a total disaster. (23 Mar 09 - re-reading this I realised I wrote 'disaster' twice - I guess it was one then). Now, it would be unfair to judge on this event alone, but I'm not the only one who's noticed the drop in the quality of the once-great JL's reviews, many a loyal reader within my circle of friends have felt the same way too. (Okay, so it's not the fairest sample, but what can I do - conduct a survey and write a thesis?)
In any case, I'll be interested to see how it pans out. Good luck to them.
Friday, January 30, 2009
War of the plates
There are two cities to which our little SAR is often compared - a) Shanghai and b) Singapore. All three places are renowned for excellent local cuisine, but it seems that the battle on the western front has yet to be won.
Shanghai is probably the weakest in this respect, given the relative lateness that her country has opened itself up to the rest of the world, though I dare say, like in many other aspects of modern life, she is catching up at an alarming pace.
Hong Kong and Singapore seem likely equals - though I might suggest the latter does better in the non-hotel restaurants category.
When one city invades the other with its culinary prowess, should the invaded admit defeat or victory? Allow me to explain. Defeat, because local restauranteurs have either not seen, or not had the skills to fill a gap in the market that the invader has landed upon; victory because the invaded has lured the invader onto their soil?
Hong Kong has seen such an invasion recently, that of Cepage, newest offspring of the prolific Les Amis restaurant group from Singapore (who own an eponymous new French fine diner, Canele patisserie etc.). They've taken over the old Ingredients space on Wing Fung Street (Star Street area, Wanchai) and, in my opinion, have launched an attack on the Hong Kong dining scene that local F&B providers should be afraid of.
In terms of interior design, it doesn't look like much has been done (if the owners see this they may want to kill me) - a fresh lick of paint, wallpaper, furniture, a bathroom remodeling maybe - but no significant structural changes to make us forget the corporate bigwig feel of the erstwhile Ingredients. (The glass cellar, understandably, has been kept - it's pretty cool and to knock it down and build another for the sake of change would be a waste, really.)
So the food. We went for lunch, which is, for now (and for Hong Kong), a complete bargain. Two courses go for $200+, three courses $300+ and a menu gourmand of 4 courses for $460, which is what we went for.
Amuse bouche - venison with Jerusalem artichoke puree
Pretty big serve for an amuse! Very well done nonetheless; the venison was perfect - rare, but not bloody, tender without being textureless. The puree was super creamy... yum
Oysters with green apple gelee
Not entirely successful - first of all because the menu promised Kumamoto oysters, which as you can see, were not delivered. These are French (can't remember the exact type). They were probably freshly shucked ans plenty of seawater was left in it as proof - not a good idea - it was wayyyy salty and the apple gelee did absolutely zilch. I do regret about not voicing out about this (the oyster switcharound and the let down that this dish was).
Entree (or appetizer, so as not to confuse the Americans) - poached organic egg with pork rind, mixed mushrooms and black truffle.
Fabulous! I love a poached egg, and this one was perfect. The pork and stewed mushrooms melded into one big, gloopy, wholesome mess made for indulgent spooning. Make sure you have enough bread to mop up the rest.
Main - mourning chicken
Well, that's what it is, but not what they called it - to them it was just spring chicken stuffed with black truffle. Look a bit dry to you? It did to me too, but it was pretty damn tender inside. The weeny bit of jus (not pictured) helped too.
Dessert was a chocolate fondant with white chocolate filling and vanilla ice cream (no pictures, sorry, because by then I had had too much of the lethal cocktail of empty stomach + Krug + Chateauneuf du Pape). Not earthshattering, but good nonetheless. Along with the petit fours, they also served some freshly made chocolate madeleines, which was a nice touch, though the cakes themselves were a little dry, imho. And - drumroll - the coffee was decent!
A note about the service - all in all fantastic, if a little uptight (we were one of only two tables that day, and sometimes I feel the staff were lurking a little - or maybe it was just the indifferent decor), but they deserve a gold medal for offering my vegetarian friend choices for her menu (I called them the night before to tell them that I'd have a vego guest) and most of the time, we thought her dishes were even better than ours! The sommelier even offered her a complimentary glass of wine that he felt better suited her meal - I hope this kind of attention to detail stays as the guest volumes increase.
A very satisfying meal. I do hope they survive on enemy land (and under the current economic climate). Call me a traitor, but I'm liking this invasion. Bring it on.
Shanghai is probably the weakest in this respect, given the relative lateness that her country has opened itself up to the rest of the world, though I dare say, like in many other aspects of modern life, she is catching up at an alarming pace.
Hong Kong and Singapore seem likely equals - though I might suggest the latter does better in the non-hotel restaurants category.
When one city invades the other with its culinary prowess, should the invaded admit defeat or victory? Allow me to explain. Defeat, because local restauranteurs have either not seen, or not had the skills to fill a gap in the market that the invader has landed upon; victory because the invaded has lured the invader onto their soil?
Hong Kong has seen such an invasion recently, that of Cepage, newest offspring of the prolific Les Amis restaurant group from Singapore (who own an eponymous new French fine diner, Canele patisserie etc.). They've taken over the old Ingredients space on Wing Fung Street (Star Street area, Wanchai) and, in my opinion, have launched an attack on the Hong Kong dining scene that local F&B providers should be afraid of.
In terms of interior design, it doesn't look like much has been done (if the owners see this they may want to kill me) - a fresh lick of paint, wallpaper, furniture, a bathroom remodeling maybe - but no significant structural changes to make us forget the corporate bigwig feel of the erstwhile Ingredients. (The glass cellar, understandably, has been kept - it's pretty cool and to knock it down and build another for the sake of change would be a waste, really.)
So the food. We went for lunch, which is, for now (and for Hong Kong), a complete bargain. Two courses go for $200+, three courses $300+ and a menu gourmand of 4 courses for $460, which is what we went for.
Amuse bouche - venison with Jerusalem artichoke puree
Pretty big serve for an amuse! Very well done nonetheless; the venison was perfect - rare, but not bloody, tender without being textureless. The puree was super creamy... yum
Oysters with green apple gelee
Not entirely successful - first of all because the menu promised Kumamoto oysters, which as you can see, were not delivered. These are French (can't remember the exact type). They were probably freshly shucked ans plenty of seawater was left in it as proof - not a good idea - it was wayyyy salty and the apple gelee did absolutely zilch. I do regret about not voicing out about this (the oyster switcharound and the let down that this dish was).
Entree (or appetizer, so as not to confuse the Americans) - poached organic egg with pork rind, mixed mushrooms and black truffle.
Fabulous! I love a poached egg, and this one was perfect. The pork and stewed mushrooms melded into one big, gloopy, wholesome mess made for indulgent spooning. Make sure you have enough bread to mop up the rest.
Main - mourning chicken
Well, that's what it is, but not what they called it - to them it was just spring chicken stuffed with black truffle. Look a bit dry to you? It did to me too, but it was pretty damn tender inside. The weeny bit of jus (not pictured) helped too.
Dessert was a chocolate fondant with white chocolate filling and vanilla ice cream (no pictures, sorry, because by then I had had too much of the lethal cocktail of empty stomach + Krug + Chateauneuf du Pape). Not earthshattering, but good nonetheless. Along with the petit fours, they also served some freshly made chocolate madeleines, which was a nice touch, though the cakes themselves were a little dry, imho. And - drumroll - the coffee was decent!
A note about the service - all in all fantastic, if a little uptight (we were one of only two tables that day, and sometimes I feel the staff were lurking a little - or maybe it was just the indifferent decor), but they deserve a gold medal for offering my vegetarian friend choices for her menu (I called them the night before to tell them that I'd have a vego guest) and most of the time, we thought her dishes were even better than ours! The sommelier even offered her a complimentary glass of wine that he felt better suited her meal - I hope this kind of attention to detail stays as the guest volumes increase.
A very satisfying meal. I do hope they survive on enemy land (and under the current economic climate). Call me a traitor, but I'm liking this invasion. Bring it on.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Water, water everywhere
So I was in Venice recently - people kept telling me it was super touristy (true, but it was better 'cause this was super low season and the rain was pretty horrible) and that food isn't that great (not so true). About the latter, I have to say I ate better in Venice than I did in Milan. Cost-wise, the bacari / cantina (wine bars) offer a free spread of antipasti in Milan while their Venetian counterparts have a paid tapas-like selection, but apart from the free, fresh mozzarella so often found in Milan, I'd easily pay 1-2 euro for some Venetian baccala (salted cod that is whipped to a creamy paste - delicious) or polpette any day.
Some highlights:
Osteria di Santa Marina
A trattoria lookalike serving creative, yet still traditonal Venetian/Italian fare. 'New Comfort' is probably what I'd call it, for lack of a better phrase in my current jetlagged state. Fresh pastas were lovely as I had one of the better seafood crudo plates here.
Il Ridotto
Modern - from the decor to the cuisine, but not molecular or, god forbid, fusion. Very refreshing for a place so steeped (and tied down) by tradition and history. Had our best wine of the trip, a 2004 Brigaldara Amarone della Valpolicella for only 50 euro! (That's a complete bargain in Hong Kong terms). The surprise menu with 4 courses is also good value at 50 euros, considering mains are around 25 euro. Mains were the main let down (beef cheek slow cooked with cinnamon and cloves - was a bit dry and taste was not as exciting as I'd hoped, the fish (sea bass?) was average, a little overcooked), other dishes were well done and creative without going overboard.
Da Fiore
It's one of only two restaurants in Venice to have a Michelin star (the other is the Met Restaurant at the Metropole Hotel) - whatever - but the food (mostly seafood) was actually good, though don't go in expecting frills and foams a la francaise - the best thing I had here was a simple roasted eel served with raw celery shreds and it was divine.
Al Covo
Written up in just about every tourist guidebook, this place is probably a wee bit overrated and the service a wee bit 'over-enthusiastic American' for my taste (one half of the husband-wife ownership is American), but nonetheless they have an enjoyable, seasonally-aware menu.
Ate lots more, like nougat and hot chocolate, but will have to leave it till later to elaborate...
top to bottom, left to right:
osteria di santa marina: chestnut ravioli with black truffle and pumpkin sauce, fresh pasta with duck (?) and tomato sauce; il ridotto: squid ink ravioli and shrimps, beef cheek on mash, warm panettone-like cake with vanilla bean ice cream; da fiore: roasted eel with raw celery shreds; al covo: very rare top round beef.
Some highlights:
Osteria di Santa Marina
A trattoria lookalike serving creative, yet still traditonal Venetian/Italian fare. 'New Comfort' is probably what I'd call it, for lack of a better phrase in my current jetlagged state. Fresh pastas were lovely as I had one of the better seafood crudo plates here.
Il Ridotto
Modern - from the decor to the cuisine, but not molecular or, god forbid, fusion. Very refreshing for a place so steeped (and tied down) by tradition and history. Had our best wine of the trip, a 2004 Brigaldara Amarone della Valpolicella for only 50 euro! (That's a complete bargain in Hong Kong terms). The surprise menu with 4 courses is also good value at 50 euros, considering mains are around 25 euro. Mains were the main let down (beef cheek slow cooked with cinnamon and cloves - was a bit dry and taste was not as exciting as I'd hoped, the fish (sea bass?) was average, a little overcooked), other dishes were well done and creative without going overboard.
Da Fiore
It's one of only two restaurants in Venice to have a Michelin star (the other is the Met Restaurant at the Metropole Hotel) - whatever - but the food (mostly seafood) was actually good, though don't go in expecting frills and foams a la francaise - the best thing I had here was a simple roasted eel served with raw celery shreds and it was divine.
Al Covo
Written up in just about every tourist guidebook, this place is probably a wee bit overrated and the service a wee bit 'over-enthusiastic American' for my taste (one half of the husband-wife ownership is American), but nonetheless they have an enjoyable, seasonally-aware menu.
Ate lots more, like nougat and hot chocolate, but will have to leave it till later to elaborate...
top to bottom, left to right:
osteria di santa marina: chestnut ravioli with black truffle and pumpkin sauce, fresh pasta with duck (?) and tomato sauce; il ridotto: squid ink ravioli and shrimps, beef cheek on mash, warm panettone-like cake with vanilla bean ice cream; da fiore: roasted eel with raw celery shreds; al covo: very rare top round beef.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Viva Espana!
Hollywood Rd/Wyndham Street trawlers will know that the 'nothing special' Mink bar has been turned into a tapas place. As far as I know, it's still under the same (Aussie) owners and I must admit, I'm quite liking Mink #2. Its actual name is Tapeo, and it's doing a great job as one of the SAR's first tapas places. The food is good, mostly cooked to order and you can perch on the bar that surrounds the open kitchen, watching it all happen.
Tapas is probably a 'has-been' trend in most of the western world, and as the number of places claiming to serve these small plates increased, the quality has tended to go the opposite way. Before you knew it, even the village pub was serving last night's leftovers on saucers and calling them tapas - hence my cynicism when Tapeo first opened in HK. "Tapas is so over," I told my boss when he told me about it, but the promise (or possibility) of chorizo is always hard to resist, and I wasn't disappointed.
We had fried squid, chopped duck liver with egg (sunny side up, so the yolk gets all runny... mm...), various cold cuts and a frittata/omlette thing with roasted bell peppers. The last was probably the most disappointing - didn't really taste of anything, texture was mushy and boring, but everything else was very well done, particularly the liver with egg that had a perfectly golden/deep orange yolk and cooked to be runny, but slightly thick - excellent with bread.
It's easy to get overly excited and over-order, as the dishes aren't actually that little (perhaps the size of 2 saucers), so take a deep breath and order slowly, as it does add up. Or, bring a few more friends so you can try everything :)
Tapeo
15-19 Hollywood Rd
Central
+852 3171 1989
Gasp! Tuscany by H missed by Michelin!?
Let me begin by apologising for this slew of Michelin posts - all I can say is that it's a huge thing for us on this little peck of land, so you'll just have to forgive me.
I think I've looked 50 times. Between Tsui Hang Village and Tycoon Hotpot there is no Tuscany by H.
Why/how could they have missed this? Harlan's and H One, which are no longer under Harlan's ownership btw, are in, and they do food that is far less enjoyable than Tuscany, plus Tuscany is in Central, Lan Kwai Fong, to be exact, which is on many a visitor's trail.
Oh well, guess that just means less tourists!
Aspasia, in my opinion one of the most underrated restaurants in Hong Kong, did actually make it into the guide, though in a secretly selfish way I didn't want it to be. Good thing though that it's on Kowloon side, where average visitors wouldn't go unless they're here for longer - I suspect only dedicated and confident foodie visitors will go the distance, which is fine by me - after all, you can't deny a restaurant of its business.
I think I've looked 50 times. Between Tsui Hang Village and Tycoon Hotpot there is no Tuscany by H.
Why/how could they have missed this? Harlan's and H One, which are no longer under Harlan's ownership btw, are in, and they do food that is far less enjoyable than Tuscany, plus Tuscany is in Central, Lan Kwai Fong, to be exact, which is on many a visitor's trail.
Oh well, guess that just means less tourists!
Aspasia, in my opinion one of the most underrated restaurants in Hong Kong, did actually make it into the guide, though in a secretly selfish way I didn't want it to be. Good thing though that it's on Kowloon side, where average visitors wouldn't go unless they're here for longer - I suspect only dedicated and confident foodie visitors will go the distance, which is fine by me - after all, you can't deny a restaurant of its business.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Michelin Hong Kong & Macao, revisited with commentary
The long-awaited, quasi-mythical Michelin has arrived in HK and planted seeds of controversy!
Here's the list for HK and my 2 cents, for what it's worth (probably precisely 2 cents)
3*
Lung King Heen - the most controversial of all. If LKH can get three stars, why not T'ang Court, Spring Moon, or Yan Toh Heen etc?
3*
Robuchon a Galera - yup, agree.
2*
Tim's Kitchen
1*
Imperial Court (MGM)
Ying (Crown)
The Eight (Lisboa)
Tung Yee Heen (Mandarin Oriental)
Haven't been to any Macao ones except Robuchon, but isn't it funny that they're all hotel restaurants, apart from Tim's?
Here's the list for HK and my 2 cents, for what it's worth (probably precisely 2 cents)
3*
Lung King Heen - the most controversial of all. If LKH can get three stars, why not T'ang Court, Spring Moon, or Yan Toh Heen etc?
2*
Amber - agreed, see my thoughts. In my mind, probably one of the best restaurants in HK
Bo Innovation - never been, because the chef (they call him the "demon chef") seemed
too eclectic and expensive for what he offered
Caprice - can't say I agree, but I know many people like it. My thoughts here
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon - guess I agree, but I still like Amber better!
Shang Palace - one of my fave dim sum places, but 2* is a bit excessive!
Summer Palace - Shang's HK-side equivalent
T’ang Court - one of HK's top Chinese restos, better than LKH, which got 3*.
1*
Fook Lam Moon - old school
Forum - old school abalone place - I don't find it that impressive
Hutong - gimme a break! I love the lamb's ribs they do, but seriously, there are places that do it better in BJ for 1/5 the price. Remember, the stars apply globally!
Lei Garden (IFC) - I haven't been in ages, and it's only good if you've pre-booked all
the good dishes. Also, I hear the one at Elements is now the best, and the Wan Chai one is also much praised by local foodies
Lei Garden (Tsim Sha Tsui) - given Michelin's penchant for pretty restaurants, I'm
surprised (from a decor point of view) that they chose this unremarkable basement
bunker! But food is good here.
Ming Court - very glad they made it onto the list. My favourite old-school Canto
Petrus - yep, agree.
Pierre
Regal Palace - never been! But I can't believe even the Regal got a star and the Pen
didn't!
Shanghai Garden - used to be one of my fave restaurants, nowadays quality varies.
A Maxim's resto
The Golden Leaf
The Square - what the?! Another Maxim's, even within the group there are better outlets
Tim’s Kitchen - never been for dinner; lunch is sloppy
Yung Kee - they just had to be there, didn't they? It's good I guess, but to me, not
the same calibre as Ming CourtThe Macao List:3*
Robuchon a Galera - yup, agree.
2*
Tim's Kitchen
1*
Imperial Court (MGM)
Ying (Crown)
The Eight (Lisboa)
Tung Yee Heen (Mandarin Oriental)
Haven't been to any Macao ones except Robuchon, but isn't it funny that they're all hotel restaurants, apart from Tim's?
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Michelin Hong Kong Announced!
Weird list though...
via Bloomberg
via Bloomberg
Restaurants awarded three stars are:
Lung King Heen
Robuchon a Galera
Restaurants awarded two stars are:
Amber
Bo Innovation
Caprice
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon
Shang Palace
Summer Palace
T’ang Court
Restaurants awarded one star are:
Fook Lam Moon
Forum
Hutong
Lei Garden (IFC)
Lei Garden (Tsim Sha Tsui)
Ming Court
Petrus
Pierre
Regal Palace
Shanghai Garden
The Golden Leaf
The Square
Tim’s Kitchen
Yung Kee
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