鮨森日本料理 (銅鑼灣)

D recommended "Sushi Mori" for dinner. So I hit it up on OR and found a couple of identically named restaurants. I booked this one, thinking it was the right one. But no, apparently D was referring to the one at Caroline Hill Road.

Took a bad risk. 

Environment:
Decent. There is a sushi counter with about 10 seats, and quite a number of tables for parties of 4+. We had a nice cubicle which comfotably seated a party of 5. It is not noisy (Sunday dinner). Nice, simple Jap furnishing. 

Service: 
Decent. Tea was filled reguarly. However, servers could have been better informed about the types of sashimi that were served. 

Food: 
Puffer fish jerky 
Yum. Just like any other meaty jerky, but less meaty in flavor...yeah. Accompanied by QP mayo, yumyum. Balanced sweet/savory marinade. 

Chopped fatty tuna rolls
Interestingly, the rice was brown. I think I prefer white pearl rice which is more chewy and..just suits sushi better. Not remarkable. 

Mackerel nigiri
I was too ambitious, not ready for this yet. The flavour was quite strong and fishy. I have yet to develop the taste for this fish. 

"Red meat tuna" nigiri 
Nice! But I didn't get why the rice is brown. I think the flavour was somewhat affected by the rice. I think the rice wasn't "sticky" enough. 

Tamago  
This tamago was like an eggy, dense sponge cake. It was more sweet than savory and more cake-like than egg-like. I did not expect it to be this way and I prefer the more traditional tamago. This would almost qualify for a dessert.

Unagi (eel) don 
Bad. The star of the show - eel - was extremely rubbery and much of it could not be eaten. It was slightly fishy as well - and didn't have the pleasant grilled flavour that I expected. I thought the sauce would be pretty standard fare but somehow this one managed to be sub par. The rice was well-cooked, but there wasn't enough sauce. I would never order this dish here again - if you want decent Unagi don, go to Sushi Kuu (Central M88). We had a much better experience there, consistently too. 

Stirfried bitter gourd + tofu + egg + pork
The bitter gourd was, honest to its name, bitter. It was mediocre. Can order. 

Stir fried mixed vegetables 
Excellent dish - a mix of cabbage, carrots, shimeji, enoki. Perfectly seasoned. Not too salty, cabbage was just the right crunch. So good that we ordered an encore.  

Grilled miso cod 
The grilled miso cod was well-marinated and tasted fine. The shallow fried veggies served alongside the fish were yummy too - sweet potato and yam(?). However, the fish was not oily enough which resulted in a slightly rougher texture. Sushi Kuu's was better. But this is fine - not bad.

Mixed sashimi 
Did not try - nor did I hear amazing reviews.

Wagyu + eggplant fry up 
Waaay too oily. Eggplant tasted good but was completely immersed in oil; the wagyu was tender and thick cut. I don't really fancy beef so this dish did not impress me. 

Grilled yellowtail collar 
Not bad - there was a fair amount of meat to be shared, and it was not fishy. Not outstanding - not a must-get. It is not on the menu though, so you must ask about availability. 

Oxtail skewers 
Did not try.

Chicken skewers 
This was quite yummy! The chicken was juicy, tender and the sauce drizzled on top was sweet with syrupy consistency. Recommended. 

Conclusion: 
I would visit another restaurant for dinner because what we had was not worth $500 pax. There are dinner sets that go up to $1800 pax...

豪華咖啡茶廳 (灣仔)

This morning, I started craving that moreish corned beef and egg toastie. The last time I had it was four...five? years ago. Hence this entry will be a bit too long as I record my entire experience. Please skip to the last 2 paragraphs for the comment on the food. 

**
I happened to be around Wanchai in the afternoon so I did my due diligence and decided on this paritulcar "ice room". There are two identically named "ice rooms" adjacent to each other. I just picked one of them randomly and sat myself down at one of the small two-seaters. 

A middle-aged waitress, who was sitting with two other lady colleagues lazily at the adjacent table, chit chatting about...something, turned around and asked me what I wanted - about five seconds after I sat down. Sorry, I haven't had time to consider the menu yet. In fact, there wasn't even a menu at my table or on the walls near me. No surprises there - people who come here are assumed to already know what they want, becuase it is all standard "ice room" fare. However, being the rare visitor who is almost a foreigner to ice rooms, I politely asked for the menu. I did not wish to get on the wrong side of the maitre-d'. 
Truthfully, I did not actually need the menu to order what I wanted because I already knew what I wanted. I just wanted to check the prices, and see what offerings they had for afternoon tea. Turns out that they do NOT have an afternoon tea menu which, for an "ice room"/ "local tea house", is quite rare. 

"What do you want?" demanded the waitress, plonking herself on the opposite stool.

"Do you have the corned beef egg toastie?" I inquired casually, trying to sound as local as I could. Then, I asked myself - why? From their accent, I could tell that they came from across the border. To whom was I trying to prove my localness? and for what? Did I feel the need to assert my localness because I felt it was being threatened?? 

"Yes. Toasted?"

"Yes please. Could I have whole wheat bread?"

"No more! We stopped supplying it long ago!" 

Then why is it still on the menu?

"Oh, I see."

"Drink?"

I hesitated. I did not need a drink because I had water, which is my preferred beverage of choice.

She stood up, pen poised over her notepad, waiting. 

The pressure. I gathered myself and decided I wanted an iced drink because it was a sweltering 34 degrees outside. But...but...what goes best with a corned beef and egg toastie? Iced lemon water? Honeyed ice lemon water? Iced chocolate...?

"Drink?" she pressed. 

"Um...a horlick, please."

"Cold?"

"Hot." I said, without even realizing it. I admit that I was slightly distracted, busy surveying my surroundings and pretending to be as aloof as possible to the group of seedy-looking blokes 2 tables away. 

She scribbled something, ripped off a small, brown note from her pad and dropped it on my table. It was my bill. She then sauntered out of the door and presumably into the adjacent store, where the kitchen was located. 

In less than 5 minutes, she returned with my food and drink and set it in front of me. Without a word, she returned to chitchatting with her sistaaas. I understood not a word of what they were saying, but I did not care. The object of my interest was in sight, and it was mine to devour. Although I was not provided with any utensils, and there was no parchment paper wrapped around the sandwich, and there were no napkins, I picked up the sandwich and took a large bite. 
**
Corned beef and egg toastie
I am not crazy about it because: too salty (although very moreish), too oily (hence very filling) and the bread was limp albeit toasted. Also, for some reason the sandwich wasn't hot. -_- The beef + egg fry up was a tad dry, and wasn't fluffy. The bread was too thin therefore did not cut the saltiness of the filling. 

It's just not my thing. Maybe it's a good toastie by normal standards. But I would not go back for it. Maybe a plain egg sandwich next time. The hot horlick drink was average- very sweet, a very generous heap of horlick powder, and I love the taste of horlick, so. 

Conculsion:
A local favorite for sure, but not a personal go-to for lunch. Maybe once in a blue moon. 

中村藤吉香港店 (尖沙咀)

Queued up at the dine-in store for 1.5 hrs... just to learn right before we were seated that they ran out of mochi (both flavours), all parfaits, and hojicha flavored ice cream for the shaved ice bowl. 

Therefore we surrendered our stub and headed here instead. It is a 5-minute stroll away from the dine-in store. 

I got this "parfait" for $53:Consists of:
- 1/2 c. matcha + hojicha soft-serve swirl ice cream;
- 2 glutinous rice balls;
- ~1 tbsp. sweetened, grainy red bean "paste"; 
- 1/2 c. sweetened rice puffs (crisp, and quite sweet) 

Matcha/hojicha ice cream. D observed that the taste of the two were practically indistinguishable. In other words the matcha wasn't strong enough. The whole thing was on the sweet side and rather milky - like any mcdonalds vanilla soft serve. Not the most impressive matcha ice cream in town. 

Glutinous rice balls - disappointingly, one of mine was undercooked and around a quarter of it was quite raw and tough. Properly cooked, they would have been quite moreish, chewy, sticky, with a mild floury (why?) taste. 

Grainy red bean "paste": tooooooo sweet. Not a fan at all, but because matcha and red bean are a classic combination, they were put together. Would have preferred it a little less sweet. 

Sweetened rice puffs: i liked the fact that they were very crisp. In terms of what it's not: Rice Krispies, kamut puffs, rice puff, cheese ums, cheese sticks. Nope, each grain is a rugby-shaped nugget of sweetness. It is light but not airy. Crisp but not crunchy. Best eaten smeared with ice cream, or, when the ice cream melts slightly and coats the rice puffs. The texture is great. Like milk and cereal - sugary version of comfort food. 

Conclusion: 
Overall, not bad, but not outstanding. Definitely will not make a deliberate trip across the harbour just for this. As for a quick matcha ice cream fix - head over to The One - there's a cafe serving 15%, 25%, 40% and 50% matcha ice creams. Now that was a winner.

Plat du Jour (金鐘)

This is one the most pleasurable dining experiences I've had in HK in 2016 (granted, I've only been present in HK for less than a month in total).

Environment:
The restaurant is located inside a mall so...don't expect the authentic al fresco dining experience but at least the outside seating reduced the noise levels. Btw I dined at the corner table (sits 5) of the peripheral circle. You could request the same. 2 chairs + 1 u-shaped sofa to sit 3 comfortably. A merely decorative umbrella protrudes from the center of the dining table.

Service: 
Excellent. Loved all 3 waitresses who attended to us. They were friendly, agreeable and helpful. Also gave you a feeling that you were being taken care of. 

Food:
But...but...the star of the show is...the food! 

Menu: any 2 courses: $235; any 3 courses $275 (supplements required for specified dishes)

Lobster Bisque A well-seasoned lobster bisque, intensely fresh, lobstery, and the consistency was just right - not too thick, but not watery at all. The consistency was similar to that of a proper Borscht soup served at Czarina's, or Queen's cafe (not the watery type). Even my mother who is a picky eater had high praise for this. Recommended. 

"Colossal" Crab cakes I ordered this. I love crab cake. This one was just the right size for me, with a substantial amount of real and fresh crab meat, with a crunchy panko exterior and a soft, moreish interior. It tasted delicious. The seaweed butter medallaion on the top added to the creaminess and the small side salad dressed with a light vinagrette helped to balance out the full, rich flavor. The only improvement I could think of is a reduction of the thickness of the crust, because it is slightly bready and too "crunchy" for a crab cake, which I think requires a katsu-like lightness. However, the flavor was perfect. Highly recommended. 

Saint Maure Salad - goat cheese, haricot verts, cherry tomato, walnuts, red wine vinegar Tried just a bite. Not a big fan of goat cheese although it wasn't too pungent. Mediocre. 

Escargot Bourguignon - sauteed snails, persillade, brioche Dad said . I did not try the escargot itself but scraped off some of the sinful garlic butter, which was, buttery, garlicky, and delicious. I tried not to think about how I was, practically, shamelessly, eating butter. Mmm.

Steamed Sole Fillets  - mushroom duxelles mousse, parsley veloute, straw potatoes I ordered this, and finished 101% of it. This is what made my day, my month. First, I have never had this dish before. Second, don't be deceived by the word "steamed" and think tasteless, bland old peolpe's food. Think fresh, perrrrfectly salted / seasoned, tender, sous vide style fish fillet stuffed sandwiching a delicious mushroom mousse. I wish I took a photo of the cross-section of the fillet, but it tasted too good and I just couldn't think of anything else while ploughing through my entree. 

Must-order while it's still on the menu. Must order. 

Parsley veloute helped add some herby flavor to the fish, making it even more amazing. Straw potatoes added texture - basically a thin french fry, very crisp. 

Perfect dish. Can't stop raving about it. I would have this again anytime.

Cote de Porc The pork was perfectly cooked - juicy, tender in the middle, slightly pink, but seared well on the outside. Nicely seasoned. Apple is always a good complement to pork but I would have preferred something like applesauce as opposed to cubes of cooked apple, because applesauce spreads more easily. Maybe a combination of both elements on the dish would have been perfect. Recommended.

Bouillabaisse (+$50) Lacklustre. Portion too small, and flavour unremarkable - not too fresh. It was surprising because I thought, given the outstanding lobster bisque, it would not be unreasonable to expect amazing things from this dish as well. 

Not recommended. 

 Grilled grass-fed Australian steak (+$200 for two)This is for 2 men. This is a colossal piece of meat. I have no comment because I am not seasoned consumer of steak. I just know that the whole thing was ravenously inhaled by 2 men. When I picked at the meat hanging from the bone, I found that it was very oily and greasy, with a deep smoked/ grilled flavour, which I love (I love anything that's charred). The triple-cooked hand cut chips were...yummy. And so was that barnaise sauce. I think...if you like beef, you would love this. Cooked medium rare. 


Chocolate Fondant when it arrived.No surprises here, just a regular molten lava chocolate cake. Chocolate was slightly on the sweet side, and the vanilla ice cream was, regrettably, not creamy enough. 

Crepe Suzette Not bad. But, not remarkable. This one was slightly overcooked and a little bit thicker than I would have liked. The orange sauce wasn't alcoholic enough and a tad too sweet, so were the candied orange peels. But - all in all - it is not too bad. I think this would be a good choice to end the meal, coz it's very French, and is not too heavy. Liked the citrusy end.

Chocolate cigars for fathers  These were complimentary, and very unappealing. Far too sweet, basically chocolate-covered chocolate ganache. 

Conclusion: 
Will definitely be back for the highlighted items. Their lunch menu is almost identical and also at the same price..curiously. But but. I will be back. 

Sole fillet, don't get switched out yet, pretty please. I want you in my belly one more time.

Brunch Club (中環)

I have been to Brunch Club a couple times in the past. Their quality is standard brunch fare that is consistently up to par. Things that I ordered before ranged from the mushroom risotto to eggs benedict, from salads to apple pie / tiramisu. Yet this time I made a new and pleasantly surprising discovery. 

DID YOU KNOW...
That they have a $85 deal consisting of: 
- x2 eggs, your style 
- bread (english muffin, croissant, whole wheat...) 
- 3 sides (includes protein, veggies, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, fruit, side salad, fruit salad...lots to choose from)?As you can see, I ordered 2 poached eggs, english muffin, smoked salmon, sauteed mushrooms, and a side salad. You might also notice that there is no hollandaise sauce (which I care little for) - but if you really want some, you can have some for an additional fee ($15, i think) You can pick any combination. They can all be protein. You can also add a fourth item for another extra fee (around $15-$25). 

Smoked salmon was std, muffins were std, salad was std, mushrooms were a little juicier and tastier than I imagined and the portion was quite generous. 

So there. Next time you feel like ordering eggs benedict (san hollandaise sauce) with a bit of variation, choose this $85 deal. Note: the $85 deal doesn't come with hash brown or side salad. It will be considered one of the "3 sides". 

Service:
Was great. Some staff do not speak cantonese. C and I sat there for a good 3 hours and nobody hustled us away, nor did anyone ask if we "wanted coffee" or "cared for a slice of cake". Sweet.

Do remember to close the resilient door firmly shut on your way in / out. It's terribly inconvenient for the guests sitting by the door to have to shut it after you.