Tivo (西環)

Upon arriving at Tivo you will notice the strategic location of it situated across from a relaxing park where you can see performances during some evenings. The design of the place makes it so you can relax in the A/C of he indoors while the glass fixtures can be completly removed so you can also put one foot out and be outdoors at the same time. This squid dish was light and refreshing, a good change from the usual greasy fried calamari. It's bedded on top of a puree that consist of carefully smoked peppers, giving it a spanish & mediterranean taste.Most commonly, red beets are broiled or steamed or used in a juice diet for it is an exceptional super healthy food that's filled with manganese and folate. Don't be afraid of it's color, it's great for keeping heart disease and certain cancers such as colon cancer. This dish is different in the sense that it was slowly roasted, keeping in the rich and sweet flavors of the garden beets. Eat every bite with the sesame piece of cookie and what seemed to be a light cream and it's heavenly.For some reason, growing up in a chinese household, I never ate much brussel sprouts. It was always the usual chinese veges like "gai choy, bok choy, anything you can put before the word choy" however after growing up and having the freedom to try other varieties of "choys", I fell in love with the brussel sprout. For those that cook this, we all know that it takes a bit of practice to perfect. It's very easy to undercook this little guy. You need the right temperature to brown it enough to give it that slight burnt taste because it balances the o-so nuttiness natural flavor of the vegetable but you don't want it overcooked because then it's just mushy. This dish was enhanced with hazelnuts which made it even more nutty in flavor. Honestly I would recomend a different type of nut to sprinkle on top, or no nuts, because black peppercorns go very well with brussel sprouts. Overall, I thought the sprouts were cooked well, you can tell by the color in the picture that the brown is very even and it wasn't overcooked so the leaves were shedding or wilting/folding over. Give this dish a try if you are a brussel lover.Doesn't this remind you of the peking duck bun? My original thought was, if you've got the creative guts to try to imitate a dish that is already so delicious and well established, you better know what you're doing. This chef knew his stuff. This beef cheek was meltingly tender and I can eat this when I'm 93 years old when I have no teeth. Drizzle some of the hot sauce it comes with and some of the special brown sauce that looks like a gravy and it's good to go. I liked that it wasn't the usual hoisin sauce because it would taste too much like the original peking duck. The only thing I'd want to change about this dish is perhaps adding just a little bit of a certain green vegetable to it because it's missing the crunch that a peking duck skin would add to it.This is a unique type of pizza you won't find at no pizza hut. I still don't think that raw foods being put on warm bread is a good combo, especially fish because it cooks so easily. Making this a very difficult lukewarm dish to prepare. The ginger sauce for this was a bit over the top and strong for my taste. Of all these desserts, the mango one is the bomb. It's like eating a light puffy eggroll with juicy toothsome ripe mangoes inbetween some cream. The brownie pop was rich and dense, but aren't all brownies? 

In conclusion: In conclusion, I felt that a lot of thought and effort went into the dishes prepped by the chefs here. The keyword was balance here. No dish was ever one sided (besides the brussel sprouts) and many different culinary techniques were applied to each dish- baking, braising, roasting, pureeing, browning, pickling. The staff here is quiet attentive and as a bonus, their bathroom doors are pretty cool- check them out below!

Across from relaxing park, open feel with no walls between restaurant and outdoor

Glasshouse (中環)

We had reservations here at 6:30pm and when we got there, a table was ready for us. The view towards the harbour was outstanding from the IFC building and it's a great spot for a romantic dinner or a girls night out. 

The Food: Where to begin. We had the calamari appetizer and it was very subpar, the batter was too light so it was bland chewing what seemed to be like cut up Udon pieces + rubber band. More than the half the order was a bed of greens.

Another appetizer that was a bit better was the spicy singaporean noodles. Finally, a singaporean noodle that is spicy enough and flavorful enough to escape from the usual curry taste of it.

Next up is the Foie Gras appetizer. This is another highlight of the night, the Foie Gras presentation a bit strange on a long plate, the length of my arm, with one piece on each side and two slices of mandarin orange in the middle. It was a nice piece of Foie Gras sitting on some what appeared to be sweet jelly and finally a piece of wheat baguette. Not bad.

Drink wise, I ordered the happy hour (5pm-9pm) red house wine. Except it took so long (30mins+) that I was able to cancel it when it was brought to my attention that they had a Macallan 12 year old single malt whiskey for under $100HKD. This is where I want to rage. I ordered it on the rocks and they had the nerves to serve it to me with small ICE CUBES. WHO DOES THAT?!?! Please, let me order you some silicone king cube ice trays or a whiskey ball ice tray. I want to save you embarassment from the whiskey and scotch connoisseurs out there. 

Also, I went with a friend who ordered a cocktail since we sat down, after we finished our meal, it was still not here. Management politely appologized and quickly got his drink.

Dessert: We had the banana creme brulee which is literally set on fire for you - BUT- you must request it. Our's came torched already, with the banana on top carmelized from the melted sugar. It was inconsistent with the last visit, where they bring the dessert to you first, then light it ablaze before you. My friend wanted to see the fire effect to get a picture, so a bartender made his way here with a bottle of Bacardi and lighter, except the flame was smaller than when you light a match. So if you want to "wow!" that girlfriend or girl you're trying to impress, make sure you ask for this  When she becomes so amazed and impressed and falls madly in love with you, be sure to send me the wedding invitation.

Conclusion: The staff here was frantically running around here like it was opening day. I don't blame them since they have only been open since January 2014. I once was a manager for an upscale restaurant and it truly does take time for management to get the fundamentals down. Is it an excuse to miss two drinks that were ordered? No. For the price that was paid and the amount and quality of the food, I would give it 5/10. I don't think I will be back unless I want to come back for the Macallans while sitting by a window or patio to overlook the beautiful harbour view. Don't come for the food, come for the view.

Make a reservation, don't expect great customer service during a busy night- they're still learning

澳洲牛奶公司 (佐敦)

If you're looking for something quick and don't mind sitting next to some strangers (which is very common in HK due to it's massive dense population) this is the place. I mean quick, quicker than you can wait through a drive-thru in the USA, get your food, and eat it in the car before you exit the parking lot. Saves you the trouble of getting food stains on your clothes too 

The food: Personally, the food here is very standard here. We're talking macaroni pasta in what reminds me of Campbells chicken noodle soup with some slices of luncheon ham and char-sui (bbq pork). The exception is they make a very delightful scrambled egg here. Somehow, they've mastered in putting the exact amount of cream and butter in it to make the scrambled eggs runny enough to slide down a slide if it were ever in that kind of situation... So be sure to get the scrambled egg!! It will be the most luscious, soft, and milky runny egg you've ever had.
They also have a very good "dun daan" which is steamed egg custard dessert primarily made of milk, egg, sugar, and vanilla extra. They have an egg-white version only and a regular (with the egg yolk), comes in hot n cold. Depending on your mood, I recomend both the hot and cold.

The service: Wow, this place is full of waiters in their white uniform and the thing that strikes me the most is they are all upper middle aged men who looks like they were all brothers born with the same parent. Their attitude is even similiar- they aren't the nicest and will slam your food on the table. I'll give them a break since they all need to do that to keep the flow of things speedy. Ask, and you shall receive in an expeditious, unpolished manner. They get it done to get the next customers in. 

Please line up and refrain from petting the white kitty cat that's next door.