Had a sudden craving for Coffee in Admiralty and the 1st shop popping up in my mind ? Would you believe Chief: Caffe Habitu!! Especially at the branch under Hutchison Building. (I mean, there's Pacific Coffee and Starbucks too next door... )
Ordered their Seasonal Signature Coffee @ around $56-58: ****************************** ALBA'S WHITE TRUFFLE CREAM CAFFE LATTE - It sounded gimmicky, but that Truffle Cream really did carry a massive dose of White Truffle essence, but since its in creamy form it won't smell great until it starts melting in the coffee and in your mouth.... that's when it really hits! Its quite addictive as it is presented in this form but ultimately becomes overpowering! The coffee base was also pretty acceptable at this branch just as I'd remembered, at least above my @Rex Caffe experience. There's enough Velvety foam and also a much need stronger Espresso base, its surprising that there're inconsistencies amongst the branches and shops. SCORE: 4.0/5.0
MIXED MUSHROOMS SOUP WITH TRUFFLE OIL - This was ok but needed much more wild mushrooms as it was slightly plain and too creamy, also had little whole pieces of mushrooms. I counted 2 only. No signs of Truffle Oil essence was detected either, I think it was forgotten. SCORE: 3.0/5.0
CANNELE - Its strange to see a 'Cannele' in Habitu but at only $7.0 a piece, I forgive their mis-spelling of the Canele! It was reheated by the staff correctly for me in the oven. The centre was slightly eggy but overall it was too spongy with voids, also lacks the sweet-bitterness and rum plus vanilla essence. Not very authentic in texture, it bothered me more than its taste - but at least better than Coco Frans! SCORE: 3.8/5.0 *********************************
先嘗試食個快 LUNCH: ********************************* DAILY LUNCH SET @ $120 - Its the usual stuff really - bit of Salt-Grilled fish, piece of 蒲鉾, warm egg omelette, followed by 3 pieces of flame-grilled Beef, 3 pieces of Panko fried food, Side salad, 2 Pickles, Spinach Ohitashi. Chawanmushi and Miso Soup. After that, the Coffee and a presentable half piece of Orange.
Truth be told, I found this Lunch Set to be slightly expensive for what you get: some other shops charge a lot less and only in th $65-85 range. But you do get very slightly more food here. The execution level is ok-good but dinner is probably better! ******************* NOTE: They have freshly flown in seafoods from Hokkaido each day and during its days in the old shop, they had a lot of seasonal items which attracted its followers. Having said that - I remember bringing one friend there and he really didn't enjoy it too much and thought it over-rated, whereas the original friend who brought me there and I both love this Boss's style, especially his understanding of raw food and seasonal produce!
Its an Omnimous Task: penning any experience about 2 Starred AMBER. Its one of the excuses why I had held back writing about longish fine-dining reviews... its daunting for both me nad you, a possible bore-fest! HAUTE-CUISINE put together by in-house headchef, Richard Ekkebus injects into his food an almagation of heart, soul and profound understanding of food chemistry. Its serious stuff, yet relentlessly playful - combined with a respectful approach to produce, AMBER was destine to create sparks and garner a local Cult Following. Its Motto has always involved the endless bombardment of a series of delightful dishes in quick succession, almost like Rambo firing from a 500 round machine-gun & sometimes involving far too much details than bargainable. Its designed to spoil! An re-enactment of each singular experience proves futille via anything short of a 2,000 word essay, or better still, go visit there yourself ! Nevertheless, here's an experience as brief as I could write it and hopefully remains concise enough for your future reference.
__________________________________________________________________ BREAD BASKET- French butter as served at HK Robuchon L'Atelier and this time also given Chateau d'Estoublon Olive Oil - the latter is for sale here exclusively in HK at roughly $850 per bottle? (CAPRICE carries the same oil but as well.) The no.1 or no.2 world famous Charente Poitou based French butter is good but seems to pale in comparison to Caprice or Pierre's Bretagne option this time, infact I've bought slightly better on the market. The famous French Olive Oil is great and of the 'robust rather aromatically light' spectrum but somehow I still prefer Spanish, Greek and even Australian or Italian. Brand names and reputations aren't guarantees by default!! But the seriousness evident in each nanometer of detail experienced @ AMBER as they strive to bring the best to the customer is respectable. The Olives Bread, Baguette and Scandanavian crisps were amazing. Encore ! __________________________________________________________________ AMUSE BOUCHE-
DUCK FOIE GRAS LOLLIPOP WITH RASPBERRY COATING & BEETROOT - Enjoyed this more than last time, somehow it had a strong Foie taste but balanced by sweet fruitiness from the Raspberry coating and red Beetroot chips! Chuppa-chups that won't break the front teeth!
MELON PUREE & FOAM - 3 months down the track, you tend to forget every last detail of each dish at Amber! But this was really refreshing and came with some Sodium-Alginate based 'molecular' caviars and Peach Foam on top of the Melon Puree?? Nice and not a bit pretentious, its what Amuse Bouche is all about.
IBERIAN HAM CROQUETTE with SPANISH PEPPERS and SPICE - Great and bursting in the mouth, I finally realised this morsel encompasses some form of molecular formula within, it was also executed better than last time. Perhaps the fact the head chef was there ensured it was done to his intended effect. Wine Pairing: Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Brut, NV. __________________________________________________________________ ENTREES -
DUNGENESE CRAB - in 5 TEXTURES & 4 TEMPERATURES: Consisting of a 5 small dishes: Jello, Salad, Foam, Hot Bisque & Crab Ice-Cream, this had little Crab essence and somehow seemed messier than is integrally amazing! The potential execution wasn't there and it didn't satisfy the hype behind the experimental Signature entree! Enjoyable - but personally Dungeness crab is not my preferred crab, it lacks outright crab sweetness compared to non-frozen Red Alaskan.
DUCK FOIE GRAS - ARGELETTE CIDER & APRICOT BAR: Topped with almonds and shaved Biscotti, the Foie Gras de Canard in Pate form is kind of more solid but way more pungent in flavours than a smoother, more sophisticated Goose foie gras. Its a tradeoff I'm prepared to take and is completely within expected scope. In France these days, most restaurants serve the stronger Duck rather than gavaged and more melty Goose Foie Gras. I like both: they simply require separate judging systems by the user! This was done quite well for what it is. The Argelette Cider jellies and the Apricotty jamminess is beating along the same groove as the foie... The almonds & biscotti were more ornamental than really necessary, yet, one must give kudos to the chef for even bothering to distract us! Wine Pairing: Jurancon Noble Sweet, Manseng Grapes from Southern Rhone Valley __________________________________________________________________ MAIN COURSES -
US PRIME BEEF SIRLOIN - 72 HOURS BRAISED OXTAIL OVER MUSHROOM MOUSSELINE, CHICKPEA PONT NEUF: This was done absolutely fabulously, better than seafood dishes I encountered last time. The Sirloin was just about perfect and floated in its stock sauce, the Girolles pairing well with the master. The slow braised Oxtail was 'utterly amazing' and full of naturally deduced gelatinous-gravy and even gamey flavour, the Mousseline below fitting in tremendously as a concept. The Chickpea battered 'chips' were surprisingly not made of chickpea internals like the ubiquitous chickpea chips but its mashed potatoes with a chickpea coating! THIS, I'm telling you, is definitely one of the best fries I've ever devoured. I still need to try Alain Ducasse Spoon's famous slow-cooked before frying Pont Neuf to compare though! All 3 components in the dish were great, but somehow they existed as separate elements rather than a sum of its parts, is that nickpicking. Wine Pairing: Chateau d'Arlus, Braucol blend from AOC Gaillac.
MIERAL BRESSE DUCK - BREAST ROASTED, LEG MINCED & SERVED AS A PATE, BEETROOTS & BLACK PEPPERED CHERRIES: This croise duck dish reminds me of Challans poultry. Bresse is more known for its chicken but its Duck receives lesser applause, whereas the opposite is true of Challanaise chicken products compared to the duck. Its funny sometimes, its all contrived by mankind ! This duck was cooked 90% perfectly - juicy, moist and pink with a slight blood presence. Its seasoned well and the skin even crisped. The stack of Beetroots topped with pickled Turnips really accentuates the duck breast experience, the Cherry being seasonal another smart addition. Just like the Steak, the separate auxilliary dish of Minced Duck Leg in the form of an inverted duck pate pie was gorgeous! Somehow, these 2 main course dishes were opposite of what I expected from Amber - nearly perfectly executed, but minus the fuss. On the negative side, they're slightly disintegrated and fell foul from having a strong core theme. Separated from 1 dish into 2, it also brings into question what exactly should a foodie ask for during a dine-out session: would you take 2 presents which one supplements the other, or would you rather receive 1 Grand Prize with an all conquering & integrated concept? I'm happy with both approaches, but true Michelin 3 Star restaurants might not agree. Nevertheless, this was the Dish of the Day for us. Wine Pairing: Pinot Noir from Stefano Lubiana Primavera, Australia __________________________________________________________________ PRE DESSERT & 3 DESSERTS-:
PRE-DESSERT - STRAWBERRY IN JELLO with BALSAMIC & YOGHURT FOAM: This was great, the Yoghurt lined with Aged Balsamic beneath and embellished by Flower Pedal, the Jello proved beautifully refreshening as palate cleanser!
WHITE PEACH POACHED IN LEMON VERBENA WITH GRANITE: White Peach was in season and the poaching in Verbena solution with their respective julienned Herbal Leaves adorned the top, which makes it grassily aromatic yet tangy! The sorbet Granite on the other hand was a perfect summer dessert, supported by an unassuming but enjoyable flat Peach jello under. This tasted way better than it looks!
MACADAMIA CREME BRULEE & CARAMEL ICE CREAM: This was good, the Roasted then Caramelised Macadamia nut was also coated with Fleur de Sale salt despite the lack of mentioning on menu. In fact - unlike many other restaurants, nearly ALL dishes in Amber have a tendency to surprise with additional steps and thoughfulness. One could miss them completely as its not revealed on fineprint - so you need to pay attention to the waitstaff as they describe to you each singular detail. I'm 100% certain I missed some details as I didn't jot notes, perhaps I should next time and treat it as another educational trip, but I'm too shy! Ice Cream was slightly melty here, but the Creme Brulee was excellent and suffered none of the hard crustiness sugar not gelatin-based 'hard' creme bases served at most HK shops. Here in the ramekin, they're steam-baked properly as per original recipe and slightly runny....
ARAGUANI CHOCOLATE FONDANT, COLOMBIAN COFFEE ICE CREAM: This is a flourless-fondant and should not be compared to the normal gateau-like fondants with molten centres. Here, its airy and fluffy, almost like a choco souffle. It was a lovely dessert with strong Valrhona chocolate influence. Again, ice cream slightly melted and almost tasted like a frozen Starbucks frappucino than a real Columbian coffee. Nevertheless..... all 4 desserts were more tastier than the photos can suggest but generally, not as inventive nor painstaking in preparation as last time. __________________________________________________________________ ANTHONY BERNARD CHEESES: From memory, consisting of BRIE, CHAROLAIS, MUNSTER and FOURME D'AMBERT? It comes with an amazing passionfruit-mango chutney infused with seeded mustard ! The slightly runny Brie was a good cheese starting point and not too overwhelming, Charolais was refreshingly strong being majoritively sheep's milk in composition, Munster is smelly but not as pungent as when it reaches its worst potential when ripened to the max! I'm in my infancy stage learning about the hundreds of French cheeses but I happen to know this one - the cowy Blue Cheese really hasn't been a favourite but I wasn't allowed to choose - its mainly saltiness and creaminess, there're 2-3 other European Blue Cheeses I'd tried that has better sophistication & endlessly lingering sweetness and nuttiness. Nevertheless this was a good platter but its missing the awesome salad I had last time! Wine Pairing: Passito Rosso from Luca Abrate Sognando, Italy & previous Jurancon Noble. __________________________________________________________________ HOT DRINKS:
CAPPUCINO - Made slightly better than the last trip, its quite old-school Italian or Hotel-like in technique! Not my drink today, I hate coffee .
TEA - An Orange Pekoe from memory, it was very good & better than the coffee. Mandarin Oriental teas are always exceptional. __________________________________________________________________ PETIT FOUR: The Petit Four selections are nothing short of AMAZING. Even better than last time! The Strawberry tart with Raspberry jelly was pretty, the Turkish Coffee Macaron were perfectly crisp yet chewy, the inside filling grainy and carried that Turkish coffee 'Dates' like sweetness & spice, its addictive and innovative! Another side-plate of Marshmallows and Minty chocolates plus Salted Caramel praline were nearly as good as Valrhona or Jean Paul Hevin's versions. Amazing feat! One of the most perfectly executed Petit Four courses I've encountered but perhaps done and moulded so politically well, to the point it doesn't belong to a restaurant but a chocolate shop. Is that a praise? It depends on your intepretation.
FOR ROUGHLY $750 AFTER 10%, INCLUDING ALL THE ABOVE AND 4 GLASSES OF WINE - AMBER SHOWS A LOT OF HEART AND PRIDE AND DARE I SAY BUSINESS ETHICS. THE SERVICE IS WARM AND FRIENDLY, STAFF 'WING' AND THE SOMMELIER KNEW EVERYTHING ABOUT HERE: THE ALOOF YET INTUITIVE, FRENCH-LIKE SERVICES AT CAPRICE AND PIERRE ARE MORE INTERNATIONAL BY STANDARDS... BUT AMBER IS WARMER AND ASIAN CUSTOMERS EXPECT TO BE PAMPERED ENDLESSLY: EACH TO THEIR OWN.
This time around, the food tasted better and with better execution with slightly less visual flair. Its spontaneously 'Theatrical' yet unpretentious, but somehow lacked that really strong theme involving centrally integrated core dishes as seen in 3 Star or even real 2 Star restaurants abroad and the reason I haven't brought myself to visit at night time as yet. Sometimes, the difference between 1 to 3 stars is not as big as gap as it seems, especially when it comes to Michelin's Rating standards: CAPRICE is slightly better 'positioned for upgrade' in my opinion but I'm sure the majority would disagree - but I obviously say that with my own reason and perhaps I'll explain more when the time comes... This meal was still funky and great, it did everything so well with few vices. Highly satisfying vs Price factor, but I have had better in other countries, the Experiences which mesmerize and completely encapsulate the audience with its ingenuity from the 1st to the End course. Here - it was more entertaining. Judging this as a singular experience rather than as a summary judgment of the restaurant, since it will fluctuate accordingly knowing that Haute Cuisine menus rotate on chef's innovation rather than only seasonality, unlike many Chinese food menus, I rate this Meal:
FOOD EXECUTION & PRODUCE: HIGH '4' to MID '5' INTEGRATION OF THEMES : '3.0'
OVERALL: HIGH '4' - LOW '5'
Hopefully Get to Pen More Of Other Fine Dining Meals soon... when the Mood Suits!
Came here for dinner 1 night for a bit of a chat with others:
*********************** GARLIC BREAD - This is the Foil-Wrap baked roll type rather than individually Slice-baked, so only the crust is crispy but the inside is very soft. Despite looking like it had good butter and herbs plus garlic, it lacks all of these tastes especially the garlic bit.
SEAFOOD SYMPHONY 12" - Mixed Seafood, Mozzarella, Onion and Mustard Cream Sauce - You get 2 Choices of Pizza Base here, either Thick Pan or Thin. I opted for Thick because I wanted that American style of pizza this time around! When this arrived, it was obvious to me already that there's something terribly wrong - the pizza was actually WATERY! The mixed seafood were obviously pre-frozen stuff and as they were baked, they started shrinking and leaked out water like a sponge!
As we downed more slices, the remaining pizza slices had 'water' which started leaking onto the timber board it was served in! Back to the taste, the seafood were mainly rubbery and the sauce was as boring as it can get. The prawns were noticeable not distributed properly as 2 slices had more whereas some had none! We had to re-distribute the prawns ourselves. The pizza dough, being too WET from the water was obviously not holding its shape but nevertheless it wouldn't have been good anyway as it was lacking the elasticity one sorts after.
PESTO ANGEL HAIR WITH MUSHROOMS - I hate ordering Angel Hair or Capellini at restaurants - inevitably its always overcooked and sticks together like an Angel hasn't washed her hair for months! This fate was experienced again over here. The so called Pesto sauce was tasteless, not even a hint of Basil herb or even garlic was detected, it was also diluted with too much cream! The mushrooms were also bland. This pasta was honestly very disappointing.
*********************** OVERALL - Disappointing experience and nowhere near the quality of California Kitchen. Just marginally better than Pizza Hut, except the latter's pizza is slightly better but with worst pastas.
Order Counter. Easy to forget when Seated on Couch
Came here 1 night searching frantically for presents at the JFT mall (for myself mostly!), a new concept store from Japan that imports upscale youngster's fashion-consumables, occasionally you even see the odd actors and actresses shopping. Treading through 3 stories of labyrinth-like partitions and angular staircases, the experience in the mind of the customer reminds one of a shopping spree trip along the trendy Shibuya & adjacent Harajuku strips and the hidden upstair areas . Despite the young labels its pricey materials and futuristic designs - an opulent affair.
On the 3rd Level, hidden in the back corner behind, lies the JFT Cafe. With free Wi-Fi access and bucket couches covered in blood-red upholstery, they hug the backside just like beany bags. Together with a strangely designed layout of flooded lighting to make very contrasting dark and light space-voids, one could become subconsciouly induced into a comatosed sleep before you realise it had hit! AND HERE'S A REMINDER: DON'T FORGET THE COFFEE, ITS GOOD!
CAFFE LATTE: Made well by the well trained barista, it looks smart with adorned latte art and proved just as great to drink. Although its a well known locally roasted coffee - they chose a rarer blend not usually utilised at other places. For once, the base espresso shot seemed overpowered by the sweetish milk and froth rather than the other way around, but if you sip it slowly to enjoy your stay, you'll find it does manifest itself in a milder, feminine way. Its a coffee perfect for night time! Good molasse-based brown sugar is provided for usage, but I'm sweet enough myself, thanks very much!
This place is starting to grow on me and has become an alright place to enjoy a casual Happy Hour drink. Although it doesn't ooze class and there are a myriad of better places to show off and take your friends to, at least its Down-to-Earth here without the pretentious humans ruining the whole show. Probably one of the reasons why it attracts more Westernern customers on the whole.
They have a good selection of International and Belgian Beers on tap, bottle and good Wines. I noticed that as of late - they've even bagan to upsize to a more entensive range of Bottled Beers as well. The Wines by the glass are quite a Quaffable quality rather than the OEM stuff one finds in wedding dinners, its not purely dictated by proprietor's greed for income.
1) HAPPY HOUR is 5-9pm every day of the week. 2) AFTER 9pm, they also have daily Special Discounts.
Service can be great sometimes, a bit patchy on other busier days. You even get to meet strangers and have a chat with them.
**************** 雪菜肉絲手擀麵 - My 1st choice was initially their Hand-Cut Noodles version (刀削麵). The Manually Shaven-by-Machine Noodles (手擀麵) however became interesting since its wider and compressed to a constant thickness, much like Pappardelles or my experience @ 壹碗麵: http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2041586. I needed o make a comparison!
Ordering the 雪菜肉絲 version is probably inauthentic as well since its more Cantonese than 蘭州 but I wanted a lighter meal! I never knew 手擀麵 is part of 蘭州拉麵 either, the ones I normally eat overseas are mainly normal Thin Strands or the Hand-Cut (刀削麵) versions, whereas Taiwanese versions add a few more twists with options such as Cat Ear Noodles! Don't expect any Eggy taste because 蘭州拉麵's dough has no eggs: here, the very thin noodles were surprisingly chewy and retained a positive bouncifulness, although a few strands were stuck together. It also had an 'acquired taste' which I'm not familiar with (I never paid attention before!). Apparently its called 蓬灰 and is used to make the dough!
The (雪菜) component isn't fresh (雪裡紅) as was expected but it encompassed a strange smokey flavour, the Shredded Meat (肉絲) was slightly dry-ish. This bowl of noodles wasn't great, even the clear soup was mediocre - but the noodles made up for the overall experience, not forgetting that I ordered the wrong dish deliberately tonight.
宮廷餃 - This was also not my 1st prefernce, as I was determined to order a strange dish called (生煎小龍包). Yet I ended up wanting some Eggs with my Dumplings. They were fried just like (窩貼) but on both the Top and Bottom sides rather than only the bottom, after which eggs were added during the frying process.
This was better than expected - the seasoned pork was leaner than expected for a Chinese Food shop, I believe many items here are slightly localised deliberately! It went well with the Free Soy Milk drink I was given. ******************* OVERALL - Quite an Affordable Restaurant and although not Impressive, it was executed to an acceptable standard and hygienic enough at the minimum.
They use 豬骨湯底 here. The ingredients are ok and fresh, the 牛肚 especially absorbed the broth yet natural, the 韮菜 surprisingly cooked quite well and not stringy. The biggest problem is the Home-made Spinach noodles. Its completely lumped together and much softer than the Fujian noodles I had at 閩南小菜館, they also crumble apart like an Acropolis scene! It looks Dull-Grey with sparsely distributed flecks of Green, rather than mostly Spinach coloured Green as on the photos - very deceiving and 貨不對版.
Even the Chef noticed this automatically from my bowl and to his credit offered to swap me some white noodles for free.... look - it was a good gesture but the damage was done because from my point of view he would definitely have known during the cooking but decided to try pull a dodgey one and passed it to the customer anyway. _____________________________________
Already tried the original Central TW store months ago and the machinery they possess there would never make a good coffee. The result was disastrous there, worst than Starbucks running on similar fully Automatic Machine! Having said that Tsit Wing is successful in Hong Kong for a reason - its does its job correctly as a central coffee supplier!
Over here a few months ago, I ordered: ******* HOUSE BLEND CAFFE LATTE - Unlike its sister shop, my 100% Arabica Beans derived coffee was made from a much more sophisticated Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine - the resulting cup tastes very similar to McCafe but I would say even better!! It has a long lingering 'roasty' character with an expected Chocolatey & Hazelnutty like mouthfeel and aroma, perfectly balanced in acidity. Its quite commercialised and engineered to satisfy the 香 & 膿 profile people expect from a coffee. Its the type of blend and roasting procedure which pays little respect to its original Coffee Berrie's Terroir and Genetics and their appreciated characteristics. The coffee here today was really enjoyable and made well - it epitomises Commercialised espresso-based Coffee and should be given credit accordingly. Well Done!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - but bearing in mind, this isn't exactly real coffee and what it is only about. An analogy is like Deep Frying you Fresh Chicken (新鮮雞) and then telling everybody its crispy, roasty and aromatic..... therefore you give it good marks. So whatever happened to steaming or slow-poaching the chicken, to appreciate its desired original chicken flavours? Or original coffee flavours without the 'roasty' character? Well apparently - this RULE is only applicable when it suits!
Ordered 2 skewers, cooked on Heating Element stove mixed with Charcoal... Not really the real charcoal or wood-smoking deal. 1 skewer was meant to be Chicken Thigh, 1 suppose to be Chicken Breast, as per the menu. When my order finally came, in fact its already been sitting on a dish and turned cold - 2ndly I asked the shop why both pieces looked the same?
Apparently the guy looked into my bag then came up with a lame excuse - oh disregard the menu, they're meant to be the same. WTF. The chicken skewers were slightly seasoned with a strange spice combination. Probably cumin mixed with some kind of sour herb and grinded pepper and what tasted like preserved lemon powder. Then basted with an overly thin soy-based sauce. The texture was ultra tough and left unfinished, it was not good at all. For $5.0 a skewer...... one surely shouldn't expect much but the long term shop next to the MTR Station does much better sticks. Or else there's Yakitori Tei opposite which is better but 4 times the price.
I have always thought 雪花冰 are all meant to taste similar - but here's the lesson I learnt after eating here. Never make that assumption! After trying 糖百府 3x , I was actually quite impressed at the loyalty to the advertised flavours on the menu,as well as the flaky, melts in the mouth snow-like texture. Perhaps after trying here, I should write a review of there to be fair!
- Came here to try the Green Tea Flavour to compare - it was icy, lacks green tea flavour and ultra thick in layers, more like crystallized ice than snow. It was like Heaven and Hell, the difference between here and 糖百府. - Also ordered a warm Tofu Curd - this fared better but was a bit too firm.
差成條街, literally too! Can't wait for another 糖百府 branch to open just 1 street away from here soon. (@ 威非老道)
TOMATO BAGEL - EMMENTAL CHEESE + SMOKED TURKEY + AVOCADO - I haven't tried YO BAGO to compare to here as they were closed whenever I got there. Harvest's Bagel however is quite expensive at $48 with little filling. The 'Tomato Bagel' turned out to be a dough infused with semi-fried tomatoes - slightly misleading. The Bagel itself was intended to replicate the New York experience. Unfortunately the TEXTURE was a bit tragical: the centre was too dense as it was clumpily wet, more like playdough but minus the all important chewiness factor! ... I suspect the dough formula is somehow amiss or they were over-boiled in water, or the cooking wasn't perfect. ITS AT BEST, A BAGEL LOOKALIKE. (Perhaps not surprisingly, HARVEST also couldn't decide on whether Bagels got invented in 1683 or 1783 in their Histories Column, as there's mis-prints on the tray liner sheet as it showed two versions!)
The ingredients were fresh but suffers from being ungenerous. I wasn't expecting a stack of fillings but the very thin shavings of food sandwiched inbetween could not even lend flavours that penetrate through the carbohydrate once its in your mouth.
CAPPUCINO - An Openrice friend once told me the coffee here is ok-good. Hope she doesn't mind me saying (I'm sure she can agree to disagree, at least sometimes! ) but my coffee this time was too scolding hot and in the end I couldn't finish it as the milk tasted burnt. May be another person making it would fare much better. It has some easy-to-please flavours, mainly caramel and the trademark Swiss vanilla plus a hint of smokiness. It a very likeable coffee and reminds me of Starbucks! **************************
Wanted to come for lunch and like their Bagels on a regular basis - its not easy to strike the 'lunch' double bonanza by finding a free table plus eat decent food all at once in Central, with all the mad dashes by fellow lunch goers! The result here was slightly below expectations and at this price range I would rather exercise my other options...
海逸君綽酒店 "和" was scheduled to open around July and I was anticipating a trip to try S佐藤-san's 手握り & 手鞠 sushi. However they had a delay until September. For some reason, from then on I never quite made it to visit as planned until November, despite living close by. Considering this is situated in yet another Harbour Grand Hotel - one wouldn't normally expect to find such high quality Japanese restaurants in this establishment. Especially one with only 18 seats!
************************** Ordered a Upper-End Sushi Set at Night rather than Omakase Courses (which include Hot Food as well). All seafood choices are decided by the Head Chef, then I also placed additional orders after thought completely forgetting the 手鞠 Foie-Gras sushi I was meant to order, I guess next time! The fish and shellfishes are all imported from Japan and are never frozen, some really seasonal and rare choices of fishes are available:
O-TORO - Fresh and never frozen. Melts in mouth! 平政 - Crunchy and really sweet as usual. Lovely! 縞鯵 - More fattier than I expected. 的鯛 (まとうだい) - Not usually a fish imported into Hong Kong, its meat texture is unlike normal 鯛, well they're different species altogether. This one is closer to a 剝皮魚. My first time trying this fish ever! 赤矢柄 (あかやがら) - This fish was said to be more abundant and available just before a typhoon! Usually more seasonal and available at this time of the year -sometimes its available upto January and Feb. It non-plumb texture is completely different to many fishes, its taste has a strong fish taste but slightly fishy like character. 金目鯛 - I love this fish! Its funny how Hong Kong and Chinese cuisine treat this fish with disdain, with such a low market price. 赤貝 - Quite fresh rather than the frozen type! If you want - you can also order freshly shucked, raw ones with more blood! Surprisingly good despite having passed its season in Summer already. 帆立貝 - Big and tasty. Scallops are great even out of season for some reason! 雲丹 - No seaweed was given. A big piece covered the rice. 蟹味噌 - REALLY GREAT QUALITY! Its definitely not the 'canned' type which usually reeks of unfreshness. This was really sweet, and carried the strong Livery organs taste of the 松葉蟹！ Some people call this as crab roe, even certain sushi chefs for some reason. In reality, its a mix of both organs and roes from the Crab's head area... already needs some meticulous preparation. キビナゴ (吉備奈子) - Usually available in warmer waters and seasons. Its at the end of its season in November but more common in Summery months. Tastes just like a Sayori when raw! smile カジキマグロ (真劍魚) - Not usually highly regarded locally and therefore not imported into Hong Kong, but it has its fans in Japan! Its not related to the normal, super oily 劍魚腩 stuff we order at 日本放題's!
酸姜 - Done in house, this was really lovely without that overly chemical or vinegary nor sugary treatment. No artificial colourings derived from 'insects' either 新鮮山葵 - I saw another customer getting these, and in my nigiri sushi's some were pre-added in. No wasabi was given separately on the plate - its not Hong Kong-nised at all...GOOD! Rice quality meanwhile was also good but not great quality, slightly too wet.
***************** OVERALL - This 18 Seater restaurant is more impressive than its setting or location suggests. .... Its one of the more impressive shops I have tried so far, although the Nigiri quality isn't not close enough to the 'Artistic Form' type I had hoped to re-experience outside Japan or even Australia. It surprises me sometimes, how much more better the top quality sushi's are in Japan's top shops.
Food Quality: High '4' Assortment of FIsh Selections: High '5' Will Be Back to eat definitely!
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White Diamond from Alba.... Intoxicating Aroma.
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ALBA'S WHITE TRUFFLE CREAM CAFFE LATTE - 
DAILY LUNCH SET @ $120 -
I'm happy with both approaches, but true Michelin 3 Star restaurants might not agree. Nevertheless, this was the Dish of the Day for us. 
3天前
Pesto Angel Hair with Mushroom. 食無味米線咁
