Original Blog with Pictures: http://jason-bonvivant.blogspot.com/2009/11/brunch-club-cwb-who-said-3rd-time-is.html

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This entry has to jump the queue! Been to the Brunch Club and Supper twice before and tonight I was here for the 3rd visit looking for some desserts. I ordered a Lemon & Sugar Waffles. By the name of it, it seemed normal enough right? Well, apparently it should have been Waffles with Lemon and Sugar instead! I understand that there is a similar traditional English dish called Lemon & Sugar Pancakes whereby sugar icing is added along with a few slices of lemon on the side. However, I did not expect my Lemon & Sugar Waffle to come with only traces of icing, big slices of cocktail lemons and .... yes and a sugar container of packaged sugar (for coffee and tea)! (Fine! I will give them the credit that they use Fairtrade white sugar stick) The packaged sugar container was served together with the waffles and the staff clearly informed me that "here is the sugar for your waffles."

What on earth was I suppose to do with them? Sprinkle some of those white sugar on top? or some brown coffee sugar crystals? or wait, maybe some Equal Sugar Sweetener? Afterall, all three options were there for me to pick! Was it just my problem concerning the use of packaged sugar for this particular dessert? Feel free to enlighten me, please!

Dislikes: Pretty self explanatory am I right?

Avg Spending: Below HKD 100 per person

Original Blog with Pictures: http://jason-bonvivant.blogspot.com/2009/11/brunch-club-cwb-who-said-3rd-time-is.html

今日放假，唔想早起身所以想搵一度地方食Brunch。喺Open Rice搵到中環同銅鑼灣都有呢間Brunch Club，為咗方便行街，所以揀咗銅鑼灣。由於係閒日所以無刻意訂位。十二點去到，因為無訂位，所以無window seat。都無所謂，出面大廈裝修緊搭晒棚，坐入面仲好。安排坐喺幅劃咗畫嘅牆下面，都唔錯。

第一次去，之前見到Open Rice 上有好多意見，所以要睇晒成個餐牌先下決定。最後叫咗一個Set Lunch ($88) 同Set Normal (Bacon Sandwich) with egg ($62) 另加兩條腸 (+15)。Set Lunch有Seafood salad 、Steak with photo同 drink，Set Lunch 唔可以跟 Hot Chocolate，於是叫咗 杯Mocha同 Long Black ($30). 再加埋Set Lunch加$5有Mango Mousse Cake，值得一試。

可能係我地一早叫咗，兩杯咖啡未食就上枱，食到後段已經凍晒。由於平時飲開濃咖啡，所以叫Long Black，但味道無預期濃。至於杯Mocha，用咗dark chocolate，試唔到Hot Chocolate試 Mocha都唔錯。

Seafood salad 賣相唔錯，味道略為淡但勝在蔬菜夠新鮮。份steak一上枱就傳出陣陣香味，份量比預期中大件，食落口雖然唔算得上係頂級但有好鮮嘅肉味，好满意。

Bacon Sandwich麵包烘得啱啱好，整體味道唔錯。

Mango Mousse Cake好香嘅芝士味中帶淡淡芒果味，好食。餅底較軟，如果硬啲會仲好味。

食物嘅水準比預期中满意，一定會再試

一朝早心情唔多好..
出左街有D野做
做完野都已經十二點多...
打俾個"中女"朋友..
先剛剛訓醒...
咁口痕話不如食早餐啦..
咁..
今日就黎左呢個餐廳食野喇..

地點係木球會附近
其實唔太難搵..
不過平時行開真係會唔覺得個個位置有餐廳..

唔記得朋友叫左咩野食...
我會想食 All day breakfast..
係因為上次(又係同中女朋友)食all day breakfast..
食到個roast tomato..好好食..
所以先食試下其他野整得係咪一樣..

um..感覺還可以..
可能上次食係第一次..
印象分贏哂..
不過佢個蛋整得好好食...
同埋佢有好多種選擇(整法)...
(唔記得影個menu...)

蛋真係好好食..我仲配埋個合桃提子多士..
放係蛋上面..
慢慢切開..
D蛋汁流落個多士上面..
真係..而家諗起都...hehe...

除左食物外..
我地仲order左飲品..
新鮮榨蘋果汁..
真係個樣...呢...奇怪到...
不過入口真係好好...
好甜..又唔似得出面飲個D飲料...
可以一試..!

18-9-2009

留意咗呢度好耐了, 朋友食過舊鋪又話「ok 0架」, 趁今日收工後「下場」喺跑馬地, dinner 要輕食又要近近哋到禮頓道搞掂, 又上嚟試試.

Lemon and sugar crepe 賣相 hea 到無朋友, 食味就認真差勁 -- crepe 皮又厚又乾又凍冰冰, "sugar" 不翼而飛, 只見好似亂咁灑的少量 icing, 唯有自行再落點 drinks 用的砂糖, 再唧檸檬汁吧. 感覺係零誠意的一味, 10 個 thumbs down!

Pineapple smoothie 溶得幾快 , 味道自然, 飲到唔少「渣」, 不過我覺得甜咗 d -- 落了糖水問題不大, 但太重手, 就有點兒那個吧.

主食揀了 "Hong Kong Dog Rescue Sandwich": 麵包用 tomato foccacia, 濕濕的; 餡料有 smoked salmon, avocado, 青瓜及 mayo, 味道可能預計; 唯一叫做值得一讚就係夠 smoked 又嫩滑的 smoked salmon, 不過應該係來貨? -_-"
On the side 有一件 hashbrown, 呢個反而幾好 -- 勁脆, 唔油膩, 薯肉夠香, 幾好食.

朋友食 eggs benedict with gammon ham... 試了一啖, 水煮蛋汁夠多, 但蛋香一般, 而且唔係落了 Hollandise sauce 0架咩, 點解食唔出的? 同 Flying Pan 比, 差好多條街喎!

食物一般, 環境就輕鬆 casual 舒服, 近門口幅牆好靚呢

每人 $120 埋單, 失望而回, 唔抵, $120 當食裝修吧.

Lamb Burger $78

好大個個免治羊肉好厚、好大件，有豐富羊味，微微羶，但可以接受

味道都不錯

薯角非常新鮮香脆


4 Course Set Dinner $188

頭盆Sea whelks salad cocktail sauce

新鮮，但味道略淡，好在有醬汁及沙律配住食

湯Tomato & Cauliflower soup

少少 "杰 "身，都ok。麵包好普通

主菜Pan-fried salmon filled servel with mashed potato &Thai asparagus

in tomota salsa

但名好長，其實都是香煎三文魚配蘆筍薯茸

三文魚煎得好香脆，尚算肉嫩，但份量好似略略少了點

賣相仲好靚

甜品Banoffee Pie

一般，不算好好，Pie皮不太香脆，甜了點不能因為焦糖的原固


Set Dinner 個主菜份量細DD。但價錢尚算合理。環境都OK，還吸引到好多

女仕們光顧，不過冷氣不夠。但侍應就不夠細心，由坐下至離開前，水杯內

的水飲完好幾次，但都是不有人過來添加又不是人手不足，眞是不夠醒目。

Deep fried soft shell crab with salad in mango yogurt：炸軟殼蟹腍了，唔脆。沙律OK。
Duck meat terrine on toast with sweet wine jelly：鴨肉terrine幾香幾好食，濃郁嘅味道和清淡嘅wine jelly成對比。
Caesar salad with poached eggs, bacon bits & smoked salmon：standard配料及味道。較喜歡的是滑滑的poached eggs。
Wild mushrooms risotto with chicken in cream sauce：cream sauce味道唔算太濃，質感亦不會太黏，配合煙韌嘅意大利飯及清香嘅蘑菇，味道不錯。
Prawns angel hair with homemade pesto sauce：整碟意粉的味道，主要在於pesto汁，都幾好食吖！
Chocolate & strawberry pancakes：普普通通。

[31/8/2009; Mon]

I was honestly disappointed with their food and quality of service.

This was my first visit to their CWB store, and I heard its much more spacious and comfy. it's true that its bigger, but it seems its less organized than the Soho restaurant... we made reservations for brunch, but they couldnt offer a table for us when we arrived, and had to wait more than 20 mins.

The menu is the same as the one at Soho, but the food and drinks taste totally different. The smoothie didnt have enough taste to it, and was quite watery. The eggs and has browns were so oily it left a pool of oil on the plate. The omelets arent the traditional omelets, and basically have scrambled eggs covered up your selected ingredients, and over a soggy bread. The only thing that tasted good was the walnut bread...

Overall, I dont think it was worth the money (around $100/person).

There are only a few things in life worth a second try, and for me, one of the very few turns out to be food. After my previous experience at the Brunch Club @ CWB, I decided to give it another try because (1) there is just a lack of other options for similar brunch in Hong Kong and (2) I do have high hopes for this franchise so I do hope there would be some improvement in all aspects of things. However, the booking management remains a chaos! I booked my table near the window 5 days in advance but I was assigned one at the very end of the dining hall. Of course I objected so I waited for one at least CLOSER to the window. Why am I so keen on the windows seat? It was because during my last visit, we were refused of those seats due to prior booking so why can't we book it accordingly? Anyhow, to solve this booking chaos, I serious think that they should just forget about the booking system and apply the first come first serve rule!

O yes, later in the evening while chilling out at Pacific Coffee, I came across a restaurant review on this place from the current issue of Time Out Hong Kong Magazine and the following description caught my undivided attention:

... the truly best thing about brunch is not being in a rush, instead you’re free to lounge around, read the newspaper, and catch up on gossip ... [and] if you’ve approached brunch in the correct manner – several hours should have passed since your arrival. - Time Out Hong Kong

I really cannot stop myself from laughing after reading the above passage because such scenario just can't happen, maybe possible on a weekday, but not possible on a lovely Sunday afternoon when brunch is supposed to be enjoyed. We were constantly being rushed to finish and each table seem to have a time limit (and the lime limit depends on what time you arrive and when the next booking for your specific table is scheduled!) Don't even talk about reading a book, I doubt one would have enough time to complete the first few sections of the Sunday paper! Maybe the reviewer from Time Out Hong Kong got some special treatments or arrived at 4pm (we arrived at 1:30pm which I think was a common brunch time), but I certainly was not allowed to enjoy such a brunch in the correct manner for my two visits so far. Anyhow, time to get back to the food aspect of my visit.

(1) Omelettes (Egg White w/ Tomato, Onion & Mushrooms)
I tried a bit of this omelette and it was decent (compared with the Spanish omelette I ordered). The ingredients were all tugged inside the omelette and the egg white was not overcooked. Flavors of the mushrooms blended well with the egg white and onion as well. A fair dish but one with a very oily harsh brown (see next item).

(2) Omelettes (Spanish)
Spanish omelettes consist of bell peppers, onions & tomatoes. From the look of dish it looked alright but once you cut it open, problems start to flood out, literally. It was watery not just because the eggs were not properly cooked, it was also the mixture of ingredients that seem to be generating a lot of moisture making the omeletts so watery! I rather eat it with a spoon! Another issue I have with this dish was the way how the ingredients were prepared. They were sliced instead of being diced into small cubes. That is usual way to do prepare it if I am correct. (unless it is a baked Spanish Omelettes then it would be different I guess) Disappointing ! o yes, did I mention that the harsh brown was floating? yes, floating on top of a pool of yellowish liquid I like to call OIL or GREASE if you like. Ask for a paper towel to soak up the oil if you like.

(3) Two eggs and two toppings on toast
This item was basically a pick your own items kind of dish and it looked pretty nice. I did not try any but it did not look greasy or watery at all.

(4) Pancakes
Just from the look of it, one thing for sure was that the pancakes were made from those machines instead of free-hand pan-fried. The pancakes were alright while still hot but more syrup would be nice. Not a big fan of pancakes but I still prefer the bigger IHOP style pancakes than these mini-pancakes.

Likes:

* Omelettes (Egg White w/ Tomato, Onion & Mushrooms) - it was alright compared with other items
* I guess the decor and environment are still a plus for this place (but honestly, more and more disappointments are driving me away from this place - maybe there some meals not worth a second attempt? hmmm)

Dislikes:

* Booking management remains a chaos!
* Omelettes (Spanish) - watery ! and ingredients were sliced instead of diced.
* Harsh Brown - happily floating on a pool of oil on my dish ...

Avg Spending: HKD 100 - 200 per person

Original Blog: http://jason-bonvivant.blogspot.com/2009/08/brunch-club-cwb-revisted.html

Having been to the Brunch Club @ Soho, I can't help myself but go try out the Brunch Club CWB outlet. It was located on the second floor and leading up to it is a long stairways of what I like to call "lofty" style. Even the interior of the restaurant gives you that lofty feeling especially its walls which are half torn showing the red bricks underneath. (Well, I think those red bricks are planted there intentionally to give that lofty atmosphere because bricks are not common building materials in Hong Kong) I really like this environment especially on a Sunday afternoon. The atmosphere of a place is equally important as the quality of the food in my opinion.

This outlet is definitely bigger and more comfortable than the Soho one. Tables are more spacious and there is a swing chair of some sort at the rear end of the restaurant. We arrived there around 12:30pm and it was about half full. Although there were plenty of empty seats around, we were surprised to find that many were under reservation and many of the seats required us to leave before certain time. What I found most interesting was that among the other available non-window seats, someone actually made a specific reservation for the specific table which is beside a cement column? humm ... so whoever made this specific reservation will not even take an available windows seats but instead the cement column table? O well, who am I to judge, I was just surprised why we were asked to finish at a certain time when there were at least 3 tables available even for walk-in customers. Anyhow, I guess I will book in advance next time for a nice Sunday brunch.

(1) Eggs Benedict (smoked Salmon)
Since I ordered Mix Grill last time at the Soho outlet, I decided to order something new to try. The portion was rather generous and it came with a harsh brown and some salad on the side. Poached eggs were well prepared with plenty of liquid yoke remained inside. Timing is very important for poached eggs and I think they did a pretty good job with it. As for the hollandaise, while it was creamy, it was rather light in flavors. Overall a fair dish indeed. Another thing I almost forgot to add, the harsh brown was a bit too chunky and hard which was likely a result of being over-fried / overcooked in my opinion.

(2) Hong Kong Dog Rescue Sandwich
What an interesting name for a dish. It consisted of Avocado, Norwegian Smoked Salmon, cucumbers and mayo on homemade herb focaccia. Even with the dish in front of me, I was still confused as to why it was named as such. It basically looked just like any other focaccia sandwich.

(3) Chocolate and Banana Crepes
What would be better than to have some sweets after a meal. My friend ordered this chocolate and banana crepes but we were both shocked when it was served. Shock might be too strong a word but the presentation of the crepes was definitely not what we were expecting. All the chocolate and banana slices were on top of the crepes instead of inside. The only reason I can think of is because of the lesser time and effort required to do it this way. Such presentation and method of preparation reminds me of Superman ... with his red underwear outside his tights! Almost forgot to mention that the crepes was rather thick as well. Definitely not their best dessert and I do hope I am right too. Disappointing.

(4) Strawberries French Toast with Yogurt
I ordered something different, something I now hope I did not order. The diced strawberries, the strawberry sauce and the plain yogurt were very Sour, Sour and Sour respectively. Basically the whole dessert was very citrus, too citrus in my opinion. I really don't know how else I can describe it.

Likes:

* Decor / Atmosphere
* Eggs Benedict (smoked Salmon)

Dislikes:

* Overly citrus Strawberries French Toast with Yogurt
* Rather noisy when full (around 1:30pm)
* Interesting booking / reservation arrangement.

Original Blog: http://jason-bonvivant.blogspot.com/2009/08/brunch-club-cwb.html

一直對這間上樓餐廳有興趣，只是同事們都是慳儉之人，絕不會花成百蚊食過lunch。而跟食友吃飯，也有太多其他目標，所以遲遲未來開餐。

簡單而舒適的一間上樓鋪，氣氛輕鬆，是很好hea的地方。中午的Lunch set有三款，價錢由$68至$88不等，收費合理。頭盤可選湯或沙律，大家都揀左飲湯，主菜我選了鴨胸，對方吃三文魚扒。

餐包只有一款，沒有選擇，是法包，頗脆口，尤其是邊位，再塗上香滑的牛油，收貨；Minestrone有濃郁蕃茄味，什菜份量豐富，酸甜度剛好，挺有風味。

鴨胸是燒的做法，並不是煙燻，相對會香口一些。鴨皮燒至香脆，肉也入味，只嫌肉質稍韌了一點。伴碟的薯仔粒，質感較粉，不過薯仔味也重，幾好吃的。印象更深刻的是韭菜花，爽脆香口，沒有渣，是很稱職的配角。

對方的三文魚扒，厚厚魚肉是粉紅色的，誘人，我也忍不住嚐了一點。果然，肉質是相當嫩滑，很怕吃太熟的魚扒，因太嚡口，這裡的火侯控制得好，完全沒有這問題。據報薯茸也是香濃好味。

餐後一杯熱咖啡，香濃順喉，最欣賞係奶是暖的，不用影響咖啡的溫度。微小的細節，很多地方會忽略，這裡就留意得到，可見店方是用心制作。飲完一杯咖啡，好像特別醒神，未知是否上了癮。

最批評的是出餐速度太慢，等了廿多分鐘才有主菜吃，對於我等午飯時間的打工仔來說，是大忌。原本只加$5可以吃到的朱古力撻，也因為沒有時間而被迫放棄，造成雙輸的局面。

每人平均$90，午飯來說不算便宜，但係食物質素有番咁上下，我認為物有所值，偶爾來吃一餐也無妨。

印象上記得主打吃all-day breakfast比較為人熟識的"專門店"，除了Flying pan之外應說就是這裡了。許多人說過Flying pan很不錯，但嘗過後就真的不過爾爾，去一次便已足夠有餘這次去由於有這算是不快的經驗在前，總是有點不安的。不過試完之後，信心又好像提升了不少.....

除了有all-day breakfast供應之外，晚上還有three-course的set dinner吃。但一心來吃美式大件頭早餐的我，這所謂的晚市套餐是完全沒有放在眼簾底下的。要吃這些在普通西餐廳也能叫得到的套餐，是真的沒啥意思，故此一坐下來就叫了包羅萬有的Mix Grill。太太對着餐牌參詳了好一會，若叫多一份mix grill的話就一定吃剩的，叫份sandwich試試似乎比較合適.....

兩隻 egg benedict 、white multigrain toast、火腿片、煙肉、雞胸、豬肉腸，再加上焗蕃茄、炒洋葱及焗豆，吃完後無論是膽固醇抑或是脂肪都一定是"爆晒燈"不過偶然來放縱一下，又可令自己滿足一下口福之慾，有何不可 ?當你用义子一咭，看見那蛋黃汁洶湧走出來，滲進那烘得微脆的多士之內，實在是"無得彈"而且蛋黃之上有放了半溶的車打芝士，入口既香且滑，怎能讓人不心動呢 ? ...

煙肉帶脆但欠焦香；薄切火腿帶些鹹香，不過跟煙肉一般，是同樣缺乏了那股燶焦的香氣；雞胸沒有如想像的嚡口，而且醃得蠻夠味的，很不錯；Pork sausage雖然只有手指頭那樣的長，但肉及香草味夠濃夠重，只有短短的一條，不夠喉；蕃茄多汁也很fresh，但焗得時間好像不太夠長，不算香；反而炒過的洋葱很甜很有"鑊氣"，是意想不到的好吃....

吃這些東西最好是伴啤酒而吃，但是夜酒沒有了，有的只是一杯冰凍的cranberry juice，叫做聊勝於無啦....

太座吃的"Brunch Club Croque-Monsieur"之特色在於舖在雙層香草foccacia之上的那層白色mousse狀的物體。這店方稱之為"Bechamel sauce"的"醬料"，原來是以蛋白混入芝士做出來的mousse，吃落口感很輕盈，有着薄薄的芝味但不算十分的膩口，是從前沒有吃過的美味火腿片跟自己的mix grill內的是屬同一種類別，配合foccacia同吃，也很可口呈三角形的薯餅新鮮現炸，熱辣辣之餘薯味亦足，吃得太座不亦樂乎.....

找次來吃個早餐或lunch，邊看看雜誌邊吃着這些"junk food"，乃人生一大樂事也....

上一次是去新會道的分店, 食了一份有benedict egg既超正早餐. 今次就試試禮頓道的分店. 打開餐牌, 居然見到有set lunch, 於是點了一份 sea bass ($80).

1. 羅宋湯及沙律中2選1, 選了沙律, 內有green salad及mozzarella芝士, 菜很新鮮, 芝士份量適中, 加上濃醋汁, 整碟沙律好開胃.

2. sea bass是煎的, 不過魚皮及魚肉都煎得太乾, 外皮不脆, 魚肉也很實, 可能是煎的時間過長了. 魚下面有混了芝士及蛋的薯蓉, 卻非常好吃, 味濃滑溜兼香噴噴, 絕對比sea bass更吸引. side dish是green salad. 今餐確實很健康, 只有魚及菜, 沒有沙律醬, 只下濃醋汁. 魚也沒有用過多的油來煎.

3. 飲品點了凍奶茶, 茶底不夠濃, 加入奶及糖水後, 就如一杯奶水, 很不討好. 下次還是點他們的招牌熱咖啡.

總括來說, 這份set lunch絕不能稱得上好吃, 但下次還是會再來幫襯, 而且一定會點breakfast及coffee.

星期天, 一早約左友人來此店食個brunch...hea下..
點知原來好多人都book左位...至於我地無book位關係被安排坐係高枱既位置..講真都幾唔舒服, 但為左試下都無計要坐啦.

我叫左杯LATTE FRAPPE, 友人就叫左杯CAFE LATTE, 同埋一份MIX GRILL...野飲方面我杯凍飲就麻麻地基本上都飲唔到咩LATTE味反而熱既CAFE LATTE滑好多香好多..至於食物都係咁樣咪似FLYING PAN既大大份早餐....不過我都係貪新鮮有咩新店都想試下咁話...不過對於係CWB無咩ALL DAY BREAKFAST來講, 此店都係一個好好既選擇

I actually opened an account with Openrice for this.

Think I went with too high of an expectation after reading all the compliments about it.

1) Service was bad

- I asked for a table for 2 as I walked in, the Chinese manager-look-alike gave me a lazy wave from afar, and said 'you'll have to wait.' though the restaurant wasn't full at all. I had to wait for my friend anyway, so I had time. But I didn't really expect myself to have to stand for another 10-15mins, I was only served when the boss (probably) talked to the manager.

- Waiters weren't very friendly. We might have asked for too much: refilling my water, some ketchup, and some lemon for my liced lemon tea (!? nope, for some reason they didn't add lemon).

- We wanted to change to another table on the side but they didn't let us.

2) Food wasn't that great either

- Grilled chicken salad was alright. I have to say the chicken was quite tender, but the 'salad' was tiny! (Mind you, I'm not a big eater)

- Over easy on toasts... not sure about this, the portion was quite small compared to the Flying Pan. Eggs weren't very nice, they looked more like eggs you find in Sausage McMuffins with running yolks. The 'homemade' toasts were pretty HARD and the sides were burnt.

Won't recommend really this restaurant, it gave me the impression that it's 'trying a bit too hard'. Or perhaps we ordered the wrong dishes.

朋友生日, 又好耐冇見,
揀了一間比較舒服的地方可以傾下計
好喜歡呢度既裝修, 知道佢岩岩搬到呢度
亦比之前大了~
呢度的dinner set比較貴 $168 for 3 courses, $188 for 4
我點了心愛既Mix Grill (即是all-day breakfast)
仲加$15要多塊煙三文魚添!
其他朋友點了Lamb Burger, Chicken Caeser Salad等等
都好好食呀!
生日朋友黎之前, 我地仲先order 左個oreo cheese cake叫佢幫我地點蠟燭~
黎到時見到個隻碟整得靚靚地! service 唔錯!

一定會再黎的!

4個人食左$420