Looking for a nice place for lunch with hubby!!! I found this restaurant on Openrice and people seemed like the food there, so I decided to give it a try!!!! Plus, I liked how it is on the 31st floor so it must have a nice view! It really does have a nice view!!!!

Ok! let's talk about the food that we had!!!

First came the hot carrot bread with black truffle butter in farmer style!!!! The bread was crunchy on the outside and very moist and soft on the inside. There was tiny pieces of carrot inside the bread but I didn't taste it at all! Plus, the black truffle butter did over power the taste of the bread. So, I could only taste the black truffle! The butter was amazing because I love truffle. and it did taste very good on warm bread! The size of the bread was quite big for two people.

Second was the appetizer, Prawn, Scallop & Salmon Brochette. It was refreshing and tasty! The salad and the seafood was very fresh. But, I liked the tomato and avocado salsa the best. It was a perfect match with the seafood! I wished I could have more of the salsa on my plate because it was just too good! The plating was very beautiful too!

My main course was the Grilled Australian Grass Fed Tenderloin. The beef was alright but it was definitely not the good part of the tenderloin. It was kinda thin actually! I asked for a medium- rare done steak but it turned out to be a medium done, so not as tender as I was expecting!!!!! The sauce was wonderful and so are the roasted root vegetables.

My hubby got the Oven Baked Salmon Ballotine stuffed with Spinach, Crab Meat & Mushroom. The plating was very attractive!!! It definitely fed our eyes first!!!! The salmon was little over cooked actually. However, the crab meat and the crab roe sauce gave the salmon an interesting flavor. I am not saying in a bad way but it is just kinda hard to describe. For me, the crab roe always gives me an asian cruise feeling. Here is Hong Kong and I won't be surprised if the chef wanted to give a little bit of a Asian twist in one of his dishes. The grilled eggplants was great, by the way!

We shared the Mixed Red Berry Tart. It was a down fall of the whole meal. we were pretty disappointed! The pastry of the tart was kinda bland. It didn't taste sweet at all. It should not be too sweet but it should have some sweetness in the tart shell. Unfortunately, I didn't taste any sweetness from the tart shell! The berries was fresh but not that sweet! Plus, the vanilla chantilly cream was just a little bit on the bottom of the berries. Therefore, couldn't taste the flavor in detail. The whole dessert was just missing sweetness and that's it!!!!! it really could be a great dessert!!!!

I would like to go back for a dinner! The view will be amazing for sure and I want to try a thick steak!!!!

幾年前黎過呢度食過晚飯架喇, 今次帶朋友黎食飯飲野,
呢度最好係可以一次過滿足哂兩個要求

我好記得個麵包, o個次食完已經覺得好好食,
今次再食竟然有過之而無不及喎, 掂呀

我地叫左
Seafood Caesar Salad
海鮮好新鮮, 尤其係d帶子, 鮮甜~~
蘋菜好爽, 新鮮到好似摘落黎就即刻做左呢個salad咁,
加左醋同少少cheese, 乾既火腿, 勁開胃

Australian Ribeye
個肉眼扒都唔錯, 肉質都算淋, 但唔係一試難忘...
個磨菇汁唔夠香, 而且配菜太少

Swordfish
好"鞋"口呀, 加左檸檬汁都有d腥味, 唔好食

我地叫左支紅酒食完飯就上左去露天bar度,
嘩...做咩咁多人既, 唔知係咪星期六既關係, 超熱鬧喎,
仲狂播disco 歌, 同我之前黎咁唔同既....
唔緊要啦, 今次當自己落左disco 啦, we are still have fun tonight

What a crazy namely "high class" resturant, offering 2 sections of dinner time : 630pm or 830pm, need to return book by 830 if u take the 630 booking, never imagine this kind of things can be imposed when every ppl is expected to spend over $700 a dinner, so call "high class" resturant using "low class" management, very agreed to those who got unhappy experience before.

這晚到位於灣仔The Hennessy 31樓的Wooloomooloo Steakhouse享用晚餐，慶祝Mr. Cat的生辰 :）
甫進餐廳，但見環迥三邊落地玻璃，璀璨夜景盡在眼前，令人十分陶醉。先上麵包，外層香脆，內裡軟綿綿，而且非常熱辣辣，讚讚讚﹗Classic Caesar Salad (HK$110)﹕醬汁和芝士和煙肉都十分美味，瞬間清碟 ^0^我點的Grilled Tasmanian Salmon Fillet(HK$300)﹕完全是我最最最喜歡的烤魚﹗外層脆脆的又惹味，而因為魚夠厚，裡面的肉質不會太乾，
實在非常美味，我不停讚好 : )Striploin (12-ounce) (HK$450)，我試了一口，覺得去年平安夜在Grappa's Ristorante品嚐的較美味，也許我對肉質的要求不高，反倒對味道加上配菜的整個配合較著緊 : ) 而這裡side dish是要另外加錢的，例如你想要薯條的話便要再加HK$70。Wooloomooloo Hot Chocolate Cake (HK$95)﹕我一早跟餐廳安排好了，當我們把主菜都吃完後，服務員便唱著生日歌端來這個小蛋糕，還在草莓上點上蠟燭，真可愛 : ) 這個甜品其實做得不錯，但因吃過朋友親手做的，覺得這個還是遜色一點，是朱古力漿的味道有點點不合心意吧。餐廳在整幢大廈的頂樓，在天台還有酒吧區，看，在這裡跟好友把酒談心多寫意。滿足的一夜，再次祝Mr. Cat生日快樂 ^0^

　

P.S. 還有一個小插曲，令這夜更難忘 :）

鄰桌坐著一對情侶，當他們的主菜上桌後，男的便拿出早已放在餐廳裡的大束鮮花向女的求婚，女的欣然戴上鑽戒，然後他們擁著一起唱歌(一定是他們的主題由了)，還擁吻一番，真替他們高興 ^0^ 其實如此動人的一刻，我真的很願意替他們拍下合照，無奈他們沒有向我要求，我也不好打擾了，祝他們永遠幸福 :）

在灣仔要吃BUSINESS LUNCH,選擇不算很多.

平常的BUSINESS LUNCH,首要是餐廳環境要靜,裝修得體,地點便利,服務要好,反而,食物,只要中規中矩,不太失禮,就可以了.
現在的SALES不像以前大花筒,很多時都會找些得體又合BUDGET的餐廳.

這家餐廳就是某SALES介紹的,地點在一商業大廈之內.
餐廳位於31樓,一踏進餐廳,就是一望無際的開揚灣仔景觀,遠遠還可以看見銅鑼灣.
如果要訂座的話,不妨早點,並叮囑想要WINDOW SEAT,就可以欣賞到這麼美的景致.先來一個熱辣辣飽飽,很大一個,要用刀切開分吃.外皮脆,內裏很軟,加上有松露香味的牛油,吃到停不了口.
雖然得大一個,愈吃愈飽,但也忍不住把它吃完.GOAT CHEESE FLAN WITH ROASTED TOMATO AND FOCACCIA CRACKERS
先來沙律,沙律新鮮是基本,但最重要靈魂來自醬汁,可惜沒有什麼調味,而且多士有點硬.LAMB CUTLETS WITH RATATOUILLE VEGETABLE AND RED WINE SAUCE
生熟掌握很好,7成熟,內裏切開還很JUICY,好味.以上SET LUNCH連茶才$148+10%,在有如此靚景的餐廳,絕對相宜.想再來一個甜品,餐甜品不合心水,就另點A LA CARTE.甜品選擇很多,看到有香蕉拿玻崙($75),看上去是有趣新穎的配搭,就點了一份分吃.
賣相不錯,對得起它的價錢.拿玻崙做得很脆,而中間的香蕉和拿玻崙是出奇地夾,很清新的感覺,也不覺得漏,點些碟上的焦糖,更加香,雙得益彰.

食物不是驚為天人,但結賬每人才$200,以環境如此漂亮的餐廳來計,算十分抵吃,是BUSINESS LUNCH的經濟得體之選.
唯一不是很喜歡的是侍應的服務態度,總是黑口黑面;而且只懂英語,如果你英語不靈光,就建議你不要來,以免出醜人前.

This restaurant is so bad it makes me angry. The sea bass was a huge chunk of tasteless flesh. It wasn't even served with the promised bell pepper tappenade - maybe that would have given it some flavour. The steak was a poor cut of rib-eye. It was sinewy and tough. At $380 for the steak it was a shocking rip-off. Both meals were served with a limp piece of lettuce (about 3cm square) and a couple of local cherry tomatoes. The wine mark up was breathtaking ..... that's bad, that's a rip off. Do yourself a favour and avoid this at all costs.

Dinning in Wooloomooloo was an impulse, we did not make any reservations nor research on the menu ahead of visit. There was vacant tables on a normal weekday, but the nice spots - window seats and the roof top was fully reserved. Since the purpose wasn't for a romantic dine out as I was with my family, I decided to focus more on other aspects e.g. services and their dishes.

The ambiance is unrivaled, dark wooden inferior with modern furnishing, a extravagant wine rack next to the entrance, lively Jazz Music(would be great if its live) but most of all - a panoramic view of Victoria Harbour! All the servers in view were English speakers, seemingly no Chinese employee at all. Most of servers had an attitude and some were rather unknowledgable on Wooloomooloo's dishes, which you could read on to the later paragraph 'Steak Chapter' for details.

1) Wooloomooloo Salad $165We had the house salad for starters. It consisted of Char-grilled beef filet mignon, romaine leaves, baby spinach, button mushroom, heart of palm, cherry tomato served with truffle oil dressing. Char-grilled steak is always my favourite simply because of its char scent and taste. The Beef loin was nicely marinated but was slightly overcook resulting in rough texture. The heart of palm plue the dressing were very appetizing. Despite the button mushroom, there were some truffle-liked mushroom was something new to me, the surface texture was like raspberry but the inside was like normal mushroom, yet more juicy and tasteful. The salad was overall pretty nice, the sourness was great to whet the appetite.

Steaks Chapter
For a person who is going to the steakhouse, it is pretty normal they will get some nice steaks. I am no expert in steak, so I tried to seek some opinion from the presumably-knowledgeable waitress for the differences between the Aussie Black Angus and the US Angus. She said one was grain-fed and the other was not which was mentioned on the menu, so I asked more specifically about the texture. Her answer kind of shocked me as she showed no expertise in the food they are offering. This is what she said - "I could not explain what is the difference between the texture of the steaks.' Okay...I will just take the Aussie Angus then. I think I should research them up when I have time.

1) Australian Angus Rib Eye - 12-ounce $380The full description of the dish is Certified Australian Black Angus Beef, 150 Days Grain Fed, 2-3 weeks Wet Aged, Hormone & Antibiotic Free T&R Pastroal Farms. Clare Valley, Adelaide.

I had my Rib Eye in medium rare but it came out looking only 30% cooked. The steak was SO red and the rawness kind of freak us out! We thought of sending it back to the kitchen, but we found there was no watery blood upon cutting the rib eye, we decided to taste it first. Well, surprisingly the steak turned out to be pretty acceptable. The texture was best at the edge, where the meat were more tender with a scent and tint taste of charcoal! The beef taste wasn't strong enough too.

The best part of the steak was not the flesh but the fat! The fat was grilled to solid form and the texture was magically like mozzarella cheese! The taste was butter like, from the hollandish sauce I guess.
The hollandaise sauce was okay, it was creamy enough but slightly too sweet.

3) Roasted Half Spatchcock Chicken $310The spatchcock chicken was in medium size with a huge chicken thigh. The meat was made average - wasn't particularly tender and it wasn't rough either. The menu said it was served with demi-glace mushroom sauce, but the sauce was creamy yellow in colour, which the taste suggested butter cream sauce instead? - Very average dish, could try other main course instead.

4) Side Dishes Steamed Broccoli $60 - The steamed broccoli was flavoured with salt which was such a relieve since the exact same dish that I had in the Craft Steak did not put on any salt and thus tasted horrible. The broccoli was streamed just right and was very chewable.Sauteed Spinach with Mushrooms $70 - The Sauteed Spinach was more tasteful than the steamed broccoli but it was rather oily and salty. The combined texture was better with the mushroom. So if you are craving for a veggie side dishes, ask for this with less salt.

*********

Service was disappointing, which I did not expect in Wooloomooloo. Please do train up your staff just in case customer are trying to seek for a professional opinion. The Australian Angus Beef's was okay, the fat parts was amazing. The game bird was just average, not really special at all. I reckon you should not visit Wooloomooloo in Wanchai unless you could reserve a window seat or roof top seat, otherwise don't! The service, food and the price just do not worth it.

今日lunch同4個同事去左The Hennessy 31樓，其實幢大廈都有好多選擇～但有個同事試過話呢一間食西式餐好正，ＯＫＡＹ！咁我地就上去試試
冇ＢＯＯＫ到位，所以都要等左陣先入得去～
倨ＶＩＥＷ真係好得
先講講個餐包，大大個．．．４個人食都好夠，而且仲係自家製～ＧＯＯＤ之後每人一個ＳＥＴ，　有餐湯，沙律，主菜同餐飲！
我地選左２份ＢＥＥＴ，一個扁意同三文魚．．．．唯一想講講就係如果太趕時間的話就唔好去啦．．．
手腳比較慢～
其他真係爆晒燈，我會再去的！

I have (rather unfortunately) stumbled upon this place when going for lunch with a friend Mr. PL. I've heard from my locust friend about the Wooloomooloo steakhouse in Central and its bargain lunch but never realised that it has a branch here on the 31st floor of the Hennessy. So when I discovered this Wooloomooloo when wandering in Wan Chai waiting for Mr. PL I decided to drag him along to try this place.

Trying to get to this restaurant was a bit of a challenge. The lift which took us up to 31/F had two doors, and apparently the door which opens depend on the buttons on which side of the lift you pressed. Unfortunate for us, those in the lift pressed the button on the wrong side and it took us minutes of going up and down before finally getting to the restaurant.

The view from such a height was amazing. At 31/F this restaurant was located easily higher than the roof of a lot of buildings in Wan Chai and from where we sat we had an almost unobstructed view of Kowloon Bay. Not the most gorgeous view in Hong Kong but not bad at all.

"Executive" Lunch set was for $148 + 10% so of course choices were limited. There was a choice of appetizer or clam chowder, then a choice of three mains -- steak (sirloin), fish (salmon) or pasta (spaghetti bolognaise). We both chose the clam chowder (the appetizer didn't sound tempting at all) and this being a steakhouse, we both chose the sirloin. As usual (and as expected), the waiter tried to sell us bottled still / sparkling but we went for tap.Before the chowder arrived we were served this HUGE bread which looked the same as the one in the Central Wooloomooloo. Bread was hot when served and was soft inside. Herb butter was served soft. Thumbs up for the bread.The plain-looking clam chowder was served in a small metal pot and looked rather uninspiring. However, the chowder was full of flavour and was rather nice. Hidden at the bottom of the pot were the (meat from) half a dozen (probably frozen) clams. Not bad!The steak, however, was a big disappointment. This being a steakhouse I definitely would expect them to do better. Unlike the clam chowder, presentation was lacking to begin with, and from its looks alone one could tell that the chef wasn't paying his full attention to making a good dish. The sauce was all over the place and the steak was lazily slapped onto the mesh. There was a choice of 4 mustard which was fair, but one would at least expect it to look a bit more refined.

All that would have been fine if the steak was good. And it wasn't. We asked for the steak to be made medium-rare and as shown in the photo above it was pink throughout -- closer to medium-welldone I'd say. And I hate welldone steak. Looking back I probably should have sent it back to the kitchen. So from the rather nice bread and good clam chowder, the meal took a big plunge here. The cut probably wasn't that good either, and when combined with it being overcooked, I found it tough to cut even with the steak knife. The sauce (mushroom something... couldn't be asked to properly taste it by then... was too disappointed by the steak) did not add to the already weak flavour of the steak and instead almost covered it up. The only explanation was that the chef was well aware that the steak wasn't any good and was trying to cover up the lack of quality and flavour with this rather strong sauce. The mesh wasn't much better either. It could have been smoother and better seasoned (its flavour was weak) but was by far the better part of this main course. For drinks I asked for hot coffee (Mr. PL ordered iced coffee, as can be seen in the background). At the beginning it looked promising but the first sip revealed the truth -- it wasn't much good either. Now I'm no expert in coffee, having just started drinking it a few months ago, but even I can tell this coffee was either cheap or poorly made -- even my daily breakfast coffee from DELIFRANCE taste much better. It was strongly sour and bitter and devoid of the aroma I'd relate with coffee (sorry, no idea re. notes / aftertaste / texture etc...)

The biscuit that come with the coffee was an annoyance, to say the least. I was trying to break it in half when moaning about the poor quality of the coffee, and before I knew it, I've showered myself in crumbs of the biscuit. It was so powdery and dry that I broke it in to the many pieces shown in the photo above, in one go. A bite of the remaining pieces confirmed that the biscuit was dry, powdery and mostly tasteless. Frankly, if you can't be asked to make the coffee and biscuit properly as a part of the "executive lunch", don't bother to include it. I'd rather have to pay for a cup of coffee instead of being served something like this.

At this price and environment, and had it not for such a poorly made steak, this would have been a bargin. Obviously those working in Wan Chai are aware of the quality of food here -- the place was never completely full when we had lunch. Mind you, we ate from 12:30 to 13:40 which should cross the lunch hour of most office workers here and the restaurant was almost empty at the beginning and around 1/3 full when we left. It is quite a shame because given the bargain steak lunch price, good location, comfy environment and a lack of steakhouses in the area, this could easily be a restaurant fully booked for every lunch service.

What I can say is, if you really, desperately want to eat in a Wooloomooloo steakhouse, go to the one in Central.

一年一度的電影界盛事 - 國際電影節又到了,今年小弟的開幕片在會展,難得E小姐臨時多了一張門票,才得以入場觀賞聖羅蘭的一生.

為了答謝她的門票,晚飯當然由我付帳,她近日身體狀況不太好,在附近一帶的食店,不是不合口味就是爆場.結果最後步行到The Hennessy,我提議不如Wooloomooloo?反正我一直都想試這間扒房.位於The Hennessy的三十一樓,居高臨下的維港夜景,一覽無遺.餐廳內色調暗而柔和,每一張檯上面的天花,也有專一的射燈映照著.在沒有訂位之下可以直入,周一晚九點過後,只得三四檯食客,差不多全部是外籍人仕之天下.因即慶沒有特意打扮,小弟腳下的國產飛躍布鞋,與餐廳的浪漫環境存在極大的反差.我倆被安排坐在海景位,猶幸晚上的能見度高,對著海景用膳也份外舒服.她的胃口不大,只要餐湯和沙律便可,我則來個餐湯,加個牛扒,餐酒可免,什麼有/無氣礦泉水也不要,只要暖水.很多人上餐廳煞有介事,怕遭受白眼而不敢開口說要水喉水,最後喝了兩三瓶礦泉水,單是水費也嚇了一跳.但是如果說成暖水,感覺會好一點.首先奉上的餐包,大得一隻手也"渣唔晒",新鮮滾熱辣,還正在冒煙當中,入口非常之鬆軟,塗些香草牛油實在很好吃,真想要求添多一個呢.龍蝦湯Lobster Bisque差不多一百塊錢,色水比較淺,質感還是稀了一點,龍蝦味濃但略為單調一點,欠了些充滿酒香層次感.可幸是龍蝦肉也不少,每一件也爽口鮮甜.E小姐的洋荵湯,我沒有去嚐,她說只是一般貨色,但也要八十多塊錢.她的沙律是Wooloomooloo Salad,份量可不少,內容有免翁牛柳,沙律菜,磨菇,棕欖樹心,車厘茄,dresing是松露油.

沙律菜新鮮爽脆,每口也是水份,最愛吃Button Mushroom,菇味香濃又肥美,棕欖樹心早前在阿根廷扒房"Tango:吃過,入口帶爽脆,但友人不甚欣賞,最後差不多給我全部吃光.松露油的香氣在這個沙律上盡情發揮,免翁牛柳有很重的燒烤香味,肉味濃香,入口軟稔可口.我說胃口不大的女生,來到吃此道沙律,已經是一頓豐富晚餐了.牛扒我選了最便宜的澳州安格斯肉眼扒,份量為十二安士,Wooloomooloo的澳州安格斯牛扒,是經過150天Grain Fed,2-3星期wet aged,當然濕熟成沒有乾熟般高級,單憑肉味已略遜一點,但是十二安士份量也是三百多,又不能要求多多了.

沒有幾種牛扒刀你選,吃牛扒不能沒有芥辣,此店的芥辣也有幾種選擇,法國英國蜜糖芥辣等等.我要了後兩者.牛扒方面要求五成熟.牛扒表面的燒烤網紋清晰可見,鋒利的牛扒刀將其切開也沒有難度,看看橫切面,色水嫣紅,有血水流出.肉質也軟稔鬆化,說到肉味方面則不算太強.如果是Dry Aged的效果一定好得多,這個道理大家也明白,一分錢一分貨,以這個價錢來說,配合埋環境,也可叫物有所值了.我倆也懷念幾個月前,在LKF Tower內的Opus Grill,當然價錢不能夠同日而語.Side dish點了露荀和焗薯,前者碧綠鮮甜爽脆,沾些蛋黃醬吃份外甜美.後者配上酸忌廉,煙肉碎吃,啖啖鬆軟薯仔肉連薯皮也不浪費.酸忌廉的味道可中和薯仔的肥滯.甜品環節免卻,因大家也吃得很飽,如果時間尚早的話,可以上一層的露台喝杯酒,但這夜的時間,並不容許我倆摸著酒杯底吹吹風.

此一頓晚飯之價值,當然遠超一張戲票價錢,但不能以價值來衡量,最緊要大家吃得高興便是,如果令對方吃得不高興,反過來我會感到內疚呢.期間談及到君悅酒店將會有新扒房,大家的食指又再動起來了,不如在今年你生日?