Yes yes, I'm maybe a little 'out' with this post since Ronin has been quite a hot restaurant for some time now, but out or not here it is. Sister restaurant of the famous Yardbird, there was no doubt that quality of food at Ronin would be well above average since I had very much enjoyed my meal at Yardbird many moons ago. The main difference between the two is Yardbird concentrates on chicken while Ronin has its focus on seafood.

Another of those secreted entrances, I mistakenly went to the building next to it and pressed the bell to its offices before being told the entrance of Ronin was the unmarked black door next to it... Nevertheless we found it. I made the booking a week ago, the restaurant only takes bookings seven days in advance and you must do it by email. There are two sessions available and you will be allocated one on the date you request unless you specify which you would prefer.

Dark and dim, the restaurant is like a slightly sophisticated cave, but corridor style. Guests are seated along a bar table, where the lucky half can face the bar while the other half end up facing the wall. If you are even more unlucky to come in on a night without booking, you may find yourselves along the other side of the wall eating your food while standing- not an attractive option.

Our server, an Asian gentleman very enthusiastically described the menu to us as being unique every night depending on the ingredients brought in that day. He seemed to be the main server to all the guests and yes although he was very helpful, I did find he talked a lot... and a lot.

Complimentary eats to start. Tomato and radish. Not that great.Arkshell sashimi. Sweet with a slight chew.Razor clams. De-shelled and tossed with kelp and cucumbers. Refreshing, but became bland after a while.Uni atop a mixture of nori and panko crumbs. When this was served we were instructed to mix it all together in order to better appreciate the flavour. I didn't end up doing this as I thought spooning down into the uni and panko mix I would get all the flavours anyway. Halfway through the server comes by and sees that we didn't do as he asked, he instructed us to do so again but with a slightly forceful tone. Eye-rolling amusing, we mixed it in the end, but really it tasted exactly the same.Kingfish sashimi is not something I see often in Hong Kong, so it was a must order for me. Fresh thin slices of kingfish wrapped around bundles of greens. The tart ponzu-like dressing was a perfect match.Market chips. We didn't originally order these, but spying the gentleman next to us eating them we had a bubble of food envy and pretty soon an order of these came to us too~ A mix of perfectly fried sweet potato and taro chips drizzled with black sugar syrup. Really addictive! And to the Caucasian gentleman on the other side of me making a comment to his dinner partner that we used chopsticks to eat them, yes so what?Flower crab with uni. This is the signature dish that has people going a bit nuts over. A pile of soft sweet crab meat mixed with a generous amount of creamy uni. As if that combination doesn't sound alluring~Grilled squid topped with bonito-like flakes. Perfectly tender.Grilled scallops with butter? Overcooked so they were a bit chewy. I would give these a pass.By this time, my stomach was feeling a little queasy from the seafood overload so I needed something carby to soothe it. They only had udon on the menu so we ordered that quick smart. It was surprising really good, a little fusion, a mess of al dente udon tossed in a creamy sauce with hints of ume and fish roe. Worth trying.Tempura shrimp and corn fritters. These reminded me of the tempura corn balls Yardbird has on the menu only with the inclusion of shrimp. A generous portion, heavy, but they tasted good.And finally like a marathon finally coming to the end, another famed dish, the Kagoshima beef. This is what dreams are made of... if it was made from fatty beef. Thin slices of well-marbled cow topped with shitake mushroom, fried garlic chips and raw egg yolk. So delicate and decadent, but the oiliness of the dish may result in some difficulty in finishing.A lot of food, not cheap, but ingredients were fresh. Service attentive, a little overly so, but it was appreciated especially when the server knew I was not well he made sure my cup of warm water was refilled constantly. Ambience was not really my style as I think if there were more people it could become quite claustrophobic, but worth trying.

I have heard that a lot of hard work goes into securing a table at Quintessence in Tokyo. A two month booking in advance where you can only call within two 1.5 hour periods throughout the day and provided you can actually get through the line, there is still the possibility of your preferred date being booked out...

So when hearing Chef Kishida and his team would be flying in to hold a 2 night Gala dinner at The Kitchen in Macau, Mr. C though it most worthwhile to reserve a table for the first night My loves bread and butter~ Slices of freshly baked country loaf accompanied by The Kitchen's famous mango butter. Oh my god, the still hot crusty slice soaking up the salty sweet mango studded creaminess... Combined both of us went through four slices of the butter just because we could.And then it began~

A perfect slice of shiitake mushroom atop a cepe biscuit. The typical foamy texture of the mushroom filled the mouth with its perfume and paired well with the herby buttery biscuit.Baked onion soup served chilled. The temperature struck me a little odd, but I shouldn't have had any doubts. Being chilled, it concentrated the essence of the onions enhancing the intensity and it was just so sweet~This was a signature dish of Quintessence. A delicate goats cheese bavarois with the most heavenly texture. Think thick and full like Greek yoghurt, but whipped till it was almost cloud-like, then drizzled with Chef's favourite olive oil and sprinkled lightly with sea salt. If angels ate food... this would be it.The scallop tartare was most refreshing, a little herby pairing well with the zesty marinated tomatoes and of course the caviar. Most delightful, I polished this off in no time while Mr. C was still halfway through slowly enjoying his favourite seafood.Sea urchin is always a favourite and it was featured here as a savoury clafoutis with ginkgo nuts all arranged on top of a mushroom. Being baked the sea urchin gave a stronger briny flavour while being just as creamy and I loved how big the ginkgo nuts were ihere with its signature gummy chew.The most flavoursome dish would have to be the socca of blue lobster and prawns. Left slightly undercooked the prawns were tender and sweet, while those brown cubes you see had a crunchy crust melting easily in the mouth and leaving behind the most concentrated essence of the lobster. Just amazing.The first of the main dishes was fish. Kinme-dai with sauce of passion fruit. A most generous slice with the skin fried to a thin crisp. The fish itself was lovely, flaked easily, but the middle was too undercooked for me and eating a mouthful of solid raw fish was not too appealing...Pigeon was the meat dish for the evening, slowly cooked for two hours the blushing meat retained all it's juices and was so soft. Pleasantly gamey paired with roasted potatoes and a hearty savoury sauce I would have enjoyed it even more if I hadn't been so full.The savoury dishes were pretty amazing, but the desserts were even more so. Don't be fooled by how simple they looked as the taste of them were anything but...

Looking like a dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, Mr. C was puzzled by it when he came back to the table and saw this staring up at him In fact it was a most silky panacotta, so smooth and creamy you just don't want to think about how thick a cream was used to whip this up. Tasting lightly of coconuts, it paired surprisingly well with the much bolder shot of bitter espresso and the heady pistachio oil. This dessert alone deserves three stars and I could hear the diners at the next table murmuring their pleasure too.Freshly baked pastries always taste good and the savarin served to us was no different. Just a simple slice it had a hard crunchy crust protecting its soft inside of frangipani goodness. The tart pieces of apricot were a nice contrast to the sweetness of the cake, if only it was paired with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream...Not to be disappointed, we did have ice-cream to end our meal. Not vanilla flavoured, but meringue. I have never tasted meringue in ice-cream form, but the flavour was absolutely spot on. Even the slight tang could be felt on the tongue as an afterthought. What made this dessert special though was the sea water that Chef Kishida sprayed over the ice-cream prior to serving playing up the welcome concept of sweet and salty. No wonder this is yet another signature dish.Accompanying us all night was this bottle of Pinot noir.I'm not a big drinker nor a wine connoiseur, I'm one of those people whose faces become swollen and tomato red after a few sips, but Pinot I like and this was deep with fruity notes, a slight sour tang mixed with the sweetness.

We had finished our dessert by the time Chef Kishida came around to greet us and at 39 years of age he looked so young and so humble too even for all his accomplishments. Hopefully we will have a chance to visit his restaurant in Tokyo as there had been murmurings that the dinner here was only about 70% of his actual ability so imagine what 100% would be like!

I knew it was only a matter of time that I would be visiting Gaddi's. The grandpapa of French cuisine in Hong Kong serving patrons for over 60 years and possibly the most traditional in terms of dress code, gentlemen do not even think of stepping inside without a suit on, while for ladies please leave your denim and sporty footwear at home.

Simply elegant would be the words I would use to describe the dining room. White walls contrasting against the royal blue carpet with a gold Chinese symbol printed all over it, a little East meets West style I suppose.I have never been impressed by the bread served at The Peninsula, but the baguettes at Gaddi's were decent. An adequate vehicle for the lovely butter, salted, unsalted and one with spices tasting like curry.Ocean trout terrine with caviar was the amuse bouche. A little bland.His starter of poached egg with I think prawns. I had a bite of the egg white which was cooked quite solid, but at least the yolk was still gorgeously runny.I am quite fond of duck liver terrine. I remember The Verandah used to serve it during their Sunday only lunch buffets a couple of years ago and it was dreamy. Seeing it on the menu at Gaddi's meant I had to order it. Beautifully presented and a large portion too, it was not entirely smooth with noticeable chunks of goose liver inside. The layer of port jelly was not too sweet yet just enough to cut through the gaminess. Paired with a large slice of toasted brioche... let's just say I ate a lot of bread that evening.We shared a serving of lobster bisque. For some reason the bisque looked and tasted quite oily with a strong aftertaste of alcohol. I liked the lobster ravioli though, sweet chunks of lobster with the al dente wrapper.A serving of turbot was ordered on top of our individual mains. Perfectly cooked at the right temperature, the snow white meat was soft and flakey covered in a truffle crust. A sprinkle of salt was needed to enhance, but the smell of truffles was wonderful.He went with the lobster. An absolutely striking dish filled with chunks of well cooked crustacean. All I can say, the flesh was very sweet and he polished it off in no time.Baby lamb is in season so it seemed appropriate that I ordered the lamb saddle. Very tender and do you see that disc of lamb crackling? Well, it was just sinful~And for dessert?

He suggested that I should try the more traditional French desserts as not many restaurants serve them, but I was fixated on having something chocolatey so he took his own advice and ordered the cherry jubilee. Cooked table side, there is just something so fixating about seeing flames flare up from the saucepan.It didn't look like much, just a bed of cooked cherries with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, but it was good. SO good. I couldn't believe I was envious over some cooked fruit, but something so plain was immensely flavourful. Oh and of course the ice-cream being Movenpick didn't hurt either My chocolate tart was something I saw on the tasting menu. Disappointing. The sponge cake was very dry, but at least the chocolate ganache was moist and rich. The espresso ice-cream was nice and refreshing, but I should have ordered the crepe suzette...Petit fours~ The lemon meringue tart was too enticing, so much that I had to eat it even though I was so full. A sweet finish to quite an enjoyable meal.

When the Michelin guide this year announced that Caprice had lost a star it was a little startling to see one of the greats take a stumble. Ever since previous Chef de Cuisine Vincent Thierry decided to move on to new ventures everyone was wondering who would be taking over the reins at Caprice. Now with new chef Fabrice Vuilin ex-executive chef of the two star La Chèvre d’Orat the helm, will his new menu regain the much coveted third star for Caprice in 2015?

Let's see.

Some welcome appetisers to begin with. Sardine milifeuille with squid ink jelly, puff with foie gras mousse and fried shrimp patties. The pastry at Caprice is always nicely done crisp buttery layers with the smooth sardine mousse. Not fishy to taste, but it lingered on the fingers afterwards so remember to ask for wet towels. The puff was nice too, choux pastry with a sweet crunchy crust holding a savoury foie gras mousse.Pull apart white crusty bread. Pillowy soft, but not special accompanied with olive oil.Amuse bouche of artichoke cream. Two layered, a chilled thick and full bodied cream at the top, while a more translucent soft jelly-like layer on the bottom. Refreshing to start with.This was the bread I was waiting for~ Olive scroll and baguette. Never fails to please, especially when consumed with a healthy spread of creamy butter.His choice of appetiser, Brittany lobster soup with ravioli of lemon confit. The soup although creamy was not quite thick enough, but the raviolis were plump with a zesty tang. Nice temperature.My poached egg was beautifully presented crowned with a savoury sable cracker adorned with greens, diced pork, foie gras and mushrooms. The egg felt like it was hard-boiled, but slicing into it revealed a runny yolk centre adding its richness to the sauce. The flavours worked well, the plain egg giving a neutral counterbalance to the intense savoury flavours of the accompaniments, if the egg white had been poached more softly and the dish served hotter than lukewarm I would have liked it even more.The escargot was served with compliments (thank you) and the somewhat forest-like presentation matched the use of ingredients. Unlike what most restaurants in Hong Kong would serve- garlic butter soaked snails where we have to pry them out of their shells, here they were de-shelled and scattered among mushrooms, Iberico ham and mossy mounds of herb brioche. Not drowning them in garlic butter allowed us to fully appreciate the natural sweet flavour of these molluscs before following up with the brioche which had a garlicky oil seeped into it. Again, if only this was served warmer...For mains, his dish of poached scallops and shrimps on a bed of cauliflower mousseline was lovely. It looked so simple yet the scallops were velvety and sweet, the shrimps nice and bouncy with the fried shrimp head adding a textural crunch. Perfect if you are looking for something lighter.I chose the braised oxtail cannelloni recommended by the Maitre' D and this was an extremely hearty dish. Three tubes of al dente pasta curled around a tender filling of pulled oxtail decorated with bits of bone marrow and strips of pancetta. The texture was quite sticky, requiring some effort to eat, but I guess that just meant it was full of collagen *pinches cheek*.A little surprising to see chocolate fondant on the menu as it is now such a common dessert, but it came recommended so he chose this. A solid looking fondant with hints of its warm liquid center starting to leak out from the cracks. Intensely rich, the chocolate used was dark enough to leave enticing bittersweet tones on the tongue and when you are about to fall into a chocolate coma, turn to the sweet poached pears and cool Tahitian vanilla ice-cream to refresh yourself. I ate most of his Feeling like something pastry for dessert I was a little disappointed that they did not serve a milefeuille anymore so I picked the substitute of strawberry tart. It was so pink! A trail of berry sorbet, dobs of cream and flavoured sugar crisps where the tart sat at the centre with a mane of strawberry slices fanning out. It looked better than it tasted. The tart base did not seem fresh, a little soft with no snap and the almond filling made the whole texture quite gummy. At least the strawberries were relatively sweet, but otherwise quite disappointed.Finishing with coffee and petit four. I loved the mini carrot cake so much he surrendered his one to me too~This was definitely not the best experience at Caprice and you can tell Chef Fabrice still needs time to assimilate with his new surroundings as well as tweaking his dishes to conform with the palate of the locals. Some of the dishes were served barely warm which was not ideal so hopefully they can improve on that, but otherwise service was welcoming and attentive as usual and the environment beautiful as always.

So the 'Kill Bill Restaurant' has hit the shores of Hong Kong. Heralding from Tokyo, Gonpachi specialises in izakaya styled cuisine and hand-made soba, but as its nickname states it is also famed for the novelty of being the setting in Mr. Quentin Tarantino's killer movie~True to the menu they serve, the restaurant is decorated like a drinking den. Dim, with spotlights shining above the tables, the restaurant is all dark wood timbers with traditional touches like lit lanterns and the staff shuffle around in geta (wooden slippers) which may not be the most convenient foot wear, but adds to the setting.What attracted me to Gonpachi was their uni tempura which reviews have raved about, but more on the heavy stuff later. Let's start with the lighter items shall we?Edamame beans served chilled. Can't really go wrong with this unless they are way overcooked.Not many places serve freshly made zaru tofu in Hong Kong, and this was good. A solid creaminess with rich soy bean flavour. Tastes so pure and not to mention healthy~ Add a little soy sauce, shallots and bonito flakes and you're good to go.The sushi here is not the best value for money... at the price they are charging I can eat better elsewhere, but it's fresh. The sweet shrimp and uni was... well sweet, but the botan shrimp and scallop were a little disappointing.Pretty tempura arrangement~ The uni I was waiting for didn't really taste like anything, not sweet or briny and the shiso leaf it came wrapped in was muted in flavour. Just a crunchy mouthful with a creamy centre... I preferred the prawn and snow crab pieces much more, really juicy pieces of crustacean, while the vegetables were okay, the corn was too unripe though.Nicely grilled ox-tongue, chewy and meaty and remember to sprinkle the seven spice powder~The seafood teapot soup was too bland, although warming, it didn't taste lively enough despite all the ingredients inside.I so recommend ordering the tiger prawn wrapped in chicken skin~ A huge prawn grilled perfectly until the chicken skin was all crisp and crackly wrapped around firm, sweet prawn meat. Such a meaty mouthful, this was the highlight of the evening.Since they have someone specially making soba noodles by the entrance, we thought we couldn't go wrong with ordering a single portion of the seiro soba. Arriving in the traditional woven basket, it looks like a lot, but the basket is actually very shallow. Served chilled, the noodles were nice and chewy, but lacked the buckwheat-ness. The soy sauce used for dipping was too light in taste and they only provided shallots rather than the additional wasabi and quails egg. Order it for your carb quota, but don't expect too much.Not feeling satisfied, we ordered a serve of marinated octopus to end on. A supposedly recommended appetiser, this came out chilled rather than warm as we were expecting. Plump, fleshy octopus tentacles, the texture was nice and bouncy with lingering hints of sweetness and mirin, but it just wasn't marinated long enough for the flavours to really soak in.Hmm... only a few highlights the tofu, prawn and crab tempura and the tiger prawn kushi, but otherwise the whole experience at Gonpachi was just underwhelming. There are much better alternatives for Japanese food in Hong Kong where you can spend your money.

So we turned one~!

And as people who love food, it only makes sense to celebrate with a lovely meal in a beautiful setting. Amber~Weekend lunch is a set menu, with the option of wine or mocktail pairing. Three savoury courses, three tasting desserts and you can add an optional cheese course if you please.

The bread is always amazing here~ I loved the baguettes, so crunchy with chewy insides and I confess I ate a lot of butter with it.Trio of amuse bouche. The ever famous foie gras lollipop covered in beetroot jelly, enjoying the smooth liver parfait is always an eye-closing moment. Crab rolls with a light citrus tang and my favourite pork croquette where a fried breaded shell releases a gush of rich porky liquid.Mr. C's first course was a single cabanon oyster hiding underneath a mound of greenness. It even tasted green from the pickled cucumber jell-o and the fancy cuts of cucmber. A little bland, but refreshing.If you have never been to Amber before, you really need to try their signature dish! Tongues of sea urchin, lobster jell-o, and soft pearls of caviar all atop a blended cauliflower cream. Everything just melts in your mouth leaving behind an aftertaste of the sea... Really good~Three tiny frogs legs wapped in crispy katifi were surprisingly flavourful. Tender and meaty, the kaifi was fried delicately so that it was still crunchy, but not hard enough to make it difficult to chew on.My foie gras ravioli in wild mushroom and tea consomme was quite ordinary. An earthy broth full of diced cep mushrooms with two tiny pasta parcels filled with foie gras. If I could pick again, I would choose the abalone instead. The flaky roll it came with was quite nice where the truffle butter came wrapped like a little candy in rice paper. It tasted more cheesy than buttery though and it was a little awkward to bite through the rice paper neatly without it sticking to your lips.The bresse pigeon looked somewhat unappealing on the plate, a brown ovoid dome of blended pigeon and foie gras all molded over toast. He saved the last bite for me, and I wish he had let me try it earlier =.= Don't judge its appearance as it had really luscious gamey flavours that was just delicious.I had the venison. Braised till it was so soft, that you could just poke to apart with your fork. Vension is naturally gamey so paired with the strong salty flavours of the sauce it just matched really well. Oh and if you are lucky you will find a bullet in your meat The side of cheesy spatzle was just comfort food at its best with the luxury of autumn truffle added to it, perfect for a carb lover like me~And then our sequence of desserts began~A small portion of poached pear in spiced red wine with olive oil caviar (bottom left). The flavour of the wine is not too strong infusing a slight tartness and sweetness to the soft pear. The bursts of olive oil were a little odd though. Poached fruit is of course a wintery dessert, but it's not something I would usually pick unless it was more indulgent as in surrounded by pastry or cream. 

I liked the cheesecake semi-freddo, although it tasted more like vanilla than cheese. Wrapped in the crispy tuile it gave a little texture to the solid creaminess (bottom right).

Before our last set dessert, the team at Amber surprised us with a mille-fieulle for our anniversay! It was so nice of them, not to mention how delicious it was~ Buttery layers of crunchy pasty, filled with sweet creme patisserie and fresh raspberries. So so good!After the amazing pastry, the last dessert was a little flat for me. Chocolate and coconut, like a bounty bar. Although I do love chocolate, the Jivara chocolate creme was just not chocolatey enough.

Don't forget the petit fours~ a three layered tin revealing twelve goodies. I didn't have much as I was already pretty high on sugar, but the marron glace was lovely, liquered chestnut covered in a sugar glaze... Thank you so much Amber team, it was most enjoyable~

There seems to be a lot of award winning chefs opening their own restaurants in Hong Kong as of late and Akrame Benallal has recently joined the party. His original restaurant in Paris was awarded one Michelin star just after a year of operations, and now he has opened Restaurant Akrame on Ship st!

A modest entrance, it's name stated in neat illuminated white writing on a dark background and his somewhat mathematical looking symbol, A to the power to R, decaled on the window.

We were lucky to get a table by walk-in since they were already fully booked for the evening, but we had to return the table to them by 8.30pm. No problems~

The restaurant was quite small with minimalistic decor, black furniture contrasting with stark white walls. It was smart to decorate like this, as anything else not so plain would make the already small feel cramped.We were presented with the 'menu', except there is nothing much to be seen on the menu... Guests can choose either four courses or six courses and you will be served whatever the chef has prepared for the evening Surprise~. Of course they will ask if you have food allergies and if you must know they can tell you what the main ingredient of each course would be, but Akrame is focused on seafood so either clap your hands in glee or sigh your frustration pending your preference for fruits de la mer.

Amuse bouche- squid ink cracker with smoked eel, Parmesan with salmon roe, anchovy with daikon (really fishy) and the one on its own olive with goats cheese.Two types of bread, raisin and wheat, the accompanying butter infused with lemon. The first taste was interesting, but after a while it became a little too cloying. And my thoughts on the communal butter knife, well unless I'm some nervous guy on a first date who is waiting for an opportune moment to 'accidentally' grab the girls hand, I didn't love it. Plain butter and my own butter knife please.

This was the first course. Cauliflower purée, Campari or cranberry jelly? I could be wrong on both accounts as I couldn't hear the server properly and vinegar sauce...Oh and soup, squirted from a canister.Creamy with a full cauliflower flavour, it had a hint of bitterness from either the purée or the jelly, but it really needed salt.

Baby pippies are hiding underneath all that foam, bathing in a passion fruit and herb sauce. Cooked perfectly they were very soft and I loved the tartness from the passion fruit.We requested a substitute for our fish course, and instead received lobster from the chef.

In it's raw sashimi state...Piping hot broth is poured in and left to cook in the sealed jar. Almost like waiting for two minute noodles.After two minutes (I think), a lemon sabayon cream with green apple and zucchini pieces was placed in front of us and this was the bed for our lobster. Wow~ this was good even for someone like me who does not love lobster. Lightly cooked, so sweet and tender, but the sabayon I loved~ Fluffy, the tart flavours from the lemon and apples went hand in hand and just worked so well with the lobster. I wanted to scrape up every smear of the sabayon, but the nasty grating noise my spoon made against the plate was not the most polite.A palate refresher of an alcoholic sherbet was served prior to our final dish.

Our last savoury course was beef. A twist on your typical meat and potatoes crowned with a crispy noodle nest. The potato was made into a foam while the cut of tenderloin albeit small was a perfect medium rare, but unfortunately there was a slight amount of gristle.Finally to dessert.

We are served liquid tar covered lumps. Just kidding

Charcoal ice-cream and cooked pineapple. If you ask me, the charcoal doesn't taste much like anything, just a strong fragrance of char and slightly salty. The blackened cookies were a clever touch, acting like lumps of charcoal with a gritty texture and the juicy pineapple helped rinse the palate from the heady flavour.A second dessert, two toned chocolate mousse~ Bottom layer cold, top layer warm, if they didn't point this out I doubt I would have noticed the temperature difference. This was really rich, easily satisfying my inner chocoholic, and digging inside I uncovered a thin caramel crisp and grapefruit segment useful in relieving the palate from the monotony of creamy mousse.Oh and petit fours~ lemon crisp on torched meringue, big madelines and sea salt chocolate. I loved the madelines~Akrame was good, well executed dishes nicely turned out, but nothing was great with the only exception being the lobster. For the price of $788 for four courses it veered on the expensive side with portion sizes being quite petite, but I would recommend it and coming for lunch would definitely be more value for money.

When talking to people who love food, it is always worth asking what kind of restaurants they visit regularly or someplace they would recommend. When I specified Chinese food, rather than a starred establishment or hotel restaurant, one name kept popping up, The Chairman.

Curious to know just how good the food was at The Chairman, it was lucky that Miss K had her birthday soon and when The Chairman came up in conversation she readily agreed to having her celebration there~ It was easy to see how popular the restaurant was since it took me one month to secure a reservation so please be sure to call ahead.

The restaurant is quite non-descript, you could say it has two levels, but the so called 'ground floor' only has a couple of two seater tables squeezed into the corners while the majority of seating is upstairs. The low ceiling makes the space feel quite cramped and don't expect too much in decor with its plain white walls, but it doesn't really matter so long as the food is good.

And it was.

Starting with century eggs with pickled ginger. The familiar pungent metallic tang of the gooey yolk, offset nicely by the sweetly spicy ginger.Cubes of ox tongue marinated in a dark vinegar sauce concealed a spicy kick. Succulent and fleshy, what's not to love about ox tongue?The best appetiser would have to go to the wild clams fried in chili jam. It looked like any ordinary stir-fried clam dish, but the flavour was amazing~ Tender morsels of clams combined with the chili burn from the thick sweet sauce... really addictive. I am normally not a big fan of shellfish, but this I would really recommend.One of The Chairman's most signature dish is the flowery crab steamed with ShaoXing wine and chicken oil. An impressive looking dish with the crab looking like it's hugging guarding the rolls of rice noodles. For those who were willing to get their hands dirty (a big thanks to Mr. K who was willing to crack everybody's crab ) they were rewarded with sweet soft flesh, while others ate the perfectly steamed rice rolls. I did find the broth to be overpoweringly alcoholic, almost as if the cook was a little too happy in pouring in the wine, if they tempered this down it would have been even more enjoyable.We had chicken~ The Chairman's soy sauce chicken to be exact. Well marinated, with supple skin and the slight chewy texture of the meat that may hint to free range chicken. This was pretty decent too.The pork belly cooked in preserved vegetables and dates was a crowd pleaser. Generous slices of pork with heart stopping layers of fat that just melted in the mouth... combined with the sweetness of the preserved vegetables this absolutely sinful. Oh and don't forget the fluffy man taos too~It seemed like we ordered a lot of spicy dishes without meaning to, as the beef stir-fried with peppercorns was served. The beef was actually very tender and the peppercorns made it similar to that of a Si Chuan dish. It was a pity I didn't eat more of this, but there were just too many dishes arriving at that moment that I sort of just forgot about it...Always need greens~ Stir-fried gai lan and they made the effort to shave the tough exterior around the stalk so we could just enjoy the crunchy fleshiness of the vegetable. Appreciated.Our last main dish was the caramelized black vinegar spare ribs. Everybody received one chunky piece, a good layer ratio of fat and lean meat, perfectly cooked through while still retaining a moist tenderness.Since we are Asian, it only seems fitting that we ordered rice somewhere along the way, two dishes in fact. Fried rice with conpoy and egg white, and fried rice with prawns trio- fresh prawns, dried prawns and shrimp paste. I think most of us were already too full to enjoy the rice, but it was nicely fried with evident wok hei and if you really love prawns, you should try the prawns trio version as it seemed like every grain of rice tasted of prawn.No Chinese desserts for us since we had cake~ Rose and Lychee cake to be exact~ Happy Birthday again Miss K~Really amazing food, there was no bad dish which nowadays is pretty hard to achieve. In terms of Chinese food with no starred status it is not overly cheap, but for the quality you are given I would say is worth it. Service is brisk and abrupt, with times that you do have to hand over your dirty plates to the server and they did forget to serve us soup that we had ordered, but other than that I wouldn't mind coming back.

Those who have visited The Chairman, are there any other particular dishes that I should try next time? I would love to hear your suggestions

The people behind the Joel Robuchon name have certainly been busy. Only recently opening a branch in IFC, Elements now have their very own Salon de The too~ Happy happy for Kowloon-siders!

Compared with the others, the one at Elements occupies a much bigger space with the enclosed area giving more of a restaurant feel. Again gorgeously decorated with the striking colours of their signature black and red, it certainly looks classy~As we were seated, the server specially pointed out their new menu for crepes something I haven't seen at other branches so of course we had to try.

Bread was served first, a selection of three soft and warm from the oven. My sister and I both thought the cheesy herb roll was the best, with a mochi-like chew and it just smelled so good!The salmon crepe arrived as a big enough portion to be shared among two people. It looked so simple, yet the flavours were anything but... Chunky slices of potato baked to a melting softness, layered with smoked salmon and sprinkled with dill all surrounding a barely cooked Japanese sun egg. I loved how thin and crisp the crepe was allowing the actual flavours of the filling to shine through and best of all it didn't have the pungent odour of buckwheat which I really dislike.I wanted to try the chicken risotto, but it was unavailable that day so they suggested I try the chicken burger which is also a new item. First bite and I was smitten~ A fluffy bun hugging two pieces of pan fried chicken fillets with avocado (love!), tomato and lettuce. The chicken was really juicy with a crunchy crust and despite it being a burger I felt quite healthy eating this The burger is already tasty enough on its own, but they do have an accompanying egg and caper sauce which became my dipping sauce for the crunchy french fries.The corolles pasta was an accident since they placed it on our table by mistake. However when we told them, they let us keep it anyway. A mound of al dente pasta scattered with French ham cooked in a creamy butter sauce. Definitely comfort food and perfect for the upcoming cold weather.My sister having had a marvelous croque monsieur from another place, wanted to try the croque madame after seeing it on the menu. A toasty hot roll filled with a thick slice of french ham, sunny egg and smothered in melted cheese. Mmm~ the oozing yolk, slight saltiness from the ham, richness from the cheese and the pillowy bun... such simple ingredients, but combined together make for quite a yummy mouthful. If I worked at Elements this and a cup of their Blue Mountain blend coffee is what I would want for breakfast~Although they have some new cakes on the menu, I only wanted my beloved salted caramel tart while my sister chose the citron tart to balance out the sweetness of mine. The richness of the chocolate and burnt caramel never fails to please, while the pleasant sharpness of the lemon was enough to pull me out of my caramel induced haze So satisfied~ the crepe and chicken burger is really worth trying and although we were too full for coffee this time, there is always next time... preferably paired with a sweet crepe ;)

I seem to have visited a lot of steakhouses in close succession recently and the amount of red meat I have consumed has been off the chart, but that doesn't mean when Hugo's comes up as a suggestion for dinner I would decline...

Inside the Hyatt Regency, Hugo's gives the feeling that you are dining in a room dating back to the medieval times with the timber crossbeams across the ceilings and the iron-wrought chandeliers. The open kitchen is right by the front of the entrance where diners can watch the chefs in action while being serenaded by the guitarist whose lilting strains were quite perfect for the restaurant's ambiance.

Once shown to our cushy booth, a bread basket was served. Garlic bread, baguettes and a crusty roll, I liked the baguettes ideal for smearing with my butter, but the garlic bread could have done with a little more salt.Spying Fin de Claire on the menu was something we had to order since they are one of our favourite types~ They were cool and sweet with a textural crunch which can only come from the freshest oyster.Looking like a fresh garden, our salad of king crab arrived with big chunks of the crustacean centered in the middle while scooped domes of avocado and tomato were arranged as a ring around it. All the ingredients were fresh, but they were some obvious brown spots on the avocado which was not the most attractive.Steak tartare was served at the table, mixed and seasoned to your taste pending your level of spice tolerance. The raw beef was tender with no hint of gristle and while I enjoyed my first few mouthfuls, the saltiness of the sauce became a little overwhelming. Steak tartare is normally paired with thin crisp pieces of toast or chips, but our toasts were not brought to us until we asked and even then they were too thick to be considered a good pairing with the tartare.Again prepared by the table was our lobster bisque, watch for the huge flame as the chef ignites the cognac in the pot and if you want to take a photo better get your camera ready unlike me who was too busy gawking at it and by the time Mr. C reminded me it had gone out =.= The bisque was stomach warmingly hot, but the dollop of cognac cream was a little too much, making it overly creamy.Yes I ordered fish at a steakhouse which may be blasphemous for you carnivores out there, but I felt like something lighter. Originally wanting cod fish, I had to replace with sea bass since it had sold out. I opted to have it oven cooked rather than grilled as I was after more of a moist mouthful. It was a lovely cut of bass, tender and juicy, but the scattering of tiny prawns outshone it. Really good~ I just pity the person who had to peel them.Mr. C chose scallops which looked a little plain and dry with angry markings from the grill. Although soft, they could have done with some sauce.I really recommend the fries, not your shoe string type these were piping hot with a wonderful crunchiness. Served atop a burner, they won't get cold any time soon.Peering through the dessert menu, Mr. C pointed out that Hugo's serve some really traditional French style desserts. With that said he settled for the crepes suzette while I was content with an apple tartin.

Once again the crepes suzette were prepared table side (hi again chef *wave*), with a flaming finish from the pour of Grand Marnier. It wasn't the most attractive looking dish with the watery sauce and rapidly melting ice-cream, but the crepes were moist and thoroughly drenched in alcohol making for quite a strong mouthful.My apple tartin was a stunner. It required a short waiting time, but so worth it~ Topped with caramelised apples encased in a light flaky pastry, one bite of this with the vanilla-bean specked ice-cream left me speechless... So good and I loved how Hugo's were so generous with the ice-cream as there is nothing worse than finishing all the ice-cream and being left with just the tart.And to end, a smoking bowl of chocolate bon bons as our petite fours~Service was attentive, a little erratic at times, but at least all our dishes arrived on a timely basis. I know I will want to come back for that amazing apple tartin and having steak next time wouldn't hurt too ;)