Full review can be retrieved from http://geoffstwitchen.com/?p=1806

Has been frightfully cold during this whole week in Hong Kong & because of this weather, I had to re-arrange my restaurant visits & write ups & what a better timing to write about a Sze Chuan Hot Pot Place on Macdonnell Road. Very rare do you hear people dine out in restaurants in this part of the city in a residential area & there are a grand total of 3 restaurants in Coda Plaza with San Xi Lou (三希樓) as my local favourite. Sze Chuan Cuisine is famed for its extreme flavours in the level of spice & pungency & is the perfect type of meal to enjoy to keep yourself warm in this weather. Not only do they serve up a warm & hearty Sze Chuan Hot Pot, they also serve Dim Sum in the afternoons which I have visited on 2 previous occasions with very consistent quality which is rare for a Dim Sum restaurant in the Central area which is generally crap to say the least. There are 3 important things that I know of the Coda Plaza, one is the Park n Shop whereby it quite possibly has some of the hottest Hong Kong Taitais swiping their black Amercian Express Credit Cards doing grocery shopping, second is San Xi Lou & third, according to a close source of mine, Coda Plaza apparently also contains a high-class entertainment “club” with attractive “working ladies” loitering around during late nights. Interesting source this is & I have never visited & if you have, let us know!

Sometimes, a good meal is not all about just food & drinks on offer & hence this is the reason to my occasional love for hot-pot. The company & atmosphere also plays an important factor in a good meal & only a Chinese New Year gathering with family or a family hot-pot provides such warm cosy atmosphere that definitely beats off the cold weather! Another reason to why I enjoy a hot pot at times is the abundance of high quality of local produce & items on offer. The local fresh beef, local vegetables (King’s Vegetables), local fresh beancurd, local pork & above all, the fish / prawn / pork / squid balls are a true definition of what hot pot is all about. I have never have been a believer in hot-poting Wagyu Beef nor other fancy products as hot pot does not have to be a glam dinner, it just has to been something simple & warm. There are also many other reasons to why I do not like hot-pot aside from the winter season only. I hate to see a cloud of foam in my steam-boat which is all the impurities given out from a mix of food items, not a pleasant & healthy scene this. Secondly, I honestly do not like my slice of beef being cooked in such high temperature whereby the colour of the beef turns grey. Such high temperature cooking only deteriorates the quality & texture of the meat which is not preferable & a desired level of cooking to a piece of beef is to apply low temperature cooking method for the beef to retain its juices & texture. Controlling the amount one consumes from hot-pot is very difficult as everybody that I know tends to over-eat & if you can under-eat during a hot pot, I salute you.

We were seated nearby the window with a great view of Central in front of our eyes. An extensive menu to choose from with authentic Sze Chuan dishes on offer such as Dan Dan Noodles (担担面), Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐), Kung Pao Chicken (宮保雞丁), Water-Cooked Dishes (水煮), Fuqi Feipen (夫妻肺片) etc. I have previously tried the Water-Cooked Beef which was so spicy that I was breathing out flames after the meal which was pulsating yet fun as I always like a bit of a spice challenge. For this visit, the only dish from the a la carte menu which we ordered was the Sze Chuan Saliva Chicken as I love this dish & it is a must order in any Sze Chuan restaurant (see my previous visit to Wen Kui Tsuen in Jordan – http://geoffstwitchen.com/?p=841). This dish was equally as good as the one we had in Wen Kui Tsuen purely because the mala (麻辣) flavour, meaning the hotness & numbness leaves you with such intense aftermath effect on your tongue & lips but above all, the chicken was fresh & with generous portions.

For our traditional Sze Chuan Hot Pot, we chose 2 types of broth which featured a plain Fish Head & Chilli Broth & a Sze Chuan Mala Broth. The fish head & chilli broth was aromatic with a good spice kick even though the colours may not reflect so. For the Sze Chuan Mala Broth, you can also let your waiter / waitress know on your preference in the level of spiciness (Small, Medium & Large Amount of Spice) & we settled for a medium as we had a few diners that I know will pass out from eating a large amount of spice level. When the hotpot arrived at our table, I was frightened off by the colour of the Sze Chuan Mala Broth & it looked like trouble all through the meal. Scary Stuff!

Before kicking off the meal & like any other hot pot, mixing & matching your own sauces is a great form of entertainment before you get tucked into the food. A long table featuring any type of sauce & condiments such as Chilli Oil, Sesame Oil, Shallots, Garlic Paste, Fresh Garlic, Coriander, Fresh Chilli, condiments that can break you in this hot pot experience. I opt for the most ridiculous amount of Chilli Oil, Fresh Chilli, Garlic & Coriander for my deadly mixture, tried a spoonful & it was ACE in the sense that it was 5-star spicy to say the least. If you look at my mixture below, I try not to use too much sauces & oil as it gives you a thirsty & dry throat the next morning as well as it ruins the natural flavour of the food such as the local beef. My magic rule is to fill the sauce bowls with 1/10 of the sauces only so that you can slightly dip your cooked food into the sauce bowl gently to the level that you do not drench your food into the sauces.

Since hot pot is a regular feast for us that live in Hong Kong, I will select a few of my highly recommended food items that you MUST order on your visit to San Xi Lou:

a) Local Beef: Beef is sliced around 5mm thick which is a good thickness for hot pot as the beef shrinks when you cook this in the hot pot. San Xi Lou only uses locally sourced beef which I give them Props on as there is so much flavour to the beef & the local beef in my opinion is best for hot pot. Also, the marble (the layer of fat) is evenly spread in the beef which is surprising & rare for local beef. Such fat only improves the flavour & is extremely delicious when cooked as it also gives it a chewy texture. I am not saying that I do not encourage the use of the soya & chilli sauces for this beef, but remember, only a gentle drop or two so that it gives you a good spice kick & warms you up immediately. If you cook up your beef in the Fish Head & Chilli Broth (the plain coloured broth), the spicy level is nowhere near as intensive as the Sze Chuan Mala Broth therefore, do add a few drops of your pre-mixed sauce for this.

b) Local Pork Slices: I love bacon, who doesn’t & you gotta be mad if you don’t. Don’t get me wrong, this is not rashes of bacon but it certainly looks like a slice of bacon from my photos below. Best part is, I highly recommend this item because when you cook this in a steaming hot pot, the temperature cooks the pork & slowly melts the the layers of pork fat which combining with the broth is a deadly combination. All the juices & broth soaked up by the pork releases so much flavour & taste & simply stimulates one’s taste-buds upon the first bite. Trust me on this as I rarely eat pork during a hot pot but this was quite exceptional!

c) King’s Vegetable (皇帝菜): Another one of my regular favourite type of vegetable, only for hot pot occasions. For those that are not familiar with King’s Vegetable, it is a type of Gong Cai (蒿菜) which was served in the Chinese Royal Palace in the old days. King’s Vegetable has a slightly bitter taste (similar to rocket leaves) when cooked & this is best cooked in the Sze Chuan Mala Broth as the spicy flavours overcome the bitterness. What’s even better, this type of vegetable contains extreme high amounts of nutrients comparing to other vegetables normally eaten in a hot pot & is said to aid digestion & to improve our body’s metabolism. Highly recommended type of vegetable for such hearty hot pot!

d) Deep Fried Fish Skin: Another typical food item that is very Hong Kong when it comes to hot pot & you either love or hate this. Some like it because it is so crispy & flavourful & some hate it because it is extremely greasy & their general dislike towards eating skin. At San Xi Lou, the deep-fried fish skin was extremely hot & crispy when it was first presented on our table. Most importantly, the fish skin was quite well seasoned unlike many other types which I have tried in other hot pot restaurants which in general lacks flavour. Food item like this, I don’t understand why people bother to give this a swirl in the hot pot as the whole point is to enjoy the fish skin whilst it’s crispy & not when it turns soggy.

The other food items which we ordered such as beancurd, American Jumbo Oysters which were not so jumbo afterall, prawn balls, beef tripes were moderate & nothing spectacular which I will not going into too much details on it. General quality of the food items were of good quality & no wonder the restaurant was buzzing with diners throughout the evening with people coming & leaving!

Perhaps the only disappointment on the evening was the dessert which was the Yellow Custard Chinese Bun (流沙奶皇包). This was woeful & if you look clearly at the photos, it was oozing with grease & the yellow custard was more like a filling of yellow custard oil which was quite revolting. My first bite of the bun resulted in a mouthful of yellow oil, that was nasty & San Xi Lou has got some serious work to do on this dessert!

This was certainly a warm dinner & the spicy Sze Chuan flavours rescued us from the cold. San Xi Lou isn’t a bad choice for a hot pot in Central with a spectacular view & I strongly recommend you all to try the Sze Chuan Hot Pot. As I said in my 2nd paragraph, sometimes a critical factor determining on a good meal is the company in which you are with & our company made this meal a very hearty, warm & cosy meal indeed.

Happy Eating!

Geoff

Full review can be retrieved on www.geoffstwitchen.com

Finally I can at last focus on my food reviews in Hong Kong & I have definitely missed this side of action after writing so many articles for my restaurant visits in London, Paris & Lyon. Per my departure from Hong Kong to Europe, I recieved this very bright news that our beloved Ming Court from Langham Hotel has just be awarded with 2 Michelin Stars (http://geoffstwitchen.com/?p=810), now this is definitely great news for the restaurants on The Dark Side especially in Mong Kok. I have always heard many good things about Ming Court from industry peers so I decided to drop their PR Team a quick email, pull some strings to arrange visit to Ming Court on a wonderful Friday afternoon to check out a few dishes. Another reason for doing so is because I have recieved a lot of comments to review more Chinese restaurants therefore Ming Court is a perfect venue for this.

For those that always complain that The Dark Side is a trek & a mission, this is utter bulls*it. Ming Court is located in Langham Hotel & you can take a MTR direct from Central / Sheung Wan to Mong Kok MTR Station & exit out into Langham Place directly. Our visit to Ming Court on Friday lunch was spectacular, I arrived precisely around 1215pm and there was a queue outside the restaurant with a mixture of locals, foreign tourists which comprises mainly of Mainlanders of whom stank of Double Happiness Cigarettes & Westerners who looked very lost in the territory of Mong Kok. Sat down in a relatively quiet area & the 2 lovely PR ladies from Langham Hotel came out to greet myself (no names disclosed) & they are one of the nicest PR people around town for sure. Since they are the host, I let them recommend me their signature dim-sum, main courses & dessert in which I only had 1 request which was to check out their Christmas Dim Sum Set (http://geoffstwitchen.com/?p=607). Service was attentive not to the level of over-doing it which is typical in hotels whereby waiters / waitresses often drop by your table to check on the food, fill up tea & to upsell of course.

Browsing through Ming Court’s menu, what I particular liked was the fact that there are Premium Chinese Tea choices such as Aged Pu-Er, Premium Dragon Well, Silver Needles Tea on offer to guests at $40 per guest. This is a special touch to dining guests as some of us prefer to enjoy a fine cup of premium tea rather than the normal tea on offer which helps a lot of digestion after such typical heavy Chinese meal. What’s more, the ordering of food at Ming Court can be as personalised as you like therefore if a normal set of Prawn Dumpling is 3 pcs & you are a group of 2, you can order by 2 pcs instead which is a nice touch to avoid stuffing your face out. 5- 7 minutes later, the dimsum started flying out & this is what we ordered for our tasting today:

Pan Fried Bun with Assorted Mushroom (生煎野菌包) ($35 for 3 pcs) – This dim-sum attracted me when it arrived on the table as the shape of the maple leaf was extremely attractive. Slightly golden on the top which adds to a crispy texture with a healthy mix of assorted mushroom which was healthy. Since the bun was pan-fried, Props to the chef that it wasn’t too oily which is perfect for my palate. The flour used for the bun was soft but not to the point that the bun easily breaks apart when you pick up using your chop-sticks. Priced at $35 for 3 pcs, this is extremely reasonable considering you are dining in a Michelin 2 Star establishment. Great start to the meal! Highly Recommended!

roasted crispy pork loin with five spices (五香燒腩肉) ($78) – Roasted Pork Loin is an essential part of Chinese Eating culture especially during festive dates & celebrations. Was highly recommended by the PR girls to try out this Pork Loin which I had hesitations as I have never been a fan of pork ever in my life but just cannot reject their hospitality. The skin was Crispy, just like the cracklings we have from our Sunday Roasts in England & the pork loin was extremely flavourful with the 5 spice seasonings which consists of Sichuan pepper, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and fennel. Whoever invented the style of eating Chinese Roasted Pork Loin with French Mustard should be given a Nobel Prize for such invention as it is quite possibly one of the deadliest & the best pairings around. Highly Recommended!

Pan-Fried Turkey Pan-Cake (香煎火雞窩) ($45 for 4 pcs) - This was one of the Christmas Dim Sum Items which I requested as I want to see the method of the East meeting The West & how such Western ingredient of turkey can be blended into Chinese Dim Sum. It was similar to a spring roll with stuffed turkey & assorted mushrooms but pan-fried. It was steaming hot when it arrived on our table & the first bite was pure crisp & crunchyness which was delectable. The Sweet Plum Sauce drizzled on the top was unnecessary as it was very tasty to be eaten by itself therefore am curious whether it was for presentation purpose or to increase the flavour of the dim-sum. Instead, my recommendation is to eat this with some good hearty Sze Chuan Chilli Sauce which gives it an extra kick with the spicy flavour!

Chilled sliced abalone and jellyfish (凍鮑片海蜇頭) ($168) - A rather luxury dish which was also recommended by the girls. Honest saying, I love Jelly Fish as it is so chewy & best eaten with vinegar as a perfect starter to a wonderful meal. For those that rarely eat Jellyfish, the head part of the jelly fish is extremely valuable & much more expensive than the thinly sliced jelly fish you normally have when dine out. The Jellyfish head is a lot more dense & solid in texture. Sesame oil & a dash of chilli, chives & sesame is often used to marinate & prepare the jelly fish. Thn thinly sliced chill abalone is a perfect demonstration of the level of skills & art involved in Chinese cooking – so thinly that it was like a sheet of paper but yet with so much flavours. Look no further at the garnishes of the cucumber at the back of the plate, to achieve such level in slicing & dicing, a good old 10 + years in the kitchen must be required for this. It was an extremely refreshing dish, the sort of appetiser that is perfect for a hot summer in Hong Kong! Highly Recommended!

Steamed dumplings with shrimp and parsley shrimp (香茜鮮蝦白兔餃) ($45 for 3 pcs) - This was our 2nd set of Christmas Dim Sum which was perfect for the occasion. Technically, this is prawn dumplings that we get in every Chinese Dim Sum place but the slight extra touch is the parsley in the filling as well as the 2 dots of carrots which serve as the eye of the rabbit. Also, unlike its traditional prawn dumpling shape, this dumpling was moulded into a rabbit shape which was a rather gimmicky but slightly try-to-hard type of dim-sum. Taste was ordinary as I did not have high hopes for a themed Christmas Dim Sum as such which I am sure that regular Prawn Dumpling in Ming Court would have tasted better but it was more attractive & beautiful for the camera!

Steamed dumpling filled with shark fin, diced mushrooms, conpoy, ham and bamboo piths in consommé (魚翅灌湯餃) ($58) - So, for those that do not know or have not tried out the below dumpling, this is your Ferrari or Maserati version of dumplings. Looking at the ingredients involved – shark fin, diced mushroom, conpoy & ham which are all your expensive Chinese ingredients as part of the filling for this dumpling which is traditionally served in a broth. The taste of the Chicken broth was pure & clear, good sign that it wasn’t too over-sweet to show that no MSG was added. The steamed dumpling was hearty & generous portion size, nothing to complain about & the filling was also extremely generous. There was quite a lot of shark-fin in the dumpling & not to brag about this, there was so much that some of it was stuck in my teeth. Highly Recommended!

Soya Chicken + Honey Glazed Barbeucue Pork - Similar to the Crispy Pork Loin as above, Soya Chicken + Barbecue Pork (Char Siu) is essential to a Hong Konger’s diet, not that it is recommended to be consumed daily but just it is such a typical cheap eats in Hong Kong. To start, there was red-ness in the chicken meaning that the chicken was not a 100% fully cooked which was disappointing but the chicken meat was extremely tender & intensively flavoured with the soya sauce which rescued the dish. The barbecue pork (Char Siu) was awesome & kicked ass, it has been a while since I had such beautiful piece of Honey Glaed Barbeucue Pork. I loved it how it was slightly burnt on the outside which I am sure may not have been deliberate but the chared-ness adds a lot of flavour to the meat itself. There was a lot of barbeucued pork on the plate & so much that we couldn’t finish off such wonderful meat on offer!

Stir-fried sliced giant garoupa stuffed with shrimp paste (龍皇披金甲) ($238) - To win a Silver Award in 2009 for the Best of the Best Culinary Award, this dish is a MUST TRY & was special in every way. The Chinese name of the dish is special & neat which means The Golden Armour worn by the Dragon King which was a fancy name & one of those dish names that wins awards nevermind the taste. Presentation was special with a row of Deep Fried Prawn Heads + row of Stir Fried Garoupa stuffed with Shrimp Paste & Chinese Vegetables on the side & bottom as garnish. The taste of the Garoup with Shrimp Paste was extremely special in which it is definitely one of those comfort dishes best to cure a severe hangover. The sweetness & the juiciness of the meat was swirling around my mouth upon my first garoupa & there was a sign pointed by God that I must have at least 2 more pieces of such wonderful creation.

However, on my recent visit to Ming Court for lunch in which I ordered this dish again but it was slightly too oily & greasy this round which was a real shame. Nonetheless, the taste & presentation was still there but some extra consistency must be performed by the Chefs. Please take good note of this!

Ming court special fried rice with diced abalone and egg white (明閣鮑魚粒炒飯) ($168) - Just when you think we are about to hop onto dessert, we Asians need a bit of rice or carbohydrates after all as that is our daily essential diet. We settled for something which is relatively lighter & healthier after a pulsating lunch & what can beat a Egg White Fried rice with diced abalone. From my knowledge in cooking fried rice, to cook up a very hearty & delicious fried rice requires a good amount of oil to increase the flavour or as we say in Chinese, to inject the flavour from the wok using the heat. The rice was well cooked evenly & was extremely delicious even without the presence of egg yolks. Many other Chinese restaurants would have used a dash of good old ginger with the egg white on the fried rice to enhance the flavour but this was no where to be tasted at Ming Court. The flavour of the egg white blended in very well with the fried rice & the only slightly disappointment was there wasn’t enough diced abalone as the dish was quite bland mainly featuring the Kai Lan (Chinese vegetable) Stalk + Egg White. Definitely a healthier alternative option for those that are cautious about their weight!

Shark fin crystal extravagance (翅晶凝) ($68 for 4 pcs) - A good meal always ends on a high & the desserts at Ming Court did not disappoint either. Let me introduce you to Hong Kong’s first ever restaurant which used Shark Fin as part of their dessert, the Shark Fin Crystal Extravagance was a pure beauty + a stroke of genius by the chef. The top was a Shark Fin Jelly with the bottom a mango pudding. Presentation was mouth-watering & full of amazement as a black box featuring 4 pcs of the dessert arrives on your table with the waiter & waitress slowly pour cold water on the sides of the black box. The dried ice, which is packed at the bottom of the box undergoes a chemical reaction with the water & gives off steam & creates a smokey scenario which was extremely entertaining. Presentation was FAB but how about the taste as these 2 elements never quite go hand in hand & it once again proves that this theory is correct. The Mango Pudding at the bottom was solid & dense which is not a very appealing texture as it should nice, soft & creamy. The shark fin jelly on the top was boring – there was no flavour to it which was disappointing. On my recent visit, I again ordered this dessert for our group of diners and it certainly created a WOW factor amongst the diners but the taste & texture remained a disappointment. I suspect that afterall to win over your so-called food critics, somethings presentation & entertainment is equally as important as the taste but this case does not apply to myself.

Steamed golden cake coated with ground peanuts, sesame and coconut (黃金不煎糕) ($32 for 4 pcs) This was not a signature dessert at Ming Court but personally, I rated this higher than the Shark Fin Crystal Extravagance. Texture was very similar to one of those Sweet Cakes we eat during Chinese New Year & the extra genius touch was to add the sesame, coconut & the grounded peanuts which only improved the taste of the cake. Unlike the the above dessert, this was sweet which may sound stupid in writing but aren’t all desserts meant to be sweet & I would much rather if desserts as such are sweet & are kept sweet. You would rather have a customer complain about a dessert being too sweet and not too bland. Definitely a very delicious Western infused Chinese dessert!

Before my 2nd visit to Ming Court for a brilliant Sunday lunch, I picked up another brilliant press release from Langham Hotel regarding their festive Chinese New Year puddings which I am also pick up & check out. Just realised, that time of the year is around once again & time really flies. So today, we have 2 types of Chinese New Year Puddings, one is the traditional Turnip Pudding ($138) & the other is a Golden Sesame Chinese Pudding ($128) which is similar to the dessert above, if not the same. Only 500 pcs are produced for each type therefore, starting purchasing your cakes now.

After my experimenting with the cakes, I personally will recommend only one of 2 choices. For a more authentic & traditional approach, I personally highly recommend the Turnip cake by Ming Court which was brilliant & not too overly greasy – a big bonus point. Such cakes we eat during Chinese New Year are never meant to be healthy & definitely helps to contribute on the calories in your body. Taste was mildly flavoured & the flour used in the cake was at the perfect amount meaning that the inner texture was not too dense or too soft, perfect for a good bite. One slight improvement area will be to add more turnips into the cake but the only slight concern from the Chef’s Point of View is that the turnips will go off & rot very quickly therefore these cakes should be cooked & eaten within 7-days of purchase & opening. Best way to enjoy a piece of turnip pudding is to ip your turnip cake into X.O Sauce (a type of chilli sauce served in Chinese restaurants) & to savour the taste with a fine cup of Chinese Tea. It is also equally important to brown the layer on the top of the cake as that gives an extra dimension of slightly burnt flavour & crispyness. Highly Recommended!

All in all, my experiences at Ming Court was plesant & I have extremely happy with the fact that we finally have a good renowned restaurant in Mong Kok that has won the Michelin Star grading proving that these jack-asses from the Michelin Star panel judges are finally understanding the where the good food is & not only focusing in Hotel Restaurant Establishment or your so-called nouveau riche restaurants. My first visit to Ming Court was a very perfect visit whereby ambiance, service & food all matched up the standards & expectations but one can argue that was because I was dining with their PR ladies. However, 2nd visit was as a normal customer didnt quite reach the level of the first visit which was a major shame. Ming Court – consistency is what is required for a successful F&B branch & please keep up the good work as you are doing Chinese Food very proud! I salute you & Chef Tsang Chiu King (Executive Chef of Ming Court).

Full review can be retrieved from www.geoffstwitchen.com

The Man above is Chef Quim Fernandez, hailed previously from El Bulli from the region of Catalonia in Spain. For those that have not met him, he does not look anything like this & in fact has a shaved head & probably lost another 10 lbs during this visit in Hong kong.

When H one first opened a few years back, it always raised question marks to why the same restaurant group opened up 2 restaurants in the same mall with one directly 2 floors above the other, very strange business decision or strategy I thought. My last visit to H one was also the 2nd week when the restaurant first opened with my fiancee for a quick lunch to experiment & to try out the food. Being a regular patron at Harlans back when I was working in the Two ifc building, I know the menu, the place & the staff fairly well & have always enjoyed the food, service & definitely a bonus killer view which could woo-yourself into any woman. If you ask me honestly, is the food really that good which matches the premium price, I don’t think so but it was the sort of restaurant that was perfect to impress a woman, client & to show your parents how far you have moved up the corporate ladder. With the prices you spill out at Harlans, you are better off hitting over to Caprice which is next door & the quality is guaranteed. Anyway, back to my previous lunch experience at H one, simply the food SUCKED so badly that I vow not to return for some time as our lunch was a whopping HKD700 in which I had to make myself feel better by telling my fiancee that the good was spectacular – NOT! Very disappointing & since then, I have not shown up in that part of the IFC Mall.

Until recently, I recieved a press release from their PR Team regarding a guest chef in town & it woke me up immediately - Chef Quim Fernandez. A house-hold name & a veteran in the F&B industry in Spain & has worked alongside Ferran Adria, at the 3 Michelin Star El Bulli (which was voted as the best restaurant in the world last year & which many other restaurants around the world attempt to follow their foot-steps in molecular cooking). I have no idea on how H one pulled off this deal but it was indeed an exciting piece of news which I tweeted a few times on twitter as I was just excited, about as excited as when I previously attended the Bob Blumer (http://www.bobblumer.com/) dinner in Hong Kong. Immediately replied the email to their PR & booked my spot for a nice set lunch, really just to test out on whether the reputation really matched the standard of food.

Chef Quim Fernandez specialises in Catalan Cuisine which is an international hit & is a Mediterranean Cuisine from the region of Catalonia (Barcelona). Locally dependent on the fresh produce usage such as fresh vegetable produce including tomatoes, garlic, eggplants, Arbequina Olive Oils, wide range of fish including sardine, anchovy, sea-bass, cod as well as enormous amounts of pork related produce such as cured sausauges. Expect enormous amounts of exotic flavours in each & every dish as well as a mix of sweet & savoury flavours from the Catalan Cuisine & some signature Catalan dishes include Beans & Pork Sausage Stew, Seafood Casserole, Cooked Snails etc. Exciting stuff indeed & it is a positive sign that there are MORE variations of Spanish Cuisine being introduced in Hong Kong – thank god finally!

The Press Lunch was meant to begin at 1230pm & as usual, the Hong Kong reporters / editors have a general tendency to arrive fashionably late with zero manners. To my amazement, some ever bother showing up around 1315pm which was just disgraceful & disrespectful to the Chef, Host & other press on the table like us. Of course, we also have the Chinese Press who was hungry & started eating without waiting for the full table, this sort of crap only happens in Hong Kong. On top, overheard a few comments on the table from the press complaining on why the speed of food served, give it a break guys & girls, please respect another culture’s style of eating as the Spanish are famed for eating slowly & enjoying their food. Looking around the table, I was quite amazed at the sort of press the PR Team invited which was definitely a basis on quantity over quality as I was confident 3/4 of them don’t even know what Catalan Cuisine is & mind you what they are expecting from the press lunch. Haha, I will be impressed if they know where Spain is fullstop.

It was a simple 4-course signature Catalan menu as explained by Chef Fernandez with wine pairing during the busy lunch & all dishes were beautifully presented full of colours which was perfect to comfort on the eye after a busy morning staring into screens.

Mackeral Marinated and Potato Salad with its Caviar – This was a wonderful starter & truly demonstrated the essence of a signature Catalan dish with the marinated mackerals paired with a potato sald. The mackeral was extremely flavourful which was spectacular & the potato was slightly browned on the top in which the browned layer added an extra dimension to the flavour to the normally boring & bland potatoes. The pairing of the Potato Salad & the Marinated Mackeral was sensational & I definitely will return to H one just for this dish as it was so refreshing. The Caviar for me was a little un-necessary as it adds to much saltiness to the dish with the presence of mackeral which is salty itself but nonetheless, it is a special touch of luxury on the starter. Such a simple & rustic starter & I never imagined how well the pairing of mackerals + potato could turn out to be, my lord, where have you been in all my life? HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Scallop & Foie Gras with Vinagreta Reduction - This is the sort of dish normally I will have no-second thoughts in conquering the full dish including the garnish + sauce on the plate. However due to a recent health check-up, I realised that maybe I should chill out on the amount of high cholesterol food items such as your foie gras, shell fish, cheese etc therefore this is the sort of dish whereby only an idiot like myself will refuse. As soon as the server brought out the dish, jesus, why is it ME that has to suffer from this & it was extremely difficult not to enjoy this dish. The Scallop was massive & very well pan-fried in which all the juices from flesh burst out upon the first bite at it. Marvellous stuff! What was even better was the foie gras pairing with Scallop was something which it was rare to enjoy in Hong Kong & has also inspired me to create in my upcoming dishes for our Moleskin Notepad Competition. I only digged in one forkful of the foie gras not that I was full or it tasted horrible or anything but just that I simply don’t want my arteries to be blocked in the space of 2 yrs. What I loved about this dish was the Vinegreta Reduction which was the killer & just bonded the flavours of the foie gras + scallop together.

Baked Sea Bass, Costa Brava Style Potatoes, Onion & Tomato with a Touch of Rosemary - This was disappointing, so disappointing as I expected a main course from a chef that used to work in El Bulli to be absolutely spot on. The Costa Brava Style Potatoes is a type of spicy potatoes served in the North Eastern Region of Catalonia region which was not very spicy at all. The onion tomato & rosemary sauce was nothing spectacular & I dare to say that my missus at home does a better tomato & onion pasta sauce than Chef Fernandez on this day. Above all what was MOST DISAPPOINTING was the baked Seabass which tasted like it had been in the oven for at least 10 mins too long. The fish was way too over-cooked with the meat extremely DRY for my liking & this comment was also shared by the gentleman on my left of whom was the Secretary General from the Spanish Chamber of Commerce which was not good. I really did not expect the sea-bass will turn out like this & later on we had a chat with Chef Fernandez on why the fish was “slightly” over-cooked & he mentioned that he cooked it in a way to suit the Asian Palate. Whether you believe this explanation or not, you can judge it yourself.

Chef Quim’s Dessert Surprise – Pear Tartlet - Dessert was also traditional Catalan Style sweet on offer which was poached pears on top of a crispy tartlet with a creamy Vanilla Sauce which was again decent BUT nothing spectacular. It was a simple, rustic dessert which would have been perfect for an evening setting but somehow the failure in the main-course really dampened my mood to enjoy this dessert which sometimes, 1 course of your meal can determine & change your overall mood towards food. What I enjoyed most about the dessert was the crispy tartlet which as I phrased was very CRISPY which went well with the soggyness of the poached pears as well as the sweetness of the vanilla sauce.

Throughout the meal, it was a hit & miss. Service was good but if not the best as the waiters rarely asked on whether I was done with the Wine glass & imagine if that happened to a regular guest that was paying good money for the wine. I went back to H one on Friday night with my missus for a casual meal & took a look at the special Catalan menu again, hefty prices to the extent that it’s worth the value, you may have your say on this. I was certainly bitterly disappointed with the Seabass even till at this moment as I have no idea on how Chef Quim Fernandez can turn such piece of fish into such dry & bland boring dish. I wouldn’t mind ordering the regular a la carte dishes at H one but my honest opinion is that I don’t think I will be very interested to pay as a regular guest for the special Catalan Menu which has now already ended.

Happy Eating!
Geoff

Full review can also be retrieved on www.geoffstwitchen.com

No matter how many people have recommended me to visit The Chapel in Happy Valley for a good old Indian, my previous visit was a total disaster which I will not give this a 2nd chance (http://geoffstwitchen.com/?cat=54). Since then, I have not had the opprotunity to enjoy a fine Indian Meal as it is always one of those cuisine that never seem to loiter around my mind unless when I am in London or extremely hungover. It’s difficult to find good quality Indian Cuisine on Hong Kong island and your usual suspects like Bombay Dreams, Guru are okay but not the greatest. According to the local Indians, they say some of the best Indian cuisine are found in Chung King Mansion & whether or not you have the balls to visit the infamous building for a local taste & flavours, it ’s your choice. I recently recieved an invitation from the guys behind Gangas on checking out the food & to be honest, I have never heard of Gangas as they only recently rebrand their restaurant from Gunga Dins to Gangas in a rather quiet & subtle manner. I have eaten in Gunga Din’s last year & thought the food was simple & very reasonably priced for Central but there was an issue of hygiene as the place looked like it needed a good cleaning & bleaching nevermind talking about the food.

Heading from my REAL JOB’s office to Ganga’s was a 5 min walk but it took me at least an extra 10 mins to actually locate the restaurant on Wyndham Street. It is so hidden that you can literally walk past it without even noticing the restaurant’s entrance therefore I suggest that they should add some serious signage to increase the visibility. Walked down the stairs & turned right into an empty restaurant on a Tuesday evening around 1900pm was not a good sign to come. I hate the sight of empty restaurants as it tells me 2 important things which are either the food is absolutely crap & overpriced or the location of the restaurant has problems which Ganga’s clearly was not experiencing as it is located on Wyndham Street, a restaurant & bar hub of Hong Kong. Sat down, ordered a Tsing Tao & looked through the menu to see what tickled my fancy for the evening & to make things interesting, I let the manager decide the menu for our evening which was a wise move as I have been looking at menus all day & my eyes needed a good rest.

Surprisingly, aside from the appetisers which we ordered, the main course was the first dish which appeared on the table which was a Fish Tikka Madras served on a sizzling hot plate with shavings of onion & carrots. The chunk of fish was extremely hot (temperature wise) as the first bite burnt my tongue & the chefs did an awesome job on the seasoning & marinating of the fish as it was very flavourful. Although the fish was hot in temperature, it wasn’t mildy hot in terms of the spicyness of the dish which was disappointing as I expected a good kicking from the spicy flavours which was lacking in this dish. I recommend this dish for those that like fish but if you want your fish to have a good kick, suggest to speak with the staff on cranking up the flavours. Quite strange to start off your meal with a fish dish but nonetheless, was a good start indeed!

Next up was the appetiser which was Aloo Chat which is an authentic Indian appetiser made from Spiced Potatoes, sold by street vendors across India. It is best served on Puri (type of Indian bread) & consists of seasonings such as chilli powder, cumin powder, chaat masala etc. I love this dish because it is an extremely fusion dish where the East meets the West with potatoes infusing with traditional Indian cuisine ingredients. As an appetiser, I thought this was rather intensive as it is very starch driven and takes up a lot of your appetite but this is definitely one of those dishes that I couldn’t stop eating after a forkful as it was extremely refreshing & a deletable appetiser for our evening.

Next up is the fun part whereby we checked out various types of curry on offer in Gangas. This evening, we went for a good hearty Beef Vindaloo, Chicken Tikka Masala & Lamb Rogan Josh, of course, paired with Naan bread & Kashmiri Naan & Basmati Rice.

The Beef Vindaloo was on the border line between moderate & mediocre with plenty of improvement areas as it just didn’t carry the similar flavours & taste to the usual Vindaloos I have in England. The colour of the dish decieved me completely as it looked very potent red which gave me hope that this was gonna be damn spicy & the end result was that it was flat & surprisingly not even spicy for a Vindaloo which was very disappointing. No matter how unpleasant the Vindaloo I had in The Chapel in Happy Valley on my previous Indian meal, it still broke sweat with at least half of my T-shirt drenched from the spiciness of the dish. The size of the serving bowl for the curry was relatively big with plentiful of curry sauce but however the beef was seriously lacking in action which was a shame. From my memory, there were 5 pieces of beef in the dish shared between 2 blokes which I thought was a little un-generous portion size which they should reconsider & look into. I was sincerely hoping that the Vindaloo would have given me an extra excuse to knock back a few more beers to cool the heat but sadly, it just wasn’t the case.

Chicken Tikka Masala is a curry dish whereby roasted chicken are normally served in a creamy, mildly spiced & red coloured due to the tomato base curry sauce. The word has it that Chicken Tikka Masala was so widely loved in England that it was once considered to be the symbol & national dish of the country which even till this day, I find it amazing on how the Indian food culture dominates the lives of a British citizen. I would never order a Chicken Tikka Masala in any normal circumstances as I like my very spicy curry dishes i.e Beef Vindaloo as I believe there must always be a bit of a challenge & fun when we eat & you see how much of a man you really are by challenging yourself to a real Beef Vindaloo. Even though not my regular cup of tea, the Chicken Tikka Masala at Gangas was a surprise of the evening as it entirely fulfilled my description of a true masala. Creamy it was, mildly spiced & above all, the roasted chicken was tender & juicy which made the dish even more outstanding. This was wonderful to pair with the Basmati Rice as well as the Naan bread & for those that cannot take spicy flavours, this is your dish & what a dish this was for our evening which we managed to scrap off every last spoonful of the sauce in the serving bowl! Wonderful stuff!

Along with the surprise leader of the pack, the Lamb Rogan Josh was another delightful dish which was a wise pick by the manager himself. A curry dish originated from Kashmir, rogan josh means a lamb curry cooked in oil under intensive heat. Unlike the Chicken Tikka above which was rather un-spicy but flavourful, the Lamb Rogan Josh actually had more of a spice-kick & was a perfect sauce for dipping your Naan Bread. The flavours of the Lamb Rogan Josh was exotic & the lamb cutlets were also very tenderly braised which I must give props to the team of chefs at Gangas for doing such a wonderful treatment on the lamb as it is never easy to cook up the lamb to such tender level. Recommended dish!

Perhaps the snack which I did not enjoy as much during the evening was the Kashmiri Naan which I dont think many Hong Kongers will enjoy such distinctive & unique combination of nuts, raisins with Naan Bread which I find it very unusual comparing to the regular naan bread. Such traditional & authentic style of Naan is very popular amongst the Indian population but I dont think this will be a major hit with the local population in Hong Kong as the sweetness of the fillings with the naan bread when dipped into spicy curry sauce is not a pleasant mix. As for the regular Naan, the bits of garlic & shallots on the top of the naan made it even more flavourful & tasty & the big bonus point was that it wasn’t too greasy which was rare & made it a slightly healthier dish which the Chefs deserved props on this.

Overall, I enjoyed my visit to Ganga’s this time round as the decor has been improved & the quality of food has also improved. Above all, prices are extremely affordable by all & the set lunch is priced at HKD78 + 10% svc which I think is a bargain around Central area. Aside from the Beef Vindaloo which required major improvements, the standard & quality of all other dishes exceeded my expectations & now I know where to go for a good & cheap curry in Central next time. Great place not to miss out on!

Happy Eating!

Geoff

Upcoming Review:: BLT Burger on Geoff's Twitchen

Original review can be retrieved from www.geoffstwitchen.com

Christmas is coming soon, in fact in 1 week’s time. Christmas is all about Christmas Trees, Santa Claus, Christmas Cottage, Mulled Wine, Dining Feast & most importantly, CHOCOLATES! Caught me by surprise that this global chocolate brand actually cared for what I previously wrote on Geoff’s Twitchen regarding their not so up-to-standard Halloween Collection (http://geoffstwitchen.com/?p=34) & decided to send over their Christmas Chocolate Collection for my review. Thank CHRISTMAS & nothing to complain about & I sincerely hope that they took my previous advice & made some serious improvements or in the other words, keep your chocolates simple buddy & afterall, food is all about SIMPLICITY.

Packaging & branding of Godiva’s entire Christmas Collection Christmas Holiday Gift Box Collection was sensational! Just look at the products gave you the warmth of Christmas & so beautiful & elegant which is the perfect gift for your loved ones & friends. You have to appreciate the effort & hours that the designers come up with such wonderful packaging & I dare to say that in the chocolate industry, Godiva Chocolatiers are definitely amongst the best in this area. The second you open the box, the Christmas themed chocolates was KAWAII (Japanese word meaning Cute). Such Christmas Boxes included the snowflake-shaped flocons, pralines & caramels. What was extremely disappointing was that since my gift box was 2nd graded priced at HKD430 (with the top notch priced at HKD760) delivered by the Godiva Team, none of the new products such as the Christmas Carre & Truffe could be seen or spotted in the box. Very disappointing as was hoping to taste on the new products & perhaps the website content was a little misleading for myself! (http://www.godiva.com.hk/EN/2009Xmas/en/gift-4.html).

For this exclusive Christmas collection, Godiva Chocolatier introduced new “Sujets” with 3 recipes as below with wonderful Christmas shapes including a snowman, Christmas Tree, Christmas Cottage & the most important person, the Santa Claus. WONDERFUL!

Sujets de Noël Lait: Smooth milk chocolate covers praliné brésilienne.
Sujets de Noël Blanc: Rich white chocolate enrobes an orange and hazelnut praliné.
Sujets de Noël Noir: Dark chocolate is sweetened with vanilla cream.

Particularly, I want to bring your attention to a few exceptional chocolates which I tasted from this collection:

Sujets de Noël Lait_Sapinnoel (Smooth Milk Chocolate with Praline in Christmas Tree Shape) – I love milk chocolate & it is right in the mix between a dark chocolate & a white chocolate as stupid as it sounds. The balance of the sweetness was right to the spot as it is never too bitter or too sweet. The chocolate does not immediately melt in your mouth unlike some other commercial brands which is often good. This piece of chocolate is wonderful to pair with a cup of tea or coffee!

Sujets de Noël Noir_Perenoel (Dark Chocolate with Vanilla Cream in Santa Claus Shape) – Dark chocolates are beneficial for one’s heart as the antioxidants help to reduce & relax your blood pressure & levels of cholesterol therefore a daily intake is highly recommended. When I talk about dark chocolate is the pure cocoa or chocolate with over 65% cocoa level therefore the chocolates at Godiva Chocolatier does not perform this job. This piece of dark chocolate was neither too sweet or too bitter as the Vanilla Cream sweetens the dark chocolate content. Good solid texture of the chocolate in which I did not even put the chocolate in the fridge.

Sujets de Noël Blanc_Bonhomme - Another piece which I want to go into details is the Rich White Chocolate with Orange & Hazelnut Praline. Be honest, I am & have never enjoyed eating White Chocolate & especially this piece was named as Rich White Chocolate due to the level of sweetness. I have always felt that white chocolate is a cling-on to the dark & milk chocolate & definitely one of those very random chocolates that exists. Surprisingly, this piece of White Chocolate was not as sweet as I thought it would be & above all, it was extremely smooth & the taste of the chocolate was pure delicacy when it starts to melt in your mouth. Perfect to pair with a cup of hot chocolate in this winter!

Out of the entire Christmas Collection, my personal favourite was the “Spices Snowflake”. Not because of its shape & character of the chocolate, the taste & flavor was what Christmas is all about. The chocolate on the inside is surrounded by a dark chocolate shell, with a touch of spices which is a resemblance to our good old mulled wine. For those that do not know what mulled wine is, it is boiled red wine combined with spices such as honey & a dash of honey, your perfect & the most authentic drink in the cold winter. It is very rare to find & enjoy a glass of mulled wine in a city like Hong Kong therefore this is the closest form of chocolate that can bring me back such taste & memories. HMMmmmmmmmmM!

Thank you to Godiva Chocolatier in such wonderful arrangement of delivery their Christmas Collection over for our review. You have truly brought me the ultimate festive mood with your wonderful chocolates this time round. You have clearly understood that the simple form of chocolates are always the best chocolates out there. I have waited for 360 days this year for this festive season & you have truly lit a sparkle for my Christmas. Wonderful stuff & Love is definitely all around during this time of the year!

Happy Eating & Drinking this Christmas
Geoff

Full review can be retrieved from www.geoffstwitchen.com

Hong Kong’s Cha Chang Tengs (translates to Hong Kong style fast food restaurants) are somewhat of a global phenomenan because the quality of food is extremely high & the service is absolutely zero. Cha Chang Tengs have played a major role in majority of local Hong Kong people’s lives for breakfast, lunch & dinner. Typical Hong Konger may have a Baked Pineapple Bun with Hong Kong Style Milk Teas as their regular breakfast & Cha Chang Tengs is definitely where all the hustling & bustling takes places. I love messy & rustic restaurants, because in general, they are the most down to earth restaurants which quite possibly serve up the best food one can find in Hong Kong. Australia Dairy Company is the leader of the pack in terms of Cha Chang Tengs along with Tsui Wah. One will say the only difference is that Tsui Wah chose the route to expand its number of outlets & Australia Dairy Company always kept it to its roots, in the heart of Jordan.

Some of you may not even know where Jordan is or have visited Jordan & as a passionate food person like myself, if you are looking for a culinary journey, this is the place for you as there are surprises at each & every street of Jordan. In a pretentious city like Hong Kong, we often like pamper ourselves with the Sunday Weekend Brunches at various hotel establishments around town which often includes unlimited Champagne or Prosecco which I believe is a waste of money as the quality of food in these places are often below par & people are only spending such vast copious amounts of cash to enjoy the atmosphere & to enhance one’s social status.

On a fine Sunday, I decided to take the opposite route which people normally practice on Sundays & drove to Jordan for Australian Dairy Company. If you do not know the background of this place, you will be interested to find out that it probably has a queue of people lining up no matter what time of the day during any day of the week. The ultimate question is, what are these people waiting for? Australia Dairy Company only serves up a few dishes — their infamous fry or sunny side up eggs with ham slices as well as macaroni or spaghetti with barbecued pork in clear broth. For those that have a sweet tooth, Australia Dairy Company also serves up a stunning Chinese Style Steamed Egg White dessert which in Chinese medical terms are great for one’s skin. You do not have to look at the menu in this restaurant as everybody orders more or less the same dish and I myself have visited Australia Dairy Company for the past 3 yrs ordering the same dish over & over again.

So, the ultimate question is, what makes this place so special? I was involved in a conversation with one of their staff whilst I was paying the bill & have learnt on 3 secret ingredients to why their scramble & fried eggs are so special:

a) No other Cha Chang Tengs in Hong Kong or around the world have 2 -3 Full Time Staff that are solely focused on cooking eggs on a daily basis. Can you imagine the the guy’s job description, he really is solely focused on cooking eggs every day, twenty four-seven. They really are your masters in cooking up a killer egg.

b) Hokkaido Milk is used in the cooking process which enhances the sweetness in flavour as well as the smoothness of the texture of the eggs. This is quite a common practice in various different restaurants in town & please note again, Hokkaido Milk is BEST & next time you are cooking some scramble eggs, add a dash of milk & notice the difference.

c) Perhaps the key factor is the stove which is used for cooking the eggs at Australian Dairy Company. Unlike other stoves used in various other Cha Chang Tangs in town, here they use a Chinese stove with intensive heat & flame for the prepartion of the eggs. One can often find such stove in Chinese restaurants around town as they are mainly used for big Chinese Woks for stir-fry which the heat is believed to intensify the flavour of the dishes. The temperature of the woks can go up to between 150 – 200 degrees meaning that all you need to do is to crack your eggs, add the milk with salt & pepper & you will be done in less than 10 secs. Looks like a very simple procedure to book up the eggs but to master the art of cooking such dish is not exactly the easiest. The consistency of the scrambled eggs is very high as I noticed the thickness of the scrambled eggs are consistent with all other diners therefore, great job to the Chef in cooking & turning such simple food item into an absolute delicacy.

If you are a fan of scrambled eggs, take my word & make your travel plans for a visit to the Dark-Side of Jordan. You will be amazed at the quality of such food product & I am confident by saying that this could well be the FINEST SCRAMBLED EGGS IN HONG KONG. Final piece of advice, do not expect sitting down comfortably to enjoy the food & ambiance because the latter does not exist & you shall find out that you will be forced out of the restaurant in less than 10 mins. This has got to be one of the very original & authentic culinary journeys representing the real food of Hong Kong,if you are passionate about good & down to earth food, this is your place.

Happy Eating!
Geoff

Full review can be retrieved from http://geoffstwitchen.com/?p=977

When you think of Brazil, you think of football, beaches, parties, Gisele Bundchen & MEAT! Shame that South American Cuisines tend to fail miserably in Hong Kong & take Cafe Iguana, formerly on Wyndham Street as a prime example. Interesting correspondance this morning on twitter & our fellow twitterers in Hong Kong made a statement that he doubts the Hongkies in Hong Kong can name 10 South American dishes. To be honest, I agree with him in every way & our attention to such cuisine is somewhat lacking in comparison to our Asian, American & Italian cuisine. Traditional hotels in Hong Kong will not have the balls to launch a Brazilian Barbie promotion & the only hotel in Hong Kong that likes to do things differently is our beloved W Hotel, a lonely figure in the everdead Kowloon Station. Call them brave or stupid, good way to find out is to check out this hip & funky W Hotel for their latest All-You-Can-Eat promotion at FIRE.
My remote memory of my first ever so-called “Brazilian Barbecue Buffet” was at an absolute dumphole called Brazilian BBQ Restaurant (巴西燒烤餐廳 http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=8471) located in Lock Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. During prime hours, it was HKD148 all you can eat & all you can drink (beer) & the price tells that it was the sort of restaurant that “Fear Factor” should consider as a filming venue. The restaurant was not exactly the cleanest restaurant (for those that can read Chinese, read the first review http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=1904016 as it talks about cockroaches in the restaurant) & the sushi & sashimi buffet looked like it had been infected with E-Coli. Am glad that the restaurant has finally closed down but was surprised that the FEHD had not closed down the restaurant in previous years.
The Brazilian Churrasco at FIRE is a perfect promotion designed for hungry blokes & consist of a variety of meats that are grilled & are brought out by staff to diners in skewers. Expect an absolute meat feast & if you are not fond of meat for whatever reasons, don’t bother making this trip. Quiet Monday evening when I visited & I pretty much had a private dining experience. Because of its affiliation with the hotel, service & ambiance was absolutely spot on & the hostess greeted us with a cheerful & W-shaped smile. At FIRE, you will find a chip on one side saying SIM POR FAVOR (Yes, Please in green colour) & the other NAO OBRIGADO (No, Thank You in red colour) on whether you want more meat to be served to your plate. Quite a humourous thing I noticed at FIRE was that in many occasions whereby I fliped my chip to red, the server simply didnt pay attention to this which was NOT AUTHENTIC! Must improve on details if you are a hotel operator.
To kick start the meal, portions of veggies (Mixed Lettuce with Tomatoes & Dressing), Palmito Salad were served to make you less guilty on your mega calorie meal. Square platter featuring the traditional Banana Frita, Risoles which is similar to a Spanish Croquettas with Minced Meat or Salmon & Polenta Frita (deep friend polenta). Recommend the Banana Frita from the starter platter but my advice is, save your appetite for the real feast as the meat is the main character of the show & the Polenta Frita & Banana Frita are all rich, deep fried items.

Prior my visit, my take on the Brazilian Churrasco at FIRE was that the hotel’s focus was on its ambiance & service, with rubbish quality of meat. I was wrong & to my surprise, the meat was juicy, tender, grilled to perfection with great quality. I tried out various types of meat on the evening as I was the only seated table in our area therefore the waiter kept coming back to our table for top up. Staff at FIRE are well trained on the knowledge of meat & service was not over attentive which was a bonus. With its affiliation to W Hotel, there was an elegance in which the waiters walked out from the
kitchen with their skewers , something which I definitely did not see in Brazilian BBQ Restaurant (巴西燒烤餐廳). Some of my recommended MUST EAT Meat Selection included:

a) Salsishao (Sausauge – Pork & Beef) - I love sausauges & it is a real shame that it is difficult to find good quality sausauges in Hong Kong. I am very used to eating high quality pork sausages in England & at FIRE, this is definitely on par. Perfectly barbied on the outside with a crisp layer of skin, the meat was extremely juicy & bursting with flavour upon your first bite. So good that I decided to have an extra round & MUST TRY! Shame that there were no hot dog buns lying around as this would have been a rather good hot dog unlike that crap which I had from Archie B’s the other day!

b) Frango Com Bacon (Chicken with Bacon) & Coxa De Galinha (Chicken Legs) - Another high quality choice of meat on offer & you just cannot go wrong when you use good quality bacon wrap with chicken. The fat from the bacon infused with the meat of the chicken with strong & intensive taste & smell. Chicken was surprisingly juicy as it looked dry the moment when it arrived on my plate but was the opposite. The Chicken legs was golden crisp on the outside with extremely moist & juicy flesh on the inside, I can have this everyday for sure!

c) Now Comes the Real Deal, our visit was primarily for the true Brazilian Beef & the Picanha (Top Sirloin) + Alcatra (Sirloin) did not disappoint & were an absolute joy. With a slight layer of fat on the skin & gently pink in the middle, thumbs up to the Chef on the barbie as it was neither over or undercooked! With such slab of good quality meat, very minimal seasoning was required for the meat & the taste of the natural flavour of the beef was just simply irresistable. HIGH RECOMMENDED.

d) Costela De Boi (Beef Rib) – Brazilian style Beef Ribs at FIRE were a joy & extremely juicy. The colour of the beef ribs on a skewer was golden brown meaning the seasoning was evening rubbed & marinated & the technique & timing was to perfection during the cooking process. As the waiter peels off part of the rib, the steam had massive amount of flavour & taste with a slight pink on the inside of the rib. Although smell & taste were good, texture was slightly dry which requires improvement.

e) Surprise of the evening which was not on the actual menu was the Grilled Squid. This was nothing too Brazilian & it is like other grilled squid I have had and so simple that you can even cook this at home. Perhaps, the ingredient itself was so simple that I find the grilled squid slightly inconsistent with a few pieces slightly burnt on the outside & a few slightly undercooked which was strange. Taste was simple, delicate with very simple seasoning of Salt & Pepper which was marvellous but slight improvement will be to add a few drizzles of the Olive Oil.

Other items which I tasted on the evening include the Pao Com Alho (Garlic Bread) & Costela De Porco (Pork Ribs) was ordinary but I suppose, the spotlight for FIRE’s Churrasco Promotion really is on the BEEF. I enjoyed my visit to FIRE & amidst all my fears prior the visit, their quality of food & service exceeded my expectations. If you are hungry & are looking for a REAL MEAT FEAST, FIRE is the place for you & believe me, you will not be disappointed with the free-flowing meat. Thank god we have another venue in Hong Kong that finally serves up a bloke’s meal & shame that the promotion will end on 31 Dec, 2009. I am confident that the brains from W-Hotel will crack another brilliant promotion, perhaps a Puerto Rican Cuisine promotion as that will be unique!

Happy Eating!
Geoff

Address: 1/f, 1 Austin Road West, W Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong(尖沙咀柯士甸道西1號香港W酒店1樓)
Tel: 3717 2848
Food Quality (5* the highest): 3/1/2*
Price for Dinner (5$ = very expensive): $$$

Visit us at www.geoffstwitchen.com & join us on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Geoffs-Twitchen/128763959419?ref=ts

I am currently sitting in the EuroStar heading towards Paris & am writing this review at the same time. Kowloon side in my previous posting on Australia Dairy Company is a hidden gem for a culinary experience & in areas of Tsim Sha Tsui, InterContinental Hotel is by the most accomplished hotel group with the best collection of F&B outlets. The likes of NoBu, SPOON, Yan Toh Heen, Harbourside with quite possibly Hong Kong’s best buffet on offer & above all, THE STEAK HOUSE winebar + grill. Not exactly rocket science in guessing what this fine establishment specialises in & if you are a carnivore + passionate meat lover looking for a piece of fine grilled steak with a spectacular wine collection, this is definitely your first choice of venue. The purpose of our visit on the evening was my birthday celebration & I have decided to drop an email to the hotel’s PR Team in advance that I will be reviewing the restaurant. To my surprise on our arrival, a complimentary bottle of bubbles was arranged as well as a very special & extremely attentive level of services for my special occasion. Most importantly, we were allocated to the table whereby we enjoyed our meal with the backdrop view of the Victoria Harbour with the surprisingly beautiful blue, clear sky, which was quite possibly the best table in the restaurant for a special occasion. The overall experience prior the food was already very impressive & now, the food part was equally as impressive!

Point to Note: Photos of the food & dishes in this post arent great as it was virtually impossible to be taking good shots in such environment

Highly Recommended Dishes We Ordered::

Belik Salmon with ‘MIMOSA’ EGG, DOUBLE CREAM & MELBA TOAST - Belik Salmon is quite possibly the equivalent to Kobe Beef in the Salmon World & is literally the Ferrari of salmon. Such premium salmon is rare & expensive to enjoy & since tonight was a special occasion, this must be ordered to satisfy my search for perfection. Since Belik Salmon is the most premium part of the salmon, there is no question on the quality of the taste as it was extremely smooth & fresh. Every bite of the salmon along with the sour-cream & condiments as well as the thickness & portion of the Belik Salmon gave me an extreme oral pleasure as it is totally different to your usual smoke salmon or Scottish Salmon. Overall taste was simply breath-taking & dear oh dear, just look at the photos below & I am already looking forward to my next Belik Salmon!

Crab Cake New Orleans Style – Another cracker of a starter whereby we thoroughly enjoyed! I have had many crab cakes in my entirely life & to my mind, RED SoHo in Hong Kong (see link) does one of the best crab cakes in town therefore it was a good comparison on both sets of crab cakes. Good points about this dish is the generous portion with large chunks of sweet, juicy, no non-sense crab meat were enough words to describe this overall crab-cake. On the down side, Seasoning of the crab cake fell slightly flat, as well as the overall taste was not as fresh as the crab cakes at RED SoHo. The cooking method for both crab cakes may differ as the crab cake on this evening was slightly pan-fried but at RED SoHo, the grilled crab cakes manages to keep all its succulent crab meat juices which makes it slightly more tastier for my palate. Overall, it was an enjoyable starter to kick start your meal.

USDA Certified New York Strip 14 oz & USDA Natural Beef Rib Eye Steak 16 oz – Previous journeys to Bistecca (link xxxx) with fat chunks of steak was highly enjoyable but at Wine Steak House, the steak experience takes you to another level of enjoyment. Before the steaks were served, the restaurant brings to diners 3 forms of great entertainment prior the main courses being served:

a) Salt Pairing — We were introduced to the 8 different types of salt which can be used to pair with the steak. All the types of salt came in various colours & their flavours are as below. All the salt pairings were placed in a shot glass & were lined up in a wooden tray & was the kind of scene that one expects buying rounds of shooters or shots in a bar / club. My personal favourite was the Himalayan Pink Salt as the saltiness matched very well with my piece of red meat but one can argue that a perfect steak simply does not require any sort of additional seasoning or condiments on the side.

Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt - This traditional Hawaiian table salt is used to season and preserve food. Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt is non-processed and rich in trace minerals, all of which are found in seawater. A small amount of harvested reddish Hawaiian clay (Alaea) enriches the salt with Iron-Oxide. This salt adds a unique and pleasant flavour to roasted and grilled meat. This salt is also great with Pork and Prime Rib.
Ittica d’or Sicilian Sea Salt – This delicious sea salt is harvested from saltpans along the famous “salt road” between Trapani and Marsala, on the west coast of Sicily. The salt beds are managed completely by hand in a saline reserve protected from industry pollution. Relying on sun, wind and the clean waters off of Sicily, the salt is unrefined, unwashed, and unaltered in any way. It contains more magnesium, potassium and less sodium chloride than regular salt. This salt is ideal as a condiment to highlight salads, to finish roasts and sauces or to garnish bruschetta. Available in Fine or Coarse grain.
Cyprus Flake Salt – Cyprus Flake is a favorite among professional chefs. The unique pyramid shaped crystals have a fresh ocean flavor and a satisfying crunch.
Murray River Pink Salt from Australia - Murray River salt crystals are light & delicate peach colored flakes. They have a wonderfully mild flavor. The texture is ideal for use as a finishing salt. The crystals melt quickly and evenly, making Murray River flake salt ideal for finishing, roasting, and baking.
Peruvian Pink Salt – Peruvian Pink Salt comes from an ancient ocean, trapped underground, which feeds a spring located 10,000 feet high in the Andes Mountains in Maras, Peru.
Himalayan Pink Salt – Himalayas is an unrefined salt that comes from the Himalayan Mountains at altitudes of over 10,000 feet. This fossil marine salt is rich in many minerals including Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper and Iron, which give the salt its beautiful speckled pink color. Once a year, in the springtime, the salt is transported down from the mountains to the Nepalese valleys by caravans of yaks. This is the principle income for the mountain people of the area.
Fumee de Sel Chardonnay Oak Smoked Fleur De Sel by Le Tresor from France – This is unlike any smoked sea salt. Fleur de Sel is cold smoked with Chardonnay oak chips to preserve the mineral content and natural flavor of the salt.
Sele Gris Coarse de Guerande from France – This has a unique color that makes this a truly beautiful sea salt. The grey hue comes from its extremely high level of minerals and nutrients. The crystals range in size from 2-3mm. Popular for baking breads, soups and sauces, the soft, moist crystals dissolve quickly and evenly when used in cooking.

b) Steak Knives — For those that like to play around with knives, a waiter or waitress will present a black leather tray of collection of knives from various origins for diners to hand-pick on their desired knife to be used to rip the meat apart. Names of all the knives & origins are as below & for my opinion, I really did not care about which knife I picked as the most important part is that I HAVE A STEAK KNIFE for the steak but I must admit that such attention to details from the restaurant team is a bonus to such dinner experience.

Kershaw SHUN knife – Japan
Global knife – Japan
Mundial knife – Brazil
Laguiole steak knife – French
Laguiole steak knife – French
Picea steak knife – German
Grand gourmet steak knife – German
T- Bone steak knife – Italian
Berti Steak Knife – Italian
Nevada Steak Knife – American

c) Mustard Pairing — For the meat eaters, 12 types of mustard are carried out in a massive wooden tray whereby you can hand pick your favourite mustard according to your choice in steak & your personal palate. For authentic flavours, I personally would recommend the English Mustard, so rustic & pungent flavours that matches well with a grilled steak.

Back to the steak, simple presentation with the grilled steak placed on a normal serving plate as one would suspect that the presentation may be slightly be over the top due to the steak house at a 5-star hotel establishment with skewered vine tomatoes on the side. For a medium grilled steak, I must admit that the Chefs at Wine Steak House was absolutely spot on with the timing for the grilling of the steak. The steak was juicy, tender & surprisingly for a USDA Rib Eye Steak, it melted subtlely in my mouth achievin the sort of melting level of that you will only expect from a piece of Wagyu or Kobe Steak. It truly is a haven for meat lovers & the steaks are also grilled on Hong Kong’s only char-coaled grill which is also another unique attraction for diners. WOW! I must admit that I have not had a steak which is better than this & if you have found a better restaurant for steaks, please drop me a comment and let me know. Wonderful piece of steak and with the steak priced at HKD780, this was
worth every single penny as it was such a satisfying main course & quite a steak not to be missed out on providing there is some spare cash in your wallet.

Best is yet to come & again, I was not expecting any form of surprise even though it was my birthday celebration & guess what, out comes a Chocolate Fondant with Vanilla Ice-Cream which was large enough to feed up to 4 – 6 diners. OH MY, it was so massive that the dinner was fast becoming a joke as it was simply impossible for us both to even finish half of it. The first stab at the Chocolate Fondant resulted in a great lava flow of warm Chocolate sauce that filled up half the serving plate of the Chocolate Fondant & quite a scene not to be missed. As much as such great hospitality & surprise from the InterContinental Team, there are definitely improvement areas for the cake itself & I am quite a conniseur in terms of Chocolate Fondant therefore am extremely demanding on this. The size & portion of the Chocolate Fondant is far too large which I understand is an Amercian serving portion but because of this size, the skin or the outer layer of the fondant is far too dense which may not be appealing to diners. Best chocolate fondants are whereby the fondant is soft & thin layered on the outside with oozing warm chocolate sauce on the inside & the restaurant definitely achieved the latter. Overall, still a decent dessert & oh, I forgot to mention about the conclusion of the cake was that we decided to pack the remaining 1/2 of the cake & took us 3 extra days to polish off the whole thing. Waistline definitely increased by an inch or 2 after this dessert.

Wonderful meal, wonderful service, wonderful view of Hong Kong Island & what’s more, WONDERFUL piece of Grilled Steak. For readers that like their steaks, this venue is a MUST VISIT & even though prices are hefty, do take my word to enjoy perhaps the best steak in town. Am drooling over this steak whilst I am ending this review!

Happy Eating!
Geoff

If you read my previous review on Australian Dairy Company, I mentioned that Jordan is quite a food hub & I now want to introduce you perhaps one of the most simple yet a hidden gem featuring delicious Sze Chuan Cuisine one can find in Jordan. Similar to previous review, I am now on the train from Paris to Lyon writing this review therefore all the creative juices are flowing & am extremely eager to finish off this review to share with you all. For non-Asian readers, Sze Chuan Cuisine is all about the usage of Chilli Peppers & WHOA, beware of the spice kick as it can make & break you. Sze Chuan Cuisine is often extremely spicy due to the climate of the Sze Chuan province in China therefore inhabitants tend to turn to spicy food to keep themselves nice & warm throughout winter. In Hong Kong, we have plentiful of Sze Chuan restaurants which are decent but nothing is as exciting as Wen Kui Tsuen. For those that rarely travel to Jordan, you are better off Googling the location (http://maps.google.fr/maps?hl=fr&tab=wl) before you are lost in translation in finding the restaurant as it is located in a rather dodgy alley which used to be the home of the most notorious triad / gangster nightclub "348" & "Ferrari".

Why is Wen Kui Tsuen so exciting?

First of all, it does not have an English menu to start with therefore you must have a good grasp of the language before you order. Remind you that all staff are all Chinese speakers only & are also not exactly the most pleasant bunch of people as well as they are always hustling & bustling their customers. Hong Kong has always promoted its customer service culture & this is definitely one restaurant which obviously has not seen Hong Kong's infamous Andy Lau's commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyRfQXWlUx8&feature=PlayList&p=17908B7AAD6E0ECF&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=42).

Secondly, YOU ARE EXPECTED to wait up to 20 mins either in the queue of people outside the restaurant or for the food which is the minimal requirement & to give you a better idea, my first visit to Wen Kui Tsuen took us a mass 30 mins for the Chinese Style Milk Tea to arrive, now that is quite something special as such poor & slow service must NOT be allowed in a place like Hong Kong. Thirdly, there are no menus which you can read off & the only 2 menus can be found on the wall (see below).

On the bright side, once the food arrives, you will forget such unhappy incidents as the food is tres delicieux! Now on the food side, the best part about Wen Kui Tsuen is that it is a inhumane test to see how much balls you have to conquer all levels of spiciness. From the menu on the wall, you can choose the level of spiciness for your dishes with your preference on the number of spicy chillis.The range runs from 1 - 4 Small Spicy Chillis, Medium Level of Spiciness, High Level of Spiciness & Extra High Level of Spiciness, all together 7 levels which you can choose from. Word of warning & advice, if you can conquer Medium - Extra High Level, I SALUTE YOU & TOTALLY 100% RESPECT YOU! Below are the dishes which we ordered all the day & they are all extremely high recommended:

a) Spicy Sze Chuan Saliva Chicken (served cold with medium level of spiciness) - Surprisingly only took us around 20 mins for this dish to arrive & we tucked in immediately upon the arrival. Fresh firm chicken, chopped up in a very Chinese manner served with a pool of spicy oil, Sze Chuan Peppers & Peppercorns tells you that you are looking for trouble. You are fine after eating the first few pieces of the chicken as those are the chicken pieces at the top of the pile whereby it has not been infused with the total spicy flavours comparing to the chicken at the bottom of the pile. Please do let me know how your tongue, lips, throat & your face is feeling after completing the whole dish of chicken as when I was enjoying the chicken from the bottom of the pile, my tongue was fairly numb with swollen lips which was not a plesant scene. You will then start to order more & more ice-cold drinks to cool down which you notice it does not work at all. My advice is to also CHECK on each & every chicken pieces whereby you picked up with your chop-sticks as there can always be some hidden pepper-corns or chilli peppers hidden within the chicken & they can absolutely murder you. Enjoyable starter to kick start a feast of spicy food for sure!

b) A signature dish at Wen Kui Tsuen is the Sze Chuan Millenium Egg infused with Spicy Oil & Green Peppers (served cold) - This was the only course of the meal whereby the level of spiciness is fixed by the kitchen. 2 whole Sze Chuan Millenium Eggs that are yellow & jello-like in colour & are very different to the usual millenium eggs we normally consumer in Hong Kong with a black outer layer & dark green egg yolk. Flavours of the millenium egg + the spicy soya sauce was a perfect match in heaven & have never been a fan of millenium eggs ever in my life but this dish has changed my experience & perception towards such food product. The spicy soya sauce does not appear spicy in anyway as the colour more resembled a soya sauce but after a few rounds of millenium eggs, believe me, you will feel the spice buzz. Word of warning, do not consume the millenium eggs with the green chill peppers unless you are mad.

c) Final starter of the evening was the Spicy Wild Chinese Fungus & Green Peppers (served cold with fixed level of spiciness) which was also a highly enjoyable & satisfying dish as the Wild Chinese Fungus are said to be extremely good for one's health. Pairing the fungus with spicy oil & green peppers was the first time I have had such dish & what a great way of eating something which is extremely boring & dull but yet beneficial for your health with the knowledge of knowing that you are barely consuming much calories from this dish. Again, word of warning, do avoid the green chilli peppers.

d) For a hearty main course, we originally ordered our Sze Chuan Noodles Vermicelli with high level of spiciness, but a change of minds occured after the first two starters which has already resulted a consumption of 2 Ice-Lemon Teas + an extremely sweaty back. Instead, we changed the level of spiciness to 4 Small spicy chillis which made a lot of sense after the first 2 dishes as by this time, my shirt was drenched with sweat. We ordered a simple Sze Chuan Noodle with Deep Fried Tofu & Tofu Skin which was plain, boring & was nothing exciting to write home about. The level of spiciness in comparison to the Medium Level was reduced quite drastically & the vermicelli & broth were ordinary. For those that like a bit of meat for their noodles, there is a wide selection such as Pork, Chicken, Fish Ball, Ham, Sausauges, Minced Beef whereby you can add to your noodles with an addition of $4 per topping. There are also 3 varieties of noodles one can choose which is the Vermicelli, Sze Chuan Dan Dan Noodles, & perhaps the most unusual type of noodle is the Red Potato Noodle which is similar to a glass noodle which you can find in noodle houses in Hong Kong & are transparent.

Simple yet delectable meal with zero service. Surprisingly the food & drinks all arrived within a half hour mark which was an improvement in comparision to my first visit. If you are a fan of spicy food, this is your place but just be careful in what you wear as you will be drenched in sweat & do bring a mirror on your visit to check out on the swollenness of your lips. You dont want to know what happened the next day back in the office with the numerous visits to the toilets aftermath of such spicy cuisine on offer.

Happy Eating!
Geoff

Full review with interview can be retrieved from http://geoffstwitchen.com/?p=897

Have yet to review a Private Kitchen in Hong Kong & I have always had an emotional bonding with such type of kitchens as I admire & respect the chef or chefs who whole-heartedly dedicate 110% of their heart towards food for their customers. A friend of mine recommended myself to visit Palace Kitchen (廚藝) for a true authentic Chinese meal & to be honest, I have never heard of this place after my years in visiting private kitchens in Hong Kong so I decided to do some home-work prior & research on the background. Interestingly, I found her that the Executice Chef & now owner (Ms Onnei Yip)'s mother used to be an infamous chef in Hong Kong cooking up for the likes of Stanley Ho & other various local tycoons & Onnei herself decided to move into the Food & Beverage industry to inherit her mother's skills & to share it with the Hong Kong population. This itself was a very interesting point which persuaded my visit & am glad that I took this decision as it was an extremely plesant & enjoyable meal.

Situated in the heart of Happy Valley, the smell of flavourful food was strong as you enter the Private Kitchen. First thing you notice about dining room, uncountable number of jars of home fermented Chinese ginger & Glutinous Rice Wine scattered & what an interesting opening scene to our dinner. In my mind, my first observation is that this is somebody that truly adores & appreciates food. Part of my homework prior visiting was that I found out that Onnei is a relatively reknowned local celebrity chef with the media & I did not expect a trim-looking lady in her early 30's appeared to meet & greet us which caught me by surprise. Unlike any other Chinese Chefs I have ever come across, Onnei is presentable & could well be Hong Kong's version of Nigella Lawson!

This evening, Onnei specifically designed for us a 8-course Chinese Menu which covers everything from soup, meat, seafood, a bit of carbs & dessert. The set menu for such 8 course menu was priced at $390 which was extremely reasonable considering most private kitchens in Hong Kong charge a very minimal of $400 onwards with extreme small portions. Our appetiser consisted of 3 mini-plates of Millenium Egg, Palace Kitchen's Home Fermented Chinese Ginger & Soya Smoked Kidney & Liver.

Special mention for the appetisers must be the Soya Smoked Kidney & Liver which was heavenly & the extremely intensive smokey flavour of the kidney & liver was a perfect appetiser to open up your palate. The home-fermented ginger was also very unique as it was chopped up in large chunks giving it a crisp & crunchy texture & the zero added sugar in the fermentation process meant that you know you are eating the true & original flavours of the fermented ginger. Great start to the meal!

Next up, we were treated to Onnei's mother's signature recipe - Sweet Mother Queen Chicken. After just one bite at the chicken, I asked Onnei to give me her mother's mobile number for the recipe. The Sweet Mother Queen Chicken could well be one of the finest Chinese style chicken I have had in Hong Kong. The intense smoky flavour & taste of the chicken was overwhelming & the texture of the chicken meat was extremely tender. I scarily wish Onnei's mother was also my mother so that she can cook me this chicken week in, week out. Superb Dish and HIGH RECOMMENDED DISH!

Onnei wanted to share with us her new recipe which was a Drunken Half Chicken & Half Pigeon (Chinese Glutinous Wine marinated Chicken & Pigeon served cold). Since this was a relatively new recipe, the only thaw from this was the Chinese Glutinous Rice Wine which was used to marinate the chicken & pigeon was slightly too sweet in comparsion to the typical Chinese Hua Diao Wine. However, I have to give credit to Onnei on this as all the Glutinous Rice Wine are all home fermented & you wonder how she has so much time to home ferment all these food items. Another slight improvement for this dish was that the chicken & pigeon was not marinated for long enough hours therefore the flavour of the wine did not infuse with the meat which was a real shame. On the brightside, the presentation was immaculate & every spoonful of the glutinous rice wine was a pleasure to sip on.

I have never enjoyed Chinese soups ever in my entire life but you should always appreciate the time & effort the chefs put in to produce such masterpiece. This evening, Onnei prepared for us a Stone Fish Soup (石頭魚湯) which changed my view towards soup. First spoonful of the soup brought me memories to when my mother was preparing Chinese soup for myself when I was young, the soup was extremely sweet with a touch of apple flavour. Knowing the soup is sweet, this type of sweetness is not the usual soup you enjoy in other Chinese restaurants in town whereby it is loaded with MSG but it is a result of the soup being prepared for a good duration of hours
whereby the natural flavours of the stonefish combined with the soup.

To Westerners, eels are somewhat of an unknown & strange type of seafood due to its slimey & snake-like texture, well, I can tell you that you are all missing out on a real treat as this is a very common dish in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan & Japan. My recommended methods to enjoy a fresh eel - either Deep Fried, Hot Pot or Steamed just like what Onnei has prepared for us today. Steamed Black Bean with Chilli Fresh Eel with Golden Bean Curd was a simple yet delectable Chinese style steamed eel dish with pheomenal presentation & finishing of the dish. The eel cutlets were all stringed together forming a heart shape with the fried bean curd in the middle of the dish, a dish full of bright & beautiful colours. The eel was superb, fresh & slightly spicy flavoured with the texture steamed to ultimate perfection which was very chewy. Preparation of eels are not the easiest Chinese dish as if the eel is slightly over-cooked, this can ruin the texture of the eel immediately. Good job Onnei in preparing such wonderful dish & we enjoyed every single part of this dish. HIGH RECOMMENDED DISH!

By this course of the meal, I was relatively stuffed & Onnei, of whom is such a wonderful person with a wonderful character wanted us to try out as many of her dishes as possible. Geez, what was meant to be a tasting session is now turning out into a proper meal & the next course was a Beijing style San Choy Bao with Prawns & Assorted Vegetables. For those that do not know how to enjoy a San Choy Bao, you grab a lettuce and fill up with spoonfuls of the assorted vegetables & prawns, similar to how one will enjoy a Peking Duck. This course was relatively plain comparing to our previous courses as there were no surprises with a WOW factor to the dish. Crispy lettuce, fresh prawns & the seafood plum sauce pairing were the highlight of this dish.

Forget your Italian restaurants in town for good pasta dishes, one often forgets the true authenticity & the quality of the Chinese Stir Fry Rice Noodles. Best Chinese Stir Fry noodles can normally be consumed in Chinese Dai Poing Dongs as the amount of MSG & oil which are used to enhance the quality of the dish. Most important, the intensive heat + the usage of Chinese Woks also help in a tremendous manner to cook up such simple yet hearty dish especially during the winter season. What I really respect about Onnei is that she has taken her mother's recipe & modified this to suit modern taste whereby our population are now much more alert to high calorie &
high salt content dishes. At Palace Kitchen, you wonder how Onnei cooks up a stir fry rice noodle dish with no usage oil & henace the name of the dish is No Oil Stir Fry Rice Noodles. Surprisingly, without the usage of oil for this dish, the stir fry rice noodle arrived to the table with a WONDERFUL SMELL & is definitely a much better & healthier option. I will simply return to Palace Kitchen again just purely for this dish & will be very happy to enjoy this wonderful plate of Chinese noodles during my regular lunch hours. HIGH RECOMMENDED DISH!

Alas, we have reached the final course of our evening which is the Traditional Sweet Egg Pudding which was also one of Onnei's mother's signature dish back in the old days but modified to suit the modern taste. The Egg pudding was not as sweet as I thought it will be & with a strong taste of fresh eggs which were used for this wonderful steamed egg dessert. My slight concern is that as I dont really have a sweet-tooth, some may find this dessert too plain as desserts should be a sweet & sugary ending to a wonderful meal. Unlike the Steamed Egg Puddings which you can get from Australia Dairy Company (http://geoffstwitchen.com/?p=763), this is definitely another healthier option.

After our highly enjoyable meal, we sat down & had a very enjoyable conversation with Onnei regarding her cooking & her thoughts on food. You can find the interview in http://geoffstwitchen.com/?p=858. After around a 30 minute conversation with Onnei, she is definitely on my list as a local food hero alongside Monsieur Chatte (http://geoffstwitchen.com/?p=252) as her obsession & trust on local produces definitely shows that we have some truly fantastic local products in Hong Kong. Her vision to serve up authentic Chinese Cuisine by modifying her mother's recipes with low oil, low salt & no MSG proves her willingness to adapt & change to the modern trend. This
is definitely one Private Kitchen in Hong Kong whereby I vow to return shortly! Who says that Chinese Cuisine are always high caloried & high salt content, this was a perfect meal to doubt such criticisms

Happy Eating
Geoff