Olive, Greek & Middle Eastern (已結業)

part 2 - foodShrimp really spicy, portion just fit for ladies. the spice used in the bread was special & pleasant. Overall food was a bit saltyIt'd be even better if they played Greek music. 继续阅读

一段日子没来圆方Roof Garden，难得转职广州的友人访港，决定一聚于此。　继承了前身Malouf's影子，圆方Olive比SOHO店有著较浓的中东风情，红与录撞金的是大主题，细节位也安排得直，如楼梯间设水烟壶，别致迷人。最难得是华丽中不少清雅，尤其是日被安排就坐楼项，午间阳光徐徐投射进清静场布，环境十分怡人，绝对值满分。　外藉侍者的招呼亦贴心有礼，相比下食物是较普通一环，也许与口味不惯有点关系，然而收费比预期平多了：Express lunch入门价只需$78，如是选2/3 course午餐则$98/$128，比晚市相宜许多。其实选择很有限，是日4人基本上将午餐餐单全试了：　Turkish style pizza with Lamb, Pine nuts & haloumi在楼下见人家的薄饼状甚诱人，马上就来一个，两款口味中听侍者推介选了羊肉的。羊肉混合希腊芝士味道几吸引，配上香口松子是棉上添花，再添加乳酪酱更有中东/希腊风味；薄饼本身则充满面粉香，但一点不脆身，吃来有馅饼感觉，加上实在是腻，大家吃了一件就开始推搪。随Pizza送一份Spicy fried potatoes，香口微辣的薯粒甚有薯香，反而更为抢手呢!　Fennel, lime & sumac roasted Salmon with sweet potato skordalia & cucmber-radish salad份量不小的橙红的三文鱼扒，煎至外香脆内柔嫩，简单配上茴香、青柠已经挺可口；垫底还有甜薯蓉及沙律，自然清淡中见丰富，吃不惯中东风味的人也会接受得来。　Lamb & vegetable moussaka with tomato mint & Feta Salad乍看以为是千层面，实际吃下去也与Lasagna很相似，只是茄子薄片取代了面粉片，而芝士混合的对象也由猪/牛肉改成羊肉，中东风情央然。不过坦白说，喜欢吃羊肉与茄子的我，也觉得传统的Lasagna更好吃。　Lebanese style cabbage filled with lentil-rice pilaf, caramelized onions & tomato以生椰菜包裹圆圆的中东米粒，以及洋葱、蕃茄等，再加上乳酪酱，组合出来的口味非常特别，但我不懂欣赏，老公更索性弃战......　综合一下，主菜部份有好有坏；幸而几个甜品均精致又有水准，令人吃得满意：　Honey-yoghurt panna cotta with saffron poached pear & persian fairy floss掺了蜜糖味的乳酪味奶冻，本身已有双重滋味，加上质感柔滑可喜；再加上甜美的煮梨及精巧的糖丝，更显得口味丰富而多变，推介!　Fresh Fruit with Pistachio halva缤纷丰富的果盘，特别是加入无花果、软皮葡萄等特色水果，增添风味；而除了卖相悦目，当中水果更是新鲜美味，清甜可喜，也属推介!　Rich Chocolate Tart with Turkish delight见名经已令人暗喜，见其精致卖相更是令甜魔兴奋莫名：挞身部份十分轻薄香脆，中心部份则润泽有致，质感十分对办，可惜只是甜味太重太重，盖过了朱古力味，情况就如伴碟的turkish delight。如能不依传统，减低糖分，定必美味许多啊!　最后的甜品为一顿加分不少，是顿非常满足的午餐，捐了$1善款(dining concepts旗下所有餐厅，都有此安排)+作东请了友人，也才人均百多元，是物有所值的经历。下次再找机会试试场内新开的Cafe Iguana吧~　P.S.是日忘了带相机，感激友人借出相机一用，庆幸效果还不错! 继续阅读

这里从前是Ma Louf，似乎是本地人吃不惯黎巴嫩口味，易了做Olive，同集团经营装潢没变。已过午市，错过了吃神奇三文鱼的时机，只好叫些地中菜（中东）小吃风味Mezza，分别是芝士小酥饼炸Cheesy Filo Briouts、Saganaki grilled、Turkish Style Pizza's及Lamb Kofta。Cheesy Filo Briouts,小酥饼炸得酥化不油，酥皮下是薄薄香叶味芝士馅，酥香味道好，而乳酪是混有黑水榄粒及香草的，酸而带幽香，吃完会令人开心的味道。Saganaki grilled是常见于希腊菜头盘的软芝士，芝士焗前已洒上面粉粒，出到来的效果是软熟又脆，带薄薄奶酪香，非常易入口。最后的Lamb Kofta是浸在番茄酱的羊肉丸子，羊肉混入小茴、孜然但不抢肉味，是技术来的，吃完留有很深层味道，别处不易吃到，虽然吃到一额汗，也死命的清得几多得几多。期间，见到大厨Michael，跟他寒暄了几句，谈了近况又介绍了一些新菜，也是时候找另一位朋友来认真试菜。更详尽的文章分享@http://foodxfile.blogspot.com/2009/09/blog-post_6894.html 继续阅读

突然好想吃中东菜 , 又想找间坐得比较舒服 , 最后决定了来 Elements 这间 . 数个月前不是来看电影 , 也没有想过来这里吃饭 . 人流不多 , 基本上不订台也可以 . 不知是否早呢 , 只有一两台的客人 , 看来也是做外国人的生意比较多 . 装潢好靓 , 好有中东 feel , 坐得又舒服 . 服务员大多也是中东人 , 看他们的样有些 cool , 但原来好有礼貌 . 餐厅分两层 , 一楼主要是饮野 , 吃饭就在二楼 . 我们各叫了一杯饮品 , 我叫了 Torres de Casta , 其实是红酒, 但颜色比一般的浅好多 , 有些像苏打水 , 但饮下去 , 味道和红酒是一样 , 好清香 .本来只叫 3 个主菜再加小吃 , 最终还是叫多了 , 有 Mezze , Calamari, Tagine , Chicken , Mixed Green Salad. Mixed Green Salad , 个汁有些少酸 , 份量也不是太多 , 普普通通 . Tagine , 其实是海鲜饭 , 海鲜好新鲜 , 虾又大只 . 朋友说个饭好重印度香料味 , 不好吃 , 但我自己又觉得可以 . Chicken , 是串烧 , 烧得刚刚好 , 不会太干还有汁渗出来 , 好味 .Calamari , 是鱿鱼和薯茸一起焗的 . 鱿鱼好爽好弹牙 , 配红酒吃一流 . 这间餐厅好早就打烊 , 22:30 左右 , 不过 , 走的时这候看见一楼和外面还有客人 , 可能只是先关厨房 . 看见有人吸水烟 , 有兴趣的话 , 也可以试下 . 继续阅读

Although a tropical storm was fast approaching, there was plenty of sunlight all around. Ignoring the weather forecast, I took my friend to somewhere we can relax and enjoy our lunch under some natural sunlight. I picked Olive, Greek & Middle Eastern at Elements because I know it is located on the open podium level (Civic Square) whereby there are some outdoors seating available. Although it was a sunny afternoon without any rain, it was rather windy, so we decided to move indoors. Honestly, I was glad that we ended up eating indoors because I found the atmosphere and ambiance very nice indeed. The main dinning area is on the second floor with a very soft and mild earthy color tone. Vast windows are installed on the left, letting plenty of natural sunlight to absorb the whole area. We got the window seats overlooking the podium.The decor of this place is of modern Mediterranean, with an earthy tone to it. The natural sunlight along with the brown and green color scheme provided me with a relax sensation. I rarely spend so much space describing the atmosphere of a restaurant but I do like the environment here (on an early afternoon during the weekend with less people obviously). Ambiance is great but the seat itself is not that comfortable because it seems rather too soft and too low relative to the height of the tables. Apparently they only offer set lunches of either 2 or 3 courses. Although there were many selections to choice form, we both found something we wanted to try.(1) Chicken threads with walnuts, French beans, coriander, Egyptian fried eggWhen I first saw the name of the dish, the first thing that I noticed was the reference to Egyptian fried egg. What exact is a Egyptian fried egg? Turned out it was just a normal egg with some special sauce. For some seasons, I was not sure how it was being fried because it seemed to be it was just being boiled. Nonetheless, it was interesting to have such presentation for a salad and I actually enjoyed it very much. The sauce was not too strong and not too creamy either, a refreshing summer starter. More diced tomatoes would give the dish more colors and maybe a more refreshing sensation.(2) Moroccan chickpea soup, sauteed school prawns, harissa oilMy friend order this soup and according to her, it was pretty good. When we first ordered, I wondered what exact does "school" prawns mean and from the prawns in the soup when served, it means "tiny" prawns. It is actually a type or category of prawns averaging 10g and 9cm in length. Something new to learn everyday!(3) Cabbage leaves stuffed with jewelled cracked wheat on honey-ginger tomato sauce and goat cheese creamA long name for a dish indeed. I really liked its presentation with all the ingredient wrapped inside the cabbage leaves dome. (note: the cabbage leaves were rather elastic and required some skills to cut through it with the provided knife). In terms of taste, I could not really identify the honey-ginger tomato sauce that was supposed to be mixed together with the cracked wheat. Maybe it was supposed that subtle. The sauce which I recognized was more like Porcini mushroom than honey-ginger tomato sauce. If it was indeed Porcini mushroom sauce, it was a good combination with the jewelled cracked wheat which tasted like Italian risotto. I am not an expert in Greek and Middle Eastern cuisine but I am pretty sure it was a fusion dish which I did enjoy, maybe because I like to try new things all the time. Humm ... I wonder of what origin this dish derived from ... Greek? Turkish?(4) Lamb and Vegetable moussaka with a tomato mint and feta saladI had to check up what moussaka means because I had no idea and the way it was served was not of our expectation. According to wikipeida: "In the Arab world, moussaka is a cooked salad made up primarily of tomatoes and eggplant, similar to Italian caponata and is usually served cold as a mezze dish." Apparently it wasn't served cold. So I continued my research. It turns out "Turkish moussaka, unlike the Greek version, is not layered. Instead, it is prepared with sautéed eggplants, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and minced meat." Now we are talking! The moussaka that was served contained plenty of minced lamb which was very tasty. I wasn't sure if there was any eggplant because I only got a small portion from my friend to try but I liked it. Again, I have no idea how this dish is suppose to taste like in the traditional way but all I know is that I liked it and I think it can be a great comfort food!(5) Rich Chocolate tart with Turkish delightThere was no particular surprise from the chocolate tart but the buttery cream on top was interesting and rather refreshing. It contained herb taste commonly used in middle eastern dishes. I could not name the flavor but the cream certainly did not taste like normal cream. The Turkish delight was very sweet as it should be but not really my cup of tea. Presentation was pretty nice in my opinion. On a negative note, the dessert was served when I was still having my main course!! Those junior staff require more training indeed. The manager did come to apologize soon after but I was very surprised that the junior staff who delivered the dessert attempted to shove the plate onto the table even when my existing plate took most of the table space already.(6) Turkish CoffeeI consider the Turkish coffee one of the highlights of the day. The staff informed us that the coffee would be very strong and his warning only made me want the coffee even more. The way it was served was rather interesting as well. The coffee was heated / brewed in a copper pot and poured into a tiny transparent Turkish style glass right at the table. The coffee flavor was strong and it contained traces of sweetness to it. I think a bit of sugar was added to the boiling / brewing process. Overall a very nice and smoothing coffee to be enjoyed after a relaxing meal. Not sure if it was prepared in the traditional way but the sweetness somehow lowered the intensity of the flavor in my opinion. Not as strong as I expected it.Like: * Wonderful decor with natural sunlight * Turkish version of Lamb Moussaka was good, something new to me * Turkish coffee (stronger would be better)Dislikes: * height of the seats relative to the table * Inexperienced junior staff (the word junior sowhat describe the inexperience aspect of the staff but not with such basic rules) - Manager was quick to apolize and that was good.Original Blog: http://jason-bonvivant.blogspot.com/2009/07/olive-greek-middle-eastern-elements.html 继续阅读