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2012-05-31
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It was a relaxing weekend. CM’s friends called for an impromptu dinner when I was having lunch with him in Al Dente. It was random, but why not? There’s nothing more joyful than spending the weekend with your loved one and close friends. CM was considerable (or careful?) enough to ask his lovely friend to book the table half an hour earlier so that I wouldn’t be starved to death. The lounge was quite spacious with a nearly two-level high ceiling. Though without the harbour view, the decoration,
CM was considerable (or careful?) enough to ask his lovely friend to book the table half an hour earlier so that I wouldn’t be starved to death. The lounge was quite spacious with a nearly two-level high ceiling. Though without the harbour view, the decoration, dim lights and cozy seats still offered a relaxing environment for a long chat. This indeed suits the hotel’s chic and stylish image.
While waiting for his friends, we first ordered a Nicoise salad. The bread basket arrived first together with butter and olive dip. They can be happily skipped. But the disappointment was swept away by the Nicoise salad, which came quickly. It has all the usual Nicoise salad ingredients like tuna, black olive, boiled eggs and mixed green, except potato. The tuna was slightly grilled with a beautiful inner layer which was still raw - my favourite style! It was cooked right, though I expect stronger taste and smell.
As our friends arrived one by one, we ordered our dishes one at a time, starting with a Portobello and red pepper salad, then fried calamari, and then cheese platter. Portobello is supposed to be meaty, but the one that night was rather “skinny”. Fortunately, grilled red pepper never failed to please me. After having fired calamari in Piccolo, I have been difficult to please by this dish at other places. This one was good, but there was better one. The cheese platter had Brie, goat blue cheese, and another cheese which I have forgotten (that wasn’t impressive anyway). I loved the tangy goat blue cheese most!
After the gang had finally mustered, we began our feast first with a seafood platter. The mussels were a bit dry, but the prawn and lobster were chewy and fresh enough. The sweet crab legs and clams were the most impressive and sought-after items. Overall, the platter was not as good as I expected, but not bad either.
How can I possibly skip wine in a seafood feast, especially as Green’s wine list was so tempting? I had a Burgundy Chablis, followed by a glass of Champagne. The former was fruity and honey, and went rather nicely with my grilled tuna. The Oyster Chowder which I had much expectation was, sadly, not god enough. The slight oyster taste was a bit overwhelmed by the creamy and rich soup. I did not like the texture either. As I supposed to eat the bread with the soup, the latter should not be that thick. In fact, there was not much soup left. Perhaps they were soaked into the bread already? Fortunately, the outer crust of the bread was crispy and it was soft inside. Compared with my frd’s Mediterranean Saffron Seafood soup, it was way too heavy in both taste and portion. If you have small stomachs like CM and I, the Chowder was enough for three to share.
The next to come was baked sea bass. Sea bass has been one of my most favourite fish. Its timely-cooked, snow-white flesh was elegantly placed on a bed of tomato bed. I called it a tomato “bed” as it was puree-like. The contrast of red and white remained charmingly poignant in the dim light, oddly reminded me of the flag of England... The tomato sauce was overwhelmingly strong though, so I ate the fish with only a little bit of it and left most of it to be finished off separately.
The mushroom risotto was another highlight of the night. The risotto was chewy, and the creamy sauce gave you a mouthful of mushroom flavour. There was nothing to complain about, except it was gone within five minutes!The clam Linguini was nice too. Apparently, we were lucky enough to have fresh clams supply on that day. : )
We then moved to the desserts. The molten Chocolate cake had some room for improvement, as its heart did not melt and the cake was a bit dry. Fortunately, they did the apple strussel right. I was glad that they did not, as some restaurants in Hong Kong did, mix up apple strudel with apple strussel. I love the crispy sheet dough with crunchy and buttery toppings. However, I would like to add green apple to the fillings, as its sourness can create another layer to the flavour.
I really did not expect much beforehand, but I found the whole meal quite satisfying. I also loved the cozy environment and would definitely come back for a casual dinner with friends.张贴
