thePinkCook的個人專頁

我是吃雲吞麵長大的。廣東式的雲吞和水餃都是我的心靈食品，因此，我亦好有要求。 座落駱克道的永豪麵家是我這心靈食品的供應者。永豪是間小店，沒有什麼裝修，只有數張圓枱，是一老式的粉麵店模式。這個週末我便又外賣了生雲吞水餃和牛筋回家享用。個子小小的散尾雲吞，皮軟而重垂。 比雲吞多了木耳絲和筍絲的是飽滿的水餃，雲吞皮和水餃皮都是永豪自己造的竹昇皮，皮薄而不易爛。散尾雲吞煮好後在湯裏散開如金魚的尾巴，入口雲吞皮的滑溜和饀裏的蝦和豬肉的彈口夾雜一起，這才是真正的傳統廣東雲吞。乒乓球大小的只是雲吞皮包蝦而已!透過薄薄的水餃皮看到黑色的絲絲是木耳絲。 蝦和木耳絲及筍絲為水餃做了2個不同層次的爽脆口感。香濃軟滑的牛筋，味道濃郁，不會過硬或過淋。永豪的白灼鮮牛柏葉即黑色而不是漂製過全白色的那種也是相當美味，他們的竹昇麵也是不容錯過的麵食，但就待下回再分享了。…查看更多

7月22日星期五與友人相約到鄭錦富師傅與厨魔 Alvin Leung 在中環 Jimmy’s Kitchen 舊址開業不久的厨魔名人坊午膳，一頓下來，6人全帶着滿足和滋味離開。餐廳中午有點心供應，全是無花巧的長青點心。雖然選擇不多，但我們所品嚐的每一款都很美味。其中有皮薄蝦爽甜的蝦餃，有兒時味道的燒賣，肉滑而結實，以蟹子點綴代替小時的蟹黃。香煎蘿蔔糕是一件件看不見蘿蔔也食不到蘿蔔的厚切幼滑糕塊，入口外焦內軟滑却又充滿蘿蔔的甜味。除了點心外，我們還要了些小菜，包括富哥的招牌名菜琵琶豆腐，是乾身沒有任何醬汁的做法。一口咬下，內軟外酥。豉椒炒肚尖，富哥的造法是切薄片，跟其它切粒的口感很不一樣，有點像吃象拔蚌的感覺，爽脆之餘却有象拔蚌沒有的𡁻口，大家吃完都覺得意猷未盡。隨着的是富哥咕嚕肉，咕嚕肉是肉片，但我個人喜歡用肉球的做法，所以雖然甜酸味道均勻和脆口，却不是我的所愛。在等待花雕飛天雞的時候，餐廳同事亞康介紹了當天剛有的獅頭魚以苦瓜炒。獅頭魚常見的是半隻手掌大小或更小，鄭師傅富哥將獅頭魚起肉炒苦瓜，魚肉嫩滑，苦瓜碧綠清脆，看似簡單却見富哥的功力。隨之而來的花雕飛天雞是以原個砂鍋上，打開蓋子香氣撲鼻。嫩滑雞件放入口中帶着淡淡的花雕味夾着雞肉的鮮味。友人本想要星洲炒米作完結篇，最後改為由同事亞康介紹的鮮蟹肉炒米粉。上桌時滿滿一大碟，當大家以為必然有剩餘要打包却竟然全部吃光了。只聽過其名的鄭師傅更過來介紹米粉的來源，是經過他多年經驗要選用河源米粉才可以做出合他心意的炒米粉。整碟米粉以鮮蟹肉、芽菜和蛋炒成，不油不膩，非常乾身，碟子一點多餘的油也沒有，這樣水準的炒米粉不被吃光才怪。由於從沒有想過會寫食評所以一張照片也沒有拍下也沒有特別寫下或記錄菜式的完整食材和詳細做法。在當時只是完全在享受和朋友的相聚及品嚐可口的食物，所以就以上對菜式的描述中會有不盡之處。但不爭的事實是鄭師傅的巧手將這頓午餐變成回味無窮的飯聚，出色的食物，令人滿意的服務態度和合理的收費，我們已急不及待預備再訪了。…查看更多

This maiden review is prompted by my mother’s sentiments, which I share, on the abysmal dining experience that we had at Cocotte.  Pausing here, I must explain that my mother, who is an excellent cook, is usually quite forgiving when it comes to restaurant fare.  It takes a lot to elicit such strong commentary from her.  With a concerted media blitz, Cocotte has billed itself as the newest “hot” restaurant in Hong Kong .  Critics and bloggers alike have hailed the chef’s pedigree (from Amber no less) and his haute cuisine.  Therefore, expectations were high when we booked a table for Friday night as a pre-Mother’s Day celebration.  To put it mildly, it was a disappointment.  My mom’s excitement in dining at a chic French restaurant in Soho (a neighborhood which she does not usually frequent) quickly evaporated with her first bite of her appetizer, diver scallop.  This was a creation which all the reviewers have recommended and had looked tantalizing in photographs.  The scallop was plump but entirely too salty and was only edible if you wash it down with a big gulp of wine.  Hardly the signature entrée that it was touted to be.  The Tuna Nicoise and Foie Gras Royale which we ordered were unremarkable and pedestrian at best.  For the mains, the kids ordered the truffle spaghetti which they were apparently happy with.  We elected to share the guinea fowl cooked into 2 ways and in 2 services.  The first service was the roasted breast.  One bite and we were finished.  The meat was moist and tender but it was again overwhelmed by over-saltiness.  Again, we have to resort to our trusty drink to wash it down.  By this time, and as the person who chose this venue, I was fervently hoping that the second service would salvage this disaster.  Unfortunately, the leg fricassee ran true to form.  It was bland and without flavor.  I share my mom’s comment that this was her worst meal that the chef could not have possibly tasted his own food before serving it upon an unsuspecting clientele.  When the server asked for our comments, I told her exactly what I had written above.  As I suspected, her question was just a parroted routine and all I got was an insincere “Oh, I am sorry.  Thank you for telling us, I would tell the chef”.  The chef made no attempt at an appearance and apparently remained oblivious of our complaints.  When things are bad, it doesn’t end.  When the bill came, we noted a corkage charge of $350.  When I made the reservation about a week ago, I was informed that it was $250.  When I asked the server, she gave the ridiculous explanation that they just raised the corkage charge after my reservation.  Talk about inflation!  Obviously, they did not have the courtesy of offering to return the charge to the quoted $250 and I was just too worn out by the experience to argue.  We brought our own wine and accepted the rather exorbitant corkage charge after we had a glance at their wine list (which we obtained by email beforehand).  A glance was all it took because the selections were few and totally unattractive.  They seem to have forgotten the cardinal rule that you can only justify a high corkage charge if you have a reasonably deep wine list or that it makes more sense to bring your own when the markup is excessive.  The only thing that survived the meal and tasted good was the pretty shiraz that we brought, 2006 Mollydooker, Carnival of Love.  My takeaway from this rather forgettable experience : Don’t trust critics’ or bloggers’ reviews (even one from yours truly), find out for yourself.  Don’t rush to be the first, let them work out their teething pains first.  If you want to experiment, go for lunch first to avoid disappointment (not to mention an unnecessary hit on your wallet).  If you want Amber standard, go to Amber (there is a reason that Amber is Amber and it cannot be duplicated by someone who just happened to have wandered into its kitchen on his way to another gig).  Please remember, caveat emptor (buyer beware)!…查看更多