A la Folie Pâtisserie (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

From time to time, I like to re-visit some of the cake shops that failed to make an early impression on me and give them a chance for redemption. Today, it's A la Folie Pâtisserie's turn to make good on their second try.

In case you haven't heard, A la Folie Pâtisserie is a cozy café and patisserie situated in the newly renovated MOKO (or Grand Century Plaza as they previously called it). Apart from their Japanese influenced pastries, the little café is also offering a small selection of salad, burgers and french toasts for a limited time.



Their hottest item has got to be the Sexy Lady, featuring creamy chocolate truffle wrapping around delectable raspberry sauce that was cooked in balsamic vinegar. It became the talk of town after local comedian Jim Chim Sui-man (詹瑞文) bought one for actress Charlene Choi (蔡卓妍)'s birthday.



But I decided to go a different direction starting with Le Matcha ($42) which features a nice blend of Valrhona chocolate, cointreau syrup, green tea and soy beans.



A la Folie Pâtisserie's Milk Tea Opera ($40) strikes a good balance of flavors between milk tea and coffee. It's a little sweeter than a typical opera cake but I like the eight layers creating a very satisfying bite.



This was way better than last time. I certainly won't mind coming back some other time.


Food Rating: 5/10

Price: $$$

Address: 2/F Grand Century Place, 193 Prince Edward Road West, Mong Kok, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Mongkok East
Tel: +852 2327-9090
Website: www.jcgroup.hk/restaurants/alafolie/‎


Hong Kong, Kowloon, cafe, dessert, patisserie, French, pastry, cake, Japanese

Mistral (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Located in the basement level of the InterContinental Grand Stanford Hotel, The Mistral is a modern Italian restaurant with a contemporary touch. This marked my first return visit since they underwent a facelift back in April 2014. The refurbished dining room now sports a contemporary yet cozy look. 



They have a new chef de cuisine Samuele Baudoino at the helm too. Well not exactly new but I haven't been there in 2014 so in that sense, he's new. I decided to check out his former experience online. Turns out he made his move to InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong from Four Seasons Resort Bali last year. Reports also indicate that he has a strong emphasis with the use of the freshest Italian ingredients.



The set lunch includes an all-you-can-eat antipasto bar. I thought they ought to do something with the amount of vegetables and salad available. Definitely not enough variety there.



They tried to make up for it in the ham section with all kinds of parma ham. Ox tongue, roasted beef etc. were also in the mix.




As seen here, not what you would consider a fabulous selection of food.



We got to pick one main dish from the choice of pasta, pizza, meat and fish and mom didn't hesitate to jump on their pasta - linguine tossed with clams in white wine sauce. I tried a little bit of that and thought it was a little bland and slightly overcooked.



As always, I often made the right choice with my main dish and that proved to be the case again! My oven baked monkfish with tomatoes, black olives and capers Livornese style grilled polenta absolutely rocked~



Like the antipasto bar, the dessert bar was slightly disappointing as well.



The panna cotta was probably the only decent choice.



Got all the time in the world to enjoy this cup of tea before we settled the bill.



For the same price, there are plenty of better options available in Tsim Sha Tsui alone, Osteria (at Holiday Inn) and Yamm (Miramar Hotel) just to name a couple.


Food Rating: 4/10

Price: $$$

Address: B2/F, InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong, 70 Mody Road, Tim Sha Tsui East, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui East
Tel: +852 2731-2870
Website: Link

La Table de Patrick (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

After a year of absence from Restaurant Week, I jumped back onto the bandwagon this week after learning all the major changes taking place in 2015. 

In the past, restaurants could choose from one of three categories (A - Budget, B - Moderate and C - Splurge) and their lunch/dinner sets will be priced according to the chosen category. Unfortunately most restaurants would end up picking Category B and C with their slightly overpriced menus. At that point in time, I decided not to engage in any more Restaurant Week promotions ever again. 

At the end of 2014, changes were finally underway. They changed the format to two categories and this year, they go one step further by slashing the prices. Take lunch for example - prices for Category A/B are now down from $158/$248 to $118/$198 respectively. On top of that, more than 100 restaurants are rumored to be participating this time around, including Michelin starred The Principal, which is one of my favorite dining places. Enough reasons for me to re-consider? You bet.

There are a number of participating restaurants who have been on my radar screen and I ended up going with La Table de Patrick of all places on my first try.  

Chef Patrick Goubier is really no stranger to us. From his fine dining French restaurant on Peel Street, to his deli on Star Street and most recent Chez Patrick Restaurant on Queen's Road, we were "not-so-frequent" customers. Now, he's taking his gag back to Central, this time in a private kitchen (私房菜) setting at an old commercial building on Cochrane Street.



La Table de Patrick is perched on the sixth floor of the premise. They do have elevators here (thank goodness they do).



The interior is exactly what you would expect from a private kitchen. Small but nicely decorated. Chef Patrick was on hand and as always he came around to say hi a few times over the course of our meal.




There was no amuse bouche so we went straight to the first course of the four-course dinner. First up for us was a ravioli of ratte potatoes that was stuffed with foie gras and truffles. Underneath the ravioli was a bed of wild mushroom. 

That was a really special dish. I love the different flavors harmonizing each other perfectly. The Jerusalem artichoke sauce was particularly intriguing in balancing out the richness of the foie gras and truffles (7.5/10).



But things began to fall apart from here. The second course, a creamy sea urchin custard with home dashi jelly was neither creamy nor tasting like jelly. In fact, it was more like a lukewarm lobster bisque with sea urchin (3.5/10).



For main course, there were two choices. The first one was grilled red tuna served with sweet and sour apple marmalade.

I actually thought that the red tuna wasn't all that bad but the squid-ink pasta underneath it was very disappointing. The sweet and sour apple marmalade (which was more sour than sweet) was also a peculiar choice to go with the tuna (4/10).



Even less successful was the New Zealand venison fillet with a morello kirsch gravy (3.5/10).



Dessert was a very simple hazelnut and ricotta cake with poached pear and chocolate sauce. I gave them some marks for the nice presentation but the taste was uninspiring (4/10).



My experiences with Chez Patrick (deli and restaurant) weren't exactly the best ones over the years. I do give them full marks for bouncing back time after time but this one at La Table de Patrick was just another disappointment. For me, inconsistency has always been an issue here. With such a good starter (ravioli) kicking things off, it's difficult to imagine how the rest of the meal could fall flat like it did.


Food Rating: 4/10

Price: $$$

Address: 6/F, Cheung Hing Commercial Building, 37-43 Cochrane Street, Central , Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central / Hong Kong Station
Tel: +852 2541-1401
Website: www.chezpatrick.hk


Hong Kong, Central, French, restaurant, private kitchen, fine dining

Angelina (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It was a lot of fun going through Timeout Hong Kong's top 30 dishes of 2014 but I was a little down to find out that I only managed to hit one third of these dishes.  

One of the dishes (or pastries) mentioned on the list was Angelina's Cheesecake Abricot and I thought I better went to check it out after work this afternoon.



Cheesecake Abricot, 5/10
A thin layer of apricot confit was topped with a foamy, marshmallow-like cream cheese and finished with crunchy shortbread and madeleine biscuit on the bottom. Not bad but I was expecting a little more. Perhaps a flavored cream cheese (yuzu?) would do a better job in bringing out the best of the apricot confit?



Vendôme, 5/10
This was a combination of crunchy lemon biscuit, wild strawberry confit and nougat praline mousse in a white chocolate dome. The mousse was silky mousse but again something seemed to be missing here - something with a little more acidity might have done the trick, perhaps a wild strawberry compote instead of the confit which was a tad too sweet in my opinion.





Food Rating: 5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Angelina, 3/F, Lane Crawford, IFC Mall, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Hong Kong Station
Tel: +852 3188-0842


Hong Kong, cafe, dessert, patisserie, French, pastry, cake, IFC

The Royal Touch Bakery Café by Carolyn Robb (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

After making its debut in Hong Kong during Harbour City’s Chocolate Trail 2015 back in January, The Royal Touch by Carolyn Robb finally opened its doors at the Ocean Terminal prior to the Chinese New Year.

In case you haven't heard, The Royal Touch is a brand created by Carolyn Robb who was the former executive chef to Prince Charles for 11 years. This new bakery café will feature some dishes from the royal recipes including Prince William's favourite chocolate biscuit cake which was also used as his wedding cake (called Groom's cake) in 2011.

Apart from the famous Groom's cake, other British specialties such as the "Royal Tea Set" and scorns will also feature prominently in the "tea" menu. 



....and cupcakes of course, how can we forget them?

 

As for the food menu, it looked surprisingly similar to Angelina's with comfort food being the main theme (think soup, salad, sandwich, pasta and risotto). Unfortunately, I was a little tied up this afternoon or else I would be comfortably sitting here enjoying their tea set.



If it's any consolation, I did pick something from the pastry corner. This Lychee and rose was perfect for the new year holidays because it's dressed almost like a red pocket! (Hope it's bringing good luck to me or my belly.)

It's surprisingly smooth and delicate although I was slightly disappointed with the lack of lychee and rose flavor.




Food Rating: 5/10
Price: $$$
Address: G02, G/F, Ocean Terminal Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 3188-8086

Kinryu Ramen Dotonbori (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★☆☆☆

Kinryu (Golden Dragon) Ramen (金龍) is one of the most iconic ramen restaurants in Dotonbori with three branches located in the heart of this prime tourist area in Namba.



This branch of Kinryu Ramen Dotonbori near Hozenji (法善寺) is easily the most popular one thanks to the eye-catching golden dragon signage. 



It's a pretty easy choice here, just two types of ramen soup offered here. As usual, it's done using the vending machine.



If you're looking for a heartwarming dining experience, I'm afraid Kinryu won't be your cup of tea. The waiting time is generally long and service is your typical "help-yourself" style. 



I was told not to take pictures of their open kitchen by the staff. 



The broth here is mainly Tonkotsu style prepared using a mix of pork and chicken bones but it lacks in richness and volume.



For 600yen, I guess this is what you're getting these days. A very average bowl of ramen (in a prime location).



For a much better ramen experience at a cozier atmosphere, check out Hanamaruken Namba Hozenji (花丸軒 難波・法善寺店) just less than 100 metres away.



Kinryu Ramen Dotonbori is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.





Food Rating: 4.4/10
Price: ￥￥
Address: 1-7-26 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Japan
Closest Metro Station: Namba
Tel: +81 (0)6 6211-3999

Patisserie accueil (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

My quest for a hearty French patisserie in Osaka has brought me to the west side of Shinsaibashi (心斎橋), an area more known for its residential buildings than its shopping. Patisserie accueil (パティスリー アクイユ), sandwiched between the Nishiohashi and Yotsubashi subway stations, was the place I was looking for. After a late start, I was just happy to arrive at the patisserie slightly before their closing time of 7pm (A little early for a pastry shop, don't you think?).



It's a cozy little cake shop which I am hesitant to declare as French.



  It's French at heart but the Japanese twist (matcha, red beans etc.) was undeniable.



What are you looking at?



I had my share of Japanese influenced pastries on this trip already so I decided to get something "less Japanese" this time.

Bananier (¥450), I thought was a good way to start - caramel, chocolate, banana and walnuts. I knew caramel and chocolate would click but the way both of them worked with the banana compote was just beautiful.




The lovely waitress was nice enough to offer me a warm cup of water and a complimentary snowball cookie. That was very nice of her. Only if she speaks a little more English, I would have asked her to have a photo together with me.







Food Rating: 7/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 1-17-18 Kitahorie, Nishi Ward, Osaka, Japan 大阪府大阪市西区北堀江1-17-18 102
Closest Metro Station: Yotsubashi / Nishiohashi
Tel: +81 (0)6-6533-2313

Patisserie Chocolaterie Ordinaire (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

Orange Street, also known as Tachibana-Dori, is considered one of the most fashionable shopping streets in Osaka thanks to its trendy boutiques and cafes.



However, I had something other than fashion in mind when I made my way to Orange Street tonight. I was paying a highly anticipated visit to Patisserie Chocolaterie Ordinaire (パティスリーオーディネール), which was touted by some as one of the top French pastry shops in the city. 



I managed to sneak in just ahead of their closing time but immediately realized that the display counter was all empty! Say it ain't so~



I tried to plead my case to the staff here telling them how much of a fan I am of their creations and I have ventured all the way here for a piece of their delicious pastry. I was going to pull my flight ticket out to show them that I would be leaving tomorrow too and tonight would've been my last chance but before I did so, someone dressed in a white chef's uniform came out of the kitchen to greet me. Turned out they've got a couple of spare ones still in the frigate but they needed to touch things up before it's ready. No problem I insisted. I can wait as long as they like!



So while I was waiting, I got the chance to check out their handmade chocolate and cookies. 



I tried to find something to occupy my time while they got my dessert ready (I had no idea what's coming out!). 



And I managed to find this, a large bergamot macaron. Not bad.



Known for one of Osaka's most popular patisserie and chocolatier, it's only fitting that the dessert they prepared for me was one of their chocolate mousse cakes.



A very delicate chocolate cake with a rich and silky smooth chocolate mousse matched perfectly with what I thought was praline cream. Interestingly, they had an almond cookie placed on top of the cake for some extra crunch.



Many thanks to the good guys here, I was able to leave Osaka without the regret of not having their signature chocolate cakes.

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: 2-4-16 Minamihorie, Nishi-ku, Osaka 550-0015, Japan
Closest Metro Station: Yotsubashi
Tel: +81 (0)6 6541-4747
Website: www.facebook.com/p.ordinaire