My sweet tooth continues to act up so I decide to do my part to tame it right after work this afternoon. I had a number of options at my disposal but at the end, I went with an off-the-board place in Lai Chi Kok - La Patisserie des Idees.
La Patisserie des Idees is a cozy little French pastry shop at D2 Place One helmed by an engineer-turned-patissier who honed his skills in France and Japan before moving back to Hong Kong to open his own patisserie. At La Patisserie des Idees, he's offering a nice mix of traditional and contemporary pastries based on his overseas travel.
Nama Cheesecake ($45) - I've had my share of cheesecake this week (The Mandarin Cake Shop and Paul Lafayet) but that didn't stop me from ordering yet another cheesecake.
This was very very light (like a marshmallow). In between the soft French cheese and sponge cake, there's a hint of pineapple and citrus for a nice kick of acidity.
What I like most about this cake is the crumble made with salted caramel crunch, which has added some crunchiness to the mix. The exotic fruit gelée and layer of pineapple which I thought was an interesting idea, provided a lovely tropical twist.
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 224, 2/F, D2 Place One, 9 Cheung Yee Street, Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok
Tel: +852 9282-6827
Website: www.lapatisseriedesidees.com
From pineapple, coconut to mint, I have yet to miss out on any limited-time milkshakes from Triple O's so there's no way I will let this one go without a try.
But sadly, this green tea flavor will go down the books as the worst milkshake ever from my favorite burger joint. The flavors are way too artificial. For a moment, I thought it tasted like my mouthwash or chewing gum.
Price: $$$
Address: Unit 009, Level LG1, Great Food Hall, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Admiralty
Tel: +852 2581-1887
Website: www.tripleos.com.hk
Our run of Chinese food continues for the third straight day and I was hoping for a little better fate following two decent but unspectacular meals in a roll. Could Dim Sum Library at Pacific Place provide the breakthrough?
Right before I made the trip down to Pacific Place, I tried to look for information on Dim Sum Library's head chef Leung Kok-wah but there's very little available other than the fact that he had a stint at Man Wah, the fine-dining Chinese restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental.
I have never been much of a fan of any restaurants under the Aqua Group but perhaps the contemporary spin on Cantonese dim sums here can change that this afternoon.
Black truffle shrimp dumplings (黑松露蝦餃) ($58) - Our parade of modern dim sum started with a box of delicious shrimp dumplings. There's a bit of black truffle everywhere from the wrapper to the shrimps inside. Not the first time I had my har gow with black truffle but these were surprisingly tasty. Can't believe the fast start we're having!
Hokkaido king crab and sea urchin spring rolls (海膽蟹肉春卷) ($88) - I have read mixed reviews on this item with many claiming the spring rolls to be too flavorful for the king crab and sea urchin. But I thought they were pretty nicely matched.
The sea urchin was a little bit overpowering but I could still taste the king crab meat within the crispy skin. Won't mind having another one of these at all.
Deep-fried taro puff with foie gras (鵝肝芋角) ($68) - Pretty decent but I like my taro puff to be a little more flaky and I certainly won't mind more foie gras in the filling.
Black garlic pork dumplings (黑蒜燒賣) ($58) - I was looking for the black garlic everywhere.
Turned out it's been hidden right in the middle of the dumpling. Interesting idea!
Crispy rice flour roll stuffed with squid mousse (花枝響鈴炸両) ($78) - We had something similar at China Tang a couple of weeks ago called steamed rice flour rolls filled with crispy tofu sheet and seafood (嚮鈴海鮮腸粉) but this was way better.
From each of these layers, there's a bit different texture and flavor. First, there's the rice flour roll, then the you tiao (油條) and finally, the stuffing of squid mousse. A well-designed dish with very nice results.
Dan dan xiao long bao (擔擔湯包) ($68) - The obvious crowd pleaser here as everyone had one of these on their table. This was really flavourful and spicy with mala sauce. Underneath the thin wrapper was spiced nutty minced beef with Sichuan tones and of course, a warm broth reminiscing of the broth in the classic dan dan noodles. Definitely not a bad choice especially for those interested in the burst of spicy flavors.
Steamed Matsutake mushroom bao (松茸冬菇包) ($62) - My little one's favorite with lots of chopped Matsutake mushrooms.
Wild mushroom dumplings with beetroot (紅菜頭野菌餃) ($58) - This wasn't bad but somehow the marriage between beetroot and wild mushrooms didn't work out as well as I thought they would.
Beef ball filled with Yunnan morel (羊肚菌軟心牛肉球) ($58) - I was quite interested in the marriage of beef ball and morel mushrooms. Could they make this work?
I had trouble understanding the concept behind this one though. Didn't see this coming with runny morel purée stuffed inside the beef ball. Probably, the least successful dish of the afternoon, along with the siu mai.
Soy braised e-fu noodles with prawns (蝦球炆伊麵) ($188) - The noodles and prawns were pretty nice but I had trouble finding out what the sauce was made of. Judging by its color, I first thought it was made with prawn heads and coral but the flavors didn't match. That was still unsolved mystery at this point.
The execution on some of these dishes was far from perfect but I like the cutting-edge and ground breaking ideas behind their unconventional take on Cantonese dim sums. Sometimes, it's all about taking chances.
Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 124, Level 1, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Admiralty
Tel: +852 3643-0088
Website: www.dimsumlibrary.com.hk
Spicy Joint (辛香匯), the famous spicy Szechuan cuisine brand from Shanghai, who operates no less than a dozen branches across China and Sydney, has quietly opened a new flagship restaurant at Harbour City late last year.
Like all restaurants at OTE (Ocean Terminal Extension), this flagship restaurant Fu Rong (映水芙蓉) boasts a stunning harbour view. Too bad we picked the wrong week to come and check this place out.
Anyone who thinks Fu Rong is going to be another typical traditional Sichuan restaurant would be very disappointed because not every dish here is fiery hot and there are a lot of clever, contemporary touches added to the classic recipes.
Personally, I am not particularly fond of spicy food although I eat them occasionally. So, I'm trying to figure out how to strike a balance (of spicy and non-spicy food) when I place the order.
Stuffed cherry tomato, walnut, mayo (核桃沙律釀小蕃茄) - I didn't expect a welcome dish from the kitchen so this was a pleasant surprise. The cherry tomato stuffed with a small walnut salad, did exactly what an amuse bouche should do - to stimulate one's appetite and it did exactly that. Very nice start.
Thin-sliced pork belly, cucumber, garlic marmalade (蒜泥白肉) ($118) - Jelloman's favorite appetizer so I knew I had to order this.
Slices of cucumber were wrapped inside the pork belly topped with radish and garlic marmalade. I think there's a bit of peanut flavors in there too. Not bad and surprisingly, not spicy at all.
Bon bon chicken, chili oil, handmade sugar mold (敲糖棒棒雞) ($88) - I saw this on almost every ad and review about this restaurant so I would assume it's a signature dish. Of course, there's really nothing special about this chicken dish if it's not for the handmade sugar mold sitting on top.
As soon as I finished taking photos, our server crashed the sugar mold and started mixing everything together. Even with the sugar, I thought it was pretty spicy. Decent but not sure if it could be classified as a signature dish.
Kung Bao shrimps, cashew nuts, chili (宮保大蝦球) ($268) - They did a poor job stir-frying the shrimps and because of that, they were not crispy enough on the outside.
Poached sweet potato shoots, fried sakura shrimps, rice soup (櫻花蝦米湯蕃薯苗) ($138) - Since none of us was a big fan of spicy food, we were all quite happy to see this dish arrive. Because we all knew the poached veggies won't be spicy!!!
The poached sweet potato shoots were served with sakura shrimps and something like a light rice porridge.
Cheng du dan dan noodles, ground pork, bean sprouts (成都擔擔麵) ($48) - Pretty tasty although I did enjoy the local twist with peanut sauce a little more.
Squid ink dumplings, pork (山水墨魚餃) ($138) - The Chinese name suggested the resemblance to Chinese painting (drawn with ink?) but I just don't see the connection there.
And I don't see how these dumplings worth $138 either.
A lot of dishes with fancy names and "over-the-moon" presentations (that's what they think!) but ultimately, it's the taste that really counts. In that case, this is just an average modern Sichuan restaurant with a view. That's all I can say.
Food Rating: 5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Shop OTE 201, 2/F, Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, 3-27 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2388-2008
Another day and another Peking duck specialist has arrived in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui this month. Zither Garden (古琴雅苑) recently opened doors at Prince Tower but they are no stranger to Hong Kong's dining scene having already opened in Wanchai for more than a year.
Like Alvin Leung's Forbidden Duck, Zither Garden features two distinctly different types of roasted duck - a traditional roasted Peking duck (烤北京填鴨) and an eponymous one named Zither Garden Vinasse roasted Peking duck (古琴酒糟烤北京填鴨) (Half HK$178; whole: HK$338). We had a couple rounds of discussion on which one to pick but at the end, we took the easy way out by ordering both flavors.
First and foremost, some condiments including all the usual suspects - cucumber, leeks, honeydew melon and sweet bean sauce, setting the stage for a wonderful night of roasted Peking duck for us.
First up, the most crispy part of the duck (一口酥) was served up. This is the part which is right around the neck area, consisting of just the skin and a little bit of fat. As instructed, we dipped each piece into the honey plum sauce and sugar one after one.
Melt-in-your-mouth good~
While we were still enjoying the skin from the neck area, the chef already started peeling off the skin and meat carefully.
From what I've heard, their head chef who's mainly in charge of their Peking ducks, worked over 20 years at Quan Ju De (全聚德) so he obviously knows how it takes to make a tasty Peking duck. And it all started with the "air drying" technique they used resulting in much crispier skins and less greasy meat.
We first had the traditional Peking duck (烤北京填鴨) with their homemade pancakes. The first thing I noticed about these pancakes is the fact that they're a little thinner than most pancakes from traditional Peking duck restaurants (I hate the thick ones like those from Spring Deer!). This really allowed diners to taste the natural flavors of the duck and the condiments.
Before our second half-duck arrives, some braised cabbage with Yunnam ham (金腿濃湯津白) simmered in a rich chicken broth.
My little nugget tried to jump the gun when the Zither Garden Vinasse roasted Peking duck (古琴酒糟烤北京填鴨) arrives.
I was expecting a little bit of wine flavors in there but they are so subtle that honestly, I can hardly tell the difference.
Judging from the roasted duck, I thought it was way better than what we got from Xihe Yayuan (羲和雅苑) and the price represented really good value for money.
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: 15/F, Prince Tower, 12A Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2882-1582
Anyone who have read my posts, should know I'm not much of a fan of The Mandarin Cake Shop. Yes, they've got some fine selection of pastries but they are not really as good as most people think. But this, I do like a lot - an old-school box to carry their pastries around.
1963 Mandarin cheesecake - Their best seller, and probably the only pastry they've got which can please my palate. I like the rich cheese flavor without going over. And I can see that they've refined the look a little bit to make it slightly more interesting. Not bad.
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: M/F, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 2825-4008
Website: www.mandarinoriental.com.hk/hongkong/fine-dining/the-mandarin-cake-shop
