Daap (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

With Jelloman and little guy off to Shenzhen for three days, I am suddenly enjoying a wealth of Me Time over the long weekend. After kicking things off at Aulis yesterday, I am going to check out a hidden gem in Sheung Wan called Daap by owner-chef Luke Chan who cut his teeth at restaurants like L'Altro, Amber, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and 8 1/2 Otto E Mezzo Bombana I was told. I am especially looking forward to watching Chef Chan work behind the open kitchen. With his signature fusion dishes like creamy carbonara tossed with Chinese preserved meat (臘腸卡邦尼手工意粉), cordyceps cream soup (蟲草花忌廉湯) and chrysanthemum tiramisu (桂花提拉美蘇), it's going to be a real treat.

After arriving sharply at 12:30pm, I was being seated at the corner of the L-shaped counter table. There were about 8 of us just sitting around waiting to be served. Problem? The chef hasn't arrived and the restaurant manager refused to confirm that he's on his way!!! 😲😤

Not surprisingly, four of the guests decided to walk away at 1pm but I have all the time in the world so I decided to wait.

At 1:10pm, exactly 40 minutes since I sat down, the chef finally arrived and after giving the restaurant manager a bit of prep-talk, he started firing up the stoves. Since I could now confirm that I would be sticking around for lunch, it was time for something cool and refreshing. Iced Hong Kong-style milk tea ($25), anyone?

It didn't take long before the chef got the soup ready.

Roast chestnut velouté with morel mushrooms – I really enjoyed the silky texture of the chestnut velouté with the small dabs of olive oil and what I thought was coffee powder adding to the combination of rich flavors.

Very delicate.

Argentinian red prawns three ways pasta – The handcrafted pasta was pretty decent, and it was helped out by a very flavorful sauce made with dried shrimps (蝦米) and likely shrimp heads and coral. 

But the sauce was a tad too sweet for me, and I’d like to see more acidity (or perhaps more savory flavors too) in the dish for a better balance.

Sourdough pineapple bun with homemade milk tea ice-cream – Their chrysanthemum tiramisu was disappointingly off the menu so we were met with this new creation of pineapple bun and milk tea ice-cream. The bun looked as if it’s been reheated just now and we all know pineapple buns only taste good when they're fresh out of the oven.

It was a roller coaster ride from start to finish. At one point, I didn’t think I would be having lunch here after all but lo and behold, the chef arrived just in the nick of time when I was about to leave. It was an experience unlike any other but I was glad I stayed long enough to get this over the finish line. As for Daap’s fusion dishes, there was still room to improve but with Chef Chan’s passion, the best is yet to come.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, Wai Hing Commercial Building, 20 Wing Kut Street, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Sheung Wan

Tel: +852 9680-7456

Website: www.instagram.com/daap.hk/?hl=en

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 10:00pm (Tue - Fri), 10:30am - 4:00pm, 6:00pm - 10:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Aulis (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

The cat is away for three days so the mouse is all set to play. With Jelloman and big guy heading north of the border, it was time for daddy to come out and play (eat). My first destination is Aulis, the sister restaurant of my beloved Roganic which I haven’t visited for a while.

I was late to the party since I needed to pick little one up from school (and breakfast with him). Little that I knew, all guests were supposed to start at the same time. So, I got the other two guests waiting a bit. Apologies …

The most attractive part about dining at Aulis was the ability to see our chef work behind the scene and it can be a very interactive experience although I didn’t really ask any questions on this day.

Anyways…here comes the tasting menu.

Taro and velvet prawn tart, marigold, cucumber – The taro tartlet was topped with small balls made with cucumber and apple, and finished off with a hint of marigold and yuzu. There was some lovely acidity from the apple and yuzu but disappointingly, it didn’t harmonize well with the sweetness from the sauce made with the prawn head and coral.

Truffle pudding, black winter truffle – Next up was Aulis’ signature truffle pudding with birch sap, Berkswell cheese and stout. I tried to swallow it up with just a single bite. Very nicely done.

Grilled brassicas, Akasaki Iwate oyster, yolk – The poached Akasaki Iwate oyster slightly poached to preserve its rich and creamy flavors, was beautifully matched with some grilled brassica noodles, crunchy green peas and chopped kale, and finished with a slow-cooked egg yolk on top.

The dish was capped off with a nice pour of warm broth made from cabbages with a base of Lion Rock oatmeal stout and touch of fresh horseradish for the extra sharpness.

A miniature soda bread with some cultured mushroom butter was served together.

Local grouper, fermented king mushrooms – Local grouper from Aberdeen market poached with brown butter, was nicely topped with thin slices of fermented king mushrooms. This also came with a base of braised cabbages, tapioca and a surprisingly strong-flavored smoked fish bone sauce.

The texture of the grouper was really silky smooth like a piece of tofu. I like the interesting texture profile with the addition of tapioca, but as other guest has pointed out, there was too much extra saltiness in the sauce and there wasn’t enough acidity for the right balance.

Roasted pigeon, onion, pickled walnut, beetroot – Pigeon from Zhongshan (中山), aged for 7 days, was stuffed and roasted tableside. This was really what I came here for, the tableside experience to witness the preparation work first-hand.

I really liked the gorgeous pink color of the stuffed pigeon, and the onion chutney cooked in whey, pickled walnuts and beetroot all came together very nicely. The sauce made primarily with the pigeon jus was a tad light but otherwise a very strong main dish.

Here we have a muffin served with homemade butter, sesame and what I thought was shaved pistachio. Didn't know whether it was for the stuffed pigeon or the next dish.

The second serving of the pigeon was presented in a small cup with tender slow-cooked pigeon meat and diced white radish together in a creamy black garlic sauce.

The dish was topped nicely by black crumbs and onion ash for some extra texture. Pretty tasty boasting rich and tantalizing flavors.

Guava, “100” flower honey, chamomile – Our first dessert came with a base of chamomile cake topped elegantly with fluffy cream which has been infused with “100” flower honey from Fanling and a leaf tuile (likely chamomile flavored as well).

There was a layer of dehydrated guava sitting in between (cream and cake) for some nice, contrasting texture and flavor. Just love the chilled guava soup on a hot summer day like for a well-rounded finish.

Aulis – Like Roganic, they have a signature dessert to wrap up the meal too. This was their exclamation point made with frosty artichoke ice cream and diced pear served in a light jasmine tea broth. I am a sucker for chamomile, jasmine tea and artichoke so needless to say, I am a real happy camper now.

Just a single mignardise following the two desserts in the form of a mini kumquat tart. The kumquat was sourced from Tai Po featuring some nice citrusy flavors.

Some hits and misses this afternoon but for the most part, I am more than pleased with this meal. The tableside experience really added an extra element of excitement and intrigue to the culinary journey leaving me with a long-lasting impression.

Food Rating: 6.9/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 8, UG/F, Sino Plaza, 255 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Causeway Bay

Tel: +852 2817-8383

Website: www.aulis.com.hk

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm (Sat), 7:00pm - 10:00pm (Tue - Sat)

Mangiapane 漫 ・威尼斯烘焙 D2 Place (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

After our fantastic lunch at Pici, Jelloman and little guy peeled off for a stroll at the supermarket leaving me with some well-deserved Me Time. I decided to put it into good use by checking out Mangiapane (漫 ・威尼斯烘焙), an Italian coffee shop cum bakery at D2 Place 2.



I have long heard of their Italian coffee but it was their baked goods that I have been desperately trying to get my hands dirty with.

Focaccia, bagels, muffins, and bomboloni (Italian doughnuts)!!!

The nutella flavor was looking good but I decided to get the custard cream version at the end.

Not the best looking bomboloni I've seen in my life but it smells good. 

Well, the texture was really nice and airy, with runny custard cream oozing out after my first couple bites. That's a very lovely sight!

$32 is not a small price to pay for a snack but this kind of quality is hard to come by, especially in Lai Chi Kok. 

Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop V1, G/F, D2 Place TWO, 15 Cheung Shun Street, Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok
Tel: +852 6093-6996
Website: www.facebook.com/MangiapaneHK

Pici Pasta Bar Lai Chi Kok (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

After a run of crappy food on the weekends, I am taking over and calling the shots today. There will be no lousy food under my command, only delicious and healthy dishes. That brought us to Pici Pasta Bar, a place we haven't visited for quite some time. Obviously, they have a new format for their sunday brunch right now especially with the appetizers. 

Instead of choosing three from the list, we got a mini version on each of the starters on the menu. First up was a mini vitello tonnato with Sicilian capers and the richly intense or intensely rich tuna mayo. This was very good and very authentic, as always.

Parma ham bruschetta served with whipped ricotta and fig jam, and tuna tartare with red onions and orange wedges on a small slice of butter lettuce salad were next. Little nugget was pretty happy with both of these.

Jelloman took over at this point and she enjoyed the mussels cocotte in saffron cream with chilli, garlic, white wine and cherry tomatoes adding to the flavors.

No one claimed responsibility for the last starter, Uovo al tegamino, until after I took a couple of whacks at it. It was my first time having this dish and it tasted a little funny at first. Underneath the top layer of poached egg, there was a pool of tomato purée and tomato sauce hidden right under. Not bad.

Following the starters, we were ready to tackle two regular-sized pasta dishes, starting with this pappardelle beef cheek. The pappardelle was again perfectly tossed in a sauce made with beef cheek ragu (slow-cooked for eight hours), onion, carrot and celery. This wasn't bad but all of us liked the second pasta dish a little more.

Tagliatelle creamy lobster cost a little extra but it was all well worth it.

The homemade tagliatelle was beautifully cooked with lobster meat, spicy garlic, bisque, anchovy cream and white wine. Just look at the size of these lobster meat. Very very nice. I thought the extra kick from the spicy garlic was the difference marker here without being overpowering.

Dessert was two mini versions of Pici's signature tiramisu and panna cotta. We never get tired of these cuz they are so damn good!

That's a pretty good lunch right there. Let's keep this streak of yummy food going.

Food Rating: 6.7/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop G03, G/F, D2 Place TWO, 15 Cheung Shun Street, Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok
Tel: +852 2557-7227
Website: www.pici.hk

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 5:00pm - 10:00pm daily

Doughman Bakery & Coffee (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Jelloman told me she got me something for tonight's late night snack at Doughman, our neighborhood artisan bakery shop this afternoon. 



I have been seeing a lot of these on the social media lately. Some called them "croissant crisp", others "flat croissant". Most of these were slightly decorated on the edge with a bit of chocolate glaze in different colors but this one from Doughman was all plain (They have a strawberry one with a pink corner of strawberry choco glaze and pistachio). It was caramelized so there was a fair amount of burnt or bitter flavor on top of the savory-sweet taste. Personally, I wasn't a big fan of this (don't tell Jelloman though) but I don't mind having it once in a while. I just won't be actively looking for them when I visit a bakery shop.

Food Rating: 5.8/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F 10 Cheung Yi Street, Cheung Lung Industrial Building, Cheung Sha Wan, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok

Tel: +852 3741-0111

Opening Hours: 7:30am - 8:00pm (Mon - Fri), 8:30am - 8:30pm (Sat), 9:00am - 8:30pm (Sat)

L'Eclair de Génie The MixC 閃電巴黎 萬象城店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I was a little down when L'Eclair de Génie decided to shut down their operation in the city back in 2017. I won't call myself a huge fan but as a casual fan of their finger-sized cream puffs, I was still slightly disappointed with their abrupt closure.

Well, someone's loss is always another's gain. L'Eclair de Génie (闪电巴黎) has quietly expanded north and doing reasonably well with branches in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Since we had no activities planned this afternoon, I decided to head over to The MixC (万象城) and pay the French éclair specialist a long overdue visit.

In addition to their take-away option, they also have a cozy café where guests can enjoy a delightful cup of coffee alongside some of their signature éclairs.

I still recognize some of these flavors.

I don't think little nugget had the pleasure of trying any of these colorful éclairs from L'Eclair de Génie before. 

So, I decided to get one for him and one for myself.

He wasn't particularly excited about his dessert. I wonder why...

(N°317) Éclair Fraise (¥38) – The strawberry éclair was nicely decorated. Not bad he said.

(N° ?) Citrus Earl Grey Tea (¥38) – I love anything with tea flavors so this was definitely up my alley. Thought the earl grey tea flavored cream was an interesting match with what I thought was citrusy kumquat compote on top. 

It was nice having these cute little éclairs again after 7 years. While savoring my éclair, I couldn't help but ponder over the reason behind the many international brands' struggle to establish themselves in the Hong Kong market. Could it be that the high rents and labor costs are stifling our competitiveness? 

Food Rating: 5.7/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop S218, Level 2, The MixC Zone D, Shucheng Road, Shenzhen, China

深圳市书城路万象城二期2层L2层S218号铺

Closest Metro Station: Grand Theater (大剧院)

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/93/XCri