Joe & The Juice at Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (Nice, FRANCE) ★★★☆☆

The drop-off of our rental car took much less time than anticipated leaving us with ample time before our flight to Paris is ready to take off.

I didn't eat a lot during lunch so I was feeling a little hungry but unfortunately, there wasn't much available at Nice Côte d'Azur Airport when it came to food options. Joe & The Juice, being one of those few options, quickly caught my eyes.  A health juice chain that originated in Denmark, the fast food joint is best known for its fresh juices, smoothies and healthy food options.

Joe's Club – Their version of clubhouse sandwich was made with this crispy flatbread.

Between the flatbread, there were diced chicken, avocado, tomato and a vegan pesto sauce. Pretty tasty (largely because of the bread).

Avo Shake – These guys were famous for their fresh juices and milkshakes so of course, not ordering one would be uncivilized. This one was made with avocado, banana and vanilla milk. Apparently, it was heavily flavored with banana and vanilla but there was no sign of avocado.

Like I said, the drop-off was very efficient and I wasn't charged with not filling up my tank completely. Yeah, I did a good job this time.

This is a very small aircraft. Little nugget was wondering why we didn't have a tunnel directly connecting to the aircraft.

We are going to miss the South of France. 

Price: €€€

Address: Terminal 1, Rue Costes et Bellonte, 06206 Nice, France

Tel: +33 (0)1 5920-0488

Website: www.joejuice.com

Opening Hours: 5:00am - 9:00pm (Tue - Thu, Sat), 5:00am - 10:00pm (Fri, Sun - Mon) 

Test Kitchen - Danish Christmas Menu by Chef Filip Søndergaard (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Test Kitchen has long been on my radar screen ever since they opened doors at a former printing house in Sai Ying Pun more than a year ago. Every month, the pop-up style restaurant welcomes a different chef from somewhere around the world where he or she takes over their kitchen for about a week to showcase the talent that has made them relevant in their respective market.   

This is a fascinating concept but it's hardly something new in the culinary world. In fact, it's been around for decades. The most successful implementation of such concept took place at Restaurant Ikarus at Hangar-7 in Salzburg (starting in 2003) where they welcome the world's most top-notch chefs (Richard Ekkbus of Amber and André Chiang formerly of Restaurant Andre were two of their guest chefs during my visit that year) month after month.

Here's the post on my dining experience at Ikarus in 2014. I like the way they put it, kind of like a mission statement on their website.

At Hangar-7, a project was started which no other restaurant in the world had ever dared to attempt: the guest chef concept. A different top chef each month. It doesn‘t matter which continent or country they come from, whether it‘s the USA, South Africa or Japan. Or whether they serve traditional, fusion or molecular cuisine. What matters most is the variety. And, of course, the high quality of the dishes.

Obviously, there's a lot to like about the guest chef concept. The opportunity to sample creative cuisine from different parts of the world without spending money on plane tickets is too much to turn down. So, we gathered a few friends including Fishie who's been there a few times already before signing up for my very first Test Kitchen experience which was themed as the "Danish Christmas".



This is Danish chef Filip Søndergaard's second go-around with Test Kitchen. Trained in Oslo, chef Søndergaard spent years traveling around the world with stints in London, Australia, Italy and Denmark (no place like home) before making Berlin his permanent home these days. But instead of the modern Nordic cuisine which has helped him make a name for himself, he would be cooking a traditional Danish Christmas dinner for us. 



We enjoyed some bread while we waited for our starters to show up.....



First up were a trio of starters which the chef described as their traditional Danish dishes for Christmas.



The shrimp tartare with pickled cucumber, cucumber oil, cress and black pepper mayo was well-seasoned though we were expecting the shrimp to be raw rather than cooked.



Mackerel (Some said tasted like sardine) with endive, okra, crushed nuts and skyr, an Icelandic yoghurt was another fairly decent dish.



But the star was definitely the beetroot cured salmon served with egg salad. I really like the soft and moist flesh which married well with the sweetness of the beets.



There were two main dishes tonight.



The first was crispy Christmas pork belly which could've been a little more tender. But the crunchy pork crackling was perfect.



Not surprisingly, everyone preferred the second main dish which was a family-style slow-cooked duck with classic sharing plates. This tasted a lot like the roasted duck we had in Prague many years ago. Very similar style of seasoning which wasn't bad at all, but it would be hard pressed to beat our Chinese-style roasted duck in my opinion.



The main courses came with all kinds of side dish including red cabbage with orange, caramelized potato, crispy potato, potato purée and cucumber salad. Yeah, it's Christmas so it's always nice to do some sharing of good food around the table.



We had a quick chat with the Danish chef after enjoying our main dishes. Fishie suddenly popped the question on how he managed to travel around with all these ingredients. Well, guest what. Turned out only the cheese came from his hometown of Denmark while the rest were sourced locally. Could would be a much more delicious meal if he could somehow get his hands on some Danish ingredients that he knew inside out? Just wondering.

So I guess we shouldn't miss the cheese section for the world coz after all, we don't see Danish cheese in Hong Kong very often.



I thought the Vesterhavsost, a semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Northwest Jutland, was pretty nice. Its flavors were not unlike the French Comté cheese which was aromatic with a bit of nutty and creamy notes. The Blaa Kornblomst goat cheese was alright.



I have been looking forward to dessert all night and it was a beauty. Ris a la mande is a traditional Danish rice pudding, which is a very popular dessert in Denmark around Christmas time. It is usually served cold with a warm cherry sauce but the chef thought it's already hot enough here in Hong Kong, so he swapped the cherry sauce with a cherry sorbet instead. 

It was a nice 2-hour crash course on traditional Danish Christmas feast. I thought everyone had a great time tonight and that's really the most important part.

Food Rating: 5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Shop 3, Kwan Yick Building Phase 3, 158A Connaught Road West, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Sai Ying Pun
Website: www.testkitchen.com.hk

The Flying Elk (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

June looks like a very busy month for restaurant openings with The Flying Elk, La Petite Maison and ICHU Peru all reportedly ready to open their doors during the month. Following months of speculation, it was The Flying Elk who edged out the other new kids on the block to make their debut first.



Taking over the space previously occupied by Fish and Meat, The Flying Elk is the latest venture by three Michelin starred Swedish chef Björn Frantzén, a gastropub concept which has worked wonders in their first Stockholm location.



Like sister restaurant Frantzén's Kitchen, the food menu here comprises of multiple sections including snacks, medium-sized dishes (They recommend 3-4 of these per person) and dessert. I decided to randomly pick a few from each section with the help of my server.



Boneless chicken wings ($50) - I love boneless wings and these were reasonably good. The seasoning was a little strong but I like the Kvibille cheese and crispy parsley topping.



Gougères ($40) - Bite-sized choux pastry with Allerum cheddar cheese filling. They were finished with some fennel seeds and chestnut honey on top. I found these quite addictive and a little better than the wings. 



Halibut tartare and king crab ($215) - The star of the night for me but Jelloman disagreed. I thought the slightly crunchy halibut cubes were surprisingly good match with the king crab meat. There's a wonderful combination of acidity coming from the lime hollandaise and sour carrot backed up nicely by an extra kick from the cayenne pepper.



Roasted scallop ($190) - A highly touted signature dish and a pretty interesting one indeed. Four slices of beautifully roasted scallops were served on a bed of scrambled egg (which tasted more like mashed potato) with shaved truffle and crispy potato. Very buttery and the beurre noisette with smoked soy made this even more buttery. Definitely not bad but I expected a bit more from a house specialty.



Cod “Rossini” ($215) - A twist from the classic beef rossini where they replaced the beef with a piece of roasted cod. I was a bit curious of how the cod fish and pan-seared foie gras worked together and was pleasantly surprised with the sharp contrast of flavors that jumped out beautifully. The only thing I didn't like about this dish was the seasoning. Way over the top especially the truffle jus, which proved to be a little too flavorful for me.



Umami salad ($150) - A dish we didn't order but they mixed up our orders with another table and we ended up getting it for free. 



This was no ordinary salad though. Underneath the crisp lettuce were duck confit, shiitake mushroom, crispy onions and they put the finishing touch on with some smoked pecorino shaving and a homemade "umami" dressing. I swear there were some truffles in there and probably some duck jus as well making this one of the most unhealthy yet delicious salad in the world. I think I can live with unhealthy food once in a while.



Grilled beef tenderloin and smoked heart of beef ($240) - The least successful medium-sized dish of the night. I couldn't help but ask my server where the beef came from and she thought it's from New Zealand. This was a little chewy and even the nice touch of horseradish, celeriac remoulade and pickled mustard seeds couldn't save the day.



“Marängsviss” blueberries ($75) - We only had time for one dessert so we wanted to make it count. This was pretty refreshing. I love the clean and refreshing flavors from the blueberry sorbet, compote and lemon thyme working well with the meringue, and the matcha powder giving the dessert a final lift.



All in all, I thought it was a pretty good meal with the expected ups and downs (after all, it's their third day of operation). As I have already expected, it's very different from what Frantzén's Kitchen is doing, which is a bit more structured and sophisticated.

P.S. All cocktails were on the house tonight which gave me another strong reason to drop by during their first week of operation. Thanks for the drinks!




Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: 1/F-2/F, Wyndham Mansion, 32 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 2565-6788
Website: www.theflyingelk.com/hk/

Frantzén's Kitchen (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Christmas is fast approaching which reminded me that my food buddy, Agent-I's birthday is coming up. I quickly pinged her over the weekend and asked for her schedule before Christmas. After fixing a date that works with both of our schedule, here comes the difficult part - finding a dinner venue for the occasion.



There were a couple of places that came up in our conversation but at the end, it was Frantzén’s Kitchen getting the call to tame my friend's spoiled taste buds. 



I love a restaurant's menu that changes regularly and if I can visually see what's in each dish, even better! It was my second time here so I know the drill already. For someone like me with a small appetite, a couple of snacks (maybe three), one to two starters and finally finished with a fish and meat course. 



Poached oyster ($80) - I was a little surprised to find the oyster served slightly chilled after reading the word "poached" on the menu. I like its complexity of flavors coming from the acidity of the frozen rhubarb, sweetness of dried gooseberry and a bit of leafy floral note from Hernö gin. But I thought the low temperature of the oyster took something away from all these. Still love the mix of flavors though. Not bad.



French toast ($120+?) - Next up was their clever interpretation of a modern French toast. We went with an upgraded version of this so instead of aged cheese, it came with a layer of fresh sea urchin. This was one of my favorite dish of the night. The thin-crusted and crunchy toast worked so well with the shaved winter truffle and briny sea urchin on top while the balsamic vinegar and truffle tea provided the perfect icing on the cake. Very nice design matched with perfect execution right there.



Toast "pelle Janzon" ($195) - My first starter, a signature dish from the kitchen, was chef Frantzén's modern take on the Swedish sandwich. On top of the toasted brioche was tasty beef carpaccio along with small cubes of lightly charred beef from the same Swedish dairy cow, finished with deep fried quail egg and vendace roes atop. This was a beautiful dish with the Swedish beef playing the leading role, complimented nicely with the savoriness of the quail egg and vendace roes.



Velouté ($130) - Another signature dish immediately followed. This was a dish highly recommended by our server. The white onion velouté was paired with white onion purée, liquorice cream, smoked Marcona almonds and crumbs. I thought it was a little on the heavy side especially with the thick liquorice cream slightly too overpowering in its supporting role.



Right before our main courses arrived, some Swedish crispbread with brown butter was served. Forget about the crispbread, the key here was the brown butter which was so delicious and addictive. It didn't take long before Agent-I and I took out the entire tray of bread.



Poached turbot "43°C" ($220) - I have seen a version of this served with dehydrated sea urchin powder but not this time. The poached turbot was really nice and silky but it was the "stuff" in the middle which got me lost. 

Right in the middle of the action was Jerusalem artichoke purée with toasted cream, seasonal mushrooms, lardo, hazelnut and chicken jus. There're a lot of things in there with contrasting flavors and textures. Rich and complex flavors. And I thought it was a little too much for the turbot to handle.



Roasted pork belly ($225) - I was tempted to order this last time I visited but ended up waiting almost a year to get my second chance. The pork belly was really nicely done with the perfect texture while the fermented carrot "hot sauce", pumpkin, burnt kale and black garlic did their part to balance the richness of the pork.



Many thanks to the good guys here for the complimentary chocolate cake. Love the blueberry panna cotta and chocolate mousse filling. I don't think we could afford more space for dessert.

There were some hit-and-misses (much more hits than misses) there but for the most part, we had a very enjoyable dinner with impeccable service and well executed (well designed as well) food. I thought they really got snubbed by the guys from Michelin again but with the loyal fan base which has been filling out the restaurant every night, I don't think they really care.



Food Rating: 7.5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: 11 Upper Station Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central / Hong Kong Station
Tel: +852 2559-8508
Website: www.frantzenskitchen.com

Frantzén's Kitchen (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Two months ago, when footballer turned Michelin starred chef Björn Frantzén announced on Instagram his attention to open a bistro-style restaurant in Hong Kong, I was absolutely jumping for joy. 2016 has been a horrible year for restaurant openings in the city but that little piece of news finally gave me something to cheer about.

So I have been impatiently waiting for two months and finally there was news that chef Frantzén's new digs, Frantzén's Kitchen, will soft-open on 24th November. Luckily, I was able to get myself a seat on its second day of operation.



Personally, I am a huge fan of modern Nordic cuisine and I'm really hoping that Frantzén's Kitchen can fill the void left behind by the abrupt closure of NUR.



My first impression of this new 36-seater on Upper Station Street was a pretty good one. Just by looking at the detailed drawings on the menu, I knew I would be in for a treat.

The food menu is divided into 3 categories - snacks, dishes and desserts. It's a pretty small menu but covers a lot of ground. Luckily I had some experience with this type of modern Nordic cuisine based on my previous visit to Mathias Dahlgren in Stockholm so I knew what I was up against. Unlike a typical French cuisine where you choose a starter, main and dessert, a meal here will likely consist of 1 to 2 snacks, 2 to 3 starters, 1 to 2 main and if there's still enough room for dessert, then perhaps one dessert.



Apple and lingonberry macaron with foie gras parfait ($60) - I started this highly anticipated dinner off with two snacks. The first one was an apple and lingonberry macaron with foie gras parfait in the middle. I followed my server's instructions very carefully and made sure that I finished this in one bite.

The richness of the foie gras parfait was nicely matched with the acidity from the apple and lingonberry. Very nice start.



Swedish sushi ($80) - A Swedish take on the Japanese sushi. I have seen a slightly different version of this on the web with horse meat but this one uses fallow deer.



The "sushi" had a crispy white moss base layered with raw fallow deer, ceps mayonnaise and frozen foie gras shaving on top. Despite coming in a very small package, it did possess some of the richest and most complex flavors one could expect from a little snack.



Roasted Hokkaido scallop ($205) - I decided just to have one starter tonight so I wanted to make it count.



There's really nothing special about these three pieces of thinly sliced scallops. The key here was the Nordic dashi made with bonito and a touch of ginger oil. Very rich and flavorful and I like the extra kick of acidity from the fingerlime.



North Atlantic cod "Janssons" ($230) - My second dish from the "Dishes" section was slow-cooked North Atlantic cod fish served with beurre blanc along with a little bit of preserved anchovy juice. This was topped with some really expensive vendace roes from Kalix and caramelized onions.

I thought the texture of the cod fish was really light and flaky. Its sweet flavor was wonderfully complemented by the creamy beurre blanc, delicate vendace roes and sweetness of the caramelized onions. A little small for a main dish but pretty nice.



Swedish dairy cow ($280) - I have never had Swedish beef before so this was something to look forward to. I was told the beef was actually prepared by a Swedish butcher, dried aged for 100 days and then shipped to Hong Kong.



This was again a very nice dish. The thinly sliced beef was topped with tiny strips of beurre noisette before they put the finishing touch on with a sprinkle of truffle ponzu and truffle salt. 



Sticky beetroot ($115) - I had a little too much to eat today following a company event that included a lunch buffet. So I was all prepared to call it the night but when our pretty Swedish waitress came up to ask me if I wanted to have dessert, well maybe I would just have a peek at the dessert menu again.

At the end, I asked her to pick one for me and she promptly got me this sticky beetroot, one of their most popular desserts since they introduced it a few years ago in Sweden. It turned out to be a mixture of sticky beetroot, old vinegar, whipped liquorice, sorbet and mixed berries compote. Okay but nothing to write home about.



It was without a question one of the best meals I had in 2016. The food menu is full of surprises from all the unusual ingredients (lingonberry, raw fallow deer, vendace roe from Kalix etc.) I won't find anywhere else in Hong Kong and the creativity, I thought was second to none. My only complaint tonight was perhaps the portions looked a little small on a number of dishes (The cod fish was really small) so after spending $1,100 on this meal, I was still a little hungry afterwards.

Food Rating: 7/10
Price: $$$$
Address: 11 Upper Station Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central / Hong Kong Station
Tel: +852 2559-8508
Website: www.frantzenskitchen.com