Kikusan (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It was nice to see Kikusan back in action after closing briefly for renovation last year.



I can't remember this decor being any different than before so perhaps they just did some minor touching up.



Kikusan's food menu offers a nice mix of Japanese and Chinese flavors highlighted by their Japas (their own version of Japanese tapas). We're starting with some sushi as usual, seared red tuna ($58 for 2 pcs) and seared scallop ($48 for 2 pcs) to be exact. These were pretty moderately priced coming from a eatery in Central but the fact that they sliced the tuna and scallop into these thin sheets really took something away from the enjoyment of these sushi.



California Roll ($88) - These were huge comparing to the previous two sushi. Didn't really taste all that good though. (I would probably stay away from their sushi next time around.)



Layered pork cutlet with rice ($72)- I called this the pork "mille feuille". The layered pork cutlets were served on rice with some scrambled egg. Pretty decent.



Pork dumpling in chili oil ($48) - The dumplings were stuffed with minced pork and what I thought was Ma Lan Tou (Kalimeris Indica or 馬蘭頭), which wasn't working particularly well with the chili oil, if you ask me.



Fried Okinawa bitter melon and pork ($62) - Of course, we had to dip into their pool of Japas and thank goodness we did. Finally, we had a dish that we could cheer about here!

The Okinawan bitter melon scrambled egg was really tasty and I like the pork fillet and tofu in there for a bit different texture and flavor.



Grilled chicken skewers ($45) - Another Japas which had us fighting over. This came in two different versions - teriyaki and salt grilled; and we went with this teriyaki version. The chicken was really tender and the seasoning was absolutely spot on.



As a member of local F&B giant Maxim's Group, Kikusan is the place to be if you're looking to avoid burning a hole in your wallet for food in Central but my advice would be to stay away from their sushi and go with their ramen and Japas instead.

Food Rating: 4/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop B13-15 Landmark, 11 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 2521-3344
Website: www.maxconcepts.com.hk/en/kikusan.asp

Mirage Bar and Restaurant (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

When Mirage, a new restaurant and bar concept at the Renaissance Harbour View Hotel, first launched late last year, I was fortunate enough to be invited for their grand opening party with the media. But unluckily, I was away in Tokyo at the time so didn't get the chance to attend their launch event.



I was interested in checking out some of their creative cocktails and all-day dining options and managed to recruit M (no, not the one from the 007 sequel) to be my partner-in-crime today.



The 2-course express lunch menu offers a decent selection with a mix of soup, salad, pasta, seafood and meat rotating on a regular basis. I started thing off with what they called the "Mirage Caesar Salad".

This is more or less your typical Caesar with romaine lettuce, anchovies, croutons and crispy (more like chewy) bacon. It wasn't drawing rave reviews from me mainly due to the gluey dressing which was way too thick for anyone's liking.



The penne arrabiatta with tiger prawns was so much better. Thought the spicy tomato sauce was fairly decent and same goes for the grilled tiger prawns.



I thought the service wasn't particularly good especially for a hotel restaurant. They messed up my booking and as a result, the hostess didn't let me in because the two bookings they found under the same family name were made by two ladies. I tried to be patient with her and told her I made the booking myself so they must have made a mistake there. Quite honestly, I didn't see a point of arguing there coz for one, they still had tables available and secondly, my friend M has already been seated without a booking! Anyways, it took a while but I finally convinced her to let me in.

Perhaps the bars were set a little too high to start? This is a lounge restaurant (just happen to be inside a hotel!) but nothing more...

Food Rating: 3.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: 1/F Renaissance Harbour View Hotel, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Wanchai
Tel: +852 2802-8888

Plat du Jour Pacific Place (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Suddenly, I realized how much I have been missing French food since leaving for my Aussie trip 2 weeks ago so I thought I should check out Plat du Jour while I found myself in the neighourhood for a meeting.



Plat du Jour has been opened for a little over a year now and I was hoping that they've ironed out some of their issues from opening day. 



Oh, I love the French bistro vibe. It's a shame we don't have enough of these traditional French bistros in the city.



Instead of starting my meal with something a little more Frenchie like a beef tartare or escargot, I went with their Hokkaido king scallops. These were lightly grilled on both sides and finished with a parsnip puree, parsnip crisp and pomegranata. Pretty decent but I thought it was missing a nice, crisp crust.



The Berkshire pork chop I had last time was pretty good so expectation was high for this crispy pork belly with braised lentils, smoked walnuts and pear, endive salad. Sadly, it failed to live up to its lofty expectation with its slightly dry texture.



Dessert turned out to be the bright spot of the afternoon. The chocolate mousse cake was nice and soft with rich chocolate flavors working well with the ginger ice-cream. I had a number of lemongrass ice-cream before but ginger? It's probably my first time and it's surprisingly good to balance the richness of the chocolate cake while also working as a palate cleanser at the same time.



Food Rating: 4.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 007, LG1/F, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Admiralty
Tel: +852 2715-0511
Website: www.facebook.com/PlatduJourHK/