My little nugget has been pledging his case to go to the zoo (Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is the proper name) all week and we decided to accommodate his request this Saturday despite the potential protest and demonstration in the Admiralty area. It was probably not the best day to go to the zoo anyways considering it was 35 degrees in the afternoon. Everyone was soaking wet by the time we finished walking around the park.
Of course, we all wanted some refreshments after spending the entire afternoon in the heat. For me, refreshments normally mean something sweet and refreshing, and from Landmark in Central, I couldn't come up with a better option than Le Salon De Thé de Joël Robuchon (Actually I have in The Mandarin Cake Shop but my request was turned down very quickly).
It's been a while since I last came here for dessert. Looks like they have some nice additions for the summer, even a couple of exclusives which are only available at this branch.
I randomly picked two to share among us.
La Noix de Coco ($60) - An exclusive item featuring silky white chocolate and coconut mousse.
The white chocolate and coconut mousse was really delicate but the chocolate (dark chocolate?) in the middle was a bit on the hard side. Something runny like chocolate ganache would have been a nice contrast.
La Pistache ($60) - Pistachio and apricot mousse cake.
The layers of pistachio ganache and pistachio mousse worked brilliantly together. The creamy, salty-sweet pistachio flavor with its usual lovely nuttiness was right on the money too. The only blemish was perhaps the fact that the apricot gelée hidden in the middle was made a tad too sour for my liking. I'm sure a lot of people would find the flavors pretty well-balanced but for someone not into strong acidity, it didn't go undetected.
My apologies for the poor quality of these photos. I didn't bring my camera along this afternoon so had to settle with my smartphone instead, which in't always ideal.
Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Shop 315, 3/F, The Landmark, 15 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 2166-9088
Website: www.robuchon.hk
For months, I have been itching to go back to Gradini, the modern Italian restaurant at Pottinger Hotel. It’s a return trip that has been long overdue but after reading about Dalloyau’s new opening at Central’s Entertainment Building, I suddenly had a last-minute change of heart (I was already at the doorstep of Pottinger Hotel).
Dalloyau’s new bistro is hidden inside the new Fancl House boutique on the ground floor of Entertainment Building, the same space that used to house Mercedes Me. At this new establishment, the Parisian bistro aims to offer a more refined and vibrant menu than what Dalloyau Café (Pacific Place, Admiralty) has been serving.
Apart from the a la carte menu, there’s also a 2-course ($298) and 3-course ($338) set menu served during lunch service.
Some warm baguette and brioche to start off this meal in style.
Seared lobster and white asparagus salad - A nicely plated salad with lettuce, white asparagus and egg white, finished off wonderfully with a very subtle yuzu dressing. Sitting in the middle was the deliciously tender and sweet lobster tail which has been lightly seared. A very clean and refreshing dish to kick off my late lunch.
Spicy tomato spaghetti - I have been nursing a sore throat all week so I had to make sure that the spaghetti wasn’t tossed with this spicy tomato sauce. My server was very kind to arrange it without the usual level of spiciness.
But the flavors turned out to be a little bit out of my expectation. Yes, the pasta (and the sauce) wasn't spicy at all but the tomato sauce (along with the tomato purée) didn't carry any particular flavor (not even acidity) which I found a little weird. If I was having this blindfolded, I likely won't be able to tell there was tomato in the dish (but the pasta itself was nice).
I was all ready to ask for the bill but not before my server came over to tell me that by adding $38, I could get one of their lovely pastries. That's really too good a deal to turn down.
Pear hazelnut mousse cake - For the past few years, I have lost a bit of faith in Dalloyau’s pastries due to a run of bad outings but they managed to re-deem themselves this afternoon.
There's a lot of ingredients packed inside this small dessert including hazelnut dacquoise, fresh William pear compote, pear purée and light hazelnut praline mousse. I really enjoyed the crunch from the hazelnut dacquoise, which was perfectly complemented by the lovely freshness of the pear compote and purée (sitting just on top of the dacquoise). Also love the way the light hazelnut praline mousse and caramel glaze fed off each other adding to the fantastic well-rounded flavors.
Other than pastries, they also offer a small selection of sandwiches, quiches, rolls and muffins, all freshly made from the in-house bakery kitchen.
Special thanks to the good guys here for offering me some complimentary macarons. That was a really nice gesture.
Service was excellent from start to finish. The French bistro fare which came with a modern twist, was also worthy of a second visit. Could very well end up being one of my favorites in Central if they play their cards right.
Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop C, G/F, Entertainment Building, 30 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 3185-8392
Website: www.dalloyau.hk
I have been looking for a place to bring my family out for lunch this weekend and just a few days ago, I heard about the opening of Nove Chinese Kitchen (九号館), a brand new Chinese restaurant backed by three-Michelin-starred chef Umberto Bombana (8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana and Octavium) in Central. A Chinese dim sum diner by the renowned Italian chef. Really?
Look who just stepped in to check on his son who's doing his apprenticeship at the restaurant!
Tucked away at bustling Li Yuen Street East (No.9 on the street, thus the name), the nostalgic diner offers traditional dim sum that few modern Cantonese restaurants even make these days, along with Chiu Chow-style marinated delicacies (think sliced goose meat, goose feet and wings).
They did a great job putting in blinds and curtains to ensure that diners didn't get distract by the busy surroundings.
I love the design of the food menu too, taking a page out of our traditional Chinese "tung shing", a divination guide and almanac based on the Chinese lunar calendar year.
Lovely!
All the dishes are listed both in Chinese and English.
Wild ginger tossed shredded chicken rice (沙薑手撕雞飯) ($99) - A dish highly recommended by our server. The shredded chicken was pretty tender but the wild ginger was running too wild for my palate in such a way that it totally overpowered the sweetness of the chicken.
Shrimp Dumplings (筍尖蝦餃) ($42) - The dim sum menu is championed by Chef Wong Yiu-Por, formerly head dim sum chef at Island Tang who came out of his retirement to lead this project. So, I had to make sure that I ordered lots of dim sum this afternoon.
Leading things off was their bite-sized har gow. The thin wrapper was perfect and so were the shrimps stuffed in the middle. Very delicate and tasty.
Steamed pork dumplings with black truffle (黑松露北菇燒賣) ($42) - Very lovely bouncy texture and the black truffle flavor was nice and subtle.
Rice flour rolls with crispy seafood roll (響鈴海鮮腸) ($59) - One of the most popular items on the menu I was told. This was pretty tasty. Always love minced prawn mousse and youtiao (Chinese donut) wrapped together by a thin layer of rice flour.
Rice flour rolls with satay sauce minced beef (沙爹牛肉腸) ($49) - The rice flour rolls were again very nice but the satay sauce was a bit overpowering.
Baked barbecued pork buns (焗菠蘿叉燒包) ($33) - These were made in the shape of pineapple buns. Very nostalgic.
The baked buns were really spongy, the way we always like them to be, and the diced barbecued pork and sauce were perfect.
Wild mushroom dumpling in matsutake bouillon (松茸野菌灌湯餃) ($49) - My favorite dish this afternoon and it wasn't even close.
The dumpling made with wild mushrooms, minced pork and Yunnan ham was really really delicious but what impressed me the most was the bouillon made with matsutake mushrooms. Few places do these kinds of dishes anymore because this takes a lot of time and effort which makes this dish even more heartwarming.
Baked abalone and cheese tarts (焗芝士鮑魚撻) ($42) - Another signature dish here that is not to be missed.
Runny cheese matched with diced abalone and meat on a crispy, buttery tart. Yum~
Noodle in matsutake bouillon (松茸菌湯麵) ($49) - Something for my little one. I suspect it's the same bouillon from the dumpling I enjoyed earlier. Judging from how quickly he finished the bowl of noodles, it had to be pretty good.
Steamed honey and brown sugar sponge cake (蜂蜜黑糖糕) ($29) - More nostalgic dim sum, this time a dessert we haven't had for a long time.
The steamed sponge cakes were flavored with honey and brown sugar. The slightly chewy texture had us wanting more!
It's always nice to enjoy high-quality dim sums in Central without breaking the bank. I think I will come back pretty soon when the restaurant is still largely under everyone's radar.
P.S. I hate going to dim sum restaurants where afterwards, I needed to drink tons of water because of the MSG. No such problem after my meal at Nove.
Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: 9 Li Yuen Street East, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 2180-6799
Website: www.facebook.com/novechinesekitchen
