Restaurant Petrus (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I thought I would miss out on Restaurant Petrus' winter menu after spending the majority of our winter holidays in Australia and Japan but lo and behold, I got my reservation just in the nick of time before their spring menu comes along.

Of course, this comes at the expense of a few popular winter items already off the menu including their pithivier and game dishes. I certainly hope that what's left here are still good enough for my spoiled palate.

First off, some homemade bread highlighted by a really tasty ham brioche and French baguette. They were matched nicely by some handmade butter from France.

While I was all geared up for the usual cheese gougère to start off the meal, there was the curve ball that I wasn't expecting from the kitchen – some nice canapés. 

The set of amuse bouche began with a small tartlet filled with hamachi tartare. The hamachi was lightly torched for some nice smokiness and it was finished off with some explosion thanks to the salmon roes. And yes, looked like I was still going to have the cheese gougère after all. A crispy waffle with what I thought was sour cream in the middle rounded things out in style. Not a bad start at all.

Japanese aji – I joked with my server that it was going to be a Japanese-French meal for me this afternoon as all three dishes I chose came with Japanese ingredients.

My starter today comprised of small cubes of aji from Japan, placed alternatively with crispy croutons (also in small cubes) and served with pickled cucumber, ginger gel and a pretty powerful Argentinian Escabeche sauce.

There were a lot of flavors on the same plate here. The acidity from the cucumber, heat from the ginger and the Escabeche sauce which was both spicy and herby at the same time. Quite honestly, I wasn't sure if I wanted such a complicated dish as my starter. Complicated as in the mix of flavors which didn't really harmonize each other. Just not my cup of tea.

Japanese scallop – I can really see the appeal here, with the jumbo-sized Hokkaido scallops topped elegantly by a pile of sea urchin tongues from the same province.

The creamy risotto served in the flavorful lobster bisque sauce was really tasty (but could've been a little less buttery). It was a very nice match with the charcoal grilled scallops and sea urchin.

Japanese strawberry – Dessert was another disappointment for me. Fresh strawberries from Japan paired with coconut cream and tofu ice-cream, not a bad combination on paper. But I thought the design of this dessert really left something to be desired.

I just thought the whole thing was very very dry. From the crispy rice cracker, to the chocolate chip and fresh strawberries hidden underneath it. The coconut cream was pretty much non-existent and the gluey tofu ice-cream certainly couldn't help the cause. This dessert desperately needed a catalyst, something rich in flavor and fluid like a chocolate or strawberry ganache in the middle to tie everything together.   

Obviously, I haven't been here for a long time. Apart from the change in the amuse bouche, the usual mignardises of mini chocolate tart and freshly baked madeleine have also been replaced. Today, it was a piece of freshly baked butterfly cookie and a pretty BIG one too, I might add.

For the longest time, Petrus has been lauded as one of the best fine-dining restaurants in town because its service, food and ambience have always been consistently great. But not this afternoon. Two out of three courses didn't make the cut which was a rare disappointment for me since Chef Uwe took over.

Food Rating: 6.7/10

Price: $$$$
Address: 56/F, Island Shangri-La Hong Kong, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Admiralty
Tel: +852 2820-8590
Website: Link
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:30pm - 11:00pm daily

Mammy Pancake 媽咪雞蛋仔 Central Market (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

COVID-19 has drastically changed the food and beverage industry in recent years. Gone were some of our traditional street food stalls and on a personal level, I have also stopped eating street food, including my favorite eggettes.

Not surprisingly, Mammy Pancake (媽咪雞蛋仔) is one of the many street food vendors suffering from the pandemic. They used to be everywhere in the city and I did have a habit of getting my favorite chocolate chip eggette (媽咪朱古力雞蛋仔) from their outpost just outside the K11 Art Mall whenever I set foot in Tsim Sha Tsui. But that branch of the famed eggette specialist was long gone.

But fresh off in 2023, I'm slowly starting to have street food again. And of course, Mammy Pancake (媽咪雞蛋仔) at Central Market (中環街市) has been on my radar screen ever since. I think it's about time to get myself re-acquainted with this chocolate chip eggette again.

I don't recall them having this "handbag" shaped container before but it's pretty nice touch!

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$

Address: Shop 242B, 2/F, Central Market, 93 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Hong Kong Station / Central

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 9:00pm daily 

Ask For Alonzo Star Street (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

With many of our big bosses away for Chinese New Year holidays, we had a run of two to three weeks without a big meeting in our agenda but that was slated to change in the upcoming weeks. Two meetings today and a job interview to chair tomorrow, that's going to be a lot of fun.

But I wasn't going to complain about it cuz at least I have myself sufficient time for a decent lunch this afternoon.



Today's lunch takes place at the recently opened Ask For Alonzo on Star Street, who just took over the space that I thought used to be Classified (I could be wrong) at the corner of Star Street and Sun Street. Personally, I am a huge fan of Ask For Alonzo's hearty breakfast as well as signature tiramisu. But pasta and pizza!? Let's find out.

Set lunch here starts from $148, which is not a bad deal at all.

Sweet corn soup – Not a sweet corn velouté as I first anticipated. This came with some sautéed mushrooms and fresh chives. Not a bad start. 

Spaghetti carbonara – I can't stress enough how hard it is to find an authentic spaghetti carbonara in Hong Kong these days.

I thought the spaghetti was perfectly cooked with great texture. The sauce was bursting with exciting flavors from the egg yolk and cheese, and the crispy pancetta provided some additional depth of flavor and texture. But there was one problem and a really big one here. The dish was super salty! In fact, the flavors were so strong that I had to keep drinking a ton of water throughout the afternoon to get that saltiness away.



After finishing up my pasta, I was struggling to decide whether to take on a slice of tiramisu. That was what I came here for in the first place, right? Well, but since I've been coughing so badly for the past week, I knew what to do next. So, I reluctantly said no to dessert and settled the bill.

Food Rating: 4.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop B, G/F, 8 Star Street, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Admiralty

Tel: +852 6500-8405

Website: www.askforalonzo.com

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 10:00pm (Mon - Fri), 10:00am - 10:00pm (Sat - Sun)