Armani Aqua (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

Ever since the crossover between fashion giant Armani and local food and beverage company Aqua was announced early this year, there's been a lot of buzz around the city. It sounded too good to be true.

In late August, Armani Aqua finally opened doors for business.

The restaurant staff warmly greeted us upon our arrival and after stepping through a sliding door, we found ourselves inside a dark corridor with pillars on the side and a black carpet leading us to the other end of the door. And over there, there was another sliding door.

And behind the second sliding door, it was a totally different world. More precisely, it was a spacious restaurant and bar area in a much warmer color palette. 

Very much like their flagship restaurant on top of Peking No. 1, Armani Aqua offers a mix of modern Italian cuisine to go along with their authentic Japanese dishes. 

I went for their 3-course lunch set and things got rolling with the starter - a home made smoked salmon with potato salad.

Unfortunately, the smoked salmon did not have the usual fat content and more disappointing was the pesto sauce that they had prepared to go with the salmon and salad. 



A little bit more encouraging was the first main course - penne with scallops and cherry tomatoes. The cherry tomato sauce was a fairly decent choice to go with the penne but still something seemed to be missing.



The second main course was one of the most popular Italian dish of all time - pan fried veal scaloppine. Disappointingly, it lacked the tenderness and flavors to score a high mark.



Perhaps the dessert could spice things up a bit? Not quite. I had the 62% chocolate mousse tart and it was nicely presented but tasted average at best.

Food Rating: 4.9/10

Price: $$$

Address: 8 Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central
Website: www.armani-aqua.com

Quay (Sydney, AUSTRALIA) ★★★★☆

The Quay is the most highly rated restaurant in Sydney. The restaurant has a view of the Sydney Opera House and a short walk from Circular Quay. It is easy to be accessed by all terms of transportations. It was a relaxing and lazy afternoon when I walked to the restaurant from Circular Quay, the walk includes some photo shot spots which is ideal for tourists.



The entrance

The restaurant is not large, I was offered a table near kitchen at the end of dining room where I could see all the activities happened. My first impression was not good because no one has come over once to ask if I wanted something to drink while waiting for my friend to come.

The view from restaurant

Price for set lunches is designed for businessmen. A$125 for 3-course, A$145 for 4-course and A$220 for a 8-course tasting menu. The price for tasting menu sounds more reasonable in such a case.



Sashimi of blue mackerel

Mud crab congee

Slow cooked coturnix quail breast

Butter poached native Clarence river goat fish

Gentle braise of black lipped abalone, rare breed pig belly

Organic heirloom carrots, cumin, fennel & celery seeds

White nectarine snow egg

All the dishes were well presented. The restaurant deserves to sit at the top of the notch. However, improvement can be made on customer service. Regular maintenance for the restaurant is needed, part of the ceiling fell down and hit on a seated dining table. It shocked everyone and should not be happened in any occasion.

Food rating: 8/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Upper Level, Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks, Sydney, Australia
Tel: +61 2 9251-5600
Website: www.quay.com.au/index.html
S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants: 26th (2011)

Midtown Grill (Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS) ★★★☆☆

Midtown Grill is a steakhouse brought to us by the Marriott Hotels. We can find them in several European cities including Copenhagen, Berlin, Prague, Brussels and Amsterdam.

On a typical Sunday night in Amsterdam with dismal weather, we knew our options were limited. Well, at least Midtown Grill was "strategically" close to our hotel.



The dining room was almost completely empty!



The tuna tartare with avocado and a touch of spicy soy sauce was not bad (5/10).



The pan seared scallops were fine as well (5/10).



Less successful was the Maryland Lump Crab Cake with sauce tartar and micro herbs  (4/10).



We opted for the roasted chicken with rosemary instead of one of their signature steaks (5/10).






Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: Stadhouderskade 12, 1054 ES Amsterdam, Netherlands

Tel: +31 20 607-5555
Website: www.midtowngrill.nl