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The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton

Wednesday 29 February 2012

Hearty Greek @ Olive Greek & Middle Eastern, Hong Kong

The Greeks love their food, and so do I! I still fondly remember attending my first (and only) Greek wedding a few years ago, and I recall the fantastic feast that seemed never-ending as dishes after scrumptious dishes were served. I unfortunately have not had much opportunities to partake in Greek food - not helped by the fact that there is only one Greek restaurant that I know of in Hong Kong (though there are plenty of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean eateries). Olive Greek & Middle Eastern is a fine dining restaurant in the middle of the hip 'n happening Soho, and I've had my eyes on it for quite some time now. This restaurant participated in the recent Restaurant Week organised by DiningCity, and we took the opportunity to try out the food at a great price.

Swish and contemporary design:

Olive underwent a refurbishment last year, and the updated design is dark and lush with beautiful draped fabrics in the ceiling and exotic Arabic lettering etched onto the aluminium wall panels. We enjoyed professional and personable service, and we were well-looked after by the staff. The menu was designed by famous Aussie chef Greg Malouf, and it serves up contemporary Greek and Middle Eastern food. The Restaurant Week menu offered a 3-course meal for HK$248, with three choices for each course. The food was top-notch in quality, taste and presentation, and we left the restaurant with a happy and full belly. Everything we chose weren't safe for the boy due to his allergies, but the kitchen was happy to serve up a couple of perfectly boiled-and-peeled eggs (with gorgeous soft yolks) for him.

Hubby's starter was Sesame Falafel with Tabbouleh Salad and Whipped Tahini Yoghurt - delicious! The falafels were dense yet fluffy at the same time, and I thoroughly enjoyed my falafel:

I went with Olive's Mezze - silky hummus, smoky baba ganoush, cheesy pastries, pickles and olives with flat bread. I really enjoyed this platter and ate most of them using my fingers:

For his main course, hubby chose Char-grilled Chicken Kebabs with Jeweled Rice Pilaf and Garlic-saffron Yoghurt. Here the kebabs were being de-skewered:

This was a pretty plate that was big on flavour! The chicken was beautifully moist and flavourful, and the rice was delicious:

My main course was Moussaka - traditional Greek lamb and eggplant casserole baked with haloumi. Hearty and delicious:

Layers of meaty and cheesy baked goodness. Rustic beauty:

Freshmint tea in an exotic teapot and glass. Hubby's cappuccino is over yonder in the background:

Greek Doughnuts (loukoumades) with Sugar and Spice served with Attiki Honey. The doughnuts were still warm, fresh from the fryer, and the aromatic Greek honey was a beautiful accompaniment. My doughnut was a bit too yeasty, but hubby said the other two were fine:

Lebanese Milk Pudding with Labne, Passionfruit and Fairy Floss. It was great fun eating the floss, and the milk pudding was well-balanced and neither too sweet nor creamy:

We really enjoyed the hearty meal at Olive, and we would come back the next time we have cravings for Greek and Middle Eastern food.

Olive Greek & Middle Eastern
Ground Floor
32 Elgin Street
Soho, Central
Tel. +85 2 2521 1608

Wednesday 22 February 2012

A simple lunch @ simplylife - The East The West, Hong Kong

The simple things in life are often the best. Kicking a ball with my 3-year-old. Getting a solid 8 hours of sleep at night. Even seeing sunshine in the oft overcast and gloomy skies of Hong Kong. Last Saturday I enjoyed a simple lunch with my two guys at simplylife - The East The West. A bakery near the entrance tempts passersby with delicious looking baked goodies, and beyond the entrance is a spacious dining area perfect for a leisurely meal or coffee. The West section is a semi-self-service setting which subtly extends to a full-service area of The East (and apparently each side has different opening hours). We enjoyed full table service over on The East with polite and efficient waitstaff who was also helpful with regards to our son's food allergies. By the way, simplylife is directly opposite that German restaurant where we recently had yummy pretzels, sausages and roasted pork knuckle.

The dining area as viewed from The East section, with views into the open kitchen. There is also an al fresco area, open during the warmer months:

My cappuccino and hubby's hot chocolate in the background. Not the best, but decent enough:

This bakery café has an east-and-west theme, offering two distinct menus with dishes of both western food (such as pizza, pasta and burgers) and the eastern cuisine (predominantly Thai and Vietnamese dishes). The food is quite affordably priced, and nothing in the western menu was over HK$88. The East menu is more extensive, offering noodles, rice and curries as well as more pricey items like king tiger prawns and crab.

Hubby's Clams with homemade Tagliatelle - delicious and spicy, but very oily:

My order of Eggs Marine (poached egg, smoked salmon on farm bread) - yum! Smoked salmon beats ham/bacon hands down. The farm bread was a nice variation to the usual English muffin:

Perfectly poached egg with soft runny yolk:

I spied kangkung (aka water morning glory) on The East menu, and just had to order it. Deliciously garlicky and spicy with a generous amount of dried shrimps - one of the better versions I've had in HK:

Hubby spied some Chocolate Jaffa Tart on display at the bakery section, and had to order a serving. It was utterly rich and decadent - chocolate fondant, orange cream and whips of chocolate ganache. Chocolate pairs well with orange, and this is a truly indulgent treat - I could only manage two bites and hubby happily polished everything else:

We were told the tart came with a scoop of ice cream, and I chose durian flavour (no, we didn't eat the ice cream together with the tart!). I now know where to get good durian ice cream:

Delicious danish, croissants and pastries for sale:

We could also watch the bakers in action! It was great showing the boy how bread is made and the finished product:

This was a simple family lunch, and I really enjoyed it. simplylife is worth a visit if you are in the area.

simplylife The East The West
Shop G19-21
G/F, Olympian City Phase 3
1 Hoi Wang Road
Tai Kwok Tsui, West Kowloon
Tel. +85 2 2750 1875

Friday 17 February 2012

Spanish @ Fandango, Hong Kong

I think it's true that for most people outside of Spain, Spanish food is all about tapas; for me, I'm a little obsessed with paella. This rice dish was the first Spanish food introduced to me (by hubby, many years ago before we married), and I would be disappointed if I walked into a Spanish restaurant only to find out that they serve only tapas and no paella. I haven't tried many Spanish restaurants in Hong Kong, and I was keen for some paella. Fandango at The Toy House stands out for being the only non-Japanese restaurant in the building. I checked that Fandango served paella on their menu, and off we went to have Spanish for lunch.

The first thing we saw when we stepped out of the lift on the 9th floor: two medieval plate armour stands guard just outside the entrance to Fandango. The 3-year-old was understandably a little spooked by them:

The interior was warm and cozy, with a Mediterranean feel. Service was polite and friendly, and we ate our meal quite comfortably. Fandango's lunch menu was very affordably priced, with many choices for each course. Eating here was a breeze for our son, in terms of his multiple food allergies.

Complimentary bread and a couple of tapas (olives and a garlicky tomato frito):

Refreshing sangria, pleasantly not too boozy. Hubby said his sangria was overpoweringly lemony, and that my glass was better than his:

Hubby's Sopa de Marisco (seafood soup) - the broth was rich in seafood flavours, but lacking in actual seafood:

My Ensalada de Pimientos Asados (roasted peppers salad) - I enjoyed this, and the vinaigrette dressing was not too acidic or oily. I found myself wishing that the salad leaves were torn into smaller pieces to make it easier to eat:

Hubby got the Cochinillo Asado a la Segoviana (roasted suckling pig, Segovia-style) - crackling was tasty, but I wanted more meat and less fat:

My Paella de Marisco (seafood paella) - the rice was quite al dente, and satisfyingly rich with the umami flavours of the sea. In addition to the prawn and shellfish on top, pieces of seafood were scattered among the rice. Strands of saffron were visible too:

Hubby's dessert - Catalonia Cream (creamy custard topping with caramel crust). Like crème brûlée, the caramel crust gave a satisfying crack after a light tap. Not cloyingly sweet or overly rich, it was quite enjoyable:

I chose Profiteroles con Chocolate Caliente, which technically isn't Spanish, but was a good choice nonetheless:

I enjoyed having Spanish for lunch, and hope to try out more Spanish restaurants around HK.

Fandango
9/F ,The Toy House
100 Canton Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Tel: +85 2 2957 8797

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Mediocre Japanese @ Wanya Japanese Restaurant, Hong Kong

There are many things I miss about Japan - the people (especially my dear friends), the wonderful culture, and the food are just some of them. It's poor consolation to visit one of the numerous Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong, but it's better than nothing! We've been quite happy with the food quality and service at the more expensive types, like Zuma and Four Season's Inagiku, but disappointed with the only mid-range sushi restaurant we've tried (we will never set foot inside cheap sushi restaurants!). My foodie heart cannot deal with too many disappointments, yet our piggy bank is not limitless, hence why we've only eaten Japanese in HK a total of four times in the past year. Last Saturday we were keen for some Japanese, but after my original choice turned up closed for business, a quick search for nearby restaurants on Openrice suggested that Wanya wouldn't be a terrible choice for a mid-range sushi restaurant. (Lesson to be learnt here is to always be ready with a backup plan whenever trying somewhere new without a reservation.)

The sushi bar. Hard not to notice the low and exposed ceiling:

Wanya is located on the mezzanine level of the building, but to enter it, you have to first go up the escalator to the first floor then down some stairs, which gave the impression of going down to the basement level. The lack of windows and low ceiling inside the restaurant further accentuated that illusion, and this may not be the best place for a claustrophobic person. Service was a bit slapdash, but I get the feeling that the waitstaff have to be that way for that restaurant to run efficiently. The restaurant's main attraction is their all-you-can-order sushi and sashimi, and most other diners were there for this so-called buffet. The lunch menu offered an early bird discount of 30% if the bill is paid before 12:45pm, which suited us fine as we were there before 12pm and quick is best when eating out with a toddler. There were quite a few lunch sets on offer, and we could choose from raw seafood to tempura to grilled items. The manager informed me that some of their food is outsourced, which meant that nothing can be deemed safe for our son to eat due to his multiple food allergies. It's a good thing I always bring extra food for him, just in case.

Hubby's Unagi (Grilled Eel) Lunch Set included unadon, conch sashimi, chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), miso soup and salad. The chawanmushi was pretty good!

The unadon, close up. The flavour was good, but the texture of the unagi wasn't great, like it had been reheated (another outsourced item?). Something like this is far better when freshly grilled:

The conch sashimi from hubby's lunch set, which was quite flavourless and even I think it needed soy sauce (I prefer eating my sushi and sashimi without soy sauce):

My Salmon Sashimi Lunch Set, which included a bowl of sashimi items on sushi rice, grilled chicken wings, salad and teapot soup (not in picture because it arrived later). I loved the sesame dressing on the salad:

The bowl of sliced salmon, ikura (salmon roe), ama-ebi (sweet shrimp), tamagoyaki (sweet egg omelette) and uni (sea urchin). All the items were surprisingly not too bad, but I wished that the uni was much fresher than it was. The sushi rice underneath was a little hard and no longer sticky:

The grilled chicken wing was stuffed with surimi, which was an unexpected surprise as it was not indicated on the menu that it was stuffed chicken wing:

The teapot soup was a bit of a novelty for me...

...but fishing out the slippery items soon became tiresome. It was tasty, but I could detect MSG:

All in all, it wasn't a bad experience, but I wouldn't give any of the raw seafood to my 3-year-old (this wasn't an issue at Inagiku or Zuma). Lunch came to under HK$300 (after the 30% early bird discount), and honestly I wouldn't pay more than that for this quality. There are definitely much better (but pricier) Japanese food out there, and I think we'll just have to limit ourselves to occasionally indulge in the more expensive places.

Wanya Japanese Restaurant
Mezzanine Floor, New World Tower,
16-18 Queen's Road
Central, Hong Kong
Tel. +85 2 2521 8807

Thursday 9 February 2012

Burgers and milkshake @ BLT Burger, Hong Kong

Someone once aptly wrote: "Burgers are the blue jeans of comfort food", and I couldn't agree more with this analogy. Like jeans, burgers are loved by many, and they are easily obtainable in most countries, but finding a good one takes some effort. The other week, I went shopping for jeans to replace the evidently well-worn pair that I bought more than 5 years ago, and an amazing thing happened: I bought the first pair of jeans I tried on! I still had to sift through racks and racks of jeans before I found one that I liked the look of, but the process is usually more tedious. Quite often the first (or second or third) choice wouldn't look great on me, and I definitely would need to try on several before finding the right size - there is a good reason why I only do my clothes shopping once a year (or less frequently, if I could get away with it). Burgers are similar (except that eating is hardly a tedious chore), and indeed it has been more than a year since I last ate a burger that suited my tastebuds. I avoid fast food joints - with the exception of The Shake Shack in NYC, the last time I ate at a fast food joint must have been almost a decade ago - which increases the likelihood of having a great burger experience. Gourmet burgers may be more expensive, and certainly not a fast food, but they always taste better, look nicer and generally are healthier without the additional crap that fast food burgers have. Full table service is also nice to have.

BLT Burger at Harbour City is the epitome of a classic American burger joint. Shot taken at the start of lunch service when the restaurant was still fairly empty:

BLT Burger is a casual burger American-style eatery that offers 11 types of burgers (with optional extras), a handful of starters and a small kids menu. Let's not forget the fries, onion rings and milkshakes. BLT Burger uses 100% Certified Black Angus beef - which is lost on me because I probably can't differentiate from normal beef. Don't expect first class service here, but service was adequate and polite enough. BLT Burger doesn't take reservations, so be prepared to wait during peak meal times. This place is always packed with a long queue whenever I've walked past, but early lunch time was a good time to avoid the weekend shopping crowd.

Yin & Yang Milkshake - with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. Extremely sweet, even our 3-year-old refused to drink more than a sip! The choc milkshake we had at Main St. Deli was much better.

Hubby likes his burger with the lot, and ordered the BLT Burger Combo with the additional toppings of Swiss cheese, a fried egg and BBQ onion. Fries (fat or skinny) and a drink were included in the combo:

The BLT burger + cheese, egg and onion. Medium rare was just right - the meat patty was very moist, held together very well, and hubby's choice of additional ingredients were great except that it made for messy eating:

I am more of a minimalistic, and the Salmon Burger with Atlantic salmon, avocado, red onion, arugula and a zesty cayenne tartar sauce was just perfect for me:

We really enjoyed this little family date and the ice cream at Haagen Dazs afterwards. BLT Burger gets my thumbs up, which must mean something since I am quite fussy about burgers!

BLT Burger
Shop 301, Level 3, Ocean Terminal
Harbour City,
17 Canton Road
Tsimshatsui, Kowloon
+852 2730 2338

Monday 6 February 2012

Warming Chicken and Vegetable Stew

Whenever it's cold, wet and wintry outside, the kitchen beckons me to cook something warm and comforting for my family. It's times like this when you'd sometimes find me throwing together some vegetables and meat to make a one-pot wonder of a stew. Sometimes it amazes me just how effective it is to make a delicious base just by using three simple ingredients: onions, celery and garlic (the so-called holy trinity of the western cuisine world). I use potatoes to add some body to the stew, and a little curry powder for a spicy undertone. I have tried both bone-in chicken pieces and boneless thighs on separate occasions, and both turned out well. The bone-in chicken pieces will impart a richer and more flavourful stew, but it takes more time to cook; the boneless version offers convenience and brevity in cooking time but little compromise on taste. Using 1/3rd of a can of cream of chicken will add a creamy texture, but be sure to use a good quality brand with no MSG or artificial ingredients otherwise the stew will take on that 'canned food' taste and texture.

As with most of my cooking, I always eye-ball quantities, but the quantities given below should be a good enough guesstimate. A pot of stew is quite forgiving and flexible, and doesn't require precise amounts nor all of the ingredients (hence why I labelled mushrooms as 'optional'). Most of the effort is in the chopping, and then you let everything bubble happily away on the stove with the occasional stir. My family loves it, and I love how easy it is to make it!

I always find it challenging to present a photogenic shot of saucy dishes. Here's how the pot's contents looked like when I finished cooking the stew with boneless thighs and mushrooms:

Warming Chicken and Vegetable Stew

Ingredients

1kg bone-in chicken pieces or 500g boneless thighs (optionally cut into bitesize pieces)
1 medium onion (~150g), chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
200g mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 cup stock (water is sufficient if using bone-in chicken pieces)
1-2 teaspoons curry powder
1 large potato (~400g), cubed
1/3 of a 400g can Cream of Chicken (~150g)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Dried parsley, to taste

Method

1. Sauté the onion, garlic, celery and mushrooms in a large pot on medium heat until soft (about 5-10 minutes).
2. Add the stock and curry powder and bring to a simmer.
3. Add the potatoes (and chicken, if using bone-in pieces), and simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. If using boneless chicken, add the pieces after the potatoes are almost cooked in step 3, and simmer until chicken is cooked (about 5 to 15 minutes depending on size of the chicken pieces)
5. Stir through the Cream of Chicken, and cook for a further few minutes.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle the parsley into the pot and stir through.
7. Serve with rice, and supplement with more vegetables (stir-fry, casserole, salad) if desired.

I'm a vege freak so I always cook extra stir-fried vegetables. Here's the chicken stew plated on some rice and with stir-fried veg in my son's plate. I just realised he's had that BABYBJÖRN plate for almost 3 years!

Friday 3 February 2012

German @ Berliner (Olympian City), Hong Kong

As an avid food enthusiast, I consider Hong Kong to be a delicious playground for gourmands. I have had the delight to experience hard-to-obtain European cuisines like Scandinavian and Swiss food, as well as the more prolific Italian and French cuisines. I can now add German food to the growing list of cuisines I first tried in HK. When I think of German cuisine, the first three things that come to mind are sausages, beer and sauerkraut. I love sauerkraut (as I do for pickled vegetables in general such as the Korean kimchi, Japanese tsukemono and Chinese suan cai), but I'm generally not a big fan of sausages (or processed meat in general) or beer (am allergic to alcohol), so needless to say German cuisine held little appeal to me. However, I always try something at least once, and last weekend I walked away from my first German food encounter with a full belly and a smile.

Entrance to Berliner and the dining area. There is also an al-fresco dining area outside of the complex:

We were in Olympian City checking out the area, and we were impressed with how large and well-equipped this area is. Olympian City 3 was newly opened in 2011, and Berliner was one of the restaurants that opened on the ground floor of the new complex. I liked the open layout of the dining area, and the alfresco area would be lovely during the warmer months. Service was friendly and attentive, and it was easy to ask the staff allergy-related questions. The menu was relatively small but it stayed true to the German cuisine and the dishes were affordably priced. I heard that Berliner is not the cheapest German in HK, but we were happy with the food quality and the level of the service.

I love restaurants with an open kitchen! I enjoy watching the chefs in action (and it's always useful to see how clean the kitchen is):

We ordered one pretzel for the boy, but we ended up eating a lot of it, so we ordered two more. These were excellent! Fresh and warm, the pretzels were very, very moreish:

Chef in action! Actually the first guy was camera-shy, so he pulled over this guy which you see cooking the Berliner Bratwurstschnecke. Chicken and pork knuckles were spit-roasting in the oven behind him:

Wurst Platte - sausage platter of bratwurst, regensburger, nürnberger and Munich weisswurst, served with sauerkraut and roasted potatoes. All were substantially meaty, with none of that nonsense filler ingredients that are often found in packaged sausages. The sauerkraut were addictive and I think I hogged most of it (besides, hubby was happier with the roast potatoes):

One of the house specials was the roasted pork knuckle. The waiter informed me that only the mini version was available, and when the pork knuckle arrived, I exclaimed in surprise because it was so big. Apparently the normal pork knuckle dish is twice the size.

Mini Schweinshaxe - roasted pork knuckle, with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. Once again I hogged most of the sauerkraut:

A waitress saw the bewildered look on my face as I stabbed ineffectively at the pork knuckle, and she offered to help carve it for us. She did a much better job than I would have otherwise:

The pork knuckle was surprisingly meaty. We expected more gristle and tendon, but the flesh was tender and flavourful, and the crackling was amazing:

Raspberry Schnapps - wow, this baby was strong! LIterally knocked me off my seat when I took my first sip. We'd never had schnapps before so didn't know what to expect:

Dessert was Apfelstrudel apple strudel served with vanilla ice cream and berries. This was delightfully light but indulgent at the same time, and it was nut-free so the boy could enjoy some too:

We really enjoyed our German lunch, and the 3-year-old had great fun eating too. I'm glad that I'm able to eat German food without having to wait for Oktoberfest to roll around. Berliner is worth a try if you're in the area.

Berliner
Shop G18, G/F,
Olympian City 3,
1 Hoi Wang Road,
Tai Kok Tsui, West Kowloon
Tel. +85 2 2148 5388