{Tea diaries}

People in the office have been absolutely raving about Craft for some time. I liked Bizou, its sister restaurant, when I last went with HKFoodie, so been eager to try Craft out. I arrived to see a jam packed restaurant this particular Friday evening, luckily V got there in time to save us our seats. A has had a bad experience where they gave her table away even though she was only 5 minutes late (official waiting time was 15 minutes). I could see the chefs hard at work at the open-air kitchen at the far corner, where its signature open fire charcoal grill is located. Craft specializes in all types of chargrilled food – sirloin, fillet, ribeye, lamb chops, duck confit, pork loin and spring chicken. So avoid if you are not a carnivore, as the selection otherwise is rather limited.

My biggest disappointment with this restaurant is its service – not only were the waiters few and disappearing, their attitude was rude. I could understand that the restaurant was operating at full capacity and they were a bit overwhelmed, but believed that this night is no different to any other night, and they should be a bit more pleasant to the customers. We waved in vain to get someone’s attention, and once we ordered, we had to wait in infinitely for the order to arrive, be it a glass of wine or the bread basket. There were four of us and they only gave us three loaves of bread. Every time we tried pointing out what was missing (like only the shiraz of our order of warm water and shiraz arrived), they were unapologetic and just moved on to the next table without sincerely trying to follow up. We were not isolated in our poor experience, as we could see everyone was frustrated with the lack of service. Even though the warm bread itself was very good, must admit I discounted it given the pathetic service. Anyway, back to the food.

V and I were starving and decided to order a few appetizers to share amongst the four of us. Someone mentioned that the soup is quite average here, so we ordered a Steak Tartar, Prawn Cocktail, and Grilled Caesar. These arrived looking extremely appetizing, and they were. Raw beef is one of my favorite dishes, and this was seasoned reasonably well, a touch too spicy in my view but overall still one of the better ones that I have tried here in HK (Le Tire Bouchon nearby does a mean beef tartar, each waiter there mixes a slightly different sauce so it’s always a surprise there). Instead of serving the prawn cocktail in a glass already mixed with salad dressing, here, huge fresh lightly poached prawns were served with romaine hearts and remoulade sauce on the side. Am normally not a fan of prawn cocktails but this was exceptionally good – simplistic but of good quality. Remember to dip the prawn in the sauce though, which makes all the difference. Instead of the normal Caesar salad that we are all used to, the one here is quite special – an entire romaine heart is charcoal grilled and served whole, with shaved parmesan cheese and Caesar dressing dribbled on top. We enjoyed all three dishes very much.

After the last hairy crab outing, been eagerly planning for the next one. With such mouthwatering memories of my yellow crab extravaganza last time, I decided to try Fu Shing’s hairy crab set this time round. We walked into a rather quiet restaurant on a Wednesday evening, - there were fewer than four tables seated but saw that all the function rooms were in use. Seeing how empty the place was, K began to worry about the freshness of their hairy crab. When asked, the waitress immediately brought the live crabs out for us to examine, and we were comforted to see that the crabs were live and kickin'.



There were two sets available, one for HK$328, and the other one for HK$638, the courses were pretty similar, apart from the hairy crab itself. For the cheaper set, one gets two small crabs each weighing 4 taels. For the more expensive set, these are replaced by heavier ones weighing 8 taels. Seeing that there are so many dishes in the set, we opted for the cheaper set. 

Totally knackered after our late afternoon leisurely hike this past Sunday, J suddenly had a craving for the wontons in soup at Mei Mei Chu (Delicious Kitchen 美味廚) - so off we went to this long forgotten Shanghai family-style restaurant in Causeway Bay. This restaurant is probably one of the longest standing restaurants in this environ, which used to be called affectionately as the "Eat Street (食街)". These days, many of the old faves have been replaced by western restaurants as the developers try to make the area more upmarket. There was a quiet buzz when we entered the restaurant and luckily for us, no queues at the door. We were seated promptly by the efficient waiters.



Thirsty from the strenous afternoon (or rather the hangover from partying for J & V), we immediately ordered a glass of cold soymilk to cool ourselves down. This was good as it tasted of soybeans and had the right balance of sweetness without appearing too watered down. The complimentary pickles were less appetizingly flavourless.

When C told me that we were meeting at Oro 18 for lunch one Friday, my mind drew a blank – having never heard of it. He just told me it is on the 18F of the same building as Shanghai Association and Jimmy's Kitchen. Only when I arrived did I realize that I have been to this restaurant at its previous location near Yung Kee under its previous name (which escapes me now). Still considered an upstairs private kitchen, the restaurant is probably three or four times as big as previously, with a light airy, modern decor. Halloween embellishments were everywhere, probably in prep for the weekend parties. 



Oro 18 only serves a set menu that includes a soup, salad, appetizer, mains, dessert and tea or coffee. One has to order his or her mains beforehand, and C chose the lamb rack for me. The set is affordably priced at HK$130 (+10%).

The stereotype is that dining at a Chinese restaurant within a 5-star hotel is only applicable for client entertainment or for bringing tourists around, as these places tend to be a bit of a rip off. But as more and more high-end Chinese pop up everywhere (Cuisine Cuisine, Lei Garden), the price differential with the local Cantonese restaurant has really narrowed. After a movie at the shopping mall's cinema, we headed for Golden Leaf for its Chinese cuisine one late Friday evening.



I have always preferred Golden Leaf over Summer Palace at the Shang and Man Ho at the Marriott, I guess in part due to its hidden location and plush comfortable decor. Here one is able to relax over lunch or dinner while Summer Palace is a bit more noisy and Man Ho feels less special. The signature silver water containter greets you at the entrance with the selection of fine tea leaves.

My friend didn't believe me when I told him that Shangri-la used to name the signature fine dining restaurants within its chain by famous vineyards, like Petrus and Margaux. Well, Shang has gone away from the tradition and is adding an Angelini in a number of its locations. Angelini is the name of its CEO, and we decided to venture to the dark side to try out Kowloon Shang's latest Italian addition.  Sadly Margaux is no longer in the picture, I do miss its winter game dishes. We are told that Angelini's chef Massimo Iarossi specialises in using simple, fresh ingredients.



We liked our seat right by the window, with the gorgeous night view of the Victoria Harbour and skyline as our backdrop. The restaurant's decor was simple and modern, and it had an airy, casual, buzzing atmosphere. In fact, I'd say it was noisy outright, think it's probably due to the closely placed tables. Not a place for an intimate dinner, but could for gatherings.

Have always considered Cafe Pumpernickel my neighbourhood cafe, and was initially surprised to find that so many people know of the place, and actually travel miles to Tin Hau to visit. It has become so successful that there are branches now in Causeway Bay and Admiralty. Its bread is its drawing factor, and deservedly so.



When I first came back from London, when people talk of buying bread, they normally refer to the neighbourhood Chinese bakery stores, which stock white/brown bread and also the Cantonese style buns, like sausage buns, pineapple buns, and creme puffs~ oh not forgetting egg tarts. Very rarely could one find the variety of loaf that one gets in London - baked with herb and spices, or kneaded using a variety of grains. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Pumpernickel should be credited for introducing Western-style bakery to the masses in HK. 

Remember my lament about the lack of reasonably priced scrub in the IFC area? Well it just got better (!)recently. As HKFoodie gently reminded me, my current diet is severely unhealthy, with almost no vegetable intake and lacking in vitamins and minerals. So the other day, I decided to start afresh and opted for the healthy dinner set at Canteen. This is the "health and beauty" alternative, containing a soup (borscht), a caesar salad,  and some garlic bread.



When I unwrapped the plastic bag at the office, I realised how pathetically small the portions were. Guess how much this is priced at - HK$48! And the milk tea is an additional HK$9, so my eat-in cost HK$57 - a total rip-off in my view, considering a normal lunchbox at Canteen of BBQ pork and chicken with rice would have cost HK$29 only, and HK$32 including a milk tea... this had better be good, I thought.

Am going into Chapter 11 from all the fine dining this month - I had high expectations for Amber, given it is part of the Mandarin Oriental group. Billed as "serving the finest cuisine from world-renowned chef with an emphasis on innovation and presentation" and "a spectacular canvas of modern culinary art", we very much looked forward to our dinner gathering.



We walked into a long rectangular shaped, mahogaony-pannelled dining room, with a high ceiling that had gazillion gold long rods piercing down. V said this was too pressurising, as if the ceiling was about to come falling down on us any second. Apparently this was meant to be a huge chandelier. We felt it odd that at such a posh sophisticated dining room, there were many children diners - wonder whether they'd appreciate the fine food?

It doesnt feel like autumn is here at all, with the temperature still up there at 26 degrees C and no sign of any breeze when walking on the street~ has HK become Singapore with its permanent hot weather? Even though it is still not quite the right time for hotpot, we decided to go ahead anyway and made a booking at Spring Autumn.



Reviews from friends and mags in general tip towards the bad side, and people complain about what a rip-off it is and how poor the service is at Spring Autumn. According to my friend who is from Canada, Spring Autumn originated in Vancouver where it has become so popular and successful that the owners decided to migrate the formula back to HK and chose Causeway Bay as the location. Prepared for the worse, we walked into a brightly lid ground floor dining room that was quite spacious and clean, giving us a good first impression.

Having been in fashion for some time now, I have rarely explored the "upstairs cafe" phenomenon. No, this is not the same as private kitchen/ speakeasy restaurants. Think these cafes started popping up in HK a couple of years back when the economy was not as rosy as it is now (am still skeptical on the “rosiness” myself but that's probably another blog entry), and many graduates were having difficulty in the job market. In addition to start-ups, it became trendy to rent some cheap upstairs apartments in the busy environs of Causeway Bay and Mong Kok, and to convert these into all day cafes for people to gather round and hang out.



These differ from the loud and noisy upstairs bars and provide a creative outlet for many. Each is styled to a particular theme, and provides interesting drinks (like Yakault mixed with soda or juices) and light meals. Part of the attraction of these cafes is that they normally open late (around noon) and close even later (midnight to two). Some also serve as a shop front for the artistic ones, where they can sell jewelry, paintings and sculptures. One very successful upstairs cafe themes itself on cat – cats are allowed to roam free within the whole place and this particular cafe has become a popular haunt for cat lovers. Needless to say, this prompted a string of other upstairs pet cafes to open around town.

Recently all the foodie mags are plastered with features on the latest high profile openings - Amber, Angelini, Caprice, and the Fourth Floor. Little is mentioned of the once popular private kitchens anymore. In fact, haven't been to any for a while now, apart from the recent dinner with dsd.



Tung's is a private kitchen in Central famous for its chef, Tung's, Shanghainese speciality. Been once for its set dinner a long while back, and did not particularly fancy its greasy traditional cooking. Was craving for some noodles in soup the other day and someone mentioned Tung's has introduced some new affordable lunch sets and off we went.

Whenever I visit the Harvey Nics in London, I always drop by the posh 5F Food Court and the GF accessories section, and could spend absolutely ages wandering round aimlessly. Sadly, for the recently opened HK store, management decided to do away with the food court. It still kept the restaurant though, and the tradition of naming this restaurant by the floor it is located on – which in our case, is the Fourth Floor restaurant and bar. Went with J for birthday celebrations there last week.

Was not particularly impressed with the decoration. The bar was located near the entrance, and extended into an awkwardly long and narrow dining room. Our first feeling was how uncomfortably low the ceiling was, and how multi-color the the floor and the ceiling were. In fact, as you can see, the neon color bulbs would, at an interval, changed from purplish to pinkish, and then back again. For a minute there, we thought we had gone into a lounge bar that was trying to be cool and hip. Perhaps we are too old-fashioned, but we felt a bit dizzy after a while sitting in this ever-changing twilight zone. 

Around the Wan Chai harbourfront, there used to be a lack of dining venues apart from those restaurants within the hotels, and the arrival of Sanlitun was meant to change all that and create the LKF equivalent buzz for the area. Sadly, the fizz seems to have gone and very rarely do people make a hike out to try out some of the restaurants there. Since we were in the neighbourhood for a performance at the Arts Center, we decided we would revisit the area.



Opting for a more exotic cuisine, we made reservations at a rather new restaurant in Sanlitun, Rico Bistro. It's claim to fame is that Miki, a member of the teen band Cookies, is a part-owner, supposedly she and the other members of the band would somtimes come and help out at the restaurant too. Posters of Miki were plastered around the cashier area, but there was no sight of anyone famous. We only saw two occupied tables, but we were dining early at six thirty. Our Sangria mix was refreshing and full of fruit bits, which made a promising start for the evening. Following the Spanish way, we ordered a number of tapas dish to start, and a big seafood paella as our mains. 

Arranged to meet up with an old friend Y for dinner to catch up this past weekend, and late afternoon on the day, was told that our plans are off, because his football team was playing that night. After some back and forth bickering SMSes, we compromised and headed for Dickens Bar in Causeway Bay ~ so that I could have my dinner, while he could watch his football.

Dickens Bar is located in the basement of The Excelsior Hotel, and is an established sports fans' haunt. In addition to live broadcast of sports matches, the place is also well-known for its lunch-time curry buffet (HK$128) and its British foodfare like roast beef and sheperd's pie - aka comfort food.

Cuisine Cuisine is operated by the Miramar Group, which counts Tsui Hang Village amongst its portfolio of restaurants. This eatery is meant to be its fine dining crown jewel, located within the up-and-coming IFC complex, posing as a real competitor for the popular Lei Garden.



Situated at a prime location within the IFC complex, Cuisine Cuisine is tastefully decked out with art pieces here and there, with an extremely high ceiling that allowed diners to soak in the full harbour view (although Lumiere has an even better view - see last paragraph).

There's been a buzz of activity in Central recently, with the recent opening of Harvey Nichols (my fave dept store in London) and the boutique MO in The Landmark, and the upcoming launch of Four Seasons Hotel... not forgetting of course, the DisneyLand euphoria. Knowing that there will be plenty of interesting new restaurants to try out in the area soon, we made a little detour to Causeway Bay for Opia, the fine-dining restaurant located in the hip boutique hotel Jia in Causeway Bay.



We liked the stylish and sophisticated feel of the resturant (designed by Andre Fu), and settled down comfortably at the leather upholstered sofabeds quickly. Opia's menu was devised by one of Australia's most celebrated chefs, Teage Ezard, who has won many awards for his cooking at his own namesake back in Melbourne - ezard. His speciality, I read, is "Australian free style cuisine with influences from Asia"~ how interesting. We opted for the a la carte menu instead of the six-course tasting menu, which was priced at HK$500 per head.

Yellow Door in SoHo, along with Xi Yan in Wan Chai, is one of the more established Chinese private kitchens in Hong Kong, and because of its success, the owner, Lau Kin Wai, decided to open a proper restaurant in Tin Hau, called Kin's Kitchen. This may sound like an obscure location, but Tin Hau has now become an up-and-coming food destination. We have sadly seen most of the old moms and pops stores closed down, and are now being replaced by new (and sometimes trendy) restaurants.

Have tried Kin's Kitchen a number of times now (Tin Hau being my natural habitat) and am impressed with its consistently high quality cooking. No wonder it has to adopt the two-shift dining policy (first seating before 6:30, second at 8:00) even in my quiet little neighbourhood.

Ordering afternoon tea has become a daily ritual for our office these days, probably as a way to re-energize our tired ol’ selves for the long nights ahead. Everyday at around three thirty, people would start gathering round and begin a heated discussion on what and where to order from, flipping through the huge stack of delivery forms that we have compiled over the years. The choice normally narrows down to two – Honeymoon dessert and Honolulu. 

Honolulu is a Hong-Kong style chachanteng also renowned for its egg tarts. This is of the flaky, layered puff pastry variety, and differs from the Tai Cheong Bakery ones. (For those eager Tai Cheong fans, no, it hasn't re-opened yet, but you can bet that HKFoodie will be amongst the first to visit its new store when it does!) Must admit the glazed golden yellow custard and the slightly browned multi-layer pastry looks extremely tempting and inviting, especially as I am a fan of all custard based dessert. Sadly, somehow, my stomach is always a bit unsettled after consuming a flaky egg tart like this, and I'd feel greasy and lethargic for the rest of the day (nope, am not exaggerating). Not sure if this is because of the extra fat that the bakers used to make the flaky bits. For Chinese egg tart, I prefer the Tai Cheong style one for crust.

Ever since HKFoodie and I started this blog, I have become the designated person to decide on venue whenever there is a group gathering. Recently, a friend came back from London and a few of us decided to gather round in Happy Valley for dinner. Was flipping through a local mag which raved about Le Coquillage and its Araignees crab soup and its seafood in general - so I promptly made a reservation.



We walked into a relatively busy restaurant and happily settled down at our table next to the bar. Since it was rather late already at eight thirty, we quickly placed our orders for the set menu, which included a seafood platter, the signature asparagus crab soup, and main courses. At HK$238 per set, we agreed that it sounded like good value for money. Of the mains, two were meat dishes and one a fish. Was told they ran out of the daily special fish so opted for the alternative (salmon) instead. Was mildy annoyed (first of many) when they came back and told me they ran out of salmon as well (there were a few tables occupied but it not that busy a night) and that only the meat dishes were left. When I mentioned I would very much prefer a fish, the waiter was indfferent, and hence I was forced to choose the lamb unwillingly.