Asia Flavours

Eat Right

The build up to Christmas is never a good time for the waistline. The whole period seems to primarily be about eating and having drinks on a daily basis, with extra temptations chasing you at every opportunity. Indeed, I struggled to get into Olivers today at lunchtime - it was heaving with Christmas puddings, Terry's chocolate oranges, mulled wine spices and, of course, more mince pies than you could shake a stick at. 

Not that I'm complaining. After all, what is January without the need for urgent crash dieting? It would be dull otherwise. However, my friend A.C. seems to be fighting this enforced excessiveness tooth and nail. When I met her for lunch on Saturday she suggested this restaurant called Eat Right on Staunton Street which sells itself as a "healthy" restaurant. 

I'm not sure about this "healthy" business. The menu, which seemed to offer all the normal things you'd expect a SoHo cafe to offer, lists the number of calories each dish contains which is quite traumatising. We spent the first twenty minutes going through everything on the menu, swearing we'd never drink fruit juice again (SO many calories). In the end we opted for some creamy tasting cappuccinos which seemed to have fewer calories. Despite being someone who works on trying to have a balanced diet, the menu reduced me to a calorie control freak within the space of a few minutes.

Worse was to come. By now I was obsessed. Every mouthful of my scrambled eggs on ciabatta with smoked salmon was some ridiculous number of calories and I was fully aware of this. It was therefore seriously disappointing when it turned out to be really poor - a dull, boring mess that was, frankly, in need of a few calories to help it out. The bread was dry, being without any butter, but was not as dry as the overcooked scrambled eggs it came with. The chef really shouldn't have let them leave the kitchen. A few herbs might have helped but I suppose that would be few extra calories.... Hmmm. In the end, I ate the smoked salmon on its own and then managed to extract some tomato ketchup to liven up the dried egg / bread combo. 

The problem with knowing how many calories I'd just consumed was that it made the disappointment ten times worse. Maybe the lunch / dinner options are better but I'm just not sure I can get that into calorie counting to want to try it again. 

4 Shelley Street

SoHo 

Tel: (+852) 2868 4832

Lot 10 (5/10)

Whenever I walk past Gough Street on my way home, I always promise myself that I’ll go there for lunch one day, to sample one of the many small cafes and restaurants that line the street. To date, I’ve never actually managed to keep that promise to myself. The problem is that my office is completely the other end of Central and there really isn’t the time to troop all that way, have lunch and troop back again. However, by sheer chance, E.L. and I found ourselves in the vicinity the other day and decided that a spot of al fresco lunching would be in order.

There is a serious amount of culinary choice on Gough Street, from relaxed Thai to smart French to an extremely popular looking al fresco noodle stand. Having failed to do any internet research beforehand, we were left to make a pot-luck choice - something made significantly harder by our before-the-hordes arrival at 12 noon, so rendering us without the benefit of that old favourite “go to the restaurant that looks the most full” trick.

We randomly chose Lot 10 because it looked rather cute in a scruffy sort of way. The set menu was also rather puzzling - the combinations of ingredients were unusual to say the least. For example, my starter was carrot and cinnamon soup which sounded a rather unlikely combination for a soup. However, although you were hit by a wave of cinnamon when you smelt it, the flavour was surprisingly subtle. My main course was just as unusual - linguine with smoked duck breast and a sour cream and green bean sauce. For some reason I was expecting the green beans to be whole. Instead, they were pulverised into the sour cream sauce creating a rather thick, heavy sauce. I can’t say I’d rush to try it again - not because it wasn’t weirdly flavoursome - but more because of the texture which was rather gritty. I wouldn’t not go back to Lot 10 again but first, I’d probably try the other options on Gough Street, starting with Gough 40 which we’d have chosen if we’d been going with the “go to the restaurant that looks the most full” trick!

Lot 10 Bar & Restaurant
34 Gough Street
NoHo Central
Tel : 2813 6812

M on the Fringe (1/10)

I can’t tell you how disappointed I was by my experience at M on the Fringe. It’s probably partly my own fault for having built up my expectations too much but still, the starter was dull, the main course unfathomably tasteless and the pudding not quite fully cooked.

I’d heard that M on the Fringe was a great place to go if you wanted quirky, romantic décor with good European food. And certainly, the décor was quirky. To be honest though, not in a particularly good way, definitely missing the mark from a romance perspective (although granted we went during the day which isn’t exactly the most favourable lighting for romantic décor). Still, I could see what they were trying to achieve with the different coloured textured paint, the violin shaped chairbacks and the slightly cluttered knick-knacks look but it was somehow just not quite kooky enough.

All that would have been forgiven if the (expensive) food had been up-to-scratch. We ordered off the November lunch menu - not a set lunch per se but more an a la carte with smaller lunch options. I started with a salad of sun blushed tomatoes, borlotti beans and red onion which was perfectly ok but nothing to write home about - indeed, relatively similar to a salad I had at Prêt a Manger today. Bad choice perhaps… Worse was to come. The main course I chose was ox-tail stew with mashed potato “and all the trimmings”. I’m not sure what the “all the trimmings” was supposed to be because I would have thought the cubed vegetables were part of the stew - perhaps it referred to the parsley scattered on top? The ox tail itself was extremely fatty, lacking in meat and completely tasteless. My friend J.Y., who’d also made the mistake of ordering the ox tail, thought it was probably a cheap cut that had perhaps been in the freezer too long. To make matters worse, I’ve never tasted such flavourless mashed potato or such flavourless gravy - did the chef not try any of the food he’d prepared before they were served to paying guests? Surely, he could have rectified the problem with some salt, some pepper, a dash of red wine in the gravy, a spoonful of mustard in the mash, the list is endless…

 

Severely underwhelmed by the main course, we all ordered the M’s pavlova, having been assured that this is a signature dish. Even that was lacking with the centre of the pavlova being slimy and undercooked. It was just sloppy cooking. The rest of the dish (the fruit, whipped cream and passionfruit sauce) was good but it was seriously let down by the undercooked meringue. The icing on the cake in terms of the meal was that even the little biscuits to accompany the coffees weren’t that nice - well that and a HKD 500 a head price tag for the unimpressive meal.

All in all, I won’t be back.

Felix at The Peninsula

The piece of advice you receive from everybody before going to Felix at The Peninsula is don’t forget to go to the toilet. A rather strange first comment, I thought, given that the view from the dining room is outstanding, the food stunning and the service excellent but to be fair, it’s a good point. The toilet is worth the trip in itself. Sure, the décor in the bathrooms - particularly the sink area - is interesting but the key is the view out over the harbour (if you’re female) or over Kowloon (if you’re a guy) which must make it a contender for the best bathroom with a view anywhere in the world (should there be such a competition).

My first impressions of Felix weren’t overwhelming. The restaurant area was empty when we arrived and so we went up into the bar area with its view over Victoria Harbour. It’s all a little weird up there - someone compared it to a futuristic airport waiting area with padded walls and a rather claustrophobic feel to it. Not my cup of tea to be honest - I’d probably do drinks at Aqua if I went again on the grounds that you’d get the same view and well, it would all be a little less orange.

However, things quickly improved. The atmosphere in the amazing dinning room was great, with a good noise level and phenomenal floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides providing superb views. The décor is interesting although the only thing that I can vividly remember are the faces on the chair covers - all apparently current or former staff at the Peninsula which is a lovely, unpretentious touch.

The food was excellent and incredibly well thought through, from the bread basket onwards - indeed I became somewhat addicted to the chocolate chip bread which J.Y. had recommended. My starter of foie gras with poached pear was delightful, with seared foie gras on a slice of toast and also cold foie gras pate inside the poached pear. The flavours were fabulous. I did try to take a photo but I’m afraid my efforts didn’t even slightly do the dish justice.

I really struggled to narrow down my choice of main course and eventually decided on the black cod with rhubarb and sugar snap peas. The fish was beautifully cooked and the sweet peas provided a good contrast to the slightly sharp rhubarb. To be honest, I prefer my sugar snap peas to have a little more snap to them but the combination worked well. The fois gras stole the limelight but only just.

For pudding, I was torn between the raspberry pavlova with dark chocolate and the pudding rather temptingly called “chocolate! chocolate! chocolate!”. Based on the fact that E.L. decided to raid my “chocolate! chocolate! chocolate!”, rather than eat her own raspberry pavlova, I guess I made the right decision. The pudding (which technically should have been called “chocolate! chocolate! chocolate! chocolate!”) consisted of four mini-chocolate deserts: sumptuous chocolate mint ice cream, a chocolate tart, hot chocolate with a lychee egg white puff thing and a really rich chocolate and pastry combo. All delightful.

The only downside to having dinner at Felix is that, unless you are going with work, you’ll probably have to re-mortgage your house first - easier said than done in this market. However, should you find yourself a little flush with cash, this is a very good way to spend it!

Felix
28/F, Peninsula Hotel
Salisbury Rd.
Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: 2366 6251

McSorleys

Had it not been for a recommendation from B.B, I would never have gone into McSorley's Ale House. I'm not a beer drinker and so the pub with its dark wooden furniture - designed to look like a Victorian Irish pub - was never going to be high on my list. However, we'd just survived a somewhat traumatising walk / scramble up to the Sai Wan waterfall and back again in the pitch dark, and our stomachs were crying out for a substantial meat fest. This McSorley's provided brilliantly. 

The tables at the back of the pub are a bit dingy but because the front of the restaurant is open to the elements, the tables there are airy and you don't really feel like you're in an "ale house". Having said that, the menu is pretty traditional, covering everything you would expect from a pub. The highlights, however, were definitely the burgers which were juicy, flavoursome and seriously substantial - I didn't every come close to finishing mine. The slightly unusual sounding Aloha Burger with its sliced pineapple and terriyaki sauce was unusual, certainly, but it hit the spot! 

If you are in need of a good, traditional burger (unlike, say, those provided at the uber-expensive Duke's Burger), McSorley's should be on your shortlist. 

55 Elgin Street

SoHo

Wagyu

There's something about Wagyu. The 'togetherness' of the food, atmosphere and service make it a really great, easy restaurant to visit.

With my friend L. heading back to the UK the following day, we wanted a lively final meal. The location of Wagyu at the heart of Wyndham Street makes it a brilliant place for people-watching and we were lucky enough to get a window table, despite the fact that we hadn't booked and that by 9pm it was heaving.

Knowing that I was likely to have a heavy red meat option for my main course (it is, after all, called Wagyu), I chose the grilled terriyaki tuna skewers as a starter which were lovely, not too heavy at all. L. had the spinach, walnut and mixed cheese pancake which she really enjoyed and which looked tasty.

I was tempted to a Wagyu steak but the problem is that I've had the Wagyu burger before and it is just too tasty for me to resist. True to form, it was heavenly. I haven't had a better burger in Hong Kong. The meat used is just so flavoursome. Apparently, well according to Wiki, Wagyu refers to several breeds of cattle genetically predisposed to intense marbling and to producing a high percentage of oleaginous unsaturated fat, whatever that may be. It is also known as Kobe beef or Mishima beef.

Although we were completely defeated by the generously sized burger, my friend N. did have a sort of pudding in the form of a Banana Virgin Daiquiri. If you like bananas, you should really try this. It was lovely, even if a mere sip nearly pushed me to a 'mint wafer' moment!

All in all, a great and reliable restaurant in the heart of Wyndham Street.

60 Wyndham Street
Central

Tel: 2525 8805

Cococabana

Should blue skies ever return to Hong Kong, you should immediately stop what you're doing and book a table at Cococabana, a stunning beach-side restaurant in Deep Water Bay. The view itself is well worth the trip to this al fresco restaurant and the excellent food an added bonus.

The restaurant is right on the beach and has great views across the bay to the hillside along which the Ocean Park cable-car runs. It's therefore a great place to watch the sun-setting, particularly as the subtle cable-car lights don't go off until quite late, highlighting the hillside against the black sky. Sounds idyllic right? Well, it is although, like most restaurants in Hong Kong, there is something slightly odd about its location. Usually it's the fact that it's a swish restaurant situated in a shopping mall or high up in a hum-drum office block but in this case, it's that it is situated on top of the public toilet block! Luckily, however, this fact is quickly forgotten as soon as you enter the restaurant!

In the evenings they offer a set three course menu for HK$390 which allows you anything from the extensive menu. I chose pan-fried fresh foie gras on a turnip confit with a balsamico sauce as my starter and was not disappointed. The slightly salty turnip beautifully complemented the stunning foie gras. Given we were by the sea I felt obligated to have some form of seafood as my main course and so I opted for the piri piri king prawns with garlic and chili on cous cous with tomato and shallot salad. The prawns were perfectly cooked as was the cous cous - sounds silly to judge a restaurant on this because cous cous is so simple to cook but lots of restaurants cut corners turning it into either a single massive lump of cous cous or, even worse, a soggy mess.

My choice of main was good but I did get a little bit of food envy when I tasted my friend L.'s choice. She chose the John Dory with wind dried tomatoes which I have to say I overlooked because I felt it sounded a bit boring. Totally wrong, it tasted gorgeous. Still, I defeated the green eyed monster eventually...

I love coffee, I love chocolate and I love mascarpone which means that Tiramisu was pretty much designed with me in mind. Wonderfully they had tiramisu on the menu. However, I was totally gutted when I tasted it. It was an overly sweet cream desert with virtually no coffee flavour. It tasted good but shouldn't have been advertised as tiramisu. Some of my friends had the apple tart with vanilla ice cream which they enjoyed but they found the bits of apple skin in the desert a little off-putting.

Despite the mis-labeling of the tiramisu, I still think this is one of the nicest restaurants I've been to in Hong Kong.

Upper G/F Beach Building
Deep Water Bay
Tel: 2812 2226

The Boathouse

I wasn't going to bother reviewing The Boathouse because I sat with my friends as they ate, having already eaten lunch, but then I read this review in HK's Where Magazine: Its exterior is a celestial white, and its interior nothing short of divine. I MEAN, WHAT!?! Clearly written after a couple of glasses of vino, or perhaps something a little stronger...

The restaurant is perfectly nice as twee Stanley goes but 'divine' is seriously stretching it. My friend E's crostini with parma ham and mozzarella was full of flavour, and my friend L's lemon and honeycomb cheesecake went down well. A nice restaurant in Stanley, yes but 'divine'? No.

86-88 Stanley Main Street
Stanley

Tel: 2813 4467

The Press Room

I've never actually got beyond having brunch at The Press Room so I have absolutely no idea what it is like for dinner. From a brunch point of view, it's pretty good although I suspect that the close proximity to my flat probably plays a signifiant role in its appeal on a Sunday morning!

The restaurant is designed to look like a European bistro, a huge blackboard menu taking up one of the walls and high ceilings giving it an airy feeling (although also leading my friend L. think that they hadn't finished decorating it!). The menu is pretty wide with all the brunch staples you could think of - like the great eggs benedict I had - as well as more substantial dishes should hunger get the better of you. My friend L. had pancakes with maple syrup and a side of bacon which were a little heavy but definitely perfect to combat any hangover you may wish to throw at it!

108 Hollywood Road
Central

Tel: 2525 3444