Good eats...at home

For this post I thought I would take a break from my long list of restaurants waiting to be written about... instead, here are some home-made good eats I thought I'd post about (with the recipe, of course!). 

In the Japanese aisle of City'Super I spotted these bottles of Tonkatsu sauce, and it sparked me to want to try making my own pan-fried version in my tiny kitchen...

Non-Deep fried Tonkatsu

(serves 3-4) - Pork chop (8 small or 4 large pcs) 

- 2 tbsp Sake 

- 2 tbsp Soy sauce- 2 tsp sugar 

- 1 egg, beaten

- corn starch

- panko crumbs

- Cooking Oil 

- Japanese Mayo (I like the kewpie brand, available in Welcome / City'Super)

- Tonkatsu sauce (I used Bulla brand, available in City'Super)

- bowls of cooked rice, Japanese pearl for better taste and texture if you are bothered =)  

Directions: 

1. Rinse pork chops and marinate it in the sake, soy sauce and sugar for at least 4 hours, I marinated them for a day, turning them once or twice between. 

2. Prepare a flat plate and place about 1/3 cup corn starch (or more as needed) on top, and spread, forming a thin layer. Beat an egg and place on another plate. Then pour out a cup of panko on a third plate. 

3. Drain pork chops and dredge them very lightly, just so they are dry. Then place them in the egg wash so they become 'wet' again. Take them out and hold it up for a few seconds so the extra egg wash slides off. 

4. Place the egg wash-covered pork chops in on the plate of panko, and cover the entire chop with panko, generously. 

5. To cook, heat up several tablespoons of vegetable oil in a flat non-stick pan. Make sure when the oil is heated, turn fire to medium to medium-low. 

6. Then add the battered pork chops to the hot oiled pan, and pan-fry them until golden-brown on one side. Turn them over and do the same. I did mine (relatively thin pork chops) for about 3-4 minutes on each side. 

7. Place on top of hot cooked rice, and drizzle with the Japanese mayo and Tonkatsu sauce in equal amounts. 

DIG IN..... =) 

This next part was inspired by...... Cafe Matchbox. Since young I've always detested green peas, and picked them out of fried rice or any dish whenever I saw them. However, after tasting the green pea soup with chicken pie from this hip cha chaan teng, I became fond of green pea.....soup! Honestly, I think one should be open-minded to try green pea soup...it's quite different from the boring old pea you find in fried rice! 

I love making puréed soups, so green pea soup was one I wanted to tackle. So off I went to the grocery store and bought the following.... 

My Asian Green Pea Soup 

(serves 4-6)

- 2 tbsp vegetable oil 

- 1 cup shallots, roughly chopped (may substitute onion if you wish)

- 1-2 tbsp ginger, sliced (I like more)

- 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

- 3 cups frozen peas 

- 3 cups chicken broth (use vegetable broth if you want to keep it vegetarian)

Directions: 

1. Fry the shallots in the oil until it looks like its turning translucent. 

2. Add ginger and garlic, and sauté for a couple minutes, be careful not to burn. 

3. Add chicken broth, and simmer for a several minutes until shallots are visibly translucent.

4. Add peas, and bring to a simmer again, for 3 or 4 minutes, and taste one to see if they are soft. If not, cook a few minutes longer and switch off the fire. 

5. Purée the entire mixture in a food processor or use a electronic hand-mixer if you have one. 

6. Put the puréed mix back into the saucepan and bring to a simmer, add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water if you would like it slightly thinner, and add ground black pepper if you wish. 

7. Dish-up and serve! 

Hope you enjoy these easy but tasty concoctions!

208 Duecento Otto

Date: 24th September

208 Duecento Otto @ Sheung Wan

For lunch, B, M and myself made a trip to 208 Duecento Otto in hopes to find good Italian food after much hype about this restaurant since its opening earlier this year.

Stepping through the entrance and making our way upstairs to the dining hall we knew a lot of effort and money had been put into the design of the restaurant...but how about the food?

There were only two lunch sets, rather than the three which had been published on their site.... we opted for the 3-Course express lunch, each ordering different mains. 

Chopped pizza dough with basil and a little olive oil. Turned stone-cold quickly, which I didn't appreciate. Texture wasn't exactly good either - way too chewy. 

First Course

Salad of arugula and shaved parmigiano reggiano cheese, dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette with lots of pepper and salt. 

The chefs were a little too heavy-handed on the salt, but otherwise a simple and stellar salad. The serving was quite large too, but most importantly the two main ingredients - leaves and cheese were very, very fresh. Couldn't and wouldn't ask for more!

My Second Course

Margherita

The first pizza came out with the center completely soft, clearly because the pizza sauce was too liquid. So I asked them to bake it slightly longer to which they agreed, but the waiter commented that this was how pizza napoletana is meant to be.... FYI no pizzas should ever be soggy.... yes they may be soft (as in the case of Neapolitan-type bases) or crunchy/crispy, but soggy? In the end they were unable to re-fire the first uneaten pizza and made a new one for me in the end. The second one was still quite soggy in the center, but slightly better and acceptable. They could use more torn basil for flavour, but otherwise a very ordinary and unimpressive margherita. 

M's Second Course

Spaghetti with parma ham and bell peppers

Quite a small portion, and sauce was acceptable, thanks to the parma ham and adequate salt. Spaghetti was cooked al dente so it had a nice bite. 

B's Second Course

Penne with Eggplant 

This vegetarian pasta was definitely one of the blandest pastas I've tasted. The sauce was predominantly tasteless, and the oiliness of the sauce didn't help either. Eggplants, parmesan and basil did not impart adequate (if any) flavour....and the penne was a bit too chewy for me, could probably have used another minute or two in the hot water. 

Third Course

A scoop of gelato of your choice

We picked saffron (right), green apple (bottom), raspberry (left). 

The saffron was quite milky and although the saffron was not particularly strong it was quite enjoyable. 

The raspberry was tart and had bits of rasperry pulp for texture which I didn't mind, but for the masses I think straining the mixture prior to churning would've been better. 

The green apple sorbetto was my least favourite - despite the bits of green apple the icy sorbetto itself tasted a little artificial for me...

coffee....

or tea??

Despite the mediocre food, reservations are a must. This place was fully packed by 1pm, and was told they had a long wait-list for dinner time. 

Food: ♥♥

Service: ♥♥♥

Price: $$$

208 Duecento Otto

208 Hollywood Road,

Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2549 0208

Café Causette

Date: 18th Sep 2010

Cafe Causette @ Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong 

Cafe Causette has been on my wish-list for some time. I've been wanting to visit for their a la carte menu (only been here for tea), and to my luck my mother was in Central for lunch. 

Upon ordering, a fresh and very warm sour dough was promptly served, and I loved it. Crusty and crunchy exterior, hot and extremely soft inside....lovely! 

Cafe Causette has a pretty extensive international menu, with so many things I wanted to try.... Finally, the three of us decided on the following. 

Hainan Chicken Rice (breast or thigh available) $208

Chicken breast sitting on pak choy, chicken flavoured rice, chicken soup, condiments

The chicken here was quite disappointing for the three of us. Surprisingly, the chicken did retain the natural taste of chicken, but the breast meat was unbelievably tough, incomparable to what I tasted in Singapore. Perhaps chicken thigh would be a better choice? 

The rice was not oily but was flavourful, which I appreciated, and the soup was mild and had quite a bit of chicken essence - yummy =) 

Phad Thai ($188)

Rice noodles, prawns, tofu

Phad Thai here was quite moist and not oily, i.e. more liquid was used to fry this noodle dish. The prawns were huge and juicy, and the rectangular pieces of tofu and strings of egg and spring onions made for a colourful dish. G and my ma thought this was too 'wet', but I personally like fried noodles with a bit of gravy, so this was good. Most importantly, the seasoning was balanced - savoury, and only the slightest hint of sugar. 

Barbeque Spiced Cod ($188)

Pearl barley risotto, maple cucumber dressing

The natural flavour of cod is unbeatable in this dish. This is one of the few cod dishes I've had where the seasoning of the fish (in this case a mixture of spices) did not mask the natural flavours of the cod. It was done so that the brown top had a crisp texture, whilst the middle was cooked perfectly - flaked well and was smooth.... yumm! The cod sat on top of a barley risotto which had barley substituting arborio rice, and an abundance of pine nuts for a variation of texture. Again it was seasoned very well, and I can't find any faults for this dish. 

Save for the dry chicken breast, and very moist phad thai (can be good or bad depending on your taste), I had a very enjoyable lunch, and couldn't find space to order their lovely cappuccino....maybe next time! 

Cafe Causette is usually full on weekends, so for lunch you simply have to try your luck as they don't take reservations. Alternatively, there's Clipper Lounge which does allow reservations. 

Food: ♥♥♥

Service: ♥♥♥

Price: $$$

Cafe Causette

1/F, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 5 Connaught Road,

Central 

Tel: +852 2825 4005

sushi shota

Date: 22nd September

Sushi Shota @ Kyoto Plaza

My younger brother was set to leave town for some time, so I decided to treat him lunch at Sushi Shota… 

menu

we ordered the Sashimi and Sushi set ($280 + $20 for upgrade to hot udon), plus a beef teriyaki set ($90)

chawanmushi

the sashimi and sushi set came with a lot of side dishes, and this was first to arrive. the custard was pretty solid and very eggy and not much taste to it apart from 'eggs' - i.e. there wasn't enough dashi added to the mixture. there was no seafood but only a few pieces of mushroom.... definitely no where near Naozen's. 

potato salad

mashed potato salad, iceberg, cucumber, tomatoes, fish roe

T downed this one for us, as we don't like potatoes much...

udon

thick udon, hot shoyu broth

udon was too soft for me - i still prefer the thin and chewy or flat udon noodles.... 

miso soup, pickles

nothing crazy good here - miso soup was just plain with spring onions. 

sushi and sahimi platter

sushi: negitoro (fatty tuna & spring onion) maki, uni gunkan, salmon roe gunkan, snapper, steamed shrimp, tamago, salmon, yellowtail, fatty tuna

sashimi: octopus, lean tuna, sweet shrimp, salmon, clam, yellowtail, hirame (flounder), mackerel

whilst most of the sushi were fairly fresh, my favourite being the negitoro maki, the sashimi disappointed. the sashimi today were mostly the inexpensive kinds - something you would expect for their normal sashimi sets, rather than a premium set. we weren't given any toro save for the one piece on top of the sushi, and even so, the lean tuna which we were given was no longer fresh and was quite oxidised....it was actually inedible =(. Mackerel sashimi was nice though. 

appetizer

this appetizer of korean-like japchae came with the beef teriyaki set. weird pairing, but ok. 

beef teriyaki main

grilled beef, mayo, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, shredded cabbage

beef was way way way too tough, and it tasted..... a lot like a burger patty for some reason

the bowl of rice was also dishearteningly your typical long-grain rice, rather than Japanese pearl rice

after being rushed to pay, we were rushed to order our flavours for ice cream too... 

sesame

bits of ground sesame in the icecream for a bit of texture, different but strong and yummy

green tea

not as strong nor bitter as i would have liked - you can probably tell from the light green colour...but nonetheless edible

cute cup of coffee to end, served with miniature ucc creamers

Food: ♥♥1/2

Service: ♥♥

Price: $$$

Sushi Shota 

8/F Kyoto Plaza, 491-499 Lockhart Rd., Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2834 3031

Chez Shibata

Date of visit: 15th September and 1st October 2010

Chez Shibata @ Elements

Chez Shibata is a Japanese-French patisserie which has been franchised in Shanghai and in September, Hong Kong. My first visit to Chez Shibata was shortly after its opening, and tried out the first five reviewed desserts below, and on a second visit, tried the two signatures plus one croissant. My experiences with each cake varied, but nonetheless good overall.

 after I snapped these two pictures I was informed no pictures are allowed...!

"Tranche Maccha" ($40)

green tea mousse, chocolate mousse, sponge, green tea powder and crispy chocolate balls

this was naturally my first choice, since i love matcha and chocolate (both separately and together!). but i must say this was one of my least favourites from Chez Shibata, since this was poorly executed. the cake comprised of green tea mousse, chocolate mousse, and (orange?) sponge, all of which were overly 'wet' and not very pleasant in the mouth. green tea mousse could have been stronger, and so could the chocolate mousse. sponge layers were so thin and drenched you could hardly taste them. i have no idea if they are always like this, or if it was just my unlucky day, but a pastry chef should know when his batch of cakes have gone bad and therefore not allow them to be sold... 4.5/10

"Mont Blanc" ($38)
chesnut, cream, chocolate flakes, chocolate sponge
this was E's first choice, as she loves all things chesnut! as far as I remember, the top underneath the chocolate flakes were chesnut puree and beneath that layers of sweet cream and chocolate sponge. the whole dessert was not too sweet and was quite good, balanced, but again towards the bottom of the cup was wet cake... 7/10

"Macaron Emotion" ($34) 
cream, macaron, strawberries, custard, jam. 
my favourite so far, the crispy macaron shells were surprisingly not overly sweet, and the filling of fresh strawberries, custard and strawberry jam worked very well, was balanced, and very enjoyable. 9/10

"Verrine Plaisirs" ($36)

white chocolate mousse, chocolate mousse, passionfruit jelly, mango

mousses were not set properly (i.e. liquid when spooned), and I didn't really think the sour fruits went with the white and milk chocolate mousses at all... 2/10

 "Mi Cuit Fromage" ($36)

cream, berries, cheesecake

this cheesecake was a toned down version of the American cheesecake - a lot smaller and much less sweeter for the Asian palate. one thing we noticed was the lovely strong fragrance of the cheese when we opened the box, and the taste and texture definitely did not disappoint. before you reach the biscuit base there's a thin layer of berry puree as well. would definitely recommend if you like baked cheesecakes! 8.5/10

 "Éclair au caramel" ($32)

choux, caramel, salted butter cubes

upon examination, this eclair is slightly different to the standard pastrycreme filled choux pastry and a glaze. this thinner and longer version had no pastry creme, but only layers of a strong and wonderful caramel. the cubes of salted butter melted instantly in the mouth, and matched nicely with the already-perfect caramel (strong in flavour yet balanced in sweetness). my only complaint would be the texture of the choux - if it could be crisper this pastry would have been peerrrrrfecttt! 8/10

"Couer de bois" ($38)

sponge, peanuts, mousse, raspberry mousse, raspberry jam, red sugar, raspberries. 

this, being one of Shibata's signatures, as well as its perfect red heart shape prompted me to pick this. the red exterior is simply coloured sugar (very thin layer), and inside is a very light mousse-type layer, sort of like whipped mascarpone, not very strong in taste. in the middle you will find raspberry mousse and raspberry jelly, which gives the cake a tangy/sweet punch of flavour - quite refreshing indeed. lastly, at the bottom is a thin sponge as base sprinkled with some peanuts, which I disliked passionately. I believe the purpose was to add crunchiness and textural differences to the cake but the taste of peanuts really did not match the sour raspberry and light (mascarpone) mousse...! 7/10

"Raspberry almond croissant" ($20)

croissant, custard, jam, almond topping. 

definitely not something for breakfast. this pastry is sweet with its raspberry jam and custard filling,  as well as the sweet almond and butter topping. again, better if the croissant could be more crisp. 6.5/10 

on both times I had the desserts to-go, but had them around 10 minutes after being packed. there are a couple tables in-store if you wish to have them there, but this will cost you an extra $5 per piece, plus 10% service...

Food: ♥♥♥

Service: ♥♥

Price: $-$$

Chez Shibata 

Shop 2003, 2/F, Elements, 1 Austin Rd West, 

Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2196 8921