Caprice

Date: 9th Jan 2011

Caprice @ Four Seasons Hotel 

My first meal out in HK of 2011 was at Caprice, as I left right after New Years to Seoul, where it was snowing and I had a red nose everyday from the cold.... Shopping isn't so fun when its -10degrees C! For lunch on this day, we were a three-some - mum, my brother and myself. We had a good time for the most part... but I'll let you decide whether it's worthy of a re-visit for lunch... 

“Amuse bouche” – garlic herb bread sticks

I was surprised when this was our amuse. I double-checked with the waitress and indeed it was our amuse for the day... Whilst it wasn't bad, it was very average and boring....not something which I expected...

menu

"salted and unsalted butter"

once voted best condiments in HK on cnngo... this was plenty for the three of us to go with the bread basket the waiters came around with... the salted was quite yumm but I honestly don't think I am of the caliber to distinguish salted butter from Brittany and other salted French butters... 

As for the bread, I had a rye and brioche roll for a contrast. Both were good but I wish they were warm.

"Correze Chestnut Veloute"

with Duck Foie Gras and Croutons

This was mum's choice. According to her it was good.

"Alaskan King Crab, Shellfish Jelly and Mango Mousse" 

I chose this as my appetizer, and it was delicious despite the hiccup I experienced - the first one had a tiny tiny bug on a micro-green leaf, and I notified a waiter who kindly offered to exchange it for me. Ten seconds later another waiter ]in black suit] came back and said that the black thing was a seed. Trust me, it was not. I had shown it to my brother next to me prior to sending the dish back and we had both seen the bug with its antlers and all! To have a bug is one thing, to have a waiter try to defend the goodwill of the restaurant by lying denying the truth is another which I couldn't accept...

So back to the actual dish - I really liked the combination of flavours - from the light and sweet mango mousse to the fresh crab meat, and jelly which was studded with diced sweet bell peppers. If the triangle crips could've been more crispy/brittle, then for me this would've hit a 9 or 10!

"Scallops a la plancha"

with a watercress custard and green lentils

another photo because it deserves it...

this scallop dish was deceptively simple in appearance but really very tasty. the four scallops could have been juicier and fatter like the ones you often find from Japanese restaurants, but these were perfectly seared a la plancha (i.e. hot plate). the pool of sauce which the green lentils was stewed in was not very appealing in colour (greenish-brown?!) but certainly very tasty, with Indian/SE Asian spices which I definitely did not expect! The watercress custard was very green and tasted green too, could have used a bit of seasoning, but quite enjoyable with the lentil stew because of its panna cotta-like consistency... 

"Coated Veal Head"

with Pommery breadcrumbs, Vegetable Meli-Melo and Tartar Sauce

my brother wanted to be adventurous and went ahead and ordered this dish, but I had my doubts as to how they were going to make the head of a baby cow tasty...

The brown cake in the photo is a deep-fried 'cake' of shredded meat (which I assume is from the head of the animal), and the outer layer was perfectly thin and crisp, not heavy despite its appearance. I thought the cake was very well seasoned and the meat/fat inside incredibly tender, but the creamy and slightly tangy tartar sauce added another layer of flavour. My brother (who hates most vegetables save for choy-sum) happily ate all the vegetables on top too (of course, with some help from the yummy house-made tartar sauce).      

"Teriyaki Wild Pollack" 

with Creamy Basmati Rice and Shiitake Mushroom

This was mum's choice, and I had a bit of the perfectly seared pollack - not my first choice of fish because it is way too lean which means the texture isn't comparable to cod or salmon when roasted / pan-fried etc., Anyway, I felt that this dish was definitely lacking in....sodium! The name was also slightly deceiving... 'Teriyaki' denotes a sweet soy marinade-coated protein, but this had drops of the sauce on the side which for aesthetic purposes was excellent, but not such a big hit for me on flavour. 

"dessert trolley" 

"Desserts" is what i read on the menu before anything else... so I was waiting for this course with excitement. There were six selections for the day...and our selections (all) can be seen below.

"petit fours" 

marshmallow, pineapple financier, caramel candy, chocolate with cranberry filling

I liked the textures of the marshmallow but it was too sweet, and the chocolate with the tart cranberry reduction was definitely my favourite. 

my plate 

Blueberry macaron, berries tart, blueberry mille-feuille

the macaron was impeccable - it was larger than your average candy but was so yum - crisp exterior, chewy interior, had a foot and the chocolate and blueberry filling inside was a perfect balance of sweetness. 

the berries tart was fresh, and the base is buttery and shortbread-like

the mille-feulle had a crisp pastry, but i didn't really like the filling - a layer of blueberry, mascarpone cream and white chocolate - i'd be happy with a good creme patissiere and fresh berries!

brother's plate

yuzu creme with a diced mango crumble - incredibly sour but quite light and nice if you like yuzu.

Chocolate cake - had liquor and was a tad too dry, we left this. 

Coffee eclair was quite enjoyable. There was a coffee mousse on top, a layer of tempered chocolate, caramel mousse on pastry which could've been slightly less soggy if I am to be picky... 

"cappuccino"

wasn't a bad cuppa, but simply not near Mandarin Oriental's. 

Save for the 'hiccup' I experienced during the appetizer course - which I can understand because a bug in Caprice's food would be appalling news, but it did happen, and I didn't understand why they couldn't just accept that it was a bug -I was pretty satisfied with lunch here, and left feeling content (thanks to the exceptional macaron!). I would come back again I guess, just not running back...

Food: ♥♥♥-♥♥♥♥

Service: ♥♥-♥♥♥♥

Price: $$$$$

Caprice 

6/F, Four Seasons Hotel, 

8 Finance St, Central

Tel: +852 3196 8888

Café Causette II

Date of visit: 22nd December 2010

Cafe Causette @ Mandarin Oriental Hotel

I’ve posted before on my first visit. This was a second time, this time with J and P who were back for the winter holidays. Upon seating, we looked through the long international menu and each decided on the three dishes below. Meal started off with a large sour-dough which I once again forgot to snap. This time roun

Hainan Chicken Rice (Thigh) ($208)

J ordered this, and since I had it before (see link above) I didn't try any this time. 

"Roasted Portobello Mushroom" ($158)

with spinach, ricotta and rocket

whilst there was hardly if not any rocket, the other components were quite enjoyable, a healthy vegetarian dish for an appetizer or for the not-so-hungry. 

"miso cod" 

with miso soup, japanese pickles - shibazuke and cucumbers (pictured blow), broccolini, steamed rice and miso sauce on side. This was a pretty clumsy-looking plate, but the fish was so soft and succulent and tasty it didn't matter. The fish was mush more seasoned than the one I had at Naozen, so the sauce on the side was quite unnecessary but I didn't mind. As for the broccolini...it was my second time having it, and I prefer it over the boring old broccoli! 

pickles and miso soup

the miso soup was alright, although it could've been hotter, and the pickles were the packaged variety, not anything out of the ordinary. 

The food overall was good, though their 'signature' of Hainan chicken rice needs to improve....starting with the chicken. Their menu is super-long and have even introduced some family-style dishes for sharing, which I would love to try some day! So...until my next visit, this will be it =)

Food: ♥♥♥ 1/2 

Service: ♥♥♥

Price: $$$

Cafe Causette

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

Central 

Tel: +852 2825 4005

Pizza Express

Date of visit: 14th December 2010

Pizza Express @ Star St

As a last minute dinner arrangement I suggested Pizza Express at Star St which I was impressed by during the summer. It was very cool this night and we stuck to hearty food.

M, B and I shared a starter, pizza and pasta: 

"Crema di Funghi" ($54)

Creamy wild mushrooms, onion, garlic, grana padano cheese and balsamic glaze served with fresh baked bread

This thick creamy dip was very aromatic and delicious and the assorted mushroom pieces were very enjoyable, even though slightly too salty. The bread got slightly hard after it cooled down in the cold weather but that was okay. My mushroom-loving friend M mopped up this dish! 

"Parma" ($133) 

Prosciutto ham, ricotta, parmesan on a parmesan, rosemary and polenta base

I asked for the thin and crispy Roman base instead of the Neapolitan. I loved the chunks of ricotta with the salty prosciutto and was a very enjoyable pizza just as I remembered from summer. M and B also liked the pizza. 

"Pollo al Marsala" ($99) 

Penne with chicken, portabella mushrooms in a creamy marsala wine and thyme sauce,, finished with flakes of grana padano cheese

Originally we were going to order the Fusilli in mushroom sauce, but thought it was too similar to the appetizer so we opted for this new option with some protein in it. The penne was cooked perfectly al dente, and the sauce was very tasty, though I thought it could've been slightly less thick. The chicken was not the Italian marsala chicken dish, but simply breast pieces chopped up and mixed into the sauce. Not sophisticated, but sometimes simple is good!

For a no-frills pizza/pasta place, Pizza Express on Star St really delivers (I have issues with the TST and Soho branches so I can't vouch for those), and is comfort food at a high level. 

Food: ♥♥♥ 1/2 

Service: ♥♥♥

Price:$$$ ($115 pp) 

Pizza Express

Star Street Precinct, 10 Wing Fung St, 

Wanchai, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 3528 0541

Greetings 2011, and Le Salon de Thé de Robuchon

I’d like to start off my first post of 2011 by greeting everyone a happy (albeit late) new year!! May all of your resolutions come true !! =) As I will soon be very busy again, I’d like to write and post about the places I’ve been to during the winter holidays asap, so bare with the shorter individual posts!

Date of visit: 11^th December 2010

Salon de thé de Robuchon @ Landmark

For a day after my favourite activity (shopping), mum and I had dinner at Robuchon. We chose the salon de thé for a lighter meal rather than the fourth floor restaurant. We placed our orders at the café counter and took our seats overlooking the atrium of the Landmark. 

To begin with, we were given two baby brioches and a herb parmesan cheese roll. 

"Le cheese burger de Kagoshima, pommes frites" ($160)

The baby burger with the small cup of fries was certainly cute. The bun was a sesame seed brioche, and we ordered the burger to be medium-well but the beef was well overcooked and dried out....nothing like the fatty and juicy Kagoshima (Wagyu) we expected and the menu claimed to be...for all we know it could've been anything! The saving grace of the dish was the fries - they were fresh, skinny and crisp as they should be. 

"Le black cod mariné au saké et mirin, sauce au miso" ($190) 

The piece of black cod was very well glazed with the miso marinade and perfectly cooked. I prefer black cod to cod because the flesh is teeny tiny bit firmer and lingers on your tongue longer than the cod fillet which basically melts straight away. 

On the side was a tiny eggplant roll with bonito shavings on top, and a bit of sauce on the side for the fish, which was necessary because the fish itself even though coated in the brown sauce it wasn't salty enough for the insides. 

"mashed potatoes" 

The cod also came with a mini cup of mashed potatoes. This was same as the one we had upstairs, very silky smooth and rich, definitely for potato-lovers. 

Apart from the overcooked beef patties the meal was quite enjoyable, though I think I better stick to le salon for tea, pastries and sandwiches in the future.... 

Food: ♥♥♥

Service: ♥♥

Price:$$$

Le Salon de thé de Robuchon

Shop 315, The Landmark

Central, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2166 9088

Oolaa

Date of visit: 30th Oct and 22nd Dec 2010

Oolaa @ CentreStage, Soho

Back in November I visited Oolaa with M and B for tea. I remember it was a weekend, because the other patrons were diving into breakfast-y items which looked so mouth-watering I vowed to return for a proper meal.

For tea B and I only managed a cappuccino and for M, a mango crumble. The cappuccino was not bad and the biscotti on the side was a nice touch, though on a more recent experience a latte my friend ordered was very dry, throwing the froth/milk/espresso proportions out of line.

"cappuccino" ($3x)

tall fluff and cocoa powder a nice touch, but not the smoothest froth ever and the drink was pretty mediocre

"mango crumble" ($65)

mangoes, crumble topping, vanilla ice cream, fluff

The mango crumble was quite average, the crumble mixture could've been better - more sweet and buttery and crunchy. The portion was quite small for its price too - my initial thought when it arrived was 'that's it?!'. The ice cream was very average, tasted like... Dreyers.

Anyway, fast forward to a couple months later, I was here for dinner with several friends for an early dinner. We started off with an appetizer of pork belly lollipops.

"Pork Belly Lollipops" ($95)

If the name didn’t sound intriguing enough, allow me to describe how tasty it was. Layers of crispy skin, fat, lean meat, fat then lean mean again, all slathered with a sweet dark glaze which was made of I think primarily hoisin sauce, soy and sugar. The only slight problem was that I thought the lean meat was a little too chewy, not fork tender as I hoped….

A salad was served up next.

 "Pumpkin, Asparagus & Couscous Salad" ($110)

with green pea, chick pea, coriander and a mint yogurt (far back in the pic) 

This dish was very light, and the couscous was perfectly cooked, and seasoned quite well. I also liked the small bits of pumpkin and bell peppers mixed throughout. 

"Lemongrass and Chilli King Prawns" ($195)

with Singapore noodles, sesame honey glazed pak choy. 

There were three prawns slit and grilled, but they lacked in flavour, and was a tad overcooked. The noodles was where all the spice went and after a couple fork fulls there was just too much chilli for A. I agree they could have been more light-handed with the chilli but what disappointed was the lack of other flavours in the noodles apart from spice and pepper, and the overcooked prawns. 

 "Glazed Soy Salmon" ($165) 

with cauliflower mash, grilled vine tomatoes and broccolini. 

The salmon was the star - still pink on the inside and melt-in-your-mouth tender. The glaze was on the sweeter side, but nonetheless good. The cauliflower mash was pretty good too, and a lighter alternative to the commonly served potato mash. 

"Smoores" ($80)

S'mores is an American sweet snack, usually where there is BBQ / camp fires, where a toasted marshmallow gets sandwiched between chocolate and graham crackers. This divine treat was deconstructed a little at Oolaa - so they had a home-made gingery cookie, with house-made marshmallow that was torched, and a chocolate sauce for dipping. However, for the price, what was served was hardly worthy in my opinion...

All in all, pretty good food and very interesting menu. If you forget the outside trash collection site, inside the restaurant will definitely suit most occasions. If you want something casual, there's the cafe on one side. If you're a smoker, there's a terrace for outdoor dining. Otherwise, pick the amber fine dining section with big and small tables, like what we did! 

Food: ♥♥♥-♥♥♥♥

Service: ♥♥♥ 

Price:$$$ 

Oolaa

G/F, Bridges St, CentreStage,

Soho,

Central, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2803 2083

Veggie SF II

Date of visit: 10th December

Veggie SF @ Stanley St

So K and I were back, only this time for lunch. The menu selections only involve sets A-F, with your choice of a drink and soup of the day. Sufficient but not exhilarating. To begin with, we were served our choice of beverage (my cappuccino was surprisingly very enjoyable) and a soup of the day - 'spinach spirulina soup' which was the same kind as my last visit, but tasted significantly different. The soup tasted very much of potato rather than spinach and spirulina like last time, and was only at lukewarm temperature.... if you like potatoes, you will probably enjoy this if it were hot. 

"I Am Fabulous" ($98) 

Beetroot pate topped with cheese, alfafa sprouts, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. Side of salad and pumpkin and potato wedges

Since the burger we tried last time was so epic, we both wanted to order it but thought may be should give the lasagna that was sold out last time a go. 

This burger wasn't as great as I remembered. Firstly, the bun was not the shiny brown soft bun we had last time. The filling of beetroot was fortunately, just as good. However, the pumpkin was not sweet this time round, and was too buttery.

 The burger inside

"Union Square" ($98)

Sheets of pasta with assorted vegetables, a layer of melted cheese on top and a dollop their home-made pesto.

This veggie lasagna was not as good as it looked. For me, the pasta sheets were way too over-cooked, the vegetables were over-cooked so they had no more texture, and I really didn't appreciate the addition of potatoes in this lasagna. Starch on starch...not good!! The pasta sauce could've been more heartier and richer rather than so liquidy, and the pesto was slightly too strong....not impressive.

Whilst I liked the Burger and cappuccino, I was disappointed with the lasagna which is usually very delicious if done right, and is not too hard either... Maybe dinner will have better execution overall for their items because of the massive rush during lunch hours? 

Anyway, thank you K for lunch! 

Food: ♥♥- ♥♥♥ 

Service: ♥♥♥ 

Price:$$$

Veggie SF

10/F, Stanley 11, 

No. 11 Stanley St, Central, Hong Kong 

Tel: +852 3902 3902

Tokoro

Date of visit: 22^nd November 2010

Tokoro @ Langham Hotel

For lunch my ma and I went to Tokoro for lunch. I quite like the atmosphere of the left side, with seats by huge windows, and a bar in the middle of the room lined full of different sakes. There was quite a selection of lunch sets on the menu, in addition to their lengthy a la carte items (you can see all this info on their website).

For all lunch sets, a starter of salad and a tiny dish (mushrooms and burdock) was first to arrive. 

"Sashimi rice"

I'm actually struggling to remember what there was. But I remembered the lean tuna, hamachi and sweet shrimp distinctively as they were quite fresh. The ones on the left, which I should have asked about, weren't particularly great. They were a little too rubbery and quite tasteless. 

"pearl rice"

very well cooked, yum!

"miso soup"

"sukiyaki"

sliced beef, poached egg, assorted mushrooms, spinach, konnyaku

the broth was very sweet and salty, very good with the rice, but too strong to drink by itself. the beef was overcooked for me, would have been nice if they had let us cook the beef ourselves, but it was already made when served. the egg was also fully cooked, with the yolk fully set, definitely not what I had hoped, so mum had this one. 

dessert was tiny, we would've rather had a fruit or something. this thumb-sized cake-like dessert was dressed with a little honey, I think it was made of some kind of bean - sort of like the green bean paste (yellow in colour) you get in Chinese glutinous rice dumplings. 

Overall, there was aspects that could've been improved easily. Portions were very generous, and I would've rather seen less fish on sashimi selection, and perhaps some scallops. The beef could've been more tender by cooking it for a lesser amount of time. Nonetheless, fine for a weekday lunch. 

Food:  ♥♥1/2

Service: ♥♥♥

Price: $$$

Tokoro 

L3, Langham Place Hotel,

555 Shanghai St,

Mongkok, Kowloon,

Hong Kong