Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Yum Cha- A modern twist of Chinese traditional dim sum

As what it’s name aptly, Yum Cha has underscored the accent of our tradition, yet a modern twist that everyone loves.
Instead of the usual Chinese round table, scarlet carpet and the two elephantine golden dragon and phenix sculptures, Central branch is exceptionally spacious, industrially ornamented with pendant light, red brick wall , and even a truck at the reception area!

With bar table attached to an open kitchen, you can ick these seats if you wish to take a glimpse of how chef handcraft those tiny bird pineapple puff and custard buns.

Cold appetiser 
That brilliant green colour announces to our table that it’s chock full of vitamins and refreshing crunchiness. Shrimp roll ($59) and baby pickled cucumber ($49) was certainly a perfect start for the meal. 


With a pair of stupid cute eyes, this pillowy soft custard bun was our instant favourite. The hot lava custard with a hint of salted egg yolk is spilling out unpredictably and you just can’t stop poking it before you devour the whole thing!

All other bite size dim sums are so delicate and colourful that you are staying in a fantasy world. ( All the colourings are extracted from usual ingredients that we are all familiar with, such as beetroot and spinach). One of the best examples would be the prawn dumpling. 

Crispy pineapple puff are delicately made into this adorable shape and caged in a typical 80s bird cage which many just took it with them for morning tea. What always amaze me at Yum Cha is the "we eat what we are" attitude, with the appreciation and recall of our own Chinese cultural identity through culinary.


Mains
Fried wild red rice with salt fish and chicken. We were all caught sight of this from the menu- rice dyed in red, thanks to the accompaniment of beetroot. Many said a dish of perfect fried rice should fulfill 2 basic criteria: every rice should be separated while each of them is soft and chewy; you won’t feel it's sopped up all the oil. Fortunately, Yum Cha has successfully served up to this standard. 

Even for carnivore, sometimes we need something healthy to balance out our non-stop-eating habit: fried organic kale with garlic. As the no.1 superfood, the benefits of kale goes beyond giving a truckload of vibre and minerals; but many more. ( Google it if you are interested) 

To wrap up our meal with the last main, we have opted for a deep fried whole fish. We all deemed it as a typical Chinese dish until we had a taste of the champaign sauce, a wise substitute of the usual sweet and source sauce. An addition of pomegranate has brightened up the dish, in both of its flavour and presentation. 

Desert
Do you want to build a snowman? (Frozen mode is on)
As a winter special, this cute little thing comprised a head with purple sweet potato filling and a pillowy body in sweet sago pearls.
Sweet rose sponge cake (5 psd in $39) exudes a pleasantly mild floral flavour and aroma which might be how you wish the meal ends. 



Monday, December 28, 2015

A highly anticipated budget Xmas meal that turns south

If you are looking for a budget Xmas and new year meal with standard food quality, eating out at Espuma is one of the cost effective yet ideal ways to spend your holiday!

To kick off this joyfully festive afternoon, we were dished up with a colourfully presented Turkey Mixed Green Salad

and Foie Gras in Red Wine Sauce (with an extra $120) which has a messy plating; our table just joked that the foie gras was bleeding, thanks to to the bloody red vinegar sauce that micic the blood for a Halloween meal.

Seafood Bisque and Truffle Mushroom Soup is above average, with all the seafood essence/ chopped mushroom overwhelming our palate. 



For mains, Grilled Australian Lamb Rac with Potato and Roasted Australian Dry Aged Sirloin with Fried Potato are appealing but you can skim over Roasted Salmon Fillet in a not-so-memorable Caviar Cream Sauce. 




What we are able to bring in mind among the whole meal is the dessert. We love the Christmas waffles in sweet potato and green tea fondue accompanied with marshmallow, fruits and sweet dumplings that you can dip with.  



In terms of presentation, girls should not miss the pancake tower of sweet potato and green tea flavour served with a scoop of resberry ice-cream and honey, simply fits into our Xmas crave!


When it comes to Churros, I admit that I am a nitpicking type of foodie after I have visited Spain this March. Churros at Espuma has failed to keep both authenticity and innovation while swapping the crunch outside & the chewy centre to hard and cold ones. 


Verdict: This 4-course menu has been stuck at an ordinary food norm among restaurants- average food without out much surprise. Priced reasonably though. Should I come back? Thanks but no thanks.

Address of Espuma :2/F, H8, 8 Hau Fook Street, Tsim Sha Tsui

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

European Journey of discovery- Fill your palate with freshness

Urban Park

A mix of European, with its fresh flavours and relaxing dining, is one of my favourite cuisines. The attention to details and its fresh ingredients just keep us coming back for more.The restaurant was sectioned into bar and dining area while attached with a balcony where you can take a glimpse of the vibrant Granville road without skyscrappers blocking your view. 





Starter
As our first starter is served, Avocado crab roll ($129) with cream cheese and guacamole aioli, the big fan of good food just can’t stop taking photos! Filling our mouths with comfort, the avocado is silky smooth and mushy whilst the briny crab meat in the middle of this avocado blanket gave us a gently savoury wake up call. 







Next came the Prawns & Scallop ceviche in shell($129). Filling it with tacos always create chaos, with all the food falling apart; luckily nothing’s happened at all. Again, freshness rules.

Before we move on to mains, we opted for seafood cioppino ($129). Considered an Italian-american dish, this fish stew is full of scallop, black mussel, crab meat and shrimp! Don’t forget the garlic toast for sopping up the tastylicious broth!


Mains
With the surf and turn meal, Urvan park has featured one of the best freshly caught sea basses ($329) that we stood in awe of its juiciness and size ! Well baked with minimal seasoning -some salt and fresh lemon. Complemented with seasonal veggies it's served with a refreshing tomato basil garlic sauce.  We've lapped up every last morsel! Make sure you don't  tear the paper bag too widely open for fear that the fish stock will spill out. 

When this 48hrs whole bone-in beef ribs($489) came served on our table, it has simply created the wow factor based on its size. Underscoring just how chef mastering the concept of slow cooking and beyond, the fall-off-the-bone ribs are tender and figerlicking good! Certainly well differentiate itself from many other competitors in the buzzing Central!

Dessert
Rasoberry opera($79)  was a droll worthy dessert, with layers of chocolate and raspberry goodness in between, complemented with fresh berries.


Lemon meringue is an instant favourite. Its perfect sourness has wowed our taste buds and made a satisfied end to the meal.

Monday, December 21, 2015

Devine japanese cusine: Fuku By Nishimura 馥

In keeping with a sense of tradition,and yearning to define Japanese fine-dining experience afresh, Fuku has appeared to cater to these more delicate tastes. The extensive menu includes sushi, sashimi, hot dishes, rice pot (Kamameshi) and fruits & desserts. (They got a retail store selling those seasonal fruits and drinks right next to the restaurant, in reasonable price with such high quality items, imported from japan)

Starter
To start with, we had an appetiser of Matsba crab meat ($160) which was presented on its own shell with a hint of refreshing sourness, from Tosa Vinegar kelly, green apple cubes and Yuzu Citrus. Served chilled, the popping Caviar on top for crunchy contrast was devine. 



It’s then followed by an amazing appetiser with generous chunks of urchin blanketing the freshly made tofu skin($160) with a silky smooth texture which melted in your mouth. The freshly ground wasabi simply dug up all the freshness from the urchin whilst not overpowering the delicate taste of tofu skin.


Main
A hearty main course of Japanese Kuroge Wagyu Beef ($488) that came with grilled Tofu, Japanese Leek in Sukiyaki Style teriyaki sauce, accompanied with a hot spring egg that you can dip with. 

Beef was perfectly grilled, to a perfect pink, with the right proportion of meat and fat. Teriyaki sauce is mild, adding complexity to the flavour. 



Gilled Cod Fish with Saikyo Miso Sauce ($268)
Excellent work done in making the miso sauce that matched the fish exceptionally well while letting the mains to shine through. While constructing a picture of spring, the colourful edible flowers simply brightened up the dish.

-Teppnyaki Fresh Foie Gras in green tea sauce! ($298)
And you might just wonder how a japanese restaurant interpret and execute a dish related to foie gras which was usually served with fruit sauce (a tad sour and refreshing). Yet, FUKU chef has pushed the boundaries while remaining anchored in Japanese tradition-picking green tea sauce instead that counter balanced the flavour and oiliness of Foie Gras.

-Sushi ($598)
We had a sushi platter where it fits all our request: Japanese Wagyu beef, Kumuma Pawn, urchin, salmon roe, strip jack, FounderEngawa, eel, medium fatty tuna, alfonsino, ark shell, chopped fatty tuna,fatty tuna
The ingredients speaks for themselves. Sashimi is a must order at FUKU as most of the fish they offered are not common at most Hong Kong’s sushi place. Seldom can we find such good quality and huge variety here. 


Dessert
Dessert has put the meal to a marvellous end, with assorted seasonal Japanese fruits  fruits: Shizuoka Musk melon, Fukuoka Amaoh Strawberry, pear, pomegranate ($268).  Melon is impressively ripe, and the best I had so far! 

We also opted for Sherbet ($48 each) in white wine, kyoho Grapes, mango, Hyuganatu Citrus Peach and last but not least, the japanese traditional sugar treat.

Service:  welcoming; cup of tea is always filled and served hot. And you can tell the staff has communicated well with the chef, introducing the dish in detail, from whether the crab is a male or a female to showing steps of eating sashimi according to their flavours. 

Vibe: It’s an ordinary Japanese restaurant setting, with simple decorations and warm lighting. Areas are sectioned flexibly; so you can book a table for private dinner/ or a party there too! 

Address: 3/F, Hutchison House, 10 Harcourt Road, Central 

Monday, December 14, 2015

Urban Park: the attitude of life

Lie on grass and dine al fresco with friends in the autumn air is the attitude of life!
Urban Park is now spreading its picnic blanket and above-average pre-made baskets at the balcony outside its bar and restro. ($500 for 2/ $800 for 4) Thanks god it’s no longer a nightmare carrying a heavy picnic basket while searching for picnic spots.



Both the bite size savouries and sweet are above average. For savoury part, My favourites include foie gras with mango chutney and ginger bread crumbles,which has a very rich texture that blends in so well with each other.


Tomato shrimp salad is certainly another winner to challenge your tastebud. Shrimp was fresh; jelly has mild tomato broth flavour yet with a hint of unexpected spicy afteraste! While for the mini burgers, it's perfectly cooked with a perfect pink in the middle and a hint of smoke. I didn't expect such a high quality of food that Urban park can offer for a picnic tea set.


Urban Park does look into details, from the table cloth they pick to the size of the food, which sounds trivial yet very important during picnic- what if the food makes your finger sticky and wet. Even for sandwich or pie and salmon cake, all the cream, salmon and pastry base are all in one bite. 

For sweet items, there are different macarons and cakes, which are miles away from those sickly sweet ones.


Drinks includes sparkling and prosecco; and if you want to switch the mood, go grab a drink at the open bar that sectioned the indoor and outdoor area.


Vibe:
it's chill and relaxing; without skyscrapers blocking the view at the balcony.
You can simply enjoy the whole view of the vibrant Granville Road by leaning forward the bench. Best of all, it's artificial grass which is FREE of BUGs. Ladies' screaming and unexpected thrill might be avoided hopefully haha!


Urban Park’s address: 4/F, 20-22 Granville Road, Tsim Sha Tsui