Spring Symphony Afternoon tea set in Sheung Wan

DK has drawn on its bold imagination in composing a Spring Symphony Afternoon Tea($298/ppl). The boldly coloured floral decorations, grassy carpet, and as well as the sweet floral fragrance around us has brought a sense of liveliness to the warmly lit room. 

To get our palate ready for the floral tea set, DK serves us with a glass of Rose Garden soda blanketed with a bunch of colourful edible flowers that leaves us freshened up.  

This set comes with a wide selection of delicious savoury dishes as well as stunning desserts. Korean Floral Lavender cupcake was too exquisitely crafted to eat! Can you imagine how much time and effort to it takes to construct every pedal and leaf from stretch? A big plus goes to the flavour of the cream, with a hint of lavender.

 Yuzu cake also swept us off our feet, with its refreshing fruity aftertaste. (Waffle flower on top looks much greater than it tastes though.)

Elegantly presented a flower pot of delectable favourites and a pair of crispy salmon puff pastry, we were impressed. Filled with Parma ham, wasabi scallop, shrimp salad and tuna salad), the cones had something unique- in curry and tomato flavour! what makes us come back again and again is DK’s attention to details. 

Having promised to deliver high quality dessert, DK Cuppa has also paid attention to the single detail of each ingredients. Ice-cream was made with 3.6 hokkaido milk, blended with fresh purple sweet potato cube which allows its pure taste to shine through, without its powdery carb texture.

Valentines Day is right around the corner! Highly recommend to bring your loved ones to this eatery which offers more than just a tea set: Workshop making preserved flower gift box DIY kit , ranging from $399-799 accompanied with a bottle of “Fascination Blend” essential oil

OR or a mystic blue eye necklace and perfume workshop. This charm symbolises  guardian from jealousy in the pursuit of boundless Fascination. ( you may enjoy it priced at $380/person now)

Let’s embrace the first season of the year at DK Cuppa!

*Available from Feb11 until Apr 30

Address of DK Cuppa:

19 New Market St, Sheung Wan

Soho Spice- Impressive mains in Thai stye that I can still recall after half a year

If you are looking for something other than the typical steak and ribs, then suggested is a trip up to soho street- Soho spice, an elegant and modern place that never ceased to amaze us with its passion making fine Thai and Vietnamese cuisine!

Starter

we started with Fried calamari $102), Calamari itself is soft and tender, with a crispy crunch on top, perfectly battered. Spice lime dipping sauce and black pepper with a hint of spiciness and heat.

Awakening our taste bud, the Classic grilled Thai beef salad ($88) was wonderful, with crunchy toppings making every bite refreshing. The beef accented by the sweet dressing, against the coolness of mints and lettuce, was enticing! 

The whole dinning experience simply kept on a high note, especially when the prawn rice paper roll with mango and cucumber ($92) gave us a perfectly awakening crunch, dipped in a house made mandarin dipping sauce in the right level of tropical freshness to our night. 

An impressive mains that I can recall even after half a year. With top marks going to the Vegetable dumplings with eggplant, chilly, coconut curry and coriander ($118). Dumpling was well executed, with perfectly marinated veggies inside. The whole smoked eggplant at the botton is charcoal grilled - providing a  mind-numbing kick to our tastebud, while allowing for its pure taste to glimmer even brighter than the main of the dish. Yum!

Lamb rack marinated in red curry paste with green coconut curry ($172) was fresh and tender, with its pleasantly unique flavour standing out from this rich and flavourful curry, which is not exactly the real spicy deal of sauce. If you are not hardcore fans of hot and spicy food, you might love it! A good match with its house wine- Weichbridce Shiraz 2012.

Dessert

Instead of the very common mango with purple sticky rice and coconut milk ($62), Soho Spice offered something more soothing. Baked Pumpkin pudding with hot cinnamon lychee sauce  ($52) that provided a sweet and soothing end to our meal.

Service

Attentive service with friendly staff recommending great food to us, according to our favourites and group size. 

Environment: Dim lighting and comfortable seating that makes the night chill and relaxed but you might take the pressure to skim through the overwhelming menu. Big plus to us: dish are tend to be on the large side; it’s a perfect place to share food!

Address of Soho Spice:

47 Elgin St

The coldest Hong Kong in 6 decades- Why not hotpot?

The coldest Hong Kong in 6 decades-what’s better than having hotpot to kick away this sickly fretting 3-degree week? Suggested was a steaming warm hotpot place where you can eat fresh, in a local way, with reasonable prices.It took us some time to find out the store among these small streets, (in the middle point among Jordan, Yau Ma Tei and Austin station) ; but luckily there are many direction single on our way there.


We have devoured freshly caught sashimi, marbled beef, handmade cuttlefish balls and a good selection of seasonal seafood that we can cook in its signature pot of bubbling broth piled high with clams, pig stomach and pepper胡椒豬肚花蛤湯.


If you are searching for a lighter broth, soup base made from stewed beef is good enough.

Hand cut beef and marbled beef

Hand made fish ball and cuttle fish ball ( made that with a spoon yourself)


Feel free to ask for a recommendation of seafood from the staff as they have seasonal seafood and sashimi freshly kept at the huge fish tank right outside their restaurant; but be ware that price is also seasonal- you’d better confirm the price before any ordering.


Sashimi sea bass




Worth noted is its freshly deep fried tofu skin roll #響玲( middle right) which you can eat that with salad dressing or get smothered into the soup based for only 5 sec which has soaked up all the goodness from the pot.


Do not expect modern and fancy decor; it’s a typical local eatery  with fluorescent light, big Chinese round tables and floor with white tile. 新皇牛海鮮火鍋 has put all his effort to please the patron’s stomach instead. If you have a bunch of people and need a bit more privacy, book a separated rooms there.
Remember to book in advance, to secure a private room, or a perfect spot where u can watch TV! Keep warm guys!

Resto jam at Tai Hang for its famous Duck & waffles

This tiny cafe oozed cool with modern dolomite tables and mini hexagonal tiles adorning the walls. During weekend, there’s a typical restaurant jam at Tai Hang for its famous Duck and waffles. 

Go for it! Both the duck confit ( with a sunny side up) and waffles with honey are above par! Inspired by British Duck and waffles, duck confit was cooked perfectly, with succulent meat and crispy skin. Waffles gives us a crispy crunch and moist inside. An interesting combination within a dish, which comes in a variety of sweetness and savour.  

The only nitpicking comment would be the ridiculously small portion of salad. Even though i was a carnivore I would love to have more greens in this case ( especially when it was drizzled with the above par balsamic vinegar!) I want more!

Venturing off the traditional British path for fish and chips, the pudding nouveau offered 2 choices of Mayonnaise- original and truffle which was a good fit as French fries dip but smothering the delicate seafood flavour. Fresh Lemon juice and original dressing would be more than enough. 

Although the Green tea milkshake didn't look as wow as those we had at Japanese Macha specialty store in Hong Kong, it tastes better than we expect! It comes with a scoop of green tea icecream, having a mild astringent flavour of macha; not the sickly sweet one. What a soothing drinks to start the week!

Verdict: Good food yet it’s quite packed inside while a bunch of hungry pageants assembling outside the store, staring at our food through the French window. I wish The Pudding Neuveau offered more privacy and personal space at this corner of TaiHang. 

Address: 17 King Street, tai Hang Road, HK 

A triathlons of ribs, steak and seafood

If you haven’t gorged yourself with truckloads of seafood, ribs and steak , then suggested is a trip up the Wan Chai Sun street. Locate  a mix of relaxed bar and dining area, attached to an open flame kitchen, what a fun night to spend with your friends!
With plentiful choices in king size, it’s perfect place to dine with many, and over plenty. 

Seafood-starter
We've heard of its signature cajun-spiced seafood boil, the most time-honoured tradition of New Orleans but still, all we tasted were intriguing. This bucket (4-8 servings, priced at $980) teemed with alaskan king crab legs, luscious shells, tiger prawns, king crab legs, mussels, andouille sausage and sweet corn in a moreish lemon cajun butter sauce! Yum! Que approbeche!

Soup New England Clam Chowder is a surprise, filling the bowl with clams, huge cheer clams, and bite size potato! It reminds me the quality of  soup i had at Amigo, one of the best french fine dining restaurant in Hong Kong ( yea you got it?)  Garden salad with dressing is another wise option if you are looking for something more refreshing and light to start with. 

Mains
Oddly enough, one of the recommended mains was not an usual deep fried- swamp Gator Nugget which tastes and feel like chicken meat with a very subtle yet pleasantly unique flavour of its own. We all favoured the house made sauce to dress up- 1) BBQ sauce, that surprisingly filled with smoked flavour yet you can feel its lightness thanks to the addition of alcohol- bourbon; 2) salsa with sour cream and butter milk, and 3) chilly sauce that won’t get your tongue numbed. 

Having been a devour meat lover for years, our table has opted for Iberia Pork ribs with homemade BBQ sauce and Galician 21 days aged strip loin. Spanish Iberica pork ribs are so meaty, unlike the usual one we have, that simply fits in its name Poor boys , which the original idea is to serve BIG! 

Galician strip loin was a memorable selection for meat lovers/ carnivore in Hong Kong as it has a different texture and flavour, compared to the buttery angus beef. It’s leaner, but stronger flavour, and a reddish meat which simply lift up the standard for any steak house in Hong Kong. 

All the garnish and grilled veggies aside are a welcome sight, as was the evil truffle duck fat fries which which was an ideal accompaniment to the flavour of the meat. So far it’s one of the restaurants that you can come in mind to when you think of a triathlons of ribs, steak and seafood!

Dessert
We are reluctant to leave when we catch sight of the Apple Crumble on the menu. Ice-cream was served on a piping hot pan with the sizzling apply crumbles and able syrups which leaves you both satisfied textures and excitement to your tastebuds, which is how yo’d hope to end the meal.