Food Journey #28 - One Night in Happy Valley

Ever since my mother has relocated to Happy Valley, I have done my part to regularly visit many different restaurants in the neighbourhood to find interesting restaurants or venues for Geoff's Twitchen. Curiously asked my colleagues at work in which whether there are any interesting venues in Happy Valley which does a good curry as I was craving for curry throughout the morning & afternoon. Colleague responded that The Chapel Bar located Yik Yum Street apparently does the "Best Curry in Hong Kong" and is a must try. With such response, I visited The Chapel Bar to check out -- noted in inverted commans "best curry in Hong Kong" and my lord, I have never had anything as bad as this. No disrespect to my colleague or anything, but it was just purely utter sh*t!

Recommended Dishes

There were simply no recommended dishes from we ordered on the evening therefore enough said!

NOT Recommended Dishes

The food was so bad which I do not even know where to start. We ordered a traditional Chicken Tikka, Lamb Vindaloo (with 5 chilli signs on the menu), 1 portion of Garlic Naan Bread, 1 portion of Balsmati Rice & 1 bottle of Singha Beer. We waited for the take-away for around 15 - 20 mins which I was fairly impatient about and when it arrived, I thought - "this better be good". Opened up the boxes when arrived at flat, see below photos and all it is is just a big aluminium tin with lots of curry sauce and a few cutlets of lamb & chicken.

What was Wrong?
*
Everything was wrong about the curry! It tasted sour and far too much tomatoes were used in the cooking process. The curry sauce was far too "watery"!

*Portions were far too small for the price of $80 per portion
*
Both Chicken & Lamb was a disaster, both had no taste & was flavourless. I wonder where did The Chapel sourced such rubbish products.
*
Never knew that the Balsmati Rice was that expensive at $28 per bowl which was so small that I probably needed an extra 3 bowls for my usual meals
*
Garlic Naan Bread tasted more like a regular Naan Bread. It was only when I diced up so garlic from the kitchen made it tasted more like a Garlic Naan Bread
*
The good old Vindaloo gave me a a runny stomach all night and I dont want to go into much details on the aftermath

To sum up, the whole meal was so so bad that even at such small portion sizes, I could not finish the meal. I dont think I have ever had bad experiences with every single dish which I ordered and the Chapel Bar must be the first to achieve such standings. I have had much better experiences with Indian food in Hong Kong at venues such as Gunga Dins, Bombay Dreams, Gaylord, Curry Houses in Chung King Mansion and to have recieved such "best curry in Hong Kong" comment from a colleague of mine is a fellow foodie who recommended this visit was an embarrasement.

The Chapel Bar in Happy Valley may be a good chilled out place to have a few beers, I vow never to return there again for food

Address: 27 Yik Yum Street, Happy Valley, Hong Kong (跑馬地奕蔭街27號地下)
Tel: 2834-6565

Food Quality (5* the highest): 0*

Price for Dinner (5$ = very expensive): **

Wasakuraya 和櫻屋

No disrespect to The Chapel Bar, the meal above wasn't enough for me so I wandered out with my partner for some dessert to fill us up whereby we got attracted by the bright lights at Wasakuraya (http://www.wasakuraya.com.hk/index.html) , a small Japanese dessert house which serves up traditional Japanese style puddings. Just like my previous journey to Tai Hang area in earlier posts on Geoff's Twitchen, my evening was rescued by this visit to Wasakuraya.

Had a good chat with the staff and found out that all of the ingredients are all freshly imported from Japan such as eggs & milk from Hokkaido to ensure the best quality puddings are produced.

Highly Recommended Puddings:

*Sesame Flavoured Custard Pudding -- Not too sweet and very strongly sesame flavoured!

*Green Tea Flavoured Custard Pudding -- This was my personal favourite and for me, this is a better & slightly healthier substitute to a green-tea flavoured ice-cream. The green tea flavours was so pungent and the custard was smooth as silk. PERFECT!

*Classic flavoured Custard Pudding with Chestnut syrup -- This was my partner's favourite and her comment was similar to mine above. The custard pudding was smooth & creamy.

After finishing the Greentea flavoured custard pudding by myself, I also tried out my other 2 highly recommended custard puddings. My firm conclusion is that the usage of the eggs & milk from Hokkaido makes a huge difference in the taste. Such a simple dessert but yet with such intense flavours, this has become one of my recent favourite dessert places around the neighbourhood and I shall return very shortly.

Point to Note:: Hokkaido has become almost synonymous and is ranked the #1 region in Japan with gourmet food given the rich variety of dairy products and fresh seafood to be found on the island located in Japan's northern most regions. High quality & production of dairy products such as butter, cheese, ice-cream, yoghurt whereby most of the products are now exported to many countries around the world. If you are travelling to Hokkaido, please do check out, purchase & EAT their dairy products, it is heavenly! Hokkaido is also extremely infamous for its seafood such as Matsuba crabs, Uni (Sea Urchin), Botan Shrimp etc & its glorious weather!

Address: 1, Fung Fai Terrace, Happy Valley, Hong Kong (跑馬地鳳輝臺1號地下A舖)

Tel: 2575 3328

Food Quality (5* the highest): ****

Price for Dessert (5$ = very expensive): ****

UPCOMING REVIEW -- Fancy some Spanish Tapas at TAPEO on Wyndham Street?

Happy Eating!

Geoff

Food Journey #27 -- Cafe Oasis of Clearwater Bay Country Club

An escape to the country-side on a fine Sunday in Hong Kong is always a brilliant outing. Out goes the skyscrapers, exhaust fumes and a big welcome to the countryside and the beauty of the green & blue colours of the hills, trees & the sea. ClearwaterBay Country Club has always been a hidden gem in the dining scenes of Hong Kong as 1) it is a private club 2) it s a major trek to drive all the way to the club. The Chinese Restaurant & the Cafe - Cafe Oasis are both a joy to visit and a few Sundays ago, we decided to hit the cafe once again to check out the Mid Autumn Festival Buffet which at HKD168, all you can eat, what a bargain!

Appetiser Buffet -- An abundance of choices including Fresh Mussels, Crayfish, Prawns, Crab Leg, Smoke Salmon, Variety of Salads, Italian Peppers, Fresh Pate on Toast, Meat Platter including Parma Ham, Salami, Ham which was indeed very attractive. The appetiser buffet itself had many items which I like and this itself can carry me through the whole meal without advancing to the mains. The taste was good, the seafood selection was fresh and the smoke salmon was a joy. This appetiser buffet was much better than the Antipasti Buffet which I had in my Food Journey #25a.

Downside to the buffet was that there was presence of a plate of Lo Shui (鹵水) or in real English, Marinated Tofu & Goose which was purely bizarre. Had no idea what this had to do with Mid Autumn Festival and it just some-how does not fit with other dishes on offer. Very strange!

Mains -- Wide variety of mains on show featuring the likes of Roast Beef, a Tum Yum Goong Noodle Corner, Roasted Pigeon, Tandoori Salmon, Pasta Carbonara, Soup of the Day which was Mushroom Soup, Chinese Dim Sum including the likes of Spring Rolls, Pork Dumplings, Chicken & Mushroom Pies. However, the food was very geared towards the Expat Community therefore definitely not a very traditional Mid Autumn Festival dishes on offer.

Three very important dishes which I want to point out -

Roast Pigeons are A MUST TRY - however, due to my audience being mainly Western therefore I decided not to upload such explict image of the pigeon. The pigeons are roasted as soon as you order therefore the skin & meat is very crispy & tender.

Roast Beef Corner - The carving section for the roast beef consisted of a small trolley with this fat piece of roast beef and condiments on the side. The roast beef was nicely pink in the middle meaning that the centre of the joint is warmed but not fully booked which is the real traditional roast beef. Traditionally, roast beef is best served with Mint but I like the unauthentic approach which is mustard & ketchup. Never liked Yorkshire Puddings before but at ClearwaterBay Country Club, they do a Yorkshire Pudding which is very rare in Hong Kong.

Tom Yum Goong - So far, I have talked about the good sides of the lunch and the major let down was the Tom Yum Goong and it was truly painful to eat this. Traditionally, Tom Yum is characterised by its hot & sour flavours and is quite possibly Thailand's best well known export. Your usual Tom Yum Gong will consist of Prawns, Chicken, Fish, Mixed Seafood and plentiful of Coriander as garnish. The Clearwater Bay Country Club version was simply very different to any other versions which I have ever had as 1) it didnt taste like Tom Yum Goong and tasted rather more like a Chinese Styled Noodle, 2) The spices were definitely heavily used as the taste was extremely pungent 3) Colour of the broth does not look anything like a regular Tom Yum Goong which should be yellow & red colour-ish. Very disappointed to what was a very decent brunch!

Dessert Buffet

This along with Tom Yum Goong was the major let down of the brunch experience at Clearwater Bay Country Club. Cheese cake, Tiramisu, Cone Ice-Cream, Chocolate Mousse Cake, Fresh Fruit, Minature Chicken Pies were all on offer but however, it all lacked substance & taste. Wouldnt go into too much details on the desserts as it was plain and definitely was not worth writing to home about. My strongest recommendation & hope is that ClearwaterBay Country Club will allocate resources and hire a half decent pastry chef, that can significantly improve.

Clearwater Bay Country Club is a members only club similar nature to the Hong Kong Football & Cricket Club which I have also previously visited for the Sunday Brunches. In my opinion, food quality here is better than both clubs and my overall brunch experience at ClearwaterBay Country Club has significantly improved from my previous numerous occasions eating here. Even though the so-called Mid Autumn Festival Brunch was not very authentic in anyway, the overall quality of the food has improved and there is also a much wider variety of dishes on offer which marks as an improvement.

A special point to mention is that for some very odd reason, I find that the Stellas (Stella Artois) are always much tastier in the club, could it be because I am drinking this on a Sunday morning?

UPCOMING REVIEW ON GEOFF's TWITCHENN : An Evening in Happy Valley!

Address: 139 Tai Au Mun Road, Clearwater Bay , New Territories, Hong Kong

Tel: 2335 3725

Food Quality (5* the highest): ***

Price for Dinner (5$ = very expensive): ** (Cheap Meal because you have to pay for a STEEP Monthly Membership Fee)

Happy Eating!

Geoff

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT & BREAKING NEWS

If your Birthday is this month, you are one lucky bugger just like myself. Just recieved this eDM from Awfully Chocolate, very decent chocolate cakes & ice-cream with locations in Causeway Bay & Caine Road. Please visit Awfully Chocolate on 28 October at 8pm sharp and the first 100 people will recieve a FREE CHOCOLATE CAKE. This is very exciting stuff indeed and see you all there! Happy Eating! Geoff View Larger Map

Food Journey #11 -- Pastries & Desserts in Taipei

Pastries & Desserts give you a sense of guilt in Taipei, why, because they are so damn attractive & the pungent smell is truly unstoppable. Just look at all the photos below, pastries that are rich in colour, sugar and there are also some unusual pastries that I came across on this trip. Must try in Taipei: Mochi (糯米磁) -- any kind of flavour, chocolate, vanilla, green tea, milk team, strawberry, you name it, they have it in Taipei. Definitely much better than the Mochi shops in Hong Kong and it is extremely soft and pairs well with Bubble Milk Tea Pancake Wrapped with Mochi & GreenTea -- I know I have talked about this in my first posting on Taipei, but it was so good that I want to write about it again. Freshly made with pungent green tea stuffing paired with mochi. Very delicious and perfect snack during a hot day in Taipei. Sweet Pototo & Taro Flour Chunks, Taiwanese Pearl (same pearl as bubble tea) with Tofu Flower (豆腐花) with Sugar Syrup on Ice -- The day I had this was 35 degrees in Taipei and it was very refreshing indeed. The Flour Chunks tasted like eating marshmallows minus the sugar as it was simply flour. Every spoonful was full of ice, tofu flower, Taiwanese Pearl & Flour Chunks and the next second, you realise that you have consumed so much carbs that it is ridiculous. If you are weight conscious, this dessert has the word calories all over it but for me, this is purely a heart and comforting dessert for sure. Mango Flavoured Shaved Ice with Fresh Mango & Taiwanese Pearl -- Taiwan is all about shaved ice with fruits and the shop which I recommend you to visit is ICE MONSTER located in Da-An District. Tourist hotspot and a big queue when I arrived at 1400pm because they have over 50 types of fruit flavoured shaved ice which is paired with a scoop of ice-cream. Perfect dessert for Summer and the fruit itself is also extremely fresh & sweet. Have you not noticed that every drink & dessert somehow contains Taiwanese Pearl? Bakery in Market Place by Jasons -- Do pop into the supermarket (Market Place by Jasons) in the 101 building as there is a bakery which is worth a visit. Mountain & pile full of donuts, bagels, fresh bread, cupcakes, brownies, gateau, you name it and they have it all there. The smell is so strong and the colours are also extremely attractive. One unusual object which I found (see photo below) is this hot dog shaped bun which is black and smothered with green herbs on top. I found out from the bakery that it is a Black Ink (from squid) Loaf with Garlic paste, as unusual the colour is, gave it a try and it was very delicious as well. However, the appearance wasnt the most appealing therefore do check it out when go to Taipei. From above and below, you can sense how much calories are involved in eating above. It was worth the try and desserts in Taipei are a delight to have especially during summer. Let me know what you think of the desserts when you visit Taipei next time. Next post will be about Japanese Teppanyaki in Taipei! Catch you later and off to the gym for sure! Geoff

Food Journey #3 -- 糖仁街 (China Town Dessert)

So, was cruising around Tsim Sha Tsui area yesterday after my journey to Heichinrou (聘珍樓) and my god, walking around in Hong Kong in 34 degree heat is not exactly the best activity in this part of the world, believe my word! The amount of body fluid that was lost during the walk from Canton Road to Tsim Sha Tsui East area was a major concern!

Ended up in very interesting road called Hau Fok Street (厚福街). I have previously visited this road before when 798 Unit & C0 (see link http://ow.ly/l0Dz ) first opened and know that it is definitely Tsim Sha Tsui's most undervalued area for a unique food experience.

What caught my eye was below shop, very colourful with EXTREMELY COLD air conditioning therefore I decided to check out the menu. It turns out that they are infamous for 雪花冰 -- a traditional Taiwanese dessert (flavoured snow-flaked ice shavings). Sat down, checked out the menu and without a doubt and no regrets went for the (a) Valrona Chocolate Ice Shavings with Chocolate Sauce, Chocolate Chips, Chocolate Marshmallow, Banana and Coffee Jelly and my missus ordered a (b) Sweet Condense Milk Flavoured Ice Shaving with Corn Flakes.

(A) -- Very sweet, tasty and very interesting texture. Flavour of chocolate sauce is extremely rich and the already flavoured chocolate ice, an absolutely deadly combination. Coffee Jelly & Banana on the side are also a perfect complement with the ice shavings

(B)-- Personally, not my favourite as it is far too sweet and not a fan of cornflakes therefore am glad that I didnt order this. Definitely a very female dessert indeed as 8 / 10 girls / ladies were having this dessert.

A nice & small dessert place serving up exotic Taiwanese style dessert, definite place for summer but if you are calorie or health conscious, honestly do not recommend you to visit this place as there is far too much sweet temptation.

Address: 尖沙咀厚福街11號地下 (Hau Fok Street 11, Tsim Sha Tsui)

Tel: 2368 4118

Food Quality (5* the highest): ***

Price (5$ = very expensive): $$ in terms for dessert pricing