Food Journey #29 - Spanish Fiesta Lunch at TAPEO

Wandering around Wyndham Street can always turn out to be quite a fun activity during lunch hours as there are restaurants in each & every single block with busy executives munching & drinking their way at speed of lightning to make their way back to office by 2pm. Typical lunch, I was doing my usual patrol around the hood and I decided to pay a visit to this little spot TAPEO which is not the easiest place to notice.

What appealed me was that first of all, something about Open Kitchens that really excites me as I love the smell of fresh food being grilled, cooked, deep fried, sauteed etc and a team of chefs preparing all the food for the diners. Tapeo is a very interesting. Look at the wonderful photos below and especially the very smokey photo of the mackerals being grilled, for me, that is the best part of culinary adventures is to see professional chefs doing their magic! At Tapeo, whatever you order, the chefs will prepare all your orders in front of you (aside from the desserts) and the only downside is that the ventilation system must be improved as I left the restaurant with a very strong smell of grilled food which is not the best!

First of all, I want to share with you all the best part of the meal which was the Jamon Serrano - a dry cured Spanish ham served raw in slices also known as Mountain Ham. Traditionally, the hams are trimmed & thinly sliced, best served in room temperature. Do not be mistaken with the Jamon Serrano with the Jamon Iberico as it is an entirely different breed and Jamon Iberico is also much more expensive. Originally, the Jamon Serrano was meant to be for "tasting" but somehow, we ended up finishing the whole platter as the taste was purely savoury & divine. For $98 per platter at Tapeo, this is not a bad deal at all

Now, on the rest of the meal, want to share with you the best part of the meal:

• Pulpo a La Gallega - Gently Confit Octopus with Capers & Paprika - This is one of the 10 dishes to try when you are travelling in Spain and is Galicia's signature dish. The octopus was slowly braised for 3-4 hours and cooked & reheated in virgin olive oil with a mixture of Spanish sea-salt, paprika & capers. This was my favourite dish of the day as the it is very difficult that the texture of the octopus is so tender & chewy and it was a special dish at Tapeo. (See recipe - http://gospain.about.com/od/fooddrink/ss/topspanishfood_2.htm)

• Lamb with Tomato & Spices - Grilled Lamb with Cayenne Pepper, Paprika & Chilli - The lamb is slowly grilled and is served in skewers along with halved cherry tomatoes. The flavour of the spices was extremely fragrant and the flavour of the lamb is alsy very strong. The combination of cayenne pepper, paprika & chilli gave this dish an extra kick for sure and this is a perfect snack to pair with an ice-cold beer after-work. Despite the positive side of this dish, priced at $68 for 2 skewers, perhaps 2 more skewers shall justify.

• Crispy Pork Belly with Quince Alioli - Slowly roasted pork with a Quince Garlic Mayonnaise - This was also a typical Spanish Tapas served and watching the fat slab of the pork belly being slowly roasted was a good source of entertainment. The flavours & the smell coming from the open kitchen is something that every foodie should be drooling over. Never have been a big fan of Pork ever in my life but since it was highly recommended by the chef, I gave this dish a shot and to my surprise, I enjoyed very bite of it asit wasnt extremely oily & fatty that I thought it would be. The pork belly was extremely crispy which was the best part of it. The Quince Alioli - in simple terms - an apple garlic mayonnaise which to my palate was a good pairing with the pork belly but for a garlic lover like myself, my advice for Tapeo is, please more garlic as the garlic mayo isnt very garlic flavoured.

• Other dishes which we also tried out was the Gazpacho - cold Spanish Tomato based raw vegetable soup which as originated from the southern region of Andalucia. a very refreshing cold "soup" to start off your meal for sure especially in the heat of Hong Kong. The bread basket was also very fresh & warm and the mix of warm bread & ice-cold Gazpacho provided an interesting chemistry.

• Chorizo & Tomato - Sauteed in sherry vinegar, parsley & spring onions. I have never been a fan of Spanish Chorizo as the texture is far too similar to the Chinese Dried Sausauges (Lap Chuen 臘腸) therefore I am definitely not too keen on this dish. The sauce of the dish was tasty and best for your bread dipping and my recommendation is more parsley should be chopped & used in this dish for a stronger intensive flavour
• Manchego Cheese & Honey - This should have been a starter in the traditional Spanish cuisine but however, I decided to eat this as a dessert. Manchego Cheese is a sheep's milk cheese, produced in the La Mancha region of Spain. Normally aged for 3 months or longer, this cheese has a very sharp taste, slightly salty but not too strong, similar to a feta cheese. Traditional method in consuming Manchego Cheese is to serve on toasted bread with drizzled olive oil - AHHHH -- these Spanish people do know how to eat like a king! Cheese & Honey pairing is a interesting pairing but again, I normally prefer my cheese with some form of carbs therefore this dish can be improved if some sort of bread or crackers are served together.

It was a very plesant experience to have a relaxing lunch in the middle of Central. Friendly & courteous service and it definitely has that home-feeling especially staff tries to strike a conversation every now & then. Food is hearty & very well presented with good flavours especially the open kitchen is a joy whilst you are waiting your food. However, the ventilation system must be improved and should also consider about enlarging some of the portion sizes as the Hong Kongers may find the portion size a little too small even though it is meant to be a Tapas. Aside from two minor issues, I do recommend this venue to my readers and I shall also revisit this place duly!

Happy Eating!

Geoff

UPCOMING REVIEW: Shanghainese Buffet at The Clipper Lounge at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel

Address: 19 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong (中環荷李活道19號)

Tel: 31711989

Food Quality (5* the highest): 3/1/2/*

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

Website: http://www.conceptcreations.hk/

Food Journey #25c - Final Round of Italian Lunch Experience at Cecconi's Italian

After 3 rounds of Italian lunch experience during past week, we have a clear WINNER in my opinion on the best italian lunch and the WINNER GOES TO.......CECCONI's Italian located on Elgin Street, Central. Reasons to why they beat Pizza Express & Isola, it is unpretentious, good quality food, cosy atmosphere (during lunch hours) and good price & speed for lunch which is vital. Was extremely impressed with their set lunches which I recommend you to try out and I hope they do not rotate their set lunches on a weekly basis.

In fact, this is my 2nd visit to Cecconi's Italian, my 1st visit consisted of a Caesar Salad which doesnt say much about a restaurant but for the review, a feast must be required to try the real quality of food. $98 for a 2 course set lunch in Central is fairly decent considering the food definitely justifies the price tag.

Fresh Foccacia -- Dont be decieved by the photo below as I know the presentation looks very dull. However, the bread was warm when it arrived which is just the way we Asians like it and you can still smell the freshness of the foccacia. Drizzle this with fresh Tuscan Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar, this foccacia was a perfect carbohydrate boost after the morning madness at work.

Spinach Salad with Gorgonzola Dressing & Walnuts -- After watching this food related program on TVB Pearl one night regarding the amount of calories contained in a Caesar Salad, deliberately stayed away from this on the set lunch menu and opt for this instead. Spinach has extremely high amounts of Calcium, Iron and other sources of Vitamins thus making spinach a highly nutritious product. The amount of Gorgonzola dressing on the spinach salad was just the amount which I like, very moderate amount thus and it was extremely flavourful. The shaved Parmesan cheese also added more flavors to the salad and as a passionate cheese lover, this was my very typical salad. Not to keen on the walnuts but nevertheless, it paired very well with the spinach. Very refreshing salad to kick off your meal and my next course was simply spectacular!!!!!!!!!!

Pan seared salmon with a cucumber salad and balsamic-- Having been a salmon murderer for the past 10 years, this has always been on the top of my list wherever I go for lunch or dinner as i) the nutritional values are high ii) a perfect pan-seared or grilled salmon has always been a form of art to myself. Such cripsy skin on the outside but yet, so moist & pink on the inside, it is truly the best form of fish that the world has in my opinion. There are a few restaurants around town whereby I highly recommend a Grilled Salmon -- RED SoHo does a mean grilled salmon, H One also does a fairly decent Atlantic Salmon Steak but in my opinion, Cecconi's italian wins the tournament.

Pan Seared is a very interesting technique commonly used by chef which focuses on cooking the surface of the food product at high temperature which it caramelises the skin. Such searing technique is often said to lock the juices in the salmon, giving it a moist & pink texture.

The Pan-seared Salmon here was definitely one of the best I have had in town as it has all the above points mentioned. So juicy yet so crispy on the outside. However, I feel that the pairing with cucumber was slightly odd as it would have been better to pair with a Tomato Salsa or even just simple Green Salads on the side. Cucumbers are just simply boring and flavourless. Nonetheless, this was a wonderful dish and it was truly enjoyable!

Crumbled Chicken Leg with Napoli & Mozzarella-- This was the dish ordered by my friend on the day but however, she could not complete the portion due to the huge portion being served. I took 2 bites of the chicken leg and was equally impressed. The chicken was extremely tender, not greasy & the melted cheese was extremely pungent & flavourfull and the pairing together is the equivalent to Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie. BRAVO!

However, not your average dish which you may order unless you havent had breakfast in the morning as the chicken leg was rather large, so large that it looked like it was mutated.

If you are looking for a lunch venue with good quality food & very economical, do check out Cecconi's Italian on Elgin Street. Highly recommended for the quality of dishes but one warning, service may be sloppy at times as I had to speak to our server 3 times for the Fresh Foccacia. Definitely worth the money paid despite the set lunch was only $98 and you can see why they are the winner of the Italian Lunch Journey in Hong Kong.

Now comes the end of the Italian Lunch Journey, watch out for the next review of a restaurant with a humourous name -- 譽滿坊 Dim SumThe Art Of Chinese Tit Bits

Happy Eating & Drinking!

Ciao

Geoff

Address: G/F, 43 Elgin Street, Central, Hong Kong (中環伊利近街43號地下
)
Tel: 2147 5500

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

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

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Food Journey #25b - Part II "Italian" Lunch Experience at Pizza Express

Have been busy recently and have not had the luxury on blogging in the past few days in regards to my continuous food journey on an Italian lunch experience. Certainly, my previous posting on Isola has stopped a few of my fellow readers & friends in placing a reservation for lunch & dinner -- wise choice.

Noticed how I have put in inverted commas "Italian" on this journey to Pizza Express in Wan Chai Ship Street, just off J-Residence. I have never believed Pizza Express as an Italian restaurant and my perception of it has always been a premium class of Dominos with seatings & waiters / waitresses. But afterall, it is a place that does 2 key Italian Dishes -- P & P (Pizza & Pasta) therefore I shall include them as part of this review and boy, I was actually rather impressed on this Saturday afternoon meal.

Original plan for lunch was to visit Dressed Salad again, just off QRE Plaza, as I wanted something light for the day. No idea to how we ended up at Pizza Express which is around 3 blocks down the road but nevermind!

The restaurant itself is situated in a rather intimate & quite corner of Wan Chai therefore a wonderful setting on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Opened up the menu and was attracted by the "Pink Revolution Menu" which is 2 courses at HKD168 in which $8 will be donated to the charity organisation whether you believe it or not.

Carpaccio Di Salmone Affumicato -- The first taste of salmon carpaccio was surprisingly very fresh even though when it first landed on the table, it looked as it had been drenched in the olive oil for some time. The salmon slices were drizzled with Tuscan olive oil and are simply flavoured with dill, capers & lemon.The 3 baked dough balls were strongly pesto flavoured and are best eaten when you dip the dough balls into the Tuscan olive oil along with the salmon carpaccio. Such a simple, hearty but yet exquisite dish to start off the whole meal.

First course was completed and my point of view towards Pizza Express has slightly changed as I never thought a kids friendly place can serve up good quality food as such. Something was missing and the key link was a glass of Prosecco. Noticed on the "Pink Revolution Menu" that during the promotion period, you can now purchase a glass of Prosecco for $8. Hold on a second -- $8, you gotta be joking me and can one even drink this stuff. Full of questions & question marks in my mind, I decide to give this a shot and to my surprise, this was worth every $8 and the taste was not bad at all. Next time when you are low on cash or living towards the end of month and want to get drunk, ring Pizza Express's door bell and $8 is very worthy of such.

Main course was a Penne Al Salmone and in English, Salmon Penne with Carbonara Sauce. Overall quality of the dish is moderate and the good points are that it is not drenched in carbonara sauce and the generous portions of fresh salmon on top of the appetiser. I thoroughly enjoyed this dish and do eat this with generous amount of parmesan cheese + tabasco, my personal secret recipe for a delicious pasta dish. However, the quality of the actual pasta was poor and the texture of the pasta was not very fresh which was slightly disappointing but overall, it was impressive.

We were however still a bit hungry after the first 2 courses therefore, we decided on the traditional approach and ordered a Neopolitan thin crusted pizza topped with Prosciutto Ham, Ricotta, Parmsesan, Rosemary and Polenta Base. Also want to use this opportunity to clarify the on-going myth on that Deep-Pan Thick Crusted Pizzas are NOT ITALIAN STYLE Pizzas therefore please do not even attempt to order such item in an Italian restaurant or else you will be left red-faced. As you can see from the photo below, the chef was extremely generous with the Prosciutto & Ricotta Cheese as they were literally overflowing on the pizza. Kudos to the Chef on this!

My personal recommendation on a pizza like this must be eaten in the following manner: a) Please eat using your hands and for god's sake, please DO NOT use knives & forks as you will make an even bigger mess than using your hands. Pizza is a comforting & non-pretentious food item!

b) Always Overdose on your Parmesan Cheese as it is quite possibly the best pairing in the world. Enough said!

c) For those that like a spice kick, please also be generous on the tabasco on your slice.

Combination of above 3 will give you a deadly combination!

Overall, the meal was very enjoyable and my whole perception towards Pizza Express has changed 180 degrees. I was extremely impressed with the quality of food, service & setting of the Wan Chai Shop. The bill came at 1/2 the price to the rubbish which I ate in the other fellow Italian restaurant in my previous posting and I was an extremely happy man walking out of this place. Pizza Express, I shall return!

Address: G/F, 10 Wing Fung Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong (灣仔永豐街10號
)
Tel: 3528 0541

Food Quality (5* the highest): 3/1/2*

Price for Lunch (5$ = very expensive): 1/1/2*

Food Journey #25a -- Part I -- Italian Lunch Experience (Isola Bar & Grill)

An old favourite of mine but however, after this visit, I will have to have 2nd thoughts on this. Purpose of the lunch was a client meeting but I was not impressed with the food quality and service and was rather red-faced with the overall impression left.

Best Part of the meal was the bread basket & the main course (grilled sole fillet). The bread basket was fresh, warm, just the way I liked it. The main course was a grilled sole fillet with fresh asparagus, a slightly healthy alternative choice on the menu selection rather than the usual pizza, risotto, pasta and the sole fillet was cooked very well. A dash of lemon was vital to give the sole fillet a good kicking with the slight citrus flavour.

Now comes the disappointment:

The infamous Antipasti Buffet used to my favourite part with such an abundance of food selection which often tickles my fancy including fresh salmon, prosciutto, italian cold cut, grilled Italian peppers, salad, seafood salad, etc. As soon as we approached the buffet area, I had a sense that there was something different this time round. The salad leaves looked very dull & liveless, the salmon was colourless unlike its usual bright orange colour, the prosciutto appeared the quality which one can shop for at Wellcome or ParknShop. The quantity of items also have decreased which didnt leave us with much choices to choose from. Our client also appeared slightly disappointed after I was raving about the quality of Isola's lunch - NOT A GOOD START!

To top up, our client ordered a Mushroom Risotto which was the worst of the bunch. The Arborio rice was still fairly uncooked, it lacked the creaminess of an usual risotto and the lack of Parmaggiano did not help the case either. The dish was definitely not up to my client's standards as she only completed 1/2 the portion and I bluntly asked her to allow myself to try a spoonful and she was right, it was purely bland and boring! TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT

For Dolci, our disappointment was turned into anger. Approached the dessert area and the cakes & cheese selection looked extremely dull and appeared like it had been lying on the same spot since Isola first opened up its doors. Completely switched off my appetite and hoped the final piece of jigsaw - cup of Ice Coffee could rescue the meal. Well, when you can screw up a coffee, that says something about the restaurant. Coffee arrived without sugar and took us around 10 mins to recieve the sugar and during the process, the services from their waiters & waitresses were extremely unattentive.

A so-called Corporate Venue for a Corporate Lunch, this was not an experience or food which I expected. Hello, maybe you are ripping off the Investment Bankers & Lawyers working in IFC but please do something about the quality of your lunch. Simply do not understand how the standard, service, food quality for such venue located in Hong Kong's premium shopping centre have dropped their standards so dramatically. For the price of HKD248 per head, Isola, you were once one of my favourite Italian restaurant in town but now you are the weakest link, good bye!

Happy Eating for now!

Geoff

Address: Level 3, ifc Mall, 1 Harbour View Street, Central, Hong Kong (中環港景街1號國際金融中心商場3樓3071-3075號舖)

Tel: 2383-8765

Food Quality (5* the highest): *

Price for Lunch (5$ = very expensive): 3/1/2*

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Cooking Home-Made Laksa

Good Laksa places in Hong Kong are very rare to find and there are only a few places to come to my mind -- Katong Laksa Prawn Mee (加東叻沙蝦麵), Grand Cafe at The Grand Hyatt, ToastBox for the Sinagpore style Laksa. I am not a chef by trade but will share with you some insights to my experimental Laksa which I thought was extremely delicious! Essential question, what is Laksa?? Laksa is a traditional dish which is a spicy soup noodle which is a combination of the Chinese & Malay culture and is commonly eaten in Singapore, Malaysia & Indonesia. The term "laksa" is used generally to describe the two different basic types of noodle soup which is mainly curry laksa and asam laksa. Curry laksa is a coconut curry soup with noodles and Asam Laksa is a sour fish soup with noodles. On regular circumstances, thick noodles known as laksa are commonly preferred although vericelli is also commonly used. On a lazy Sunday evening, missus & I decided to cook up our own Laksa and see whether we can actually do so as Chefs say that the hardest part about Laksa is the broth. Off to the wet market we went to Causeway Bay to search for the fresh local produce and to cook up a traditional Laksa, one will require below ingredients: Ingredients for Our Home-Made Laksa Broth: *Fresh Chilli, Lemon Grass, Turmeric, Shallots, Thai Ginger, Fresh Garlic, Mint Leaves, Chicken Stock, Coconut Milk, Dried Shrimp Paste & Chilli Paste, Peanut Oil (I used Olive Oil), dried prawns Ingredients for Our Home-Made Laksa: *Bean Curd, Bean Sprouts, Fresh Prawns, Fish Cake, Laksa Noodles (Thick Noodles) Traditionally, there should also be a boiled egg, squid, fresh clams but to trim the cost down, above should be enough to get you started. The whole preparation of the meal lasted around 45 minutes and a lot of people asked me about MY SECRET INGREDIENT which I will now disclose is the usage of the PRAWN HEADS & SHELLS for the broth base. When you buy the prawns from the wet-market, wash it, gut it then separate the head from its body whereby it will be used to flavour the broth. The Prawn Heads give the broth an extremely aromatic flavour and believe me, do try this method for your own Laksa. Note to remove the Heads & Shells from the broth as the shells will become tough and very un-juicy for eating. When serving up the Laksa, remember to be generous on the final top-up of the Chilli Paste that will give the bowl of noodles an extra kick! Best paired with an ice-cold pint of Beer!

For those that are Laksa Fans, do try this at home and believe me that if you use all of my above ingredients you can also cook up the perfect Laksa. Bon appetit and enjoy!

Happy Eating!

Geoff

Food Journey #22 - One Night in Tai Hang (大坑)

Have been relatively quiet for past few days as am still recovering from that long posting on Monsieur Chatte which is still lingering in my mind. As they say, what comes up must come down and this posting truly reflects on my journey to Tai Hang (大坑) last Saturday evening. For those that do not know where Tai Hang is, it is quietly located on the corner of Victoria Park near Tin Hau and they say that Tai Hang is a secret and hidden food paradise -- NOT!!!! As my missus lives extremely close to this area therefore we decided to give it a shot at some of the restaurants around the neighbourhood. My first stop Block 13 Beef Offal (十三座牛雜) is this extremely seedy and isolated shop that sells Mix Beef Organs. Not a place where you sit down and eat but it is a quick grab & go on extreme Chinese cuisine such as your Beef Intestine Skewer, Beef Brisket, Beef Offal Skewer etc. I know it is not a very usual place that expats will go to due to the nature of food but answer me, what is the difference between eating Foie Gras and eating a skewer of Beef Entrails, Beef Brisket, Beef Intestines, Beef Offal and the answer is Absolutely no difference at all as they are all internal organs. Block 13 Beef Offal has opened in Hong Kong for some time and the taste is a definite guarantee and my recommendation is to enjoy this skewer with a dash of Gui Lin (桂林) Chilli Sauce After the quick skewer, we ventured into King Street in the Tai Hang Area which is a territory of unknown. The streets were dark, dirty and there wasnt many people in the neighbourhood until we reached the spot whereby we spotted some bright lights coming out from this ramen-ya restaurant (Japanese Noodles House) called Masyu 魔手和風拉麵. My first impression was that such traditional ramen-ya restaurants were very commonly found in the alleys of Tokyo & Osaka therefore I was hoping in my mind that this could be a special authentic Japanese surprise considering there were around 5-6 people waiting outside. However, I was truly devastated by the quality of food. First up was the appetiser which was salted cucumbers & eggplant and see photo below. They were foul and boring and tasteless. After the initial taste on the appetisers, I knoew something was very wrong about this restaurant Second up, I ordered the Mixed Sashimi Bento with Fresh Tomato & Parsley and my missus ordered the Deep Fried Pork (Tonkatsu) with Noodles (see photos below). The Sashimi Bento Box appeared a lot bigger in the menu and when it arrived, I was shocked to see the size of the bowl. So small that it was not enough to fill a kid's appetite and never mind the taste. "Fresh" tomatoes certainly were not freshed and in fact tastes like the leftovers from Wellcome Supermarket. The texture of the rice was good but the sashimi was not as fresh as the waitress made it out to be -- major disappointment indeed.

Deep Fried Pork looked like a plate of dead meat, very colourless and the ramen bowl looked & tasted like a pot of Instant Noodles (出前一丁) and tasted exactly like a bowl of MSG infused broth. The Deep Fried Pork (Tonkatsu) was very tasteless and the meat was dull as anything. Tasted like it was marinated 15 yrs ago and the mayonnaise on the side was definitely a cheap pot from Wellcome. To sum up, absolutely horrible experiences

Up side of the dinner was the Egg Roll which was decent enough as that was the only item which we ordered that was actually normal. It is a steamed Japanese egg roll with the wording 魔手 (name of the restaurant) engraved into it. However, I have never been a huge fan of Egg Rolls therefore will not comment on this

Overall experience was mediocre and I will definitely not return to this place as the food was below par, service -- where was the service, and no ambiance with a air-conditioner which dripped on my shoulders while I was eating. Way to go Masyu Last stop of the evening was Jam Bakery which was located on Shepherd Street. It is a small bakery that sells a variety of cakes, biscuits or cookies and cupcakes. Seemingly disappointed from the experience from Masyu, we didnt have high hopes for Jam Bakery but the Hazel Nut Chocolate Cake which we ordered was divine. Was very tempted to order another cakes to try out but again, Masyu really screwed my whole dinner over therefore a NO!. Chatted with the cashier lady and that Jam Bakery also offers baking classes which I will be attending next week. The Hazelnut cake wasnt too sweet , was extremely rich in Chocolate flavour but not in Hazelnut flavour and the texture was similar to a mousse. However, for a bakery place like this, $26 for a slice of cake I thought was comparable with other premium cake shops in Hong Kong. Will recommend readers to come and try out this place.

Block 13 Beef Offal (十三座牛雜)

Address: 51 Sun Chun Street, Tai Hang, Hong Kong (大坑新村街51號地下)

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

Price (5$ = very expensive): $

Masyu 魔手和風拉麵 -- BLACK LISTED

Address: 22 King Street, Tai Hang, Hong Kong (大坑京街 22 號地舖)

Food Quality (5* the highest): *

Price (5$ = very expensive): $$$

Jam Bakery

Address: 28 Shepherd Street , Tai Hang, Hong Kong (大坑施弼街28號)

Dessert Quality (5* the highest): 3/1/2 *

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

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