Friday, August 21, 2009

Union J

I really liked the name of this restaurant, maybe because my name starts with a J or it is because one of my dreams is to open a restaurant of my own, hopefully with my name somewhere in it. Apparently there is a little history behind the establishment of Union J. The two main chefs here, Eric Johnson and Jason Casey, both are veterans at Jean-Georges Shanghai and together they head to Hong Kong to open a restaurant, hence the union of the Johnson and Jason. Union J it is! Humm ... what should I name my restaurant if my dream can come true someday ... humm ... ...



It was lunch time during a busy weekday but the place seemed less crowded than I expected. KC did a review on this place before with and took a picture of the blackboard which I found to be very interesting, so I got to take a picture of it as well. (I think I got the same table as KC from the picture taking angle ... haha) I really enjoy the environment especially with the flooding sun lights, it is certainly a rare to see such great sun shines in Hong Kong.



While waiting for my friend to arrive, the staff recommended me to try their house soda. I ordered the grapefruit one and not bad at all but I would recommend to have it without the ice or just straight from the bottle would be good enough because the fruit flavor is not very strong and the ice would dilute it even further. For lunch, they offer a variation and combination of set lunches but I am very surprised that they charge EXTRA for the BREAD ! Okay, it is Home Made Sourdough which is rare in Hong Kong but still not a justifiable reason to charge extra at such an Establishment in my opinion.



(1) Steak tartar with Cherry olive tapenade
Presentation was very nice and the steak tartar was well prepared. However, the dressing used was a bit too strong in my opinion and covered the true taste of the steak tartar. I did not try the cherry olive tapenade with the steak tartar but I like the egg yolk which complimented the steak tartar very well! A great combination in terms of flavors and texture. Try to eat with the toast as well for a different experience as well.



(2) Miso Roasted pork belly with salad and picked vegetables
Not exactly what I expected in terms of presentation but it looked nice anyhow. The roasted pork belly was not served in pieces but in slices. It is very difficult to describe its texture because one would expect it to be tender and chewy maybe but it turns out to be VERY soft to the point that it simply melt in your mouth. Whether it was the right way /texture for such an item, you can be the judge for yourself. I personally prefer such slices of roasted pork to be a bit more chewy instead of melt-in-your-mouth sensation.



(3) Fresh shrimp burger with spicy mayo
I love shrimps so it was an easy choice for me. I was expecting the shrimp patty to consist of diced or mince shrimps but to my surprise it was actually of little whole shrimps. Very nice indeed and with the spicy mayo it was a good match. Since the patty was rather loose, it was best to eat with fork and knife in my opinion. The fries were nice but still not up to the standard of The Press Room in my opinion. On a negative note: the flat snow peas were COLD ! Maybe it was meant to be served cold but I dun like it cold the way it was because a few of them were still warm so I assumed they should bot be served COLD ! (Maybe I was wrong, but I prefer it WARM)



(4) overnight red wine beef cheek
Honestly, I prefer the red wine beef cheek here than The Press Room's. It was very soft and melt in you mouth just like the one from The Press Room but here, it has a very strong beef flavors to the meat which I loved. The sauce was thick and rich, and together with the pomelo bits it created a good contrast with the sauce and the meat. Nicely done!



(5) 70% Chocolate cake with Sichuan pepper ice cream
This was an interesting dessert for sure. The reference to Sichuan Pepper ice cream was the key factor that made us order this dessert. (Of course the 70% Chocolate cake as well ... haha) The chocolate cake was very rich not not too sweet. It seemed like a molten chocolate cake because the center of the cake was slightly melted and soft but not to the point with chocolate sauce flowing out. As for the ice cream, if I did not know it was of Sichuan pepper flavor, it tasted just like any other ice cream but just a bit "herb-y." But in any case, it was a wonderful dessert to end the meal with and certainly put a smile on your face on the way back to work. (the smile did not last long though but long enough until afternoon tea time when I had some more chocolates.)



Argh ... Jackson and Jason were checking the bookings near the entrance when we were about to leave and we greeted briefly BUT I FORGOT TO ASK THEM TO TAKE A PICTURE WITH US ... how stupid was I !! ARGH !!! ....

Likes:
  • Decor / Environment / Atmosphere
  • Overnight Red Wine Beef Cheek - soft with strong beef flavor!
  • 70% Chocolate Cake - dark, rich and soft !
Dislikes:
  • Cold flat green beans
  • Miso Roasted pork belly - the texture was too soft for my liking
Avg Spending: HKD 200 - 300 per person

Union J
1/F California Tower,
30-32 D'Aguilar Street, Central
Tel: 2537 2368

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those are snow peas, not green beans

Jason said...

Thanks!it proves that i need to learn my vegetables ... hahaha

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