Sunday Champagne Brunch, Cheers!

I have to admit that Sunday Champagne Brunch has become more of an indulgence or an occasion rather than something on a regular basis. I suspect that inflation has invaded every part of our daily lives that a dollar is no long what it used to be even just six months ago. However, if you do fancy an occasionally indulgence like I do, the distinguishing factor in picking your Sunday Champagne Brunch venue got to be the Champagne!

Bettys Kitschen (Hong Kong)

There have been countless reviews and mentions of this new establishment by Alan Yau ever since it opened. Reviews and feedback so far have been mixed, many complained about the food, many raved about the food and its rather rare selection of French recipes. Some emphasized on Chef Largard's skills and creation while many were captivated by the venue and its decor, including staff's 1950's maid-like uniform. For those unfamiliar with Alan Yau, he is the mastermind behind the famous Wagamama, Hakkasan and the recently Michelin starred restaurant Yauatcha in London. Whenever I hear his name in association with any restaurant, the first thing that comes to my mind is exciting culinary marketing initiative followed by trending culinary creativity. Alan is a successful restaurateur as well as a remarkable entrepreneur when it comes to the F&B industry. Take Hakkasan for example, he not only popularizes Chinese cuisine in London but he took Chinese fine dining scene to a next new level. With that taken into consideration, when I step into Bettys Kitschen at IFC (Hong Kong), the thing that got my attention or interest was the overall execution of the whole concept which of course includes service, decor, menu, atmosphere and food. I wanted to see what took Alan so long to open his first restaurant concept in Hong Kong and what sort of dining trends he is going to set with his new venture.

Thomas Haas Fine Chocolates and Patisserie (Vancouver)

On a sunny Thursday morning, a light breeze blew across my hotel room from the balcony which I left opened the night before. Waking up this way by the wind instead of annoying alarm tones certainly made a huge difference in term of my mood. It was certain a smile or a gentle grin on my face even without checking it with a mirror. Holding a cup of not-so-great machine brewed in-room coffee from Starbucks, standing out on the balcony under the warmth of the morning sunshine, I can't help myself but to feel rather lucky, happy, thankful, glad and ... very lucky? :) A picture is worth a thousand words but when it comes to joy and happiness, it can only be best described either by action or ... by the one's "glow". In any case, it brings me to yet another happy topic, chocolates! Some say Chocolate can help fight depression, some say it can be part of a wonderful diet plan and some say it can help lower your cholesterol. Forget it I say, as long as it makes you happy by eating a piece of chocolate or drinking a cup of hot chocolate, go for it!

BO-LO'GNE ~ ボローニャ ~ TST Outlet (Hong Kong)

We all know how prices for basic commodities like flour, corn, sugar and wheat are sky rocketing over the past few years, but when it comes to a simple loaf of bread, can one justify it at a price of over HKD100? Perhaps. BO-LO'GNE ボローニャ which specialized in Japanese Danish Bread proves that it is beyond valid to do so, to a certain extend in my opinion. Soon after BO-LO'GNE (please don't ask me how to pronounce it because I am clueless as a ... goldfish on this one) first opened its tiny Hong Kong shop somewhere in SoHo, Central, the words have been out and to have a loaf of Danish Bread, expect a few days of advance order. Hungry enthusiasts were willing to wait because they understand the craftsmanship and skills required to bake each loaf of Japanese Danish Bread. So what exactly is Danish Bread? Simply put, it is a loaf of bread which has 81 layers after folding again and again and again. Note that those are basically layers of dough and butter, a lot of butter, hence the mouth watering melting sensation on each and every bite.

Classified - Tai Hang (Hong Kong)

Like butter, there is never too much cheese! After my previous visit to Classified - Wan Chai, I have been thinking about the Oven-baked Mont d'Or a bit too often, perhaps once every other day? Once upon a sunny day, perhaps soon after Christmas I think, a few of us picked Classified - Tai Hang outlet to spend a relaxing early afternoon over some cheese and hearty food. Many would consider Christmas as a time to share love and catch up with each other's happenings, but I say this can be done anytime, anywhere as long as we are in the mood to do so. That was exactly what we did on this day because we felt like it, just because ... no reasons needed! A very close friend once told me his definition of friendship which often can be applied to relationship as well is when two (or more people) can sit there on the same table and able to withstand (or even enjoy) long moments of silence then the friendship / relationship has reached (or beyond) a point of love and caring in its rightful categories; familial, platonic (friendship), romantic and religious love. Do you agree? In any case, my love towards cheese would be ... sincere love perhaps? George Bernard Shaw once said, “there is no sincerer love than the love of food.”

Oolaa (Hong Kong)

Life cannot be better when you can spend a wonderful Sunday afternoon with 3 lovely ladies over Brunch + Desserts! It certainly made the my day before Monday less miserable. I wish every Sunday can be the as eventful but of course at different venues. The culture of Sunday Brunch has been trending over the last few years in Hong Kong based on my observation especially with the number of establishments offering such menus. However, there are only a handful to be honest and there are more people like myself who are getting used to getting up late over the weekends and then head for brunch. Another interesting thing I realized is that people heading for brunch nowadays are increasing more causal, particularly ladies who obviously choose not to put any make up on. Don't get me wrong but I am just surprised, that's all.

PAUL - Revisited (London)

What is(are) your favourite item(s) from PAUL? Throughout my stay in London (8 days), I visited PAUL countless times, almost every single time I passed by it. There was a certain attraction that lured me in for some reasons. Perhaps it was the scent or aroma of freshly baked bread / pasty that diverted my intended path. One thing I notice though (I can be wrong of course), many items I saw, or most of them to be exact, were sweets. They do have bread of many sorts but sweet pastries such as danishes and macarons were all I saw in many of the outlets around town.

Roast Restaurant (London)

This post should have been right after my Borough Market post but I was too excited about the picnic @ Greenwich post that I had it jump the queue! Anyhow, after my pre-lunch at Monmouth Coffee, we headed over to Roast Restaurant located right in the Borough Market. The decor / atmosphere was rather contemporary compared with the environment of the Borough Market. It was nice but a bit too fancy in a very humble marketplace in my opinion.

Borough Market and Monmouth Coffee (London)

Just a word of caution, if you intend to visit a restaurants in the Borough Market in London (or other dine-in establishments around the city), please avoid going between 11am and noon because many simply tell you to come back sharp at noon when they reopen for lunch. That was exactly what happened to us! Well, I guess that was good time to walk around the Borough Market, for some coffee and for some snacks before breakfast / lunch!

Carluccio's (London)

With so many other choices, why did I pick Carluccio's? Well, very simple. We were hungry and it was close to where we stayed, that was the reason. If you pay attention when you walk around the city, you will find that Carluccio's is a rather large chain restaurant!!! My past experiences with chained restaurants in Hong Kong or other countries were not something worth noting but this one in London, I may return not necessarily for its so-called food quality but for its convenience. Don't get my wrong, both my visits (brunch and lunch on two separately occasions) were ... alright, unexciting and boring to be exact, but with its convenience, setting, atmosphere (which is more fitted for a casual yet rush meal), occasional visits may happen.

Whisk - Sunday Brunch

Sumptuous is often the word being used to describe Sunday Brunches and I could not agree more. I enjoy Sunday Brunches because I believe that after a week long work week, we all deserve a little break during the weekend, to enjoy good food with great company. Here at Whisk, they started offering Sunday Brunch recently with free-flowing Louis Roederer champagne as well. Unfortunately, unlikes other hotel establishments, there is not option to opt-out the champagne if I recall correctly. I have been to the Whisk a few times before but mostly for dinner and I enjoyed my stay the last few times. My favorites include the Suckling Pig (Signature dish) and the Apple Crisp (at least the original version being served in the baking pan, they have changed the serving methods and portion recently unfortunately)

Brunch at Jay's Home Kitchen

It was a sunny Saturday morning, I got up bright and early, getting myself ready for a wonderful brunch gathering organized and prepared by my dear friend K. Although there were only 5 of us and two very cute (and active) dogs, it was the perfect way to spend a weekend afternoon!

Toronto - May 2010 - Day 5 (Special Date with Hot Dog and Pho!)

It has been 4 years since I last returned to Toronto and even during my years in Toronto, taking the subway to downtown wasn't something I would do regularly for many reasons. This time around, I took the subway to downtown for a day trip with my mom and I realized that nothing and i mean nothing has changed over the past 4 years with the subway.

Toronto - May 2010 - Day 3 (Brunch)

Day 2 was my friend's wedding day and it was a fun day and night indeed! The weather was perfect, though a bit chilly later into the night, but a few glasses of whisky did the trick! A few of us spent the night at the Park Hyatt Toronto so to avoid getting back uptown in the middle of the night. If I did not mention before, the hotel bed was indeed heavenly!

By the time my friends and I woke up, it was almost time for lunch, but the extra hours of sleeping in was worth it! Since it was a Sunday (Day 3 of my Toronto trip), we were all being a bit too lazy and went to the resto downstairs for a leisure breakfast / brunch.

Union J - Sunday Brunch Finally!

I know! I know! This entry is like my 3rd entries on Union J (1st & 2nd) , but hey, I like this place for being what it is! My foodie friend Babedolphin once mentioned that Union J is one of the few in Hong Kong where the chefs would actually deliver more than what are being described in the menu in terms of techniques and perhaps ingredients used. (Mr. Babedolphin put it in a slightly different way with more details of course, I will let him expand on his take in the comments section below) For me I like the atmosphere, I like the setting and I like how they don't try to pack tables close together even with the open spaces they have.

Did I mention my visit was on a Sunday? Yep, Union J started offering Brunch on Sunday ... wait, I mean they finally decided to OPEN on Sunday! Finally! So what do they offer on Sunday, particularly with its Sunday brunch offering? Well ... basically you can either go a la carte or pick from the list of 17 items! Took us quite a while to select because there were more than 5 items I want! I did not want to give up my Corn Beef Harsh for Smoked Bacon, I want both! I am not going to list all the items out, you can check out the menu below.

After a long 10 mins of thinking, I decided to go with Corned Beef Hash, Classic Egg Benedict, Spiced Pork Sausage, Huevos Rancheros and Bead Basket. Before I bring you to my dish, let us take a look of my friends' orders. I think we ALMOST ordered one of each items from the menu!

Wow, mine was a EGG FEAST! And such an pretty egg! Cannot see the items clearly? No worries, I zoomed in for some of them for your eye's pleasure! :)

The Classic Egg Benedict was pretty good, well prepare with yolk flowing out as it should be! The saltiness of the ham mixed well with the egg yolk and also the hollandaise sauce. Talking about hollandaise sauce reminds me of what Anthony Bourdain said and what I quoted from my breakfast venture at Mandarin Grill +Bar. I still like my hollandaise sauce so more the merrier!

The bread basket consisted of several kinds of bread and I liked the sourdough the most. I was getting a bit full at this point already!

This Huevos Rancheros was something new to me. I did not know what the heck it was when I was ordering it, all I know was that it has eggs and guacamole! Yum. However, it turns out to be rather disappointing in terms of of flavors which were rather weak and confusing in my opinion especially the spicy black beans paste (not spicy at all and very gluey ... interesting texture to be honest but flavors need some work) .... Almost forgot about the Tortilla chip which was ... soggy and almost impossible to cut apart or rip apart! Argh!

Look how pretty the egg was, I almost did not want to egg it and leave it there as it was for my eye's pleasure. Then again, I love eggs, I love food, how can I let decent food go to waste! Never!

Wait a second! Where was the Corned Beef Hash? Good question indeed, it was hiding under the pretty egg!! :) Nice touch! However, the texture was rather firm and flavors a bit too rich, but together with the egg the flavor balanced out so it was alright. Oh yes, the Pork Sausage was alright, no surprises there.

There were some disappointing items but overall it was a good relaxing brunch with good company and good atmosphere so I think I will come back soon to try the rest of their items

Likes:

• Atmosphere / Decor
• Wide selection of brunch items and portion was HUGE!
• Classic Egg Benedict - well prepared with yolk flowing out and flavors were good with the ham and hollandaise sauce

Dislikes:

• Huevos Rancheros - interesting marriage of flavors and a super tough Tortilla chips!
• Corned Beef Hash - texture was a bit too firm
  

Avg Spending: around HKD 250 per person

Union J
1/F California Tower,
30-32 D'Aguilar Street, Central
Tel: 2537 2368
http://www.elite-concepts.com/eatplusdrink.php?id=40


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MO Bar @ Landmark Mandarin Oriental

I always wanted to try MO Bar's breakfast buffet but since I am not an early person, I will give their brunch set a try first. Its atmosphere and decor are truly hip and trendy and I enjoy returning once in a while mostly for drinks. I seriously doubt that the place was designed for serving food in full scale or as a restaurant because those chairs / tables are definitely not what I call comfortable eating chairs. Perhaps it is just me and my semi-traditional mindset?

The selection of cold and hot dishes were only fair, I actually expected a bit more. The cold dishes include with various kinds of salads such as Mediterranean salad, chicken and cashew salad and other cold items as such sashimi, cold pasta, smoked salmon, hams, and oysters. There was the option to select a made-to-order hot item from the kitchen but we opted for the hot items from the table instead. The hot selection included a huge glazed ham and a huge beef wellington, yum yum!

Once again, the selection was decent and many of the items were fresh, I think it was more of the decor and atmosphere that I enjoyed, especially on a Sunday morning / afternoon.

There were only a handful of cheese selection and my personal favorite was the goat cheese.

They do offer a chocolate fountain but I didn't feel like chocolate this afternoon, I want something more fruity! :)

Likes:

• Hip and Trendy decor / atmosphere, good to spend a relaxing afternoon. Other same grade hotels which offer brunch are often jam packed.
  
• Beef Wellington - outer pastry was puffy (but rather too thick I think) and beef fillet was tender and beefy

Dislikes:

• Chairs & tables not really designed for full scale dining
• Food selection rather limited for a brunch (compared with other similar grade hotel)
  

Avg Spending: HKD 300 - 500 per person

MO Bar
G/F, Landmark Mandarin Oriental,
15 Queen's Road, Central
Tel: 2132 0077
http://www.mandarinoriental.com/landmark/dining/mo_bar/


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Simplylife: Bread and Wine @ IFC

When it comes to food, the more simple the dish is, the harder it is to perfect; the same applies to life. It is hard to achieve a simple yet satisfying life style. It is easier said than done! Alright, enough blah-ing and back to food! Finding a decent place for brunch on a Sunday afternoon is harder than expected. I have been in search for such a place for a long while and often resulted in disappointment. The best example was my visits to the Brunch Club over the last few months. On my determined quest to discover new and better brunch outlets, my friends and I attempted Simplylife @ IFC.



The old Canteen fast food joint has been transformed into this upscale bistro with both self-serving and full services offerings. With the large windows and sun shines, you may mistaken it as alfresco dining. The self-serving section (via the open kitchen & bakery) mainly concentrates on bread, sandwiches, salad and pizza; while hot food items are prepared at the other end of the main dining area.



I liked the fact that they do not squeeze the tables together to get the most seats out of the available space. Most tables were well spaced with sufficient privacy between tables.



(1) English Big Breakfast
My friend ordered the big breakfast. It looked promising but I can only rely on my friend's feedback because I was not allowed to try due to her extreme hunger! According to my friend, the grilled tomato was cold and the same applied to the baked beans as well. I surely did not expect the grilled tomato be be cold unless it was prepared way in advance. Anyhow, I better try it myself to really get the real taste of the various items. O by the way, the mushroom was very good because it was stir-fried with garlic to give it an extra kick in flavors.



(2) Cappuccino
I ordered a cappuccino in advance before my dish was served. It was just alright. The milk foam was very good but the ratio of the foam and milk was off definitely with too much milk. More like Latte than Cappuccino. The amount of milk somehow weakened the coffee flavor in my opinion.



(3) Organic Omelet with oven-dried tomato and hash brown potatoes
The dish looked promising with cheese flowing out from the side. My choice of fillings included mushroom, ham and cheddar cheese. It was alright, very soft in the middle but not enough fillings. I cannot help myself but to compare the omelet with the one I had from RED @ IFC a few weeks ago because it was huge with plenty of fillings and a wider selection of fillings as well. Anyhow, it wasn't bad at all but for about the same price, I would opt for RED @ IFC not for the food alone but also the alfresco element. Almost forgot to mention that the oven-dried tomato was COLD!!!! The cold oven-dried tomato kind of ruined the whole dish for me.



(4) Espresso (Double)
I have heard good things about their coffee so I gave them a second chance after the Cappuccino earlier. It was good, very good indeed; way better than the coffee beverages. It carried a slight earthy flavor but smooth enough for my taste-bud. I am still learning about my coffee but I liked it, simple as that. However, I honestly did not understand why on earth would they serve my double espresso in such a large cup???



One thing I do want to share was their service. It was surprisingly attentive and professional as well. The team was well trained and we had a great time despite the few set backs with some of their food. I would definitely return on a lazy Sunday afternoon, looking forward to enjoy my brunch in this great atmosphere, hopefully with an improved attitude towards food details such as cold grilled tomatoes and baked beans.

Likes:

• Great Service
• Espresso
• Very nice decor + atmosphere for Sunday brunch

Dislikes:

• Espresso on such a large cup?
• Cold grilled tomato , oven-dried tomato and baked beans

Avg Spending: HKD 100 - 200 per person

Simplylife: Bread and Wine
Shop 1081, IFC Mall
Central, Hong Kong
Tel: 852 2234 7356
http://www.maxims.com.hk/tc/main.asp


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RED @ IFC

It was a sudden decision of mine to visit RED @ IFC on this lovely Saturday afternoon for a relaxing brunch! My last visit here was a while ago spending the afternoon under the sun reading. This time I can give their food items a try. You may ask why the restaurant opted for a self-serving approach, it is because this outdoor podium / alfresco dining area is a public area and hence no service can be provided. I am perfectly fine with that as long as I can enjoy my food under the sun. Just look around, it is not an everyday chance one can relax and enjoy a meal with such a view of Hong Kong.



It was perfect to me, not humid and not too hot (under the shade of course!). There were actually a lot of people dining here at this hour, all looking for some sun shines I imagined. If the weather is to get cooler (likely in a month or so), I might just spend the whole day here read, drinking cocktails and just to chill!



(1) 3-Egg Omelette
It was HUGE and thick! I think there were more than 3 eggs. Among the many fillings selection, I picked mushroom, baked ham, sweet corns and cheddar cheese. Wow, there were plenty of ingredients / fillings in that omelette as well. I love the sweet corns which added hints of sweetness to the whole dish. The omelette itself was a bit overcook but definitely acceptable. No surprises for the fries. As for the cappuccino, while it was rather weak, the foam was a surprise. It was very fine and creamy, not bad at all.

Likes:

• atmosphere / alfresco dining
• very creamy foam from the cappuccino
• plenty of fillings / ingredients !

Dislikes:

• weak coffee

Avg Spending: HKD 100 -200 per person

Red Bar and Restaurant
4/F, IFC Mall
Central, Hong Kong
Tel: 8129 8882
http://www.pure-red.com/en/hongkong/




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The Pantray (Revisited)

I promised after my previous visit to The Pantray I would return for a second attempt and so I did this afternoon. The interior remain unchanged, with a clean, bright and contemporary touch to its decor, a very relaxing environment for brunch or any other meals. the first thing you would notice when entering the restaurant was the use of a large long table which I always thought was a bad idea because it would be weird for a group of 2 or 3 people to be assigned here sitting side by side sharing the table with groups of other strangers. However, apparently it was not that uncommon to have large groups at this restaurant, there were two tables of 8 or so on this afternoon.

(1) All Day Breakfast

(Sweet Corn Fritters, Potato, Ham, Smoked Salmon, pork sausage & Tomato + Egg Benedict) The "pan" was warm but the ham, fritters and pork sausage were at room temperature! I did not expect a sizzling hot plate but I did expect the items to be a bit more heated (except the smoked salmon of course). Some of the items were not served at optimal temperature. Very Disappointing! I ordered potato as one of the 6 items but they looked more like wedges (or maybe fat fries which I like to call them). The guests at the table next to us ordered a basket of fries (if i overheard correctly) but those "fries" looked just like my so-called "potatoes". Unless that basket I saw was a basket of potatoes, otherwise I really doubt what I was served was potatoes as indicated on the menu. On the bright side, the Egg Benedict was well prepared with plenty of liquid egg yolk remained inside.

(2) Bagel Set

My friend ordered the Bagel Set which came with a bowl of soup as well. I did try any but it looked healthy enough to me.

Likes:

• A relatively relaxing atmosphere for brunch, especially on a sunny afternoon.
• Service was better than last time, very attentive and very responsive as well

Dislikes:

• Items were not served at optimal temperature
• Not sure if those were potatoes or fries

Avg Spending: HKD 100 - 200 per person



The Pantray
G/F Sunning Plaza
10 Hysan Avenue, CWB, Hong Kong
Tel: 852 2808 1148
http://www.thestonegrill.com.hk/


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