La Maison du Chocolat @ Elements

When you got an hour to kill before dinner, what is the best pass time activity? Simple, find something you enjoy to do. For me, I can either find a place to chill and read over a cup of coffee or I can go shop around! Since I was at the Elements already and coffee places were all packed for some odd reasons, I opted to shop around. While wandering aimlessly, I somehow ended up in front of La Maison du Chocolat. Why? Maybe I just love chocolate so much and my body directed me to here for some sweet things I lacked in my unbalanced diet??




Unlike its IFC and Prince Building's outlets, this one at Elements does not serve drinks (ie: yummy hot chocolate) unfortunately. Even so, the sight of the chocolates at the counter, beautifully lined up against each other, I just can't resist but to step inside. I really don't like the feeling of coming out empty handed so I did get something. After trying a few sample chocolates, I decided to buy the Moon Festival themed box set. Why? it looked kind of cute! They actually made this special box set for the Asia market, very smart of them indeed! It comes with 4 thick square reassembling that of Chinese moon cakes. There are 4 flavors, namely Rocher Lait (Milk chocolate praline with roasted almonds and hazelnuts), Salvador (Dark chocolate ganache with raspberry pulp), Porcelana (Dark ganache made with Porcelana bean) and Dentelle (milk praline with hazelnuts and almond notes and some crispy waffle).



I have not tried all of them yet but I love the TINY crispy waffle in the Dentelle! However, the size of the "moon cake" is a bit too big and thick. On the plus side though, the quality of the chocolate was smooth, rich, deep in chocolate flavor as well as very satisfying as always. I am going to eat one a day so at least it can last me 4 whole days; well, 3 whole days now that I just finished one. One other thing I like to mention was the branded "cooler bag" that comes with my purchase which is reusable as well.

Likes:

• Presentation of the "moon cakes" very adorable.
• The branded + reusable "cooler bag"
• Great service at this outlet - I stayed and looked around for a long while but staff was equally polite and have great patience

Dislikes:

• Size of the "moon cakes" slightly too big / thick in my opinion

Avg Spending: HKD 200 - 300 per person / set

La Maison du Chocolat
Shop 2040A, 2/F, Elements,
1 Austin Road West, TST
Tel: 2196 8333

Nam Ah Restaurant 南亞 1964

Someone told me recently that when one has a craving for certain types of food / cuisine, it means one lacked the certain nutrition that can be found from that particular food or cuisine. Your body somehow stimulated your brain to have certain food craving for your own good. I think it is true to a certain extend. The main concern I have is that I am always craving for various types of food and cuisines, sometimes the range can be quick extreme as in one moment I want Indian curry with Naan and then soon after I would crave for a salad followed by ice cream! Does it mean I am in a really bad shape in terms of a balance diet? In lack of various nutriments? humm ....



After getting my haircut, I wandered around the Causeway Bay area in search for something quick for dinner. When I passed by the the Brunch and Supper Club, I really had the urge to go up for some egg Benedict but after recalling my previous visits here, I decided to continue my search. The mere thought of the egg Benedict reminded me of chicken and suddenly I had a craving for chicken. The first thing that came to my mind at that moment was Nam Ah Restaurant and its Hainan Chicken which they are famous for. It was a good time to give it try. The last time I visited was almost 2 years ago, also after my haircut session. Without spending much time on the menu, I ordered my craving item, chicken, Hainan Chicken Rice. The environment is causal and decor is fairly contemporary in a sense. It was bright and fairly cozy but a bit noisy even when it was only half full.



(1) Hainan Chicken
From the slightly chewy texture of the meat, it seemed to me it was of free range chicken but lack the strong chicken flavor I wanted. The same applies to the rice but it was soft and moist which was good. The sauce was a bit of a disappointment because the "ginger onion" lacked a lot of minced ginger!!! I heart this type of sauce and I can literally have a bowl of plain rice to go along with it. However, not the sauce here; not only did it lacked the amount of minced ginger, it had an excessive amount of oil and the green onion was chopped too big in my opinion. I remember cooking my own "ginger onion" sauce to go along with a simple steamed chicken back at university years when I was the so-called "chef" of the house. My housemates finished the whole chicken and all the sauce, I guess that was a sign of it being fairly decent right? or maybe they were just too hungry after waiting the whole evening for me to finish cooking. The soup that accompanied the set was alright, with "dried vegetables" and pig's kidney and live, fairly traditional in terms of ingredients but not of taste because it was rather light in flavor in my opinion. When the set was being served, it reminded me of my childhood days because the whole set was placed on a plastic tray with handles on the two sides like you find in some canteens or school cafeterias.



I wish my Singapore trip can come sooner so I can enjoy some wonderful Hainan Chicken Rice there!!!!

Likes:

• Free Range Chicken (I assumed)
• Causal and relax environment for a quick meal

Dislikes:

• "Ginger Onion" sauce - not enough minced ginger
• not enough chicken flavor for the chicken

Avg Spending: Below HKD 100 per person

Nam Ah Restaurant
G/F, 17-19 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay
Tel: 2187 3487

Union J (a Re-Union)

Many would agree that Happy Hour on a Friday evening is a wonderful way to end the week; but I think it is equally wonderful to start the week off doing Happy Hour on a Monday evening. Actually it would be wonderful to end everyday with a Happy Hour session in celebration of the long day of work! My previous visit to Union J was during lunch hour and tonight, with my friend's invitation, it was time for Happy Hour. The layout of the restaurant remains clean and spacious; and with the dimmed lights plus candles, the atmosphere was very cozy indeed. The music was Jazzy and most importantly, the volume of the music was just right as a background music (unlike many lounges and bars nearby which play their music so loud that you would have mistaken the day of the week as Sat!) Thumbs up on the music and its volume control, well done! Great Ambiance!

(1) Litchi & Lychee Champagne

One of the main reasons for coming here was for this drink, which a friend recommended to my friend. It was wonderful! I was not sure about the brand of Champagne being used but it was bubbly enough and not too acidic, likely due to the mixture of lychee juice. From just a single sip, you can taste a strong lychee flavor, but it was not overly strong to a point that would affect the Champagne flavors. Nicely done! In my opinion, the highlight of this drink was the lychee sitting at the bottom of the glass. You have to eat that at the end! Tiny bubbles seem to be exploding on very bite with both residue Champagne and lychee fruit juice watering your mouth. What a great UNION!

(2) Duck Fat Fries

How can we not have snacks along with our drinks !! Before today, I usually categorize fries into 2 distinct types, one is normal thinly sliced fries and the other would be wedges. However, I think I am going to create a new category of my own, big fat fries which lies in between the two. The name of this dish was duck fat fries and it literally means Duck Fat + really Fat fries. In other words, deep-fried with duck fat / oil and sliced fatter than normal. From the pattern of the potato skins and the size of the fries, I think all the pieces came from one single potato. You can actually carefully piece them back into one single piece! The fries were freshly prepared and it came with some steak sauce. I was happy with just the fries which has a crisp and thin layer with soft and mash-y interior. Due to the fact that they are FAT fries, it was hard to compared with those from Press Room or even MacDonald's, but I did enjoyed it and ended up ordering another one later into the evening. Well done! Thumbs up!

(3) Sourdough

To my surprise, the sourdough here was not free of charge. If they dare to charge me for bread even during dinner and lunch, it better be good. Well, it was! It was fresh and still hot so it must be right out from the oven not too long ago. The crust was crisp and firm while the inside was soft and warm. Also, the bread was served with butter and some sea salt. Sometimes it is as simple as butter, salt and bread which would make your day! Thumbs up! If it were free of charge, two thumbs up!

(4) Hamachi, Cucumbers and Wasabi Ice

Now this one was definitely an interesting creation. It consisted of diced hamachi and cucumbers with wasabi flavored shaved ice. The wasabi ice allow you to get the wasabi flavor needed for the fish while giving you a very refreshing sensation. Very interesting concept indeed. However, because it was shaved ice, it melt pretty fast and you have to eat it fairly quick. It was cook to serve it in a glass but with the shaved ice on top, it did not look appealing to me. Maybe placing the ice at the bottom would look better?

(5) Cherry Crumbles

I had my fair share of apple crumbles but it was my first attempt at cherry crumbles this evening. To my surprise it was alright. The cherry filling was not too sweet and the crust was crisp. The crumbles on top was flaky enough but a bit too sweet especially with the icing sparkled over the top.

(6) Banana Split

When I ordered it, I had an image of how the dish was going to look with two bananas on the side and a few scoops of ice cream in between. That is how a classic Hong Kong style banana split would look like. Of course the way how they prepare here would be different and it certainly surprised me in a delightful way. There were two bananas alright but not just two piece of sliced banana. The surface of the sliced banana was caramelized resulted in a thin and crisp layer on top. The combination was very nice in terms of flavors and textures, especially with the ice cream as well. (P.S. - I was not sure what the thing on top of the ice cream was but it was too chewy and too sweet, not my cup of tea)

Likes:

• Atmosphere + Music (of the right volume and Jazz as well)
• Litchi & Lychee Champagne - make sure you eat the litchi !
• Sourdough - simple and wonderful ...

Dislikes:

• the shaved wasabi ice melt too fast and somehow diluted the strength of the wasabi as well
• Cherry Crumbles - crumbles slightly too sweet(too much icing as well in my opinion)
  

Avg Spending: HKD 300 - 400 per person

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


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VERO

Have you ever had the problem whereby you are unable to come up with restaurant suggestions when you have a list of want-to-try places at the back of your head? It happens to me all the time! I have so many places I wanted to try but whenever someone asks me to suggest a place, I would somehow be speechless. My friend asked me to suggest a place where we can sit and relax in the early afternoon and chat over a cup of coffee. I was speechless once again! Thanks to my friend, we ended up at VERO which was actually on my list but somehow slipped my mind ... must be too early in the morning ! ... HAHA.



This place is definitely not a easy place to find due to its location but once you entered the cafe / restaurant, it was a totally different environment which I did not expect. The layout was very open, clean and BRIGHT. A minimalist decor in my opinion. The brightness is from the sun light shinning through the huge windows along the side. Its kitchen was of open kitchen style with pastry chefs busy working inside the chocolate and pastry workshop / studio. The various metal decorations were a nice touch, increasing the artistic feel of the whole atmosphere.



(1) Taro Earl Grey & Rosemary Cake
The cake on the right was the Taro Earl Grey cake. The Earl Grey flavored mousse was not too sweet but also lacked the flavor it needed. So where did the Taro go? Good question, the taro element was inside the cake. There were two pieces of chilled square taro in the middle of the cake which actually matched the flavors and texture of the cake very well. Thumbs up! As for the Rosemary cake, I only had one bit but it was very rich in rosemary flavors which I liked. A very interesting use of ingredient / flavor indeed.



(2) Espresso con Panna
I doubt it was due to the whipped cream but the espresso was not bitter but extremely acidic for some reasons. I tried the Lavazza blend before but it did not taste like that. I tried espresso con panna at other places as well nothing as acidic as this. I think it was due to the water temperature used to make the espresso, but then again it can be due to many other factors. Maybe the cream was the main reason? (Need your help on this one Babedolphin! haha, I know you love coffee and are quite knowledgeable on the subject as well.) The bottom line was that I did not enjoy the drink! Two thumbs down ! (Not my lucky day I bet, should have just ordered my usual double espresso)



(3) Muffins Tasting Menu
They were all warm and freshly baked. Since it was a tasting menu, each one has a unique flavor. Usually when you find one special ingredient being used on an item, it is very likely you will find the same ingredient being used on another item in the same cafe / restaurant. Same case applies here where you find a rosemary flavored muffins along with banana, chocolate, blueberries and dark chocolate. Another positive point of the muffins was that their center were all moist and soft, very nicely done. The rosemary one was indeed an interesting flavor and definitely worth a try.




(4) Spring / Summer Chocolate Collection
Just from the look of the chocolates, I think they were not as refined or delicate in terms of decoration when compared with chocolates from La Maison du Chocolat, Godiva or Wittamer. Maybe it was due to the TINY size of the pieces but still. The collection consisted of special flavors such as banana & mint, White forest, apple & thyme, mango & Kaffir line and Honey mustard. They were not too sweet which was good in my opinion. The most unique flavors in my opinion was the honey mustard because the taste really reminded me of the sauce!



(5) Cappuccino
I gave their coffee another chance because I had higher hopes for this place. Alright, the cappuccino was slightly better. The foam was creamy which I enjoyed but it was still weak of coffee flavors. I think another shot would be nice.

Likes:

• Decor / Atmosphere- great place to sit and relax (especially when the sun is out)
  
• Taro Earl Grey - interesting way to combine the taro with the cake.
• Muffins tasting menu - a nice combination of flavors, especially the rosemary

Dislikes

• Espresso con Panna - overly acidic (maybe due to the whipped cream?)
  
• More staff training is required - we had to repeat our orders for confirmation. (plus unfamiliar with the menu, including the chocolate collection)

Avg Spending: HKD 100 - 200 per person

VERO
1/F, Fenwick Pier,
1 Lung King Street,Wan Chai
Tel: 2559 5882
http://www.verochocolates.com/


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Jimmy's Kitchen @ TST

Tonight was my first visit to Jimmy's Kitchen @ TST since it moved to street level from the floor above. One thing for sure, it was way easier to find! It modernized itself with a bar area in front of the dining area which would certainly increase happy hour business which they did not have before in my opinion. However, the modernized layout and location did take away the exclusivity element compared with the old venue. Anyhow, I was here for Happy Hour this Friday evening.



It was a long week, at least it seemed long to me. Someone asked me why I "sigh" so much lately and I can't help myself but to wonder as well. So what is the cause of the "sigh-ing"? Where should I start ... the list can go on and on and on and on ... longer than the Energizer bunny can play its drum. (Maybe a monthly mood swing?) Sometimes having a drink alone can be a good activity or good setting for personal reflections.

(1) Black Sheep Ale
For some odd reasons, I find myself constantly going against common trends such as supporting the underdog sport teams (just for the sake of supporting one) or picking something new and unfamiliar on the drink list. I never consider myself as an adventurous person yet I strive to differ and be unique at times. Maybe I am just too stubborn. Instead of picking the common beers, I opted for this Black Sheep Ale which I never tried before. It was love at first sight! ... Not because of the taste / flavors or texture but the bottle has the description of the ale already! - "Crisp, Dry & Bittersweet." It certainly saved me time to think of the right words to describe the ale. Well, how accurate was the description? It was Dry and Bittersweet for sure but I am unable to experience what it meant by Crisp. How can liquid be crisp? I have much to learn indeed!



(2) Fuller's London Porter
Moments of personal reflection can be dull and boring at times, so I chatted with the waitress for some recommendations for snacks and another ale / beer. She recommended me this London Porter because it is her personal favorite. She warned / informed me that the Porter is a dry stout beer similar to that of Guinness but since I am a fan of stout, I was fine with it. Apparently stout was said to be derived from porter beer but their history are intertwined according to wiki. Is it a trend of UK's marketing traditions to include detailed description of the drink on the bottle? Well, as long as the description is accurate, I am more than happy to read it. For the Porter, the description says: Rich, Dark & Complex. It was very rich in flavors with strong traces of chocolate and coffee taste as well. Very complex it was! I enjoyed it very much, better than Guinness actually because its flavors were richer, stronger and most importantly, less thick / creamy compared with Guinness. Thumbs up!



(3) The Ploughman's Platter
(smoked ham, cheese, coleslaw, pickled egg, fruit chutney, apple and crusty bread)
If you are a fan of pickled items, this is definitely one of your favorite dish! In addition to the items listed on menu, there were some pickled beetroots, pickled fruit chutney and slightly pickled salad. So many things were pickled. I like pickled stuff very much but I think some items here were overly sour, ie: pickled eggs. Aside from the pickled issue, I have to say that the portion was rather generous indeed especially with the number of sliced cheeses. I wish they can give me more bread to go along with the pickled items. Good that there were some sliced granny apple and tomatoes to balance the sour flavor. It was definitely an upgraded version of a ploughman's lunch.



So what did I get out of this personal reflection moment? Nothing, absolutely nothing, NIL and zip! Maybe another session is needed with stronger drinks like whiskey or wines. In the meantime ... SIGH ...

Likes:

• environment and great service
• a good list of less common ales / stout / porter

Dislikes:

• Too many pickled items for the ploughman's platter.

Avg Spending: HKD 100 - 200 per person

Jimmy's Kitchen
Shop C & C1, G/F Kowloon Centre,
29 Ashley Road, TST
Tel: 2376 0327

Sushi U

I love sushi and I often pick the sushi bar to sit because I wanted to observe how the sushi chef skillfully prepare my sushi. Well, at least that was my initial intention for coming to Sushi U @ LKF for lunch. (I sound disappointed? Oh yes, I am very disappointed.) I have been hearing a lot of different comments on this place so I decided to give it a try.



I was pretty excited when I first sat down at the sushi bar right in front of the sushi chefs but my excitement did not last long. I felt like a kid with his lollipop stolen and the lollipop was my excitement and anticipation. Apparently, perhaps it was busy lunch hours, many of the sushi were pre-prepared! You see the little tin container in the picture? Many of the sushi pieces were FRESHLY selected from the tin container. Unless you order hot food, you will be one of the lucky ones to have enjoyed some of these FRESHLY selected sushi from the TIN CONTAINER! Honestly, I understand how busy it can be during lunch hours, but PLEASE DO NOT LET ME SEE WITH MY OWN EYES!!! (It took me a few attempts to take this picture! – will I be banned from this place from now on … haha)



One more thing I find very interesting is the design of the sushi bar. Why would the sushi fridge’s doors be facing the customers? Through out the meal some of the fridge doors remained open. What if I were having a serious allergy day and continue to sneeze during the meal? I serious don’t want to imagine that scenario!

(1) Sashimi Set
My friend ordered this set and it looked very nice. Of course even for some sashimi pieces, some were pre-cut but the presentation was pretty nice.



(2) Special Daily Bento
I like surprises so I ordered this special daily Bento which has no description on the menu as to the items included. I was indeed surprised to find how ordinary the items were in my humble opinion. The sushi pieces were chef selected, two of which were FRESHLY selected from the TIN CONTAINER. Although the quality of the fish was fair but the TIN CONTAINER issue really made a negative impression on me. The fried item was something like crab cakes to me but the inside were softer like mashed (instead of minced) crab meat. Very interesting item which I enjoyed. Sashimi was alright but for a lunch box costing over HKD 250, why would they skillful select salmon? The Chawanmushi was alright, not the custard type but it was in room temperature meaning it was not directly form the steamer. I seriously think the side dishes were more tasty and of course more appetizing, especially the eggplant .




At the end of the meal while my friend and I were having a cup of coffee and ice cream, we were presented with the bill. WHEN DID I ASK FOR THE BILL? I don’t think I am at the age I would forget about asking for the bill! While presenting the bill, the waitress mentioned that there were many customers waiting. Why would that concern me? I am spending well over HKD 250 per person for a lunch and I could not even enjoy my coffee? At least ask me nicely first instead of passing me the bill out of nowhere! The most funny thing happened soon after I signed the bill. While trying to finish up my cup of coffee, the store manager (I assumed he is) came over and asked us if we were done. I looked over my shoulder and he was in a “begging” gesture with his two hands put together, informing us very nicely that many customers were still waiting outside and how sorry he felt. Blah, blah blah and BLAH!!!

Likes:

• Japanese crab cakes
• Side dishes - all the side dishes were yummy, especially the eggplant!
• Service during the meal was good but not at the end!
  

Dislikes:

• Being rushed off, twice !
  
• Pre-prepared sushi in tin container ! (I understand it was busy lunch hour but please don't let customers see it right at the open sushi table)

Avg Spending: HKD 200 - 300 per person

Sushi U
3/F Century Square,
1-13 D'Aguilar Street, Central
Tel: 2537 9393

The Helena May

I am really surprised to discover that there remains such a historical establishment right in the middle of Hong Kong's Central district and such historical structure remains literally untouched by any urban development in a city where commercial interests are the priorities. I am referring to The Helena May building situated in between Cotton Tree Road and Garden Road. The Helena May is also an active charitable establishment in Hong Kong for many decades. According to its website, "The Helena May was established by Lady May, the wife of Sir Henry May, Governor of Hong Kong at its inception in 1916 with the object of promoting the welfare of women and girls in Hong Kong," and the exterior of the building has been declared a heritage building in 1993 for preservation purposes by the government. Truly hope that more of such historical buildings can be declared heritage buildings before it is too late. (there is a tranquil garden at the back of the building, yes, in the middle of Central! ... see pictures below)



The interior of the establishment remains very warm, cozy and full of colonial colors. It does not have a fancy decor but it does have a very friendly and "home" feel to the whole environment. In the "living room" area, one can sit back and relax. It was an interesting experience indeed. (to my surprise, The Helena May operates on a membership basis ... interesting indeed)



The dining area was plain but very comfortable and cozy. I liked it very much. The decor remained unchanged over the past 2 decades in my opinion but it was well maintained and continue to have a heritage atmosphere to it. Most of the furnishings are antiques as well. Lovely indeed.



While looking through the menu, we were served the bread basket. Not the best bread but the variety seemed alright. Most of the bread were in room temperature which was fine but some were a bit too tough as dining rolls in my opinion. Overall they were alright.



(1) Farm House Platter served with Cantaloupe & Port Reduction
Wow, interesting presentation indeed, in a good way of course. The Port Reduction sauce was poured into two craved "holes" inside the melon. Although the sauce was a bit too "vinegar-y" to my liking, the presentation has won my heart. The selection of meats / hams were of quality ones, especially the parma hams which were not too salty by itself. The melon on the other hand was not sweet enough in my opinion.



(2) Chicken Maryland served with Grilled Polenta Cake, Crisp Bacon & Gravy
Do not be fooled by the look of this dish, it was wonderful! It used quality chicken breast and the batter was very thin and it was not greasy at all. Did I mention the chicken breast was very juicy and tender as well? Very nicely done! The bacon was very crisp as well. According to the menu, there should be one major side dish which is the Polenta Cake. To my surprise, for my dish, there were the Polenta Cake and fried banana! I have no idea why but it tasted very good and a surprising good match with the chicken! Now, what exactly is a Polenta Cake? I did not know until I checked it up on the Internet just now. Apparently, there are many variations of it but the main ingredient is cornmeal which is flour ground from dried corn. The way it was prepared was interesting but rather plain in flavor but wonderful on texture to go along with the chicken or simply with the gravy.



(3) Wild Mushroom on Toast
My friend ordered this simple but comforting dish. The wild mushroom were fresh and extremely favorable. The flavor of the sauce was just right and not too thick as well. The toast on the other hand, I would not consider it a toast because after pouring the sauce over it, it was no longer toast but soaked bread. I would be very happy to just have the wild mushroom!



There was nothing better than to have a walk after such a nice meal. My friend took me through the back door which then leads to a long staircase along the building. The staircase / pathway really impressed me because I did not expect to find such historical and heritage site (with such colonial colors) in the middle of Central. At the end of the pathway is another delightful surprise!



The garden at the end of the pathway was not something I was expecting at all! The lighting, the environment and the overall atmosphere resemble nothing you can find in Central, not even the Hong Kong Park in my opinion. Also, there is a library inside the building and it is located near the garden. The library has a heritage look to it as well, very cozy and ... just wonderful!

Likes:

• The environment / decor / atmosphere
  
• Th Garden !!
• Chicken Maryland - surprisingly yummy! Chicken was tender and juicy.

Dislikes:

• Members only =<
• Not an easily reached location

The Helena May
35 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong