Archive | July, 2011

The Yuu

26 Jul

I was, until last night, a Knutsford Terrace virgin. As I’ve mentioned before, In Hong Kong it is far too easy to think of a trip across the water to ‘the dark side’ as awfully far away, a real hassle, far too complicated. We must remind ourselves, however, that the wonderful institution that is the Star Ferry, takes a mere what? 10 minutes? Outrageously far, isn’t it?! We get so stuck in a rut that going out anywhere other than Lan Kwai Fong, Soho, Wyndham Street, or, at an extreme push, Wan Chai, is unheard of. However, there is so much more to see over there on the dreaded ‘dark side.’

One of my friends had a friend from university visiting and, after a few drinks on Saturday night, I insisted that as part of her short trip to HK, she must feature in The Dim Sum Diaries. So, whether she really wanted to, or was just being polite, dinner in Knutsford Terrace was planned for Monday evening.

This pedestrianised strip, lined with alfresco restaurants and bars, not completely dissimilar to somewhere in southern Spain for example, instantly gives off the feeling that one is on holiday. Before I had even reached our chosen restaurant, I knew that I wanted to come back and experience it perhaps on a weekend in its full swing, although for a 9pm on a Monday evening, it was still very busy.

The Yuu, on the fourth floor of the first building you come across just by Knutsford Steps, is an intriguing, dimly lit Japanese restaurant offering a menu that can only be described as vast. Almost terrifyingly so, leaving you completely confused as to what on earth to order and more importantly, when to stop ordering. From grilled skewers of seafood, meat and vegetables, to sizzling beef on a hot stone plate, to sushi and sashimi to omelettes, to fried rice, it is one of those menus where you can turn page after page and not have a clue where to start.

Nevertheless, we took the bull by the horns and just went for it. It was most certainly a case of over-ordering, but when has that ever been a bad thing?!

Grilled King Prawns

From the grilled section, we had some grilled salmon skewers, which were very plain and would have benefitted from a little sauce on the side. The grilled Japanese peppers stuffed with minced chicken and served, rather bizarrely with two tiny raw (quail’s?) eggs on the side were more tasty, although we couldn’t quite work out the purpose of the raw egg garnish. The grilled king prawns, huge and slightly terrifying-looking things, were delicious and perfectly cooked, once we had managed to classily de-shell them.

One thing I must note as negative about all the skewers is that they are sold as individual items, meaning that of course, if there are more than one of you, (which one would hope, in a restaurant such as this, there are), then the price shockingly increases each time.

The pork dumplings, presented on a piping hot stone plate, were clearly freshly made minutes earlier, as they fell apart in our chopsticks. Most definitely one of the stars of the show.

Fried Vegetable Eggcake

 

The fried vegetable eggcake seemed like a necessary choice as there was a whole page dedicated to ‘eggcakes.’ This was also, in my opinion, one of the winners, particularly dipped in the accompanying sweet chilli sauce. The grilled beef cubes in a hot stone plate were wonderfully tasty, although slightly on the chewy side. However, thankfully the medley of vegetables lining the dish made up for this.

Grilled miso cod

Another favourite was the grilled cod with miso seasoning which simply melted in the mouth. Less appreciated, however, was the kimchi pork with fried rice served in a hot stone bowl. It could have been wonderful but I think it simply lacked a little flavour. Perhaps a bit of chilli would have given it a necessary boost.

 

Kimchi pork with fried rice

A ridiculous amount of food, a bottle of Masumi Sake and Japanese Green Tea came to just over $300 a head including acceptable service. For something a little different and certainly not your average Japanese sushi house, I would recommend swallowing your fear, being adventurous and making that treacherous journey over to the actually not so ‘dark side.’


The Yuu

4/F, 1 Knutsford Terrace
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2366 2999

Date visited: Monday 25th July 2011

 

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Linguini Fini

25 Jul

Being a big fan of Todd Darling and Robert Spina’s Posto Pubblico and Cantopop, I had wanted to try Linguini Fini from the moment I heard it was due to open in L place. Unfortunately, the timing of their opening was not ideal and I missed it by one day when I flew back to England. Therefore, as soon as I was back, I had to make plans to check it out, hoping that had there initially been any kinks in service, they would, by this stage, have been successfully ironed out.

They do not take bookings at this casual and affordable New York style Italian diner, but as there were only two of us, we were offered two spots at the bar – perfectly placed to be able to watch the pasta being made. My friend, who would willingly survive on just pasta for the rest of her life, commented that she finds “pasta always so mesmerising” and there is certainly some truth in that; there was little I could do to refrain from staring and stop myself from drooling. Thus, ignoring any other options on the menu, I knew that I HAD to have pasta!

Perhaps as it was peak time and the tartan-clad waiters were clearly rushed off their feet, or perhaps as we had our backs to them, engrossed in the art of pasta-making, service was not exceptional. After waiting long enough, we in fact had to flag down a waitress and request some menus, but it wasn’t enough to detract from my excitement of the meal that was to follow, and the freshly cooked still-warm bread served in an old anchovy tin kind of made up for it.

The daily set lunch menu at $98 includes one of two salads, followed by either a sandwich or one of two pasta dishes and a tea or coffee. Not immensely attracted to any of today’s choices however, we stuck to the slightly pricier regular menu. We chose to share a homemade spicy pork sausage from the antipasti menu, which was delicious, served with roasted onions and peppers and a roasted garlic mustard – definitely worth ordering again.

Homemade spicy sausage

My friend chose the Spaghetti Carbonara, which at Linguini Fini is not just any carbonara. The spaghetti is infused with char siu, bringing a little bit of Hong Kong to this typical Italian dish, and successfully so, giving it a very interesting and certainly moreish flavour.

Spaghetti Carbonara

I selected the Tortelloni with eggplant and sundried tomatoes in a goat’s cheese fonduta sauce, which again, was divine, if a little rich. I just about managed with what was on my plate, but would certainly not have coped with any more. The man to my right on the bar mentioned that he was trying so hard to refrain from sticking his fork into one of the tortelloni and pinching it. Likewise were my thoughts about his GIANT spaghetti and meatball. Yes, singular meatball. I might have to try it next time. Or just hope for a very generous neighbour.

Tortelloni

 

One of the things I love about Posto Pubblico, Cantopop and now evidently Linguini Fini is that all the dishes are cooked using natural and fresh ingredients from local farms, sourced by Homegrown Foods. So you know that even though you are probably consuming far too many calories (a run is definitely on the cards this evening), they are at least good calories, if such a thing exists!

Absolutely bursting at the seams, dessert was not even considered, although as I write and reminisce about my Linguini Fini experience, I can’t stop thinking about their homemade gelato and sorbeti. Again, that’ll be something to save space for next time. Unless my neighbour is really, really generous…

Total bill came to $302, without service charge. I have expressed my feelings about HK and service charge before and I stand my ground that I feel a place should earn their service charge rather than demand it, as I always feel more inclined to tip if it’s not forced upon me. Maybe the Integrated Hospitality Management boys should teach other HK restos a lesson or two!

Linguini Fini

1/F The L Place
139 Queen’s Road Central
Central
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2857 1333

Date visited: Monday 25th July 2011

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Morrocan Chicken and Lemon Soup

12 Jul

On my sister’s first night back in England (and possibly the warmest day we’ve had in a while!) she requested soup for dinner. I had been looking through cookbooks most of the afternoon anyway to find recipes for my birthday dinner on Wednesday, so was more than happy to continue browsing in search of a delicious soup recipe. Of course I chose the Covent Garden Book of Soups as they always know what they’re talking about.

This book has an amazing selection of soups, so I had to narrow my search down to soups containing chicken (as requested by the mother) and, after much deliberation (did we want a Colombian soup or a Moroccan soup?), I elected Moroccan Chicken and Lemon Soup.

It was an absolute hit. My dad commented that it is now his new favourite soup and I wholeheartedly agree. It is bursting with flavour, rich with spices and the thin slices of lemon add an unexpected and pleasantly surprising twist. I didn’t start cooking with the intention of writing about it, but quite honestly this soup needs to be shared with the world (or at least my little world of loyal readers –thank you!).

It is rightly placed in the ‘Reviving’ chapter of the book as it certainly has quite a kick to it. I would imagine it would be incredible on a miserable cold day but I can assure you it works wonders on a warm summer’s evening too…


Ingredients:
2 tbsp each of sunflower oil and extra virgin olive oil
600g chicken legs on the bone (I used breasts and boneless thigh pieces and it worked fine too)
2 small onions (I used a mixture of red and white)
1 leek, cut into 1cm slices
2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
3 sticks celery, cut into 1cm slices
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp honey
4 tbsp raisins
3-4 tsp hot curry powder
a pinch of chilli powder (optional but especially necessary if, like us, you only have medium curry powder)
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp allspice
1 litre chicken stock
50g long grain rice
1 large unwaxed lemon, thinly sliced
salt and pepper


To garnish:
Greek yoghurt
1 large handful of chopped fresh coriander


Method:
Heat the oils with ¼tsp salt and brown the chicken pieces lightly on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan.

Using the same saucepan, gently cook the onion until soft, without colouring. Add the leeks, carrots, celery and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in the honey, raisins, curry powder (and chilli powder if using), cumin and allspice and stir over the heat for a further minute.

Return the chicken pieces to the pan and add the rice and lemon slices. Stir, making sure to coat the chicken in the spices.

Pour over the stock, stirring well, and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer gently for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked, stirring occasionally. In my opinion, it’s best to leave it simmering just a little longer to really bring out all the flavours. 

If using chicken on the bone, remove it from the bone at this stage and then return it to the pan.

Season to taste and serve garnished with a dollop of yoghurt and a sprinkling of fresh coriander.

Enjoy! (Trust me, you will!)

*I know this is the second chicken soup I have put on here in a short space of time, but, although at a glance they may look similar, they are completely different dishes and I think both of them need to be tried!

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Lupita

8 Jul

On Wednesday evening, I ventured to London to see some wonderful friends from University and our original plan was to go to Wagamama for dinner. (I have been back in England for over a week and had still not yet been, which for me is quite remarkable! Fear not, however, as I polished off a delicious Wagas meal last night.) I quickly realised that Wagamama was a ridiculous plan as we had the whole of London’s culinary scene to choose from, so why go to a chain?

Instead, we went to a fun little Mexican restaurant called Lupita on Villiers Street. Upon hearing this suggestion, I immediately thought it was an excellent choice as ‘Lupita’ is in fact what my mother has always called me. I won’t go into the minor details but let’s just say it has something to do with my height and a magnifying glass…

Lupita (the restaurant) doesn’t look like much from the outside and I was not expecting it to be nearly as busy as it was, particularly on a Wednesday night. (We actually had a 20-minute wait for our table – just the right amount of time to share a bottle of wine at Gordon’s, London’s oldest wine bar, just down the road.)

Inside, there is a buzz as soon as you walk in: the open kitchen in the centre of the restaurant oozes the delicious smell of fresh spices, the Mexican chefs busily preparing each individual dish.

Guacamole Artesanal

The first thing I spotted on a nearby table and insisted we must order was a huge stone mortar filled with homemade guacamole. We ordered it almost as soon as we were seated, along with a pitcher of margarita. However, it took around 15 minutes before we received our drinks and a further ten minutes before we were served our ‘guacamole artesanal’. When I complained to a waitress, she actually told us they had run out! Perhaps because I had previously spoken to one of the other waiters in Spanish, or perhaps because they sensed that I was a really famous food critic (pah!) our original waiter quickly set up his table and made the guacamole in front of us – two avocados, chopped tomatoes, onions and jalapeños, drizzled with lime juice.

With no intention of being arrogant whatsoever, I do think I can make a better guac than Lupita. It would have benefitted from a pinch of salt and pepper, as it was fairly bland and even the jalapeños did little to enhance the flavour. Nevertheless we wolfed it down with the accompanying tortilla chips!

Arrachera Steak Burrito

Five out of the six of us ordered different varieties of burritos: chicken ones, vegetarian ones, steak ones… Wanting to be a little different, I asked my new waiter friend (in Spanish – it helps to have a strange Venezuelan mother) for his recommendation: Alambre with smoked chicken and cheese. This was a bed of corn tortillas topped with Chile poblano, bacon, onions, chicken and cheese, the idea being that you make your own tacos. I wouldn’t say it was the most incredible dish I’d ever tasted but it was certainly interesting. The cheese and the accompanying sauces were really what made it and, considering that these were optional add-ons, without these I’m not sure it warrants a place in the ‘specialities’ section of the menu.

Alambre

Around the table there was the overall consensus that the food was a little too salty; I think they made up for the forgotten salt in the guacamole by adding extra salt to the mains. As long as there was still margarita in our glasses, however, the salt wasn’t too much of an inconvenience.

For spice fiends (I wasn’t the only one this time), Lupita leaves a lot to be desired. One of the accompanying sauces (apparently called ‘green sauce’?!) certainly helped, but I would recommend asking for extra chilli to really give it a kick. Besides the lack of spice, however, you could definitely taste how fresh the ingredients were.

We had actually paid and were about to leave when we saw on the counter behind us a plate of churros. This was probably the only stage of the meal at which our waiter was very attentive, keen to sell us more! Unable to resist, we shared a plate between us. They were perfectly soft and fluffy, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, served with a pot of dulce de leche: amazing. I will admit here that we had completely polished them off before I realised I had forgotten to take a picture – apologies but they were just too tempting!

The total bill, including (terrible) service, came to £18 each (that’s around HKD220 to my loyal HK readers). I had always thought that dining in HK was a lot cheaper than London but considering we had a (giant) starter, dessert and margaritas on top of our main courses, all for a mere £18, I think I am somewhat mistaken!

Lupita

13-15 Villiers Street
London
WC2N 6ND

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7930 5355

Date visited: Wednesday 6th July 2011

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Laab Moo

2 Jul

 

I’m currently back in England for a nice three-week holiday while I’m “in between jobs.” Having landed at the crack of dawn after a very uncomfortable flight, the first thing my dad told me on the car journey home from the airport was that I was to cook dinner that evening for him and his guests. No rest for the wicked! Fortunately these guests were visiting from Bangkok and one of them is in fact Thai. Therefore when she heard that my dad had asked me to cook a Thai Green Curry, she quickly jumped in and suggested we cook together. Excellent idea as, although I like to think I make a very good TGC, there’s no way I would allow it to be judged by an actual Thai person!

We not only made an amazing curry, but also some delicious vegetables cooked in garlic and oyster sauce, and a Laab moo. This, I guess, is Thailand’s answer to Lettuce Wrap. It’s an interesting combination: crispy lettuce with warm salty/sour filling, infused with lemongrass, with the satisfying crunch of the ground rice. I have eaten it many a time in Thai restaurants across the world but have never actually tried my hand at cooking it. It is a very simple yet tasty dish which can be served alongside other Thai dishes, or as a starter.

As all my friends are boring and working (am I unemployed and bitter? Never!), I have not really had the chance to dine in any of the South East of England’s finest restaurants yet. Hence, I shall share with you a truly scrumptious Thai dish…

Ingredients:
500g minced pork*
50g rice
Chicken stock
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 lemongrass stalks, finely sliced
2-3 shallots, finely sliced
1 tsp chilli powder
1 fresh red chilli, finely sliced
Juice of 1 lime
Large handful of coriander, roughly chopped
Large handful of mint, roughly chopped
Lettuce leaves (iceberg or little gem will work perfectly, separated into individual leaves)

Method:
Put the rice in a dry pan and heat until brown and slightly puffed (should take around 5-10 minutes). Ground using a mortar and pestle until crushed into a coarse powder.

In a heavy-based pan, add a little water (around 100ml) and a chicken stock cube. Cook at a low heat until dissolved. Add the pork and stir until cooked through.

Add lemongrass, shallots, chilli powder, fresh chilli and ground rice and cook for a couple of minutes, until a little softer.

Add fish sauce and lime juice. Bring to the boil and turn heat right down.

Finally add two thirds of the coriander and mint leaves. Stir through until leaves wilt slightly. Use the rest as garnish when serving.

Take a lettuce leaf, fill with laab moo, roll it up and enjoy!

 

*Can be made with minced chicken or beef as an alternative. I would imagine that it could even be made with quorn for those strange veggies out there!

 

 

 

 

 

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