Tag Archives: chocolate

ChocoYOU – your very own custom designed chocolates

15 Apr

chocoyou hong kong

Life without chocolate simply would not be worth living; as I am reminded each year when I decide to give it up for Lent, I need chocolate in my life. It is the friend who is always there, no matter how hard times get; the friend who will always, without fail, put a smile on your face and remind you that despite work stress, homesickness or those ‘that-time-of-the-month’ mood swings, things really aren’t that bad.

When, one gloomy day, I received an email from Alexis Kwong Alvarez, the founder of ChocoYOU, inviting me to taste some tailor-made chocolates, did I hesitate? Silly question. I responded immediately and put my creativity to the test on ChocoYOU’s website.

ChocoYOU is Hong Kong’s first and only custom-designed chocolate website; in three very easy steps, you choose your chocolate, choose up to five toppings, enter your details and less than three days later you will receive the most exciting package straight to your door.

chocoyou hong kong

The beautiful packaging makes these chocolates the perfect present, whether you’re treating a loved one, or simply treating yourself (it’s more than ok to buy yourself presents, especially if they involve chocolate). The chocolates are handmade in the ChocoYOU studio in Sheung Wan, so you can guarantee they will be fresh and made with a true chocolate lover’s passion.

The website offers a whole range of infusions, toppings and decorations, some classically associated with chocolate, others slightly on the wacky side. The beauty of it is that there are no restrictions, so if you really want to create pink chocolate with crispy chicken ramen, crystallised lavender and gold flakes, you are more than welcome to (although I would probably not recommend it!).

chocoyou hong kong

Wanting to taste a range of chocolate, I ordered one white, one milk and one dark, each made with rich, creamy Belgian chocolate. Starting with the white, of which I am not usually a fan, I chose to top it with caramel crunch and M&Ms, which not only looked beautiful, but was also possibly the best white chocolate I’ve had in a long time.

For the milk, I chose pink Himalayan salt, cashew nuts and sprinkles. The contrast between the creamy, sweet chocolate and the hint of salt created a delicious balance that was hard to stop eating.

The dark chocolate, my absolute favourite, consisted of chilli, cornflakes and red chocolate hearts. The chilli creeps up on you very subtly, leaving you with a warming, satisfying tingle in your mouth.

If you don’t consider yourself to be very creative, or are in a rush to fulfil your chocolate cravings and don’t have time to create your own bar, you can always choose one of ChocoYOU’s signature pre-designed bars.

Now for the best part of this review – Alexis wants to offer you, my dear readers, a 10% discount on your very own ChocoYOU chocolate bars! From now until 16th June 2013, enter the promo code DIMSUMAPR2013 when you check out and you’ll receive 10% off your final bill – the perfect excuse to treat yourself!

Prices start from $70 per bar, with additional charges for each topping. Delivery is a flat rate of $45 for Hong Kong deliveries, which is removed if you collect the chocolates from the Sheung Wan studio yourself. No minimum order and they also deliver outside of HK – check the website for more details.

www.chocoyou.com

Email: info@chocoyou.com

Tel: +852 2327 9902

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L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

4 Mar

the dim sum diaries hong kong

 

 

l'atelier de joel robuchon hong kong

Whoever thinks five-course meals can only be enjoyed in the evening needs to go to L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon for lunch. Ignore the fact that you will without fail enter into a deep food-coma post lunch, as dining in this three Michellin-starred French resto is more than worth it.

l'atelier de joel robuchon hong kong

The restaurant is split into three sections: L’atelier, where diners eat around an open kitchen; Le Jardin, a beautiful dining room; and The Terrace, exactly what it says on the tin. We ate in L’atelier, a gorgeous room decorated with red velvet and dark wood, giving it an elegant and chic look. From wherever you’re seated, you can watch the skilled chefs, led by executive chef Olivier Elzer, prepare your meal with utter passion and precision.

l'atelier de joel robuchon hong kong

At Robuchon, they have thought of every little detail, where even the bread basket seriously impressed me. Provided you ask them in advance, they can also make some incredible gluten-free bread. I was almost full from the delicious bread and lobster amuse bouche before the real meal started!

l'atelier de joel robuchon hong kong

Moving on to the starters, the Maine lobster salad was just perfect. Each morsel of lobster was wonderfully meaty, complemented by the variety of other textures at play: creamy avocado coulis, soft tofu, crisp lettuce and buttery fresh avocado. I was in lobster heaven.

l'atelier de joel robuchon hong kong

The foie gras was equally divine and so amazingly smooth. Paired with lemon foam and lemon marmalade, one bite of this made you want to close your eyes and revel in the moment.

l'atelier de joel robuchon hong kong

We both turned down the cauliflower soup and tried the chicken broth. I would certainly not call this a broth, as it was thick and creamy, but I would most definitely call it delicious. Not only was there an amazing Parmesan crisp topped with black truffle atop the soup, but in the depths of the broth were more black truffle surprises.

l'atelier de joel robuchon hong kong

Moving on to the seafood course, the grilled sea bass with Parmesan cheese foam, artichoke puree and Wagyu beef crisps was heavenly. I’m normally not overly impressed with ‘foam’ in dishes, but this really wowed us and truly brought out the delicate flavours of the fish.

l'atelier de joel robuchon hong kong

Even better, however, were the pan-seared scallops with ginger and fregola pasta. The scallops were cooked to bouncy perfection, contrasting wonderfully with the nutty, almost couscous-esque fregola pasta.

l'atelier de joel robuchon hong kong

Turkey is something I usually reserve for Christmastime; it’s not the most exciting of meats and can often be dry and dull. This turkey stuffed with foie gras, served with chestnuts, pancetta and black truffle, however, was far from dull.

l'atelier de joel robuchon hong kong

The winning dish for me was the rack of lamb: perfectly tender and pink with a delicious herb crust and of course more black truffle.

l'atelier de joel robuchon hong kong

Both dishes were served with a bowl of the creamiest, most incredible mashed potato you ever will taste. Mix in the black truffle and you will want for nothing more.

l'atelier de joel robuchon hong kong

There was somehow still space for dessert, both of which were gobbled up within seconds, regardless of how full we both were. La Citronelle, a beautiful medley of lemongrass ice cream with citrus fruits, lemon cream and cassis coulis was refreshing and light, the perfect end to a super rich meal.

l'atelier de joel robuchon hong kong

Le Chocolat Tentation was the opposite of light but I’m definitely not complaining. Chocolate cream, topped with chocolate cookies, chocolate ice cream and dark chocolate – this is any chocolate lover’s dream.

A five-course meal at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon will set you back $688. Granted it’s not a cheap lunch, but for an excellent three Michellin-starred world-famous restaurant with superior service and quality of food, I actually don’t think it’s too unreasonable. There are also three-course and four-course options, but trust me, you’ll want to eat as much of the menu as you can possibly manage. Just make sure you save a tiny corner of stomach space for the petits fours.

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

Shop 401, The Landmark
15 Queen’s Road Central
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2166 9000

www.robuchonhk.com

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The Thinkers Balcony, London

27 Nov

the thinkers balcony secret supper club londonDo we ever really think about what it is we are eating and why we are eating that particular thing? Of course we think about how much we enjoy that food (hopefully), but most of the time, eating is never really a very meditative experience. Ilyas Kassam, an old university friend and now a writer of philosophy, begs to differ, believing that food can indeed be tied to thought. Taking this a step further, by associating food with the specific thoughts of well-known philosophers, Ilyas set up The Thinkers Balcony, a secret supper club, to encourage his diners to ‘engage with their desires, their beliefs, and of course their stomachs!’

the thinkers balcony supper club london

The Thinkers Balcony is not like any private kitchen we know in Hong Kong; it is located in a beautiful traditional London town house in Notting Hill, in fact in Ilyas’ very own living room. The room is artistically decorated, with a gramophone, stacks of philosophical books, unusual hats, and most importantly a low table made from old wine cases, around which diners sit on cushions on the floor. As we sipped on glasses of Champagne (it’s BYOB – it would have been rude not to!) whilst we waited for the food to be presented, we took in our surroundings and knew we were in for an unforgettable experience.

the thinkers balcony supper club london

Normally, diners coming to The Thinkers Balcony are aware of who the philosopher inspiring their meal is before they begin their feast. Ilyas had something different in store for us, however; our meal was entitled Mystery and the Unknown: An Existential Adventure of the Stomach, so the philosophy was not revealed until the end of the meal. Until then, each course led us on an inquisitive journey where we were encouraged to think really hard (seriously hard in fact) about what the thought governing the meal could be…

the thinkers balcony supper club londonThe first course, or the ‘prelude’, was Bergamot Ponzu Oyster with Ikura. I’m not always enamoured by oysters, yet I definitely was by these. The citrusy flavours of the bergamot and ponzu shone through and contrasted with the delicate chamomile leaf oil to create a delicious yet not thunder-stealing backdrop for the oyster.

the thinkers balcony supper club london

‘Chapter 1’ was an incredible Japanese Tuna Tartare beautifully presented with edible flowers. With strong hints of sesame, buttery chunks of avocado and of course melt-in-the-mouth tuna, all you could hear around the table was the sound of delighted diners and cutlery scooping up every last crumb.

the thinkers balcony supper club london

the thinkers balcony supper club london

Our main course, ‘Chapter 2’, was Smoked Cognac Chipotle Beef and Tamago Donburi. As you can tell, Ilyas takes most of his inspiration from Japanese cuisine (and quite rightly too, as it’s one of my favourites). This dish arrived in three parts: first the sticky rice topped with tamago (Japanese omelette) and sesame, followed by a wooden board laden with rare chunks of steak that caused a tablewide round of ‘oooohs’, and finished off with a jug of chipotle sauce. Although the beef was a little chewy, it was beautifully infused with cognac, which tasted even better with a generous dash of the smoky, slightly spicy chipotle sauce.

the thinkers balcony supper club london

‘Chapter 3’ was dessert: Black Truffle Ice Cream with Argan Baked Fig served on a pumpkin, date and hazelnut ‘sand’. Putting truffle in a dessert is a very brave move, as it isn’t to everyone’s taste. So, although there were a few confused and perhaps displeased palates around the room, those who did like it (including me!) made up for the haters and made sure every plate was licked clean. The combination of the unique flavours and textures really demonstrated Ilyas’ passion and skill in the kitchen.

the thinkers balcony supper club london

Last but most certainly not least, for the ‘Epilogue’, we were presented with a plate of homemade Saffron Chocolates, the perfect end to a delicious meal. I wish I could have taken a box of these home with me.

the thinkers balcony supper club london

Aside from the Champagne and wine we had brought ourselves, we were also served some exceptional teas from Ilyas’ vast collection from around the world; a unique touch to complement such a fun and adventurous meal.

After we had racked our brains to try and determine who the philosopher behind our feast was, we lifted our plates to reveal the absurd answer. I’m not going to give the secret away, just in case Ilyas uses this idea again, but I can tell you that it definitely surprised us and made us think.

Dinners at The Thinkers Balcony occur roughly every three weeks and cost between £20 and £40 per ticket (HKD240-480) depending on the nature of the meal and number of courses. You can be added to the mailing list to find out about upcoming events by entering your email address here. There are only six tickets each time, so make sure you get yours early. You will meet some interesting people, eat some incredible food and be wowed by how philosophy can be reflected in what we eat…

The Thinkers Balcony

Notting Hill (exact location will be given when tickets are purchased)

http://thethinkersbalcony.com

Contact: ilyaskassam@gmail.com

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Jean-Paul Hevin

6 Nov

jean-paul hevin hong kong

Chocolate makes the world go round; without it, the world would be a very sad place. Good quality chocolate is even more essential, particularly here in Hong Kong, where, aside from a couple of reputable brands, it isn’t easy to find chocolate of a high standard.

French chocolatier Jean-Paul Hévin is one such brand. Upon receiving an invitation to try the afternoon tea at the newly renovated Jean-Paul Hévin flagship store on Lyndhurst Terrace, I simply couldn’t resist, regardless of the fact I had a big dinner waiting for me at home.

Hévin has been creating chocolate in France for 25 years, but only really became famous when he launched his first shop in Japan ten years ago. The Japanese have always been concerned about having high-quality goods and brands; so for the Japanese to have given Jean-Paul Hévin’s chocolate their seal of approval (he was in fact named the number one chocolatier in Japan in 2004) meant it was indeed an excellent product and helped to make it famous the world over.

jean paul hevin hong kong

The flagship store is designed to reflect Hévin’s concept of his bar à chocolat and cave à chocolat, where customers can either buy their chocolates to go or sit down and enjoy a chocolate treat upstairs. The upstairs area is relaxed yet elegant, with a Japanese hanging garden to reflect Hévin’s love for Japan, where he once worked as a pastry chef.

jean paul hevin hong kong

The tea set ($198), which is actually available at any time during the day, comes in three varieties. Ours contained two cakes, two macarons, two chocolates and four chocolate covered almonds.

jean paul hevin hong kong

You may have heard me grumble about chocolate orange before, as it is one of my least favourite things; so the description of ‘Safi’ as a chocolate mousse cake with orange didn’t particularly excite me. Nevertheless, there was only a mere hint of orange liqueur that wasn’t too offensive. The ‘Guayaquil’ cake was incredible: rich without being overpowering and layered with different textures of smooth mousse, crunchy biscuit and almonds, needless to say this cake won an award in Japan.

jean paul hevin hong kong

The cherry and pistachio macaron is a Christmas special, due to its red and green colours. Rather than being stuck together with sickly sweet jam, Hévin uses a creamy chocolate ganache. My favourite, and clearly also Paris’ favourite as it was voted best macaron in Paris, was the chocolate one. Where some macarons are barely infused with whatever flavour they are attempting to be, this one was so flavoursome that I actually described it as a brownie in macaron form. This was the one thing on the plate that I could not resist polishing off entirely despite the large dinner that awaited me.

Moving on to the chocolates, the fig and yuzu one is also a Christmas special, available from 15th December. Although it had an interesting sweet yet sharp twist, my favourite was the more traditional ‘Caraibe’, consisting of pure, delicious chocolate goodness, encased in a crisp dark chocolate shell. Jean-Paul himself must have good taste, as apparently this is also his favourite!

jean paul hevin hong kong

The chocolate covered almonds again came in two varieties: earl grey and dark chocolate, where again, the traditional dark chocolate stood out for me. Although the chocolate-dusted chocolate might be too rich for some, the flavour of the roasted almond shone through, creating a sweet, crunchy contrast.

jean paul hevin hong kong

Finally, although the set is usually served with tea, we tried one of Hévin’s signature monthly hot chocolates. Aside from the traditional hot chocolate, Hévin likes to experiment and put together combinations you would never before have thought would work, such as tomato and basil, caviar, or oysters. So impressive is his collection that he even put together a hot chocolate cookbook (currently this is only available in French but will be sold in English soon).

jean paul hevin hong kong

November’s hot chocolate, and therefore the one we tasted, was fig and chestnut. Luxuriously rich and creamy, Jean-Paul Hévin’s hot chocolate is the stuff dreams are made of, with an added sweetness and gritty crunch from the figs, and an almost Christmassy-like essence from the roasted chestnuts. I’m very curious to find out how December’s caviar hot chocolate fares…

The best thing about Jean-Paul Hévin’s chocolate is that it is good for you. Seriously. Apparently his cocoa beans contain carotene, vitamins, potassium, iron, tannins….the list goes on. With all these nutrients, plus the fact that his chocolates mostly contain no added sugar and no butter, as Jean-Paul Hévin insists on using only cocoa butter for all his chocolates, it would definitely be rude and foolishly unhealthy not to head on up to Lyndhurst Terrace to indulge in some delicious (and nutritious) chocolat.

Jean-Paul Hévin
13 Lyndhurst Terrace
Central
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2851 0633

www.jphevin.com.hk

(other smaller locations in IFC and Harbour City)

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The Krug Room

10 Oct

 

 

 

 

the krug room hong kong

Everything about the Mandarin Oriental Hotel oozes the kind of old-school elegance and charm that has almost disappeared from Hong Kong. After a recent Krug tasting dinner at Otto e Mezzo, we were invited to the Mandarin Oriental’s Krug Room. From start to finish, this was an experience to remember, beginning with being led like a VIP through the lush, cosy Chinnery, to a private dining room for 12 people.

The room itself is beautiful; above the long marble table hang single red roses and light fixtures made from plates, bowls and saucers, while a large glass window almost the length of the room overlooks the chefs hard at work in the kitchen.

the krug room hong kong

Our menu, written on a blackboard as a collection of words in crossword format, consisted of 17 courses. How does one write a review of a 17-course dinner? With great difficulty… which is why it’s taken me longer than usual to get around to writing it. I think everyone would get bored if I went course by course, so I’ll give you a selection of the high points, the low points and the mightily spectacular points.

the krug room hong kong

It all began with a ‘Cornet’ – beef tartare and avocado in an ice cream cone. The combination of the tender beef, buttery avocado and sweet, crunchy cone worked perfectly, setting the bar high for the rest of the meal.

the krug room hong kong

The second course, a beef cracker with foie gras terrine and edible flowers was beautiful, although I’m not sure I could taste the beef in the cracker, perhaps because it was overpowered by the flavours of the rich foie gras. Nevertheless, it won me over and I definitely wished for more.

the krug room hong kong

Course number five was called ‘Tinned’ and consisted of strips of hamachi in tomato purée with lemon gel and crystal leaves, beautifully presented in a cute little tin. The hamachi was wonderfully fresh and delicious, yet disappointingly the powerful flavour of the tomato purée completely masked it.

the krug room hong kong

One of my favourites, although it doesn’t look like much, was the King Crab. After hollowing out the crab, the flesh was mixed with mayonnaise and verbena leaf before being carefully put back in its shell. Although there was a touch too much mayo, the flavour of the crabmeat was just divine. Served alongside it was an oyster leaf that tasted remarkably like its namesake.

the krug room hong kong

Perhaps the most disappointing of the dishes was the smoked lobster. As soon as it was brought into the room the aromas were incredible; in the centre of the wooden board was an opening for burning cedar wood, to create that amazing charcoal fragrance. However, it definitely smelt better than it tasted; the lobster was very undercooked and completely lacked any flavour, unless it was smeared in thyme oil.

the krug room hong kong

It was towards the end of the meal that things started to pick up… course number 13 was an 18 week old suckling pig. It was wonderfully tender with perfectly crisp skin to match. Although the disc of black truffle jelly added nothing to the dish, the apple toffee sauce was lovely.

the krug room hong kong

The last of the savoury courses was beef tenderloin. Served on tapioca ‘coals’, sweet roasted carrots and brioche powder, the idea was for it to appear as though the beef were sitting on hot coals. In all honesty, the tapioca had zero flavour and the brioche powder was only useful for writing messages and drawing smiley faces in. Yet the beef was cooked to perfection and was as tender as its name suggests, so this was definitely one of my favourite dishes.

the krug room hong kong

The final three courses were dessert, and here is where the meal really shone. Firstly, a ‘Banana Split’ consisted of banana purée sandwiched between vanilla and strawberry ice cream, encased in white chocolate made to look just like a mini banana, drizzled in decadent chocolate sauce. I loved this.

the krug room hong kong

‘Breakfast’ came next: a crème brûlée ‘boiled egg’ encased in a sugar shell, a sweet egg yolk, a raisin brioche ‘French toast’ and crispy bacon. Although it looked impressive, the whole thing was just far too sweet and rich, especially after 15 other courses.

the krug room hong kong

the krug room hong kong

the krug room hong kong

the krug room hong kong

The absolute spectacle of the evening was ‘Krug on the Moon’. We were asked to move everything from the centre of the table so that a long silicone mat could be rolled across it, before being decorated with all kinds of different textures of chocolate, biscuits, coconut cream, and of course the ‘moons’ themselves. The final touch was when hot chocolate sauce was poured over the spheres to reveal a melange of chocolate mousse, pop rocks and raspberries. We were each given a spoon and left to attack. Yes, the whole thing was outrageously sweet, but this time it was definitely worth it.

the krug room hong kong

Of course the meal would not have been complete without glass after glass of delicious Krug Grande Cuvée, which went down far too easily for a Monday night.

Service was utterly faultless throughout the whole meal and the staff made sure to give us intricate explanations of each dish. As I said previously, it was definitely an experience to remember, but one that I think I could only manage once in my life. Plus at over $2000 a head, unless someone else is paying, it’s just a little bit out of my budget. Just a little.

The Krug Room

Mandarin Oriental
5 Connaught Road Central
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2825 4014

www.mandarinoriental.com/hongkong

 

 

 

 

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Tate Dining Room & Bar

17 Sep

 

 

tate dining room hong kong

After hearing mixed reviews about Tate Dining Room & Bar, I had to check it out for myself, firstly to see if the food exceeded the rather low expectations, and secondly, more importantly, to see if I was still hungry after nine courses, as many who had gone before me were.

tate dining room hong kong

The setting is gorgeous, elegant and girlie, designed by Candace Campos, the same amazing designer behind MANA! and Heirloom Eatery. A lot of white and cream shades with good use of lighting make the space, which seats only around 26 diners, appear much larger than it is.

Set menus come in two forms: a six-course sensualist set (priced at $680) or a nine-course gastronomy set (for a whopping $980). It is clear to see just how much thought has gone behind each and every dish, as chef Vicky Lau (formerly of Cépage), creates her ‘edible stories’, each entitled with a lovely name.

tate dining room hong kong

Our nine-course menu began with a ‘Potato Ice Cream’. This interesting contrast between the crispy hot potato croquette and smooth cold potato ice cream, broken up by a line of peanut sand, was apparently inspired by what Chef Vicky pictures when thinking of the beach on a hot summer’s day. I loved the croquette and the peanut sand but couldn’t quite work out my feelings towards the ice cream. The smoked salmon and caviar were welcome additions, although perhaps the flavours were a little too strong for the mild potato purée.

tate dining room hong kong

tate dining room hong kong

The ‘Autumn Delight’ that followed was lovely; consisting of chestnut purée, whole chestnuts, smoked eel, a quail’s egg and vegetable crisps, it was a combination of flavours and textures that I would never think to put together, yet somehow they worked to create a wonderfully comforting and definitely autumnal dish.

tate dining room hong kong

The ‘Foie Gras Terrine’ was one of the star dishes of the night; buttery smooth cubes of foie gras were paired with grapes, candied walnuts, crumbs of Sauternes jelly and goma sesame sauce, served alongside a perfect brioche. I was in foie gras heaven and definitely took advantage of the fact that I was dining with a non goose liver lover.

tate dining room hong kong

Unfortunately the dish that followed, ‘Forest Essence’, was nowhere near as good. The single scallop was overcooked and rubbery, the mushrooms were dry and tasteless and the black garlic paste was smeared so thinly on the plate that it needn’t have bothered being there at all. Possibly the most exciting thing about this dish was the line of crushed chilli.

tate dining room hong kong

A ‘Tomato Consumme’ (was the misspelling intentional?) came beautifully presented in an adorable little teacup. Although the actual soup looked rather boring, I liked the delicate flavours and found it lovely and comforting, with the basil oil and sprig of thyme serving to add a hint of summer.

tate dining room hong kong

The cleverly named ‘Hamgoustine’ consisted of ham and – you guessed it – langoustine ravioli, served in a ham broth, topped with parmesan foam and strips of Serrano ham. The ravioli were cooked to perfection, and I loved the contrast of the two distinct fillings, however my only complaint is that the broth was a little too salty.

tate dining room hong kong

The absolute star of the night was the ‘A4 – Kagoshima Beef Rib’. The medium-rare meat was melt-in-the-mouth tender and beautifully flavoured, paired with a miso potato purée and crunchy grilled asparagus: utterly faultless.

tate dining room hong kong

A pretty ‘Zen Garden’ appeared next, but unfortunately it wasn’t exactly our idea of bliss; as much as I like green tea as a drink, I’m never a fan of green tea desserts, so the matcha green tea mousse just didn’t work for me. Served on top of white chocolate mousse and alongside sesame panna cotta and peanut sand, the whole thing was just unbearably sweet for my taste.

tate dining room hong kong

‘Tate’s Mini Dessert Cart’, however, made up for it in both appearance and taste. It was a chocoholic’s dream, offering mini chocolate mousse, a rich chocolate drink, dark chocolate brownie and last but by no means least, a chocolate hazelnut truffle.

The staff at Tate are very welcoming and knowledgeable about each dish. Service is swift, but not to the point of feeling rushed. With Chef Vicky’s creativity and passion it has the right tools to be something really special, but there are still a number of issues that need resolving first.

Now to answer the question you’ve all been waiting for: Was I hungry after my nine-course meal? No, but neither was I bursting at the seams, and I’m not sure I agree with paying $980 and to not feel like I’m going to pop.

Tate Dining Room & Bar

59 Elgin Street
Central
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2555 2172

www.tate.com.hk

 

 

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The Chocolate Library

12 Oct

 

Fully aware of my love of food, and particularly my adoration of chocolate, as my leaving present from AsiaSpa, the lovely girls gave me a voucher for afternoon tea at the Ritz-Carlton’s Chocolate Library. I’m sure you can imagine my excitement at receiving this, an excitement that was intensified when I had actually made the booking, months in advance, for tea a couple of Sundays ago.

I have been to Ozone, the bar at the top of the Ritz, a couple of times and had always been intrigued by the sound of The Chocolate Library. Just this once I will admit that I have been known to be a bit of a geek regarding my love of reading and of books in general, so the idea that this place was home to both chocolate and books, and perhaps even books about chocolate, certainly tickled my fancy.

Though not quite as high up as Ozone, The Chocolate Library is perched on the 103rd floor of the ICC, so if you choose to visit on a beautiful day rather than a nasty overcast day, the view of the skyline is spectacular. I unfortunately didn’t have this luxury as Typhoon Nalgae was still lingering nearby.

The set menu for afternoon tea includes coffee, tea or their signature hot chocolate. I couldn’t resist the latter but after a few sips I wished that I had. Richer than anything you have ever tasted before, this intensely chocolatey drink would be fine on its own, but knowing you have a whole feast of chocolate treats to get through, it is more than a little overwhelming and I couldn’t even finish it – something you can imagine does not happen often for me.

In place of the regular three-tiered plate on which afternoon tea is usually served, tea at The Chocolate Library is carried over to your table in a large box, opened to unveil what looks like a mini bookcase. Of course.

Moving upwards from the bottom of the bookcase, we started with the savoury treats: smoked salmon on mint bread, rosemary ham on curry bread and foie gras on chocolate bread. Whilst the salmon was pleasant, it wasn’t particularly special, as you couldn’t even taste the mint bread. The ham on curry bread however was delicious – a great contrast between the bitterness of the rosemary and the zing of the curry. The foie gras was too salty for my liking although the sweet chocolate bread offered some relief.

Onto the next level, the white chocolate berries shot did not appeal to me at all when I read it on the menu, as I am rather adverse to mixing fruit with chocolate (unless it is banana, I think fruit should be kept with fruit and chocolate kept with chocolate. Chocolate is too special on its own to be tainted by mixing it with fruit). However, I think I have found an exception to the rule as here the sickly sweetness of the white chocolate (my least favourite type of chocolate) was perfectly balanced with the sharpness of the berries to provide a rather pleasing little dish.

The chocolate framboise tart was terrible as it is not an exception to the rule. It started promisingly, but moving further into the centre, the delicious chocolate was ruined by the raspberry goo. But I will not judge those who do appreciate tainted chocolate.

I think the marble cheesecake was my favourite and needs no further description.

Moving onto the next and final level of the bookcase, our stomachs were starting to beg us not to fill them any more and our palates were starting to crave something a little less sweet. Ignoring them however, we took a bite of the chocolate orange confit macaroon. A perfect macaroon which could almost rival Chef Que of TBLS’ macaroon masterpieces…. until you hit the middle and encounter something not too dissimilar to the inside of a Jaffa Cake, perhaps my least favourite biscuit (cake?) in the world. In my opinion, combining chocolate with orange should be the eighth deadly sin.

The chocolate Madeleine was just as it should be – soft, simple and comforting.

I couldn’t handle more than a small spoonful of the white coffee and chocolate tart, not merely because of the strength of the coffee but also due to the overpowering sweetness of the chocolate. I definitely have a sweet tooth, but this took it just a little too far.

Finally, the chocolate mille-feuille, though by no means a mille-feuille as we know it, was a delightful end to this chocolate feast, although I wish I had attempted to eat it before my taste buds began to suffer from an overload of sugar. A layer of brownie under a layer of hazelnut mousse under a layer of chocolate mousse – wow.

Service is very good (something which can certainly not be said about Ozone) and afternoon tea for two will set you back $438, not an outrageous price for the amazing treats and incredible view.

I do have a few pieces of advice for you should you ever venture to The Chocolate Library for afternoon tea: go hungry, drink lots of water and take it very, very slowly, for this is an afternoon tea like no other.

The Chocolate Library

103/F International Commerce Centre
1 Austin Road West
Kowloon
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2263 2263

Date visited: Sunday 2nd October 2011

 

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Hide-Chan Ramen

20 Apr

Most people will have heard of Butao Ramen and its ridiculous hour-long queues for a very simple bowl of Japanese ramen noodles. I haven’t actually been myself because I’m not sure I see the point in queuing for hours for a very simple bowl of ramen. Unless I had snacks to keep me going, there would be no way of shutting up my grumbling stomach and I’m sure it would disturb the other customers. Actually maybe this would be a good idea – scare off the customers with my growling stomach and head straight to the front of the queue.

However, when there is Hide-Chan Ramen, on Wellington Street, there is no need to put this experiment to the test. We went for lunch after the mad rush, at around 1.30, walked straight in and were seated immediately. This was somewhat surprising, seeing as this particular link of the Hide-Chan Ramen chain with other restaurants in Tokyo and New York, only opened its doors a mere two weeks ago.

We were presented with three sheets of paper and three pencils, resulting in three very confused expressions. When I’ve ordered ramen before, there has never been so much choice – you have your standard ramen with beef or pork or vegetables etc. and that’s that. In Hide-Chan Ramen, however, you have a choice of what kind of soup base you’d like: Hakata Original Ramen, White Hide (apparently has lots of collagen in it(?)), Black Hide (with a charred garlic taste) or Red Hide (with an added touch of Korean sweet chilli sauce). The HCR team pride themselves on the fact that they use selected pork legs and boil them for a minimum of 24 hours to create their stock – all MSG-free! You can then choose the level of spiciness you would like: low, medium or high; what consistency you would like your noodles: soft, medium or hard; if you would like any extra garlic (I found this absolutely hilarious as they give you a small bowl filled with about six garlic cloves and a garlic crusher – never seen anything like it before in a restaurant!); and what part of the pig you would like your pork to have come from: shoulder, belly or neck (if you’re a vegetarian you can skip the pork, but there doesn’t seem to be an option for any non-vegetarians who are against eating pigs). In case you haven’t picked up on it yet, you use your little pencil to tick the box next to your selection. You then have the choice of adding extras such as bean sprouts, soft-boiled egg, dumplings, more pig, and a variety of sauces – I have no idea what these sauces are as they are just called “black sauce” or “red sauce” but I’m sure they are delicious. If you’re feeling extra hungry you can even tick the box for “noodle refills!” All of these extras come at an added cost but nothing to get your knickers in a twist over.

I selected Black Hide, medium spicy (I was told the Black Hide was not allowed to be spicy but I pleaded and was brought a small dish of spicy sauce on the side), medium consistency noodles, pork shoulder with soft-boiled egg and bean sprouts. I was having a bit of an off-day – part post-7s sickness, part mid-week blues – so this was the perfect comfort food and definitely brought my spirits up. For me, there’s always something about soup noodles that makes you feel like you’re being given a great big cuddle and all is well with the world. Is that weird?!

There is also the option of adding a side dish of 10 pan-seared Hakata dumplings, which we were unable to turn down. Guess what’s in the dumplings…. pork of course! To complement your dumplings, you may choose a range of rather strange toppings: cheese (really?!), cheese mayonnaise (excuse me?!), Tarako mayonnaise or (our selection) green onion mayonnaise which I promise tastes much better than it sounds. I could probably live off those dumplings. Although obviously I would need chocolate too.

 Total bill was just over $100 each not including drinks, so a little bit pricier than somewhere like Misocool but as you can completely customise your meal without someone saying “no, cannot,” it’s definitely worth that little bit extra. I’d like to try Butao Ramen as a comparison but not until they see to their lunchtime traffic problem.

 

 Hide-Chan Ramen

Upper Ground Floor
The Loop
33 Wellington Street
Central
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2522 5990

Date visited: Thursday 31st March 2011

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Watermark

20 Apr

I had a friend from home visiting for the Rugby 7s and on her last night, although we were both suffering from the excesses of the weekend, we wanted to go for a nice chilled out meal in a scenic location. She had been up to the Peak earlier in the day and we weren’t in the mood to trek all the way over to “the dark side” to dine somewhere with a view of Hong Kong’s spectacular skyline. The next best thing was to go somewhere with a view of the TST harbour. Watermark, just above the Star Ferry, offers an unobstructed view of the harbour with huge glass windows giving you the feeling that you’re almost sitting on the water. You know it’s going to be a special place from the moment you walk in, with its long entrance way leading you to a large open space with high ceilings and, of course, the harbour view. Lest we forget that en route you must walk past several windows where you can peer into the kitchen and observe all the scrumptious meals being prepared. What immediately caught my eye was some sort of chocolate dessert which I knew I had to find on the menu and HAD to order no matter how full I was at the end of my meal!

 As we decided on our resto venue very last minute, we obviously hadn’t booked a table, so although there were tables available, none were right next to the windows. We could still see the harbour but had a few big heads in our way obstructing the “unobstructed view” so I would definitely recommend booking a table and requesting one close to the windows, especially if, like me, you are trying to show off our beautiful city and try to convince your friends to move out here too!

 The waiters were all very attentive and immediately brought us some warm bread with a delicious dipping sauce. Although our taste buds were certain there were hints of garlic and lemon in this dip, we were advised that it was merely Greek yoghurt with a touch of salt and pepper, sprinkled with parmesan. Maybe the 7s confused our taste buds but regardless it was delicious and a nice touch to replace the average slab of butter most restaurants serve you.

 As we weren’t outrageously starving, we passed on the starters, although they did look tempting – particularly the Iberian ham with roasted capsicum, crispy eggplant and aged manchego – and went straight for the mains. My friend ordered the spaghetti with seared langoustines and tomato concasse and, after asking our very helpful waitress what the most delicious dishes on the menu were, I opted for the chef’s speciality of Brittany cod with salsify, wild mushrooms and watercress. Both dishes were divine; neither were unnecessarily big portions, both were beautifully presented and our plates may as well have been licked clean as there was not a trace of food left over. I have grown up with the saying “waste not want not” drilled into my little brain, but this time I did not need to be reminded as I had no intention of leaving any of my delicious cod behind. I used to never be a fan of the fungus but these days I rather enjoy my mushrooms, and must say that these ones were particularly special. After the cod, they may have been the star of the main course. I won’t say they were the star of the show, however, as that award definitely goes to the delicious dessert which I had saved a little corner of my stomach for – I always say that there’s a separate compartment for dessert.

 We were pretty full after having asked for a second round of bread and dipping sauce, but I located the scrummy looking dessert which I had previously glimpsed through the window into the kitchen: it was a melting middle chocolate pudding served with vanilla bean ice cream. The kind that you just softly touch with the tip of your fork and it oozes all over your plate. The kind that Marks & Spencer used to include in their amazing food-porn adverts. The kind that even though I was absolutely stuffed, I couldn’t bear to leave a crumb of. Each of the desserts on the menu had its own little tagline underneath. For example, apparently the pear tart is “to impress your date”, and the chocolate pudding is “to be eaten without showing your teeth!” The cheese served with figs and walnut bread seemed to be one of their specialities “as an excuse to stay for longer” but unfortunately I couldn’t find the cheese compartment in my stomach. I think the pudding stole it.

 A little bit pricier than the average place but not out of this world prices and definitely worth every penny (sorry, cent. I live in the dollar world now), especially taking into consideration that you’re most likely also paying for the view. Mains ranged from $160 to $400.They also have a great wine list. New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc was the most expensive one on the list but I couldn’t turn down a glass and it was delicious. Our bill came to $611 after a kind discount for paying with an HSBC card. I can picture my father who worked for HSBC from the age of 18 jumping for joy at this!

 Watermark

Central Pier 7
Top Level
Star Ferry
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2167 7251

Date visited: Tuesday 29th March 2011

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Food Glorious Food

20 Apr

I’ve never really been certain of exactly what I want to do with my life. This is probably the reason I went for the first job that happened to fall in my lap. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great job! But let’s just say it was never really my preferred choice of career path. But what actually is the job for me? What really makes me happy? I can safely say that, although, of course, friendships and running and family and sunny days do make me smile, what really makes me happy, what I get up for in the morning and what really gets me through the day has got to be…FOOD! Have you heard people talk about whether they eat to live or live to eat? I am most definitely, 101% the latter. Food makes the world go round. Or my world at least. I feel somewhat selfish and thoughtless saying this when evidently there are people across the globe dying of starvation. I’m sure food doesn’t make their world go round. Suffice to say I have had a very fortunate upbringing and am luckily not in that disgustingly high percentage of people who do not have the luxury to admit that they simply live to eat.

What gets me through any day is the knowledge that, however slowly the morning passes, it will eventually be 1 o clock: lunchtime, when I basically peg it out the door and into the lift as fast as my little legs can take me. If I take less than an hour for lunch, I actually want to cry, so definitely none of this quick-stop-to-711-to-get-some-pot-noodles-and-eat-them-at-my-desk malarkey for me! Whether my stomach is screaming at me with hunger or not (the latter is rarely the case), I absolutely HAVE to go and have a proper lunch which keeps me busy for least an hour, before I can drag myself away to count down the hours until dinner time. Let’s not forget that 4 o clock is what I like to call chocolate o clock. Everyone knows about my emergency chocolate drawer and believe me, these emergencies do happen. With frequency.

I once did a detox trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, which pretty much involved NOT eating for 3 whole days. These were not pretty days. I even cried one day when forced to drink a ‘liver flush drink’. I won’t give you details on what exactly this consisted of but I will tell you one ingredient – 4 cloves of raw garlic. Under normal circumstances, I absolutely love garlic. I actually put it in most dishes I cook (obviously not sweet dishes, don’t be ridiculous) but having that much garlic – RAW garlic – in my drink? No thank you. Never again. Did I feel any different after my 3 day fast? Umm.. no, not really. Perhaps this was because I was invited to lunch at the Mandarin Oriental for a work meeting – tough job! – and couldn’t really say no, so I think I may have ‘masticated’ a few bits of raw vegetables which is apparently completely against detox rules. Whatevs. Or perhaps it had something to do with having to delve into the emergency bag one night at the market when too much shopping brought me close to fainting. Sadly said emergency bag didn’t contain chocolate this time as thought that would be bending the rules ever so slightly too much, so instead I opted for 2 pieces – 2 measly pieces! – of dried mango to bring me back to life.

I am not the kind of person that will listen to anyone telling me what I can and can’t eat. It simply makes me crave that food even more. Diets are ridiculous in my opinion. If you can’t eat what makes you really happy then seriously, what is the point in living? Eat what you like (within reason, let’s not get carried away now) and up the exercise – that’s my mantra. On a freezing cold day, do you really want to be eating a salad? Definitely not going to warm you right down to the bones, is it?  And is it going to fill you with that warm fuzzy energy that’ll keep you going through the day? Rather unlikely. What you need is some Vietnamese Pho noodles – full of goodness and will reach even the deepest coldest pit of your stomach.

Along with walking behind infuriatingly slow people, and trying to walk against the flow of people who refuse to veer even slightly to the side to let you pass, one of the things that annoys me most about living in Hong Kong is that a great number of restaurants simply don’t have their own website. When you Google them, all you get is pretty awful websites with hideous pictures of dishes and terrible reviews with an abundance of grammatical errors that make any perfectionist like myself cringe. I can’t stand it. Did I mention I love food? So when someone invites me to a restaurant, naturally the first thing I do is Google it, look for the menu and scope out what I am most likely to order. When a place offers a huge menu, being as indecisive as I am, this always makes life a little bit difficult for me. I’m not saying I don’t like big menus. But it’s always rather embarrassing when it comes to ordering and there are just so many amazing dishes to choose from that I don’t know where to begin. Then I start to get nervous and either ask the waiter for their opinion (said waiter, more often than not, has never actually tried any of the dishes himself and therefore cannot provide me with any valuable advice. For example a waiter at a lovely restaurant in London claimed he could not tell me if the chicken pie was good as he was intolerant to chicken. Really?!) or  I panic order and go for something I really should not have ordered. Hence the need to see the menu beforehand. Definitely a sensible request methinks. But alas, not every restaurant offers such luxuries here, and as I mentioned, the reviews just aren’t up to scratch. I read a review about a very good dim sum restaurant where the review’s author had given it the complete thumbs down because her elderly mother had not been escorted to her seat. What did it say about the food? Zilch. Really helpful when all you want to know is if it’s going to make your taste buds tingle.

Therefore I am proposing to check out these places with my own taste buds and let you know my verdict. It’s always so easy to find a place you like and trust and keep going back there. But Hong Kong has so many restaurants to offer and new ones opening up what seems like every day, so why keep trying the same place? I am setting myself the oh-so-difficult challenge of trying out a new (if only new to me) restaurant at least once a week and writing about it. Let’s see if I can help some of you fellow foodies out there. I unfortunately won’t be able to provide you with an up to date menu, but I can (hopefully) at the very least, provide you with a (nicely written) critique that will still make your mouth water (or not, as the case may be). Watch this space…

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