A Taste of Hong Kong Part 2

Characterized echina dim sum HKD 30

On our first day in Hong Kong, we decided that we were going to have some dim sum for brunch. After all, it would be a cardinal sin to go to Hong Kong and not have some dim sum! The concierge recommended us to cross over to the Hong Kong Cultural Center to have dim sum at Serenade. Once we were inside, we discovered such opulent decor that bespoke of Hong Kong style. The restaurant is overlooking the Star Ferry terminal, over the Victoria Harbor, still on the Tsim Sha Tsui side.

Sorry about redness here, I forgot to change the white balance till later...

Unfortunately we didn't get seated near the windows, but soon after we saw the menu we got uber excited nonetheless. Why? Because Serenade offers characterized dim sums that are shaped in cute little animals! The animals are: goose (baked pastry stuffed with mushrooms & goose meat), goldfish (shrimp & bamboo pith dumplings), garoupa crystal dumplings, jumpie bunny marshmellow, echidna (deep fried creamy yolk buns) and cuttlefish (baked pastry with mashed red beans). They had "Dim Sum in the cage" for HKD 188 (approx. AUD 24 with 1AUD:7.8HKD) which includes cuttlefish, goose, echidna, goldfish, steamed abalone and pork dumplings and steamed shrimp dumplings (all 3 pieces each). No, we did not order this as we wouldn't be able to finish and we wanted to pick and choose. However, if M from Love my foods and sugar and O from ieatsweet were my travel buddies at the time, I would not have a say this decision-making process and we would have dim sum in the cage on the table pronto. If there's enough interest, I will scan the menu once I'm back in Sydney, so let me know if you want to see the menu.

Staging #1: Echidnas in the garden

Staging #2: fish pond and the creative director herself

So what did Cg and I ordered? We got the echidna (on my insistence as they look way too cute!), goldfish, garoupa, BBQ pork buns, and conpoy (dried scallop) with chives dumplings. The echidna was the first to arrive and we almost squealed with delight. To have the scenes replayed in my mind right now we must have looked like lunatics as we busted our cameras and shot these echidnas paparazzi style. Cg being her creative self got the idea to rearrange them so that they are kissing each other, then making an echidna garden on a separate plate. Yeshhh, we did the same with the goldfish and the garoupa. No, not so much with the other two non characterized dim sums.

Garoupa crystal dumplings HKD 35

Goldfish HKD 35

Conpoy and chive dumplings HKD 18

Now, taste wise, I know you are curious. I have to say that for the characterized dim sums, as expected they looked better than the taste, especially with the goldfish and the garoupa. I liked the echidna though, the buns were sweet and the egg yolk inside was quite nice. The BBQ pork buns were standard and so were the conpoy but since conpoy are not readily available in Sydney, I was a happy camper. We drank a lot of tea then, they kept on refilling our pot and Cg really loved the taste of the tea. I appreciate the service and the waitresses restraint in not laughing over us when we were staging the characterized dim sums. I think they are used to the patrons uber excitements by now.

View of the harbor from Tsim Sha Tsui promenade

View from the Peak

Lonely Boy, my friend who works in Hong Kong, recommended us to go to the Peak, the highest point in Hong Kong - a scenic point. As we were pleased with his earlier suggestions so far with Sevva and Wagyu, we decided why not take up this advice. So we took the MTR to Admiralty and head to the tram station. I love the old school-ness of the tram. Riding the tram to the Peak felt like riding the roller coaster slo-mo. The steepness gradient was between 4 and 27 degree. It was really cool and I felt like I was transformed back in time as the tram was very colonial-esque. Usually I'm always a bit skeptical about going to touristy places, but I had to commend Lonely Boy again on his choice, the view from the Peak was spectacular! We were lucky that the weather holds up that day as well. The sky was blue, the air crisp with early winter chills and breezy without being too cold. Vertigo people beware! I'm not afraid of height, but standing too close to the railings definitely gave me the chills.

After taking enough pictures Cg and I wandered back down to the mall and to the back where we found ourselves at New York Fries. I had to laugh at Cg when we ended up here as she originally said she wanted ice cream and the choices I laid out to her were hagen dazs, some gelato shop or movenpick. Long story short, we ordered one small "The Work" to share. The fries were awesome, it tasted like a combination of wedges and fries, tasty on the outside and soft on the inside. What impressed me the most was the condiment bar where you could get all sorts of toppings to add to your meal. I was happy to see cajun seasonings there and decided to get some despite all the toppings that were already in our fries. Cg is a convert of cajun seasoning now.

The condiment bar

The Works: fries with green onions, real bacons, sour cream, cheese sauce and chili

Around 4pm, we made our way back to our hotel as Cg was to meet her relatives and I could use some rest before meeting a friend for dinner that night. After much debate, I decided to left my camera for dinner as my shoulder were aching from carrying my dslr all day. Dinner was amazing and I was sorry I left my compact digicam at home. If you find yourself in Hong Kong, you might want to try this little tapas restaurant called Enoteca on Elgin street in SoHo area. The best way to find it is to find the mid level escalators and take it all the way up to Elgin road and turn right, walk 15 steps and the restaurant should be on your left. My recommendation would be the chicken pesto risotto balls and the beef sauteed with garlic and chili. The food was amazing, but service was a different story. If you are looking for a place to relax and talk for a while, the host won't be happy. She let us ordered dessert then after we had a bite, she came to tell us that we need to finish up as the next seating party has arrived. Well, lady... if that was the case perhaps you should have told us before we ordered dessert - no? Anyways, that was my rant.

From there, Cg joined K and I. Then, still on Elgin street, we hop in to a Greek restaurant and got a half jug of sangria while we waited for D to join us. Too bad K was leaving for her vacation the day after, but luckily D promised to take us out for the weekend to this private club called Prive. Didn't I tell you how I didn't know that Hong Kong could be THAT much fun?

Serenade Chinese Restaurant

Hong Kong Cultural Center (1st Floor)

Restaurant Block

Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, China

+852 2722 0932

New York Fries

Shop 1B, Ground Floor

The Peak Galleria, Hong Kong, China

+852 2849 7968

Enoteca

47 Elgin street

Hong Kong, China

+852 2525 9944

A taste of Hong Kong part 1

Harbor view from our room; view from Sevva

I have a confession to make, I am a chronic traveller. I can't seem to stop traveling, even if I was already on vacation. This trip to Hong Kong, was one of those trip within a trip. I got sick once on this trip and I was so tired as this was my second mini trip on my overall summer (Australian summer) vacation, but I did not regret it one bit. I didn't know that Hong Kong could be THAT much fun.

We arrived in Hong Kong pretty late, the dusk was settling already but it was perfect as we discovered that our room was facing the harbor overlooking Hong Kong island from Tsim Sha Tsui. At 8pm sharp, we were entertained by the symphony of light with synchronized song from a radio. I was happy to have brought my tripod!

A quick phone call to a friend who lives locally gave us a couple of destinations for the night: a drink at Sevva, a rooftop bar at Prince's Building and Wagyu where we will get some food for supper. Off we went to the Star Ferry terminal to catch a ferry to Central, where we only paid HK$ 2!!! So cheap! I can't help but reveling how pretty Hong Kong is at night and how I was hopping from one harbor city (Sydney) to here.

Cg's mojito like drink and my dark chocolate martini - check out those shredded chocs!

The walk to Prince's Building from Central ferry station took a good 15 minutes, but we didn't mind, we needed to burn the calories anyway. Once we were at Sevva, we were surrounded by bankers and financiers locals and expats alike whom you can tell from their full suit. We sat by the bar first to absorb the atmosphere and read the menu. Cg decided on a mojito like mixed and I couldn't resist their dark chocolate martini. If you love chocolate, you MUST order the dark chocolate martini if you're at Sevva, it was totally loaded with not only liquid chocolate but also shredded chocolate. From the balcony we could see the view of Central at night and it was very cosmopolitan. What struck me the most was the fact that we were on the top of a 25th floor building and yet, it didn't seem that tall because we were surrounded by other higher buildings with 50, 60 or even 70 floors! I don't think we have those in Sydney! To describe Hong Kong in a few of words would be, Asia's New York City.

Scenes from Sevva's balcony - you can see other buildings towering us on the 25th floor!!! The last one is the view of Tsim Sha Tsui harbor from Hong Kong island

After we finished our drinks we made our way to Lan Kwai Fong, the fun/expat district for dinner at Wagyu. We got lost for a bit but managed to find our way there. As we waited for our table then our food, we were amazed at how crowded it get as the night goes on even though it was a Wednesday night! Anyway, by this time we weren't that hungry so we ordered a salad and appetizer - which unfortunately I cannot remember what! Sorry! I loved the appetizers, the shredded beef were cooked with some almonds and dark sweet sauce, and you eat it wrapped in lettuce. I could still taste the juiciness of the beef even though it was coated in the sauce. The salad was good, but we would have been happier to have more meat in it.

Here we also ordered some drinks, Cg got the watermelon martini which was absolutely delicious! I tried the pimms mix which was good, but if I could do it all over again I'd go for what Cg was having.

To "Lonely Boy" in Hong Kong, thanks for the insider tips!

Sevva

25 Floor

Prince's Building

Central, Hong Kong - China

+852 2537 1388

Wagyu

60 Wyndham St

Hong Kong - China

+852 2525 8805

Did I hear "$10 steak?" - pub grub at The Fringe, Paddington

You know that feeling right? The one you felt after you have been stuck at work for weeks for projects, or gotta stay out of your social life to study for exams, or worse because you broke your foot... Well, I had one of those moments last week. Social life had been put on hold due to school projects, exams and a recuperating broken foot. So I tried to sweet talked ieatsweet into going to Absynthe Salon with me and I guess my suave didn't work. Anyway, we ended up at The Fringe at Paddington.

I eat sweet and her liquid of happiness of choice

I've heard of this place before from my brother who raved about how good their $10 steak was. So in the name of a little celebration, taking back my social life, and saving money, we both had the steak which generously include chips and rocket salad, all for $10. It kinda made me wonder if I had been paying way too much money for my other steak? Hmmm... We even got to choose the sauce! Mushroom, pepper or red wine. I was totally impressed, cheap doesn't make it awful for sure! ieatsweet had a glass of stella and I opted for a bulmer's apple cider.

300grm 100 day grain fed rump with fries and rocket salads in pepper sauce

Up close and personal

The steak wasn't bad at all. It was quite good, though don't expect Morton's or the sort. They were also very filling, I couldn't finish mine. I totally love the atmosphere of the Fringe, eclectic chandeliers gave the red brick walls a city feel. Then, the bathroom's waiting room? A total funk with a 70s feel. The staff were also very friendly and hospitable. I can envision many more of these 10 bucks pub grub sessions in the future

The Fringe decor and atmo

The waiting room outside the bathroom, downstairs, totally 70 ish

The Fringe Bar

106 Oxford St

Paddington, NSW 2021

+61 2 9360 5443

Open daily Sun-Tues till 12am, Wed-Sat till 3am

Merivale Feast for the Senses at Bistro CBD

5 Freshly shucked Sydney rock oysters with golden shallot dressing and lemon

What could be better than having 2 course meal plus a glass of wine for just AUD 39? Okay, there are alot of things that could be better, but hey, this is quite a good deal. Merivale is having its promotion again. Today is the official launch party, I heard. Anyway, I really liked the design and atmosphere of the CBD Bistro and the bar downstairs. I could definitely come back here for some drinks.

Shiraz

So, having been prodded to decided a few days earlier on what I would order, I had oysters for appetizer and grilled sirloin for entrée. Since I was having the sirloin, I opted for a glass of red wine. There were 5 of us and we all brought our cameras. We were snapping pictures (not all at the same time!!) when one Mr. Howard Flannagan from Northern Ireland (or so he claimed) tried to charge us for taking pictures. He was kidding of course. He then proceeded that we better have a blog, well lucky for him and Merivale, two of us do. So here it is Mr. Howard, a free publicity on your charming hospitality and the dinner. Unfortunately, he adamantly refused to have his picture taken and posted on this blog. So, if you are curious you just have to go there and check him out for yourself. Oh! Perhaps this is one of his marketing tactics?! Just kidding.

Soy and linseed sourdough

It has been a while since I had some fresh oysters and I was delighted that the oysters were fresh! It tasted so fresh and almost creamy. My complain? There were only 5! Upon finding out that I have a blog, our charming Irishman proceeded to tell me where the oysters were from. Merimbula, South coast of New South Wales. I love my food, but I am not at that stage yet where I could distinguish how oysters from different coastal region could taste different. Nevertheless, it's good to know so that next time I could look up these oysters again.

Grilled sirloin steak, pomme frites (missing), watercress and chimmi churi

Steak, ah, who could ever resist red meat? Not this girl. The steak was juicy and tender. I asked for medium, which upon consideration I could have been a little more adventurous and asked for medium rare. The watercress was yummy, it was salty which was good for me since I love salty stuff, but I think for other people it might have been a tad too salty. The meat, the watercress and the chimmi churi sauce made a great combination of taste though. I thoroughly enjoyed that. However, I wondered where was my pomme frites? It said so on the menu on their website....

Roast beetroot, spiced duck breast, rocket, and pear salad

Crisp skin ocean trout, fennel puree and zucchini fritter

The other ladies had duck, either as appetizer or as entrée. I was the only one not having duck the whole night, now that I think about it. They said that the duck salad was great, but there wasn't a lot of duck. I tried the trout and I think it tasted fantastic. Some of the pictures are quite dark and I apologize for that. I accidentally put the wrong setting and only realized it at the end of the meal.

Vanilla meringue, passionfruit curd and fresh cream

It was a great meal. The food was good, company was great and the staff were amazing. One Mr. Howard Flannagan is a core competency of Bistro CBD if I may say. He was friendly and engaged his patrons making their stay comfortable. Its a rare treat to have this kind of hospitality and it was refreshing to have. The last time I had this kind of hospitality was at a boutique resort in Central Java. I dread to give away the name as I want to keep it a secret. So back to the Irishman, he even arranged for us to meet the chef. Love my foods & sugar even got a chance to take a picture of Chef Simun Dragicevich in action, check out her blog for pictures. Sometimes, a restaurant could have amazing food, but if the staff aren't hospitable, its a flop. But a restaurant with a decent meal and amazing staff, that's something else. In the case of Bistro CBD, food great and the staff is great. Especially when it's on a promotion! Which is why, we are going back next week, to MadCow. Mr. Flannagan, do hook us up.

Bistro CBD

Level 1, 52 King St

Sydney, NSW 2000

+61 2 9240 3000

Correction: The oysters were from Merimbula not from Narooma as previously posted. Thanks Mr. Flannagan for the correction.

Sunday Lunch at Casa Verde

One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is to catch up with friends over brunch. When P gave me several options for brunch, I decided to go with Cafe Verde because of it's location at the Botanic Garden. I have to admit that in the two years that I have been here, I have thought that this garden is called the "Botanical" Garden instead of Botanic. So when I arrived at the visitors' center I discovered when I read the plaque that it is actually called the Botanic Garden. Oopsie...

My ice water and order number

It was raining when I got there and I was hoping that this cafe would be close to the Visitors' Center as P texted me. The last time I was dining at the Botanical Garden, my Spanish connection and I took the wrong entrance which gotten us lost and we had to walked quite a bit to reach our destination. Thanks to the detailed text P sent me, I was only 10 steps away from Cafe Verde. It is located on the left hand side after entering the Botanic garden, with the cafe standing up next to the trees... how very fitting to name it green house.

Place your order here

I thought the pear shaped light decoration was cute...

On my way to find my friend, I saw the cashier and ordering lines and I was confused to find that you have to order on the cashier instead of the waiter coming to your table. I suppose it made sense as the cafe was open spaced and with the Botanic Garden just steps away they probably don't want people to order and just walk out without paying. Not sure what to order with my stomach not feeling too hungry, I looked through the menu and decided to go with pizza. Then they told me that their specialty pizza was wrapped spring roll style. I decided to try it: ham, mushroom and mozarella that came with a bowl of red sauce. P ordered beef taglioni and a basket of fries.

Sfilatino Casa Verde (House Specialty) spring roll style pizza

served with red sauce

Sfilatino Casa Verde: Mozarella, Ham & Mushrooms

The pizza was thin crusted with generous amount of ham, mushroom and mozarella. The red sauce was nice, but it could do with a bit more of herbs. The portion was just nice, well, actually for that day it was too much for me. I had to doggy bag two pieces and had it the next morning for breakfast. It was good, but I don't think it was worth 20 bucks... Or maybe they included the view price on that pizza... The fries were thick cuts, but they were crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. It tasted good with my red sauce. I didn't try P's taglioni, so I can't really comment on it.

Basket of Fries

Tagliatelle Bolognese

Overall, I would say that the food quality here is standard, perhaps a little on the pricier side considering the location. However, it is a nice place just to relax and hang out with friends on the weekends. Then after you stuff your face, you can just walk around the garden and work that calories as well as guilt out of your system. I really liked the Botanic Garden cause I can experiment with my camera and check out the cute dogs that walk around with their owners. I know some people check out the owner, but I check out the pups. I really wish I have my dogs here with me, I bet a million bucks they would love the Botanic Garden.

Casa Verde
1 Cluny Road
Botanical Gardens (Visitor Center)
Singapore
+65 6467 7326

Click here for website

Brunch at Boomerang

Boomerang at Robertson Quay

It's the weekend! Yippee.... Seriously, I live for the weekend: sleeping in, rolling of the bed at 10 or 11, getting ready for brunch and waking up together with friends over brunch. What better way to spend your Saturday morning?

Last week I met this girl, H, who just recently got transferred out of New York, so having experienced moving countries myself I know how nice it is to have a kind stranger to lend you a hand and show you the ropes of this new strange place. Not that I'm saying I'm a kind stranger... that is for her to decide hehe...

Menu is filled with Aussie words and places

Where we were seating, outdoor but protected from the sun and heat

I decided to take her to Boomerang for brunch, I never went before but I passed by before and it seemed quite nice. It took me a while to decide what to order as I wasn't hungry, I have no idea why as I am normally always hungry! I was almost disappointed when I read that the breakfast menu is only served till 11.30am and was sooooooo glad and relieved when H pointed that that it is served all day on Saturday and Sunday! Saved! So I opted against the traditional aussie burger with beet root and went with Coolangatta, with eggs, sausages, bacon, toast and... drumroll please..... HASH BROWN!

Coolangatta: hmmm... a plateful of delish!

The hash brown was the first one I tried when the meal came. It was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, tasted great with ketchup but it would have been better for my health and conscience if it was a little less oily. The bacon was yum, lots of meat and not that much fat what value for my money. The sausages were tasty, but I found these chunks of fat as I was chewing that detracted from their tastiness. The toast slices were crispy and soft, oh, and the waitress gave me strawberry jam upon request so that I can slapped the jam on top of the buttered toast. Simply delicious.

The "After" shot....

H ordered 3 eggs omelette with capsicum, mushroom and cheddar cheese that came with slices of toast. She has this funny observation that people here serves a lot of mushrooms. I have not noticed that before but I suppose now that I think about it, it is true. Chinese cuisine serves lots of mushroom as well as Japanese... I didn't try her omelette, but seeing her devouring her eggs made me confident that it was good, or maybe she was hungry.

3 Eggs omelette with capsicum, mushroom and cheddar cheese

with toast and butter

It was a sunny day in Singapore and fortunately it wasn't that humid that day, so H and I were able to sit outside, under the awning of course and enjoy the day. I do have to mention however, that we did sit under the AC and next to a fan. It was just nice to be able to wake up slowly on a Saturday, munching delicious food while enjoying the sun (without getting scorched or melted!) in good company. H and I will come back to try other stuff, such as the aussie burger (I really want beetroot in my burger) and the chocolate filled french toast. Sinful.

Boomerang Bistro & Bar
#01-15, 60 Robertson Quay
The Quayside, Robertson Quay
+65 6738 1077

Big Breakfast @Cedele

Big Breakfast @SGD 17.40:

Rustic White Toast, Bacon Rashers (which I switch to an extra sausage!!), Sausages, Scramble Eggs, Mushrooms & Tomatoes

Lately I have been reminiscing about the food from a small town in Pennsylvania where I spent a good few years of my life as a student. I miss the food from the local tavern wannabe, the wing night at the small local pubs on the 5 block stretch of so called main street. Little choices as they were, I do miss it from time to time especially the American style breakfast from Perkins, a family restaurant chain that serves breakfast food all day, 24/7/365! Scrambled eggs, or omelet with sausages, bacon and hash browns; pancakes and waffles. *sigh* Notmany is available here in Singapore and certainly not as cheap. Luckily, A suggested Cedele, a local cafe that serves breakfast daily with a healthy twist (definitely no hash browns) and slightly costing more.

Pasta, it was the first dish to come out...

Making our way to Cedele Wheelock Place, I knew exactly what I wanted. After a quick consideration I decided to get the Big Breakfast set which include eggs, sausages and bacon rashers which I switched to sausage, mushrooms, salad and toasts. No hash browns, sadly. It also came with a side of coffee or tea for SGD17.40. Yeah, a bit steep, but I was desparate. I was so happy when it finally came. Armed with ketchup, I devoured the eggs, mushroom and sausage. The toast came with butter and strawberry jam, my favorite combo. The bread was soft, lightly toasted, warm and tasted slightly milky and doughy. I love the bread with butter and jam. The mushrooms were firm and earthy. If only it came with hash browns, it would have been perfect.

Carrot cake, yum...

P had the carrot cake, which was delicious as it wasn't too sweet and the walnut gave it a savory, crunchy twist. The pasta that A was having, was so-so. Cedele is where I would go for sandwich, soup, breakfast food, cakes and coffee or tea but not pasta. For pasta I would rather go to an Italian joint or Japanese Italian. Carbonara with kimchi...yumm....The queue at Whelock was definitely better and the waitres staff responded better for your requests though they did gave us the bill twice without us asking and when we finally did ask, they didn't bring it. The food was good but for the price that they were demanding, service should be better....

Wheelock Place
501 Orchard Road #03-14
Wheelock Place
+65 6732 8520
Click here for website