[Review 897] The secret behind the black rose @ La Rose Noire Bakery

30/10/2010


La Rose Noire Bakery
中環遮打道10號太子大廈
Prince Building, 10 Chater , Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/the-secret-behind-the-black-rose-e2127061

Recently I tried the pastries sold in the local supermarkets here, and was impressed they tasted as good as the western ones. On the plastic bag it had La Rose Noire printed on it, so I checked it online and found they had a website.

http://www.la-rose-noire.com

I was amazed to find out they were a big bakery and the pastry chef Gerard is quite famous. I was even told by HK Epicurius that they supply OEMs to many cafes such as Cafe Corridor, Barista Jam, Xen.
So it’s certainly a deal getting the pastries at the local supermarket. It is interesting they do Chinese bakery too for the Chinese such as pineapple buns etc, which I do not intend to try.
Apart from that, they have so much seasonal products, breads etc featured on their website.


The pastries I had was the double chocolate fudge puff, it was flakey on the outside with gooey chocolate in the middle, not too sweet or too buttery.
In general, all their products I have tried were amazing, even the sausage roll. The usual “CHINESE” sausage rolls are disgusting, especially with frankfurters replacing the traditional sausage.
The bread range is also impressive, eg poppy seed bun, carrot roll, and various of breads.

Background of La Rose Noire:

Gerard’s obsession with baking and good food goes back as far as he can remember. At the tender age of 16, he entered a 5 year apprenticeship programme in Villars, Switzerland, where he learned to make all kinds of bread, pastry, chocolate and ice-cream.

After graduating with distinction from his apprenticeship. He moved to Zurich. For a year, he developed his pastry skills and language skills whilst working in a famous family owned pastry shop.

The following year, he joined the Hilton International Group in London, and spent the next 10 years in several positions in far flung parts of the globe. His 'Tour du Monde' took him to Istanbul, Tokyo, Guam, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore and Shanghai, where James Smith, Regional Vice President for Hilton International, recognised his talents and encouraged him to move to Hong Kong. It was here that he was promoted to Regional Pastry Chef covering Central Asia.

During this time, Gerard represented Hilton International at many international culinary competitions - I.K.A. Hoga in Germany, Salon Culinaire in Singapore and HOFEX in Hong Kong. He was the winner of numerous gold medals for both team and individual presentations. In recognition of this, he was invited to join the judging panels for many world renowned culinary competitions. Being in Hong Kong at start of the '90s, Gerard was already considering his long term future. His natural instinct was to strike out and seize the opportunities of
a booming economy.

The following year, he opened his first 'La Rose Noire Pâtisserie' together with his partner Michel Emeric in the most prestigious retail centre on Hong Kong Island. This was the foundation of his dream to establish a specialist Boulangerie, Pâtisserie, Confiserie. A few years later, Gerard took full control of the company and its future.

Now, 19 years later, La Rose Noire is one of Hong Kong's leading producers of fine bakery and pastry products. The company has one of the widest fresh and frozen product ranges available, and is also one of the few manufacturers of frozen, pre-proven dough in Hong Kong.

From its modern facilities in Kowloon Bay and Dongguan, his company employs more than 500 staff who work around the clock to meet the needs of their customers, who include hotels, airlines, private members clubs, restaurants and retailers. Many of the original staff who joined the company are still working there today.

In 2004, the company constructed a brand new, custom built factory in Dongguan to serve new customers in Southern China. Today La Rose Noire products are sold in Europe, USA, Dubai, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, China and Japan.

Gerard was co-author of the famous book 'The Cutting Edge", which was published in Hong Kong in 1993. He also published “My Recent Journey” in 2003 and “Passion.” in 2006. “Passion.” was awarded Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2006 - "Special Award Of The Jury" in the "Gourmand Singapore Awards". He served as Chairman of the Asian Culinary Classic in 1997, 1999 and 2005, and was the President of the Hong Kong selection for the 'Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie' in 1997 in Lyon, France.

[Review 896] Singmalay part 24 @ 海南少爺 Hainan Shaoye

28/10/2010

海南少爺 Hainan Shaoye
銅鑼灣告士打道280號世貿中心3樓311號舖
Shop 311, 3/F, World Trade Center, 280 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/singmalay-part-24-e2126795

Finally had lunch at Hainan Shaoye, the queues had put me off before.
I was a bit disappointed because only lunch sets were served at lunch, and I couldn’t order any A La Carte items. This probably explains why there was no queue.
As a potential revisiting customer, I was not pleased when I asked to look at the full menu, they didn’t let me see it.
The staff there were not that co-operative, and the male looking manageress didn’t seem to like her staff.
Ordered the chicken set, and a seafood laksa.
Upon ordering the chicken, the waiter informed that all the chicken meat was white meat, so if you wanted chicken thigh, you would need to pay $10 extra.
Westerners usually prefer white meat, so I think a lot of chinese would be paying an extra $10 for thigh meat, a good way for them to profit!!
The egg mousse that was shown on the lunch product shot seemed to be missing. I wonder if it is an evening dish, if so, why put it on the lunch menu!

There was nothing spectacular with the chicken, but the soup was interesting, chicken and wolfberry soup served in a Tea Pot.
As for Laksa, it tasted slightly better, it wasn’t spicy at all. The soup was watery and not strong in coconut.
There were some dried Laksa leaves present, and the soup base reminded me of “Gozen Men’s” Laksa noodles.

[Review 895] Another froyo joint in TST @ Orangi Yo

28/10/2010

Orangi Yo
尖沙咀加連威老道41C-D號嘉威大廈地下3號舖
Shop 3, G/F, Granville House, 41C-D Granville Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/another-froyo-joint-in-tst-e2126750

Another self service Froyo joint in TST, when I went in, it reminded me of Myogurt in Wan Chai, both featuring green and orange on the logo.

There were so many flavours, but they didn’t have Candyfloss froyo, it probably doesn’t taste good as commented by others, but I still wanted to try it.

The flavours that day were:
Chocolate, Vanilla, Banana, Pistachio, Cookies and Cream, Red velvet cake, Coconut, Green Tea, Mango, Taro, Original, Green apple, Pineapple, Orange and Lychee.
In the end, I chose Pistachio, Banana, Red velvet cake and Taro.

To be honest, they all tasted roughly the same, except for the Red velvet cake, which had the strongest taste, and that one flavoured by Cranberries.
The texture of the yogurts were icy, and not creamy, more like a milky sorbet.
The toppings were basically the same as everywhere else, fresh fruit, cereals etc, so I didn’t really pick much.

[Review 894] Hooray Hiro's @ Uncle Hiro's

26/10/2010

Uncle Hiro's
灣仔駱克道89號灣仔中匯大廈地下5號舖
Shop 5, G/F, Wanchai Central Building, 89 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/hooray-hiros-e2126363

Thanks to Mandalay, found out about this yummy joint.
Previously Cul De Sac, it is now a fast food joint serving items similar items, however I miss those chips with mayonnaise, gravy, vinegar and various of sauces.
The interior is relatively the same, hence it was hard to notice they had been replaced by another shop, and the name Uncle Hiro’s sound Japanese.

The new joint offers Tacos, pizzas, hotdogs, burgers and some interesting items.
It is run and possibly owned by Indians, the takeaway bag and tissues were from Ebeeneezers too.
Ordered the beef Tacos with chilli con carne sauce, Chapli burger and chicken drumstucks as stated on the menu.
Tacos with chili con carne:
These were rather expensive for $34, only two tacos per portion, and there was not much filling inside.
Despite that, it tasted so yummy, there was lots of starchy kidney beans, and the meat was ground finely.
The lettuce was shredded finely too rather that a big piece of lettuce.
The spicy sauce on the lettuce was very fiery so beware.
MAGIC CARPET (Chapli burger):
This was also expensive too for $34, I was expecting a gigantic patty but was it was the size of the patty served at McD’s.
Nevertheless, the patty was spicy and delicious, however being an indian burger, I would have preferred more authentic Indian toppings eg mango chutney, yogurt or mint sauce rather than tomato, mustard and mayonnaise.
The bun was good though, there wasn’t much sesame seeds.
Chapli is a patty made from beef mince, it is one of the popular barbecue meals in Pakistan. It is prepared flat and round and served with yoghurt sauce (raita), salad and naan bread. The dish originates from Mardan (Takhtbhai) and Mansehra (Qalanderabad) regions of Pakistan.in mansehra shinkiari and ichrean are very famous for chapal kabab.peaples of shinkiari serve chapal kabab as the special dish to the guests.nima kababi is one of the famous chapal kabab maker in mansehra(shinkiari).

Chicken drumsticks:
These were priced at $32 so I asked how many drumsticks were in a portion, and they answered 3, which sounds reasonable, however when I got it, there were four.
They turned out to be CHICKEN drumettes not drumsticks.
Anyway, they tasted good, so it didn’t matter. The coating of the drumettes were so crunchy, it made a crunchy sound was like biting into thick Pringle crisps.
Whilst waiting for the food to be prepared, I saw a lot of food being taken out from cardboard boxes and reheated, but I couldn’t see what brand they were.
For my next visit, I will probably try the potato skins, chicken fingers and poutine.

[Review 893] Surprisingly good @ 北京拉麵店 Peking Handmade Noodles Restaurant

26/10/2010

北京拉麵店 Peking Handmade Noodles Restaurant
將軍澳唐德街9號將軍澳中心G27舖
Shop No.G27, Park Central, 9 Tong Tak Street, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/surprisingly-good-e2126330

This restaurant has been around for a while, but it dosnt look tempting to go in, the outside isnt appealing to me, especially the type of dishes they do, I assumed they were the ordinary chinese noodles.
Before you go in, there is a manager pacing back and forth at the entrance smilng to himself I think, and not many customers inside, so i assumed the food probably isnt that good.
Anyway I decided to go in without expectations, I was attracted because they had purple rice noodles.
On my way to be seated I noticed some bottled rice drinks at the counter that are sold at QQ Rice, so I suspected they had some partnership with QQ Rice, especially since they offer purple rice noodles.
After checking them out on the web, I found that they had a website:
http://www.pekingnoodles.com.hk
and QQ Rice (http://www.qqrice.com.hk/address28.php) is one of their subsidaries, and the other two are
1- slim noodles http://www.slimtaste.com.hk
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=23359
unfortunately this has now gone out of business
2- 39 degrees bakery http://www.39cbakery.com/
All their websites are pretty cool and has English as well! So well done!!
The sofa seats were worn off and flakey, so I had the impression that they had great customer flow, so it changed my expectations, I was now beginning to think the food would taste better than expected if there was such a big turnover in customers.
The dinner set ranged from $58 - $62, it consists of a choice of starter, noodles, drink and a dessert.
For the starters there is a choice of chicken in sesame sauce and mung bean sheet noodles, black fungas and burdock, and preserved egg and peppers.
The dessert was sweet potato sprinkled with coconut.
As for the drinks it was honey with green tea, peach tea or milk tea..
For all the noodles there was a choice of handmade ramen, purple rice noodles and the normal noodles.
In the end picked the preserved egg and mung bean sheet noodles as starters, then purple rice noodles with spring onion and noodles in pork broth and pork chops.
The dessert was the first to arrive, it was pieces of sweet potato slightly glazed with coconut sprinkled on top.
I have never tried this before, so I didnt know what to expect, but it was quite nice.
The sweet potato was quite firm and sweet due to the flavouring, and the coconut shreds
Drink was a bit too sweet, so I diluted it with the water provided.
For extra desserts I ordered black sugar mochi for $8, there were six pieces, other flavours were taro, green tea, and grapefruit.



Preserved egg with peppers
This tasted how it should, and the sauce beneath the preserved eggs made it more appetizing, although the sauce was fiery and made of chili, the cucumber shreds made it quite refreshing.


Sesame chicken and mung bean sheets
The noodles were covered in lots of rich thick sesame sauce and sprinkled with lots of sesame seeds.
I didnt really like the chicken as it wasnt that fresh, but the mung bean sheets were lovely.


Pork chop with spring onion and noodles
The soup base was very strong, hence the noodles were fully flavoured.


Noodles with spring onions
Although this was the cheapest set, it tasted the best, for the choice of noodles I chose the purple rice noodles, but they were not that purple when served.
The purple rice noodles before being cooked were reddish brown, hence they dont look purple after the sauce was mixed added.
The noodles tasted very nice with the dried shrimps and crunchy spring onions.


Sweet potato topped with coconut
This dessert tasted like candied sweet potato rather than fresh sweet potato, it was slightly hard, but tasted ok, slightly too sweet.



black sugar mochi
This was ordered as an extra for $8, but it would have been great if you could choose a combination of two flavours rather than one flavour.
It was very chewy but tasted ok.


Ordered honey green tea and peach tea, the honey one was very strong in jasmine and honey.
The peach tea was slightly lighter but had a fake taste.
In addition to that, they have a kid's set which looks really cute on the menu, and a marshmallow chocolate drink too!!!
Pity I forget to take a picture of it.

[Review 892] Superb meal @ 樂意扒房 Louis' Steak House

26/10/2010

樂意扒房 Louis' Steak House
灣仔告士打道50號馬來西亞大廈1樓
1/F, Malaysia Building, 50 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/superb-meal-e2126326

 I have always wanted to dine at Louis Steak house because of the yummy pictures of Fish Maw.
This restaurant is rather interesting because the Chinese run it and they serve proper western dishes apart from the Fish Maw. The restaurant is rather historic to me, especially inside the restaurant, it feels like the Beefeater restaurant in UK.
The staff looked like they’ve work there all their life too, and most of them are all middle aged.
I was very impressed by their diverse menu too, ranging from Asparagus with hollandaise sauce to Crepes Suzette.
For my first visit, I decided to sample their food, so chose the set meal for two, which includes oysters and boiled prawns, basket of bread, mushroom and crab soup with cheese, fish maw, steak, apple pie and a drink.

The table was laid with red and white chequered tablecloth and formal cutlery, vase of carnations, and a small candlelight.

French Gillardeau Oysters and Prawns:
The prawns were fresh, and the oyster was fairly big compared to the restaurants.
The oyster was Ok, and the sauce complimented it well.

Louis Steak home made fish maw with special Chinese sauce:
After reading Jason’s review, I used the bread on the sticky fish maw sauce, and it was wonderful.
The fish maw itself was quite thick. When I used the knife on it, the fish maw texture felt dense.
I would have preferred the fish maw to be slightly softer.

Fresh crabmeat mushroom soup au Gratin:
This was baked, so it was very hot, there was thinly sliced mushrooms on the top with melted cheese.
The crabmeat was nice and fresh, but as for the taste, I only remember the cheese and burning my mouth!!

U.S prime rib eye steak:
Had this cooked to medium, it was served with a jacket potato with a choice of sour cream, bacon bits and chives.
I had my potato served with plain butter.
The steak was good, the only complaint was the fatty rind on the edges.

Apple pie:It looked like an ordinary apple pie, but the pastry was so light, buttery and crumbly.
I think it’s the best pie pastry I have had in Hong Kong so far.
The apple pie was nice and warm too.

Drinks:
Ordered tea, and I was surprised they knew the tea I wanted and brought the appropriate items such as milk and sugar.





I will definitely come again and their food is healthy, and everything served is edible rather than useless garnishing.

[Review 891] Saizeriya success in Hong Kong @ 薩莉亞意式餐廳 Saizeriya Italian Restaurant

26/10/2010
薩莉亞意式餐廳 Saizeriya Italian Restaurant
將軍澳坑口培成路8號南豐廣場1樓R1B號舖
Shop R1B, 1/F, Nan Fung Plaza, 8 Pui Shing Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/saizeriya-success-in-hong-kong-e2126319

Saizeriya is a success in HK since it opened, but it never drew my attention before.
Being located in Nan Fung plaza in TKO, I just assumed it was a local chinese-italian restaurant.

After seeing all those positive reviews on Saizeriya, I decided to try it someday, but the strange thing was, HK Epicurius hasnt reviewed it yet. After consulting HKE, it turns out he had a better deal trying it in China, it is nearly 40% cheaper than the already cheap prices in HK.

HKE’s review in China:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2051443

When I sat down and looked at the menu I realised it was a Japanese branch. It was established in Japan in 1968 and then opened their first overseas branch in China in 2007.
Other branches in HK are located in Tsz Wan San and Tsuen Wan.
The restaurant has been in the news in Japan for serving pizza with melamine-tainted dough from China in October 2008.
Saizeriya is not limited to Italian food; gratin and Hamburg steaks were also added to the menu

From the pictures posted by others, it didn’t really stand out against the other Italian places such as Pizza express or Amaroni’s so I was totally sceptical about the food there.
I also heard the food was ridiculously cheap too so I didn’t have the expectation it would taste good, the total bill for ordering starters and mains etc was under $100.

Ordered squid ink risotto, Chicken demi-glace, Prawn cocktail.

Squid ink risotto:The rice was nice and soft, although slightly bland.

Prawn cocktail:This salad tasted the best, especially the sauce, it wasn’t too sweet and the sauce may be slightly savoury for others.

Chicken with Demi-glace sauce:This was the highlight of the meal, tender and juicy chicken thigh with crisp chicken skin.
The sauce was interesting, it tasted like yellow bean sauce, however demi-glace is meant to be a rich brown sauce in French cuisine traditionally made by combining equal parts of veal stock and sauce espagnole.

Apart from the food served to your table, the rest is self-service, which enables the staff to primarily take orders and bring food faster to people.
The drinks are available at the drinks bar, which is self service, same with the condiments.
To pay for the bill, you need to bring the bill outside to pay.