[Review 2885] Japanese cheese cake mania @ 東海堂 Arome Bakery Room

09/10/2013
東海堂  Arome Bakery Room
金鐘金鐘道93號Lab Concept 金鐘廊F03號舖
Shop F03, LAB Concept, Queensway Plaza, 93 Queensway, Admiralty
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/japanese-cheese-cake-mania-e2324832

Arome bakery has launched a new cheesecake series made with cheese from Japan.
What makes the cheeses so special is that they come from Hanabatake Farm, and each of the cheeses are award winners from the 「ALL JAPAN Natural Cheese Contest」.

The two cheeses used in the cheesecakes are:
raclette cheese
- Awarded as the No 1 cheese in Japan in the 「ALL JAPAN Natural Cheese Contest」.
camembert cheese
- Awarded as the Premium cheese in Japan in the 「ALL JAPAN Natural Cheese Contest」.

There are three cheesecakes in the range:
raclette cheesecake, souffle cheesecake, and sponge cheesecake.
 0 讚好

There is bound to be a cheesecake for everyone because when the bloggers voted for their favourites, each cheesecake had a fair distribution of people who liked it.
My favourite would be the Raclette cheesecake because it tastes like Western cheesecakes and the second favourite would be the sponge cheesecake which has a cakey texture.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Raclette cheesecake 濃烤芝士蛋糕:
(made with raclette cheese)


This was my favourite because it had a savoury layer of grilled raclette cheese on top and it was dense and mildly crumbly just how it should be.
There was a hint of lemon in it too which tasted like UK's Marks and Spencers lemon cheesecake.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Souffle cheesecake 日式梳乎厘芝士蛋糕:
(made with camembert cheese)



Hong Kongers are going to like this because in general they prefer Japanese food and the texture of this is light, soft and very crumbly because it did not hold together well.
It was my least favourite because the taste was rather buttery and I prefer a more hearty Western style cheesecake like the raclette cheesecake above.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sponge cheesecake 海綿芝士蛋糕:
(made with camembert cheese)



For beginners to cheesecakes, they can try this because the taste of cheese is extremely light and the texture is just like a mildy dense moist cake.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
As well as the cheesecakes, there is also the hojicha caramel cheesecake 焙じ茶焦糖 which is going to be launched soon made with award winning Fresh caramel, awarded the Grand golden award by Monde Selection for three consecutive years since 2011.
Although I have not tried this yet, but I think it should taste nice because caramel can't go wrong.

[Review 2884] Last chance for Turkish tapas by Chef Haydar Inal @ Tapas Bar

09/10/2013
Tapas Bar
尖沙咀麼地道64號九龍香格里拉大酒店大堂
Lobby, Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel, 64 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/last-chance-for-turkish-tapas-by-chef-haydar-inal-e2324828

I was really lucky to get invited to try Turkish food by Chef Haydar Inal ,executive chef of the Ankara Palas State Guest House in Turkey because this promotion will end on the 12th of October.

Due to Turkey’s strategic position on the 30-kilometre Bosphorus strait separating Europe and Asia, established trade routes gave the Turks freedom to experiment with spices and textures in their food, which has influences from Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines.

During the 12-day promotion, there is a range of traditional Turkish favourites. Popular böreks include Su Böreği (Traditional Turkish Cheese Pastry), Gül Böregi (Spinach Cheese Pastry), Fincan Böreği (Cheese Pie) and Puf Böreği (Cheese and Parsley Puff). Mezzes range from Cerkez Tavuğu (Circassian Chicken) to Saksuka (Dried Fried Aubergines in Tomato Garlic Sauce), Kisir (Bulgur Salad), Arnavut Cigeri (Spiced Mutton Liver) and Zeytinyağlı Yaprak Sarma (Vine Leaves with Rice and Mint Raisins Cinnamon).
Guests can also look forward to Tas Kebab (Lamb Stew with Vegetables), Coban Kavurma (Fried Beef with Vegetables), Kilic Balığı Sis (broiled Skewered Swordfish), Tavuk Beyti (Chicken Roll), Domatesli Karides (Tomato Shrimp Sacmpi) and Dalyan Kofte (Beef Meat Ball).

To end the perfect Turkish experience, there is a sweet note to the night with Revani (Semolina Cake Soaked in Light Syrup), Sütlac (Milk Pudding with Rice), Baklava (Layered Pastry with Pistachio) and many other Turkish desserts.
Lastly, you will be delighted with a complimentary box of Turkish Delight candy by checking in on FB and posting a photo of your favourite dish!

Overall, I really enjoyed the food there because I love strong spices and Middle Eastern dishes.

Here was what we tried:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
1) Su boregi (Turkish cheese pastry)
This was a square block of dense pastry with a strong salty taste but without the pungent taste of cheese.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
2 gul boregi (spinach cheese pastry)

The pastry was light and flakey filled with spinach and cheese.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
3 puf boregi (Cheese and parsley pie)

Compared to the gul boregi above, the pastry was firmer with a cheesier and stronger filling.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Saksuka (deep fried aubergines in tomato garlic sauce)
A nice medley of aubergines, courgettes and potatoes in a tangy tomato garlic sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
9 Arnavut cigeri (mutton liver)

Before I tried it, I was expecting it to be gamey but it was not.
It was really pleasant and tastes like the beef liver found in steak and kidney pie.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
zeytinyagli yaprak sarma
(Vine leaves with rice, mint, raisins and cinnamon)

It was my second time trying them and I liked the size of them because they were smaller.
It tasted so much better than the one I tried elsewhere because the rice was nice and savoury wrapped in delicious vine leaves.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
hummus

The hummus was my favourite because it was the strongest tasting  hummus I have tasted with strong cumin spices.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
13 tavuk lslim (Chicken wrapped in eggplant)
The appearance of this was interesting, it was a big ball of shredded chicken meat with eggplant on the outside.
The chicken was tender and tasted similar to roast chicken with moist mushy eggplant on the outside.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
14 coban kavurma (beef with vegetables)

The pieces of beef were really tender with a hint of spiciness from the sauce and the potatoes were gorgeous too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
15Kilic Baligi sis (swordfish skewers)

The swordfish was chunky and tender.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
16Tavuk Beyti (chicken roll)

This was my favourite because it was a chicken version of beef kofte which has lots of herbs in it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
18 Tas kebab (Lamb skewer)

The pieces of lamb were nice and juicy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
19 domatesli karides (Tomato scampi)

Delicioius prawns in tangy tomato sauce accompanied by cute cherry tomatoes.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
20 bulgur pilavi (rice with lentils)

The rice was flavoursome with protein rich starchy lentils.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
For drinks there were two non-alchoholic mocktails:
Turkish Mint Delight (Apple Vinegar, Soda water, Mint)
-or-
Turkish Delight Fruit Cocktail (Pomegranate juice, Apple juice, Rose Water, Honey, Raspberries, strawberries).
I chose the Turkish delight fruit cocktail which was really nice and refreshing and it was blended extremely smooth.
I loved the tangy tones of the strawberries and apple.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Thanks to Shangri La and a fellow foodie for this invitation and the Turkish delights.

[Review 2883] Start a sweet autumn with Chestnut cakes @ 美心西餅Maxim's Cake Shop

07/10/2013
美心西餅Maxim's Cake Shop
中環港鐵中環站CEN E18號舖
Shop CEN E18, Central MTR Station, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/start-a-sweet-autumn-with-chestnut-cakes-e2324526

Thanks to the lovely PR agency who did a great job promoting the new Chestnut series at Maxims.
It was so nice of them to give us a teaser with a bag of chestnut magnets with a chestnut shaped helium balloon.

They reminded me of conkers, and they would be invincible too because they are made of metal.
Before these chestnut cakes were launched, chestnut to me just meant conkers and chestnut stuffing.

In the Maxim's new chestnut range there were chestnut tarts and chestnut cakes!


Here was what I tried.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chestnut and marshmallow tart:
Delicious butter based tart base filled with chestnuts and a marshmallow centre covered in delicious chestnut cream.
The starchy chestnut cream and marshmallow were a dreamy pairing.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Shandong chestnut, purple potato and sweet potato cake mini:
This was my favourite one in the series because it was really pretty, decorated with a ring of purple sweet potato on the outside.


There are three delicious layers in the middle, the top is chestnuts, the second layer is Okinawa purple sweet potato and the third layer is kagoshima golden sweet potato.

There was a good balance of filling to the cakes.
The fillings were really silky and the sweetness was not cloyingly sweet and the sweet potatoes just enhanced it even more.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Shandong chestnut almond crispy cake:

This is seriously for chestnut lovers, a cake filled with crushed chestnut puree, chestnut cream on a delicious crispy base with cotton soft cake in the middle.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2882] French style gnocchi @ Le Bonbon de Paris

06/10/2013
Le Bonbon de Paris
西貢敬民街9號高勝樓地下1號舖
Shop 1, G/F, Ko Shing Building, 9 King Man Street, Sai Kung
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/french-style-gnocchi-e2324099

Even though I have had a lot of French food, I never knew they had gnocchi.
Since France is big, there are quite a few regional variations and one of them is quite amusing literally meaning dog poop [gnocchi de tantifla a la nissarda - "la merda dé can"!]
Anyway at Le Bonbon, there were there was either gnocchi in creamy sauce or gnocchi in bolognaise sauce.
I tried the creamy sauce one so next time I will try the bolognaise one.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Gnocchi in creamy sauce:

The sauce was extremely creamy and heavy with generous pieces of bacon.
Best to be shared because the portion can be quite big.
I think the bolognaise one will not be so heavy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2881] Swissbeck now in Sai Kung @ Swissbeck

06/10/2013
Swissbeck
西貢普通道11A地下
G/F, 11 A Po Tung Road, Sai Kung
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/swissbeck-now-in-sai-kung-e2324078

I was quite surprised that Swissbeck opened another branch in Sai Kung!

Anyway decided to check it out.

Compared to Central, the Sai Kung branch is a neat little shop.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rohnut:

They used to be called Cronuts at the Central branch, but they are now called Rohnuts.
The one I got was similar to the one I had in Central but without the strawberries, it was just filled with cream in the middle.
The Rohnut was sweeter and oilier than the one at central, but the taste was nice because the flakey layers made it lighter than a conventional donut.
The cream in the middle was delicious with the chewy flakey rohnut but I would have preferred it if it was dusted with powdered sugar and not granulated sugar because it was quite sweet towards the end.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
For more on cronuts, please see:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2317630&tc=sr2&con=rvw

[Review 2880] Drinks at Pacific Coffee @ 太平洋咖啡 Pacific Coffee

04/10/2013
太平洋咖啡 Pacific Coffee
灣仔港灣道18號中環廣場2樓
2/F, Central Plaza, 18 Harbour Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/drinks-at-pacific-coffee-e2323904

Went to a tasting held at Pacific Coffee, while we were there, we were treated drinks from Pacific Coffee.
There was grape or apple Appletiser.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
apple Appletiser:

I used to drink this all the time in the UK when I was a kid so I assumed it was British, but this drink is actually African.
I like this drink because it does not contain any sugar, it was pure fizzy apple juice which quenched my thirst.
This drink was formerly called Appletise but since people kept calling it Appletiser, the drink was renamed Appletiser!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2879] Delicious African lunches @ Makumba Africa Bar Lounge

04/10/2013
Makumba Africa Bar Lounge (已結業)
|中環蘭桂坊德己立街38-44號好利商業大廈2樓
2/F, Ho Lee Commercial Building, 38-44 D'Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/delicious-african-lunches-e2323903


Lunches here are great but I never happen to be in Central during the weekdays so I miss out on so much delicious food in Central.
The lunch here is really cheap too, the basic one is only $85.

Anyway, it is best to phone before coming to check what is available.

As no one has discovered this place for lunch or they are too scard to try, the place was nice and quiet, but in the evenings the scene is totally different from a quiet scene to a party scene.

Nice lounge for medium sized groups.

They have some special Killer drinks too with super hot colourful chilis in the alchohol.

Initially they were doing the French African buffet but I missed that, so now they are doing an African buffet for lunch which is just as good because I like African food as well.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chili sauce:

A chili sauce that really packs a punch, but this is not their spiciest.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Kedjenou:

This was chicken stew cooked with vegetables such as cabbages, carrots and tomato.
It was a nice dish to go with the rice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rice with peas and carrots:

The rice was quite simple and I would have preferred something more sophisticated such as the coloured rices they eat in Africa.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mafe:

This was beef shin cooked in delicious peanut sauce! It tastes nothing like Satay sauce which is good and the beef was really soft and gelatinous.
Although I do not like beef, this was my favourite dish and I had lots of it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★