[Review 4182] Not as tasty as the first visit @ Djiboutii

16/03/2015
Djiboutii
灣仔蘭杜街2號地下A舖
G/F., 2A Landale Street, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/not-as-tasty-as-the-first-visit-e2433325


Went here on a Saturday and they didn't have the lunch deal so I ordered the chicken and they asked me if I wanted rice or fries so I thought the rice came with it but it did not so it was another extra $65.
 0 讚好

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rice $65:
 0 讚好

I shouldn't have ordered this because I was having another lunch immediately after this.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Roast chicken:

This was not as tasty as my first visit, much of the chicken skin was gone and it was too garlicky which overpowered the other aromatic spices.
The salad dressing was too sweet but it still had my favourite cumin spices in it.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cranberry tea:

This was nice and acidic but the floral notes were too strong for my liking.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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The bill: $16X
Service: OK

[Review 4181] I-Scream in the dark @ Lab Made Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Laboratory

06/03/2015
Lab Made 分子雪糕專門店 (已結業)
Lab Made Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Laboratory
將軍澳重華路8號東港城1樓Food Point 3號舖
Shop 3, Food Point, 1/F., East Point City Shopping Arcade, 8 Chung Wa Road, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/i-scream-in-the-dark-e2433293


Lab Made have teamed up with Dialogue in the Dark to serve four random mysterious flavours to get our tastebuds guessing!.

Once we concluded what we tried, we can submit our answers on their FB page to win FREE Lab Made vouchers with coffee cup set + Concert in the Dark preview tickets!

You also get a $20 coupon to use at Dialogue in the Dark tour.

There are four random flavours served and the only clues given are:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
(Hints)A1: Sweet and sour fruity Greek Yogurt
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
(Hints)A2: Fresh, Bitter, Sweetness
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
(Hints)A3: The flavour of your childhood treat
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
(Hints)A4: Sweet, fragrance and creamy
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
As it is a competition and the flavours are random, it is hard to review it here but the one I had was sweet and fruity!

[Review 4180] Artsy fare before visiting the art fair @ La Terrasse by ÉPURE

16/03/2015
La Terrasse by ÉPURE (已結業) 查看
已改名為 La Brasserie by ÉPURE
尖沙咀廣東道3-27號海港城海洋中心4樓403號舖
Shop 403, 4/F, Ocean Centre, Harbour City, 3-27 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/artsy-fare-before-visiting-the-art-fair-e2433241

Artsy fare before visiting the art fair
2015-03-16  7271 瀏覽
Before visiting Hotel art asia and Art Central, I started my art journey here with a meal designed by Nicolas Boutin to celebrate Hong Kong art week which is a five course meal that costs $1488.

Here were two of the five courses that I had.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
L'art du pot au feu:
Beef short rib, multi coloured vegetables, garden leaves and black truffle.
It was beautifully and colourfully presented with a round piece of beef topped with vibrant vegetables and black truffle slices on top.
 0 讚好

 0 讚好

Beef consomme is poured onto it.
 0 讚好



The beef consomme was clear and light tasting like Bovril.
On the menu, it says the beef is short rib but the texture and taste was soft like beef belly.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
autour du pinceau:
This was such a fun dessert to play with and eat because you get to paint it with sauces using a Pentel paintbrush and the dessert was also delicious.

 0 讚好


The paints (fruit sauces) were mango, berries, pistachio and strawberry.

It was really fun to paint but more brushes are needed or a pot to wash your brushes because you end up mixingf the colours.

The light colours were a bit too opaque when they were painted so I ended up pouring it on the plate to get a bolder colour.
As for the berry sauce, the colour was a bit like blood


The dessert was surprisingly good because I liked the strong citrus centre with real pieces of tart blood orange encased in a light meringue shell decorated with light cream.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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The bill: $1488

[Review 4179] Reminiscing the Past at Shang Palace @ 香宮 Shang Palace

13/03/2014
香宮  Shang Palace
尖沙咀麼地道64號九龍香格里拉大酒店地庫1層
Lower Level, Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel, 64 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/reminiscing-the-past-at-shang-palace-e2432256

As I was not brought up in Hong Kong, this was the perfect experience for me to try the dishes of the past because not many restaurants serve these dishes.
All these dishes are available until the end of March!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Trio delights:

On the plate were Deep-fried crab meat fritters, Roasted sliced pork and chicken liver with honey accompanied with crispy fried milk.
To my knowledge, not many places serve the roasted sliced pork with chicken liver and the only one I have heard of is called Tak Lung located in San Po Kong.
Over the new year I tried a lamb version at YUE.
The one here is surprisingly good because the liver is surprisingly velvety which goes extremely well with the tasty roast pork. There was a slice of fat too which always comes with it that I never eat.
The crispy fried milk was a really good because it was savoury with a texture like tofu.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Double boiled quail broth with bird’s nest:
 0 讚好

This was a nourishing soup with a boiled quail stuffed with protein rich bird's nest.
 0 讚好

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Traditional sautéed boneless chicken wings stuffed with Chinese ham and bamboo shoot:
 0 讚好

The chicken wings were tasty with delicious ham in the middle but the chicken wings could be crispier or they could have trimmed the fat off before pan frying.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Braised spare ribs with deep fried buns:
 0 讚好

These spares ribs were a delight because there was no bone and the bun was chewy and flakey which tasted delicious with the spare rib sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Coddled Chinese lettuce served in fish broth:
 0 讚好

A balanced meal must have vegetables and the Chinese lettuce was delicate and sweet in MSG fish broth which I drank as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Double boiled pear with sea coconut :
 0 讚好

 0 讚好

For dessert we finished off with a sweet boiled pear filled with sea coconut in the middle.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Shang Palace dessert tree:

The dessert tree was stunning.
On the dessert tree were glutinous rice balls filled with mango and pastries.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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[Review 4178] Wine and dine with Chef Giuseppe Maria Brancati @ Alto 88

12/03/2015
Alto 88  休息中
此店前身為Zeffirino風情畫意大利餐廳 Zeffirino Ristorante
銅鑼灣怡和街88號富豪香港酒店31樓
31/F, Regal Hongkong Hotel, 88 Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/wine-and-dine-with-chef-giuseppe-maria-brancati-e2432252

Previously this restaurant used to be Zeffirino Ristorante but now it is Alto 88 with great views of the harbour on fine days.
Tried Chef Giuseppe Maria Brancati's tasting dinner with wine pairing.
Started off with a variety of breads and foccacia was my favourite.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
amuse bouche:
Started off with salmon rolled with crunchy samphire  in the middle which gave it a nice crispy texture and bursts of saltiness from the salmon roe.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tartara di tonno rosso e mela verde, salsa allo yogurt con zenzero ed erba cipollina:
This was red tuna and green apple tartar served with yoghurt flavoured with ginger and chives paired with Terlaner DOC Cantina Terlano-Kellerei 2012 Tentino-Alto Adige

The tuna was flawless paired with the refreshing finely diced green apple.
It tasted even better when it was all mixed up with the yoghurt and chives.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Capresante scottate su burrata liquida a proscuitto di Parma disidratato:
 0 讚好

This was pan-seared scallop served with liquid burrata cheese and dehydrated Parma ham paired with pinot grigio murno Primosic.
Although it was delicious, I really wish there was more crispy Parma ham because it gave a lovely smokey salty taste to the scallop.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Risotto "Acquerello 7 anni" affumicato alla parmigiana, polvere di porcini e fiori di montagna:

This was Risotto "Acquerello brand 7 year aged" smoked porcini mushroom dust and mountain flower which won the best risotto "Acquerello" world contest in 2012.
The risotto was paired with La Scolca GAVI Bianco secco.
It was a rich risotto with fragrant shaved mushrooms on the bottom that was not too creamy and the risotto had a nice chew to it.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Trancio de baccala confit in salsa d'aglio dolce, patate fondente e liquirizia:

This was salted cod loin confit in sweet garlic sauce with potato fondant and licquorice paired with Scalabrone Bolgheri Rosato.
The cod was chunky with big flakes which was drenched in delicious strong garlic sauce.
You can also taste strong licquorice which you will either hate or love.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Steak:

This was steak paired with La Braccesca Vino Nobile De Montepulcian.
The beef was sweet and juicy accompanied by refreshing pickled carrrot slaw.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mousse ai pistachio di bronte, croccante al cocao e crema di zabaione:

This was a crisp cocao roll filled with pistachio mousse from Bronte and eggnog cream paired with Kaloro Moscato d Trani Doc Tormaresca.
I loved the pistachio mousse which was creamy and nutty with a savoury aftertaste.
The dessert wine was my favourite of the wines that night because I have a sweet tooth for sweet wines.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tea and petit fours:

To finish off, I had fragrant Earl Grey as a perfect ending.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The set I had costs $1288 and $888 without wine.
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