Whisk ♥ ♥ ♥

Because Jason says it is his favorite romantic restaurant for the month of November, I suggest Whisk, the famed Singaporean chef Justin Quek’s first restaurant in Hong Kong, for a not-really-so-romantic dinner with Nelson and his supplier/friend Newman.

I love Whisk’s intergalactic interiors.

Bread basket. Nothing extraordinary.

Newman does not want to be bothered with too many choices, so he goes for the easiest option. Tonight’s set dinner:

King prawn salad with abalone

Wild mushroom ravioli with leek, saffron foam

Carrot ginger soup with lemongrass foam (sorry, no profile picture!)

Slow-cooked beef rossini on polenta cake, truffle jus

Hazelnut mousse with lime basil sorbet

The two fussier people order ala carte.

  Chef’s appetizer platter: tasting of Whisk’s four best creations. And true to its claims, these really are the best!

  Baked lobster bisque “herb soufflé.” Quite a creative twist to the traditional lobster bisque. This is good, but not fantastic.

  Roasted crispy suckling pig with truffle salad and red wine sauce. The skin is exaggeratedly crispy, and the meat exaggeratedly tender. I can’t say much for the taste though, it is a bit bland. Nothing can ever beat Cebu lechon. NOTHING.

US prime ribeye, 300 grams. I haven’t had US steak this good for the longest time. Very tender, very flavorful, and with the right amount of marbling. Even if served medium when I order medium rare, this is one of the better steaks I’ve had in Hong Kong.

  Flaky apple tart with roasted almond and vanilla ice cream. Don’t believe when the menu says this is good for two. I can easily polish off the whole thing by myself. In 3 minutes. Very, very easily. I just don’t want the two men to look like sissies.

The waiter hears my thoughts and brings me more sweets. Happy!

Whisk: 5/F, The Mira Hong Kong, 118-130 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. +852 2315-5111

One-ThirtyOne, Revisited ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 

Goodbyes. I am so not good at them.

I hate to leave Hong Kong, the Clearwater Bay flat I’ve called home the last three years, my freedom, the wonderful friends I’ve made, the convenient and efficient MTR system, the shopping, the crazy sales, my freedom, the Hong Kong style milk tea in chachantengs, the many restaurants I’ve grown to love, and the many, many more still on my to-try list… and did I mention my freedom?

I refuse to leave Hong Kong without having another meal at my favorite restaurant. Cannot. Will not. Refuse to. 

And what better day to enjoy a leisurely lunch at One-ThirtyOne than on January 31?

 

The outdoor seating

 

The view

 

Homemade breads. Garlic, olives, sundried tomatoes.

 

Carpaccio of Japanese scallop with orange, wild arugula & lobster vinaigrette topped with Yalla Valley salmon caviar.
Arugula is my favorite salad vegetable. Its earthiness goes well with the light and delicate flavors of the scallops, and the salty, briny taste of the caviar. A very refreshing start.

 

Cappuccino soup of wild mushroom topped with Italian black truffles.
The soup is a bit watery today compared to the last time, but still enjoyable.

 

  Calamansi sorbet

 

Trio of French mullard duck (foie gras, leg confit, seared duck breast) with honey-citrus sauce, baby carrot, porcini mushroom, caramelized fresh fig and “ratte” potato puree.

 

The foie gras is pan seared to perfection and the fig is plump and sweet. However I taste bitterness in the liver, not the best of the best. Duck breast is tender but a bit bland by itself. The honey-orange sauce that accompanies it is genius.

I never liked duck confit before this day. But this super tasty duck meat on a bed of rich and creamy mashed potato creates miracles and warm and happy feelings in my mouth. How tragic that I am exposed to something so mind-blowing at such a young, tender age. (Hihihi!) Henceforth, every other duck confit I come across will be compared to One-ThirtyOne’s... and they are all doomed to fail in the aftermath of such perfection.

 

Cheese tray

 

  Gotta have a bit of everything!

 

Chocolate-raspberry soufflé with Madagascar vanilla ice-gelato

 

Dessert is the same as last time, still as good, although I would have loved to try another of Chef Gary’s delicious creations. We ask for an additional scoop of vanilla gelato, the waiter happily brings us two. With a smile.

 

This is the life. My Hong Kong life.

Oh One-ThirtyOne, this is not goodbye.

It cannot be.

It will never be.

I promise.

 

One-ThirtyOne: 131 Tseng Tau Village, Shap Sze Heung, Sai Kung. Tel: +852-2791-2684

Tim Ho Wan 添好運 ♥ ♥

 

Wednesday morning. 11:00 am. Waiting time: 1.5 hours.

If you think this is bad, please calm down and try not to react violently when you read the next line.

 

This is BEFORE the Michelin star.

Imagine the wait on weekends, lunch breaks, and after office hours. Now don’t you wish you were me and Shirley and Dora?

 

Shrimp and chives dumplings 鮮蝦韭菜餃 – the skin is soft and thin and so delicate you gotta possess excellent chopsticks skills to deliver these babies into your mouth intact. Delicious!

 

Kimchi and beef dumplings 泡菜牛肉餃 – brilliant idea that fails in execution. The taste is just too weird.

 

Turnip cake 臘味蘿蔔糕 – with real radish strips inside

 

Chicken feet in black bean sauce 豉汁蒸鳳爪 – my favorite dimsum item! And Tim Ho Wan’s doesn’t disappoint. This is so mighty good it has the power to develop in all of you feet-fearing people out there an enslaving fetish for toe-sucking, I tell you.

 

Malay sponge cake 香滑馬拉糕 – soft and springy, me likey

 

Pork and Shrimp Dumplings 鮮蝦燒賣皇 – homemade goodness

 

Fried Pork and Vegetable Dumplings 家鄉鹹水角 – so oily but so good it’s worth the cholesterol high

 

Vegetable spring rolls 錦繡菠菜麵春卷 – quite ordinary

 

Rice flour rolls with shrimp  韭黃鮮蝦腸 – nothing special

 

Rice flour rolls with pig liver 黃沙豬潤腸粉 – now this is something else. Unique and tasty.

 

Glutinous rice with chicken in lotus leaf 古法糯米雞 – HUGE! Generous meat filling, too. A meal in itself.

 

Baked BBQ pork buns 酥皮焗叉燒包 – there is nothing wrong with your vision. Three plates. Yes, that is how good.

 

Baked BBQ bun innards

 

AFTER the controversial Michelin star:

Thursday morning. 10:30 am. Waiting time: 2 hours.

Some repeats, some new items, but no photos this time. Sorry.

Steamed Chiu Chow dumplings 潮州蒸粉果 – soft, chewy, crisp, crunchy, the play of textures in my mouth… divine!

Beef balls with preserved orange rind 陳皮牛肉球 – not a fan

Steamed shrimp dumplings 蝦餃 – just ordinary

Pork spareribs in black bean sauce 豉汁蒸排骨 – tender

Glutinous Rice 腊味糯米飯 – not a fan

Fish sticks in olive paste 欖角蒸魚滑 – DO NOT ORDER!!! This is even weirder than the kimchi dumpling!

 Lady and Gentlement, in case you need to use the loo, look for Lucy and Charlie

 

Tim Ho Wan 添好運: Shop 8, Taui Yuen Mansion Phase 2, 2-20 Kwong Wa Street, Mong Kok. 旺角廣華街2-20號翠園大樓2期地下8號舖. +852-2332-2896

Fusion 5th Floor ♥

 

Repetition, ever recurring, thick coming, frequent, incessant, redundant, pleonastic, monotonous, harping, iterative, unvaried, chiming, above-mentioned, again, once more, ding-dong, ditto, encore, de novo, again and again, over and over.

The same ingredients. Over and over.

 

Seafood soup

 

Vegetable soup

 

The bits and pieces in both soups - diced cucumber, carrot, corn… THE SAME.

 

Grilled tongue of Wagyu with pickled peppers, shaved foie gras in peppered vinaigrette. This is really delicious!!!

 

Seared foie gras with confit of apple, pineapple, beet root in foie gras sauce. Quite good, but can be better.

 

    Pan-roasted sea bass in bouillabaisse jus

 

Roasted rack of lamb with ratatouille and black pepper sauce

 

Homemade mint jelly. Now I understand why some people do not like the toothpaste tasting gunk.

 

The vegetables in our mains – spinach, diced cucumber, diced carrot, corn, cherry tomatoes… THE SAME!

And guess what? The diced vegetables in the mains and the bits and pieces in the soups… THE SAME!!!

 

Seriously, this is not funny anymore. I am so happy when it is finally time for dessert.

 

Napoleon with coffee gelato in strawberry sauce . The napoleon is flaky, not too sweet, with generous slices of strawberries.

 

Warm chocolate ganache with vanilla gelato. A total disaster! It is dry, overbaked and not even warm. The return of the microwavables!

 

I am sure you noticed.

The fruits in our desserts… THE SAME!!!!!

At Fusion 5th Floor, taste one and you taste all.

 

Me and Shirley

 

Fusion 5th Floor: 5/F, The Pemberton, 22-26 Bonham Strand East, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. +852-2854-1801

Green Mouse ♥ ♥

 

Dimitri Bastiani, the famed chef from Chez Patrick, left the upscale restaurant and opened his own place across the street, where he serves fine French cuisine in a more laid back setting, at lower prices. And he calls it…

 

GREEN MOUSE

Eh???????

It’s silly, I know. That’s why I choose it to be the venue for an intimate dinner with few good friends to celebrate my big three-o. After all, who takes turning 30 seriously? Age is just a silly number.

 

Amuse Bouche

 

Soup of the Day - Pumpkin

 

Pan-fried Foie Gras, Caramel Sauce
This is, hands down, the highlight of the meal. This foie gras is perfection in taste and texture. Generous portions, too. Three big pieces, my friend, three big pieces! I tell you, it is the VERY BEST in Hong Kong!

 

Special of the Day – Quail

 

Pan-fried Sole Fillet with Parsley Sauce

 

Pan Seared Beef Fillet and Port Wine Sauce

 

Roasted Duck Breast Margret and Balsamic Honey Sauce

 

Roasted Lamb Chop, Creamy Garlic Sauce

 

Bread Pudding

 

      Crème Brûlée Trio

 

 Floating Island

 

Lemon Tart

 

Cheese Platter

 

The desserts are not so great, but I like my birthday cake.

Molten Chocolate Cake

 

The food in Green Mouse will not make you jump up in joy and do a standing ovation, except for the foie gras which almost had me on my knees, pleading and begging Chef Dimitri to marry me. Green Mouse food comforts and satisfies non-snobbish tastes, like how good and older more mature friends console and reassure my 30 year old soul. Hee hee.

 

Clockwise from top left: Alvin, Tinnie, Ritchie, Paul, Carol, Me, Wilson

 

Thank you, Ritchie, for giving in to my request that you wear something red. I was just joking, you silly girl!

Thank you, Tinnie, for actually showing up in red without any probing from me. That’s a true blue Fil-Chi for you!

Thank you, Carol, for staying up until the wee hours of the morning with me and Kevin, in a random CWB bar with disastrous drinks. Happy times!

Thank you, Paul, for being the accountant for the night, and for bringing us to Lei Dou when Azure didn’t work out.

Thank you, Alvin, for taking me on my first ever hiking trip, even if it was really 20% hiking and 80% sitting under the shade waiting for the rain to stop.

Thank you, Wilson, for the Local Michelin Guide. My BMI of >30, body fat of >30%, and >30 lbs. of excess weight I owe greatly to you.

 

And thank you, Chef Dimitri, for the most delicious, truly unforgettable, so-good-I-forget-my-own-name foie gras.

 

Will you marry me?

 

Green Mouse: G/F, 33 Peel Street, Central, Hong Kong. +852-2544-0389