Hong Kong - Sichuan House

Tea with red dates and flowers

Snacks

Mouth Watering Chicken 川莊口水雞

Sliced Beef and Pig's Tongue in Chili Sauce 成都夫妻肺片

Bang Bang Wontons in Sesame Sauce 棒棒雲吞

 Sizzling Crispy Spare Ribs 龍泉驛乾鍋排骨

Fish Fillets in Hot Chili Oil 成都水煮桂花魚

Review: Sichuan House is a must-go for spice lovers! It is located conveniently in the heart of LKF, in the same building as Sushi Kuu (and Club Beijing, if you must). The restaurant is decorated in black and lots of red, like an ominous warning that this will be a fiery meal in hell. Y, Laubaby and I were promptly seated and we nibbled on snacks such as cold marinated cucumber slices while we waited for our food. It didn't take long for our first spicy dish to arrive. Sichuan House's version of mouth watering chicken is one of the best 口水雞 dishes around because the chicken is thoughtfully cut into bite size chunks and de-boned. The sauce was very fragrant and not too spicy. The sliced beef and pig's tongue dish was well seasoned and the meat was springy, not chewy. We also liked the bang bang wontons (the only non-spicy dish we ordered), which were surprisingly juicy and flavourful. The spare ribs arrived sizzling in a metal pot and the peppercorns and dried chillis smelled amazing. The pork was crispy on the outside and moist inside. Last but not least, my favourite fish fillets in chili oil - a generous portion of tender fish fillets floated on top of a huge bowl of chili oil. The bean starch noodles underneath soaked up all the spicy and numb Sichuan flavours. I loved the cucumber slices and bean sprouts that add texture and flavours. The tea with dates and flowers helped soothe my burning mouth for a bit. Great tip for anyone who can't eat spicy food: V ordered a bowl of hot water to wash off the top layer of chili oil to make the food less spicy. 

I recommend: Mouth Watering Chicken, Fish Fillets in Hot Chili Oil, Bang Bang Wontons, Sizzling Crispy Spare Ribs

Sichuan House 霸王川莊
Address: 7/F, M88, 2-8 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong
Phone: 2521-6699
Hours: Mon-Sun 11:30am - 12:00am

Hong Kong - Liberty Private Works

Cod and seafood dip

Snacks: Clam, Iberico 

Snacks: Quail Egg, Lamb

LPW Signature: Tuna, Sea Urchin, Espelette, Rice

Abalone, Butternut Squash, Risotto

Walu, Hearts of Palm, Celery, Apple

LPW Signature: Egg, Truffle, Parmesan, Caviar

Chicken, Foie Gras, Porcini, Crones, Black Truffle

Venison, Gingerbread, Cherry, Pumpkin

Banana, Chamomile, Fennel, Peach

Sea Salt, Caramel, Chocolate, Chili

Warm Madeleine

 Mochi, White Grape

Review: LPW is one of my favourite restaurants in Hong Kong. I think this actually might be my fifth visit! I still remember my first visit at its much smaller cash-only location on Wellington Street. The current Stanley Street location is dimly lit and boosts floor-length windows that show a great view of Central at night. The restaurant is one massive chef’s table that sits around 26 guests intimately. Throughout the 8-course meal you have a front row seat to watch Executive Chef Vicky Cheng and his team hard at work cooking and plating each dish. Vicky's creativity and passion shines through his visually stunning and equally delicious dishes. Congratulations on the engagement by the way! 

Yuls and V were my dinner dates for the night. We began our meal with a light cod fish dip and some finger snacks. We were then presented with a white tablet and a small test tube of rosewater. The white tablet was actually a compressed hand towel that reconstituted when I poured the rosewater over it. What a thoughtful way to begin our meal! We started with the signature spicy tuna, sea urchin and crispy rice.  I loved the contrasting texture of the tuna/sea urchin with the crispy popped rice. Definitely a decadent seafood party going on. Next up, the abalone was tender and sweet, almost earthy. The walu had a light crispy exterior and the apple-celery sauce brought a brightness to the dish. We also loved the signature egg and spinach raviolo nestled in parmesan cream and topped with caviar. This would have to be my favourite dish from LPW. Stuff of dreams! The egg oozed out perfectly when I cut into the raviolo and I mopped up all the egg/parmesan cream up with a freshly baked baguette. The caviar added a welcomed hint of umami. Did I mention that everything was perfectly seasoned? Next we had the foie gras wrapped in chicken with a generous shaving of black truffles. Our last savoury course was the venison, plated beautifully. Look at all the colours! At first I was a bit apprehensive of it but it was tender and slightly gamey in a good way. The cherry added a tartness to the meat and the gingerbread crumbs spiced it up. It was overall a well-executed dish because each bite brought something different to my taste buds. The desserts focused on contrasting textures and flavours. They weren't too sweet, which I appreciated. Don't leave LPW without trying a homemade mochi!  They're amaaaazing. We ended the meal with freshly baked madeleines straight out of the oven, and a mochi and a white grape test tube shot that looked identical to the rosewater napkin at the beginning of the meal. I love these fun little touches.

On a side note, Vicky's other restaurant Liberty Exchange (aka LEX, or happy hour invasion of that bit in between Exchange Square and IFC) serves up delicious and reasonably priced set lunches, small bites for dinner (think mini lobster rolls and salted caramel ice cream sandwiches) and brunch. I can’t wait to try the chicken and waffles!

Date of visit: January 10th 2015

Liberty Private Works
Address: 26/F, 11 Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong
Phone: 5186-3282
Hours: Mon-Sat  7:30pm - 12:00am
Reservations open 4 weeks in advance

Hong Kong - 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA

8 1/2 Seafood Soup with shellfish, zucchini "trombetta" and fresh herbs (looks quite stingy, but this is actually a half portion in a rather heavy-bottomed bowl)

Roast Duck Foie Gras with piedmont hazelnut sauce, smoked duck in dice, greens

Star of the night....this tub of white diamonds!

Mooooreeeeee

Homemade Tagliolini with butter, parmesan, and Alba white truffle

Chocolate Martini

Confit "Taiyouran" Organic Egg with potato emulsion, confit potato, Chanterelle mushroom and Alba white truffle

Homemade Tagliolini with butter, parmesan, and Alba white truffle

Jerusalem Artichoke Risotto with fine Italian cheese and Alba white truffle

Homemade Trenette pasta with Red King Prawn, "Datterin" Tomato and fresh mint

Always a good time with my girls Small, Laubaby and Big

Review: 8 1/2 needs no introduction. 3 Michelin stars, attentive service and amazing food every time. Remember to book at least a month ahead! I recommend the Homemade Tagliolini, Jerusalem Artichoke Risotto and Homemade Trenette Pasta with Red King Prawn. They also offer delicious cocktails - my fave is the Espresso Martini.

8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA
Address: Shop 202, 2/F, Alexandra House, 5-17 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong
Phone: 2537-8859
Hours: Mon-Sat 12pm-1030pm

Hong Kong - Thanksgiving at Cafe Causette

Ooey gooey cheesy bread

San Daniele Ham, Burrata, Beetroot Crisps, Peach, Rye Croutons, Candied Walnuts

Warm Ricotta, Lavender, Honeycombs, Walnut, Wood Sorrel, Figs

Cured Beetroot Salmon, Salmon Caviar, Potato Crisp

Pumpkin Soup

 Classic Roasted Turkey, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce

Honey Glazed Ham, Roasted, Pumpkin, Potato

Slow Braised Pork Cheek, Mashed Pumpkin, Red Wine, Gravy

Roasted Potato, Creamed Brussels Sprout, Glazed Carrots
 

Salted Caramel Layer Chocolate Cake

Classic Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Chocolate Tiramisu

Apple Pie, Ice Cream

Review: A non-traditional Thanksgiving meal with my girls - thanks Yuls for picking the restaurant! Thanksgiving isn't huge here in Hong Kong, but a lot of restaurants do have Thanksgiving-themed dinners during that week. Cafe Causette offered a buffet style multi-course meal, served tableside. You can order refills for any dish, which they will bring to your table. We started with warm cheesy bread with pesto dipping sauce. The appetizers arrived promptly. The classic combo of San Daniele ham and creamy burrata was elevated by the warm caramelised peaches and the crunch from the candied walnuts. The beetroot-cured salmon was beautifully presented alongside the ricotta, lavender, olive oil caviar and fresh figs - such pretty colours! All the flavours worked well together. We also had traditional Thanksgiving turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, honey glazed ham and sweet potato mash. The turkey and ham arrived at our table pre-carved. The turkey was surprisingly moist, and the honey ham was tender and had well-balanced flavours of sweet and savoury. As for the desserts, I liked the pecan pie with its perfect buttery crust the most. Each serving was very generous and we were too stuffed to order any refills. The leftover turkey and ham (being el cheapo of course I took everything home) made a great breakfast sandwich the next morning. I am thankful for great friends and great meals, as always.

Cafe Causette
Address: M/F, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong
Phone: 2825-4005
Hours: Mon-Sun 6:30am-11:45pm

Hong Kong - Neighborhood

Wagyu Tartare

Buttered Tagliolini

Food photos are a must!

Bone Marrow Risotto

Potato Gnocchi with Iberico Ham and Parmesan

Cheese Selection

Chocolate Palette

Vanilla Ice Cream

Complimentary canelés to end the night

Review: For our first taste of Alba white truffles this year, Big and Small picked Neighborhood, a newly opened joint by Chef David Lai from Bistronomique and On Lot 10. The quaint and modern restaurant is situated next to a little park and quite hard to find at first. Once we were seated, we were presented with a bowl of "white diamonds" nestled on uncooked rice. We were like little kids at the candy store, so excited to pick our own truffle! Their truffles were HKD 26 a gram and weighed on a digital scale at the table. Our truffle was more than enough to go between the three of us. We were given a truffle shaver set to the thinnest setting and we shaved the truffle on everything except the cheese and chocolate dessert! I was recently told that white truffles are in fact very 熱氣 - you can actually get nose bleeds after consuming heavy white truffle meals! But I guess once a year won't do too much damage.

We liked the al-dente Buttered Tagliolini for its subtle flavours that let the white truffle shine. The Wagyu Tartare didn’t have an overly acidic dressing and the raw yolk brought a great texture to the dish. The Homemade Gnocchi with Iberico and Parmesan was light and fluffy but could’ve had more potato taste. The Bone Marrow Risotto had large chunks of delicious fatty marrow throughout and the herbs cut through the fattiness, but the rich flavours sadly overpowered the truffles. For desserts, we liked the intense and creamy dark Chocolate Pallete and we used the last bits of our truffle on Vanilla Ice Cream, so decadent! They also served a great Fourme d'Ambert.

Overall I think the addition of white truffles elevated the food, but without the icing on the cake these dishes would still be delicious. The portions are small but reasonably priced, great for trying many dishes at once. The vibe is perfect for dates and there’s also a full bar. Their menu changes every week, so I'm looking forward to see what they have in store after the truffle season ends.

I recommend: Buttered Tagliolini, Bone Marrow Risotto, Chocolate Palette

Neighborhood
Address: 61-63 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong
Phone: 2617-0891
Hours: Mon-Sat 6pm-1030pm