Hong Kong - Kaya Korean Restaurant

Double-size Marinated Beef Short Ribs

 Spring Onion Salad (came with the short ribs)

Ox Tongue

Marinated Chicken

Cucumber Soju

Seafood and Spring Onion Pancake

Sliced Pork with Lettuce Wrap

Pan-fried Rice Cake in Spicy Sauce

Beef and Homemade Noodles Hot Pot

Review: Kaya’s new location is in Midtown Plaza II, half a block away from its original location. The decor remains similar – bright lights, wooden furniture and sizzling grills. The new location is undoubtedly more spacious and comfortable though. The marinated short ribs were delicious. The sweet soy marinade was spot on and the meat was juicy and tender. I loved the short ribs wrapped in lettuce leaves and smothered with gojuchang spicy bean paste and raw garlic. I had to brush my teeth extra hard and use a lot of mouthwash that night, but it was worth it! I usually stick to beef at Korean BBQ, but my brother ordered the marinated chicken and it turned out to be delicious and flavourful. Definitely a great alternative to beef. I also enjoyed the beef and noodle hot pot. The bowl of warm peppery broth with chewy noodles and sliced beef was the perfect ending to the meal. For drinks, I liked their cucumber soju. It was light and refreshing yet strong enough to give you a buzz. The service was spotty at times. We ordered lettuce for our beef and had to remind them three times before it finally arrived. That aside, Kaya serves decent Korean BBQ in a comfortable setting, and I look forward to my next visit.

I recommend: Marinated Beef Short Ribs, Marinated Chicken, Beef and Homemade Noodles Hot Pot

Kaya Korean Restaurant
Address: 9/F Midtown Soundwill Plaza II, 1 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Phone: 2838-9550
Hours: Mon-Sun 11:30am-3pm, 5:30pm-11:30pm

Creamy Crab Rigatoni

This is a simple yet decadent weeknight pasta dish that takes less than 30 minutes to make. I loved the chunks of creamy crab meat hiding inside the mezzi rigatoni (short rigatoni). However I must apologize for the quality of these photos. I left my camera at a friend's place so I had to use my phone. I tried my best to tinker with the editing on iPhoto, but the photos don't do this dish justice.

 Cook the garlic on low heat until fragrant.

Stir in the crab meat.

 If you don't want to, you don't have to peel them. But if you want a smoother sauce without bits of tomato skin floating around in it, it only takes a few minutes to do this step. I scored an X on top of each tomato and blanched them in boiling water for 30 seconds before peeling.

Add the stock and simmer on low heat until the tomatoes are soft.

After 15 minutes of simmering, the tomatoes have disintegrated into the sauce.

 Add the cream. Simmer for another minute.

 Add the cooked pasta and mix well. Turn up the heat to medium high to reduce and thicken the sauce.

Plate it up and add some shaved Pecorino. The salty cheese adds a nice sharpness. 

Recipe - adapted from here

For 2

Ingredients

150g tubular pasta, preferably rigatoni or penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can crab meat, around 150g
2 tomatoes, skins removed, roughly chopped
1 cup fish stock
100 ml cream
Salt
Pecorino, optional

Method

1. To remove the skins of the tomatoes, score an X on top of each tomato and blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds. Peel back the skins when cool enough to handle.
2. Heat olive oil in pan and added the minced garlic. Cook on low.
3. When the garlic is fragrant, stir in the crab meat. Season with a pinch of salt.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and stock. Simmer on low heat until the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
5. While the tomatoes are simmering, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain the pasta when it is one minute shy of al dente.
6. When the tomatoes are soft, add the cream and simmer for another minute.
7. Add the pasta and mix well. Turn up the heat to medium high to thicken and reduce the sauce.
8. Shave some Pecorino on top before serving, or alternatively, add chopped parsley.

Roasted Whole Artichokes

The first time I ate fresh artichokes (not the tangy marinated kind) was in Rome. We had artichoke hearts (boiled or steamed, slathered in olive oil) almost everyday. Restaurants in Hong Kong usually serve the hearts, either boiled, steamed, or marinated. I've only been to one place that served the artichoke whole. I loved peeling off the leaves and dipping them in mayo before scraping the "meat" off with my teeth. So when I came across this recipe, I couldn't wait to try it out! Roasting it gave it a more robust and deep flavour as opposed to just boiling or steaming. I didn't even have to dip the leaves in the garlic aioli that I bought especially for this dish! The only downside was the time. These babies took an hour in the oven. I would suggest getting them in the oven first before making the rest of your meal. 

Wash the artichoke under cold running water.

Cut off 1/3 of the top, and chop the stem off so the artichoke can sit upright. Boyfriend helped me with this because I have no upper arm strength at all.

Push apart the leaves as best as you can, and wedge in the garlic. Squeeze 1/2 lemon per artichoke and drizzle olive oil generously.

Wrap the artichokes tightly in tin foil and put them into the oven.

The artichokes will come out perfectly seasoned by the salt, lemon and garlic. Even the heart was flavourful! No mayo needed.

Recipe - adapted from Pinch My Salt

For 2

Ingredients

2 medium artichokes
Olive oil
Kosher salt
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 lemon

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 425 F / 220 C. Slice off the top third of the artichoke with a sharp knife. Then cut off the stem at the base of the artichoke.
2. Drizzle a large piece of tin foil with a few drops of olive oil. Place one artichoke in the middle of the foil and open up the leaves. 
3. Wedge 3 garlic cloves into the artichoke. Sprinkle kosher salt and squeeze 1/2 a lemon onto the artichoke. Drizzle olive oil generously over the top.
4. Wrap the foil up around the artichoke, sealing it well. Put in the oven for an hour.
5. After removing from the oven, let artichokes sit until cool enough to handle before unwrapping.