[Review - 鼎·會館 Ding's Club] Shunde delight's headed by Celebrity Chef Ding!

Celebrity Chef Ding has been rocking the kitchen with his passionate cooking and recipes which are healthy and MSG free.

At Ding's Club, he is collaborating with Chef Lee Cheung and whipping Shunde Cuisine featuring the Shunde feast for six at HK$4,888 which is inclusive of 10% available now until 31st October at this early bird price. 

To start off, began with the meaty lobster which was tasty and not tenderized with cornflour so you can truly appreciate the taste of lobster.

Next was the steamed pork and mud carp patty. 

Again, you can taste the freshness of the pork, but the mud carp patty was the star of the show as the texture was springy like minced prawn patty and it was boneless which is worth mentioning. 

Of all the mud carp patties I have had, they all contain bones and fish scales but this one doesn't.

The next course was soup made of fish and shark fin. 

It was creamy yet light with lots of fine pieces of fish in it, again without any msg and artificial thickeners you can really appreciate the taste and the ingredients.

For abalone lovers, the coating for the abalone was thin and crispy with a touch of salt and pepper.

Spotted Scat served in two ways: Sliced fillet, assorted vegetables. 

Having the spotted scat slices with vegetables were tasty as there were many ingredients to go with it.



Steamed fin and head with dried tangerine peel. 

The fish was complimented nicely by the tangerine peel and sauce which made you hungrier.

Pan fried chicken fillet, assorted pepper, premium soy sauce. 

The chicken fillet was tender and coated with a nice soy sauce glaze, the only complaint would be the bones.

Wintermelon curd filled with matsutake and wild mushrooms: 

Before the noodles, had this refreshing vegetable dish of wintermelon topped with mushrooms.

Braised goose fillet on flat rice noodles: 

The star of the show had to be the noodles beneath which has absorbed all the goose essence.

Dessert finished with the Double boiled fresh milk custard and taro puree and the Traditional sugar cake. 

The milk custard was silky and the taro puree on top was not too sweet without being too starchy.

Overall, I would definitely recommend eating here because of the fresh ingredients they use and they don't use MSG.

鼎·會館 Ding's Club:
23/F, H Queen's, 80 Queen's Road Central, Central
Tel: 23271398

[品 PIIN Wine Restaurant] Fine wines paired with Cantonese food

Piin is a wine restaurant founded by the owner of Chateau de Meursault and Chateau de Marsannay. The restaurant focuses on Burgundy Wines so you can expect over 2,000 fine wines on the list. At the wine bar, they had whisky and other spirits a well.

As well as wines, they serve Cantonese food by Chef Ming who used to work at FLM according to their website so they did a fabulous pairing of Chinese food with these wines. I was super hungry after trying these wintermelon balls soaked in red wine which were refreshing and appetizing.

We were in good hands that night with experienced sommelier Jason who paired the wines that went with the dishes.

Started with the Cold Abalone In Smoke With Plum Sauce paired with Château de Meursault, Clos du Château 2014
I loved the way the abalone was thinly sliced drenched generously in tart plum sauce.

Next was the Stir Fry Fish "Noodles" With Abalone Thins paired with Domaine Prieure Roch, 13 Roses 2013.
Again, more delicious abalone tossed with springy fish noodles which tasted similar to dace mince.

The Seasonal Double Boiled Soup with bamboo piths, whelks and mushrooms was really comforting and moreish.
I loved the glass spoon and pot which made it memorable.

Deboned Crispy Chicken paired with Château de Marsannay, Le Clos de Jeu 2017
This was the best Chinese style crispy chicken I have ever had.
To be more exact it should be called deconstructed crispy chicken as the skin is fried separately which makes it evilicious like wafer thin crisps.

Cigar Duck Roll paired with Cos d’Estournel 2006
There are lots of edible Cigar rolls these days and it was much better than the one I had at Super Giant Tapas a few years ago because the duck here wasn't gamey and the frying oil was fresh.
At Piin, they have used fried kale to mimic the ashes whereas SG has used poppy seeds.

Signature Black Garlic Fried Rice paired with E. Guigal, Brune et Blonde, Côte-Rôtie 2011
The fried rice had a lot of texture in it with chewy black garlic and raw garlic pieces.
Overall, I found it quite bitter.

Finished with the Whiskey Cheesecake which was creamy cheesecake topped with a layer of whisky jelly.
It would be great if the Whiskey jelly was stronger.

Chocolate: Inspired like the Chinese cocktail bun filled with custard coconut, the chocolate actually tasted like the chocolate BOUNTY bar.

Overall, a fine place to dine with quality Chinese food and wines in the experienced hands of sommelier J who made the wine pairing experience a good one.

品 PIIN Wine Restaurant:
2/F, The Steps ‧ H Code, 45 Pottinger Street, Central

[Chaiwala] Bollywood romance with modern Indian dishes

Society and the food industry scene is rapidly changing so is the way food is served.
We are now in an era where we are seeing a rapid change in society with lots of old things being scrapped, new things built

With lots of cuisines, they are either going backwards or going forwards to get the limelight so it is all about going retro or reinventing dishes.

At Chaiwala, the location couldn't be more perfect as it is located where Zafran used to be.

The restaurant is big and not a spot is under decorated.
You get to Chaiwala by going through Hugger Mugger another successful English bar set in the 1970s with cocktails inspired by David Attenborough, Pink Floyd etc.
I love the way everything is so different once you pass the doors, it is like entering another world yet it feels like home in London especially the living room corner with an old working TV set, dining table and photos on the walls.

Before you get to the dining area, you will see an open kitchen where everything is going on,

When you enter the main restaurant you are greeted with this long table with lots of pretty dangling fabrics and beads above it.

As well as the decor, the menu is humorous yet detailed.

Started with THE MAGIC LAMP which was the beginning of an exciting adventure concocted with rum and citrus.

Being clueless on what to eat, we had the  Dabbawala tasting Menu which includes a selection of signatures from Chaiwala.
The guy who served us was extremely knowledgeable and will ask your likes and dislikes as well as your relationship with spices.

Started with the Pani Puri: These are a must try as they are crispy balls filled with potato and chickpeas.
You eat them by pouring Jal jeera in it.
I love Jal Jeera which is tangy and appetizing laced with cumin.
The challenge was trying to stuff the whole thing in my mouth to get all the flavours!!

Aloo Tikka Chaat: This is another one of my favourite, spiced potato cake topped with delicious yoghurt and chutney followed by the bursting sweetness of the pomegranate seeds.

Moving on to the Modern dishes, the Mexi Thali which is a twist of Mexican cuisine.
It was tender pieces of slow cooked beef served on Indian Tortillas.

The following dishes will amaze you as being a fine Indian Restaurant, Chaiwala serves seafood which you will take your taste buds to the next level.

Malabar scallops (HK$190) are kerala-style Hokkaido scallops, with coconut and ginger sauce, fresh mango and curry leaf.

Lobster nerulli (HK$390), charred lobster with South Indian spices, tomato and pearl onions, lobster claw rice and vegetable poriyal.

The lobster dish was simply lavish and different while the vegetable poriyal cooled the palate down with a crunch as it had lots of grated coconut.

As well as seafood, curries are a must for a complete Indian meal experience.

For curries, there was Kerala Fish curry and Old Dehli Butter chicken served with truffle Naan and rice.
The butter chicken was thick and rich complemented by the truffle naan which was topped with generous shavings of truffle just like they do with pasta at PICI!

The Tandoori range here is more than just chicken with lamb chops and fish.
I loved the lamb chops which were soft and came off the bone easily.

Finished with the Wagyu Seekh Kebab which was beefy yet not overpowered by the spices.

Although I was stuffed, dessert was a blow as it was my favourite carrot cake with delicious buttercream frosting topped with crispy carrots and beetroot.
The carrot cake was quite a substantial portion that will satisfy your sweet tooth as the first mouthful will send you craving for more.

The final act was the Chai tea latte which is poured at a height with skill into the cup so that fine layers of bubbles are formed.
It was mildly spiced and a great finish to the journey.

The evening ended with a book and you will definitely be back for the next story!

Chailwala is definitely the place to go for a memorable night out with great food and vibes.
Although they have brunches and lunches, I recommend going there in the evening as the darker ambiance makes it more memorable.

[Chaiwala]
Basement, No. 43-55, Wyndham Street, Central,
https://www.chaiwala.hk

[Drink Puppet] Late night drinks and desserts in Central

Girls will always have a sweet tooth and room for dessert after dinner. At Drink Puppet, it is clearly successful as they have desserts as well drinks. Central simply lacks a dessert shop and DRINK PUPPET has filled the gap serving Chinese and Western desserts.

The joint is pink and girly so definitely the place to hang out before or after the a meal and they open till 1:30am.

Stylish neon pink logo:

Bar Table:

Pink Drinks vending machine:

There were so many drinks and desserts to choose from so tried the signature items since they highly recommended it. Started off with the Pink Sakura Latte which was dreamy with a subtle Sakura flavour without being too sweet.

Next was the Rose Lychee Waffle tart cup. Rose and Lychee always pair together well with its fragrant sweet scent and it is nice how it was presented in this crispy waffle tart cup topped with pieces of lychee.

The Sakura with cherries souffle pancake is another recommended item because the souffle pancake is soft and fluffy topped with Sakura cream and quality cherries.

Moving on to the Chinese dessert was the red beans soup with aged fruit peel and milk foam. There are two to choose from 10 years and 100 years, the older the better. I was really impressed with the 10 year one as it was strong and just as good as the aged one I tried a while ago. The best thing is the milk foam on top which makes the beans light and fluffy when you mix it together. Definitely the best red bean dessert I have ever had as the thick milk foam and aged fruit peel made it heavenly. As well as red beans, they also have pomelo mango and almond soup.

Can't wait to come back soon!

[Drink Puppet]
42 Aberdeen Street
Opening hours: 09:00 - 01:30
https://www.facebook.com/drinkpuppet/