MINI CLUB holds a lot of fun!

MINI CLUB (Tsim Sha Tsui)

I don't drink so I don't go pubbing, but for British food I will go to pubs for my pub grub which is normally filled with expats.

At MINI CLUB, it is more of a Hong Kong style Western pub which is obviously filled with locals with one expat that night.
The food is slightly different and offers seafood platters and hams for sharing.

That night the expat who was sitting next to our table was not quite satisfied with the "BREAD" aka French Toast.
[The crispy crunchy toast that you can buy in British supermarkets]

As a BBC myself I could understand why because it was not Bread, but anyway, maybe he thought the food was going to be British style.
But as my general rule, I see if there are many expats there before judging on the food, however you shouldn't use this rule if there are special events such as LIVE football where people just flock for that reason regardless of the food.

Tried the abalone slices which were juicy and springy with a natrual sweet taste that did not require the sauce.

For the fish and chips I was quite impressed because the fish fillets reminded me of BIRD's eye fish fillets.
The only thing that let it down was the frying oil which had become slightly stale.

The fried eggs which I thought were going to be Scotch eggs were Thai style preserved eggs in a delicious golden prawn patty.

Average food at Common Grounds

Common Grounds (Sheung Wan)

Common Grounds is not to be confused with Common Ground because they serve very different styles of dishes and both happen to be in the Central/Sheungwan area.

Honestly I was expecting a bit more because it was located in the Sheung Wan area.

The food served was the general Chinese style Western dishes that you can find elsewhere such as pasta, steaks and fish.

The salad was ok but the greens could have been more crisp.

The soup was ok but them cream on top made it a bit too creamy.

Out of the whole menu, the roast pork knuckle was the one I liked but the wasabi could not be tasted because it was meant to be honey and wasabi roasted pork knuckle.

The hot chocolate was quite nice but unfortunately it had rose in it which ruined it.

The lemon panna cotta was nice because the taste and texture was nothing like real panna cotta.
I actually liked the curd texture of the dessert and it was not too creamy like proper panna cotta.

Wasabi smoked salmon nori

Pret A Manger have launched these new nori wraps which add a little Japanese twist to the wraps by adding a layer of nori to it.

There is Salmon or Chicken.

The Wasabi smoked salmon nori contains: smoked salmon, wasabi, pickled daikon and ginger, spinach, cucumber and mayo.

The Bang Bang chicken nori contains: chicken, pickled carrot and ginger, nori, spinach, red pepper, cucumber, roasted sesame and sesame dressing.

I chose the salmon because it had all the fillings that I liked.

The green goodness looked good but I was already having the miso soup.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Wasabi smoked salmon nori:


The wrap was made so much nicer with the nori (seaweed) because it gave it an extra touch of umami but it made the wrap quite tough to eat because the nori was soft and chewy.
The daikon (Chinese radish) gave it a lovely crunch with a pickled taste which went well with the salty smoked salmon and wasabi dressing that gave it a good Japanese kick to it.
It also had pickled ginger in it too but I picked it out because I don't like it.


Miso soup:
The miso soup tastes lighter than the ones you get in Japanese restaurant, but it was ok for me because I don't get so thirsty after drinking it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

School Food opens at Festival Walk

I was invited to this K-Food party at Festival Walk's School food which was so much fun.

I got to try the beetroot and crab mari which is exclusive to the Kowloon Tong branch.

It was so delicious filled with lots of crab and the sushi rice had a lovely beetroot flavour.
The anchovy mari was too spicy though!

While I was I got my hair done by iPRIVATEi salon which looked great and the curls lasted for days!



I also had fun taking great photos at their photo booth!

Meaty diet SUB with GLACÉAU vitaminwater

Tried this $42 combo set which consists of a SUBWAY Club™ and a bottle of GLACÉAU vitaminwater at SUBWAY. (Normally it would cost HK$57.8).

According to Subway, the SUBWAY Club™ is low-fat and low-calorie containing only 6-grams of fat.
Subway has met the nutritional criteria set forth by the American Heart Association's Heart-Check Meal Certification Program.

For drinks, there are quite a few flavours.

Glacéau vitaminwater is from New York, sold in major cities including London, Paris, Tokyo, Seoul. It is enhanced with nutrients without artificial flavourings.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
SUBWAY Club™:

I liked combination of ham, beef and turkey because it was filling, and all the meats were lean.

I had a simple sub, so I just opted for tomatoes and olives with ranch sauce.
The sub was simple and delicious with the juicy tomato slices and meats.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
xxx: blueberry pomegranate:


The drink was light and not too sweet so next time I will try other flavours.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Summer is here at Gin Sai Japanese Restaurant

Tried the Summer seafood set at Gin Sai which was exquisite as well as a cooler for summer in the quiet side of Wan Chai.
The restaurant has great privacy.

Here was the summer menu we tried which was mainly seafood.

The portions were decent and filling.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Starter:
Sea urchin, caviar, summer vegetables with dashi jelly.

The starter was wonderful, it was refreshing lily bulb root mash at the base mixed with crunchy vegetables such as beans and onions which flavoured it with natural sweetness.
It was topped with fresh urchin and caviar which was sensational with the savoury cold jelly.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Abalone with seaweed clear soup:

I loved this soup because it was not miso based, the sweet and unami flavours came from the sweet abalone and kelp.
The abalone was soft and sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sashimi: Toro, Hamachii and Mackerel

After having hot soup, the sashimi was a nice refresher.
It came with freshly grated wasabi which had a earthy taste with the usual mustard kick.
My favourite was the Toro because it was fatty balanced nicely by the soy wasabi sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Grilled sweet fish with herb pepper sauce:

The sauce for this was awesome because the peppery kick was nice and it had a strong citrus flavour with fragrant grounded kinome leaves.
The sweet fishes were slightly bitter but they were enhanced with this lovely sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hairy crab meat with tosa vinegar jelly

I loved the way the crab meat was presented, it was a pile of crab meat with a side of kelp covered in mouth watering tosa vinegar jelly.
The crab had some tones of ginger in it and the vinegar jelly just made it appetizing, the amount of crab in the portion was impressive and there were no crab shells and the side of kelp was tasty as well as filling.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tempura:
The tempura turned out really nice especially the fish because they were perfectly fried.
Green eye fish was silky, boneless and delicious and the snapper was gorgeous because it tasted like soft cod and the scales were edible too.


The salts given complimented it nicely especially with the lemon.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cold inaniwa udon noodles

The udon was nicely chilled because it was surrounded in chunky crushed ice.

After dipping it in lovely soy sauce with seaweed, spring onions it was a lovely filling end to the meal.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Strawberry mousse cake

The dessert was so beautiful, the vibrant reds against the lush green strawberry leaves and brown chocolate cake base, dotted with crunchy chocolate pieces and meringue pieces.
The dessert was a great energizer because of the summery colours and the mousse cake was light paired with fresh strawberries.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2369274
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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Gin Sai Japanese Restaurant
32-38 Cross Lane,
Wan Chai.

Salt discovery journey with salt pairing

Every diner has to walk through the gorgeous red catwalk entrance surrounded by mirrors before they reach the restaurant.

Currently there is a Salt discovery menu by Chef Andrea Magnano which consists of 6 courses at $1288 per person.

At this dinner I learnt so much about salts and the varieties.

The older the salt gets the more colourful it is and Saharan salt is the rarest and most expensive!!!
If the salt is colourless it means that it is young and conventional salt is normally bleached.
But saying that, salts can be different colours regardless of its age such as Copper sulphate which is a pretty blue!!

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Beautiful salts at the table:

There were six different salts and each course is paired with a different salt so that you can taste the difference.
On the table, there are beautiful rock salts which must be grated on a lemon zest grater because other graters are not strong enough.

There were also six dishes of grated salts.

The six salts on the table were:

*Pink Himalayan: one of the purest salts in the world, hand crafted from the depths of the Himalayan mountains

*Cypriot Saffron pyramids: from shores of lake Larnaka when its water evaporates to expose a crust of salt pyramids, then delicately infused with Saffron.

*Viking Java mix: a blend created by Chef Andrea of ground Indonesian peppercorns with smoked Norwegian Viking salt from the Fjords.

*Persian Blue: a rare blue salt and culmination of a natrual 100 million year process, flavour is initially very salty then fades.

*Hawaiian black lava: formed in ponds made from natural lava which imparts in deep black colour, smokey flavour and very high mineral content.

*Essencia Arbequina: Comes from Cardona in the Bisque region of Santander, this mild soft salt flavours of locally grown olives gives a taste of Spain.

*Hoarfrost: harvested from the Sahara dessert near the oasis of Bahaiya, it has a snowflake like appearance that melts in your mouth.

Essencia Arbequina

Hoarfrost was the prettiest!!

It was fascinating how salt could be paired with food just like wine!

In the old days, it was known as Salt-curing with meats and seafood as a method of preserving meat until the 19th century.
Salt inhibits the growth of microorganisms by drawing water out of microbial cells through osmosis. Concentrations of salt up to 20% are required to kill most species of unwanted bacteria. Smoking, often used in the process of curing meat, adds chemicals to the surface of meat that reduce the concentration of salt required.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Three Prawns:

Three botan prawns served on a block of Pink Himalayan salt with Amalfi lemon mayonnaise, clementine granite and a dusting of licorice yellow Cypriot saffron salt.
This was just amazing how the prawns could be served on such a huge block of salt!!!
The prawns were sinfully sweet because of the Himalayan salt. On the side, there was some refreshing clementine slush to cleanse the palate.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Duck two ways:

Pan fried duck foie gras and home cured duck ham seasoned with Viking Java Mix Salt with cider and sherry vinegar caramelised green apple, truffle and rosemary caviar.
The duck and duck ham had a sophisticated taste which was refreshed by the sauces and salts.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Risotto Rosso:

Sicilian red prawn risotto, Maltese scampi adn malossol caviar served with Iranian Persian blue salt grated at the table!!
The risotto was beautifully done and the Persian salt just brought out the flavours which made you hungrier by the minute!!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Vongole 2014:

Italian clams, mussels and Spanish baby squid dusted wtih Hawaiian Black lava salt served with organic tomatoes on homemade Zizzagne pasta and squid ink reduction.
The squid ink reduction was interesting and when the lava salt was sprinkled, it made the squid flavour come out more.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Black angus tagliata:

96 hour grass fed black angus strip loin, served with warm rocket jelly and Saharan hoarfrost salt with 24 month parmesan chips and vintage balsamic reduction.
This was my favourite because it was paired with pretty Hoarfrost salt which had a quick touch of saltiness that faded leaving you with the taste of sweet juicy beef.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
After the salt pairing dinner, you will realize that every salt is so different with different levels of saltiness.
Chef Andrea Magnano has paired the meats and salts with thought because high sodium meats should not be paired with a salt with a high sodium factor.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Armani/Aqua
Shop 204-205, 2/F, 

Chater House, 

8 Connaught Road, 

Central Central.

NEW AGE style depurated seafood

This restaurant specializes in depurated seafood served in a tasting menu where people can share and enjoy more different dishes.

“Seafood Depuration (purification) is a technique applied in many parts of the world for the removal of microbial contaminants from light to moderately contaminated bivalve molluscan shellfish by placing them in tanks of clean seawater such that they undertake their normal pumping activity for a period of time that may range from several hours to days. It is usually undertaken because it is required by regional, national or local legislation but may also be applied at the discretion of the industry to protect their customers, demonstrate due diligence, or to satisfy the requirements of legislation in other regions or counties in order to be able to export to these.”

source: United Nations FAO, 2008

At TABLE they serve ingredient-based cuisine, with highlights on depurated seafood from their 12,000 square feet fish farm in Shatin where they ship live seafood to their restaurants daily.

They serve daily small dishes on the tasting menu, (all items at $158 or $580 for four items).
Cold items served first followed by hot items.

Here was what we tried:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rolled filo:


Usually you are given bread, but here you get rolled filo that was so light and crispy which must have taken so much effort to roll it up.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Amuse bouche:

Delicious springy octopus on a crispy baguette slice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Eel:

Smoked eel on rock, fromage blanc, caviar, potato salad with vinaigrette.
I loved the creamy tart cheese on top of the brussel sprout.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mixed Manila, Tua Tia surf clams:

Mixed clams cooked in 24 hours which was served in delicious rich lobster broth.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Kanjang gejang:

Korean soy marinated fresh baby mud crab.
I knew this was going to be delicious but I was quite afraid of getting food poisoning at the same time.
However I can reassure you that it is 100% clean because it is depurated and I did not get any ill effects the next day!! AMAZING!!!
Finally a place where you can have delicious and safe seafood.
The crab was divine soaked heavily in soy marinade which had a strong tastes just like alcohol.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
lobster medallion:

Lardo crudo, citrus-white miso sauce.
I loved the paper thin lardo crudo which complemented the springy lobster with saltiness.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
french spring chicken preserved in lemon tagine:

Moroccan style preserved lemon, green olives with cous cous.
As well as seafood, I was amazed with this because I love mediterranean dishes too.
The baby chicken was cute and tender in delicious lemon gravy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Flower crab chunky crab cake:

egg yolk kofta, umeboshi aioli.
Crab lovers will love this with a huge pile of crabmeat paired with molten egg yolk croqueete.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
mud crab:

pesto rice, runny crab roe and pesto.
This was just as delicious as the Korean crab earlier because the rice was al-dente covered in delicious pesto.
After mixing it with the runny crab roe, the taste was just heaven.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Korean baby abalone: 

This was soy butter panfred abalone but there was also fried abalone in vodka batter.
I am definitely going to try the battered one next time.
The abalone was tender evenly coated in butter with a rich soy taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★