Sunday, August 18, 2013

Back for more tapas @ Estudio

Estudio (Admiralty)

Decided to go back and try more tapas.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Anchovy fillets in seasoned vinegar:

The anchovies were delicious with bread, the fillets were soft and the all the bones had been removed.
I loved the sharpness of the fillets because it was soaked in vinegar and they were definately not canned ones because they were not mushy and hard.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Scrambled eggs with black sausage:

The eggs were cooked with black morcilla and it was basically scrambled eggs with black pudding sausage and skinned peppers.
There was a metal holder put on the plate before serving, the scrambled egg took form of a cake shape when served.
The taste of the black pudding was faint and the texture of the egg was so light and the scrambled egg was like droplets of cooked eggs forming into one. mass.★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Galican style octopus with potato and olive oil:

The octopus was a bit boring compared to the squid ink I tried last time.
It was quite chewy, and this dish was a bit too plain to be honest, because it was a sliced potato with octopus on top drizzled with olive oil.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Simply healthy and healthily simple

Pret A Manger (Admiralty)
Went back to my favourite place for decent healthy food!

Spotted the apple crumble yoghurt pot and the citrus fruit salad so got those two items.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Apple crumble yoghurt dessert pot:
Apple compote, caramel yoghurt mix, crunchy honey nut

I loved this three layered pot, at the bottom, there was apple compote, then it was caramel yoghurt on top with crunchy nuts on top.
The caramel yoghurt was delicious because there was a delicious caramel taste and aroma in the tart yoghurt which was complemented perfectly by the sweet apple compote and crunchy nuts.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Citrus fruit salad:

This was simply oranges and ruby grapefruit.
The orange was sweet and the grapefruit was sharp with a hint of bitterness.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Friday, August 16, 2013

Prepared to be butchered for fine food

Prepared to be butchered for fine food
Blue Butcher (Sheung Wan)

Thanks to LT and this restaurant for holding a tasting for us.

I have always wanted to dine at this place so it has been on my wishlist for quite a while.
The interior of this restaurant is just fantastic. It is huge and spacious with high ceilings.
It is basically an imitation of a US style meat house, at the entrance you are greeted with some heavy looking metal stairs, on the walls, there are butchers knives on the wall.

Every item in this restaurant is big and medieval looking.

These stairs are a rarity in Hong Kong because stairs are usually built outside the appartments, but for larger houses such as Victorian houses, the stairs are not outside.

When you reach the top of the stars, there is a hanging room with Himalayan salt blocks.
Himalayan salt is the purest form of salt known in the world and contains the highest concentrations of minerals and has medicinal as well as culinary uses.

One of the rooms was really special with cavities on the walls for candles.

The heavy wooden tables have lockable wheels, so If there is a big group, they can be rolled together to form one big long table.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
norwegian salmon tartar/avocado/burnt lemon vinaigrette/horseradish:

It was a really nice dish to start off with, salmon and creamy avocado dressed with delicious salad and burnt lemon vinaigrette which gave it more dimension with a charred taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
compressed organic tomato/burrata cheese/white balsamic/basil:

Burrata cheese never fails, creamy cheese oozing with a runny centre in the middle just like a poached egg, complemented by their delicious organic tomatoes drizzled in white balsamic vinegar.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Organic smoked beetroot/feta/cucumber/pistachio vinaigrette:

It was beautifully presented, beets on the bottom, cucumber slices on top with crumbled feta cheese and pistachio nuts on top drizzled with sauce.
The beets and cucumber tasted really nice with the vinaigrette.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
spanish ham & egg/asparagus/mushroom/thyme:

The spanish ham was soft and delicious, not overly salty paired with deliciously grilled asparagus, panfried mushrooms and a perfectly poached egg.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
bone marrow/toast/caper berries/parsley/salt flakes:

I love bone marrow so this was obviously my favourite.
It came served in the bone too with a cute little spoon.
The bone marrow was delicious and the texture is a bit like fatty jelly but with the salt flakes the bone marrow on taste was really appetizing, and to finish off, there were caper berries.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★rare
breed us kurobuta pig belly & cheek/lentils/granny smith apple slaw:


The pork belly was soft complemented with the deliciously tangy and crunchy apple slaw on the top.
The lentils beneath it were delicious.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
dutch veal cheek & sweetbreads/truffled orzo/herb salad
I love veal cheeks, they are always soft and supple.
As for the sweetbreads, they tasted different to the ones I tried another place.
The sweetbreads were really soft and slightly sticky, and had a slight resemblance to liver.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Australian O'Connor Farm 100% Natural Black Angus 14oz Rib Eye:

This was huge, but every bite of the beef was juicy and sweet.
The sea salt on the beef enhanced it and if that was'nt enough, there was mustards too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lemon Cappuccino /Lemon Crouton /Lemon Curd /Almond Crumble /Whipped Cream:

This dessert looked like a cappuccino, but just dig into it and the taste amazing and dreamy with a strong lemon taste balanced by the lovely whipped cream.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lastly the drinks!
I don't drink alchohol but the drinks selection here is amazing, it would be a sin not to try them, there was horseradish flavours, bacon flavours, cream cheese flavours and the famous moonshine which is served in a glass with a paper bag on the outside because alchohol was banned in the 1920s which was how they disguised their drinks.
They are always inventing new cocktails so be sure to check their website for their latest cocktails.
During the tasting, they had pork chop and apple too on the cocktail menu which has bacon washed blended scotch in the mixture with apple sauce.

apple pie moonshine

From January 16th 1920, the united states began passing laws banning alcohol sales and
consumption, a nationwide prohibition went into effect, which triggered the greatest thing
the moonshiners could have asked for.
The taste of this was addictive, a really heavy and sweet taste of apple and cinammon just like an apple pie.

Horse’s Head

This is a fun cocktail of gin infused with horseradish giving a moreish savoury taste with a mustard kick. I loved the egg white foam cap on top sprinkled with green tea powder.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

19/08/2013
Blue Butcher Bar & Restaurant Blue · Butcher & Meat Specialist
上環荷李活道108號地舖
G/F, 108 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/prepared-to-be-butchered-for-fine-food-e2315137

Let's go cheesy on Tues! Say cheese at il Posto 97

iL Posto 97 (Central)

From now on, you can get your cheese cravings at il Posto paired with wine.

At the bar, there are seven cheeses and condiments to go with the cheese.





Some of the condiments were interesting such as the honey and plum jam.


It is really worth going because I tried a cheese night elsewhere and you could only choose one cheese, but here there are seven cheeses to try.

Here it is only $250 per person from 8pm-10pm and you can indulge on a selection of Italian cheeses, breads, free-flow red and white wines and more.

The environment is relaxing and right in the middle of LKF.

Here was my platter to start off with:


My favourites were: Maggengo, Fontina and Torregio.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Below are the cheeses that we tried and each of their characteristics:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Gorgonzola:It was garlicy and peppery with a mellow taste, the texture was softish.
Good for pairing with pears and figs.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Torregio:This cheese was crumbly and chalky, and the cows milk came from Lombardy.
The texture is softer near the crust and drier near the middle.
It was great paired with fruit mustard or honey.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rossini blue:This was the strongest out of all seven cheeses.
There are grape skins in it and great for pairing with honey or crackers.
It should definately be the last to try because it is strong and incomprehendable with an interesting crescendo of sensation.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Grana Padano:This cheese was quite interesting because it had a sweet aftertaste.
When dipped with honey or fruit mustards, it was enhanced further more.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ubracio (drunken cheese):This was another nice cheese with an alcoholic taste.
It was slightly crumbly and firm in texture and it was bathed in local wines along with skins and seeds leftover from the wine making process.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fontina: Although this cheese had a pungent smell, it was not that strong when you eat it, it was soft and smooth.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Maggengo:The texture was nice and soft.
At first it has a sweet taste ending with a bitter note.
It is nice paired with sweet items.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

New fig and apricot frozen yogurt @ Appolo

Appolo (Tseung Kwan O)
I love the frozen yoghurts at Appolo, they taste natrual and it is just frozen yoghurt blended with frozen fruits.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fig and apricot frozen yogurt:The fig and apricot was a new flavour that costs $40.

I felt that it was a bit too expensive for an Appolo product because their products are usually cheap.
At $40 is costs more than some of the icecreams at LabMade.
It seems that they are slowly rebranding and making their products more deluxe such as the new ice-cream rolls.

Anyway, when it was made, they put more apricot than fig into the bowl.
They only put one small whole fig in it.

As for the taste, the apricot was more prominent and the fig was not that apparent but you could taste the occasional sweetness and seeds from the fig.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Valentino brownies

Valentino Chocolatier Hong Kong (Wan Chai)
Thanks to Agnes for getting me these brownies.

There are two in a pack.

Valentino is a chocolatier in Hong Kong that sells European goods such as olive oils, hams as well as chocolates.
The last time I went to Valentino's was at their Sai Kung branch.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Valentino Brownies:
The brownie was dense and rich with some nuts.
It was not too sweet.
If it was warmed up and accompanied with custard or whipped cream, it would have been perfect.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Refreshing lime drink @ King Laksa

King Laksa (Central)
This place is famous for ginger flavoured yellow rice, satay skewers, laksas and pin noodles with baby oysters.


However I was full that day, so I only ordered a lime drink.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lime drink:

Basically it was lime juice with water.
It was very refreshing but I think they used concentrated lime juice with some fresh lime because it tasted different to fresh lime.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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