Monday, December 09, 2013

Fancy sushi rolls to go from Sugo Sushi

Sugo Sushi (Central)

To be honest sushi is everywhere, and it is usually the same old combination of salmon and tuna.
At Sugo Sushi, the shop, decor and presentation is fun and modern.

Two bright glass cabinets with sushi to choose from.


Drinks counter offering a wide range of drinks.

So far my favourite place for sushi rolls with a bit of fusion would be Sugo, Beautifood and School food.
K-Roll is getting there, but I am not a fan of spicy Korean ingredients although they do have a tuna roll which is not spicy.
I chose this place instead of K-Roll because there were so many different rolls and each one can be seen in the cabinet displayed just like cakes!

At Sugo, all their rolls have cute American names and each one is so tempting because there were different styles eg Californian, Mexican, Japanese, Korean etc.
“TUN-O”, “SPY-DA”, “EBI EBI PRAWN”, “YAKINIKU”, “SALV-O”, “UNAG-O”, “GANGNAM”, “TERRY TERRY CHICKEN”, “P.H.A.T TUNA”, “NO WAY JOSE”, “S.F.C ROLL”, “CALI”,“S.C.B” and ‘SAN CHOY BAU’.

The prices of these rolls are quite reasonable and filling ranging from $22-$26 and the size of these rolls are quite big too.

For the drinks, they had my favourite Dry soda range:

Here was what I had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rhubarb dry soda:

The rhubarb soda was really light and refreshing, it was tart and I liked the way it was clear too which meant no colouring was used.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
NO WAY JOSE:
All the rolls were tempting but I chose NO WAY JOSE because it had taco ingredients in a sushi roll which were Mexican beef, taco sauce, sour cream, cheddar cheese and lettuce!
It was really nice of them to slice the huge roll for me.

As you can see, the cheese, beef, lettuce and sauce were neatly tucked in the centre.
After it was sliced, the roll held together nicely unlike other places.

The roll was really tasty because of the spicy beef and cheese and it was like having chili con carne in sushi form.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Confusing ordering system at Urban bakery works

Previously came here for the icecream but the croissant was sold out.

Came here again for the croissant and luckily all of the flavours were available.

Went to the counter to order and was told that you have to go to the croissant section to get the croissant then you have to bring it back to the counter and pay.
Ok did that, and decided to order a drink too.
They were kind enough to let me order the drink there but I didn't realise you had to collect it at the drinks counter.

Anyway, apart from me, there were other confused customers who were referred to the other counters!~~

With the usual Cafeteria setups, patrons will take a tray and push it along a track to the counter where they pay for it.
But here there was no track so it was not immediately obvious and looked like you ordered from the counter because everyone was queueing there.




Anyway, the croissants were ok luckily, but a little too hard and flakey.
The earl grey tea was how it should be.

Sunday, December 08, 2013

Memory of school common rooms

At school, I have always been curious of the Teachers room, the only room that pupils could not enter so when we got our common room it felt really special.
It was a place just for 5th year pupils at secondary school.
Whilst it was exciting progressing on to the 5th year, at the same time I was dreading it because it was the last year of school before heading off to college and not everyone attends college so you don't see them anymore.

Thanks to JJ for inviting me to The Common Room which reminded me of school.

It was a lovely gathering environment for drinks and food.
The small twisting flight of stairs at the entrance was interesting.

Anyway, here was what we tried:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pulled pork poutine:Melted chedder cheese and bbq sauce

Addictive fries topped with delicious gravy and bbq sauce with melted cheese, and the pulled pork makes it satisfying.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chicken lollipopsCoated with maple syrup

Irresistible chicken lollipops with a crispy coating enhanced by the maple syrup and sweet sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Charred sweet corn salad

This was simple and delicious, nachos topped with corn, purple onions and diced tomatoes flavoured with spices.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Flatbreadcaramelized onions, wild mushrooms, goats cheese and truffle

This was a bit like pizza and a bit like crackers topped with delicious goats cheese on top with the fragrant truffle and sweet caramelized onions and earthy mushrooms.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Portobello mushroom slidersgruyere, caramelized onions and avocado

These sliders were cute and I loved the way the mushroom was bigger than the bun.
It was really satisfying and meaty but not heavy because it was just a juicy mushroom in the middle with melted gruyere cheese and guacamole.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Madison lobster roll seasoned with lemon juice and paprika and served on toasted bun
Anyone who loves the lobster roll at IEM will love this!!
Meaty, sweet and fresh lobster in the middle, seasoned by plain lemon juice and paprika.
I will definitely be back for this because it is simplistic and yummy and the bun was really nice because it was not sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Bailey’s coffee cheese cake with Bailey’s irish cream with coffee

To finish off we had this cheesecake topped with Bailey's Irish cream which really enhanced the flavours of the cheesecake.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chocolate pudding with molten chocolate centre.
If the cheesecake was not enough, we had this delicious gooey chocolate pudding with a molten centre.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
For drinks I had the AIRMAIL which had Aged rum, honey, fresh lime juice, champagne and orange flower water.
The name AIRMAIL was so classic because these days people don't send letters and with the internet you don't need to send airmail.
When it arrived, there was folded paper plane on the drink which really represented the cocktail.
The drink was nice and strong to start you off in party mood!

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Then I had Tom and Jerry a Christmas drink which had a dash of spiced rum, whisky bourbon and an assortment of spices like cloves, cinnamon, star anis and just a sprinkle of nutmeg, with generous milky foam on top.
It was served warm in a mug.

The drink was gorgeous sipping it slowly having the foamy milk contrasted by the warm drink at the bottom.
It had tones of mint and cinnamon bringing you a lovely season of Christmas!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Friday, December 06, 2013

Feel the warmth and the fun of hotpot

鍋居火鍋專門店 (Sham Shui Po)

Thanks to 鍋居火鍋專門店 for holding this tasting.

I have not had many hotpots before because the weather was always hot.

Luckily, it was relatively cool that day.
For the hotpot broths there were satay, tomato, and silkie chicken inside a pigs stomach.



I adored the silkie chicken broth because it had the natrual sweetness from the chicken and the silkie chicken was good to eat.
Normally I do not eat organs but the pig's stomach was surprisingly nice and tasted like abalone.
While I was there, I saw another table have the young coconut with spring water and free range chicken broth (椰青礦泉水走地雞鍋).
They poured the coconut water in the pot and scraped the coconut meat into the broth to give it a really sweet flavour.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the hotpot and my favourite items were the fried tofu skins which were light and crispy.
They were sinfully delicious after soaking the delicous broth.

There was also fresh mountain yam too.

Then there was the pigs throat which looked interesting!!
As I have never tried it before, I had to try it because I havent seen it elsewhere.
It was similar to eating cartilage and they taste great after dipping it in sauce.

Lastly there were delightful golden preserved eggs which I have always wanted to try.
On my next visit, I will ask for the sauce to be put on the side because it can get quite spicy.

The peanuts (wong fei hung) were delicious as well because they were roasted with sichuan peppercorns which gave them a special fiery kick.

Can't wait to come back!
This was a very special tasting because it was featured on the HK Headlines free paper.

Third branch of Maison Eric Kayser on Caine Road

Maison Eric Kayser Artisan Boulanger Café (Mid-Levels)

Went to the opening party briefly because I had a tasting afterwards.

It was really nice to meet Eric Kayser.

There were so many items rolled out for guests to try throughout the party, starting from savoury bites to sweet items nearer the end.

There was a new chicken sandwich called Le Poulet which has a green chicken filling because of the pesto sauce.
I tried the mini version which was quite nice but the bread was chewy and tough.

My favourite were the eclairs especially the pistachio one because it had a lovely nutty filling in the middle with lovely icing on top.

When we left, we were given some mini financiers, madeleines and macarons.




The Madeleines were sweet, moist and buttery.

I loved the mini financiers because they had a strong almond taste.
They reminded me of Coconut macaroons but with a strong almond taste.



Dining Offers: Tasting Event

English breakfast tea with blueberries

Loyal Dining (Central)

Had some time to kill so came here for a drink.

The pumpkin tea with lotus nuts seemed interesting but ended up ordering the English breakfast tea with blueberries.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
English breakfast tea with blueberries:

The pieces on top did not look like blueberries nor did they smell like blueberries and worst thing was that there was no English Breakfast tea taste and it was too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Thursday, December 05, 2013

Festive Lunch at the Historic Pawn

The Pawn (Wan Chai)

As this is my 3000th review, I might as well write something special for it.

This review also coincides with my recommendation to spend Christmas at The Pawn on 「細味」which costs $2 at your local 7-11.

Since many people have requested some Chinese on my 3000th review, I might as well copy and paste the edited sentences from「細味」, please see below!~.

I have always been curious about The Pawn because the building is Historic.
Many expats go there for British food, the British magazine Time Out held their opening party there and Richard Ng 吳耀漢 who has lived in the UK was interviewed there too for some local TV Chit Chat.

Before this tasting, I was lucky to be invited to the The Pawn Roof Top market which had food stalls from The Pawn, The Principal, The News Room, SML and Classified.
It was a great day with the sun shining and beautiful views of Wan Chai city from the roof top.

For the festive lunch, it was on the second floor which is served from now till Christmas and there is Festive dinner too which can be found on their website/Fb.

You can choose to sit inside or outside on the balcony.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
The festive lunch menu includes Starters, Mains and dessert.

+++++++
Starters:
Chestnut and butternut squash soup with toasted pumpkin seeds
-or-
Potted blue swimmer crab with pickled fennel and wheatbread toast
-or-
Roasted beetroot and goat's cheese salad
Wild leaves, cherry tomatoes, french beans, sweet potatoes and pomegranite
+++++++
Mains:
Roast turkey, pigs in a blanket, cranberries, brussel sprouts, roast potatoes and sage turkey gravy
-or-
roasted pumpkin risotto with crispy sage, baby asparagus, feta cheese and arugula
-or-
Salmon Wellington with mussels and white wine cream
+++++++
Desserts:
Traditional Christmas pudding with brandy vanilla custard
-or-
Warm valrhona chocolate mousse poached wild berries and toasted almonds
-or-
white chocolate and brioche butter pudding
cranberry sorbet
+++++++
Here's what I had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Bread:

I loved this crispy soft yeasty bread which was delicious after putting butter on it and the salt provided.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Potted blue swimmer crab with pickled fennel and wheatbread toast:

There was quite a generous amount of crab on the toast which seemed to be mixed with butter, but the pickled fennel on the side was really acidic and balanced the heavyness of that.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Roast turkey, pigs in a blanket, cranberries, brussel sprouts, roast potatoes and sage turkey gravy:

Now to my favourite part of the meal!!
The turkey was tender and juicy complemented by the sweet and sour cranberries.
Although it does not state there is stuffing on the menu, I found a huge piece of stuffing which was heavily soaked in wine.
The Stuffing is the best part of roast turkey because it is really tasty with lots of herbs.
Eating the stuffing, turkey and cranberry together was delicious.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Traditional Christmas pudding with brandy vanilla custard:

Last but not least, the strong Christmas pudding was paired perfectly with brandy vanilla sauce which lightens the taste of peel.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Here is the brief Chinese version for this review quoted from 細味...

在這個重要的節日下,每個國家都會以不同美食慶祝聖誕,而火雞/烤雞餐就是英國人的傳統.
所以希望推介歷史悠久的建築物內的The Pawn,來一個英式風味聖誕餐.
跟朋友分享.火雞伴燒汁薯菜和酸甜小紅莓醬加上傳統Christmas pudding,這就是最快樂的時光


Even though its my 3000th review I will keep posting my dining experiences.

People will probably think that I express my views to get tastings, but I have been expressing my views way before tastings became popular these two years.
If I did intend to get tastings I would have disclosed my contact information right from the beginning in 2006.

Tastings have only become popular these two years because restaurants have found it more effective in terms of showcasing their dishes because everyone uses social media such as FB/instagram/OpenRice/blogs etc.

Personally for tastings, I liked to feature more on the taste, photos and less on the price because it would be quite promotional and others at the tastings with me would have written the price so readers will be able to find it easily.

However with photos you can judge on the size and quality of the food, but in some cases portion sizes will vary because they just made it bigger so that everyone could try some.
In some cases, it would be an appetizer or mains shared between a few people during tastings but the readers don't see that because they are not present!

Some people choose to spend their time hiking, shopping, exercising while I spend some of my time expressing my views on food because I am quite passionate about eating and I love to eat!

To be honest, if I was hoping for this 3000th review to be recommended by OpenRice I would have written it on a non tasting review because Tastings do not get recommended on OpenRice as it is just a showcase of dishes from the restaurant.

Hopefully I have not been too straight and offended anyone here!
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