A taste of China from Singapore

It took me by surprise that Paradise Dynasty which serves Chinese food was from Singapore but then some Chinese foods such as dimsum taste better in the UK compared to local crap.

At Paradise Dynasty, I appreciate the spaciousness of the tables which are well spaced out and you won't feel claustrophobic staring and listening to people who are on the other table that seem right next to you.





Most of the tables are normal sized (but by Hong Kong standards HUGE!!).

At the entrance, there is a lovely open kitchen protected by glass where you can see the Xiao Long Baos being made.

Here was what we tried:

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Steamed Original Xiao Long Bao:

It was the first time I learnt how to pick up a XLB properly with chopsticks because you have to pick it up at the strongest point which is near the top.

The broth was extremely clear and almost oiless which was pleasing to see because they don't use pigs skin.
I liked their recipe because you won't feel bloated after having one.

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Assorted Xiao Long Baos:

There are eight flavours and you eat them in order of lightest taste.
It was really thoughtful of them to arrange more than one basket so that we could taste more than one flavour.
I tried the ginseng, cheese and crab.
The ginseng was not strong enough but the cheese was likeable because it had soft mozzarella in it that did not over power the XLB.
The crab was really nice too with lots of crabmeat in it.
At the moment there is a buy one get one free promotion on the weekends.
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Drunken Chicken:

The chicken was tender infused with fragrant wine.
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Chilled Jellyfish and Seafood in Vinaigrette:

This was my favourite because their fruit vinaigrette was really appetizing.
As well as jellyfish, there were squid and prawns too.
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Lettuce rolls with homemade Sesame sauce:

This is just simple rolled lettuce held together by a piece of cucumber to be dipped in their homemade sesame sauce.
I loved this because it was just like eating sesame salad in a convenient way packed with so much lettuce in one bite covered in delicious sweet sesame sauce.
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Pork Dumpling with Hot Chilli Sauce:

This was nice but I found it too spicy.
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Radish Pastry:

The radish pastry was nice but after having so much tasty dishes I needed chili oil on it to spice it up.
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tri coloured egg:


The tri coloured egg was delicious with tones of salted egg yolk contrasted by the century egg's akaline taste.
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vegetarian buns:


The buns were on the small side but quality is better than quantity because the vegetables in the buns were fresh and green in colour wrapped in a delicious fluffy bun.
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Spicy Szechuan Crispy Chicken:

When this dish was brought over, you could smell the fragrant chilis and Sichuan peppercorns but again the spicy dishes at this place are guaranteed spicy!!
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Stir-fried Marbled Beef with Scallion:

This was juicy slices of beef in delicious oyster sauce with onions tasting similar to the beef and onions that you get at British Chinese takeaways.
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Scrambled Egg White with Fish and Dried Scallop:


Another simple dish eaten with the egg yolk smeared on top of the egg white.
Great and simple with rice.
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Stewed Sliced Fish with Chinese Wine Sauce:

The fish was chunky infused with strong wine flavour.
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Steamed chive and pork dumplings:

These were my favourite because the dumpling skin was soft and not too thick filled with delicious minced pork and fragrant chives.
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Doubled-boiled Chicken Soup:

The soup was lovely and clear with strong chicken taste.
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Chilled Aloe Vera and Osmanthus Jelly in Honey Lemon Juice:

Refreshing dessert with honey lemon juice loaded with aloe vera pieces, osmanthus jelly that was not too sweet.
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Durian Xiao Long Bao:

Exclusive Durian XLB's only in Hong Kong.


This was amazingly delicious served HOT!!! I assumed that Durian was going to taste weird hot but the durian taste was not altered by the steaming process.
The best sweet version of XLB I have tasted but for Durian lovers only because it has real and fresh durian flesh in it from Malaysia.
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Paradise Dynasty:
6F Lee Theatre Gardens
Causeway Bay

Tomato and fish rice 新景園咖喱小廚

I always find it a punishment to get food from Sun King Yuen.

The staff are so so and you just get a tacky cocktail fork and a plastic spoon for the food as always.

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Tomato and fish rice:






On this visit, the fish was overdone because the coating was too hard even though it was drenched in tomato sauce which should have made it soggy.
The food is just the usual Chinese food and it was just a case of a quick fix.
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Sweet desserts at Glasshouse

Came here for desserts after dining in Central.

Ordered two desserts, one was too sweet and the other was great.

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Creme brulee:

I found the creme brulee too sweet so I didn't like it, however there is a shot of expresso beside it to balance out the sweetness.
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Fresh coconut, shaved ice and a touch of malibu liquor:

This dessert was gorgeous, inside the coconut there was coconut sorbet which was sweet but not cloyingly sweet and the malibu liquor made it even more heavenly.
It would be great if the coconut gels on top could be replaced with fresh coconut flesh instead because the coconut gels were rather sweet.
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Glasshouse

Amazing couscous at Tallore

Went to Tallore again and this time I had the Couscous with Roasted Pine Nuts & Potato Bits Veggie Mix.

The couscous was amazing with delicious pieces of roast potatoes, apples, cucumber and it was actually tasty especially the potatoes.

Its the best couscous in Hong Kong because it is well flavoured and fluffy, other places have refrigerated it for too long or too clumpy.

I also had the Beetroot and Tomato soup because it had my favourite beetroot and tomato together so it was tangy and sweet and there was finely blended beetroot in the soup which made it wholesome.

Tmr they will be doing a free soup giveaway at noon!!

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!!

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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.

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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.
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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.
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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!!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Armani/Aqua
Shop 204-205, 2/F, 

Chater House, 

8 Connaught Road, 

Central Central.

Duck fat fries from The Butchers club

I love this new burger joint on Landale Street pumping with music.

They have these bright red, white and blue blinds which are colours that represent the American flag yet it has a Hong Kong touch to it because it reminds me of those woven bags!!

 

As I am not a beef fan, I just got the Duck fat fries for $20.
(The guy jokingly said that you could not order fries on their own)

They came in a cute box and the fries had coarse salt sprinkled on them.

These fries were deliciously salted by the salt and were soft inside, however I found then a bit too crunchy which is what hkepicurus would have liked.

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The Butchers Club

G/F Rialto building

2 Landale Street

Wan Chai

2528 2083

Improved rice bowl at Little Burro

Since my last visit, the Mexican rice bowl has improved.
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Vegetarian rice bowl:


I was quite surprised the portion was quite big this time because it was tiny on my previous visit and they ran out of sour cream.
Everything tasted great together with fragrant lime rice, green pepper slices, salsa, sour cream, guacamole and black beans.
Every spoon was packed with exciting tones of spiciness, tartness and the refreshing taste of the salsa and sour cream.
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Little Burro