Wine and dine with Chef Giuseppe Maria Brancati at Alto 88

Previously this restaurant used to be Zeffirino Ristorante but now it is Alto 88 with great views of the harbour on fine days.
Tried Chef Giuseppe Maria Brancati's tasting dinner with wine pairing.
Started off with a variety of breads and foccacia was my favourite.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
amuse bouche:

Started off with salmon rolled with crunchy sea kelp in the middle which gave it a nice crispy texture and bursts of saltiness from the salmon roe.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tartara di tonno rosso e mela verde, salsa allo yogurt con zenzero ed erba cipollina:
This was red tuna and green apple tartar served with yoghurt flavoured with ginger and chives paired with Terlaner DOC Cantina Terlano-Kellerei 2012 Tentino-Alto Adige

The tuna was flawless paired with the refreshing finely diced green apple.
It tasted even better when it was all mixed up with the yoghurt and chives.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Capresante scottate su burrata liquida a proscuitto di Parma disidratato:

This was pan-seared scallop served with liquid burrata cheese and dehydrated Parma ham paired with pinot grigio murno Primosic.
Although it was delicious, I really wish there was more crispy Parma ham because it gave a lovely smokey salty taste to the scallop.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Risotto "Acquerello 7 anni" affumicato alla parmigiana, polvere di porcini e fiori di montagna:

This was Risotto "Acquerello brand 7 year aged" smoked porcini mushroom dust and mountain flower which won the best risotto "Acquerello" world contest in 2012.
The risotto was paired with La Scolca GAVI Bianco secco.
It was a rich risotto with fragrant shaved mushrooms on the bottom that was not too creamy and the risotto had a nice chew to it.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Trancio de baccala confit in salsa d'aglio dolce, patate fondente e liquirizia:

This was salted cod loin confit in sweet garlic sauce with potato fondant and licquorice paired with Scalabrone Bolgheri Rosato.
The cod was chunky with big flakes which was drenched in delicious strong garlic sauce.
You can also taste strong licquorice which you will either hate or love.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Steak:

This was steak paired with La Braccesca Vino Nobile De Montepulcian.
The beef was sweet and juicy accompanied by refreshing pickled carrrot slaw.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mousse ai pistachio di bronte, croccante al cocao e crema di zabaione:

This was a crisp cocao roll filled with pistachio mousse from Bronte and eggnog cream paired with Kaloro Moscato d Trani Doc Tormaresca.
I loved the pistachio mousse which was creamy and nutty with a savoury aftertaste.
The dessert wine was my favourite of the wines that night because I have a sweet tooth for sweet wines.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tea and petit fours:

To finish off, I had fragrant Earl Grey as a perfect ending.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The set I had costs $1288 and $888 without wine.
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Alto 88:

31/F, Regal Hongkong Hotel, 88 Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay

Reminiscing the Past at Shang Palace

As I was not brought up in Hong Kong, this was the perfect experience for me to try the dishes of the past because not many restaurants serve these dishes.
All these dishes are available until the end of March!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Trio delights:

On the plate were Deep-fried crab meat fritters, Roasted sliced pork and chicken liver with honey accompanied with crispy fried milk.
To my knowledge, not many places serve the roasted sliced pork with chicken liver and the only one I have heard of is called Tak Lung located in San Po Kong.
Over the new year I tried a lamb version at YUE.
The one here is surprisingly good because the liver is surprisingly velvety which goes extremely well with the tasty roast pork. There was a slice of fat too which always comes with it that I never eat.
The crispy fried milk was a really good because it was savoury with a texture like tofu.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Double boiled quail broth with bird’s nest:

This was a nourishing soup with a boiled quail stuffed with protein rich bird's nest.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Traditional sautéed boneless chicken wings stuffed with Chinese ham and bamboo shoot:

The chicken wings were tasty with delicious ham in the middle but the chicken wings could be crispier or they could have trimmed the fat off before pan frying.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Braised spare ribs with deep fried buns:

These spares ribs were a delight because there was no bone and the bun was chewy and flakey which tasted delicious with the spare rib sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Coddled Chinese lettuce served in fish broth:

A balanced meal must have vegetables and the Chinese lettuce was delicate and sweet in MSG fish broth which I drank as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Double boiled pear with sea coconut :


For dessert we finished off with a sweet boiled pear filled with sea coconut in the middle.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Shang Palace dessert tree:




The dessert tree was stunning.
On the dessert tree were glutinous rice balls filled with mango and pastries.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Shang Palace
G/F, Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel, 64 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

The useless GODIVA cash coupon

A month ago, I saw photos of the white chocolate softserve posted on Instagram by a blogger but as I am not a white chocolate lover I soon forgot about it.

Then a month later, there was a sudden promotion on this white chocolate softserve and bloggers were invited to try the white chocolate softserve which was blasted on their FB feeds.

It seemed convincing and since I had a $50 cash voucher from the bank I decided to use it on the $45 softserve.
According to the terms on the voucher, it didn’t say you had to spend over $50 but they said the voucher could not be processed hence I had to get some extra stuff.



The white chocolate softserve was really creamy and tasted like Nestles milky bar chocolate which was on the sweet side so I will probably try the chocolate twist next time as I have two more $50 cash vouchers.

They also had tubs of icecream but the Earl Grey icecream which I wanted has not been launched yet and Godiva doesn’t seem to know because they emailed me on the 9/4/2015 to ask about the voucher incident so I told them and asked about the Earl grey but since then there has been no more correspondence.

Thick toast with apricot jam at Sai Kung's Sai Woo Restaurant

Didn't want to dine here but dined here because the others chose this place.


There wasn't much I liked but the toast was probably something that I could eat so I ordered the toast with jam.

It turned out to be a thick toast with apricot jam, it was the typical Chinese toast with a not so springy texture.
I would have preferred a thinner slice of toast because the bread isn't that good but the jam does not fail because most jams taste the same.

iEatCheese! at iEAT

Discovered this place because of the $12 shop nearby.
I was attracted by the Brie and Camembert which was only $21.5 each and it was nicely packaged.

There was ready to eat Kuzu mochi which comes in a big bag!

++++++++++++++
Both were creamy and delicious but for best results leave the cheese to warm up in room temperature so that the texture becomes softer and molten.
Camembert:




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Brie:




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Glamourous sushi at Shiro

To be honest I have not dined here before but when I saw the new range of crystal sushi I had to try it because who does not like pretty things.

Shiro are so popular that they will now be debuting in London at 100 Liverpool Street in the summer!

The crystal sushi series are sushi topped with flavoured jelly which is clear and glistens.

The most impressive one was the rose.

I loved the crystal sushi because when you ate it, the jelly melts in your mouth releasing the flavour.
Here were what I had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Non alcoholic mojito:

Started off with lychee and mint mojito which was refreshing with a fragrant lychee taste and cooling mint.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Houren sou goma ae:

This was spinach served with a side of self grated sesame sauce.

It was amazing that there was so much spinach in a portion which tasted delicious with the thick sweet sesame sauce that had a fragrant toasted sesame taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Bluefin tuna with Japanese dashi jelly sushi $65:

I loved this one because bluefin tuna has a strong unami taste which went well with the dashi jelly that had a smokey flavour.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Deluxe scallop with caviar and sake rose jelly sushi $65:

This was simply beautiful with a light taste complemented by the rosy sake jelly on top.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fatty salmon with fried garlic and yuzu jelly sushi $55:

It was beautiful how they put layers of jelly in between the sushi.
This one had a sweet citrus taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Botan ebi and uni roll with ume sauce on ponzu jelly $85:

This was a tasty one with strong and creamy flavours.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Yellowtail with kimchi sauce and Shochu jelly sushi $55:

This had a spicy kick to it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Wagyu Beef with leek onion and black truffle jelly sushi $85:

Last but not least was the beef which was had a delicious strong truffle flavour.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Nameko no miso shiru:

This was tofu and nameko mushroom miso soup which was loaded with earthy nameko mushrooms.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★Shiro:
Shiro Pacific Place

Level 1 at Shop 132

Shop 1301, 13/F, Hysan Place,
500 Hennessy Road Causeway Bay