[Brut] A dish for everyone

Brut is on the other end of Second Street, away from the crowd but not so away. You are greeted with two high tables and a long bar which makes it great dining alone with friends.

In this Modern era, it is all about clean living as well as clean drinking.
The drinks are definitely to brag about because Camille Lisette Glass at BRUT is a strong advocate of natural wine, hence the choice of all these natrual wines and their homemade Kombucha cocktails.

Looking at the menu side, it is tapas-style offering a good variety on vegetarian and vegan options with fresh organic produce from the local Sai Ying Pun market to support the neighbourhood.
Not only that, the dishes have a multicultural twist of French, Spanish, American and Asian influences which will surprise your palate.
Here was what we had that night, there wasn't really a dish that I didn't like because they were all good in different ways.

• Smoked eggplant and vegetables. ($58) (Vegan) It was flawless and eggplant dip in the middle was jet black as it was smoked.

• Mushrooms in a red wine, anchovy and shallot sauce. ($68) The anchovies in the red wine sauce really brought out the mushroom flavours.

• Devilled Eggs; eggs, fermented plum, artichoke. ($68) (Vegetarian) Not your usual devilled eggs as these were moreish and punchy because of the saltiness and sourness which reminded me of the pickled eggs at the chippie.

• Buffalo mozzarella, Kalamata olive tapenade and fried enoki mushrooms. ($98) (Vegetarian) Another flavourful dish which was enhanced by the olive tapenade.

The Roquefort Mac n Cheese was a killer because I love French Cheeses. Having it in the Mac n cheese dish was just too good to be true and something that I never thought about on Mac n Cheese.

• Galician beef tenderloin with baby spinach. ($248) For meat, the beef was soft and tender that it just tore apart effortlessly.

Finished with natrual cocktails with their Baby Boucha concocted with their homemade kombucha.

[Brut]
Shop C, G/F, 1 Second Street, Sai Ying Pun, Western District

[Don Don Tei -CWB] New Soba Menu

There are three branches of Don Don Tei and they all have different menus. The one at WTS serves mainly donburi, while the one at Hung Hom serves an extended menu of the one at WTS with sashimi as well. As I haven't tried the CWB branch, I decided to give it a go, again the menu is so different and they serve mainly sets but as the soba was good at WTS, we decided to try the sobas.

***
My first favourite was the [soba roll with sea prawn tempura].
It looked quite sophisticated.

I tried it without the sauce and it wasn't tasteless because it was mixed with mayonnaise which complemented the prawn very well.
However it was a slight challenge to eat.
****
Next was the [cold soba with sashimi] which was soba covered in an abundance of salad.

After mixing everything together, it became a delicious noodle salad which is healthy and perfect on a hot day.
*****
Last but not least was the Soba Tsukemen which tasted like Sukiyaki because of the sweetness and it was more filling but not too heavy as the onions are there to balance it.

[Don Don Tei -CWB]
Shop 6, 1/F, JP Plaza, 22-36 Paterson Street Causeway Bay

[Granny Marys] in Hong Kong

Just when I was not shopping for food, I happened to discover Granny Marys at Eat East.
I never bother going into Eat East because they only sell Chinese Ready Made Meals but I went in that day because I was bored.
When I saw Granny Marys JUST collection in the freezer, I seriously looked twice because it was English food in a Chinese store!
Anyway, I was thrilled there was another option for English dishes.
The JUST collection does not have pasta/rice which is makes it great for sharing.
The advantage is that these can be microwaved which makes them very suited for Hong Kong as people don't use ovens here.

Without thinking, I bought most of the range but sadly forgot to buy the Cottage Pie.

As soon as I got home, I was so excited to try them but sadly I could only try 2 boxes because they are quite big portions.
It was really hard to decide which one to try because they are all British classics.
Luckily, they don't stock the full range or I would probably have to buy it all!!!!
In the end I chose Chili Beef (with pulled beef) as it was pulled beef and not minced beef.

Basically you remove the card sleeve, pierce the film, microwave it for about 4 minutes, let it stand for 1 minute and put it in for another 3 minutes.
I paired the chili beef with Indian Rice.

The taste was fantastic with chunks of pulled beef but I underestimated how hot it was and it is spicier than other ready to eat chili con carnes and curries that I have tried.

I also tried the Parsnips in spiced honey because I have to try everything at once if I can because I just can't resist food and all being my favourite British classics!!

It had a lot of frost surrounding the parsnips despite I was consuming it on the day I bought it.
This is a common problem in Hong Kong and nothing to do with the Granny Marys.

[Problems with Chilled & Frozen foods in Hong Kong - further reading]
http://supersupergirl-dining.blogspot.hk/2018/03/problems-with-chilled-food-and-frozen.html

Now back to the food!

The parsnips were sweet with a nice hint of cracked black pepper.
The sweetness was quite soothing after that hot Chili Beef.
I can't wait to try the others soon but I am so busy with restaurant invitations that I don't have time and appetite to eat at home.

www.grandymarys.co.uk

Problems with Chilled/Frozen Foods in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a hot place with extreme temperatures and sunshine which makes it challenging for transporting and handling food but with modern technology it should all be solved.
In some shops,  storage space seems an issue that they have to squeeze the snacks between the floor and the bottom shelf base.
Luckily they are packaged snacks.

Starting with snacks and confectionery, I find it strange that shops do not have the mentality to put them in a shaded area especially with Chocolate.

Moving on to Dairy products and Frozen goods, the sad thing is that a good majority have melted before they reach the shops and then refrozen again in the freezer there.

The amusing thing is that Chinese people believe they are lactose intolerant and blame cheese and milk for causing diarrhea when it could just possibly be food poisoning.
Personally, I have never had problems with cheese and milk in the UK but found myself getting ill eating cheese and milk in HK.

Talking about Frozen goods, lots of frozen goods are covered in frost.

Broccoli left lying around the aisle

Two bags of fries of the same brand but the colour of the one on the left is strangely dark and grey:

Hopefully these frozen goods are going to be put in the freezer soon before they melt:

Faulty fridge!

For cream gateaux and tarts, it is common sense that they are stored upright and not vertical.
The way they are stored vertically affects the products. [Will have a photo soon]

I have also noticed many restaurants that have food delivered are left outside the vicinity for quite some time before they are refrigerated/stored.

Other meals waiting to be delivered are casually on the ground but fortunately they are inside a bag.

Uncovered tofu sitting next to fresh exhaust on the road!!!

The most shocking thing that I even saw was Frozen meat on the floor at this Meat Supplier Shop.

[TEA HUB] Where Tea Lovers unite

I appreciate teas so whenever there is a new tea house or tea themed cafe I have to go and check it out.

When you go in, you will notice the simplistic yet modern decor.

The menu is extensive, where you will find set meals, tea based drinks and cakes.

The set meal is pretty simple, you can choose from Chazuke, Noodles in tea soup, or noodles in cold tea soup paired with two sides from a choice of four.
Tried the Chazuke and Noodles in Tea Soup.
Both were filling and the sides that day were yuzu and sencha chicken wings, tofu in Jasmine tea, mixed mushrooms in oolong and fish in lemongrass orange dressing.
++++++
Chazuke:

++++++
Noodles in Tea Soup:

As well as the tea flavours in the sides, there were lots of tea leaves that you could see in the tofu and mushroom.

++++++
There were so many drinks to choose from so I had the chocolate with masala which was chocolate with a hint of spices. Masala Chocolate:

The Matcha Au Lait was a popular drink, where you get to mix the matcha and pour it it. It was fun and you get try the matcha before you pour it in to see how it tastes.

As well as Matcha, they also had my favourite Earl Grey in chiffon cake form. It was light and fluffy complimented with my favourite whipped cream.

I can't wait to come again but queues are expected on the weekends.
**************
[TEA HUB]
Shop 2, G/F, Shining Court, 439 Shun Ning Road, Sham Shui Po
Tel: 23377278
Opening Hours: 11:00 - 19:00
Mondays: Closed
**************

[Eatalian] Decent Italian food in SSP

I didn't have any expectations for Eatalian because most restaurant adapt their recipes to suit the people in the area.
Apart from that I liked the Restaurant logo and name which is a play of words EAT and ITALIAN pronounced Eatalian just like EeDaLe in Central.

Sat down and it was reassuring that there were expats dining there.
++++
Started with the Parma Ham and Melon which was the first surprise because it was creative.
It wasn't just melon topped with ham but on the side there was Parma ham paired with young pea shoots and molecular melon balls which actually tasted in harmony.

+++++
The Linguine with minced shrimp, garlic and anchovy was so good that I could have eaten two portions.
It was light with strong prawn flavours and the saltiness from the anchovy.

++++
Next was the Strozzapreti with proscuitto, fava beans, Parmesan, Black truffle.
I felt compelled to order this as you rarely see this on the Kowloon side and I wonder how long it will stay on the menu due to popularity.
Again it was flawless and hung the sauce well with fragrant truffle that wasn't too creamy.

++++
For dessert, I had the Banana Walnut Toffee Cream Pie which was a bit like banoffee but much better because everything was well balanced with crushed walnuts in the cream and dreamy toffee and a nice biscuit base that was soft and firmly held together but not hard in texture.

Finished with tea which was a perfect ending.

++++
Overall, I was more than impressed that I totally forgot I was in SSP.
Everything was top quality from the way they served the food and the presentation.
Price is above the average in that area but you are getting good quality food so lets hope they can keep the standard.

[Eatalian]
309 Lai Chi Kok Road, Sham Shui Po
Tel: 26176866