[Maison Es] Japanese Tasting Menu

Maison ES is led by Esther Sham more popularly known as Chef TATA. The 6-COURSE TASTING MENU I had is available until the end of this month which has been created to celebrate her 10th year at Maison ES. This restaurant is tucked away behind Star Street with beautiful French Vintage decor which makes it a perfect get away from the city.

I was quite impressed by the experience because every course was well executed. We were a table of 12 and considering there were so many of us, everyone's dish was still hot and we all got them at the same time. Here was the [6-COURSE TASTING MENU]
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Started with the [HOKKAIDO SCALLOP ceviche] topped with salmon roe, sweet corn, okra, mizuna and honey yuzu dressing. Dinner started off well with this ceviche because everything tasted in harmony, especially the sweetcorn puree which was really comforting and the sweetcorn pieces which were a bit like Mexican corn while the okra added the charred taste to the whole thing and the silky scallops.

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FOIE GRAS TAMAGO CUSTARD with Asian mushrooms Steamed egg and foie gras sounds heavy but the foie gras has been turned into foam which turns into liquid when you spoon the egg hence every spoonful is infused with foiegras and the earthy mushrooms on top makes it even more delicious.

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BACALAOS confit served with chorizo garlic crumbs, clams, steamy dashi fish broth & charred spring onion oil For this dish, I like the way they have selected Bacalaos which is a slightly salted fish topped with crispy chorizo garlic crumbs and surrounded in a clams fish broth. Hence strong flavours here.
The crispy fish skin is real good!

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UNI SPAGHETTI topped with nori Unlike other pastas, this one is not creamy, again rich flavours in play here.
I think I could taste grounded dried scallops as something made it quite sweet.

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USDA PRIME SHORT RIB grilled served on hot spring stone with acacia honey roasted pumpkin & spicy nanami spinach Although, the beef was the star of the show, the vegetables were just as good because the spinach was really flavourful with a hint of spiciness and the pumpkin was out of this world. I have never tasted pumpkin as delicious as this because it was so soft that it just melted in your mouth and there were other flavours infused in the pumpkin.

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DESSERT SURPRISE:
Finished with the dessert which was a great ending.

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I would definitely recommend this place as all the courses were fantastic.

[Maison Es]
http://www.maison-es.com/
Address: 1A Star Street, Wanchai
Reservation: info@maison-es.com
Phone: 852-2521-8011
Opening hours:
Mon to Sat: 12:00nn to 11:00 pm
Sun: 12:00nn to 5:00 pm

Summer fiesta at [Spaghetti House]

I am so glad, Spaghetti house has launched the summer menu because they have my favourite pasta with lemon and other summery dishes.

While I was deciding what to order, I had the strawberry cooler which was refreshing as well as photogenic.

To my surprise, there was fresh melon at the bottom which makes such a different to tinned cocktail fruit.

Started off with the [Spaghetti with lemon, dill and shrimps] pasta and it tasted better than I had expected.
The spaghetti was al-dente infused with lemon yet you could also taste some slight bitterness of the lemon peel.
It would be great if there was a wedge of lemon served beside it because I like my lemon strong and the dill could have been stronger as it was just sprinkled on top so the flavour didn't really come out when it was cooking.

Next was the [Lobster claw salad with pomelo in white wine vinaigrette] which turned out to be such a big portion that it seemed good for three people. It was refreshing with pomelo meat bursting with sweetness and chunks of lobster claws.

Finished with the [Prosciutto, air dried beef and arugula pizza] which was loaded with Prosciutto and air dried beef.
The saltiness of the prosciutto and beef worked very well with the pizza while the arugula and balsamic vinegar balanced the flavour and heaviness.

[Spaghetti House]
http://www.spaghettihouse.com

[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.

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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.
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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.
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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.