Skye 1st anniversary set lunch

As a fan of Gary Rhodes, I went to SKYE for lunch to try the 1st anniversary set lunch inspired by Gary Rhodes.

As it was a clear day, there were beautiful views from the window.

Started with bread which was served with butter, salt and pink peppercorns.
It was such a treat with pink peppercorns because they have a lovely aroma that doesn't have a strong spicy kick to it.

It was followed by white tomato soup which tasted like tomato consomme mixed with milk.

Autumn foie gras:
This was silky smooth foie gras with tart berries and I loved the way the caramelized brittle gave it a touch of sweetness enhancing the flavour.

Moving on to the truffled mac and cheese which was cheesy yet balanced by the spinach leaves and earthy mushrooms.

The lamb loin was tender and juicy drizzled with appetizing gravy.
Since the pink peppercorns were still on the table, I put some on the lamb and it tasted fab.

Finished with the bread and butter pudding which is the best I have ever tasted because there was a strong vanilla taste and the top had a crisp caramelized sugar crunch to it just how Gary demonstrated in his video on how to make bread and butter pudding.

[SKYE]
310 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay.

Spicy night at [THE BALCONY]

I don't normally dine in this building but one of my favourite Chefs is there so I decided to try it out.
He said the food was going to be spicy but I underestimated how spicy it would be.

Anyway tried three spicy items: chili lobster soup, spicy clams and spicy whelk.
It was impressive how the spicy taste was different for each dish and not the same dead boring chili.
The lobster soup was fantastic because it was loaded with my favourite Basil and the lobster was fresh and it even had roe as well!

The spicy whelk in wine, obviously spicy had Sichuan peppercorns so it had a Sichuan touch to it.

The chili clams were the spiciest!!!
I would rate that this one had a strong chili taste and you can visually see how spicy it was with that orange chili oil surrounding it on the left!

The bread was buttered with something unique, it tasted like the ginger oil that you get with Chinese chicken but it was actually lemongrass!!

Normally I can taste what is in the ingredients but this Chef is one of the the good Chefs that can confuse your taste buds!!

There was blueberry and beetroot soup which was an interesting pairing however I managed to taste tomatoes in it.

If you have tried Jimmy's kitchen, there is a famous dry curry and the dry curry lamb rack tastes exactly like that with a crispy coating that tastes like curry bits of short crumbs!

On the menu was the Kiev which bursts out with filling when you pop the knife into into it.
I loved the crispy coating!

The dessert finished with this Japanese inspired sweet potato mash mixed with plum and yakult, again my taste buds were confused because I tasted apple.
It was paired with soothing ginger icecream!!

Definitely will be back soon!

[THE BALCONY]
https://www.facebook.com/TheBalcony118/

[Ashima Yunnan Restaurant] Yunnan specialist in Tai Koo

I love Yunnan food (known as the DIAN cuisine) but there are not many places for it.
There is one in Kowloon City but there are more options here like soup, strange insects and Chinese cheeses!!
Started off with a memorable glutinous rice tea which was really fragrant.
Unfortunately, they give you some pickles which are charged.

Baby chairs are available:

Here was the food I had:
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As a carbs lover, I got the rice with peas and Chinese ham which was delicious because it was fluffy and tasty flavoured by the ham and sweet peas.

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The beef with lemon was an interesting combination so I decided to try it out and the taste was surprisingly good because the lemon made it appetizing.

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Chinese cheese was a must for me but there were two types on the menu Rubing and Rushan.
I had to ask the staff which one was the savoury one because one is sweet and crispy served with rose!
The texture of the Rubing was like halloumi cheese flavoured by the saltiness of the ham.
It was slightly gamey but the ham balanced it.

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Ashima Yunnan Restaurant:
18 Tai Koo Wan Road, Tai Koo Shing

A decent bowl of Taiwanese Beef noodles

There are lots of Taiwanese beef noodles in Hong Kong but not many taste good.
To me a good bowl of Taiwanese beef noodles is a combination of a strong beef broth, pickles, beef and most importantly the noodles.
Tristar is opened by a local celeb and here Taiwanese husband so you might catch other celebs dining here.

Anyway, I tried two noodles, the beef noodles and the noodles in spicy sauce.

The beef noodles were satisfying because the broth was strong and the beef was tasty. The broth was slightly spicy which made it more appetizing.

The tossed noodles were good because each strand was evenly flavoured by the spicy sauce.

Finished with the chocolate drink with extra herbal jelly which had a lovely thick milk foam cap to it.

I didn't try the pearls but they seem worth trying because the size is relatively smaller than the other ones in HK.

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Tristar Kitchen:
https://www.facebook.com/tristarkitchen/

Tsuta opens second Hong Kong branch in TST

Tsuta is Michelin-starred ramen from Tokyo with it's first branch in CWB and now they have just opened a second branch in TST.

The TST branch is conveniently opposite the traffic lights so you don't have to walk far from the MTR station.

I ordered the MISO SOBA because it is exclusive here and I like MISO anyway.

When it came, the broth was dark and strong that you could smell the miso ramen coming your way.

The ramen they use is different to the one they use for the truffle and salt which I have previously tried in CWB.

Perhaps, I am biased but I liked this one because the miso was strong and the noodles hung the broth well.

You can see specks in the noodle and they are slightly flat and broader than the one used for the truffle broth.

The sweetcorn and diced onions gave it extra depth while the broth had a really strong unami taste as there are porcini mushrooms in it.

The menu:

Vlog at Tsuta:

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Tsuta 蔦

Shop G111, G/F, Gateway Arcade, Harbour City, 17 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

[b DIM SUM] Legit steamy raunchy sexy steamed buns

Dimsum is a must in Hong Kong just like Roast dinners in UK.
What makes this joint so special is the presentation of some of the dimsums.
From the outside, it just looks like the usual dimsum joint with Chinese traditional tea pots and calligraphy on the walls.

However when you take a look at the menu you will find some fancy and stylish items!!
They have the basic dimsums like hargau and shaomai but I decided to order the fancy items.
In this day and age everyone is looking for something to showoff on social media and these are just made for it!!

b DIM SUM have taken it a step further to get attention with a touch of raunchiness with steamed buns that take the form of boobs.

Their restaurant name in Chinese also has a sexy twist as it is called 凸點 [pronounced dat dim] which means protruding nipples.
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Inside these steamed buns are runny custard filling which will give us the visual pleasure of milk coming out if we play with these buns.

It would be great if the filling was condensed milk or coconut puree to get the visual effect of real milk.

Once a month they could serve specials like bigger ones as my males friends have been suggesting.
For men, it is a fact that the bigger the better!
As for the taste, it tasted delicious and not too sweet while the bun was soft and moist.
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The next photogenic item was the black and white Tai Chi bun.
It was filled with abalone, mushrooms and some whelks which give it a nice unami flavour.
I really liked this one because of the rich gravy.

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Another photogenic item was the BBQ pork swan pastry which was filled with BBQ pork.

An elegant item to order, delish morsels of BBQ encased in a crisp pastry.

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Last but not least was the black steamed bun which is made of charcoal and honey.
It was impressive that you could taste the honey yet it was not too sweet.

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Anyway, I will definitely be looking forward to their new dishes.

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Restaurant : 凸點 b DIM SUM
Address: 198 Sai Yeung Choi Street, Mong Kok,