Get A Room

A dinner conversation with friends one evening led us to a weekend lunch at Caprice a few months later. We haven't been back since mid summer so when our friend suggested that we organized one for a bigger group, we obliged and made the booking.

Classic Set Menu

I felt pampered when I spent one evening eating at Cuisine Cuisine IFC inside one of their private rooms with a perfect harbor view. It's been a while since my last visit and this time, we were presented with their new set dinner menu, offered as part of their "Hong Kong Handover 25th Anniversary" promotion. 

New Spot and New Word

Chef Sai To and the Mira Dining team have such a unique concept in transforming this new spot in IFC that they invented a new word, “Chinesology”, to be the new name for the restaurant, taking up what used to be The French Window. While contemporary Chinese cuisine was obviously not something revolutionary, I was curious what this new dining venue would bring when I was invited to a dinner tasting late last month. 

Bit of Everything

I was glad to have met up some friends over dinner at Shikigiku at IFC before the July 1 long weekend. I have visited the restaurant – both this branch and another one in tst - a few times before for their signature tempura menu, but this time we went for their wider tasting menu, which offered dishes in various styles from their kitchen. 

Weekend Spanish Lunch

I increasingly felt La Rambla is becoming what Catalunya aspired to be before this restaurant of the same group closed a few years ago. The more central location (in IFC) meant it's much easier to draw a crowd day or night, and the open kitchen and spacious, well-lit dining area makes the venue much livelier, and of course, it's all backed by the same level of excellent food and drink selection.

Siesta Fiesta

There’s a sense of déjà vu when we went for the weekend brunch at La Rambla a few weekends ago. The nice spread of savory and sweet Spanish dishes at the counter did remind me of the good old Catalunya in Wanchai with their sumptuous weekend buffet before it closed down a couple years ago. Of course, such resemblance was hardly a coincidence given both restaurants were operated by the same group.

Snake Soup and Much More...

If I really need to find one reason to join the recent dinner at Cuisine Cuisine hosted by the PR team of Mira Dining (not that it’s really necessary), that would be for the rare opportunity to try Chef Lee Yuk Lam’s famous snake soup. Chef Lee (李煜霖師傅), or Lam-gor as some people affectionately call him since his days of being a resident chef for the rich and famous and also at a hidden speakeasy, is known for his preparation of fine-dining Cantonese dishes, and among them, the Imperial Scholar Snake Soup. It’s often said he’s one of the few chefs who mastered the art of making the most true-to-tradition version of this dish, which is popular among locals during the colder season.

Whimsical Bar at IFC Mall

Recently I was at Dear Lilly, a new restaurant/bar concept on the rooftop of the IFC Mall, and it did change my impression somewhat of restaurants under the Dining Concept group in general. I don’t know what this site was before, but with the setting like a glasshouse right in the top shopping mall with unobstructed view of the Hong Kong skyline, you already got half the winning formula to be the popular place for anything from leisure lunch to afternoon tea to happy hour drinks. They don’t take reservations, and by the time we arrived, there’s already quite a waiting line for people wanting a drink and a bite, and some were just happy to take a snap of the romantic interior on their mobile phone.

Impromptu Date Night

I felt Hong Kong has been cursed with a long streak of terrible weather lately (either unbearable heat or non-stop rain and thunderstorm), but when the sky briefly cleared up this week, we managed to enjoy the breath-taking view from our table at The French Window one weeknight for an impromptu date of sort, courtesy of the restaurant PR who invited us over for a tasting of their new menu by their new chef Simon Kealy.

The Good Old Restaurant, More New Dishes

"Let me know next time when you come over again so I can show you more new dishes" I don't think when Chef Gauillaume said that he expect I would come back so soon after my lunch at Caprice back in June. But here we are again for another lunch only a couple of weeks later, since CYY missed out the first one and she wanted to make up for it.

Caprice in the Summer

One subtle change to the weekend lunch menu at Caprice recently was the expansion of their set menu with additional choices (adding a separate soup section after the appetizers), and a new 4-course option for those wanting a more substantial meal than the usual 2-course or 3-course menu.

"Open The New Year" Meal

On the last day of our Chinese New Year long weekend, we had another stellar lunch at Caprice. We did something similar at around the same time last year with my brother, sis-in-law and our nephew, taking a recess from the traditional new year festivities with a leisurely lunch at a much slower pace. So we decided to do a repeat this year - this time with just us two.

Nin Chor Saam (年初三), or the third day of Chinese New Year was traditionally known as "Chek Hau" (赤口 which literally meant Red Mouth Day), during which many people often refrained from meeting friends and relatives as the day was thought to be prone to arguments. So it made perfect sense that we saved this day for a little "us" time at our favorite restaurant. And it was a particularly gorgeous day to be sitting by the window at this stunning dining room enjoying our long lunch with the clear skyline view across the harbor.

Weekend Lunch and Pommes Souffle

I was not sure what Chef Fabrice thought when I actually took up his offer to teach me to cook in his kitchen, but I was pretty excited. A few months ago I was at his restaurant Caprice at the Four Seasons Hong Kong when a bowl of Pommes Souffle appeared as the side dish to our main course, and I was fascinated by the taste and texture.

Happy Birthday to Me

We often use the occasion of birthday celebrations as an excuse to check out any fancy new restaurant in town, but this time, we decided to go back to one of our favorites, the tried-and-true Caprice at the Four Seasons, to celebrate my own birthday.

Life has been quite hectic for both of us lately so the prospect of a slow and quiet dinner at a place we have been perfectly comfortable with was something that we eagerly anticipate. We were also excited to see what new dishes Chef Fabrice and the team would bring to us, as October came the time for the new menu to be introduced for the autumn game season.

Breakfast at Blue Bar

As much as locals were obsessed with all-you-can-eat meals offered in many places around town, it seems like no one really paid attention to the breakfast buffets, as offered in most hotels, for a meal which some may argue as "the most important one of the day". Guess that's just something I would never understand, as I do enjoy hotel breakfasts, especially when I am traveling.

Celebrating Le French GourMay

When it comes to a place to chill after work, or for a casual late evening nightcap without loading up for a full-blown meal, Caprice Bar is certainly the one on top of our "to-go" list. Not so much of "the best kept secret" anymore, as it's often packed, this place at the Four Seasons offered consistent snack and small bites in a luxurious yet cozy environment, while turning down a notch from the formal dining experience at the proper restaurant next door. Of course, needless to say it also offered one of the best cheese selections in town - something we always order every time we are there.

Tin Anniversary, or we call it an annual gourmet celebration

Just when I was plotting where we go to celebrate our wedding anniversary in early December, I remembered Chef Fabrice of Caprice mentioned the upcoming chef's table behind the kitchen when I visited the restaurant a few months ago.

Shane's Last Call at St Betty

My previous experiences at St Betty has been hit or miss - while I love their Sunday roast for a casual weekend day out, my dinner here on a few occasions were forgetable, both in terms of food and services. With the location and the team behind the place has every potential to reach for greatness but for whatever reasons it simply fell a bit short. But as words came out that head chef Shane Osborn - who first made his name at London's Michelin-starred Pied a Terre - is moving on, I think it's good to have another visit on his last day at work in this kitchen.

Day at the Four Seasons (Part 2) - Lunch at Caprice

After spending the morning being an "unofficial intern" inside the pastry kitchen at Four Seasons Hong Kong, we emerged from the hotel basement and arrived at Caprice upstairs, as two regular customers. I always know lunch tables at the restaurant were hard to score, but little did I know they were booked up not weeks, but months in advance. We actually only got ours due to a last minute no-show that morning - whoever that decided not to come at the end, we thank you for sparing us that table.

A Grand Affair - Perrier-Jouët Lunch at Inagiku

For a second year, I was invited to the Perrier-Jouët luncheon hosted by its Cellar Master Hervé Deschamps. Last year I had a blast at g.e. of the luxe manor, and this time the lunch was at Central's Inagiku Restaurant right next to the Four Seasons. It's been quite a while since I last visited the restaurant and I was also curious to see how the matching of champagne and Japanese food would turn out. I arrived at the cocktail reception right on time at The Box upstairs with the Perrier-Jouët non-vintage Grand Brut before heading down to the private room at Inagiku, for food and of course, more champagne. The room was tastefully decorated with champagne bottles and beautifully arranged bouquets of the iconic white peonies, and I am always amazed at them putting all these efforts of decoration and arrangement just for the occasion.