New Hokkien Place

New restaurant openings in this area were not common let alone a decent one, so Ming Pavilion came as a welcoming addition when they opened their doors inside Island Shangri-la. The restaurant specializes in Hokkien Cuisine from Fujian Province, surprisingly another rarity in local dining scene.

New on the Block

We saw a series of sushi restaurant openings since COVID and that trend continues with Sushi Kanesaka being the latest entry. This Ginza-based Sushi-ya has grown into quite an empire now with multiple branches in Japan and elsewhere (some under the name Shinji by Kanesaka), and in Hong Kong, they have taken up the space that used to be Masa in CCB Tower. 

Best Tempura in Town

Took me a bit of effort to find my way to Tempura Suzuki before I realized they took up the space of the old Sushi Sase up on Ice House Street in Central – but I still ended up being the first to arrive at this new restaurant with only 8 seats in front of the kitchen counter. A few high-end tempura restaurants have opened in recent months, which is always a welcoming news. 

Best one without a star

We hop to Juxing Home (聚興家) a few MTR stops away in Mongkok for lunch on Sundays every now and then whenever we have a bigger group and want something slightly more than just a casual meal. While the place is often packed with customers at nights (it's also known as a popular late night hangout spot for chefs), during the day it's much quieter and hence more comfortable (with the food just as good)

Weekday Japanese Lunch 2: Tempura Jiro

I couldn’t believe my luck when I managed to get a seat at Tempura Jiro at the last minute. Good tempura restaurants are few and far between in Hong Kong so I have been trying for months to make a booking for this new restaurant on Stanley Street. And I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a spot made available for their lunch service just a couple of days ahead of time. I didn’t hesitate to hit “Confirm” to make the reservation. 

Sushi Hisayoshi

We went for sushi once again a few weekends ago at a new restaurant in TST. Saw my friend’s IG story about this place earlier and learned that this is the outpost for Tokyo’s Ginza Iwa in their second attempt to open a branch in this part of the world. This sushi-ya took up the space formerly occupied by a high-end ramen joint at the quieter section of Harbour City. The décor was classic with the pale wooden tones with a spacious U-shaped counter which can seat 15+ comfortably and another counter/private room at the back if they were able to operate in full capacity.

Cooking with Oranges (Part 1): Baked Fish with Orange-Fennel Salad

Recently, a friend of mine referred me to Jennifer of Trepunti Sicily, a Hongkonger who ran a farm on the ground and also an import/export business bringing many of the Sicilian produces and food products to this part of the world. I learned a great deal more about the regional ingredients and cooking just by a quick chat and message exchanges with her, and she even arranged to have a goodie box available for me to pick up with some of the seasonal produce including many of the citrus fruits. 

On a Streak

My streak of Italian meals continued with a lovely dinner at Osteria Marzia. I walked by the restaurant, located in a quieter street corner of Wanchai, more than a few times and intrigued by the elegant facade and the streams of customers coming through night and day, but this is only my first time stepping in and tried their food. 

Dolce Vita

I have been on a roll as far as having Italian food is concerned in this one week in November. After lunch at Estro on a Saturday afternoon then Sabatini on Monday evening, a few days later I was eating at Grissini of Grand Hyatt. I haven’t been back for a while and seems like they have gone through some minor renovation since then, and also a change at the helm with Chef Marcello Scognamiglio’s recent departure. 

But what’s not changed was the laid-back ambiance, and the menu drawing inspirations and classical cooking from around various Italian regions. That and their namesake grissini breadsticks, served while we were studying their menu. 

Their set lunch menu always represented excellent value, and one could choose from 2 or 3 courses with many choices and it’s reasonably priced, and that’s how we started with a few additional dishes to share. We started with a couple antipasti dishes. Yellowtail Carpaccio was one of the restaurant’s signature, with the crudo of yellowtail in thick slices, slightly cured and served with artichokes, sea asparagus and plenty of the aromatic olive oil on top. I love the fatty flavor. 

Vitello Tonnato done in traditional Piedmontese style is always my favorite, with slices of tender veal served chilled with a creamy sauce flavored with tuna. The l’uovo in camicia was the richest of the three appetizer dishes, served in a bowl with the soft-boiled egg mixed with potato espuma and melted Scamorza cheese with green kale and bread crumbs on top as garnishes. I figured that’s the most comfortable bite comes cooler winter months. 

For pasta, we went for the bowl of Scialatielli tossed with zucchini, basil and provolone cheese. At its onset it looked like the pasta dish was not laden with sauces but it sure tasted rich and complex with such simple combination of fresh ingredients. I couldn’t help but felt a sense of déjà vu when the main course of Baccala al Limone arrived. I had a similar dish a few weeks ago prepared by Chef Marcello and I enjoyed it so much that I tried to replicate the sauce in one of the dishes I prepared at home earlier. And it’s good for an encore this time, with pieces of codfish fillet, silky and slow-braised and served with an emulsified sauce prepared with fish broth and oil, and on top was more ingredients such as clams, mussels and capers. And to cap this off was the generous sprinkle of lemon zest giving the dish amazing aroma.

For dessert, Tiramisu was a given since that’s one of their most popular desserts, and this time I also tried their Brioche, served with the lovely sabayon infused with Moscato d’Asti on the side. I did prefer my desserts (especially an Italian one) sweeter but the brioche was perfectly made and served warm.  

What can I say? Life’s been treating me well lately and how appropriate there’s a perfect Italian phrase to describe this. 

(Meal was by Invitation)

When? November 12 2021
Where? Grissini, 2nd Floor, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai
Menu Highlights? Baccala al Limone
Drinks? Il Mosnel Franciacorta Brut Rose NV
Web: www.hongkong.grand.hyattrestaurants.com/restaurants-and-bars/grissini

Uni Omakase

I ventured to this new-ish hotel called ALVA in Shatin the other day for a omakase dinner at Mizutani restaurant. To be honest, I haven't heard much about the restaurant nor the hotel before, probably because of its distance from my home or office, but turned out it's worth my little road trip up north after work one evening. 

Oyster Hut

I saw on Facebook about the opening of a Japanese restaurant specializing in oyster dishes and was curious to give it a try the other night with my friends S and J. There’s no lack of oyster bars around town but I couldn’t recall one in an izakaya setting and focuses on ingredients directly imported from Japan. 

Suan Cai Beurre Blanc

I wish I could say this is entirely my idea, but this originally came from a dish I had recently, when the chef prepared the seared threadfin fish with fermented cabbage, fish broth and chili oil, a dish said to be inspired by the Sichuan classic “Suan Cai Yu” (hot and sour fish with fermented vegetables 酸菜魚). Taking the cue, I decided to do my own version, switching the local threadfin fish with the pack of Patagonian Toothfish which I received from the online seafood purveyor Qwehli served with Beurre Blanc sauce made based on the traditional recipe with the addition of “suan cai” (fermented vegetables 酸菜) and fatty pork. 

Challenge Accepted

Before the Easter long weekend, the team at Qwehli has generously sent me a few of their products for me to try and see what I could do with them. One of which was their Atlantic Salmon which was farmed in the North Sea in Denmark, and delivered to me as the frozen whole fillet with the skin on. I took it on as a challenge to see how many dishes I could create with this 2kg piece, and as it turned out, quite a lot actually.

Totally Off-Menu

“Everything you are having are not going to be in the menu” Chef David assured us as we began to look at the menu figuring out what we are getting at our lunch at Neighborhood one Friday afternoon. While the statement was not entirely accurate, it’s true that we did end up with most of the dishes that I haven’t tried before at this restaurant or anywhere else. 

Seafood Boil

Seafood Boil is always a good option if you need to entertain at home with little time to prepare. Not sure if it’s an American-only thing but you can see different versions of seafood boil dishes served at every household starting at around the July 4 weekend all through summer, from New England to New Orleans and from Chesapeake Bay to San Francisco Bay.  

Quick Weekend Sushi

I will be lying if I say the food quality and variety has not been taken a hit since the start of the pandemic, and the most noticeable were the dishes served at sushi restaurants in town, where they relied heavily on fresh ingredients shipping frequently from mostly Japan. But that didn’t stop us from trying to find one that were still decent especially travelling to Japan (or anywhere for that matter) became next to impossible these days. 

Meat and More

Our craving for meat brought us back to the Yakiniku specialist Nikushou the other night. And their seasonal tasting menu offered more than just their signature dishes of beef from various cuts prepared right in front of the customers.

Sushi Craving Satisfied

With the coronavirus outbreak still raging, that means we are eating out far less than we normally would, and instead opted for either cooking at home or ordering takeaway dishes from restaurants. That also means that in a way, we treasure more of the time we got to spend at an actual restaurant seating and enjoy the dishes and drinks properly served – something we used to take for granted.

Seafood Recipe Part 2: Hake and Potatoes

I followed up with a rustic-style seafood main course using another pack sent by the purveyor Qwehli (see my previous post for the introduction). Hake is one of the fish species I love working with, for its firm texture and versatility, slightly richer than cod and leaner than black cod. One I received was caught wild off the Atlantic Coast off France and came in vacuumed and frozen pack of around 300g - good for 3-4 person.

Seafood Recipe Part 1 - Red Mullet Ceviche

I have to go back quite a few pages to see the last time I shared a recipe here – August 2018, to be exact. Not that I haven’t been cooking at home, just that I haven’t had much time to trace back the steps to create some of the dishes I have prepared. But when the team from the French seafood purveyor Qwehli offered to send me a few sample products to try recently, I thought I would share my experience with a couple simple recipes.