Strong Contender

Work brought me to Seoul for a few days in January and I did find time to check out a few restaurants on my free time. I was quite looking forward to the trip because it's literally been decades since I last set foot in Korea, but then I wasn't as excited when I knew Korea is freezingly cold at this time of year. (one morning the temperature changed from -6C the previous day to -2C and they called this warm - go figure)

Rooftop Teppanyaki

Forty-five has quickly become the talk of the town with a few fine restaurants opening in quick succession in this complex spanning multiple floors on top of Gloucester Tower. I had a chance to visit two of their outlets in March, starting with Kaen Teppanyaki in one Monday evening.  

Weekend Brunch American Style

There’s definitely a modern American chophouse vibe at Stonesal, the Shenzhen restaurant we stopped by for lunch on the second day of my weekend trip. The 2-level structure on the ground level of a commercial building in Nanshan District featured a large meat aging room, a well-stocked centerpiece bar in the center of the dining area, a spacious patio with the perfect view of the park right outside, the open kitchen laced with state-of-the-art equipment, and a few private rooms carefully decorated in various themes… all of these spelt upscale and quiet luxurious, something I didn’t quite expect to see in our neighboring town up north. 

Charming Steakhouse Treat

Recently I was at the new Regent Hong Kong for a dinner hosted by their PR team. It's my first visit to the hotel after it went through a major renovation and the name change, and one couldn't ask for a better welcome than being led into the private room in their legendary Steakhouse restaurant with the long dining table and a sumptuous spread of dishes awaiting. 

Steakhouse Wine Dinner

I am never a big fan of "wine dinner" hosted by wineries or shops - the thought of having to sit through a meal with wine snobs swirling and sniffing and comparing tasting notes just wasn't my cup of tea. But recently I did join one featuring a vertical flight of Sena wines at a steakhouse because I haven't done a serious tasting on Chilean wines before and am curious for the presentation of five of the same wines in different vintages. 

Teppanyaki Fun

I didn't do Teppanyaki dinner as often as I have done before but my recent dinner at Crown Super Deluxe in LKF did bring about good memories of those days when my friends and I ate at a certain famous Teppanyaki chain on a weekly basis. While Crown Super Deluxe looks more like a rich, lavish cousin of that well-known chain which popularized the concept of Teppanyaki in the US, they did keep the relaxed and fun part in making sure every customer who dropped by had a memorable experience regardless of occasion. 

Steakhouse Treats

Turn of the year saw a new chef on board at Henry, the steakhouse at Rosewood Hong Kong with Bay Area native Mario Tolentino giving the place a West Coast twist with some new dishes on the menu. Fast forward a few months later we were there to check out some of the new dishes over dinner in early June. 

Unlimited Servings

We caught up with our friends A and C over Sunday Brunch at Henry of Rosewood Hong Kong a few weekends ago, as we knew they were always up for good food. I enjoyed my last visit when this Texas-inspired smokehouse first opened more than a year ago and I would be interested to see how Chef Nate and his team evolves over what’s been a challenging times in restaurant industry in the past year. 

New Smokehouse in Town

I came to Henry at Rosewood Hong Kong with a lot of expectations when I was invited for a dinner tasting there just a few weeks ago.. A proper steakhouse was few and far between in Hong Kong, especially if I started counting out those with style but no substance. With the hotel owner eager to please and spare no expense in doing so, and with Chef Nate Green, which came with a reputation for being a grill expert from his days at Rhoda, at the helm, there's every reason to be hopeful.

Best Sunday Roast in Town

We are always on the lookout for a place that serves proper Sunday roast – you will be surprised that such restaurants were few and far between. The latest one we tried was the Mandarin Grill, which offers the Sunday brunch set menu with a number of roast items available.

Birthday Meal at a Steakhouse

After a few evenings of feasting in the past weeks in the month of birthday celebration, I decided to go for something simple on the actual day, and dinner at Porterhouse in Lan Kwai Fong seems to fit that criteria. They were running a new promotional menu called so I thought this is the perfect excuse to go check it out.

Summer Macau Stay-cation Part 3: Family Friendly Star

I found it kinda ironic that Grand Lisboa Hotel, the property that houses one of the biggest casino floors in the world under its roof, also features a few very good restaurants well-suited for families. After we had a great Italian feast at the friendly Casa Don Alfonso the night before, we visited The Kitchen right next door for lunch before we called an end to our quick Macau stay-cation.

Classic Steakhouse Dinner

Late last month I was at Grand Hyatt Steakhouse checking out the new menu introduced by their new head chef Fernando Gojan. The restaurant is now one of the few hotel steakhouse remaining in town, featuring a classic menu with focus on “artisanal” beef from ranches around the world, plus seafood, all the sides and desserts, as what you would see in any high-end steakhouses.

Steakhouse Makeover

There's a constant carousal of restaurants opening and closing in Lan Kwai Fong's California Tower - just a fact of life in this highly competitive area in terms of F&B business. But this time it's a case of new wine in an old bottle, with the steakhouse Porterhouse recently got a new owner with the new makeover. I haven't been to the old Porterhouse before so I can't tell how dramatic was the change when I went for dinner recently, but I was assured those are changes for the good, replacing everything from the chef to the concept to the menu and to the tableware ("basically everything except the interior", I was told)

Tokyo in 40: Cheapo Steakhouse

After an afternoon at Ghibli Museum and wandering on the streets of Kichijoji for a mini zakka crawl, I decided to stick around the neighborhood for dinner before catching my midnight flight home. There's no lack of choices of places to eat near the train station, either inside the food halls of shopping centers and department stores, or inside a few blocks of narrow alleys lined with bars and izakayas (called Harmonica Yokocho)

New Steakhouse in Town

Everyone at our table walked in and asked the same question - "what was this place before it's converted into a fancy steakhouse?" (by the way it was a spa, according to Google Map) A few evenings ago we were at Wolfgang's Steakhouse, an import from New York City, on their first day of business. The restaurant took over this vast space on the street level on the quiet Duddell Street in Central and has turned into that classic steakhouse look, with the classy façade, dark wooden décor with gold accent, with the bar in front near the reception and dining area further back. We were all amazed at how this hardly noticeable store space has gone through such transformation (hence the question)

Meat Craving Satisfied at Beefbar

Sometimes restaurant names can be deceptive, but not so much with beefbar, except the fact that it's not exactly a bar but a proper modern steakhouse on Ice House Street in Central specializes in, of course, beef. I am not a steakhouse person, often preferred to enjoy the big slab of meat at the comfort of my own home in pajamas and slippers rather than having to suit up for a formal meal outside. But I was curious to check out this place after hearing all the positive reviews since opening late last year.

Steak and Cocktail Night

Last week I was treated to a steak dinner with cocktail pairings at Morton's at Sheraton in TST. I know, steakhouses sounded like something of an item only in yester-year, where my parents' generation would go for a big celebration of some sort, but to me, there is still this special charm about dining in a classic, American-style steakhouse, completed with clubby decor, leather booths, slow, jazzy music in the background, generous portion of food, and gracious service.

On a roll with new restaurants - The Continental

There's been a number of new restaurant openings in Hong Kong recently, and this evening we dropped by to one of those, The Continental, in Admiralty.

The restaurant, only officially opened this past Monday, took over the space formerly housed the fine Italian restaurant Domani on the terrace of the Pacific Place complex. Under the high ceiling with glass panel surrounding the structure sandwiched in between tall office buildings, the vast dining room features dim lighting and dark decor, booth tables on one side and simple wooden table and comfy sofas with green upholstery on the other. It's quite a comfortable setting. There's a little bar near the entrance for a drink or quick bite, and there's also an outdoor dining space which I think would be great when the evenings get cooler, probably in a few weeks' time.

High Street Wine Dinner

I was at the Cape Mentelle Wine Dinner hosted by local food magazine Crave and the winery owner LVMH at Wooloomooloo Prime in Causeway Bay last Thursday evening. 

The restaurant sits on the high floors at the new Midtown Building near Times Square, which advertised to be the new landmark in this busy shopping district. Quite a few new restaurants opened in this building lately, including Penthouse by Harlan G which occupies the top floor (and a new sushi restaurant by the same owner one floor below), and also the casual Italian restaurant bearing Jamie Oliver's name.