Monday at Sushi Shin

一個星期中, 周一可能是日本料理店生意最冷淡的一天. 不知有多少人是聽了Anthony Bourdain在Kitchen Confidential書裡面"千萬不要在周一在餐廳裡點海鮮"的忠告, 所以壽司店可能不會是大家這天外出吃飯的頭號選擇. 但對我們來說, 人少反而是個好處 - 甚麼人氣長龍食店, 無論多好吃, 要等要擠的, 也從來不是我們的cup of tea, 能舒服自在的嘗一頓飯, 甚麼天也沒有分別.

前個星期和朋友到大坑的一家"隱蔽小店"嘗了頓精彩的"住家菜", 行經這家相熟的壽司小店, 方發現原來已有好幾個月沒有光顧. As a matter of fact, 這幾個月甚至沒有"正正經經"的吃過一餐像樣的sushi. 於是在緊接的一星期裡來了這裡兩遍: 周末獨自walk-in嘗了一頓午餐之後, 順便訂了隔幾天兩個人晚飯的位置. 沒有特別原因, 就隨便揀在這天.

周一晚, 我們來到門前, 才七點半還不到 - 這是個relaxed的平日, 我們寧願稍為早一點開始, 好避開晚飯的黃金時段. 推門進去, 看到是店內少見的清靜, 只有寥寥數位客人在進膳, 還有後方廂房內的私人宴會; 比起前兩天午飯時間的"盛況", 猶如"地獄"與"天堂"之別, 當然, 如果明白supply與demand的原理, 原因也不難想像. 坐進了壽司吧靠寬敞的角落, 師傅已遞上沾了芝麻粒的淮山作前菜 - 簡單利落的amuse bouche. 平時主理壽司的是阿偉和阿傑兩位師傅, 不過這天偉師傅休假了 - 其實反正人不多,  有傑師傅在壓場已綽綽有餘. 侍者遞上酒單, 這裡的清酒選擇並不多, 亦不算出眾, 心裡嘀咕早知自己帶一支來算了, 最後揀了初孫的純米大吟醸. Decent, 只是有點predictable.

坐在壽司吧, 當然連menu也懶得看. 師傅先逐一遞上數款白身魚: 左口魚, 池魚, 針魚及油甘魚腩. 針魚是時令的海鮮, 固然是鮮味不凡, 油甘魚腩也不錯. 接著來了兩片toro - "大拖羅"用上chilled(冰鮮)的, 未經過急凍就空運直送到店; 和"普通"的急凍toro一先一後的品嚐, 頓時高下立見 - 這亦解釋了為甚麼在日本嚐的sashimi很多時都比在其他地方好. 燒帶子夾著紫菜, 只簡單灑了海鹽調味, 已經是一絕. 一輪sashimi以後, 換上了sushi. 海鰻搭配yuzu zest, 味道清新; 嘗了一口雲丹壽司之後, 你會明白為甚麼晚飯的價錢會比午餐高上好幾倍.

本來omakase我一向也很少向師傅亂點菜, 不過也忍不了口要了一件秋刀魚, 因為快要off season的了而我可不想要等下年秋季才有機會再嚐. 秋刀魚算是很"麻煩"的魚, 稍欠新鮮的話, 不用甚麼食家也很容易吃得出, 雖然季節已臨尾聲, 但這一件也很好, 還很肥美.

傑師傅不快不慢, 邊聊天邊飲邊做, 不知不覺就一個晚上,  而且不單是我們, 所有人客看來都很愉快, 難怪不少人認定這裡是全城其中一家最好的. 後來來了一件鮪魚魚鮫壽司, 味道絕不下於剛嘗過的chilled o-toro, 再加上toro飯團和一碗暖呼呼的天婦羅烏冬, 一輪又一輪的美食剛好足夠把前幾天下雨天加上monday blues帶來的抑鬱一掃而空.

Not to order seafood on Monday? said who?

details:
when? November 8 2010
where? Sushi Shin, G/F 110-114 Tung Lo Wan Road
menu highlights? Chilled Toro Sashimi
drinks? 初孫 純米大吟醸

A time for everything - Otto e Mezzo

There's an obvious reason why October is always my favorite month of the year, and a lot not-so-obvious ones. It's about the only time of the year that one can truly appreciate the pleasantness of scrolling on the street in Hong Kong, feeling the gentle breeze and admiring the clear sky, and often the time when we have the fullest moon of the year. As we bid farewell to the gruesome hot and humid days, this is also the time when we see buckets after buckets of in-season delicacies start showing up in the supermarkets and grocery stores - oysters, hairy crabs, just to name a few.

Oh of course, it's also hard to overlook the fact that October is the white truffle season - from the numerous emails, newspaper articles, tweets from restaurants around town announcing the arrival of this so-called "diamond of the kitchen" from Alba. (a friend of mine received 8 of those in one day) This is not surprising since just the mere mentioning of the word truffles in any menu item almost gave you the automatic right to charge 50% more than normal.

With that in mind, when the time comes to decide where to go to celebrate an October birthday, it seems like a no-brainer that Umberto Bombana's Otto e Mezzo is the ideal choice, especially what we are talking about is MY birthday and Chef Bombana is known as the best in the trade as long as cooking truffle dishes are concerned. Perhaps the reason why we have waited for so long to try this restaurant is that we subconsciously think October is THE best time for him to leave a first impression.

We have little doubt about Mr Bombana's ability to deliver perfectly-executed fine meals consistently - after all our previous experiences with him at Toscana of the former Ritz-Carlton and The Drawing Room never disappoint. And we were delighted to see the grand maestro mingling with guests and supervising his staff as we walked inside the comfortable yet stylish dining room just as darkness begins to fall - dim but appropriately lighted space with minimalist table decorations, no flashy or unnecessary stuff that does nothing but shouted "snobs".

We were seated at a table by the window which gave us a good view of the entire restaurant. The place's located on the second floor so don't expect a jaw-dropping view but it nonetheless gave us a sense of tranquility, overlooking the quiet Chater Street in Central as the day's drawing to a close.

As we are surveying across the tables surrounding us, it's no surprise that almost every table opted for the treasured white truffle dishes this evening - a fanatic couple next to us almost refused to eat anything unless there were truffle flakes scattered on top of the dish and even went to the extreme of keep sniffing at every dishes like a ***, or drug addicts, if you might. I guess they were so self-indulged that they didn't realize the funny scene they were making of themselves by doing that. Not wanting to bore ourselves and our taste buds, we instead decided to supplement the tasting menu with just a couple white truffle dishes to share - to eat, not sniff, of course.

The dinner's absolutely gorgeous - quite possibly our best of the year so far, except a couple meals we had in South Africa. The scrambled "taiyouran" eggs and risotto - both served with white truffles in abundance and prepared by Mr Bombana by the table - were of course unforgettably divine, as we both sort of took for granted from this restaurant and from this man. With the dining room soon getting full as the evening progresses, the entire place's quickly filled with this enticing aroma of the "white diamond".

My main course of beef duo - tenderloin and short ribs served in red wine sauce - was predictable (like the one we had at The Drawing Room) yet still delicious no matter how many times we have tried before. I also liked the contrast of two vastly different cuts being prepared differently but served as one dish. But it came as a surprise to us that the common verdict of our favorite course belongs to the angelhair with cherry tomatoes and lobster - it's not at all eye-opening or creative but simply fresh and harmonious in flavors. Classic Italian dish at its best. Nothing in particular to write home about for other dishes such as foie gras with caramelized pears or the dessert of almond cake and chestnut icecream, but we nonetheless enjoyed them much.

Wine list is concise with good variety. Our Nebbiolo d'Alba showed floral yet earthy nose which matched well with the unique aroma of that of the truffles', was medium-bodied with predominantly black fruit flavor and wrapped in mellow and smooth tannin, a sign of graceful maturity. It's very approachable both in terms of its taste and price - especially when compared with its more famous neighbors.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven... I wonder if God's enjoying a dish with white truffles as He gave us the verse. I was sure reminded of this when I had mine. Despite the hefty dinner tab, I have a feeling that it won't be too long for us to return to this Michelin-star contender - hopefully before the end of this truffle season.

details:
when? October 16 2010
where? 8½ Otto e Mezzo, Alexandra House, Central
menu highlights? Everything with white truffles
drinks? Luca Abrate "Ceisa" Nebbiolo d'Alba DOC 1999

Best.Sausage.In.Town

This new restaurant serves the best sausage in town. Enough said.


Portabello - stuffed with mixed mushrooms (portabello, champignons, porcini), caramelized onions and sage. Served on signature BRAT bun, dijon mustard, and some extra caramelized onions as condiment. This is what I ordered - everything's great - except I can certainly live with more mustard and more condiments. The more the better.

This place's in Soho (and the lower part of Elgin). Here's their website: www.brat.com.hk. They called themselves "Purveyor of Awesome Sausages" and deservedly so. If you are sausage lovers like us, don't just come, RUN to this place before words got out. I bet soon enough it will be swamped with people.

details:
when? September 25 2010
where? brat, 7 elgin street, hong kong
menu highlights? sausages! more than 10 to choose from.

Encore @Tim's Kitchen

Not too often did we find ourselves returning to the same restaurant in quick succession, but we did draw exception every now and then, and this Monday evening was one such occasion. It's my father's bday and when we suggested two decent Chinese restaurants to pick from for celebration, that's what he chose, so Tim's Kitchen that is. (the other one's The Chairman, just in case you wonder)

Since our last visit in June, Tim's Kitchen has undergone quite a number of changes actually, so in a way it's somewhat new to us - it's moved to a bigger and nicer venue a few blocks down the street with a more upscale decor, and the menu has greatly expanded (I also heard whispers saying that they inevitably raised the price for some items in the menu). Presumably with a larger kitchen and staff team, they are now able to serve dim sum daily for lunch, and have more choices of a la carte dish for dinner.

Nonetheless, we ended up repeating some of its signature dishes, plus a few more new ones. The Steamed Crab Claws in Egg White (蛋白蒸蟹鉗) is still my favorite of the evening - the claw was de-shelled, exposing the meat inside, and was steamed with superior broth and egg white. It's delicately prepared, nicely presented, with melt-in-your-mouth texture and rich flavors. This time we also tried to do a crab claw 2-ways course, with the second dish being the deep-fried stuffed crab claws (百花炸釀蟹鉗). Even though we probably had this dozens of time before as this is a common dish in banquets, I think this one just blew the rest of competition away by a long mile.

Water melon soup (冬瓜盅) has always been our favorite summer "dish" - and its portion is just perfect for four of us and is full of various ingredients - we enjoyed that as much as we did the first time. We completed our meal with three additional a la carte dishes - chicken with black beans , stir-fry chinese cabbage with garlic, and satay beef rice rolls. They are not fancy but nonetheless delicious.

For dessert, we ordered 4 huge Chinese birthday buns - which unfortunately, weren't as good as some others we had elsewhere. I don't know what's a bigger problem - not enough filling, or slightly undercooked dough. That certainly discouraged us from returning a third time for its newly introduced dim sum menu any time soon.

The old free corkage policy's long gone after they moved but at $80 per bottle we still found it reasonable. We brought a lovely vintage champagne in that matched well with the dishes, with pleasant complexity and smoothiness to show forth. It's no doubt an enjoyable evening and we will certainly come back again - actually we are already plotting to do so when their famous snake soup's in season - but I think we will likely stick with the tried-and-true old dishes next time around.

details:
when? September 20 2010
where? 桃花源 tim's kitchen, G/F, 84-90 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan
menu highlights? Steamed Crab Claws in Egg White again! (蛋白蒸蟹鉗)
drinks?
Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 1996

世界杯狂熱

南非之旅 Day 3: July 2

自從來到南非之後, 雖然頭幾天碰巧沒有賽事, 不過也很難擺脫世界杯的影子. 在開普敦機場一下機, 我們已被無數巨型的宣傳廣告所包圍. 桌山山頂的吊車站, 就放置了一個賽事的吉祥物zakumi. 在開普敦其他主要的景點, 也不難發現身穿球衣, vuvuzela和國旗的人四處拍照. 而V&A Waterfront是離green point stadium最近的購物區, 亦是遊客必到之地. 商場裡面就滿佈了售賣球衣和紀念品的店舖, 還有贊助商的宣傳攤位, adidas也在商場內外各放置了一個巨型的jabulani足球展覽. Waterfront的露天廣場, 多家食肆/酒吧設立了beer garden和放置了大電視直播賽事固然不在話下, 另外也有三個臨時搭起的巨型帳篷, 兩個用作spectator zone, 可容納數百人, 每逢賽事前後都有音樂表演, 剩下的一個就是市內最大的FIFA官方紀念品店.

這天早上我們刻意選擇了羅本島11點出發的導賞團, 就是為了迎接下午和晚上的兩場8強賽事: 荷蘭對巴西和烏拉圭對加納. 首場在下午舉行的荷蘭對巴西, 固然是八強賽事的焦點, 可觀性不容置疑, 而晚上的賽事, 加納背負著全非洲人民剩下的希望, 面對以"黑馬"姿態出線的烏拉圭, 也是被受觸目. 雖然一場來到這個城市還花時間坐在螢幕面前看電視直播好像有點浪費, 不過如此戲碼實在是非看不可, 所以也並不難決擇. 結果, 這兩場賽事, 我們選擇了兩個不同觀賞球賽的地方, 也感受了很不一樣的氣氛.


頭場荷蘭對巴西的開場時間, 碰巧是我們從羅本島回來, 在V&A Waterfront落船的時候, 故此我們選擇簡單的留在原地睇波. 一落船, 雖然離開賽還差不多近一個小時, 我們也不敢怠慢, 匆匆跑到海濱長廊旁的戶外劇場"霸位". 這裡有個大概可以容納500人的小看台, 而且有特大屏幕, 入場費全免, 地點亦在waterfront的中心點, 所以不難想像這裡是附近最受歡迎的睇波熱點. 我們好不容易才找到第一排被欄杆遮擋了部份視線的座位. 我們安頓下來時, 看台已差不多九成滿座, 不久已經坐滿了人, 連看台旁的行人路, 和上面商場的露台也擠滿了觀眾. 由於賽事是在平日的白天, 而且V&A Waterfront屬於遊客區, 觀眾也大多是遠道而來的球迷, 而且大都也"壁壘分明", 各有支持的球隊. 亦因為如此, 加上賽果的"峰迴路轉", 歡呼和叫喊聲也此起彼落. 荷蘭和巴西都是以鮮艷的顏色為標記, 整個看台和背後就頓時變成了滿佈一片橙色和鮮黃色的畫面. 在這裡, 我們還第一次親身體驗了vuvuzela的"威力". 說真的, 初時的確有點不習慣(從香港帶來的耳塞就大派用場), 不過看了半場賽事已經開始慢慢適應了. 人海和歡呼聲, 加上不絕的vuvuzela"音樂", 在這裡睇波的氣氛, 絕不下於在現場觀看所感受到的.

看完了第一場賽事, 到酒店會合了同樣從香港飛來的朋友ys一家人, 就一同走到市中心grand parade廣場的fanfest場地去觀看下一場的賽事. 今次世界杯, 南非當局在不同的城市, 設立了Fan Fest, 讓沒有門票的球迷, 可透過場內設立的巨型屏幕一同觀賞賽事, 而場內亦安排了歌舞音樂等表演, 亦提供餐飲服務和贊助商攤位, 場內就儼如嘉年華會一樣. 其實, Fanfest這個概念, 大概是從2002年韓日世界杯時首爾市中心萬人聚集在首爾廣場(Seoul Plaza)觀看直播賽事開始, 而在2006年德國的一屆就正式成為了世界杯主辦單位官方節目的一部份. 開普敦的fan fest, 就設於市中心最大的廣場Grand Parade之中, 附近就是市議會大廈, 會展中心, 火車總站和著名景點好望堡(Castle of Good Hope). 場地可容納25000名球迷, 是這次世界杯之中最大的fan fest. 其實除了是作為舉行fan fest的地標之外, 對於本地人來說, Grand Parade本身亦有其歷史意義: 1990年曼德拉被釋放之後, 就是在這裡向南非人民發表演說, 而94年他被選為南非總統時, 亦是在這裡發表勝利宣言.

在走向fan fest的路上, 原以為應該充滿了節日氣氛, 萬人空巷才是, 不過就差點如死城一樣, 連街燈也沒安放多幾支, 令我們有點出奇. 對於開普敦的市中心區, 一般旅遊書籍都提議入夜後還是避之則吉為妙, 看來所言非虛. 最後到我們抵達時還算是多一點"人氣", 總算舒了一口氣. 場地裡的設施並不算多, 只是基本的餐飲攤位和紀念品店, 人雖然多, 但比起不白天我們在waterfront, 氣氛也並不算特別熾熱, 這倒另我們有點兒失望.


球賽並不如想像中精彩, 而且由於天氣寒冷加上早已"周車勞頓"了一整天, 所以並不算是太過享受賽事的過程, 當完場的一刻出現時我們都頭也不回地直奔向出口, 恨不得馬上返抵旅館. 不過在現場看到加納由臨完場前獲得一個十二碼的機會, 到射失了到在打和互射十二碼落敗的過程, 看到全場觀眾的心情又天堂跌進地獄, 也不免為他們感到難過和戥加納隊不值. Well, 足球有時就是這樣, 賽果往往並不如人意.