Beyond Impeccable - Caprice

When it came to celebration of some sort, we have the tendency of trying out "new" restaurants (by new we either meant one that are newly opened or simply places that we have never been). However, this year around with nothing particularly interesting coming in sight, we decided to go back to the one that we had high regards previously - the place i vividly recalled having an "impeccable meal" last year.
We have certainly built up our expectation over the dinner at Caprice, from our past experience and from what we heard from others over the years (and from the accolades it has earned, of course) This time, we left it entirely to the chef to decide on our menu and our evening still turned out to exceed every bit of what we expected and more.

We started off with Milk Fed Veal and Caviar Tartare with Taleggio Panna Cotta and Braised Sweetbreads (after an amuse bouche of brioche with spinach and white bean mousse). This almost can be counted as two courses - as the tartare and caviar came in one dish while the panna cotta was served on the side in a separate bowl. The distinct flavors of the veal and caviar came out as a winner while the panna cotta serves as a perfect accompaniment with its creamy texture and softed taste - what a balancing act.

I would not consider our second course - Warm Duck Foie Gras and Apple Tatin in Cider Sauce - a creative combination, but it's cooked perfectly and with "picturesque" presentation - seared foie gras and the apple tatin put side by side in the middle with green apple bits and jelly "dotted" around the plate.

Our third course was Tourteau Crab Tiramisu with Fruity Marinade and Tandoori Spices. If I have to name one favorite dish of the night, this would be my choice. Can't go wrong with crabs with layers of with hint of sweetness (from that of the tropical fruit coulis in the middle and mascarpone on top) and spices. And so colorfully presented that I was in awe just by glancing at such beauty. Absolutely sensational.

Langoustine Ravioli with Veal Sweetbreads and Chanterelle Mushrooms in Shellfish Bisque. One light dish was followed by a richer one. Strictly speaking it's not a ravioli dish per se - pieces of cooked round pasta was placed on top and bottom of a poached langoustine (cooked sous vide?). It's served on a bed of a sauce with bits of chanterelle mushrooms, tomatoes and lobster bisque. The sauce basically went well with almost everything - very nicely done. Once again, the whole dish was a great combination of classical ingredients and cooking.

Our main course was Roast Wild Duck with Endive Fricassée, Sweet Red Cabbage and Celery Root Purée in Stout Sauce. That's one of the seasonal items on the menu. The wild duck's as tender, juicy and flavorful as you can ever imagine. Sauce's made from the pan jus plus stout (as in Guiness) slowly reduced to almost syrup consistancy. Not a noticeable trace of alcohol taste but the wheaty flavors from stout greatly enriches the texture and flavors of the whole thing. An elegant interpretation of this rustic dish, and went well with the Pinot Noir we picked.
 

Cheese Platter. Upon the recommendation of our friend csy, we asked to have a wine-cheese pairing arranged for us. Except the first cheese and wine pairing that I can't remember (some kind of light sheep milk cheese with a Loire white), the rest were (in the order from light to rich) Mimolette with Hoegaarden, Aged Comte with Vin Jaume, Mont D'or with Morey St Denis, and Roquefort with Banyul. Of course, the rich, 40-month aged comte and the creamy Mont D'or that just came right in season - both signature cheeses of the restaurant at this time of year - need no further introduction, but my favorite pairing went to the combination of mimolette with hoegaarden. The nutiness of the cheese couple with the almost floral flavor of a Belgium white beer just worked perfectly somehow. Other wines were artfully matched with cheeses from the same region and of complementary tastes.

Dessert: Lemon Myrtle, Honey Sablé and Calisson Ice Cream. A citrus-based, refreshing dessert was exactly what we needed after our 5 cheeses and 5 wines. Not something technically difficult to make, I should say, but it's simply delicious.

The week before the dinner, I was thinking that everything would probably taste ordinary for the rest of the week in anticipation of this meal on the weekend. Unfortunately I was quite right - with such fine dinner in mind, nothing else came even close.

when? October 15 2011
where? Caprice, Four Seasons Hotel, Central, Hong Kong
menu highlights? Tourteau Crab Tiramisu with Fruity Marinade and Tandoori Spices
web: http://www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/dining/caprice/

Baked Scallops in Orange Cup

Scallop is perhaps my favorite food ingredient – it’s full of umami flavors, versatile – you can basically do everything with it, be it steamed, roasted, pan-seared, baked, and can go with almost everything, and so easy to cook.

Well this is a dish that I came up with using various components that I have cooked before with some success. The end-result is an interesting ensemble of distinct tastes and textures and can be nicely presented too.

Baked scallops with Saikyo Miso and Butternut Squash Foam in Orange Cup 

Recipe(for 6)

Ingredients

12 scallops – I like those sashimi-grade scallops from Hokkaido that can be found in major Japanese supermarket in town. It came with different sizes (and priced accordingly). The one I used this time is a medium-sized one (4S).

6 oranges – Ideally I would use Yuzu from Oita – the place we visited last month – but it’s almost impossible to find outside of Japan. So I used small oranges instead (mandarin oranges probably work too)

For Saikyo Miso: (I adopted the recipe from The Nobu Cookbook)
¾ Cup Mirin
2 Cups White Miso Paste
1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
Sake 

For Butternut Squash Foam:
Half a butternut squash (around 1 pound) – remove the seeds
Half a stick butter
¼ cup chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Preparation

1. First, cut off the top of the oranges and save them as “lids” for garnishing. Hollow out the oranges carefully and set aside.

2. Dice up about ½ cup of oranges and make ¼ cup of fresh orange juice from what you have hollowed out.

3. To make Saikyo Miso , bring sake and mirin to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, boil for an additional 20 seconds to evaporate the alcohol. Turn the heat down to low and add the miso paste, mixing with a wooden spoon until all miso has dissolved and there’s no lumps. Turn the heat up again and add the sugar while stirring constantly with the wooden spoon. Remove the heat once the sugar’s fully dissolved. Cool to room temperature. (You will end up more miso sauce than enough - put the extra into the refrigerator and it can be used as a marinate for fish later)

4. Add the diced oranges and orange juice into the Saikyo Miso sauce. Mix them together well.

5. To make butternut squash foam. Preheat oven to 400F (190C). Coat the halved butternut squash in butter and place in a baking dish. Roast butternut squash for 1 hour until soft and caramelized. Spoon out the flesh into the blender, add chicken stock and puree. Pour puree and heavy cream into a saucepan, stir with a wooden spoon and gently reheat – don’t boil. Sieve through the creamy puree into the espuma gun (make sure there’s no lumps in the mixture) Inject one NO2 cartridge and shake.

6. Turn down the oven to 350F (175C). Cut scallops in half, season gently with salt and pepper, and portion 2 scallops in each orange cup. Pour saikyo miso sauce into orange cup to ¾ full (and make sure all scallops are covered).

7. Put orange cup into oven and bake for 15 minutes (without the lids).

I used the iSi Thermo Whip so the foam can be kept warm for a short period of time 

8. Give the espuma gun a few additional shakes and splash out the foam into a bowl. Spoon the foam onto each of the orange cup in abundance – I don’t care if it overflows.

9. Serve warm with the reserved lids by the side as garnish.

one night, 3 restaurants, 8 food fanatics

one night, 3 restaurants, 8 food fanatics. you know that means it's going to be a blast. the beautiful friends at i love hk were kind enough to invite us to a special sneak preview of the Festival of Wine event that is to be held later this month. Hopping around in the style of txikiteo - a Basque tradition of bar crawl which involves plenty of drinks and food - we had the chance to sample dishes and wines from three participating restaurants while seeing new and familiar faces and enjoying the company of some really interesting people in the social media scene.

we started our journey at goccia, a cozy italian restaurant on top of wyndham over a glass of prosecco and the appetizer of smoked swordfish roll. chef fabrizio at goccia is well-trained in southern italian cuisine with focus on seafood, and it certainly showed. our spaghetti with spicy tomato sauce and sicilian red prawns was nicely done, and the baked red gurnard fillet in fish soup reduction with a quenelle of florentine panzanella is refreshing and well-balanced. The dishes also went well with the umbrian chardonnay and montepulciano di abruzzo.

Just when we were about to leave for our next hop, Chef Fabrizio brought out 2 gigantic dessert platters to us to share - as a surprise - and he certainly saved his best to the last. I particular love the dark chocolate and white chocolate "cigars" - one wrapped in mint ("after eight" style) and the other in hazelnut gelato. Oh god i am such an icecream junkie.

feeling half full already from a 4 mini-course dinner at Goccia, we made our second pit stop at la perouse in the building next door. It's a quiet restaurant with a large terrace with an unobstructed view of the mid-levels - a rarity in the area and perfect for outdoor parties. well, this time we were seated inside, and were served a grilled baby rack of lamb served with pan-fried potatoes and mixed veggies as sides, and paired with a young medoc red. of course, sometimes safe choice doesn't hurt though i was expecting something more "out of the box". It's nonetheless decent - put it this way, i don't usually eat lamb but I had a taste of it then finished the dish.

It's already 10:30pm by the time we walked down along wyndham after la perouse, but we were not ready to call it a night quite yet - so we finished off at robata zawazawa with our dessert and cocktails. At a quiet corner down the stairs on wyndham and in the proximity above LKF, on the outset Zawazawa looks to be the kind of place perfect for a last-stop drink after a long night out. As we walked in and up the stairs, we were immediately attracted by the retro decor with hanging red lanterns from the high ceiling - reminded me of Gonpachi at Roppongi except in a much smaller scale, and rightly so since they are both by the same designer!

Our dessert of the night is houji-cha panna cotta with kuromitsu syrup and rice pops. the smoothness of the Japanese tea-infused panna cotta combined with the super-sweet kuromitsu (a dark sugar cane syrup) and crispy rice pops formed such a sublime flavor and texture not like something i would have expected from a robata place. Wow! And I must say the cocktails store owner Kenji-san prepared for us were equally stunning.

bummer i forgot to bring my regular camera so picture quality wasn't that good, but my fellow bloggers AM and PPS did a much better job to capture our moments with their pictures and words.

one night, 3 restaurants, all wonderful food and drinks. you can't ask for a tuesday night better than this.

when? September 6 2011

where? Goccia + La Perouse + Robata Zawazawa, Wydham Street, Central
menu highlights?

From Goccia: Spaghetti with Sicilian Red Prawns and Spicy Tomato Sauce

From La Perouse: Grilled Baby Lamb Chops with pan-fried tomatoes and baby carrots

From Robata Zawazawa: Houji-cha Pudding with kuro mitsu honey and pon rice pop



Salad with Scotch Eggs

My confession: this is hardly an original dish, though to some it may appear to be that way. Hosting back-to-back dinners at home posed quite a challenge to me - especially this is already our fourth in August. Have literally pulled all my tricks up my sleeve trying to do something different every time and to make things more complicated, this time I got children to accommodate. Not so much of a concern in terms of ingredients or ways of cooking, but I want to keep the prep time short so our younger guests won't be too bored sitting around the table overhearing parents chit-chatting while waiting for the food. And this is what I came up with for the salad/appetizer course: mixed greens with scotch eggs and beetroot puree, based on something i tasted/learned/watched recently.
A couple of months ago I was introduced to the wonderful world of scotch eggs by my friend Jen, who made a marvellous, "Asian-influenced" version using local minced pork and Vietnamese spices in one of our "foodies" gatherings. Absolutely fascinated by the combination of sausage/pork and boiled eggs deep-fried together, and even more amazed that the British was able to come up with such fine culinary invention. (at least according to Wikipedia)

The rest of the salad ensemble was inspired by a Masterchef Australia episode when they made a "de-constructed" meatlloaf burger with beetroot feta dip. It's prepared to be a main dish instead of salad, and use this fancy jamon wrapped meatloaf as their main attraction but I adopted some of the techniques and styles with minor modifications to suit my taste. That plus the use of Scotch eggs instead. Anyway, here's what I did:

Mixed greens with scotch eggs and beetroot puree (serves 8)

Pork 300g (or 1/2 catty if you are buying from HK wet market)
4 eggs + one additional for egg wash
Cherry Tomatoes 200g (around 2 for each person - I used both yellow and red types purely to make the dish looks nicer)
Extra virgin olive oil
White Wine Vinegar
Salt and Peppers (thought that's a given)
Dried thyme and oregano
Bread Crumbs
Greek Yoghurt 250g
Fresh Beetroot
Handful of flour
Mixed greens - one I used is a mix of arugula, baby romaine and herbs bought from the supermarket.

Minced pork
For pork, I followed Jen's advice to ask for the collar butt (上肉) from the butcher and mince it at home myself - it's just the right amount of fat and lean meat. If you don't have a food processor at home I am sure your butcher's more than happy to mince the meat for you - won't make a difference. After mincing, I put salt, peppers and dried herbs in and mix everything together. Put in 2 teaspoons of bread crumbs as well and mix. I like a little texture in the minced meat.

Soft Boil Eggs
If you leave the eggs in refrigerator, bring it to room temperature first before boiling. Put the eggs into a pan, cover with water and boil. I wasn't too fussy on the temperature this time, and I just left the eggs boil for around 4 minutes after water started bubbling. Put the boiled eggs in ice water bath then peel. They should be slightly undercooked - the way I like it - so be careful when peeling. (but since we are coating the egg later on it's not the end of the world if the peeled eggs don't have a smooth surface) Set aside.

Beetroot Puree
Preheat oven to 190C. Wrap beetroot in alumninum foil and bake for 1.5 hours. Peel the skin, cut it to manageable size and put it in blender. (be careful handling the cooked beetroot as the color easily stain your hand or clothes - use a glove) Add greek yoghurt in and puree until smooth. Season to taste. Spoon mixture into a piping bag and set aside. (can make it a day in advance and keep in the refrigerator, i suppose) When use, make a small cut at the tip of the piping bag - you don't really need a specific piping tip.

Making Scotch eggs
On a flat surface, lay a piece of cling film and drop a spoonful of minced pork on it. Flatten it with your hand to make a circle of around 10cm in diameter. That's your wrap. Roll the egg in flour and then put the egg in the middle of the minced pork wrap. Then slowly use your hands to mold and form a ball. Don't spread the meat too thin or it won't cover the egg after cooked (as the meat will shrink a bit when cooked) Brush the minced pork-egg ball with egg wash and dust with plenty of bread crumbs. Repeat for all 4 eggs.

Heat the oil in a pan and start deep-frying - make sure oil at least cover half the egg. You would need approx. 4 minutes per side and don't burn your eggs. You don't want your meat all browned in the surface yet undercooked inside - that's what I did on my second try. (Ah!) Use a kitchen towel to remove the excess oil on the egg when done. Set aside until ready for assembly.

Vinaigrette
Whisk together olive oil and white wine vinegar to make a vinaigrette for the salad. Add some lemon juice if you want. It's really up to you. And some salt and sugar to taste

Assembly
Toss the mixed greens in vinaigrette and divide equally on the plates. Cut the egg in half - I was told that using a fishing line to cut would yield the best result - and placed in the middle. Likewise, halve the tomatoes and put around the plates. Pipe a few dollops of beetroot puree freely as well - there's no limitation how you want to dress up your dish. To finish, drizzle olive oil across and grind salt and pepper to taste.

Well, I am no salad lover but I think this is one I can live with. And it certainly looks harder to cook than it really is.

Oh, btw, I guess I should make a disclaimer on the recipe - I tend to make adjustment as I go along and these recipes are not tested (I am only trying to retrace what I did by memory), so follow at your own risk.

Homemade Ice Cream

Nothing beat summer heat like a scoop of ice cream. Anyone who came to our place for dinner in the past year probably has tried one of the home-crafted versions. It's so easy to make, can prepare in advance and the variations are limitless. Couple weeks ago I even tried making a savory ice cream dish (here's the gazpacho with grainy mustard ice cream, and how about the sausage ice cream I have attempted in the cocktail sausage cookout?)

If you have a sweet tooth like me, ice cream machine is one of those irreplaceable kitchen gadgets, and it's surprisingly easy to make. Of course you can follow one of the many recipes you can find online, but after a while, you can easily live without following anyone and just start create your own formula.

To me, one of the keys for a yummy ice cream is to get the cream-milk-sugar proportion right - the rest are just minor details. What I usually do is roughly 1.5 cup of whipping cream, 0.5 cup of milk, and 0.5 cup of sugar. Of course you don't have to follow this by the book - say if you are making honey ice cream, you would probably need to reduce your sugar. For eggs, I usually do 2-3 egg yolks and I tend to use less for lighter flavors (like that of fruit-based ones) and more for stronger ones. Feel free to play around the cream-milk ratio too to alter the taste and texture, but if I were you I wouldn't go less than half cream and half milk.

Some people swore that one "secret" critical success factor for a creamy ice cream is a dash of salt to the custard before churning. If I remember I usually follow that, but to be honest, I saw little difference even if I forgot. I know as a fact that salt does keep the ice cream from getting too frozen - something I have learnt when I made salty caramel ice cream, but I am just not sure how much a pinch of salt would have helped to that effect.

Anyway, to make long story short, here's what I usually do: I will start beating sugar and egg yolks together in a bowl, while heating up the cream and milk in the pan. Just before bubbles starting to form in the cream-milk mixture, I pull the pan off the stove and pour it into the sugar and egg yolks, which should form a thick pale mixture. Do it slowly (in a steady stream) to avoid egg yolks from getting cooked and curdled up. Give the mixture a good whip before putting it back to the pan to steep the custard further over low heat. I usually do it for a good 10 minutes until the custard start coating on the wooden spoon (probably takes longer if you use more milk) Then sieve it through into a bowl and chill for about 2 hours (up to a day).

After that the rest are easy, pull the chilled custard out, stir it with a spoon and then pour into the ice cream machine. Do what your ice cream maker instruction told you and then put the frozen custard in an airtight container, and in about 3 hours, your ice cream's ready to serve.

Okay, I forgot the part when you need to add the flavors. Well if you are doing a fresh vanilla, put the scrapped pod into the warm custard before it's reheated. Discard the pod before you chill. Same with coffee or tea - you want to give the custard time to take in the flavors in heat. If you do vanilla extract - which I admit I would sometimes do - you can put that in any time you want - it wouldn't make a difference. If you do fruit flavors, puree whatever fruit you are doing and mix that in before you chill your custard. Nuts and other tidbits must be put in just before your ice cream maker stopped churning, so is any alcohol you want to add in.

Hope I didn't miss any step. And I am leaving you with the latest one I have made: affogato with espresso ice cream. (the kind of dessert I would want for every lunch so as to get me through the rest of the day) Enjoy!