lovely meal at home, but...

on a random week night, i just feel like eating home instead of eating out which is what we usually do, while i have a simple dinner in mind, little prince had something else in mind...so this is what we had on a random tuesday evening for dinner, after he got off work at 8:30pm and bought grocery AND cook...

first course: an appetizer portion of ravioli --

main dish: sea bass with a special cream sauce on asparagus --

real yummy. i really like the special cream sauce with a hint of lemon taste, it's very refreshing in this ultra hot summer weather.

BUT...there's always a flip side, i ended up spending an hour to clean up the kitchen...here's just a glimpse of the dishes i washed...

後會有期

這見證了香港中環成為國際金融中心的店子，曾是每星期六駒使我晨早起床去pilates的最大動力，可是當pilates studio搬離威靈頓街後，我便很少機會到那兒吃早餐了。



店子的擺設可說是文化遺產，伙計大嚷到廚房下單的情懷，不是現代化的電腦系統一時三刻所能代替的。早餐的食物雖不算很出色，但那杯熱騰騰的奶茶，茶香而濃滑，才是早餐的焦點所在。當我還在盤算怎樣把蛇竇的奶茶跟澳洲牛奶公司的炒蛋結合成完美早餐之際，現實逼人，蛇竇便因業主加租而被迫結束在威靈頓街的業務。雖然東主正打算於中環重新開業，那舊店子的風格將會被取締。畢竟時代變遷，新店子也要開拓新的領域，只希望再會之時，店子仍會沿用那熱奶茶的材料炮製香港最香濃的港式奶茶。

from the familiar old...to the not-so-exciting new

this weekend has been another eating marathon.
started with omakase at iwanami in causeway bay, a 3-hour dinner with a few friends, with 2 large bottles of sake, loads of different species of fish. mid way through dinner (precisely at the point when we moved from sashimi to soup), i was already 80% full. amazingly, little prince and his friend eventually finished another course of tempura, sushi, udon, a large bowl of rice, and desert as well. one point to mention, iwanami is running a special for their 1st anniversay, buy 1 sake get 1 free...good deal indeed.

saturday was a fun evening out with a whole bunch of old friends, playing mahjong, having high quality comfort food at lei garden, and watched olympics together. pig's lung soup with bak choy was the highlight of the evening. well, even with such good soup, nothing compares to just chilling out with old familiar faces, talking about the good old days.

today, we went to the newly opened kitchen at w hotel. the restaurant was half empty, but they turned away a couple walk-in clients, well, glad they did that, coz there was no way they could have accomodated more customers...it took them almost 15 minutes to get us bread. they wouldn't accomodate my two nephews who can't take anything spicy. overall, food was decent, view was less than spectacular overlooking the typhoon shelter in tai kok tsui...well, on this sunny day, it turned out to be a pretty nice brunch location. not too exciting, but since it was a soft open, i would give them a second chance to make up for everything they haven't been able to deliver today.

crescendo

prelude -- aqua

a location at the center of the financial district, a modern decor, together with fresh quality ingredients, the restaurant has all the ingredients to be a success. the combination of refreshing tastes was a delightful surprise during our lunch visit -- crab salad with a curry-poppy seed vinaigrette.

what astonishes me was that at this restaurant renowned for seafood, i have had possibly the best foie gras in my life. simply prepared with a berries reduction.

interlude -- chez panisse

how come i didn't go to berkeley? well, if i had, this would have been my favourite restaurant on campus. at this birthplace of california cuisine. atmosphere was casual with an open kitchen and friendly staff. using freshest ingredients grown in the not-too-distant sonoma, at a reasonable and affordable price, it was my best value-for-money pick from this trip. they serve a daily menu created with what they get from the farm, according to the waiter, the menu has never been repeated. impressive. oh, i am still dreaming about that asparagus.

finale -- the french laundry

it is definitely more than food and wine, it was a pilgrimage, an emotional experience -- from the disappointment of failing to make reservation months ago, to the excitement of securing a table the day before we take-off, leading to the ultimate satisfaction at the end of the evening.

it was everything one would have expected from this restaurant, and much more. we started the evening with the famous oysters and sturgeon caviar, and ended dinner with a delightful desert -- dijon mustard ice-cream. too bad, we did not get a chance to meet chef keller when we toured around the kitchen at the end of dinner. no words could describe how thankful i am for every moment that i could enjoy such fine food and had the best company to share these experiences for years to come.

"So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun. " ~ Ecclesiastes 8:15

早飯

很享受星期六早上做pilates，有一種很舒暢的感覺。更享受運動後（雖然消耗的體力不多），可以給自己一個借口去威靈頓街的蛇竇吃個早餐A。甫踏進蛇竇就有一種莫名的親切感，叫客早餐，伙計會用最傳統的方式落單 -- 大嚷一句『早餐火腿通粉』-- 吃一口煎蛋及方包，呷一口奶茶，整個人立刻精神三分。可惜煎蛋不及澳洲牛奶公司的好味，應該找個機會一併嘆蛇竇奶茶及澳牛煎蛋，那該是最完美的早餐配搭！

back to basic

i haven't had buffet for quite a long time, especially lunch buffet, simply have passed that stage of desire for such a wide variety of food, but since my friend j wanted to visit ritz carlton's chater lounge before it is torn down, i gladly went along.

there weren't tonnes of food, but it had all the necessary -- salad, cold cuts, and my favourite "siu mai". i particularly enjoyed the main which was broiled prime rib and lamb rack, meat was fresh and juicy, served with gravy and english mustard, simply back to basics. if not for the fact that i have gained so much weight in the past few weeks, i would have gone back for a second round (or even a third round, haha). deserts looked very attractive as well, but for the same reason, i had to skip...sigh...

when a restaurant can deliver good quality food, it doesn't have to serve innovative dishes, just the basics would already win their customers' loyalty. too bad, there isn't much time left before this ritz carlton becomes history.

Lunching in Central

I can't remember when I started this almost-weekly lunch with d, but we always enjoy the time when we could talk about work, life, church, friends over a bowl of fish ball noodle soup (魚蛋粉) or treat ourselves to a fancy lunch.

Today, we treated ourselves to Cipriani located in this old building in Central. I have longed for steak tartar since I made reservation, together with marinated salmon, I knew I would have more than enough to fill my stomach. The salmon was delightfully refreshing, which serves as a perfect starter for this ultra hot summer weather. The portion for steak tartar was much larger than what I remember, and it took me quite a while to finish the whole thing. Though I was really full, I couldn’t stop myself from ordering my favourite crepe suzette.

Though it was a pleasant lunch, it wasn’t good value for money. If my memory serves me right, it must have been the most expensive lunch I have ever had (but definitely not the best lunch I have had). Guess we will do a lot more $10 fish ball noodle soup in coming weeks to save up for our next fancy lunch gathering.

食神爭霸戰

第五屈食神爭霸戰經初賽嚴格評審後，以海鮮、雞、豬、辣、健康菜式及出前一丁六大組別。鍾愛出前一丁的我當然特別留意這個組別的入圍食府。其中位於旺角的『雲南紅大救駕』最令我感興趣，參賽食品名為『出前一丁汆岜夯沸騰魚』，雜誌介紹此菜式以酸湯魚為主，享有雲南菜中之魁的美譽。

我忽發奇想，到底有多少食客可以用準確的發音點這道菜？

29+?

Venturing out of our comfortable zone takes a bit of courage and planning. While we used to try out new restaurant every month in the past, we have gradually slowed down to once every two or three months unless for the big guys coming into town.

For my "29+?"-th birthday, Little Prince had to think out of the box, and so made plans to try out Aspasia, not only as an annual celebration of growing old, but also an adventure for both of us to get out of our usual choice. The route through the hotel lobby is still "in process," but the restaurant's decoration has completed and it is nice and cozy. Food menu has a good balance, which gives enough choices for almost everyone. The wine menu was a bit disappointing, especially with the lack of half-bottle. The tasting menu offers the ingredients in season, so no decisions need to be made, tasting menu that is.

After the scallops, the baby squid soup, and the squid-ink pasta (which was the best!), I already felt I had the best deal in town. Even though I am not a seafood person, the freshness of the ingredients, while being served right out of the pan, just made them perfect. Unfortunately, we both went for Wagyu beef for our main where there was no surprise. In hindsight, we should have picked sea bass, considering how well Chef Roland Schuller has handled all the seafood dishes. (As the Chinese saying goes, "rice always smell better at the other table.") Dessert provided Little Prince with an inspiration for a new flavor for his next season's homemade ice-cream, will see if he could make them taste anything like what the chef has demonstrated.

I was so full after dinner that I could not even finish my cappuccino, but it is certainly worth an honorable mention because of the smooth and creamy foam. The other item that deserves an honorable mention is the bread -- fresh out of oven, crunchy outside with soft and warm inside.

Though I didn't have to pay, the bill was more than reasonable. Definitely a steal in town. Have to go again soon before they raise their price.

On Labor Day

Little Prince spent the whole morning baking muffins, biscuits, making crab cakes and spanish omelette for a brunch get-together with friends. It is a blessing that we could just hang out and share our lives together. It is also a blessing that my husband likes going into the kitchen to make all kinds of food. It is an even bigger blessing when my friends offered to help out with dish-washing.

It was a day full of blessings!

Before Labor Day

The day before holiday is the best day to relax and to indulge. My friend made reservation at Inagiku in IFC for lunch which gave me something to look forward to in addition to the day-off.

We both ordered a tempura set, which came as no surprise. The biggest surprise (or disappointment) was the coffee I must have before I got back to the office for the rest of the afternoon. Not only was it not strong enough, it was a little pricey too.

I wouldn't complain because I only had half more day before the public holiday! Hurray!

comfort food

週末早上十一時多才起床，有點餓，茶餐廳的早餐時段已過，惟有在家中找些comfort food。

打開雪櫃，發現一片吃剩的火腿，數隻北海道雞蛋，和那長駐冰箱的雞肉腸，最好莫過於弄一碗腸腿蛋出前一丁。即食麪不是怎麼矜貴，但我卻於微時已跟它結下不解之緣。從小就喜歡出前一丁的我，其他牌子從來都沒有機會踏進我家中。就算到茶餐廳吃常餐，也要加3蚊改吃出前一丁，要是沒有出前一丁，我寧願放棄常餐也不吃其他牌子。每次出外旅遊久了，就自自然然會想念腸蛋丁(或餐蛋丁)，真不知道沒有出前一丁的日子我會怎麼辦。還記得小時候很喜歡雞蓉味，大學年代則愛上了咖哩味，現在年紀大了返回最基本的麻油原味。每一種味道都帶著美好的回憶，所以每次吃出前一丁都令我感到莫名的幸福溫暖。

life is good

Life is good when one could enjoy good food, good wine, and the company of good friends.

Little Prince made reservation for a very delightful dinner hosted by the celebrity chef Mr Alain Ducasse. Everything was just right that evening.

悠閒下午 – Pierre

友人生日想大吃一頓來慶祝一番，我急不及待訂了Pierre。剛開幕Pierre Gagnaire親自監督時，我幾經艱辛訂到位子跟少爺吃晚飯，嚐過名厨手勢，一直心思思想找借口再嚐美食。也試過business lunch到Pierre，覺得set lunch是中環區的good value，哈哈，又有藉口去，實在教人興奮。
那天set lunch的主菜分別有black cod和pasta，我們都不好意粉類，一伙兒吃魚去了。頭盤未到，先來了幾道餐前小吃 (友人說好像吃韓國菜)，小吃並無驚喜，唯那banana puree每次試都覺得自己在吃baby food，他們應認真考慮更換另一款小吃。頭盤一共由三款食物組成 -- cuttlefish salad、zucchini ravioli及素菜清湯。Zucchini ravioli其實是用兩片zucchini夾着mozzarella cheese，雖然簡單，但伴着用青椒及菠蘿製的沙律，每種食材都揮發出本身的味道，聽起來覺得古怪，但放進口中卻又是出人意表的清甜。主菜的black cod以野米汁作伴，看起來有點像紫米露，我們都帶着懷疑的態度嚐這個『紫米露black cod』。出奇的是伴汁的的確確就像無糖紫米露的味道，但跟那外脆內軟的black cod併起來，卻又帶出一種新鮮的口味。甜品也是三款組成 -- 朱古力餅、黑加倫子及雲呢拿雪糕、及生果沙律。友人吃過黑加倫子雪糕的樣子就跟IQ博士裡吃過酸梅乾的超人一樣，害得他差點灑下男兒淚。實際上，雪糕是應兩款一起吃才能試出真味道。跟其他菜式一樣，不是靠單一食物的味道，乃是本着art of science的philosophy把不同的食物、不同的味道、不同的質感併在一起帶出新感宮。