Discovering Gallette at Fleur de Sel

Fleur De Sel

G/F, 51 Graham Street,

Central Hong Kong

Price: 100-150HKD for Gallette, and 60HKD for Glass of Red Wine

Rating: 8/10

Although I've walked pass this restaurant so many times, I never even looked at the menu until the other day.... and what a find! I've always been fan of Crepes, especially with Nutella... I mean who isn't with their paper thin-crispiness with spoonful of nutella or powdered sugar literally flowing on top.

However, It is only now did I discover that there's a savory version of my favorite dessert, that is basially: replace nutella with melted cheese and some other delectable additions such as poached eggs, black truffle, spinach and whatever you desire... and VOILA! Here's a lovely dish of Galette.

The inside of the restaurant is actually really cute (and rather small), and the house red wine is actually much better than some of the wine I've tasted in SOHO (and this was when we had gotten wine for the SAKE of getting wine). There were also a handful of house ciders and organic ciders!!! I seemed to be the only one who absolutely adored ciders... so we went with wine instead but next time (even ALONE) ill sample that lovely (and rather big!) bottle of cider!

Ach, I always forget to note down or at least photograph the menu for later reference so that I can exactly know how much things were.. (or at least keep the receipt)! 
The only one I remember clearly is my heavenly one:

 La Truffe: Ham Emmental Cheese, Egg, Black Truffle Paste,  Camembert Cheese

 I mean just LOOK at it... writing this post even after a rather heavy dinner still makes me hungry.

THis one was with Smoked Salmon with Egg, although he argues that it was too breakfast y for his taste, it tasted perfectly fine (although slightly less delicious than mine) to me. :)

Pictured on the top is with spinach and goat-cheese which was also an excellent choice. I kept on snacking on other people's gallettes before mine.. so I can say for sure mine was the best! 

Oh but the last one that my friend ordered with Roast Vegetables was for some reason triangular and more ornately arranged.. I couln't quite figure out the reason for this.. so I decided it was because he thought my friend was cute. heh. makes a better story anyways :) This one didn't have so much cheese on top, so if you're trying to look for a dish that isn't so heavy.. this would be the one to go for! :)

A Bar with View: Cocky Bar

Cocky Bar

18/F, The ONE, 100 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

As much as I love food, I love alcohol. Whether it is a pint of draught beer, glass of whiskey, or girly cocktails... I love bars and their (if done right) amazing drinks.

That being said, over the years I have slowly drifted away from LKF and away to quieter bars with views and atmosphere and a well-respected bartender who makes drinks for the sake of making drinks and not to serve silly asian girls watered down garbage.

Although I initially thought that this 'move' would more likely cost me more money, I ended up spending less each night-out as we happily sipped on mostly one or two cocktails for the night and going home usually by MTR rather than the taxi. So, all in all a successful switch!

I wasn't so sure about the name 'cocky bar', but being reassured by a friend that its balcony was one of the best in Hong Kong, I decided to check it out one day when I happened to be around TST for dinner.  The cocktail wasn't anything special, but the view from the balcony as well as the bar-itself was definitely worth the minimum charge to marvel at the spectacular city I live in. 

Minimum Charge: 150 HKD

Average Cocktail price: 70-80 HKD 

I mean just look at this view!

Early Bird Tapas Dinner at Tapeo

Tapeo

Au's Bldg, 15-19 Hollywood Rd, Central, Hong Kong 

+852 3171 1989 ‎

http://conceptcreations.hk

Rating: 7.5/10 

Price: Early Bird Dinner (150HKD + 10% charge)
Although I had originally wanted to try out Les Fils a Maman, after skipping lunch I could not bear to wait till 7PM for their opening time! So, after a little research on the internet I came across the Early Dinner Special at Tapeo, which is basically:
         From 5-7PM: for 150 HKD (+ 10% service charge), you can have 2 Tapas (except the Jambon) and a glass of sangria, house red, house white or beer! We came in around 6PM wihout reservation which didn't seem to be a problem but they seemed to be booked after 7PM so we couldn't stay for too long :(

And continuing our little game of not repeating any type of cuisine before trying ALL types (haha) of food available in this culinary institute of a city, we gladly went to try their Tapas Menu.

The portions are actually not that big! Luckily we picked tapas that were quite big-poritioned but I can imagine needing to order 3-4 more on top of the Early Bird Dinner to be completely full...

Their Tapas Menu is as shown below!:

I got a glass of Sangria to start, and it was actually pretty decent! Not the best Sangria I've had but still it had been a while since I got to have one so it was a nice break from the usual wine or beer!

We decided to try 4 different Tapas to be shared between us... and after a quick glance, we happily settled on these four!

Manchego Cheese with Honey (4/5)

We ordered this without the slightest clue as to what Manchego Cheese was, and although we were enthusiastic about getting to know a little more about it.. the manager in charge was not very helpful in explaining it. He simply said "You know...it's cheese from Manchego". Thanks.

Anyways, being more resourceful than our unhelful staff, here's what Wikipedia explained it to be as:

Manchego (officially Queso Manchego) is a cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain from the milk of sheep of the Manchega breed. Official Manchego cheese is to be aged for between 60 days and two years.
Manchego has a firm and compact consistency and a buttery texture, and often contains small, unevenly-distributed air pockets. The colour of the cheese varies from white to ivory-yellow, and the inedible rind from yellow to brownish beige. The cheese has a distinctive flavour, well developed but not too strong, creamy with a slight piquancy, and leaves an aftertaste that is characteristic of sheep’s milk.

AND it was AMAZING!!!! It really did taste great, with the crispy toast and the sweetness of the honey went well with the strong flavor and firm-texture of the cheese! The flavor was quite strong, but quite different from the rather 'smelly' ones that I was used to.

Tomato, Red Onion and Goat Cheese Salad (3/5)

Although I loved this dish because it had three of my favorite things in it, it wasn't anything spectacular. Unless you're really into tomatoes or goat-cheese go ahead and try something else! :D 

Classic Tortilla-Tortilla Espanola(4/5)

Okay...apparently Tortilla has more than one form..because this was the last thing I was expecting when we had ordered Tortilla! Apprently the Spansih Tortilla (Spanish Omelete) is not the flour tortilla that we all know and LOVE but instead is this lovely dish of thick egg-omelete with potatoes fried in pan!

The dish was rustic and simple-flavored and was a delight to eat, (and thankfully rather filling after the two previous ones). Although next time I would be interested to try one with extra flavors such as the one with Chorizo and Spinach!

Albondigas- Spanish Meatballs (4/5)

These looked and tasted great! The tomato sauce paired perfectly with the seasoned meat-balls that were juicy and great fun to chew on. I even ate all the sauce after I ate the meatballs. And just look at it, it's just to pretty and delectable to be eaten without enjoyment!

In addition to our food! I also (still being hungry) looked around to check up on what other people ate and judging by their reactions and the appearance of the food, these ones are the note-worhty ones to be tried later on:

        -Crispy Pork Belly

        -Stuffed Peppers 

and Ham Croquettes! and although I refused to admit it out of jealousy... the ladies to the left of me seemed to be loving their champagne and their cold cuts of jambon :)

Indonesian Delight at Indo 1968

Indo 1968

5/F, The L Place 

137-141 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong

Rating: 8.1/10 

Price: Around 200 HKD per person 

After growing up in Indonesia for 7 years, even though I can't remember the names of the dishes or even the food itself, I always find myself missing the distinct taste and smell of Indo food. Especially since my short trip to Bali and Jakarta last year, I've been having periodic cravings for Indo Food, and have made couple of trips down to Causeway Bay during the weekends to eat next to the over-flowing crowds of Indonesian Maids and helpers out to enjoy their weekends.

However, I had never been to an 'classier' Indo-food place in a while, and when felix who had never tried Indo food suggested it from his newly-acquired (from me!) michelin guide book I was eager to try it out! 

Apparently they had moved from Causeway Bay to Central not so long ago, and although I don't know how the interiror decoration had been prior to moving but I loved their interior decorations and the overall atmoosphere! .

Plus they had such cute and well designed menu and catchy logo that it was great to look through the menu! 

Although you can't see it in the photo they had a lovely open-bar and open-kitchen where you could see the cooking being done as well. Plus the seats were so comfortable with soft cushions everywhere! 

After going through the menu over and over again not knowing for sure what we should order or not we finally just trusted our instincts (plus the 'special menu' section and decided on the following choices :) )

Fresh Young Coconut (Kelapa Muda): 58 HKD

Although I was pretty tempted to order Bintang,  I love love Fresh Coconuts and I thought it would be a great way to start (drink the juice) and end (eat the white flesh) our dinner!

The coconut was lovely, and it was very fresh and cold which went well with the very strong flavors of our food.

Satay Babi (Pork Satay): 48 HKD

    Although some may argue that satay are just skewers  I have yet to find skewers as good as how the Indonesians do them! Although the thai skewers are good, and the vietnamese chicken skewers at Nha Trang were amazing too, the best ones have always been the chicken satay (Satay ayam) with peanut butter sauce. 

    However I had never tried Pork Satay before, and I'm really glad that I did so! It was amazing! :) The pork was so succulent and crispy and went well with the slightly sweet sauce! 

Bakmi Gajahmada (Indonesian Chicken Noodle): 108 HKD

     Although it was a hard decision between letting felix try Nasi Goreng (fried rice) which is one of my favorites, or something entirely new for both of us... we opted for a more adventurous choice, and went for this Indonesian Noodle! 

I hadn't tried one where it's not fried before, and this dish involved a soy-sauce based paste with chickens and lots of vegetables that we had to mix together! The sauce was not too salty, or too overpowering and went well the the firm egg-noodles and chicken! It had a very clean and simple taste that we both loved :)

Beef Rendang: 98 HKD
Along with the clean simple taste of our noodle, we also had the rich, heavy flavoured Beef Rendang. Although it was less spicy than those I had tried before it still had that lovely mixture of unknown spices, chili, garlic and coconut milk...

No wonder it got voted as one of the best dishes around the world by CNN, it's so much more interesting and richly flavored than normal curries as the flavours (by the the long hours of cooking) is so well incorporated into the soft yet still juicy beef!

Overall, we both loved the place! Even though it was expensive compared to the usual indonesian food, for the quality of the food and the overall dining experience it was worth every penny! :) 

Best Take-away Ever.... with La Rotisserie

La Rotisserie

255 Queens Road Central,

Sheung Wan 

+852 6901 5778

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Rating: 7.7/10 

Price: Around 70-80 HKD per person 

Roast Chicken will always be a family thing for me,

   I know that it's not very Korean of me (not to associate with beer and bars) but from the first-ever disastrous burnt roast chicken I ever made (and forced my family to eat) to the finally beautifully roasted and deliciously praised roast chicken I now can make on Christmas, all my memories of roast chicken was with my family.

Even when I went to Paris, and had the BEST roast chicken of my life, I was sitting in a cutest french bistro with the cutest french waiter recommending me wine.. in front of my family!

So it seemed like an obvious choice for dinner when you begin missing your beloved oven and home-cooked meals...

(Source: La Rotiseerie's FB page)

Although looking at their FB page, people are complaining about the long-queues that you have to wait in before getting their foods, I was rather lucky to stumble in on a time when there was no one in front of me! Ah, but look at the photo how can it not lure people to its door-steps when there's that smell and SIGHT of a chicken being roasted like below:

(Source: HK-Asia Magazine)

Plus the place is literally just minutes away from the subway station, which makes the whole taking away to home really easy and convenient!

Above is their new menu (from their website)! As i had planned for dinner with 4-5 people, I ended up getting the Set Meal Package for Four People (whole roast chicken + 4 side dishes) and an extra 1/4 roast chicken, to give a total of (290 HKD) which is a definite steal for a proper night's dinner!

They had a wide range of the side-dishes, but I opted for the choice of 2 portions each of Roast Vegetables and Roast Potatoes. Although the vegetables were delicious I would highly recommend the roast potatoes as a side dish! They were amaaaaazing! 

They quickly wrapped up my dinner in this cute little black box that couldnt quite keep the smell of the roast chicken in! I kept on getting such funny (and hungry) looks from the passengers on the MTR (sorry guys!)

Upon finally arriving home, my friends greeted with extra dishes of rice, chocolate and salads (and even a bottle of rose wine). Feeling rather giddy, i also baked some buns to have a proper feast as shown below! 

THE CHICKEN was AMAAAZING! 

It was not dry at all, and so juicy and rich in flavor! The seasoning was perfect too that we really didn't need any extra sauces to eat the chicken with..

Maybe it was because it was so delicious or the fact that we were starving that day but despite our extra dishes the chicken quickly disappeared!

SO if you're planning to JUST eat the side-dishes and the chicken maybe you should order extra chicken like we did just so you ALL of you can be fully satisfied and leave the dinner table with a big grin and bloated stomach like we did :)

Spontaneous Yakitori at Yardbird

Yardbird

33-35 BRIDGES STREET

SHEUNG WAN, HONG KONG

Rating: 8.2/10 

Price: Around 400-500 HKD per person (incl. drinks)

I had been dying to go to this restaurant that seemed to be making the top list of almost every HK-restaurant-related blogs! So when my friend suggested we try something 'Asian' just as we were walking through Sheung Wan, I knew this was the chance to drag him to go try Japanese Yakitori.

Convincing him was easy enough, and by the time we walked in (which was actually rather early at 6:00PM) the whole place was already getting quite full with drinks being poured, converstaions already flowing and dinner being served. I loved the atmosphere in the restaurant as well, and the waiters were so friendly guiding us to our table (which is shockingly rare in HK) that I already started secretly loving the place before we even started eating.

I had planned to wow my german friend through my in-depth knowledge of the asian cuisine, but upon seeing the Menu i was just as lost as he is.. we had absolutely NO idea what to order, how much to order and what was even edible! (they had everthing from chicken kidneys to oysters to hearts!)

Just as I was getting slightly panick-y and regretting the on-spot decision to come to Yardbird without really looking into how and what i'll be eating, our incredibly friendly and helpful waiter swept in to recommend and help us plan our dinner for the night...

Following his advice, we started with the Cucumber Salad with Miso Dressing (70HKD) which i have to say was one of the best cucumber salads I have ever had in my life! The miso dressing went perfectly with the fresh cucumbers and the pine nuts, and we ended up eating everything.. down to the last sesame on the plate.

The portions are rather small, so make sure to order a couple! The waiter sugested we order around 2  appetizers, 3 or 4 skewers each, 1-2 main dish and if still hungry (we weren't)... rice or noodle plate!

Our next appetizer was this Sweet Corn Tempura (85 HKD). Although I had no inkling of what it would look like, this puffy corn ball  was the last thing I had expected! And it tasted as good and surprising as it looked!

Oh, they also have an extensive drinks menu with funky sake and sochu (and cocktails) but we stuck to Draft Sapporo Beer .. which was rather disappointing only because they gave it to us in such tiny glass... boo...

Anyhow after a great start to our meal, we were finally ready to eat some Yakitori
As this extremely cute logo of Yardbird, it was all about chicken tonight! :)

Source: Yardbird

Although I did ultimately fail to convince my friend to try out funkier parts of the chicken (oh silly europeans), with the help of our waiter we decided to go for Chicken Breasts, Meatball and Oysters. 

All three were wonderful.... and the chicken was so juicy and succulent that even my friend who was skeptical as to how good skewered chicken could be was won over! The meatball also looked like a huge larvae (but even the resemblance didn't stop us from gobbling it up), the best part was as our waiter lavishly promised was Chicken Oysters.

Now. I have no idea why they are called oysters... In Korean i'm pretty sure it is what we label 'butt-hole'... to which in comparison guess 'oysters' is a better name..
As soon as I saw it I recognized what it was! (but thankfully didn't yell out 'it's the BUTTHOLE!'

My brother and I used to fight over this part of the chicken, as it was the fattiest, juiciest and absolutely best part of the chicken (unless you're one of those diet-frenzy-fat-free people).
AND.... it was MUCH better than how I had remembered it to be. Leaving me with a huuuuuge smile as shown below! :)

Sadly, because a. we were too hungry and b. i was dying to try the food the photos of the 'meatball' and the 'breasts were too blurry, buuut!!! I can vouch for the fact that it is delicious!

And Alas, it was time for our 'main dish' which was called KFC (which can't be anything except...fried chicken...could it?) BUT despite the place being all about chicken, and the obvious connection to FRIED CHICKEN... in Yardbird, KFC stood for Korean Fried Cauliflower (75HKD), which is basically the same dressing and flavoring as what we would put on Fried Chicken back hom in Korea but done on Cauliflower.

And... although I do intensely love chicken, this dish was delectable to a degree that did not leave me missing  the fried chicken in Korea! Plus.. it made me less guilty about eating it than fried chicken too :)

In the end it was a lovely dinner, and although we skipped on getting the rice dish as neither of us were really hungry to begin with,  I think if you come in for a proper dinner you should aim to include one more main dish and maybe a rice dish to share! The total bill came to 300HKD (yardbird has no service charge), i'd guess it would usually be roughly around 200HKD more if you include one or two more dishes and a cocktail!

Although it was a little indulgent, it was totally worth the price and we left the place enthusiastic about our new found interest and amazement in Yakitori and could not wait to return one day for more! Maybe next time (although he insists he won't) will finally get my friend to try out a heart or two.