Cocktails With a Healthy Asian Twist | Little LAB Central

After dinner at Ho Lee Fook on Friday, us girls decided to explore westbound of Soho to this new vibe little hub surrounding Aberdeen Street and landed in Little Lab Central. Although the bar looks just like any other bars in the area, the drinks on their menu definitely are not the usual ones you get outside.

The Newborn ($120) – premium spiced rum combined with a traditional Chinese ginger stew taste, you know the reddish-black collagen-loaded vinegar soup with pork knuckle – is a must try, despite of course, the absence of the collagen loading element. Rum, while lightly infused with homemade vinaigrette, made this a very refreshing drink after a heavy meal.

Spice rum with traditional Chinese ginger stew

Missy Leona ordered the L.A.B.’s Iced Tea ($120). The specialty iced tea cocktail was a refreshing gold rum based long drink with hints of botanical and tea tannic mixed with home blended dai-pai-dong tea syrup, though somewhat just another name for Long Island I thought. Missy Mastermind ordered the Ginseng in Black ($135), a manly blood-boosting drink which totally suited her style.

Poor Missy hr didn’t get off work till 10 so we ordered her some nibbles and an Orienated Romas ($120), another Chinese fusion alcoholic drink which tasted like cream soda + milk.

Apologies for the lack of info due to the fact that I was already half tipsy at this point. smile And hey look, at least I remember us getting freebie sweets from the bartender!

Little LAB Central, G/F 48-50 Staunton Street, Central
District:  Soho, Central
Overall Rating:  4 / 5
Cost:  $150 ph


*REPOSTED on OpenRice

Holy Eff! Truly A "Blessing" In The Mouth? | Ho Lee Fook (口利福)

Located in the basement of lower Elgin Street, this Chinese fusion restaurant welcomes you with a whole wall of golden fortune cats and mah-jong, both of which in the Chinese culture are believed to bring one with prosperity and luck.  What a good start on a Friday evening after a hell's day at work with the Wicked 2-faced Devil.

You can be sure to get a peace of mind from bombarding group messages in your Whatsapp and work emails from your BB because mobile signal here was very weak, especially towards the back where we were sitting.  The industrial, rustic and slightly orientally artsy décor of this Chinese restaurant was what made the ambience different from the usual noisy and bright family-friendly Chinese cuisines.

And...cheers to TGIF and a break from the Wicked 2-faced Devil, we had the mule, lemongrass mix and some kinda cold tea mix.

Apparently Missy Leona and I were still pretty stuffed from the lunch at Bread St Kitchen so we went easy on the ordering this time.  Many dishes here were spicy so if you're not a fan of it, you should confirm with the server while making your orders.  The two appetizers arrived first - Yunnan style wagyu steak tartare and shredded chicken salad.  Although I felt that having the wagyu beef completely raw defeated the purpose of having wagyu, I still highly recommend the dish which had a dynamic flavor from the sweet and sour marinate and herbs ($138).  The cracker was so crunchy and good that I could not resist from having more.  The shredded chicken salad was also a slight twist from the traditional dish.  Marinated with sesame sauce and slightly hot, lettuce heart was used as the base of this salad ($88).

Since we couldn't have the pork belly at Bread St Kitchen during lunch, I've ordered the grilled pork belly here to make up for it.  Thick-cut and tender, this dish was served with roasted chili and roasted almond ($128).  The soy chicken was another highly recommended dish.  Came in generous half chicken portion, this poultry dish was cooked to the right tenderness and flavor.  I don't usually go for the breast in Chinese chicken dishes but this was done so well that us three girls kept digging into it ($160).

A very satisfying dinner with good food and company at a good price - truly a "blessing."  Look, we even had fortune cookies.  Left the restaurant as a happy soul.

Ho Lee Fook, 1-5 Elgin Street, Soho, Central, +852 2810 0860
District:  Soho
Must-try:  Yunnan style wagyu steak tartare, soy chicken
Overall Rating:  4 / 5
Cost:  $320 ph - Dinner


*REPOSTED on OpenRice

A Privileged Private Lunch | Bread Street Kitchen & Bar

Uh oh no phone number listed on the OpenRice page?  To show my dedication for good food I actually rang up LKF Hotel for the number so in case any of you wishing to call them to make a booking, number is 2230 1800.  And...you're welcome smile

Well well well, so yet another celebrity chef restaurant opening in HK.  This time I booked a table for 7 pax for Friday lunch with my 604 girls to have a sneak peek at Gordon Ramsay's debut restaurant in Hong Kong.

Walking up LKF with Missy Chan we automatically went to take the lift up to LKF Tower only to realize that it could not go directly to the Mezzanine floor so we got out from the LKF Hotel lobby and walked down the stairs to where Balalaika used to be.  Somehow we got lucky that day and were being put in the private room at the back of the restaurant although I didn't request for any special table.  Or perhaps they just didn't want us to disturb other customers with our subwoofered gossips and laughter?  The private room sat behind two glass doors with a good number of wines shelved along the walls.  Here's a selfie of it:

We also had a Caucasian waiter to standby and serve at our request.  How privileged!  He mentioned that Mr. Gordon Ramsay will be flying in for the following Thursday's private opening event, and unfortunately even the restaurant manager could not have a say in putting us on the invitation list.

Workaholic Missy Chan had to grab a quick bite then head back to office to work so she ordered the short-rib burger first...and the dish arrived literally within 5 minutes.  How efficient, but the burger was not served hot for some reason.  The short-rib was cooked to medium and tasted very juicy - alot better than the ones from Butchers Club Burger (follow here for my review http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2384700).  The burger was seasoned just right with a slight chargrilled fragrance.

The rest of us decided to order a few appetiziers and main to share.  Missy Meow, my G11 foodie girl and drinking partner-in-crime, arrived very very disappointed knowing that the pork belly was sold out (even though the restaurant actually just opened?).  She did keep mentioning about wanting to try the pork belly since morning brekkie time.  Missy Leona the workout-a-holic then suggested that we leave an annonymous feedback form with 'eff eff eff eff eff eff eff...' written all over it. That was only a joke of course.  Let's start with the least amazing dish - tamarind spiced chicken wings - tasted like Asian style teriyaki sauce wings this dish came as a slight disappointment.  The Burford brown egg was a resemblance of the calorie-loading tomato sauce and cheese in a lasgna.  Sea bass carpaccio was finally a refreshing dish which was nicely marinated to a slight chewiness.  The runner-up goes to the roasted veal carpaccio.  The after-taste from the truffle essence and white and black truffle shavings lasted till night time.  No, I'm not exaggerating - definitely a must-try appetizer.  And finally, the winner goes to the grilled beef short rib.  Honey-glazed and grilled to a subtle crisp on the outside, the inside was braised to a soft tenderness loaded with a full beef flavor.  A must must-try.

Work-a-holic Missy Chan left early, and amongst the remaining 6 of us ordered 2 roasted ocean trouts, 2 pork and fennel sausages, 1 beer battered code and a shepherd's pie, all very Britsy.  The highly-recommended-by-oncall-waiter ocean trouts came in a fusion wannabe yet turned out to be weird composition side of Chinese pak choy.  The pan-seared fish skin was cripsy, and the inside was intentionally left medium rare to keep the fish texture soft.  Not a highly recommended dish by me though.  The sausages were relatively better, juicy, and the lentils were surprisingly good given I'm never a big fan of beans.  They were cooked just right not to lose the chewy texture, and I believe alot of butter were being put into it to make it taste so good.  The chips that came with the battered fried fish were good in a way that they were not soggy like the wedges you usually get outside but the chef got a little too excited with the sea salt, and each one of us thought they were too salty.  The lamb in the shepherd's pie was nicely baked and the melted cheese on the top along with the mash made the dish all that much better.

The bill came at about $300 per head, and given we ordered from the a la carte menu which was the same as for dinner, we thought this price was reasonable.  I paid for $250 for Jamie's Italian lunch last time, and food from this Gordon Ramsay's chain were definitely more delicate and tasty, not to mention our private room and on-call waiter at our service.  Overall the mains were not that pricey but the appetizers actually were not that much cheaper than the mains which in summary meant that the appetizers were expensive although I felt that they did taste much better.  Good for another go and will definitely go light on the mains so can try out their desserts next time.

Bread Street Kitchen, Level M, LKF Hotel, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, +852 2230 1800
District:  LKF
Must-try:  Short rib burger, roasted veal carpaccio with truffle, honey glazed beef short ribs
Overall Rating:  4 / 5
Cost:  $300 ph - Lunch




*REPOSTED on OpenRice

Top 5 Eye Candies Spotting Bars in Hong Kong (for Her) - #5

Men, women, grannies, the girl next door, MooMoo (my 6-years old female Shih Zhu) – who doesn’t like eye candies, right?  Even if you’re married and unavailable, it’s still legit to feel good being in a bar surrounded by hot people.  I always call this kind of visual activity a hormone-balancing healthy exercise for the body, mind and soul (and soothing for the eyes too, of course), especially after a long day at work.  So ladies, what are you waiting for?  Read on for the top 5 countdown eye candies spotting bars in Hong Kong.  *drum roll*

 ZUMA LOUNGE & BAR

 

Wooden floorings, dimmed warm lightings, leather stools and floor-to-ceiling glass windows overseeing the buzzing street are what you would be getting from Zuma Lounge & Bar, and of course, eye candies too during after work hours.  Getting up this award-winning Japanese restaurant and bar originated from London’s prestigious Knightsbridge district might be a little tricky though.  No, I don’t mean you need to be on the VIP guestlist or flirt with the bouncer in order to earn your entrance but the only elevator to go up to the 6^th floor of the Landmark in Central is somewhat secretly hidden across from miumiu near the mall entrance on Queen’s Road Central, so good luck finding your way up!

Renowned for its list of signature cocktails and sake, Zuma Lounge & Bar is a popular place for after-work pre-dinner drinks for the Central 30+ year-old crowd.  Its convenient location means you don’t have to hike up the hill to LKF in your stilettos under the summer heat.  Here’s a sneak peak of some signature drinks the bar serves –

[left to right]

1. Zuma Mai Tai – Zacapa 23 year old, shaken with plum sake, fresh pineapple puree and blood orange juice, with a touch of almond syrup, $130
2. South East Asian Cooler – Żubrówka Bison Grass vodka mixed with fresh passion fruit, mint, cinnamon and pressed apple juice, $130
3. Rubabu – Rhubarb infused sake shaken with Ketel One vodka and fresh passion fruit, served as a martini, $130

So how’s it to sip on an exotic booze under the sexy ambience with light trance music playing in the background and a good handful of eye candies?  The waitresses do seem rather unhelpful, rude and obnoxious though.  Head directly to the bartenders instead.

Zuma Lounge & Bar, The Landmark Level 6, 15 Queen’s Road Central Hong Kong, +852 3657 6388, http://www.zumarestaurant.com

Michelin Service | Tate Dining Room & Bar

Once in a blue moon I've asked Mr. K out for dinner on Friday.  Only because it's his birthday though.  Mind you, I don't normally take initiative in asking guys out...!!!  And, having made 14 phone calls on Monday I only managed to book 2 restaurants and got myself waitlisted for the remaining 12.  So I suppose that's why Route To Success-101 always says one should plan ahead of time (which of course I did but Mr. K had to change the day from Sat to Fri).  Simply insane.  But luckily, Tate was one of the 12 waitlisted which called me back for an available table so I took it immediately.

One thing I really have to point out is Tate's star service.  I did call a number of times to make all sorts of ma-q-fan requests like arranging for a loner table, birthday cake message and keeping my credit card for payment at the end.  Considerate pearlorange even requested for a menu without the price which they actually didn't have but said could have it arranged so when I arrived 10min earlier to leave them my cc, I was very impressed that they printed two sets of whole new menu for us and even had them nicely binded.  Definitely e-props for that.

Dinner came in a choice of the 6-course sensualist menu or 9-course gastronomy with optional wine pairings, which changes every season so it was still something new for Mr. K even though he's been here before.  We both opted for the sensualist without wine pairing and ordered white separately.  We didn't take picture of the amuse bouche but if I remembered correctly it was a mini cheese puff served with edible branch sticks.

The first out of six courses served was the flamed salmon tartare which was garnished with five different ingredients - chives, wasabi cream, gherkin, rice crispy balls and caviar.

Foie gras mustard ice-cream.  The blueberry sauce and mustard ice-cream balanced out the rich flavor of the liver terrine, making it a refreshing second dish.

Next was the Dalian abalone topped with a Taiyouren egg and a puny piece of uni.  Oops, I played a little rough and bursted the runny egg, kinda on purpose though heehee. I like it better as a dip.

Onto the second half of the sensualist was the sakura ebi tagliolini.  At this point I was actually already 70% full and offered a good portion of my pasta to Mr. K.  Nonetheless, it was cooked to al dente with a soft tint of lobster flavor, and even a non-fan of pasta like me thought it was a delicious carb dish topped with the fried sakura ebi.

Second last course and a heavily meated one was the lavender Challandais duck breast.  Tender and juicy and randomly scattered not so randomly on the serving plate.

Do not think that the final course, carrot cheesecake, was a carrot-flavored cheesecake because the very carroty carrot sorbet was actually served separately from the cheese which was put inside a white chocolate shell.  We did have fun taking the sphere shell apart...

Now, this was the part that I liked the most, and no, not because it's that candle-blowing wish-making moment.  I thought the Zen Garden built on a layer of caster sugar was a very innovative form of serving the petits fours.  I almost had an orgasm seeing those perfectly made round circles on the sweet sand, almost.  Well, I DO have OCD.

A very good birthday dinner with excellent service.  They've earned my 20% gratuity.

Tate Dining Room & Bar, G/F, 59 Elgin St, Soho, Central, +852 2555 2172

District:  Soho

Must-try:  Zen Garden

Overall Rating:  4 / 5

Cost:  $1,200 ph - Dinner

*REPOSTED on OpenRice

Having Street Food In Style | Mr. Bing (老金煎餅)

Before heading to class my friend and I decided to grab something light so we went to Mr Bing. When we got there my friend was shocked and immediately said this was basically what I was eating off a hawker at some random street in Shenzhen some months back (yes, I basically eat ANYTHING, my friend of course was just watching me eat then) except this was served with pretty packaging and under a rooftop and all. So, we ordered the two signature bing's and a marinated cucumber side to share. The Mandarin speaking lady who was cooking our bing asked wo-men-yao-bu-yao-la but we said bu-yao since my friend was not a big fan of spicy food. Both the peking duck bing and the sesame chicken bing were served fresh and moist and piping hot. Both were good but I prefer the peking duck bing more because the sweetness in the hoi sin sauce really brought out the flavor of the meat. I'm not a big fan of carbs, and I like how the bing wasn't made too thick to overstuff my little tummy.

The sesame oil and vinegar formed the main flavoring in the crunchy marinated cucumber.

And lastly, a fridge to help yourself to the pop and pre-packed cold drinks.

Venue:  Mr. Bing

District:  Central

Must-try:  Peking duck bing

Overall Rating:  3.5 / 5

Cost:  $55 ph - Lunch

Address:  LG & G/F, 83 Wellington Street, Central

Link:  http://mr-bing.com/

*REPOSTED on OpenRice