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

Traditional Moon cakes with an Untraditional Twist

A series of phenomenon are set to occur on September 9^th this year.  Well yes, Apple is going to announce its launching of the new iPhone 6…but it is also a day (or night?) when we will have a supermoon, the third and last occurrence this year.  With the moon coming closest to the earth in its yearly orbit, this is also the day after the celebration of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.  Not only is the festival traditionally known as a time of family gathering under the humongous bright moon, but also a time for kids to play with lanterns, and everybody else to stuff themselves with the 1000-kcal white lotus paste and yolk moon cakes.  Well, if you’re one of those who ain't big fan of moon cakes just like me, one of these five traditional treats with an untraditional twist might be able to arouse your appetite.

1. Haagen Dazs

Imagine substituting the dense white lotus paste with creamy ice-cream.  Oh yes, mid-autumn just can’t get any better now.  Haagen Dazs’ Twilight Collection is showcasing the strawberry “moon” surrounded by eight “stars”, flavored in chocolate, Belgian chocolate, blueberries and cream, summer berries and cream, caramel biscuits, strawberry, vanilla, macadamia nuts, and cookies and cream.  How can anybody be disappointed?

Original price:  $599 (discounts applicable to Haagen Dazs VIP and selected credit cards)
Address:  http://haagen-dazs.com.hk/html/shops/index.aspx?lang=en-US

2. Ms B’s Cakery

Celebrate mid-autumn the posh way.  Ms B’s has launched its Signature Moon cake which comes in 2 or 4 pieces.  Beautifully wrapped in their fancy cake boxes, these are literally cakes – vanilla chiffon as the base topped with mango and coconut mousse with fresh pomelo and cream.  These designs were apparently inspired by Chinese lanterns.  Ms B must really be a contemporary (and abstract) (food) artist.

Price:  $280 for a set of 2 or $520 for a set of 4
Address:  39 Gough Street, Central / Shop 202, Level 2 Pacific Place, Admiralty / Shop G111, G/F Gateway Arcade, Harbour City, TST





3. Passion by Gerarld Dubois
Death by chocolate.  You may not be able to associate the moon with this dark-colored chunk of chocolate brownie but just take a bite, and you may be surprised to find the passion fruit "moon" hidden within.  A must-try for all the chocolate lovers, at an economical price too, well at least relatively.

Price:  $49 each.  Buy at least 2 pieces to have them wrapped in an elegantly ribboned box for free.

Address:  74-78 Johnston Road, Wanchai / Shop A, G/F Lyton Building, 32-48 Mody Road, TST

4. Chui Lau Heung

While mid-autumn’s supposed to be a time for family gathering, I’m not sure if these exotic durian moon cakes from Chui Lau Heung would gather people together or actually scare them off.  Comes in a box of four, you get to pick from flavors ranging from D24 to D13 to Musang King and many more.  But oh, all of them are still durian-flavored.  There’s no escape, sorry.  Although I absolutely adore durians, I never know they come in so many variations.  Let’s have a little Durian-101 here (left to right, top to bottom):

1.    D24 – sweet, tender and flavor-rich

2.    D24 charcoal – rich in calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron; all good for detoxing (Really? Hmm…)

3.    D13 – less fructose than D24 and reddish orange in color.  Grown in Segamat of Johor, Malaysia

4.    XO – full bodied flavor and fragrance

5.    Zu Zi Kia – creamy with a tint of milky flavor

6.    Mao Shan Wong (Musang King) – name should say it all.  King of durians.

7.    Golden Phoenix – golden and creamy

Prices vary.  Check their website for ordering locations:  http://chuilauheung.com

5. The China Club

Mysteriously tucked inside the Old Bank of China building, The China Club is well known not only for its exquisite Chinese dining and decor but also the Chinese art paintings and sculptures inside the club.  Living up to its name, The China Club this year launched its exclusive traditional moon cakes boxed in a beautiful Chinese palace.  It does look rather exaggerated, but isn't that part of the Chinese culture nowadays?

Price: $388 for a "palace" box of 6
Address:  13/F Old Bank of China Building, Bank Street, Central

Happy Mooncake Festival!  (And, I can’t wait for iPhone 6 to be out!  Already getting really sick and tired of my 4S...)

*Reposted on FoodnSpot

Casual Italian Dining | Jamie's Italian

I just realized how important it is to have friends who don't need to work in situations like this when you wanna be one of the first batch to try out THE new restaurant in town which virtually needs months in advance booking and walk-in waits take around 1.5 hour on average. Jamie's opens at 12pm for lunch, and my dear buddies arrived at 1145am to get a table first. I was told that there was already a queue formed on the ground floor at that time. Knowing that I won't make it there until 20 past at the earliest, I told them to go ahead to order and surprise me. When I arrived at 1220pm, there was a HUGE crowd of people lining up, and I felt that I must've had alot of hate stares for skipping the queue and heading straight to the escalator.
"Hey", *muah muah*, sat down, "how's your trip", yadiyadiyada, ordered my drink, first dish arrived. The polenta chips arrived pretty - and tasted pretty too - served hot and crunchy on the outside with a little bit of chewiness. Topped with rosemary leaves, the dish served well as a prelude to our little weekday girlies catch-up lunch session.

The cauliflower and cheese fritters were crunchy and cheesy and tasty, and the orange fennel and bocconcini salad was pretty refreshing and fruity.

Next came four cans of canned juice. For one sec I thought why I was rushing for 20 min to come and have canned food, and just right before I was about to raise my voice and complain, the waiter quickly explained that those were not for us to eat. Oh, ok. They were actually for holding up the fish and cured meat planks. The taste of the nibbles, however, were not as impressive as they were displayed.

So, what's up with the malnourished midget mussel?

After clearing the nibbles we still had two orders of small pasta which we had been waiting over an hour and a half for. I had to followup with the waiter twice before they arrived at 140pm, 20 to gotta-be-back-at-desk. I quickly had a quickie on the tagliatelle bolognese and squid-ink speghetti before hopping out of the couch to leave. The squid-ink spaghetti was done al-dente and the scallop tasted fresh except it was a little bit too salty. The tagliatelle bolognese looked pretty cute (or no?) - like some curled up pig / cow intestines you get from local Chinese joint. Now, this was slightly overcooked and got a little soggy.

Complimentary service charge was not included in the bill, and the total came to $660 for 3 people. I would say this is pretty reasonably priced but quite overrated as usual especially with the huge, crazy line-up's. To be fair I wasn't having very high expectations though having tried a few Jamie restaurants in London. It's just his usual style - simple, casual dining at reasonable price. Not worth the wait though, come back in a few months' time.

Venue:  Jamie's Italian

District:  Causeway Bay

Must-try:  Polenta chips

Overall Rating:  4 / 5

Cost:  $220 ph - Lunch

Address:  2/F, Soundview Plaza 2 - Midtown, 1 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay

Link:  http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/hongkong

*REPOSTED on OpenRice and FoodnSpot