Gustatory travels outside of Central...yes!

This is my officially my third year living, working, and studying in the Central area. As a result, I've become rather bored of the same dining options. New outlets crop up every few months but more often than not, they miss the mark in terms of quality and price.

When I can, I try to get out of the half mile radius I call home and try to eat in a different part of Hong Kong. I must admit, I have a hard time making it to the New Territories but thankfully, there are loads of good food options, much closer to home:

FUSION GOURMET at the Pemberton, Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan

Rarely seen in HK, Fushion Gourmet manages to do the farm to table concept well. One caveat, the farm is in Australia and two, the clientelle is primarly Chinese. As a result, the dishes do tend to be be on the lighter side, focusing primarily on the fresh ingredients and to me, seems to appeal to the Canto-style palate for healthier foods (think Pumpernickle).

Many of the ingredients used in the dishes are also conveniently available in their market area so if you dine here, you get 30% off your purchase (20% off wine). Tomberrys (super tiny and super sweet tomatoes) were probably the most unique item available for sale in addition to my favorite Italian butter made from buffalo milk.

The bread is freshly baked and delicious and all dishes sampled from the fresh and flakey seared snapper served over mixed mushroom risotto (pictured on the left) to the cauliflower soup were done well. The main ingredients were never compromised and I left feeling healthy (albeit a tad hungry still). Sadly, freshness doesn't come cheap though. Lunch for two was $337 (2 lunch sets, juice and bread basket).

Perfectly roasted chicken bursting with flavors,

accompanied by pureed cauliflower soup and prosciutto side salad

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FANDANGO, 100 Canton Road, 9/f Toy house, TST

Finally a traditional tapas place in Hong Kong! I loved the kitschy Spanish villa style decor, the massive menu, and the acoustic guitarist playing Spanish ballads. All that was missing was a flamenco dancer! I would highly recommend this restaurant for a date or even a group as the dishes come in a variety of sizes.

The tapas and entrees were all well seasoned and hearty. I left thoroughly satisfied and was just so damn thrilled to finally eat a decent seafood paella. The stuff they usually serve in Hong Kong is more akin to a fried rice than a proper paella. The prawns were MASSIVE and the other seafood were equally fresh and lush in size and texture.

Some other highlights included the suckling pig and the patatas fandango are a must! The crunch of the potatoes paired with the viscous gooey goodness of the egg yolks are a perfect match.

The sangria was also good although there was nothing particularly outstanding about it. The desserts however, were a real nightmare. The choices were limited and the one we sampled, catalan cream with strawberries tasted more foamy dish soap than foamy cream. I would save dessert for another venue.

Crispy suckling pig over potato salad

Price per head, approximately 500-600 including drinks.

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THE MON, 4/F, The Goldmark, 502 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay

Although I've wanted to dine here for a while now, the Mon's inflexible system of reservation has made it nearly impossible. You can only dine here if you have a reservation, they take no walk-ins.

Fortunately, on a whim, my boyfriend, cousin and I decided to try going there at almost prime time on a Friday evening. To our extreme surprise, there was an opening at 9:30 p.m. Although dinner took place a bit later than I would have liked, it was well worth it! For once, the reviews were right: The Mon serves great Japanese food at great prices.

We sampled a variety of small plates, raw and cooked, their sushi, noodle and rice dishes, and of course, their famous omelette with radish! I have zero complaints other than that they had completely run out of clams and I had to jealously watch the table next to ours devour their sake clams cooked in stone bowl -.-

If you can be bothered, try to make a reservation here for a solid Japanese meal in Causeway Bay. I've included some of the highlights from the evening below:

Sushi Platter: good variety and well priced at HK$240

Tuna tartare over sweet potato: I enjoyed the complex yet delicate flavors; the only caveat: it not a sharing dish!

Grilled Cheese Mochi wrapped in seaweed: this was my first taste of cheese mochi! They're tasty but one too many of these bad boys could leave you with a bit of indigestion as the mochi are quite dense.

I will be adding the Mon to my roster of Japanese restaurants. It's too bad it's so tough to get a reservation but the food and service are well worth the wait!

Price per head approximately HK$250.