Weekend In Review: Great Company and Great Eats!

What a glorious weekend in Hong Kong!  The weather was unseasonably warm and the food and company were extra spectactular.  Even with all the fun activities planned, I managed to squeeze in two body combat sessions (I'm pretty obsessed with this as some you know...) which will hopefully mitigate some of the ridiculous calorie consumption since Friday.  Below is a little recap of all the fun I had this past weekend:

Friday Date Night - Chili Club 88 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai

Having worked overnight on Thursday on probably the largest deal of my life time, I finally went home at 1 p.m. on Friday to get some rest.  I woke up after a 4 hour nap feeling somewhat less zombie-like and absolutely famished.  Jay and I decided to jump on a mini bus to Wan Chai to scope out our dining options.  Although we originally thought we wanted unhealthy Tex Mex at Agave, we decided on Chili Club instead. 

 

Most of you have probably walked by this place a million times and thought it was just run-of-the mill Wan Chai Thai food joint.  Surprisingly, when we walked in (at the senior citizen hour of 6:30 pm!) the restaurant was already 1/3 full and the patrons were primarily local Chinese. I found this encouraging as this generally means that the restaurant will be value for money. 

Needless to say, we weren't disappointed!  The portions were generous, the prices reasonable, and most important of all, the food was delicious!

Between Jay and I, we shared a large Tom Yum Soup (HKD$88), a spicy sirloin beef salad appetizer ($65), a steamed fish with chili/lime/garlic sauce (more like a broth poured on top which seeped into the fish as it cooked at the table) ($160) and a beef and basil fried rice ($70; pictured above). All the dishes sampled were well seasoned and fresh. 

I was particularly impressed by the large de-veined prawns in the Tom Yum soup which was prepared in a  clear soup style, rather than the cloudier version (which I hate because then you're picking out all the lemongrass and herbs rather than sipping your soup freely).  I was also extremely impressed by the fish.  As it cooked at the table, the fish became more and more flavorful.  The waiter even volunteered to debone our fish which I thought was a nice touch.

With a couple of drinks, the total damage was only $487 which I think is quite reasonable for a delicious Thai dinner set in a clean and upscale environment.    I will definitely go back to try more of their dishes.

Sweet Lodge  117 Thomson Street, Wan Chai

***DISCLAIMER: this is a Cantonese HK style dessert place so if you don't like creamy desserts, mango, or the Canto-take on chocolate fondant, don't bother coming*** 

For those of you who do love HK's approach to western desserts, I highly recommend visiting Sweet Lodge, especially if you're in the area after dinner.  Their chocolate fudge cake was light yet super chocolatey and I literally could eat the white chocolate panna cotta topped with mango every day (pictured below).  They have several types of panna cottas but as a warning, they lack gelatin and taste more like a semi freddo or a mousse.  Other notable items include their flambé bananas with pancakes and the creme brulée.  Most desserts range from $25-30. 

Yay for cheap eats!

Saturday Highlights - Go Grandriders!

Having had a reasonably good experience at 208 for dinner and their weekly lunch set, I decided to go again with my friends for brunch.  Talk about a let down! The portion was incredibly small and the service was spotty at best.  I like the decor and ambience at 208 but I left feeling unsatisfied.  I know I could've ordered another dish but I felt on pricipal I shouldn't have to spend so much $$$ on child size portions.  Even my non-American friends agreed that the platings could have been more generous (i.e., it's not just me being a piggie) .

Food aside, I saw a fantastic movie with Jay and May called Go Grandriders 不老騎士(http://asiasociety.org/hong-kong/events/go-grandriders).  This is a heart touching film that documents the "Grandriders" trip around the entire island of Taiwan on motorcyle.  Among these 17 “Grandriders,” two have battled cancer, four need hearing aids, five suffer from high blood pressure, eight have coronary diseases, and every one of them has symptoms of joint degeneration. Nonetheless, they courageously embark on a 13-day, 1178 km motorcycle ride to reminisce, and rekindle the love with the land they have lived on their entire life.

Go Grandriders is not only a documentary about the grand riders overcoming old age, it is a compelling collective human story that looks back at the generation’s past. The film also had moments of pure comedic genius filled with Grandpa antics and humorous story telling.  If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it and remember to bring tissues!

Sunday Roast at the Conrad Hotel - Carvery Buffet, Lobby Lounge

I am no stranger to the Conrad buffets and am often lured there at least once or twice a year.  This year, having had my fair shares of buffets over the holidays I shyed away from massive buffet spread at the Conrad until Sunday.  I saw a promotional ad for their Carvery Buffet served at the Lobby Lounge and whilst it was advertised as a "Sunday Roast" this meal went far beyond the normal Sunday Roast offerings. 

I am already a huge fan of Harrington's more traditional Sunday roast but the Conrad version may have just edged past them.  Not only were there seven types of meat carvery available + fish (Wagyu prime rib, veal roast, rack of lamb, twice cooked suckling pig, kurobata pork, halibut, roast pigeon and roast chicken) there was also an extensive hot foods and salad bar, a fresh oyster shucking station, shrimp cocktail and crayfish towers, and a well stocked dessert table. 

All of this plus a coffee/ice tea was only $380 per head.  If you have a Platinum Amex/HSBC/Hang Seng card, you are entitled to another 15% discount. 

For this price, I thought the buffet was great.  The Wagyu prime rib and the lamb chops were superb and who doesn't love to stuff their face full of freshly chucked oysters and prawns?  If you're looking for a refined Sunday Roast, head to the Conrad on Saturdays or Sundays when they have their carvery buffet from 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. 

Apart from all this great dining out, Jay and I were also able to taste some of our neighbour's spaghetti bolognese cook-off creations and were spoiled even further by having a helping of their mango cheesecake from the Hong Kong Club.  The weekend was rounded out with some fabulous year end sales shopping with Michael and evening drinks with our Italian friends Christina and Ruggero at La Piola.  All of the above plus three loads of laundry done  = a great weekend!  Now back to work! =/

Peruvian Delights in Central

Reivew of CHICHA– 26 Peel Street, Central, Hong Kong

When I first saw the palm trees going up on Peel St, my heart skipped a beat hoping that Latin fare would be replacing the old Chez Patrick space. Thankfully, I wasn’t too far off the mark and Chicha presented itself with commendable Peruvian flare.

There are a number of things that I like about Chicha from the decor to the open kitchen but what I enjoyed most was the warm environment and sincere representation of Peruvian classics. I can’t say every dish sampled was outstanding but most were solid. Moreover, the portions here were properly made for sharing and I left feeling satisfied and not entirely gorged financially (which is how I normally feel when I eat to fullness).

I went to Chicha with my food partners in crime, Jay and Diane, on a Saturday evening and the service was impeccable. We had a dedicated waiter all evening who was helpful and seemed genuinely happy, an uncommon find in HK which is generally sodden with dour servers. We started with the sea bass ceviche which was good but not great. It had the appropriate ingredients like the giant corn and leche de tigre but was lackluster flavor-wise. The calamari was one of my favorite starters which was battered lightly, seasoned well and tender. Chicha also serves their calmari/squid in tentacle form rather than the standard o-shaped rings.


Some other notable dishes include: pan con chicarron, which is like a mini burger with fried pork, fish or chicken filling and from their main dishes; the lomo saltado, a tenderloin stir fry served with a massive fried rice ball encased in potato which is broken ceremoniously table-side; and the cannot-miss fried sweet potato donuts. These were absolutely amazing. I would come here just for these damn donuts alone.

Unfortunately, their tacos, which we thought were going to be good as they were flying out of the kitchen, were a huge disappointment. The fillings were flavorless and for me personally, I’m not a fan of semi-stale hard taco shells.
Their drinks were also not impressive either. This was a bit of a concern considering that they have a sister bar, The Roger Room, just across the street. We noticed that some of those seated at the high tables in the window of The Roger Room were able to order food from Chicha so next time it’s full, maybe ask to be seated there instead.



The $$$ Damage: with all the food mentioned above, an order of corn (nothing special to report on the corn), and five cocktails, the grand total was $560 per person. Not terrible for the location and definitely good considering you had to practically roll me out of the restaurant because I was that full!