ABC Kitchen: Market Fresh

The first time I tried out ABC Kitchen was back in March for a dinner organized by the one-and-only Mr. Lau. He's the awesome kind of foodie you want to be friends with - enthusiastic, knowledgable, nice, generous, and soooo in the know.

This was exactly the case with ABC Kitchen. Who woulda thunk that there'd be a fine dining western joint in a cooked food market? I didn't. But here it is - complete with tablecloths, wineglasses, excellent service, all sandwiched between and Indian-Nepalese restaurant and a ChiuChow snacks stall. Awesome.

(Margherita pizza)

(La bouillabaisse)

As for the food, I've been several times now and I have to say, dinner is definitely infinately better than lunch. The bouillabaisse is particularly good and they're extremely generous with the seafood. Also loved the braised til tender beef cheeks. I cut them apart like butter with my fork. Mmmm.

(Braised beef cheeks)

(Look ma, no knife!)

(Signature roasted suckling pig)

Special mention goes to the suckling pig. I still prefer Chinese style roast pig (crunchy skin) but ABC's version follows Spanish recipe. As a result, the skin is less crisp, but the meat becomes unbelievably moist and supple.

(Sticky toffee pudding: mmm...)

(Creme caramel)

The sticky toffee pudding sealed the deal for me. And if YOU'RE still not sold... get this - ABC serves illy's coffee!

ABC KITCHEN ($$/$$$)
CF7, 1/F
Queen's Street Cooked Food Market
38 Des Voeux Road
Sheung Wan
3740-0727

Cafe Gray Deluxe: Pictorial

(First plate: saffron pasta fiore. Tomatoes and lemon thyme. = LOVE)

(Second plate)

(Dessert: floating island)

(First Plate: scallops and asparagus salad. = Still prefer the fiore)

(Second plate: steamed seabass. Ginger bouillon)

FOOD: 4/5
SERVICE: 4/5
ATMOSPHERE: 4/5

CAFÉ GRAY DELUXE ($$$/$$$$)
49/F, Upper House
Pacific Place
88 Queensway
Admiralty
3968-1106
www.cfhk.com

Union J: Seconds

What the schedule for a good day looks like:

Before 9:30am: Trot over to Salon de The de Joel Robuchon. Pick up big red box of tarts. Grab coffee to go. Head to office.
9:30 – 9:45: Morning chat with I.T.
9:45am-12:45pm: Work work work. Finish column.
1pm: Lunch with some looooovely person. Chat and eat good food.

Well, that was the schedule for last Tuesday at least. The “looooovely person” that day was no other than Tata and the “good food” was provided by the good folks at Union J. We had settled on that lunch spot since a) I hadn’t been in a pretty long time, and b) they had just added a few new things to the menu.

While I don’t remember being blown away last time I was at Union J for lunch, I did fall in love with the space. So open, so clean, sooooo “Noo Yawk.” It seems almost a waste that the restaurant isn’t on street level. I settled on my lunch course-choices over their A-M-AZING sourdough bread. Seriously, Union J bread is in my top 3 in the city (along with Fusion Gourmet and THE Robuchon, of course) so I happily lapped up every crumb of the crusty bread.

(Leafy sesame salad: eat your greens, yo!)

As for my actual lunch, wanting to pretend to be somewhat healthy, I opted to start with the leafy sesame salad. The serving was unexpected ginormous. I did feel very fortified while eating it. Loved the soy vinaigrette and the crunchy edge from the almonds. But was sadly disappointed by the avocados (tasteless, of course, as most avocados so happen to be in Hong Kong) and the oranges (tasteless, of course, as most oranges so happen to be in Hong Kong). They also had that sesame and fried wonton situation going on, which was just a little too “New York Chinatown take on Chinese food” for me.

For my second dish, I went for the crunchy crab cakes with creamy dill-cucumber salad. Oh, this was sooooo much better than the first dish. The crab meat was so delish, made into a soft patty which was then encased by a perfectly seamless, crunchy breadcrumb mixture. Mmmm… the textures… The heaviness of the crab cakes were well-balanced by the tangy dil-cucumber “salad.” It was so beautiful. Much more impressive than the salmon I had the last time I was here.

(Crab cakes: DILL-icious!!)

Near the end of our second dish, Tata introduced me to pastry chef, a.k.a. one of the “J’s”, Jason Casey. And I have to say, his desserts were, without a doubt, the highlight of the meal. The ABC Ice Cream was a happy combo of tangy raspberry and cream cheese sorbet, shortbread and strawberry meringue – the flavors of a strawberry shortbread fitted into a white Chinese takeaway box. Cute. The Cheese Cake with blueberry snow has such a unique and lovely crumbly texture. But the hands-down winner was the Soft Milk Chocolate – a hazelnut and coffee mousse-like cake with olive oil yogurt sorbet. Oh My Gawd… it was nothing short of “ooh”-worthy.

Now wouldn’t you say that that’s what the schedule for a good day looks like?

FOOD: 4/5
SERVICE: 4/5
ATMOSPHERE: 4/5

UNION J ($$$/$$$$)
1/F, California Tower
30-32 D’Aguilar Street
Central
2537-2368

Lobster Bar and Grill: Chef Alexander Ehrgott

I was lucky enough to try Chef Alexander Ehrgott’s food while he was here (back in January - sorry folks), guest-cheffing at Island Shang’s Lobster Bar and Grill. And for a little chef background bio: Chef Ehrgott comes from the famed Schloss Vollrads restaurant in the Schloss Vollrads castle in Germany.

I was so impressed with the refined and clean flavors of chef Ehrgott’s food. The grilled shrimps with white tomato mousse and marinated pepper had the tomatoes’ most intense flavors drawn out, making the humble vegetable even more of a flavor attraction than the prawns. The pea soup with tuna locked in all the essence of the peas, making a bowl of what seemed like pure, pea essence.

(grilled shrimps with white tomato mousse and marinated pepper)

(Pea soup with tuna)

(Mussels)

Needless to say, a wonderful meal.

LOBSTER BAR AND GRILL ($$$/$$$$)
6/F, Island Shangri-La
Pacific Place
88 Queensway
Admiralty
2820-8560
www.shangri-la.com

Guru: For The Love Of Chaat

(Papadam: kickass start)

A while ago, I found my Indian food lover in the form of Guru, “Boutique” Indian Dining. That was back in August. I haven’t been back since then. Why? Don’t ask me why. Just know that, this time, when I went back, it was still the same, beautiful flavors I fell in love with the first time around. And in the words of Teenage Fanclub, “Ain’t That Enough?”

Yes. That’s definitely enough. It also helps that Guru doesn’t do the typical $98 lunchtime buffet thing that every Indian joint this side of the harbor seems to love serving. Hey – I have nothing against all-you-can-eat Indian food, but my lazy ass desires food to come to me, instead of me having to – God forbid – GET UP – and go to the food. Plus, my self-centered side also takes joy in knowing that the kitchen is freshly concocting a dish just for me, instead of plating up some mass-produced curry for all in the house.

(Samosa + Chaat = wow + OMG!)

We started off with some complimentary papadam (Indian wafers) which were flecked on the surface with bits of coriander, chopped onions, chili and Indian spices. So good with the raita and a perfect way to start. Then our “real” appetizers arrived – four fatty samosas ($40), again served with a side of their awesome raita. These samosas were veggie-filled but tasted so deceptively meaty. But good as they were, in no way could they compare to the stellar dish of the meal – the almighty blue mango chaat ($70). Cubes of refreshingly sweet mango, paired with whole wheat cracker crisps for a nice touch of crunch, and all doused under a lovely flavor-bomb of sweetened yogurt, mint and tamarind chutney. The flavors just melded so well together… needless to say, I polished off the chaat with much ease.

We also ordered a berry lamb pullao ($98) of basmati rice with grilled lamb, cashews and fresh blueberries. I was actually really excited about this dish since I remember it being nothing short of stunning the first time I tried it. But perhaps the berries weren’t in season (bland and juiceless) and the kitchen didn’t have their complete A-game on (lamb was overcooked. Tough, dry) so this was a slight disappointment, especially after the wowing appetizers. Oh well, all in all, there were more wins than losses. And seriously, any place that can churn out that blue mango chaat can do no wrong in my books.

FOOD: 4/5
SERVICE: 4/5
ATMOSPHERE: 3/5

GURU ($$$)
13 Lower Elgin Street
Central
2547-9998

Takeya: Foodie Friends

Dinner with foodie friends always = good times. Nothing beats chatting about good food while eating good food… and it’s also nice to have someone who doesn’t think you’re a complete freak show when you whip out your digicam to document every detail of your dinner.

IL chose the place this time and with the directions he gave me, I found myself in some nondescript alley in Hung Hom, faced with a wooden Japanese slide door with the kanji characters for Takeya hanging over it. I walked into the restaurant and fell in love. Such a cute space – very very small, granted (probably seats 15 people at a time) but so wonderfully warm and cozy. It seemed more like a friend’s house than anything. I plunked myself down on a seat and, as always, let IL decide on our dinner choices. If there’s one person I trust with my food, it’d be him.

(Clockwise from top left: potato salad, daikon, chicken neck, cheese with guts)

(Chicken skin and chicken neck)

But before any of our orders, the super-friendly/mumsy waitress, Dodo (wife of one half of Takeya’s older brother-younger brother team) brought over the plate of complimentary purple taro to start. So winter-appropriate. Sighhhh…lovely. Following the taro, the first two dishes to came in the form of a small plate of pickled daikon and a giant mound o’ potato salad ($42). The salad was flecked with bits of bacon and sliced cucumber for a nice bit of crunch, it was a hearty starter and a very easy-eating dish that I kept going back to throughout the night.

And here, can I please mention how good Takeya’s yakitori items are? Please? Because it’s definitely worth mentioning. We went with the chicken skin ($23/skewer) – cooked to crispy perfection and absolutely delish when grilled with a few flecks of salt. The ($23/skewer) was another winner with its slight crunchy mouthfeel. And being an innards person, I absolutely loved the chicken neckgrilled pig intestine ($24/skewer). Fragrant, chewy without being rubbery and so deliciously flavored.

(Cooked pig's intestine)

And following the yakitori-ed version of the pig’s innards, we also ordered a cooked-in-broth version of pig’s intestine ($58). Again, chewy and full-flavored in all the right places. But while everything up to this point was good, it all had to give way when I tried the stellar dish of the night – cheese topped with fish intestine ($48). OMG SOOOO not appetizing-sounding, I know...but SO EFFIN' GOOD!!! This dish + beer = a very good time. The intense savory flavor of the intestine pairs so beautifully with the strong taste of the cheese – the flavor combination just begs to be washed down with an ice cold beer. D-e-l-i-cious.

(Tamago: just like comfort food)

(Grilled mochi)

This high was followed by the most comforting dishes of the night – the grilled tamago ($45). Thick and fluffily light… warm and actually just a tad still-runny on the inside. The tamago felt like a pillow of eggy goodness on the tongue. Both of us were so super impressed. We rounded off the meal with a few pieces of grilled mochi ($25), which were beautiful chewy and messy on the inside but crisp golden on the outside.

And after downing two big mugs of beer each with our meal, the two of us were feeling more than satisfied and more than well-fed. Like I said, dinner with foodie friends always = good times.

FOOD: 3.75/5
SERVICE: 3/5
ATMOSPHERE: 3/5

TAKEYA ($$$)
31C1 Tak Man Street
Whampoa Estate
Hung Hom
2365-8878

Zi Nen Ya: Just Say “No” to Whelk

(Scallops: homestyle amuse bouche. Nice piece in the back...a big hunk o' sand in the second one...)

We were pretty eager to try out this Japanese-expat-favorite in North Point. Zi Nen Ya is famous not so much for its luxurious sashimi but more for its humble, homestyle dishes. We were all set to go sashimi-less…that is, until the friendly, but perhaps a tad too eager-beaver-like waitress jumped over to our table with the nightly-specials whiteboard and started hardselling us various different “it really is extremely fresh today” sashimi. We nodded along to her suggestions of hamachi belly (MP) (which turned out to be deliciously fatty, with a lovely coating of natural fish oils over each slippery piece), sea bream (MP) (refreshingly different from the hamachi, especially when dipped in the slightly sweet clear sauce) and a fantastically crunchy fresh sea whelk sashimi. Of course, only later did we find out that the whelk was $300 a small dish! Ack!

(Sea bream: different in a good way)

(Hamachi belly: mmm...oily)

(Sea whelk: pulled up the price of the meal)

After the extravagant beginning, we went homey (which, to be honest, was the initial plan) and ordered the braised beef tongue ($95) and deep-fried Japanese taro ($55). The taro was alright – a little zingy aftertaste with an ever-so-slight taro flavor. Well-fried though. But the beef tongue? Nothing short of awesome. So amazingly tender and deeply-flavored. I didn’t need to bite the meat at all. I loved.

(Fried taro: alright)

(Beef tongue: magical)

We then went with the five-set dinner ($280) – that is, a choice of five various dishes from a set menu. The uni tofu (orig. $80) was definitely only alright. The tofu wasn’t as silky soft as we had hoped for and the soy bean flavor was a little too much, completely overpowering the uni. The steamed asari clams (orig. $60) were much better – light but full-flavored, plump and fresh and really quite delish. We then moved onto the stir-fried chicken kidney with Chinese chives (orig. $65). A can’t-lose combination that was thoroughly satisfying.

(Uni tofu: meh...)

(Steamed clams: redeeming some points...)

(Chicken kidney and chives: can't go wrong with this)

The assorted skewers (orig. $70) were dainty but comforting. Perfect grilled mushrooms, peppers with bonito, a juicy and flavorful grilled beef, ginko, crunchy salty chicken gizzards and two pieces of chicken wings. Not bad but not entirely memorable. We ended with the deep-fried oyster cutlet (orig. $60). The oysters were fatty enough and again, the restaurant’s control of deep-fried dishes really showed – the oysters weren’t the least bit oily and the inner creaminess of the mollusk remained intact. Only though, the beautiful briny oyster flavor was slightly compromised due to the deep-frying but the dish was still pretty good on the whole.

(Assorted skewers)

(Oyster cutlet: expertly fried)

Service was friendly but with only three people (not including the chefs) manning the super-busy restaurant, it wasn’t as attentive (we had to ask three times before someone finally came to refill our tea). The final bill came out to be a little more than we had initially expected but, then again, we did unknowingly order a $300 plate of sea whelk (which, to be honest, as good as it was, we could have happily done without). I wasn’t blown away this time but I do plan on revisiting because Zi Nen Ya seems like it has solid potential. And plus, next time, I’ll pass on the nightly (i.e. expensive) specials, stick with the homey classics, and experience the quality-for-value-ness of the place.

FOOD: 3.5/5
SERVICE: 3.5/5
ATMOSPHERE: 4/5 (props for being “homey”)

ZI NEN YA ($$)/($$$ if ordering from nightly specials sashimi menu)
Shop 36-38
City Garden Shopping Centre
North Point
2508 0862

Go Koong: It All Just Keeps Getting Better

A “go-to” place is an absolute necessity in my life. In LA, it fluctuated between Susina, Amandine, and this particular bench in front of Dodd Hall. In New York, I had Bouchon Bakery and Central Park :) - places that put a giant smile on your face no matter how many times you go; places that make you feel comfortable yet don’t bore you. I need places like that. And since about two months ago, I’ve found my new “go-to” place in Go Koong, also known as my absolute favorite restaurant in town.

I must’ve been here a gajillion times already, and every time is better than the last. I really can’t find anything I dislike about the restaurant. This time around, I managed to tear myself away from my beloved seafood pajun to explore other parts of the menu. We went with the daegoo gooi/grilled silver codfish ($140) to start off (that is, following the amazing banchans <3!

(Codfish: grilled to loveliness)

The following dish was somewhat disappointing in comparison and probably my least favorite of all the dishes I’ve had at Go Koong. This was the haemool dwenjiang jungol/seafood and bean paste soup hot pot ($300). The broth was way too salty to be had on its own (well, it was miso after all) and the shrimps – though impressively large, weren’t as fresh and firm-fleshed as I would’ve liked (but I loved the fact that the stellar staff team help you de-shell your shrimp). Thank God though that this dish was followed by the absolute high of the entire evening – the danhobakgaalbijjim/steamed sweet pumpkin with beef ribs ($188). O TO THE M-G…this was amazing. Truly, madly, deeply. The ribs were soft, and so tender, they fell clean off the bone. Flavor-wise, it was a perfect balance of savoriness with a tinge of aromatic sweetness from being steamed inside the pumpkin. And the pumpkin, what can I say about the pumpkin to do it justice? It was beautiful. With a soft, almost crumbly texture and a rich yet unheavy sweetness. It actually tasted somewhat like mooncake egg yolk. Without a doubt, my new favorite dish at my favorite restaurant.

(Seafood hot pot: meh...)

(Steamed pumpkin with ribs: can I marry you?)

(Please ignore the dirty plate)

Next up was the complimentary Korean styled scrambled eggs. I know I must’ve said it before but I really do love Go Koong’s food generosity. They’re always spoiling us with free goodies on top of the other heap of goodies we already have on our table. The eggs were nothing too special but, for some reason, I found myself finishing the whole thing and craving a second serving. Food champion much? Hells ya! The last savory course was the mool nengmyun/homemade buckwheat noodles in chilled beef broth ($90). A PERFECT closer – being light and chilled. It was easy on the stomach after the absolute feast we had just eaten. I love the slurp-worthy, chewy noodles and the sweet, refreshing chilled radish strips went extremely well with them. I mixed in a giant spoonful of spicy sauce and a little mustard and downed everything with a happy heart. We ended the night sipping our after-meal chilled cinnamon tea, with a giant satisfied smile on our faces and a very well-fed stomach. I’ve found my “go-to” place and I hope you find yours.

(The K-style scramble)

(Chilled noodles)

FOOD: 5/5
SERVICE: 4.5/5
ATMOSPHERE: 4.5/5

GO KOONG ($$$)
202, Toyomall
94 Granville Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
2311-0901

Tak Lung: Eat Your Fats

("Golden Coin Chicken": no gold, no coin, no chicken... but absolutely delicious)

According to mother, we used to go to Tak Lung in San Po Kong all the time to celebrate Grandad’s birthday when I was still little. Funnily enough, I had absolutely zero recollection of the place. But lucky for me, I had the opportunity to revisit on Tuesday night and I was more than ready to reacquaint myself with the days I didn’t remember.

We started the night with the restaurant’s signature “Golden Coin Chicken,” which, for some reason, contains no gold, coin, OR chicken. Props to the guy who came up with the name for this dish. What this dish IS though, is a thick slice of pork fat, topped with a sliver of goose liver (rhyme!), a piece of chaxiu and a thin slice of ginger for good measure. This. Was. AWESOME. Really. The fatty pork was amazingly ungreasy, being rather, somewhat crisp on the bite before melting like a lovely, subtly savory jelly on the tongue (I’m told they used the fat from the back of the neck, which has an almost crunchy, elastic texture). The chaxiu and the thick sauce (also honey-based, I believe) had a wonderful lovely flavor that balanced out both the richness of the liver and the zing of the ginger. It was so good, I totally forgot that I was literally ingesting a solid piece of lard. Glam. No wonder this is a “must-order-in-advance” dish.

Next up was a nice plate of assorted chicken offal. Not bad I would say, but I’ve had better just last week in Shenzhen’s Yu Mi Zhou so I wasn’t completely blown away. Plus, it was a little on the salty side, especially the chicken intestine, which actually benumbed my tongue for a few seconds with its ultra-savoriness. So it was really good timing when the next course to come up was the Yunnan mushroom soup. This soup was the absolute real deal – I felt like a more wholesome person with just smelling the soup. And, as J said, it was really one of the most concentrated chicken broths we’ve ever had. It was like they managed to liquefy a whole chicken somehow… that may not be the most appetizing way to put it but it really was what it tasted like.

(Mushroom Soup: "the heartiest chicken broth")

But now, if you will allow, I must move onto the real star of the show; the next course was literally one of the funniest things I have ever put in my mouth. I plopped the unassuming bite-size round into my mouth. Broke into a HUGE grin and literally said, “I didn’t just eat what I think I ate…” But sure enough, it really was what I thought it was – a big hunk o’ fat (again). This “Chicken Roll” is made up of pork fat (again from the back of the neck) wrapped around some chicken meat and then – as if that weren’t enough – deep fried into crispy little golden boxes. Good? Yes. Healthy? Ha! This dish came with some random sausages and another stellar dish – “Golden Coin Eel”. Pork fat again, matched with a slice of eel and some crunchy diced water chestnuts. And though none of it tasted the least bit oily, I definitely think I officially clogged three arteries then and there. Probably good that the following course was a plate of greens…

("Chicken Roll," "Golden Coin Eel," Sausage: amazing-ness)

("Chicken Roll" : Look! I just ate a piece of fat!)

Following was one of the best sweet and sour pork dishes I’ve ever had. Already, the appearance (think a lovely, bright orange) was a winner. The pork was deep-fried to an absolutely perfect crunchiness but was warm and fluffy on the inside, retaining all its meaty juiciness without being covered by the flavors of the deep-fried flour coating or the tangy sauce. ‘Twas quite beautiful. And next came the most surprising dish of the night – I’m usually totally not into Chinese style cooked whole chicken so I wasn’t exactly excited about the chicken platter that was placed on our table. I took a small piece, bit into it, and…wow. Really wow. I am not making this up – the chicken tasted like bacon. It was absolutely amazing. It was the first time I’ve ever had smoked chicken and really, I have to say it again, wow.

(Sweet n' Sour Pork)

(Smoked chicken)

The super-sweet restaurant staff and owner then gave us a complimentary heaping bowl of clams in spicy sauce with a buckload of chopped chives. A nice gesture but a confusing flavor. I think steaming with a little rice wine may have been nicer as the sauce had a strange sandy and overly-bold flavor that covered up the freshness of the clams. Thinking the meal was close to ending, a giant pot was brought to our table, set over a mini stove. This smelt so good, bubbling away. They lifted the heavy cover to reveal a beautiful scene of braising taro and goose. The goose was nice, yes, but it was completely and utterly overshadowed by the chunks of sandy-soft taro. Of course, being a tarophile, I’m naturally biased towards the tuber, but I wasn’t the only one on the table waxing lyrical about ‘em. Soft without being mushy, subtly sweet with a wonderful aroma… this was my single favorite food item of the night.

(Clams they are a-confusin')

(Waiting...)

(Ta-dah!)

(Fish broth veggies)

(Cheese udon: very strange)

A much-needed second plate of veggies arrived, bathed in a fish broth and topped with a hefty portion of small shrimps. Nothing to write home about but a welcoming dish to a fat-laden meal nonetheless. And to officially end the night, we were presented with a super-random Japanese-Italian fusion, cheese sauce udon noodles dish. But by this point, I was way past stuffed to try this but I believe I may not have missed out much by skipping out on this final course.

And there goes the end of an amazing meal. I guess I really should be berated for having no recollection of a restaurant this awesome. But then again, I was what? Six of seven years old back then…at an age where I would prefer eating rocks over a slab of foie gras. I will use that as my justification. And when my cholesterol level’s started to level off again, I will make it a point to come back here again.

Thanks Isaac for organizing!

FOOD: 4/5
SERVICE: 4/5
ATMOSPHERE: 4/5 (the night of the dinner); 2/5 (restaurant itself)

TAK LUNG ($$$)
25-29 Hong Keung Street
San Po Kong
2320-7020/ 2322-3783