Bouilla-less

Pin It

Yes, I'm back at On Lot 10 again.  No, this was not my idea, but rather my Favorite Cousin's.  Mr. and Mrs. Ho were back in town, and as my very first visit to this restaurant was at their suggestion, it seemed like a logical choice.  Knowing Mr. Ho's fondness for bouillabaisse, I asked David to prepare a special version for us.  Both Mr. Ho and I were pretty excited at the prospect of enjoying this.

The staff had no idea that I was coming, since the reservation wasn't under my name.  I sat down and enquired about the bouillabaisse, but our friendly waiter didn't know anything about it.  He disappeared to check with the kitchen.  Nope.  No word on our special order, so the kitchen had nothing.  Umm……

This hasn't happened before.  We don't usually order specific items with David, as it's usually carte blanche, but there was a particular reason for a specific order this time.  Maybe he was too busy and forgot to pass the word down to the kitchen.  But I was stuck: I wasn't able to deliver the bouillabaisse that I had promised our out-of-town guests.

Right and Rhône

Pin It

Time for another MNSC Dinner, and the gang congregated on a Sunday night in the Grill Room of the Hong Kong Country Club.  I'm usually pretty skeptical of club food, so I didn't get my hopes up about the quality of the food.  I was, however, looking forward to whatever wines Juliano was about to serve us…

Baked oyster in two style:

Champagne emulsion - with diced mushrooms.

Lisboa tour 2012: La Paloma

Pin It

With a couple of hours to kill before dinner, we decided to arrive early and relax on the outdoor terrace at Pousada de São Tiago.  The 17th century fortress turned hotel seemed an ideal location for us to wrap up our tour of Macau.

While on the terrace, I struggled for a long time to come up with the perfect drink.  It was just before dinner, but I was still full from the combination of lunch and dessert.  I'd already had 2 types of tea since lunch, so I definitely did not need any more caffeine.  Alcohol?  I had pre-ordered wine for dinner and didn't want to get buzzed now.  In the end, I think I gave my friends a chuckle as I ordered a glass of watermelon juice…

When I first saw the sign for La Paloma, I was immediately struck by the typeface, which bore a striking resemblance to the one used by Paloma Picasso for her brand.  Curious…

A Kafkaesque afternoon

Pin It

We were feeling very full after our wonderful lunch, and left the Grand Lisboa on a mission.  Lemon Tea wanted to check out this dessert place on Taipa, so the group of us went on a little adventure.  I rode a Macanese bus for the first time, got off at the closest stop, and strolled down Avenida de Kwong Tung towards our destination.

I had never heard of KAFKA Sweets & Gourmandises - the shop, that is.  Then again, I'm not very up to date on my Macanese destinations.  I found it curious that the owners of this joint - pretty much in the middle-of-nowhere as far as Macau is concerned - would name it after a literary giant.  OK, so it's located on a street whose Chinese name is 布拉格街, which is the same translation as Prague (Kafka's home town), but the "Braga" in Rua da Braga refers to the Portuguese city of Braga, not Prague (which is actually "Praga" in Portuguese)…  Well, whatever…

The place was fully packed, and we had to wait outside for a little while.  I'm not in the habit of waiting in line for food, but we're on a group activity here so I kept my opinions to myself.  It looked like a stereotypical joint that perhaps gained its popularity through the combination of having pretty-looking and colorful products, a decent interior design, and some clever marketing to the right target audience.  In short, it looks like a place I'd normally steer clear of.  But hey, I've got a couple of hours to kill, and I'm in the hands of experts, so just go with the flow…

Lisboa tour 2012: The Eight

Pin It

I woke up fairly late this morning, feeling a little more refreshed.  I opted not to have breakfast this morning, as the last thing I needed was more food… Finally at around 11:30, or more than 13 hours after finishing dinner last night, I felt the first indication of hunger pangs…

I was really looking forward to lunch at The Eight.  The meal I had last year was totally awesome, and I knew we were in for a series of different dishes this time around, with an additional stomach to help spread the food around…

Two little bite-sized amuses bouches started us off:

Stir-fried diced beef - with a little bit of celery perhaps?