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My godson Bear got a few days off school this week, and Mrs. Tigger decided to take him for another trip to Hong Kong Disneyland. She invited me to come along, and being the dutiful godfather that I am, I figured I'd take the afternoon off and join them.
When I arrived at the park, Bear was waiting to take pictures with Donald and Daisy - who were dressed as jack-o'-lanterns. We were soon picked up by our guide, who would accompany us on our three-hour tour.
Now, Mrs. Tigger has obviously taken Bear to Disneyland many, many times. So why would they need a tour guide, you ask? Well, for the tidy sum of HKD 4,688, the guide will spend three hours with you and take you anywhere you want, while enabling you and five of your friends to cut to the front of the line on any ride or any show. We entered through the exits and side doors of every ride, jumping in front of just about everyone else who was waiting in line. That was pretty damn sweet!
October 22, 2015
October 19, 2015
Double trouble
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The King was coming back to town, and the gang - some of us worked together going back as far as 20 years - got together for dinner. This time around I decided to pick the venue instead of relying on BM, as we usually do. The King had missed out on the opportunity to lunch at my favorite private dining space earlier this year, and I really wanted for him to have a chance to sample the dishes. I decided to rope in a couple of other old friends, too. We've also got Winnie the Chew
Every since my last visit here, I've been waiting for an opportunity to have both the Buddha jumps over the wall (佛跳牆) and the snake soup (蛇羹) together. I finally got my wish tonight!
Pan-fried stuffed tofu skin (香煎腐皮卷) - this was new to me, and I was looking forward to seeing how it would taste.
Stuffed with fish paste that's embedded with ham and spring onions, this was pretty good.
The King was coming back to town, and the gang - some of us worked together going back as far as 20 years - got together for dinner. This time around I decided to pick the venue instead of relying on BM, as we usually do. The King had missed out on the opportunity to lunch at my favorite private dining space earlier this year, and I really wanted for him to have a chance to sample the dishes. I decided to rope in a couple of other old friends, too. We've also got Winnie the Chew
Every since my last visit here, I've been waiting for an opportunity to have both the Buddha jumps over the wall (佛跳牆) and the snake soup (蛇羹) together. I finally got my wish tonight!
October 18, 2015
The parade of trolleys
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The Great One pinged and told us that Chef Francky Semblat was leaving Robuchon au Dôme - after serving as its executive chef since the restaurant's opening in 2001 - and she wanted to a final meal there before Francky's departure. Today seemed to be an agreeable date, but we were a little late in planning this meal. So, being the thick-skinned person that I am, I asked the PR team at Hotel Lisboa to see if they could help us secure a table. Thankfully they were able to put us in one of the private rooms when a customer chose not to confirm.
But Francky had already left. He's gone to help Oncle Joël open up the L'Atelier at Bund 18 in Shanghai, so the Great One missed her chance to bid him farewell. We hear that one of the executive chefs from L'Atelier in Hong Kong is filling the post, although we didn't ask whether it would be David Alves or Julien Tongourian. Anyway, I used the opportunity to help Winnie the Chew celebrate her birthday in style - for the second time in three days, and before her actual birthday...
The Great One threw down the gauntlet and dared us to take in the maximum number of courses for the regular set lunch, so how could any of us wimp out? It was time to secretly loosen the belt under the table...
The first order of business at any meal here is... butter. More specifically, Bordier butter. The butter trolley gets wheeled in, bearing two huge mounds of my favorite French butter, as the staff asks whether we would prefer the unsalted or salted variety. The Great One put her foot down and chose the salted butter for everyone because... why would any rational person choose the unsalted version? The attending staff dutifully used two large dinner spoons to scrape several "ribbon" of butter from the mound and placed them on serving dishes... Don't these look just absolutely beautiful??
The Great One pinged and told us that Chef Francky Semblat was leaving Robuchon au Dôme - after serving as its executive chef since the restaurant's opening in 2001 - and she wanted to a final meal there before Francky's departure. Today seemed to be an agreeable date, but we were a little late in planning this meal. So, being the thick-skinned person that I am, I asked the PR team at Hotel Lisboa to see if they could help us secure a table. Thankfully they were able to put us in one of the private rooms when a customer chose not to confirm.
But Francky had already left. He's gone to help Oncle Joël open up the L'Atelier at Bund 18 in Shanghai, so the Great One missed her chance to bid him farewell. We hear that one of the executive chefs from L'Atelier in Hong Kong is filling the post, although we didn't ask whether it would be David Alves or Julien Tongourian. Anyway, I used the opportunity to help Winnie the Chew celebrate her birthday in style - for the second time in three days, and before her actual birthday...
The Great One threw down the gauntlet and dared us to take in the maximum number of courses for the regular set lunch, so how could any of us wimp out? It was time to secretly loosen the belt under the table...
October 17, 2015
Deep fried on a stick
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A few of us were getting together for dinner and some wines, and I suggested that we check out Hidden Kitchen (秀殿) - which specializes in deep-fried food on sticks (串揚げ). A few months ago I saw a flurry of posts about the place, and was told that the place was popular with chefs in town. This wasn't at all surprising, since the place stays open till 4:30 a.m. and would be perfect for chefs who are looking for a place to eat after they close their own restaurants. It's kinda like one of those places that Tony Bourdain loves to check out with his chef buddies, and at the same time in the same vein as Shinya Shokudo (深夜食堂)...
Upon arrival we were advised that our seating is for 2½ hours, which would be fine for a casual eatery. We were seated at the counter but honestly, I didn't pay much attention to what the chefs were doing... We decided to order our food in several rounds, which I think would be the right thing to do at joints like this one.
Miso garlic (にんにく味噌漬け) - surprisingly this did not have the heavy, pungent taste of garlic... In addition to miso, there were also bonito flakes (鰹節).
Pacific saury sashimi (秋刀魚の刺身) - this is the season for Pacific saury (秋刀魚), so this was fatty and nice. There were a few pieces which were more bitter than others, tasting a little of the fish's organs.
A few of us were getting together for dinner and some wines, and I suggested that we check out Hidden Kitchen (秀殿) - which specializes in deep-fried food on sticks (串揚げ). A few months ago I saw a flurry of posts about the place, and was told that the place was popular with chefs in town. This wasn't at all surprising, since the place stays open till 4:30 a.m. and would be perfect for chefs who are looking for a place to eat after they close their own restaurants. It's kinda like one of those places that Tony Bourdain loves to check out with his chef buddies, and at the same time in the same vein as Shinya Shokudo (深夜食堂)...
Upon arrival we were advised that our seating is for 2½ hours, which would be fine for a casual eatery. We were seated at the counter but honestly, I didn't pay much attention to what the chefs were doing... We decided to order our food in several rounds, which I think would be the right thing to do at joints like this one.
October 16, 2015
Birthday season, again
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Another dinner for the gang to get together and celebrate two birthdays, and I'll be seeing the birthday girl three times in the next 4 days. Apparently she requested Seasons by Olivier E. as the venue, so I guess she must have liked the food when we first went there in January...
Our VIP friend told Olivier that it was Winnie the Chew's birthday (conveniently ignoring that we were also belatedly celebrating his), so Olivier very generously sent us Champagne. The Gosset Brut Grande Réserve was a little pungent, chalky, and dusty. Perhaps it was a problem with the glass? Slightly high acidity on the finish.
As usual we started with a series of nibbles, and I was glad that these were different from the ones I tried out in January.
French spicy chorizo "La Maison Louis Ospital"
Another dinner for the gang to get together and celebrate two birthdays, and I'll be seeing the birthday girl three times in the next 4 days. Apparently she requested Seasons by Olivier E. as the venue, so I guess she must have liked the food when we first went there in January...
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