A weak performance

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I did something unforgivable last week: I stood someone up for dinner.  I had made plans to check out the Japanese restaurant at the newly-opened Okura Hotel in Taipei for some tempura, and was really looking forward to that dinner - or so I thought.  I ended up changing my return flight from Hong Kong to the day of the dinner, but was too scatterbrained to remember that I had an engagement…

So as my friend sat in the restaurant wondering where I was - and getting no joy trying to raise me via phone or text messaging - he was smart enough to check on Facebook to see that I had just checked in at the Hong Kong International Airport minutes before our appointed dinner time.    Fortunately he was able to call someone on the spot and avoided the disaster of dining alone.  I, of course, only discovered my terrible deed upon landing and seeing the missed calls and texts.  Needless to say I apologized profusely…

Still wanting to get together for dinner, I asked to try out some place new for sushi, so my friend suggested that we meet at Shunsai (旬採).  He was, in fact, at the very same restaurant yesterday when we made plans to meet up, but he was kind enough to accompany me tonight for dinner.  I was looking forward to discovering yet another quality place in Taipei.

Steak and wine birthday

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I'm back in Hong Kong for a last-minute trip after spending just two days in Taipei, and came back just in time to dodge a typhoon join the birthday dinner of an old friend.  I've known the birthday boy ojisan for some 17 years, ever since I first arrived in Hong Kong.  Our group of friends have known each other for long periods of time, and have been pretty tight-knit throughout.  There is something to be said about long-lasting friendships…

The birthday boy wanted steak, and asked to try out Grand Hyatt Steakhouse.  I've heard the buzz about this place ever since it opened, but as I'm not big on steaks - unlike someone I know - I never found the urge to check the place out.

We started with some big chunks of garlic bread.  I find garlic pretty irresistible, but don't have many opportunities to chomp on garlic bread much.  These were very yummy with crispy crusts.  I took down two of these tonight…

Spice up your life

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If there's one major Chinese cuisine missing from my regular diet, it's Sichuanese.  I was brought up without spicy food, and over the years I've gradually gone from zero tolerance to being able to take in some heat.  However, I still do not actively look for spicy food, especially the likes of Sichuanese or Hunanese.  Occasionally I will tag along when someone really wants it.

Mrs. Tigger was hankering for some spicy food, so we met up at Golden Valley (駿景軒) in the Emperor (Happy Valley) Hotel.  Believe it or not, this dining outlet inside the hotel with a long and somewhat colorful reputation has got itself a little macaron from the tire man.  I've dined here a few times before the honor was bestowed, and I thought the food really wasn't bad at all.

I was pretty glad that the original plans of doing hotpot were nixed, so that we would be ordering à la carte.  This meant I would have the opportunity to see what the kitchen can deliver.

Sautéed green chili with vinegar (虎皮尖椒) - at first this was deceptively mild.  It's only after having had a couple of these that the real heat catches up with you.  I blame the black beans…

Burning down the house

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I was getting together with a couple of foodie friends today, and someone suggested Gold by Harlan Goldstein as the venue.  It just so happened that Harlan had pinged me a couple of weeks ago, telling me that I should come try out his new dishes.  So what do you do when you're in need of a table for a Saturday night, and happen to be on friendly terms with the chef of a popular and difficult-to-book restaurant?  You shameless beg the chef for a table, of course!

I try not to do it often, and honestly there are only a couple of places around town where I feel brave enough to do so, but somehow I always end up asking the Boss Man for a table… and he's always been kind and accommodating.

Along the way, we lost one of the crew to an Indian wedding, so I decided to rope in My Favorite Cousin, since she's always up for a good meal and I know she enjoys going to Gold.  After I extended the invitation, I realized that I would be totally outnumbered by 3 Aussies… Yikes!

Big isn't always beautiful

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I'm back at Fook Lam Moon (福臨門) for lunch with Tigger and family.  It's one of my favorite places for dim sum, and I haven't been here in a while, so naturally I was pretty excited about this visit.

We have a relatively big group today, although if I actually counted there weren't actually that many mouths to feed.  We ordered up a storm anyway…

Steamed rice wrapped in lotus leaf (鮮荷葉飯) - this was ordered and arrived first, since some of us had to leave early and stomachs needed filling fast.  Very delicious but what a huge portion!  One of us ended up with 6 bowls of this…