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OK, so we were sitting indoors on a cloudy night in Hong Kong, and Don McLean was nowhere in sight… but the evening was nevertheless filled with "stars". On this night, a small group of us gathered in one corner of the crystal chandelier-filled dining room of Caprice, our beloved Michelin 3-star restaurant, to celebrate one of the stars of the Hong Kong dining scene - Chef Vincent Thierry.
After 8 years in Hong Kong - and having helped set up Caprice from scratch and elevating it to 3-star status after Michelin's arrival in Hong Kong - Vincent has decided to move on to newer challenges. A few of us came to the restaurant last month but failed to catch him, so we were very happy to be here tonight as tomorrow would be his last day here.
I arrived to find our menu for the evening on the table. I had sent a message to the chef asking him to put together something special to remember him by, and was curious to see which dishes would be chosen to represent "classic Caprice"…
August 30, 2013
August 29, 2013
My 3,000-calorie dinner
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Less than a week after my last dinner here, I'm back at Tenku RyuGin (天空龍吟) for another 10 courses. A friend is in town from Taipei and our host insisted on coming back for this dinner. Not wanting to have the same dishes twice in less than a week, I pleaded with Takano-san - the restaurant's assistant manager - to have the chef arrange a different menu for us. Fortunately the chef was agreeable, and only 4 out of the 10 courses tonight were identical to what I had last time.
Mixed salad of "KEGANI" crab and sea urchin, topped with black vinegar jelly of chrysanthemum ("北海道毛蟹"のうに和え 菊の花の黒酢ジュレと共に) - similar main ingredient but slightly different from the first course last week. There is definitely some crab roe (蟹味噌) in the ball of shredded crab meat, and in fact the inspiration behind the chef's creation of crab meat, roe, sea urchin and black vinegar apparently came from the local yellow oil crab (黃油蟹, female mud crab) - except that all the parts still come from the Japanese horsehair crab. In addition to the chrysanthemum there are also chunks of avocado, strands of ginger (in keeping with the Chinese theme of pairing crab roe with black vinegar and ginger), and cucumber.
Less than a week after my last dinner here, I'm back at Tenku RyuGin (天空龍吟) for another 10 courses. A friend is in town from Taipei and our host insisted on coming back for this dinner. Not wanting to have the same dishes twice in less than a week, I pleaded with Takano-san - the restaurant's assistant manager - to have the chef arrange a different menu for us. Fortunately the chef was agreeable, and only 4 out of the 10 courses tonight were identical to what I had last time.
August 24, 2013
Comfort kaiseki
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I haven't seen the Tiggers for over a month, and I finally got a chance to see them today. As I had already been naughty last night, and was about to break my diet again tonight, I reluctantly turned down Tigger's invitation to lunch at 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana. Looking back I kinda regret turning them down, because I would have been there for my godson's first Michelin 3-star meal…
Dinner time rolled around and we made our way back to Tenku RyuGin (天空龍吟). This place has fast become the Tiggers' favorite Japanese restaurant, and who can blame them when they were blown away by things like the deep-fried sakura shrimp over rice on their first visit?!
It's now late summer, so the menu has changed again to take advantage of the seasonal ingredients. The staff brought out some corn and soy beans to show us, so I guess we'll be having some of those tonight…
I haven't seen the Tiggers for over a month, and I finally got a chance to see them today. As I had already been naughty last night, and was about to break my diet again tonight, I reluctantly turned down Tigger's invitation to lunch at 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana. Looking back I kinda regret turning them down, because I would have been there for my godson's first Michelin 3-star meal…
Dinner time rolled around and we made our way back to Tenku RyuGin (天空龍吟). This place has fast become the Tiggers' favorite Japanese restaurant, and who can blame them when they were blown away by things like the deep-fried sakura shrimp over rice on their first visit?!
It's now late summer, so the menu has changed again to take advantage of the seasonal ingredients. The staff brought out some corn and soy beans to show us, so I guess we'll be having some of those tonight…
August 23, 2013
Lukewarm and weak
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It's Friday night, and time for another cheat meal. The Alcoholics were having a mini-gathering in honor of a guest from out of town, and we picked Bistronomique for some of David Lai's yummy food. As I got off the taxi on Davis Street and made my way around the corner, I suddenly wondered if David was the new King of K-Town as far as food is concerned. With the new Bistronomique Boucherie occupying a space between Bistronomique and Boulangerie Bistronomique, the branding and message is loud and clear.
For some reason I never realized that there was more to Boulangerie Bistronomique than meets the eye… at least mine. The stairs on the side actually lead to not just a kitchen but a dining space above. Now that the renovation has been completed, this space is now handling the overflowing customers from Bistronomique. Some of the dishes are prepped in the Bistronomique kitchen, then brought around the corner and finished in the kitchen here.
It took the four of us a bit of time to put in our food order, as we seemed more intent on catching up after many months. It's been quite a while since I was last here, and while the menu has expanded significantly, it was comforting to see that my favorite dishes have remained. We ordered everything to share but I ended up skipping some of the dishes tonight, as I wanted to focus my calorie quota on the things I liked best. The ladies probably found this behavior a little strange, coming from me….
It's Friday night, and time for another cheat meal. The Alcoholics were having a mini-gathering in honor of a guest from out of town, and we picked Bistronomique for some of David Lai's yummy food. As I got off the taxi on Davis Street and made my way around the corner, I suddenly wondered if David was the new King of K-Town as far as food is concerned. With the new Bistronomique Boucherie occupying a space between Bistronomique and Boulangerie Bistronomique, the branding and message is loud and clear.
For some reason I never realized that there was more to Boulangerie Bistronomique than meets the eye… at least mine. The stairs on the side actually lead to not just a kitchen but a dining space above. Now that the renovation has been completed, this space is now handling the overflowing customers from Bistronomique. Some of the dishes are prepped in the Bistronomique kitchen, then brought around the corner and finished in the kitchen here.
It took the four of us a bit of time to put in our food order, as we seemed more intent on catching up after many months. It's been quite a while since I was last here, and while the menu has expanded significantly, it was comforting to see that my favorite dishes have remained. We ordered everything to share but I ended up skipping some of the dishes tonight, as I wanted to focus my calorie quota on the things I liked best. The ladies probably found this behavior a little strange, coming from me….
August 21, 2013
Bespoke diet lunch
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I'm having lunch with the neighbors today, and On Lot 10 was suggested as the venue. In all these years I don't think I'd ever been there for lunch, and given Scubagolfer's pretty positive review not long ago, I thought I'd go check it out.
Trying to stick to a strict dietary program wreaks havoc with your social life and engagements. Not having been to the restaurant for lunch means I have no idea what could be on the menu. I don't want to get to a restaurant only to find out that I can't order the right type of stuff to stay within the boundaries of the program!
Fortunately, I do know the boss at this particular establishment. So I pinged David and ask him to help prepare something for me. He's seen my photo album on Facebook documenting my daily meals, so he understands the situation I'm in. I asked for a simple pasta with some meat or seafood, plus the ability to have some veggies on the side. All low fat and low salt, of course.
I'm having lunch with the neighbors today, and On Lot 10 was suggested as the venue. In all these years I don't think I'd ever been there for lunch, and given Scubagolfer's pretty positive review not long ago, I thought I'd go check it out.
Trying to stick to a strict dietary program wreaks havoc with your social life and engagements. Not having been to the restaurant for lunch means I have no idea what could be on the menu. I don't want to get to a restaurant only to find out that I can't order the right type of stuff to stay within the boundaries of the program!
Fortunately, I do know the boss at this particular establishment. So I pinged David and ask him to help prepare something for me. He's seen my photo album on Facebook documenting my daily meals, so he understands the situation I'm in. I asked for a simple pasta with some meat or seafood, plus the ability to have some veggies on the side. All low fat and low salt, of course.
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