The Boathouse
Time: 6pm, Sunday
Place: The Boathouse
88 Stanley Street, Stanley, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2813 4467
Wah Lam Noodle Restaurant 華南粉麵茶餐廳
Time: 2am, Monday
Place: Wah Lam Noodle Restaurant 華南粉麵茶餐廳
G/F & 1/F, 5-11 Thomson Rd, Wan Chai
Tel: +852 2527 2478
Thanks for dragging me for late night supper, Alex. It was worth the calories. The beef brisket noodles are 2am divine.
Cafe Gray Deluxe
Time: 1pm, Monday
Place: Cafe Gray Deluxe
The Upper House 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 3968 1106
Day or night, the ambiance and view from Upper House's Cafe Gray Deluxe always leaves me feeling like Hong Kong is the best place in the world.
Wah Lam Noodle Restaurant 華南粉麵茶餐廳 (again)
Time: 9pm, MondayPlace: Wah Lam Noodle Restaurant 華南粉麵茶餐廳
G/F & 1/F, 5-11 Thomson Rd, Wan Chai
Tel: +852 2527 2478
Round two, to go. This time, I wanted to try the curry beef. Wah Lam hits the spot again.
One Thirty-One
Time: 8:30pm, Tuesday
Place: One Thirty-One
131 Tseng Tau Village Shap Sze Heung, New Territories
Tel: +852 2791-2684
Romantic spot in Sai Kung, but the journey from Central is seriously a pain... we had the additional misfortune of our cab blowing a flat along the way. I'd recommend One Thirty-One for a day time visit, since nothing but the small interior of the building is visible at night. The view during the day includes a waterfront and an expansive manicured lawn. Not to mention that the dinner menu costs a pretty penny (6-course prix fixe menu for two is HKD$2400++ vs lunch 4-course prix fixe for two HKD$1200++).
One Thirty-One's strengths are in using the simplest techniques to allow the integrity of the produce to shine through (baby beetroots with smoked rosemary cake, quail, Australian wagyu). The dishes that kept the main produce whole and intact without much fussing with modern kitchen toys, allowed for a focus on the complexity and pairing of the natural flavors of the ingredients.
On the other hand, we found the dishes with too much "play" led to sub-par dishes (e.g. monkfish served in minced, repacked form resulted in a dense, dry, crumbly texture without much flavor—not qualities I look for in fish). Dinner remained interesting throughout since each dish in the 6-course was vastly different from one another, each using different techniques and different ingredients. For the oenophilist, the wine list was also rather limited and not meant for pairing.
One Thirty-One's strengths are in using the simplest techniques to allow the integrity of the produce to shine through (baby beetroots with smoked rosemary cake, quail, Australian wagyu). The dishes that kept the main produce whole and intact without much fussing with modern kitchen toys, allowed for a focus on the complexity and pairing of the natural flavors of the ingredients.
On the other hand, we found the dishes with too much "play" led to sub-par dishes (e.g. monkfish served in minced, repacked form resulted in a dense, dry, crumbly texture without much flavor—not qualities I look for in fish). Dinner remained interesting throughout since each dish in the 6-course was vastly different from one another, each using different techniques and different ingredients. For the oenophilist, the wine list was also rather limited and not meant for pairing.
Caviar with potato hot & cold
Baby beets with rosemary, mozzarella, berry balsamic
Monkfish with cauliflower 3 ways, truffle, sherry vinegar
Tea-smoked quail with peach, miso, eggplant
Wagyu with sweet corn, black garlic, broccolini, puffed rice
Mint pot with guanaja cremeux, mint sherbert, hazelnut soil