Dine at Riviera @ AVA Restaurant Slash Bar

Hong Kong has long been known as the Riviera of the Orient. Typical tourist posters of the 1930s always boasted of the spectacular night view of the Victoria Harbour. One of the easiest ways for a gentleman to impress a lady is to bring her to a restaurant with a panoramic view of the Harbour. As a food blogger, I certainly need more. Only delicious and creative dishes, rather than Riviera this or that, can satisfy me (unless you actually bring me to Italy). Still, I had a wonderful experience in AVA that, I believe, most girls would enjoy as well.

Riviera of the Orient, 1935 Version

Riviera of the Orient, 2013 Version: taken at the Sky Garden

The view of the restaurant was sublime. Happily I was given a wonderful glass of beautiful prosecco to match it.

Though I usually focus on bread, the hearty butter had caught my attention this time. The “tri-colour” butter was infused with tomato (orange), pesto (green) and garlic (yellow). It was a joy to spread it on the warm bread provided. 

I was told that the appetizer was a signature dish of AVA, but was still pleasantly surprised by its taste and appearance. The colourful duo of crab salad was put inside an ice-bell. It did look like a magical ball that someone would make wishes or ask questions to. It did work wonders as well. The crab salad, with mango and avocado bits, was filled in a macaroon crust. Macaroon is one of my favourite, but I had not tried one with salad as fillings. I first had a small bite and instantly found that the dish was unexpectedly good. The sweet macaroon matched the salad perfectly. The Alaska crab meat was fresh and chewy and the avocado added some creamy texture to the lot. It was a complex dish and a multi-dimensional experience. It was certainly a worthy signature. 

The second dish was also a duo. I always enjoyed watching the spectacle of hot soup being poured into an empty bowl in front of me; it just stimulates my appetite. The cameras around me were kept flashing when the waiter poured the pumpkin soup into the bowl that contained a bit of concentrated foam of avocado and a piece of mint leaf. I then stirred to mix everything together. The chef said that Australian pumpkins were used as they were less sweet than their Japanese cousins. As coconut milk was used instead of cream, the soup was creamy and rich in coconut flavour. 

There were three main courses, including Butter Poached Lobster with Herbal Gnocchi, Lamb Rack with Mint Crust with Mashed Potato, and Slow Cook Sea Bass with Chorizo Crust. Gnocchi was chewy and tossed well with the lobster sauce. I seldom find pasta and gnocchi in non-Italian restaurants satisfactory. The gnocchi, however, gave me much confidence to try its pasta next time. Lamb rack was the best of the three. Its pink center was good enough; its juiciness and rich flavour had me conquered. It was so good that even my favourite sea bass looked less attractive.

Although carrot cake was one of my favourite desserts, I chose the signature raspberry and rose ice-cream like everyone else. We could watch the chef preparing the ice-cream with liquefied nitrogen. The presentation and appearance of the dessert were stunning. No wonder many used this “ice cream-making show” to propose. It is certainly romantic enough: dim lights, spectacular harbour view, mysterious smoke, red rose, and beautiful dessert. Cliché, cliché, cliché, but they worked just the same.

 

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After another barrage of camera flashes, we could finally taste the elegant-looking dessert. The ice-cream was quite light and aromatic with a touch of fruitiness from the berries. The smell of artificial rose oil, commonly used, was by no means pronounced. The tart was more like biscuit, but matched well with the ice-cream.   

The whole experience was amazing! Romantic ambiance, decent dishes, great view, what else can I ask for more? All my senses were satisfied. If there is anything I want to complain, that would be the absence of my valentine that night… I seriously consider celebrating the Valentine’s Day at AVA this year.
 

AVA Restaurant Slash Bar

38/F, Hotel Panorama by Rhombus, 8A Hart Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui

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Maison Kayser grand opening

早前有幸參加La Maison Eric Kayser的opening party，不僅能一嘗其出品，更能親睹Eric Kayser，實在開心不已。

Eric Kayser是法國著名麵包大師，得悉他要來香港開店，叫人雀躍。我亦曾自製麵包，功夫著實不少，更令我明白為何好的麵包售價可以等同一、兩碟飯的價錢。Eric Kayser用上天然酵母，講求時間、溫度和濕度的調控，當中涉及的心機和經驗已教人佩服。

早於參加此party之前，我已急不及待嘗過其出品，買了牛油蛋糕、無花果麵包和香橙麵包。兩款麵包都香氣迫人，無花果香甜，外層不會過厚過硬；香橙麵包夾雜著粒粒橙皮，清香卻不苦澀。牛油蛋糕較厚實，卻仍濕潤且充滿牛油香，用來送茶就最好不過。

是夜的opening party， 試了多款麵包和蛋糕，這自然少不了牛角包。在香港找到對辦的牛角包實在不易，我在巴黎旅行時，一天至少一個牛角包，對注重體重的我而言，簡直瘋狂。然而， 那滿腔牛油香氣，外脆內軟的質感實在叫人欲罷不能。在巴黎，隨意到一家麵包店買到的牛角包都不差。當然，得獎麵包店和老店就更令人傾心。

芝士球都不錯

食著Eric Kayser的牛角包，那熟悉的牛油香氣充斥口腔，內裡軟熟得很，氣孔充足，外層的酥皮微脆，的確不俗。於Opening party中食到的應是翻熱的，未知新鮮出爐的會否更好？

是夜雖未嘗到其牛角包漢堡，反而食到迷你漢堡。麵包烘得邊位帶脆，加上牛油和漢堡，難得漢堡扒juicy又有肉味，甚為美味。

其他多款蛋糕和批，其中含開心果味的蛋糕和批略為失色，欠缺果仁味道；檸檬撻的魚膠粉稍多，而且檸檬味不夠清新。我最喜歡的是朱古力香梨批和朱古力咖啡批。前者朱古力味濃郁帶微甘，和香梨的清甜，互為襯托，批底更不容置疑，夠結實又滿有牛油香；後者的朱古力和咖啡漿軟滑又香甜，最叫一眾食友讚賞。法國人做甜點真的勝人一籌，之後亦要來嘗試他的曲奇餅、Quiche和法包~

海港城接連開了Laduree 和 Eric Kayser，叫我這被巴黎甜點寵壞了的嘴巴得以解困，亦叫我更有動力做運動了~

Maison Eric Kayser 
尖沙咀廣東道17號海港城海運大廈地下G14-15號鋪

Warm branch of Assaggio @ Assaggio Trattoria Italiana (Mira Mall)

Italian cuisine is always popular in Hong Kong. Some of the signature dishes are simply everywhere in the town. Tiramisu is one of those dishes. Despite its ubiquity, however, you need some luck to have a good one in Hong Kong. I was really fortunate to have a pretty impressive one in Assaggio.

With warm lighting and cosy wooden furniture, I found the new branch of Assaggio an ideal place for gathering and causal dinning.

I came here twice in two months. The first time I came, I started with the cold cut and antipasti that was followed by a grilled Tomino cheese. I was glad to have Italian artichoke. No cheese lover could resist the rich and creamy grilled goat cheese melting over your palate. This was definitely a good appetizer for me.

With such a good start, I did not expect the Clean Beef Broth with Poached Egg and Parmesan Crouton to be so disappointing. Before following the chef’s recommendation to mix everything up, I tried the broth and it was really tasty. However, the egg yolk and parmesan overwhelmed the beefy taste. It became way too savoury and heavy. Really, I would rather have a simple beef broth.

Parmigiana di Melanzane was my favourite appetizer on the menu. Unlike many chain Italian restaurants, this was cheesy but not oily. The eggplant was freshly baked, with a soft but not paste-like texture. I had no doubt on quality of the tomato paste and cheese used here.

Without proper brick ovens, Italian restaurants in Hong Kong always failed to deliver authenticate pizzas. However, Assaggio’s pizzas were really good.

Assaggio’s Pizza was thin and crispy. A healthy amount of bubbles in the crust would bring it to another level.

The first time I came, I had a Quattro Formaggi (four cheese) pizza which included Scarmoza, Gorgonzola, Mozzarella and Taleggio. It was so satisfying!

I had a Calzone the second time I came. Both the pastry and fillings were rather bland. The biggest problem was the texture of the fillings. It was too crunchy. To provide a soft and cheesy texture and consistent taste, fillings of Calzone are usually cheese with spinach, ham, or mushroom, etc. I was surprised by the crunchy vegetable fillings including broccoli, bell peppers, and string beans. Even the egg could hardly help apart from making it visually more attractive. Perhaps the veggie should be cooked longer before they were filled into the Calzone, or the whole thing could be baked a little longer?

Pasta is another must-try item in any Italian restaurant. Frankly I was not entirely happy with the pasta at Assaggio, though it was certainly better than the average Italian restaurants around. I tried the Handmade Potato Gnocchi with Pork and Porcini Mushrooms Ragu and the Spinosini with tomato and basil. The texture of the Gnocchi was too soft instead of chewy. Spinosinii was far better. There were not many places offering Spinosini, a famous brand of pasta, and we did not hesitate picking this when we saw it on the menu. Spinosini used more eggs than usual and a simple tomato sauce would be a smart matching. Both the tomato base and porcini were awesome.

Although i was not fully satisfied with the pasta, I was really delighted with the meaty main courses. The Stewed Duck with Wild Mushrooms and Saucy Braised Beef Cheek with Polenta were worth trying. The duck leg was so tender that its meat fell off the bone. The sauce was full of duck and mushroom flavour and I could finish off a whole bowl of rice with this sauce. Instead of potato mash, the beef cheek came with polenta. Polenta was actually corn meal mash, a healthier replacement of carbohydrates. Beef cheek was one of my favourite beef dishes. I liked its tender and slightly-sticky texture. A little longer cooking would be even better.

One of the advantages of dinning with a group of friends is that we can try all the desserts on the menu. However, there were only three kinds of desserts available that night. We had apple and Pear Strudel Tarte with cinnamon ice-cream, hazelnut gelato Tartufo served with hot espresso coffee, and tiramisu.

I shall start with the least impressive one. As I have mentioned elsewhere, apple strudel was different from apple pie. The dough should be thin and slightly chewy. Assaggio did it right but it lacked butter flavour. The pear and apple fillings were quite balanced in terms of sweetness and sourness. However, the fruitiness was not apparent. Even the cinnamon flavour of the ice-cream was not strong enough. 

The second one was a modified version of afogato. The hazelnut gelato could probably be sweeter to balance the bitterness of espresso. I still preferred the traditional afogato. Tiramisu was the best. I could not help indulging in the smooth and aromatic mascarpone and the moist ladyfinger. I always like the addition of egg yolk to the mascarpone. Stronger coffee and Liquor flavour would bring it to perfection. I had it twice and the quality was happily consistent. This was worth every penny of it.

Although some fine tunings are needed here and there, it was generally above average. This has been added to my list of gathering venue. I do hope they will offer better pasta and more choices in the menu. 

Assaggio Trattoria Italiana

2/F, Mira Mall, 118 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui



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