Some call it a renovation; I call it a revolution - The Pawn

It’s been a while that I haven’t updated my blog. One chef restarts it: Tom Aikens. When I heard about that he is going to open a restaurant in HK, I was exalted. You have “celebrity” chefs opening restaurants here and there in HK these days, but you don't always have them actually cooking in the kitchen. When I knew that he would be cooking during the soft opening, nothing can stop me from giving it a go!

The original "old Hong Kong" interior decor of the Pawn is revitalised by a clever use of potted plants, colourful features, and sleek furniture. The bar is turned into a stylish yet relaxing space, a venue worthy of the best afternoon tea.

When I went up to the restaurant, I could not believe what I saw: Chef Tom Aikens, whom I saw on the BBC last week, stood in front of me inside the open kitchen! I couldn’t help staring at him during the whole night, at the expense of becoming a laughing stock of my half-witted husband who failed to understand my excitement and possibly many others. I managed to go back to the menu and ordered some traditional dishes and innovative combinations of ingredients, not without considerable struggle. I was kindly assisted by Karen the waitress, the manager, and other staff members who helped us to pick the best dishes and matching wine. They also explained the dishes to us clearly and interacted with us with a healthy dose of humour - a rare gift these days. 

While waiting for the appetisers, I lost no time to get closer to the open kitchen and observe Chef Aikens. He was busy preparing food like a surgeon tending a full camp of wounded soldiers. I know it is not the most appetising parable but his seriousness really made me think of that. 

Back to the food. The house-made ricotta was silky smooth and bursting with a distinctive milky favour. The lightness of ricotta and the sweetness of balsamic was a perfect combination for an appetiser. This can be an awesome filling for cannoli too. Another appetiser was one of our favourite dishes that night. Usually I could not resist Duck liver parfait, but I always find it hard to finish one by myself. This one was exceptional. The creamy parfait was well seasoned, and was filled with duck meat and crispy skin. You just cannot get enough of it. My husband usually refuses to eat duck livers but he succumbed that night and finished half of the dish. 

The main dishes came from another open kitchen. My truffle mac and cheese was so aromatic that even the diners next to us couldn’t help staring. Little could go wrong if you can manage to make a dish that aromatic. The macaroni was chewy and the cheese sauce was just right. It was a simple dish, but could easily go wrong. They nailed it. Completely.

I always tell my husband not to order seared scallop when eating outside as I too can manage that at home. However, I suggested him to order the Scallop, celeriac puree and black pudding crumb at the Pawn. Because the dish was a lot more than perfectly seared scallops; it was a combination of matching ingredients that offers a sensational experience. When the dish was served, we were instantly impressed by the elegant plating. A lot was going on, but you can see the careful construction and the considerable amount of thought behind it. I particularly liked the lard and celeriac puree - a rather "yin-yang" combination that raised the dish to another level. The scallops were of course perfectly seared, cooked with down-to-seconds precision.

 

We also picked one traditional and one innovative dessert. The sticky toffee pudding was expectedly good. British puddings pose a constant dilemma to me. It is succulent and comforting but is also sinfully sweet. Tom’s version was a rather classical one. The prune ice-cream did justice of the pudding by enhancing the fruit flavour. All were good, but I slightly prefer the lighter version at Bread Street Kitchen (by none other British chef but the legendary Gordon Ramsay) another night.

Chef Aikens' interpretation of panna cotta with lime leaf and basil was mind-blowing to me. I could hardly resist basil-infused dessert. This one was more than that. The lime and sweet basil ganache inside the panna cotta was amazing. There was so much going on in my mouth. Milky panna cotta, aromatic and rustic sweet basil, sweet and acidic berry sorbet and a little salty black olives were all there - it was a challenging yet satisfying experience. That was exactly my impression about Chef Aikens when I watched the Great British Menu.

From my observation, Chef Aikens never stopped working except perhaps during a few moments of lull. His attention to detail was admirable. It's not rocket science or brain surgery: one can tell the difference between a chef who did not attend his restaurant’s opening and one who spend the entire night working on most, if not all, of the dishes passing in front of him. He had all my respect after that night.

There was something more after the glorious desserts - the staff kindly asked Chef Aikens if he could take a picture with me and he agreed! That was extraordinary.

It seems to me that the Pawn experienced something a lot more than a mere renovation. From chic decor to exemplary staff members to impeccable food, we witnessed a revolution there. One thing still grinds my mind, though: I wrote about the Pawn long ago and noted the gap between the place and the surrounding community. That did not change much, except the fact that more ridiculously priced properties are being built there.

The Pawn
62 Johnston Road, Wan Chai

Food: wwwwwwwww
Service:wwwwwwwww
Environment: wwwwwwww

My amateurish experience of cupping @ The Coffee Academics (by invitation)

When I was attending the course of City and Guilds held by Coffee Academics, I asked them whether they would have cupping course in the future. To my delight, I was invited to join the cupping class.

The only experience of cupping class I had was in Rabbithole @ Central. Thus, this is a good chance to compare the two classes and maybe to reflect on my experience. Having visited this Wanchai store twice, I had no difficulty in finding the store (please see my review at Openrice), which is next to the legendary Fuk Lam Moon. It was nice to have lessons in such a relaxing environment. To provide additional privacy for class attendants, the staff enclosed the lovely wooden desk with a glass partition.

When I arrived, the instructor, Raymond, was busy grinding the coffee for a trial and preparing for the class. The grinder he used was Kalita, a common but decent choice for hand brew.

The cupping class involved coffee beans from five origins. The steps are generally the same as those I had learned. We first smelled the ground coffee and jogged down its dry aroma.

We then added hot water of 92-96 degree Celsius (the optimal temperature for brewing) to the coffee and waited for 2 minutes. It was followed by the most important step, breaking the crust, and we put our noses as close to the coffee as we could to enjoy the aroma.

Slowly clearing the foam on the surface, we tasted the coffee and judged its character. Like tasting wine, we had to inhale some air into the mouth at the same time to ensure every taste bud is in contact with the wine. The tasting part was repeated after the coffee was cooled down a bit.

The coffee I liked most that night was Columbia CoE, followed by geisha, with their character quite consistent with my favourite coffee. What surprised me most was the taste of Yirgacheffe which is usually my favourite. It was full of floral aroma as usual, but the fruitiness was not apparent. It tasted like over-extracted. As I did not have much information of the beans we used that night, I was not sure if the roast level is different from what we usually have. There are too many variables. I hope I can ask the instructor next time.

 

Cupping is a standard method of judging coffee quality, especially for coffee traders. Cupping roast enables us to spot the defects as well as the different flavour of coffee beans, be it floral, fruity, or complexity. Though crucial, the issue of cupping roast went unexplained in both cupping classes that I attended. The standard procedures for cupping are rather simple, but one needs a lot of experience to master it. All you need is a grinder, the essential equipment for home brewing, for cupping. In theory, any coffee lover who had some sort of training can practise at home. And it is time for me to practice again~