February, time for romance @ Island Shangri-La

The CNY aside, February is always a busy yet rewarding month for men and women alike. We plan what to buy, where to dine, and how to spend the romantic night together. Everwhere you have special treats and menu for Valetine…

As I can hardly resist a nice afternoon tea, I was excited to try the Island Shangri-la’s recent special that is only available for a short while. As if a decent cuppa and fine little sweets are not enough, this afternoon tea came with Pierre Jouet’s Rose. Having afternoon tea in a Harbour-side hotel with your loved ones sounds, I know, cliché, but you do have a decent Champange here to brighten things up. It was foggy day when I was there for a media event; that glass of champagne was particularly helpful.

The scone here is commendable; it is difficult to find a nice piece of scone these days, even in London, let alone in Hong Kong. I was still haunted by my recent experience in one of the big name hotels in London, but the scone here was a pleasant surprise, though it is by no means perfect. It got a nice fluffy texture; it would be better if it is more buttery. The flavour needs some more work. I had much worse but I indeed had better ones.

 

The menu was, I presume, tailored to suit the champagne. I found the lobster sandwich, Alaskan crabmeat sandwich and foie gras terrine went particularly well with the champagne. The champagne marinated Gravlax was very refreshing; could be a good appetizer for my dinner.

Many of the sweets are worth trying. I would recommend the cherry and champagne cheesecake and the mascarpone and champagne rollcake. I am not a big fan of cheesecake but I did like this one. It was not heavy at all and actually quite balanced between the cheesy and sweet flavours. The rollcake was very moist and filled with creamy mascarpone. Shangri-La should consider keeping these items in their cake shop. But it was the Amour cake that won the day. It was beautifully constructed sponge cake with champagne infused cream layers, with shiny bubbles on top, possibly a tribute to the champagne. I could easily finish my slice.

 

Apart from the tiny glitches here and there, this thematic afternoon tea was beautiful. The chef’s effort in pairing the food with the champagne was particularly commendable. There was no “tea” per se here; this French interpretation of tea works just fine for me.

Island Shangri-La

Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road, Central, Hong Kong

Food: wwwwwww
Service:wwwwwww1/2w
Environment: wwwwwww1/2w

2/3甜度，2/3水準 @ 2/3 Dolci

2/3 Dolci應該是近來其中一間熱店吧~ 短短數月便從灣仔的本店，擴展至又一城，相信應該有點能耐。又，從網上的相片及其專頁，看到多款賣相精美的蛋糕，包裝亦甚精緻，讓我甚為期待。此店標榜其甜度是意大利食譜的2/3，可惜連水準都只得2/3。

早前情人節前夕，特地拉CM來訂蛋糕，順道一嚐其自家製雪糕。最近實在太忙，是以相隔兩個月才有時間整理好相片，更新網誌。當晚飯過後來，蛋糕櫃剩下的款式不多。蛋糕約$40件，但較一般的小，定價頗為進取。我倆點了蛋糕雪糕套餐，可以嚐到兩款蛋糕和四款口味的雪糕。另外，又預訂了四件蛋糕於情人節當天取。

店員放好蛋糕和雪糕後，沒有通知我們要自行到櫃面拿，以致我們留意到時，雪糕已溶了一點。坦白說，這雖說沒plating可言，但於此「相機先食」的年代，放得美觀點可以嗎？

先談蛋糕，Leggero Caramello外層的焦點奶油丁點焦糖味都沒有，味道與內裡的雪芳蛋糕未能造成對比，底層的朱古力碎又少得可有可無，我食到一半已放棄了。另一件柚子蛋卷稍為好些，蛋糕很軟綿，質感不俗，奶油亦清甜，淡淡的柚子味於口腔閃過，尚可與日本普通餅店的出品媲美。

至於雪糕，味道都未見突出，絕非我會再試的出品。朱古力不夠香濃邪惡，伯爵茶茶香不俗，而開心果則欠果仁香，與意大利當地的開心果gelato，味道相距甚遠。其後發現其為gelato，而非雪糕，更教我跌眼鏡，無論味道，還是質感，不少本地品牌都比它好，遑論意大利的出品了。

有點後悔衝動地訂下蛋糕，應該先試一、兩件再決定嘛！

情人節當晚拿的蛋糕包括了7-layers espresso、Amore、Nocciola和83%Cupola。

7-layers espresso由咖啡cream、海綿蛋糕和朱古力相間而成，咖啡的味道都夠突出，與朱古力配搭得不俗，能突顯其苦，可惜稍欠甘香。味道尚算不錯，但蛋糕質感就不及格了，未能做到層次分明，口感有點糊。

 Nocciola則是簡單的榛子慕絲蛋糕，中間以榛子醬點綴，令蛋糕更為滑溜，惜比例較少。榛子果仁香不俗，甜度不高，慕絲幼滑度一般。以其味道和價格而言，不太值得一試。

83%Cupola亦甚簡單，由83%的黑朱古力慕絲、榛子牛油餅底和朱古力鏡面組成，牛油餅底有點乾，同樣未能留下深刻印象。

 

整體而言，蛋糕於味道和創意方面均未能令我能下深刻印象，即便簡單的款式，香氣和質感仍有改善空間。意大利常用的開心果、朱古力和榛子等味道的甜品未見突出，反而以味道清甜為賣點的甜品做得比較好。即使於香港，其出品絕對談不上是一線的蛋糕店，遑論意大利，以至巴黎的出品。在香港心癢想食甜的話，以此價位，有更好的選擇，應該不會到此了。

 

2/3 Dolci
G-Kiosk S1, (Half Landing), Festival Walk, Kowloon Tong

Food: wwwwww
Service:wwwwww1/2w
Environment: wwwwww

More than Fish and Meat (by invitation)

Like Blue Butcher, another restaurant by Maximal Concepts, it is difficult to get a table in Fish and Meat even months after its opening. With the success of Blue Butcher and the Brickhouse in mind, I surely expected a lot from Fish and Meat. My experience at F&M confirms that this restaurant group is among the best in Hong Kong.

The decor of Fish and Meat followed the simple but cozy industrial style of Blue Butcher – this kind of style is getting more popular in Hong Kong. The biggest difference is probably the semi-open kitchen where the dinners (mostly with camera) can have a glimpse of the cooking process.

To start with, we had roasted bone marrow crostini and sea urchin with lardo bruschetta. Roasted bone marrow was sinfully good. Who could resist the crunchy crostini soaked with some melted bone marrow. The sea urchin was very fresh; its sweetness was brought to another level of complexity by the saltiness of the lardo. It was indeed a lovely combination!

After that, I was nearly filled up by the rosemary hand-ground Dutch veal and pork meatballs. More tomato sauce and melted cheese for the meatballs would make it a remarkable dish.

 

I then had a rather light and refreshing Pepperoncini cocktail to clean my palate. It contained Ice Fox vodka, Lillet blanc, jalapeño and cucumber. The apricot and cucumber smelled and tasted strong, while the expected spiciness from jalapeño went nearly unnoticed. It was a perfect substitute to the lemonade. 

For the main dish, we first had fresh tagliatelle in fontina and pepperoni sauce with chicken skin & truffle emulsion. The tagliatelle was a little soft; the chicken skin was very crispy. A simple truffle cream sauce was good enough for a decent homemade pasta.

The cocktail here was really a trap for women. I finished it amazingly quickly! I had another signature cocktail, Pesto martini. Pesto was my favourite companion of bread and pasta, and it turned out to be great with cocktail. Compared to the previous one, this cocktail tasted stronger and had a distinctly creamy texture and a hint of basil aroma. Again, the cocktails of the restaurants under Maximal Concepts did not disappoint.

 

You can hardly miss fish and meat in a restaurant that is named after them. Of what was offered, the roasted French turbot with carrot puree, brown shrimp, and smoked prawn was my favourite. The turbot was perfectly seared. Its slightly crispy edges and the tender and flaky meat were pretty enjoyable. Even the shrimp was full of the taste of seawater. Fish lovers must not miss this dish.  

 Another main dish, Peter’s Farm Dutch veal chop 'Milanese' was heavily seasoned on the skin, but it was a bit overcooked, at least to me.

Although I had had a lot of carbo, I could hardly resist the sweet corn polenta. It was very sweet and light. A little less watery would perfect it. 

By then, I was pretty satisfied with the whole meal, but the best had yet to come. The country clotted cream whipped mascarpone "cheesecake" with raspberry and shortbread crumble forcefully challenged the idea that cheesecakes are always heavy. The one I had was silky and light. 

Dark chocolate fondant with salted caramel and homemade Tahitian vanilla ice cream was quite nice too; would be better if the chocolate was more bitter and richer.

The best was the last to come. The Sicilian lemon tart was definitely worth fighting for. The tangyness and sweetness, and the proportion of the tart base and the lemon curd was perfectly balanced. I would be the first one to join if the pastry chef of F&M offers a baking class.

 

Like her sister restaurants, F&M offers great food; but it is the fabulous dessert that makes her stand out. There are several dishes that I would like to try, such as the duck egg ravioli and the chocolate pot. I shall arrange with my husband... 

Fish & Meat 

2/F., 32 Wyndham street, Central

Food: wwwwwwww
Service:wwwwwwww
Environment: wwwwwwww