Of Food and … Skinny Runway Models

Posted on July 10, 2009 by j

Every now and then, I’d get some pretty random search queries from search engines directing people to Siuyeh.com, but “skinny runway models” is the first. I’m trying to think real hard … have I ever made references to models here? References related to eating disorder or anorexia (not that the two should be related – I need to be clear here … and politically correct).

I think not.

Random Search Queries

Random Search Queries

Edit: I searched Siuyeh.com for “skinny models” and it looks like I’ve made references to “skinny dipping” here. Err, hey Larry and Sergey: I know you’re busy owning MSFT with your new OS, but do try to make your core product a little more relevant pls? Thanks.

It seems, my blog and I have failed you. I think I’d be much happier if rather than “skinny runway models” … it was “orca fat blubber”.

Fail.

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Tian Xiang Ge (天香阁)

Posted on July 9, 2009 by j

After a couple days in Xi’an eating their local delicacies, it got just a little too heavy for us and we’ve opted for something a little lighter and closer to home: Cantonese cuisine in Xi’an! WOW! Adventurous.

Here’s a short excerpt from the hotel’s website: “Authentic Cantonese cuisine ranging from traditional dim sum to freshly homemade noodles. Tian Xiang Ge also serves famous dishes from other regions of China and local Xian specialities.”

On a day when I’m not feeling particularly well (no thanks to BT Wings) and when you don’t really want to give too much thought on where to eat, I know I can count on Shangri-la for decent Cantonese cuisine.

Entrance to Tian Xiang Ge at Xian Shangri-la

Entrance to Tian Xiang Ge at Xian Shangri-la

A grand entrance to a small(ish) restaurant.

Sharks fin soup with shredded sea cucumber, abalone and fish maw

Sharks fin soup with shredded sea cucumber, abalone and fish maw

Kailan pan fried with Chinese wine and ginger

Kailan pan fried with Chinese wine and ginger

Efu noodles braised with crab meat

Efu noodles braised with crab meat

Lamb brisket braised with dried bean curd in clay pot

Lamb brisket braised with dried bean curd in clay pot

How much I write here is probably a reflection of how I was feeling at that moment.

All the dishes were pretty standard … nothing to go crazy over (to be fair, except for the lamb pot, everything else is pretty light), but definitely not bad. I just wish I could’ve enjoyed it a little more … damn wings!

Bill came up to about RMB 400 (including tea & 10% service charge).

Xian Shangri-la

Xian Shangri-la

I love the architecture though.

Siu Yeh Rating: 7/10

Note: Photos taken with Ricoh GR Digital

Xi’an Shangri-la
38B Keji Road
Xian, China 710075
Tel: +86 29 8875 8888
Fax: +86 29 8875 9999

Filed under: China, Xi'an, Xian Shangri-la | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Agnes b cake buy 2 get 1 free!

Posted on July 8, 2009 by j

Thought you might be interested?

Agnes B Cake Promotion - July 1 - 31, 2009

Agnes B Cake Promotion - July 1 - 31, 2009

Filed under: Asia, Cake, Causeway Bay, Dessert, Hong Kong | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

BT Wings (BT 翅) Harms Your Health

Posted on July 8, 2009 by j

So I was in Xi’an again recently and some locals told me about this new(ish) concept called “BT 翅” or “BT Wings”. I’m not sure if this only applies to Xi’an, or whether BT is present throughout China. Whatever it is, its marketing ploy worked because I was on the next cab to find out about this place.

What “BT” stands for is “Bian Tai” (变态), which basically means [more than just] abnormal … almost to the level where it becomes “sick”. The term is usually reserved, I think, for pedophiles, serial killers, people with strange fetishes; basically people with some sort of perversion.

BT Wings

BT Wings

And so here I was, standing in front of the sign, wondering which one I should go for. The “halloween” fonts they used for the “BT” wasn’t going to scare me off and I didn’t come all the way here to have honey wings. I’m going to go all the way! “2 skewers of honey wings and 2 skewers of BT wings” please. (4 skewers for RMB 14)

I should probably add that if you manage to have 10 skewers of BT wings, its free … but you know, I wanted to test the water a little.

Grilling the Wings

Grilling the Wings

So while they’re grilling those wings … I was wondering what all the fuzz was about. Is it in the sauce, like Nuk’em Wings? Apparently not. After they’re done with the wings, they would take the wings behind the counter (away from customers’ sight) and they probably jabbed the skewers into a bucket-load of spice & pepper (see below).

Guess Which One is BT?

Guess Which One is BT?

Interesting.

At this point, I thought maybe this wasn’t such a good idea afterall, but I can’t let YOU down. I strategically used only my teeth to tear a bit of the wings off and chewed, while being extremely careful not to let my lips get in the way. Initially, its not bad at all. I thought maybe this whole thing was a little exaggerated. By the time I had actually felt a tinge of tickle on my throat, I was done with the first skewer.

BT People

BT People

I went on to finish the second skewer of BT chicken wings, and in retrospect, I honestly don’t know why I had done that because I was now sweating a bit, my eyes watery and nose runny. Then I realized, the spice was in the finish! My lips were screaming and my tongue was dead. I stood up and felt a little lightheaded and my instinct told me to walk next door to buy a very cold drink. Luckily, they were serving some mango slush (ice shaves) which cost about RMB 7 (I would’ve paid RMB 70 for that).

Mango Ice Shaves

Mango Ice Shaves

I was getting a bit dizzy by now, but the mango slush really helped … temporarily. When I was done with the drink, I was still feeling those burning sensation in my mouth. That same feeling was to conveniently migrate to the other side the next day as the wings left my system. No, it really isn’t funny.

During the next day or so, my stomach was feeling really bloated and uncomfortable. Dinner at Shangri-la that same night could’ve been a pleasant experience if it weren’t for these BT wings. 真他妈的变态 dude. Nuk’em-level wings is weaker (I wouldn’t say weak) compared to this. This stuff is potent.

These wings are a serious health threat. I wouldn’t recommend any sane person to do this … unless you can really take it.

… what I’d go through for this blog is beyond my comprehension.

Note: Photos taken with Ricoh GR Digital

Siu Yeh Rating: 7/10
(I mean it taste good and stuff … the spice is a little too much to handle)

Filed under: BT Wings, China, Xi'an | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Miracle Fruit (AKA Magic Berry) Party!

Posted on July 7, 2009 by j

Miracle Fruit, also known as “Magic Berries” (or more scientifically, “Synsepalum dulcificum”) is a fruit first documented some 3 centuries ago in West Africa. At the time, they were picked by local tribes and consumed before meals, apparently, to help enhance the flavours of their staple food (whatever it was), which was usually bland and dry. Thanks to Vince & Co. who organized the party again, he purchased a pack of these berries in freeze-dried form online! You can also get the fresh fruit version of these berries but needless to say, the shelf-life is a lot shorter.

The berries contain a chemical called miraculin (derived from miraculous? no, but :P ) that binds to your tastes buds and alters their senses, causing food to taste … well, different from the way you know it. This kind of reminds me of that scene in the movie, Matrix, where Zephyr was talking to an agent while chewing on this big piece of steak but he’s not really eating it … anyway, I digress. Ultimately, what this stuff actually does (mainly), now that I’ve tried it, is it causes sour food to taste sweet.

It is not a drug and it is definitely not an illegal substance. According to Wikipedia, an attempt to take these fruits mainstream were “sabotaged” by Big Sugar (a claim that, being a big fan and believer of conspiracy theories, I absolutely think is true). Studies were also conducted and found that children actually prefer this natural sweetener on their popsicles, than what we have now! (see this YouTube video for more information).

The freeze-dried miracle berries feels like moist crack candies (without the crack) and tastes like Haw Flakes (山楂餅) – for those of you who grew up drinking 24 Herbs (24味) or bitter / sour Chinese medicine, I’m pretty sure you’ve had Haw Flakes to go with your cure. Edit: if you Google “Haw Flakes, Miracle Fruits”, it seems I’m not the only one who saw the connection.

Anyway, this is what we had.

Fruits:
Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, Apple, Cherry, Kiwi, Strawberries, Tomatoes

Snacks:
Salt and Vinegar Chips, Super Lemons

Savory:
Fish and Chips with Tartar Sauce, Baked Goat Cheese Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Drinks:
Guinness, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon

The Experiment 1

The Experiment 1

Those Miraculous Stuff

Those Miraculous Stuff

The miraculous stuff plus a letter from the company the goodies were purchased from, reproduced below:

Dear Customer,

Please find enclosed your 100% pure freeze dried Miracle Berry. For best results, store in the fridge after opening. You may find the contents of the bag have compressed which is perfectly normal. We would like to thank you for ordering from us and hope you enjoy your Miracle Berry experience.

Directions:

Place 0.5 grams on your tongue and let it dissolve. Wait about 5 minutes and begin your taste trip!

Must try foods include any citrus fruit, Guinness, rhubarb and cocktails but feel free to experiment.

All the best
The Miracle Berry Team
www.MiracleBerry.co.uk

The Experiment 2

The Experiment 2

The Verdict: Sour stuff tastes sweet, sweet stuff taste even sweeter, Guinness tastes like diluted black coffee, white and red wine taste acridly bitter for some reason (the critics were right!). For me anyway, the biggest surprise was the lemon (and perhaps grapefruit and lime too); I suppose words won’t do the Miracle Fruit X lemon pairing any justice, you really have to try it for yourself.

Obviously, the lemon looks, feels and smells like a lemon … but once you put it in your mouth it was almost like eating a sweet orange, only there is no orange scent … its lemon. Even your lip taste sweet from the lemon juice. Do you know how healthy this could potentially be for you? Unfortunately though, after eating a couple slices of sour fruits, I can feel my teeth starting to turn a little sensitive. Well … you give and take right?

+ Guinness & Wine

+ Guinness & Wine

& Dessert

& Dessert

Finished the night with some dessert, which included a chocolate cake and ice cream from Awfully Chocolate, some interesting flavours from Haagen Dazs, watermelon and guava sorbet from Da Dolce (?), and durian ice cream (which unfortunately, we didn’t eat with the MB powder).

This was absolutely a positive experience for me … I think everyone should try and hopefully, one day, this stuff will become mainstream. Imagine having all the candies in the world, without affecting your health, weight and teeth. To hell with Big Sugar!

Note: Credit to Nelson for the great photos!

Filed under: Hong Kong | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Cliff Jumping in Hong Kong

Posted on June 25, 2009 by j

Its been a while since I last wrote about the “cultural” side of Hong Kong (in case you are wondering, this won’t be a food entry). Anyway, I went to a Sai Kung Luk Wu Stream Trek a couple weeks ago to do a bit of cliff jumping and thought I’d share some photos with my readers. (For more information on this event, it was mentioned here on FB). The host organizes events quite frequently, so keep an eye out.

Registration fee was HK$ 100 per person. About 80+ people signed up, but only about 60 turned up. We were split into 4 groups of ~15, and each team gets a leader (folks who are very familiar with the area and are usually instructors as such outdoor sports organizations such as Outward Bound, Young People’s Award and other outdoor training / team-bonding events companies). There was also a trained medic with each team to make sure everyone is safe and sound … overall, I thought this event was extremely well organized (thanks Jonn!).

All participants were to meet at 8:30AM on that Sunday at Pak Tam Chung in Sai Kung, where we would then take a minibus into the country park. If you ever decide to go during summer, please remember to insect repellents! Must bring! Anyway, here’s the area where you’ll be:


View Larger Map

After about a 30 minute hike (mostly downhill) you’ll reach a point where the Luk Wu Stream and one of the beaches meet. From there, you are to walk upstream for another 10 until you reach a waterfall, then kick your shoes off, take of your shirt and do THIS!

Cliffjumping at Luk Wu Stream 1

Cliff jumping at Luk Wu Stream 1

Climb and jump!

Cliffjumping at Luk Wu Stream 2

Cliff jumping at Luk Wu Stream 2

The drop is about 10 (?) meters? Note of caution: It was raining the night before we went, and during our jump (after these photos were taken) it was also raining cats and dogs which means the water level is quite high and that the water was quite fresh. It might be different, perhaps a little more dangerous if you had gone and it hadn’t rain in a while. Just becareful!

Cliffjumping at Luk Wu Stream 3

Cliff jumping at Luk Wu Stream 3

Cliffjumping at Luk Wu Stream 4

Cliff jumping at Luk Wu Stream 4

After a couple hours of cliff jumping, rock climbing and abseiling, we continued walking towards Tai Long Sai Wan (大浪西灣), which is probably one of the nicest beaches in Hong Kong and definitely my favorite camp site (from the Outward Bound / DEA / Young People’s Award days) in Sai Kung.

Tai Long Sai Wan (大浪西灣) 1

Tai Long Sai Wan (大浪西灣) 1

What a change from Repulse Bay beach, no?

Tai Long Sai Wan (大浪西灣) 2

Tai Long Sai Wan (大浪西灣) 2

Hoi Fung Store (海風士多) at Tai Long Sai Wan (大浪西灣)

Hoi Fung Store (海風士多) at Tai Long Sai Wan (大浪西灣)

Potato Wedges from Hoi Fung Store (海風士多)

Potato Wedges from Hoi Fung Store (海風士多)

Okay, I lied. So I do talk about food here :) If you ever visit this Hoi Fung Store (which is more like a cafe) at Tai Long Sai Wan (大浪西灣), remember to get these wedges deep fried from real whole potatoes!

Edit: Also, if you’re looking for some places to jump on Hong Kong Island, when I was in highschool, we used to jump from this bridge in Tai Tam Reservoir (about 15 minutes walk into the country park from the South Bay side). Check it out!

Note: Photos taken with an iPhone.

Filed under: Hong Kong | Tagged: , , , , | 3 Comments »

On Lot 10

Posted on June 24, 2009 by j

This is a place definitely worth blogging about :)

I’ve been to the old “Lot 10″ in the same location on Gough Street before the Siuyeh days and didn’t think much of it (i.e. I never went back again) … until recently, when a friend suggested that we arrange yet another wine dinner and this time, the location would be “On Lot 10″.

Before I go on any further, it is probably worth mentioning that this restaurant changed owners recently, and hence the name has also changed … well, slightly. The bar and the tables were rearranged (here’s the website for Lot 10, again, not to be confused with “On Lot 10″ so you can compare!) in what little but cozy space they have and the walls repainted. What goes unnoticed amid these subtle changes, is the seismic shift behind the scene. The new chef/owner is David Lai, who spent quite some time with The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco (and as I’ve found out here, he was also with Annexx and Zuma) prior to starting his own restaurant.

In a 30-second interview I had with Mr. Lai after my cover was blown (thanks guys!), he had mentioned that the concept behind this new restaurant is, to put it simply: Simplicity. Nothing too fancy, just simple, hearty dishes that hits home. And if I were to tag a style (of cuisine) to this restaurant, I’d say its a little leaning towards Spanish / French style.

Anyway, here’s what we had:

Mash potato with thin crispy bread

Mash potato with thin crispy bread

Garlicky-buttery mash potatoe with crispy bread slices to go with. Nothing extraordinary, but definitely a good way to starty the night.

Razor clam in white wine sauce

Razor clam in white wine sauce

I’ve had lots of clam dishes with white wine sauce + garlic + onion before, but not with razor clams (蟶子). And guess what? It tastes the same! But what I really do appreciate about this dish is the dab of spice added to the dish. When you drink the white wine sauce, its got a bit of a tingly feeling on your throat. I quite like that. Besides, I sometimes prefer razor clam because its got a bit more to chew on. The only problem with this dish was one of the clams I had, had a mouthful of sand in it … bleh … but this was probably more to do with my luck (or lack of) rather than the quality of the restaurant’s food.

Fresh baby tuna strip in hot oil

Fresh baby tuna strip in hot oil

This was a lot like how sardines are usually cooked – sliced into strips and I imagine the chef poured boiling hot oil (garlic flavoured?) onto the raw fish, and in this particular case, it was tuna (or TORO!!!) which made it even better. The fish was extremely fresh and especially after always having toro as sashimi or sushi, this was definitely a good switch.

La Doriane Condrieu

La Doriane Condrieu

All the while, we were washing down – more like savouring – our appetizers with this little gem, an aromatic and floral white from Rhone (Thank you Albert), which also has a 97 from RP. Unlike whites from say, New Zealand, this white has got a lot more layers and depth to its body. With a Cloudy Bay, you get that initial fruity “bang” and that’s it. With the Condrieu, you get a hit of flower … and after about 3-5 minutes, when you take another sip, you’d get a hit of fruits. It was evolving like a red.

It would’ve gone very well with truffle and foie gras and I’m starting to think maybe we should’ve saved this for the last dish. Nonetheless, this was an extremely good choice.

Edit: If you ask Nick to describe the wine to you, he would say “春天雨后的桃花香”. Yep. Go figure.

Carruades de Lafite 1995 & Chateau Lafleur 1996

Carruades de Lafite 1995 & Chateau Lafleur 1996

Meanwhile also, we played a game of iniminimanimo to see which of these grape juice gets to pair with the main dishes.

Soupe des Poissons

Soupe des Poissons

Then came, as the name suggests … the fish soup. It was (if I can decipher what was in it) tomato soup / paste / base, fish stock, and fish fillet that was all blended together, topped with a thin piece of crispy bread, spice and salty cream foam. Even after letting it cool for a while, the soup was still pretty hot – a sign that the oil content in the soup is quite high? That also means, perhaps, the fish was seared on a pan on high heat with olive oil and tomato paste, and after it was done, fish stock was poured into the pan and was simmered for a while … before everything was thrown into a blender, blended and served. I should write a book.

Skate fish fin

Skate fish fin

The host (Albert & Christine) had specifically asked for something out of the ordinary to pair with the wines in advance. So David handpicked this monster of a skate fish fin to be served as 1 of 2 of our main courses. To be quite honest, it didn’t look like much and maybe the word “fin” was a little misleading, but once we started cutting into the fin we can see it was actually like a big fish fillet … but some fin got in the way :)

The meat was very juicy and texture was smooth, save for bits of the outer layer that was oven-cooked until crunchy. I also like how the fish was able to retain so much of its own flavour without being marinated like crazy. If I remember correctly, only the outer layer was slightly salted … don’t quite remember if I’ve tasted any parsley and garlic … but if there was, it was very subtle.

It was the Carruades de Lafite that we opened, which is a second wine from Chateau Lafite-Rothschild. It is definitely not as intense, and initially, I thought it was a little too light to be a Bordeaux wine. But after it opened up a little, the aroma was begging to come out, but you really had to work hard wondering what you taste.

Skate fish fin ... disected!

Skate fish fin ... disected!

This and the following dish was cooked just right (and I don’t use this term loosely … or do I?). It was as if both dishes needed to be cooked for a good 20 minutes on high heat and there was a 10 second window where the chef has to take it out, otherwise the dish becomes over-cooked? The chef manages to do it here with the skate fish and with the following roasted locally farmed chicken with black truffle, sweet peas “a le Francaise”.

Roasted locally farmed chicken with black truffle, sweet peas "a le Francaise"

Roasted locally farmed chicken with black truffle, sweet peas "a le Francaise"

I’m a HUGE fan of foie gras so I had requested that a couple be seared and thrown onto this dish. In retrospect, I could’ve done without because 1) I’ve had better foie gras and 2) the chicken, truffle and sweet peas combo was borderline orgasmic.

I should also mentioned that I rarely ever order chicken dish as a main course because 9 out of 10 times, the chicken usually turns out to be too dry. It happened to me at the Press Room. It happened at a few restaurants in Soho and some big name hotel restaurants. I didn’t do the ordering … so when I heard we got a chicken dish as a main course, I thought maybe I’d drink my sorrows away (yes, with HK$ 2,000 bottle of wines … I’m pimp like that) … but I have to say, this dish was definitely the underdog.

Everything about this dish was good

Everything about this dish was good

The chicken was juicy insides, crispy outside (just like that fish!) … and everything in the pan (i.e. chicken, carrot, radish, red radish and especially the peas) had absorbed what is now a very thick and potent chicken / truffle sauce.

A week since, I’m still reminincing that very dish. I’m going to write a poem now.

We killed it.

We killed it.

What you see in this last photo? That’s not how it ended. We killed every last pea on the pan, licked every last drop of chicken-truffle oil and then I used it as a mirror to pick teeth with toothpicks.

Siu Yeh Rating: 9.5/10!
Point were deducted for the sand in the razor clam and the foie gras, sorry!

On Lot 10
34 Gough Street
Noho, Central
Tel: +852 2155 9210
Mon-Sat 12.15pm-3pm & 6.45pm-midnight (last orders 10.30pm).

Filed under: Asia, Central, China, Hong Kong, On Lot 10, Soho | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Wine Overload at One Harbour Road

Posted on June 9, 2009 by j

How it all began … I lost a bet to a buddy of mine in badminton and the stake was: loser has to treat the winner to a fairly decent bottle of wine valued at no more than HK$ 1,500 to be savored with a group of friends. Ouch! Luckily for me, the event somehow turned out to be “everyone just bring a nice bottle of wine to dinner and we’ll all have it together”. Nice! No complaints there :)

The only problem was, we needed to find a restaurant where they won’t charge us corkage. We had 4 bottles (1 champagne and 3 reds) so corkage fee would’ve easily set us back HK$ 1,000+! Fortunately, my buddy Nick – the same guy I lost to in the bet (here’s your shout out btw) – knows the manager at One Harbour Road very well and the extra fees were waived. And that’s how it all started; great wine paired with great Chinese cuisine at One Harbour Road.

It was my first time there but the decor and ambiance reminds me a little bit like The Square (翠玉軒). Both are dimly-lit Cantonese restaurants (in fact, almost too dim for a Cantonese restaurant. I like them bright, loud and vibrant!), but One Harbour Road has an extraordinary view of Central and TST to brag about (See really bad photos below).

View of Central ... sort of

View of Central ... sort of

Well, if it wasn’t for the fogged up floor-to-ceiling windows … it would’ve been a pretty spectacular view of Central.

View from our Table at One Harbour Road

View from our Table at One Harbour Road

And here’s a view of TST.

In terms of food, I also find the 2 restaurants to be very similar as well. Maybe The Square is a little more creative with their dishes. I remember having a Spare Ribs with Strawberry Sauce and Strawberry Pocky (?!) the last time I was there. And then there’s the Fried Tiger Prawn with Orange Sauce. Maybe that’s why it was recently awarded a Michelin star? And they claim not to use any MSG in their food, which I think is true.

Anyway, I digress. So we started the night with a bottle of Krug … and normally, I would at least describe the champagne a little … but the champagne (as good as it was) was only to get us started while the other 3 bottles (the main attractions!) were being poured into decanters for breathing. They were, in the order we had them:

1990 Dominus Estate (USA, California, Napa Valley)
 1995 Château La Mission Haut-Brion (France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan)
1986 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron (France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac)

3 of the best wines I've had ... so far

3 of the best wines I've had ... so far

BREATH BABY BREATH!!!

BREATH BABY BREATH!!!

It definitely helped that we had Albert from Sparkz school us about the different make, history and characteristics of each wine. Just from taking a sniff from each empty bottle, he was able to tell which wine we can drink first and which needed a little more time breathing. Amazing.

Over in the food department, we started the night with some extremely juicy and flavourful cha siu that was fresh off the oven. The sweetness from the honey and caramelized fat balanced out the saltiness from the soy sauce, not to mention how tender the meat was. This was definitely one of the best cha siu’s I’ve had in a while (the other really good cha siu experience I’ve had was at Tao Yuan 陶源 Seafood Restaurant in Wanchai). In retrospect, I wish I had saved a few pieces to go with Dominus we were about to have. But I was too hungry and couldn’t wait until the wine is ready.

The already-half-full plate of CHA SIU!!!

The already-half-full plate of CHA SIU!!!

And here enters the first star of the night: Dominus from Napa. We gave it about 30-45 minutes before we started drinking the first sip. By then it was still slightly premature, but all of us were anticipating the uphill hike to the moment when the wine would fully open up. And when it did, I was totally loving it. The color was a deep red, incredibly complex for a Napa wine, (almost Chateau-like, but no surprise there since the owner Christian Moueix also owns Petrus, which you’ve probably heard of) very fine and smooth with berry, black currant and earthy flavours. It probably took about another 30 minutes before it was completely ready. Part of the joy in drinking wine is the process of anticipating the opening-up of wine. You keep asking yourself “When is it going to reach its peak?”

Meanwhile, we had a Chicken, Pear and Snow Fungus (雪耳) Soup, which was a really smooth and hearty soup. It was pretty thick from the snow fungus and it lined the throat with a layer of all the nutrients from the pear and snow fungus, which has a soothing effect (润). HIGHLY recommended for those of you who has a sore throat from fried food or from a long night of karaoke. If it wasn’t for all the wine that we’ll be drinking, I think I would’ve had another bowl.

Chicken, Pear and Snow Fungus (雪耳) Soup

Chicken, Pear and Snow Fungus (雪耳) Soup

Anyway, while we were still waiting for the Dominus to continue breathing, the server had already poured our second red for the night, which was the 1995 Château La Mission Haut-Brion from Pessac-Léognan. Again, I took a sip just to see whether it was ready or not and it was still far from opening up. So all of us were swirling the glass like mad, hoping that the catalyst (air) would speed up the process.

The Haut-Brion thats also taking its time breathing ...

The Haut-Brion thats also taking its time breathing ...

But the mystery surrounding wine is, you never quite know when the time comes when it is ready or not. When you think its ready, the wine can get even better or it can go south pretty quickly, so what would you do?

Well, you can’t do much about it … so we ate some more and took little sips just to make sure our wine was still on the right track.

Crispy Chicken (炸子鸡)

Crispy Chicken (炸子鸡)

This is the Crispy Chicken (炸子鸡) which was almost identical to the one served at The Square. The layer of fried chicken skin was past-golden yellow, very crispy and very thin (very important) while the meat inside wasn’t dry as all and still retained its juiciness, but it was fully cooked … a sign that the dish was cooked just right.

Choi Sum (or was it Asparagus?) with Beef

Choi Sum (or was it Asparagus?) with Beef

Then there’s the beef and tofu dish.

All the while, everyone on the table kept swirling and swirling …

Braised Tofu with Bak Choy

Braised Tofu with Bak Choy

Braised eggplant and minced beef pot. Its the ultimate dish to go with steamed rice!

Braised Eggplant with Minced Beef in Pot

Braised Eggplant with Minced Beef in Pot

None of the food we ordered were really “heavy” per se, but each dish has very intense flavours (especially the eggplant pot) that, I think, really complements the wines we were having.

And then we kept swirling some more until finally … the Haut-Brion is ready! By now, I was pretty much done with the Dominus, which I thought was the best wine I’ve ever had. But that was until I tried the La Mission Haut-Brion again and that sent my senses off the charts. What was a very acidic / tannicky (?) wine 10-15 minutes ago is now an incredibly intense and smooth wine. Very fragrant dark berries scent. It just goes down really easy and the after taste that lingers was equally as elegant.

Then came the last of the 3 – a 1986 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, which after around 3 hours of decanting, is finally opening up too. Now it was a race to to savour both the Haut-Brion and Pichon Baron at the same time! The latter was opening up really quickly, almost like a spike … the fruit was still there in abundance, but the acidity is gone which is great. Like the Haut-Brion, it has a really long finish …

Just as I remembered there was still a quarter glass of Haut-Brion left, I took a sip and it was dead :( I almost felt like crying because thats probably like a couple hundred bucks there. My first time juggling so many different types of wine at once but it turned out to be a pretty fun experience.

In the end, I thought the dishes where nothing fancy (i.e. simple dishes), but they were really well cooked and goes very well with the wine. Until I try an ‘82 Lafite-Rothschild, I think I’m pretty damn satisfied with what we had here!

Siu Yeh Rating: 9/10 for the restaurant, 10/10 for the wines!

One Harbour Road
7/F. & 8/F., Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
1 Habour Road
Wanchai, Hong Kong

Filed under: 1990 Dominus Estate (USA, Asia, Bordeaux, California, Château La Mission Haut-Brion (France, Château Pichon-Longueville Baron (France, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, Hong Kong, One Harbour Road, Wanchai, Wine | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

People of HK Soho Unite: BOYCOTT The Spot Bar

Posted on June 4, 2009 by j

So last night, after a good workout at Pure (Kinwick), some friends and I decided to drop by a sports bar and watch the Federer-Monfils match of the French Opens. Unfortunately, only sports bar that offer Cable Television (not Now, since the former has the rights to broadcast the French Opens in Hong Kong) show the games.

But we stumbled across a packed crowd inside The Spot Bar in Soho on Staunton Street that was showing the match. A very well-dressed gentleman greeted us by the door and asked how many was in our little group. I said “3″ and so he said without hesitation, “There are seats inside near the bar” … “GREAT!” I thought. So we made our way through the crowd and to our dismay, when we reached the bar, a very polite female server regrettably said to us “there aren’t any seats left”. I looked around the tables, sure enough most of the patrons had already been working half-way through their drinks, so they must’ve been sitting there for a while. Maybe the gentleman by the door (whom I’m assuming is the owner of The Spot Bar … great name by the way, and yes I’m being sarcastic) thought there were seats left.

“Oh its okay, we’ll stand”, I replied to the lady.

After tending to her tasks, the lady came back and said “Sir, are you sure you want to be standing here? You’re standing right next to the bathrooms” … She’s right. No I don’t want to be standing next to toilets.

So as we’re making our way out the bar, the same gentleman said to us “We also have a bar down the slope, also showing French Opens and there are seats”. I’m sold. What a good salesman. He said the 3 things I want to hear most in one line:

  1. Bar (close by)
  2. French Opens
  3. Seats available

He even offered to walk us down! What incredible service! So we followed him around the corner and he showed us into this bar called the “Hidden Vine” (next to Archie B’s and Taco Laco) and as we walked inside … it looked nothing like a sports bar! What worse is there isn’t even a TV in there!

I asked the manager at the Hidden Vine whether they’re showing the French Opens and she sounded very confused. We stormed off and the same guy who showed us the place had brought 3 more victims (Caucasian kids … I’ll bet they’re also there for the match).

Then I said some not-very-nice things to his face (he pouted and shrugged and gave me that “Hey, you fell for the trick … its not my fault you’re retarded” kind of message), I warned the kids about this scam artist, made a scene and I left.

Seriously, I understand business owners trying to make a buck or sth, but is this guy stupid? (Well, he’s not, he’s very smart). But still … prick.

Boycott THE SPOT BAR.

Unfortunately for him, he just messed with a *ahem* famous local food blogger.

Okay, in all seriousness … how can you trust anything (from food to booze) and even the bill you pay from a guy like this? Is he going to use food that has already expired? Is he going to use fake Shenzhen alcohol and serve it as the real deal? Is he going to charge you slightly more on the bill and hope that you won’t notice? I’ll leave that for you to decide.

Siu Yeh Rating: -100. First negative rating ever on this blog and likely to be the only one.

Fool me once … and SHAME ON YOU!!!

Filed under: Asia, Hong Kong, Soho | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments »

10 Best Bang-for-Buck Michelin Restaurants

Posted on May 25, 2009 by j

So I’ve been hibernating (yet again) and I was enjoying my long break from siuyeh when THIS came knocking on my door and woke me up! Forbes’ 10 best value Michelin restaurants … in the world. First of all … is there such a thing?! In relative terms, I suppose there is … but L’Atelier de Robuchon and Hutong?!

Apple Daily 10 Best Value Michelin Restaurants

Apple Daily 10 Best Value Michelin Restaurants

Lest you have forgotten, dinner for 2 set us back HK$ 3,300. Well, I blame my brother … his stomach is a bottomless pit (no one in the family knows how deep it goes, we tried throwing a light stick in there once, and we didn’t see or hear it hit the bottom) … but still. Well, in retrospect … I was pretty full to the point of gluttony by the time I was done with the sea urchin pasta (What do they mean by the “best value” Michelin restaurants anyway? What are their criteria?).

Does anyone know? I can’t be bothered to find out. The level of my laziness recently is beyond my comprehension.

Here’s the other 8:

  • Sushi Saito (Tokyo, Japan)
  • Quintessence (Tokyo, Japan)
  • Jean-Georges (New York, USA)
  • The Burger Joint (New York, USA)
  • Ad Hoc (California, USA)
  • Assaggi (London, UK)
  • La Bastide de Moustiers (Sainte-Marie, France)
  • Le Bar Plage Restaurant at the Royal Palm Hotel (Mauritius)

Oh, I found this the other day. Amazing. Hat tip to HaoKouFu (好口福).

Back to hibernating. Wake me up when September ends.

Filed under: 12BOTTLES.COM, Alaskan Crab Salad, Asia, Australian Wagyu M10 Steak, Central, Champagne, China, France, Gourmet / Fine Dining, Hong Kong, L'ATELIER de Joel Robuchon, L'Entrecote: Thick Sliced Wagyu Beef Sirloin, L'Oursin: Sea Urchin Spaghetti, La Chataigne: Chestnut Soup in a Celery Broth with Smok, Le Crabe: King Crab and Avocado Salad with Buffalo Mozz, Le Homard: Maine Lobster in Turnip Raviolis, Sea Urchin Spaghetti, Steak, The Landmark, Wine | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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