Monthly Archives: September 2012

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The One With Eclectic Spanish Private Kitchen – I Like It Stuffed

13 September, 2012 7:38 pm | Leave a Comment |

I will be the first to admit; I like my food stuffed.

It doesn’t matter if it is Chinese, Indian, Christmas, Chinese New Year, I do like things stuffed in things. Case in point; Thanksgiving turkey. Isn’t it wonderful to stuff the birds with all sort of goodies, and drench it with delicious gravy?

Eclectic Spanish Private Kitchen

Spanish Piquillo pepper stuffed with seafood.

So when I encountered this Spanish Piquillo pepper stuffed with seafood (boiled fish and crunchy shrimps), I was in heaven.

Eclectic Spanish Private Kitchen

Papada de cerdo al vino tinto.

The place – Eclectic, the new kid on the Spanish private kitchen block. Located in Sheung Wan, the place can be a challenge to find, but once you crossed the threshold, you will be transported to someone’s home.

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Posted in: Private Kitchen, Sheung Wan, Spanish

The One With Dai Mon Yokocho – Localised Japanese Fare

6 September, 2012 7:29 pm | Leave a Comment |

Restaurant owners in Hong Kong are well known to be exceptionally skilled in transforming foreign cuisine to the local taste buds. This is not to say local diners are not a discerning bunch; but the vast majority of Hong Kongers are more than happy to settle for food and drinks which have been, well, watered down, or tampered with to make it taste less foreign.

That is also not to say such localised food is not great. My experience at Dai Mon Yokocho was a testament that despite the interfering hands of the local chefs, the Japanese food served was delicious through strayed far from the real land-of-the-rising-sun’s food. The diners were decidedly local, so were the kitchen staff. I was there one rainy night and was “lucky” to be seated in plain view of the Cantonese-speaking chefs and cooks.

Dai Mon Yokocho

The food? Well! Let’s get down to business.

Hand-made Udon In Spicy Satay Soup With Premium Beef & Pork Cartilage (HK$69)

Dai Mon Yokocho

My choice, and definitely a good one. There was a page of udon in satay broth, another set of options in tomato broth, and yet another page for “spicy” broth… in satay and tomato variety. I reckoned all they did was to sprinkle some liberal amount of sliced cili padi (bird’s eye chilli), and it worked. The satay broth was fragrant with a strong peanut taste, the way I like it, and the udon were smooth and chewy. I can’t comment much about the beef and pork, except that when served with the whole combination plus spring onions and corns, it worked like a charm. My friend took a couple mouthfuls and reckoned it was better than his choice!

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Posted in: Japanese, Tsim Sha Tsui

The One With Pattaya Your Thai Restaurant – Delightful Raw Prawns

5 September, 2012 10:11 pm | Leave a Comment |

When you think of Thai food, what comes across your mind? Tom yum goong, phad thai, papaya salad, seafood curry… there is something almost magical the way Thai food seems to enthrall tourists and locals alike. When I return home from holidays in Thailand, I always seem to be nursing an endless craving for Thai food. Well, if you can’t have the real land of a thousand smile, you can always get its food.

Pattaya Your Thai Restaurant

Thai food in Hong Kong is plentiful and varied, from the authentic to the localised, from the superb to the disappointing, along every point of the price scale. When one think of Thai food in Hong Kong, you’ll be excused to think of the usual suspects in Kowloon City, arguably the most Thai-influenced area in Hong Kong.

So when this Groupon deal came along, I was surprised. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t be that surprised to discover that, yes, there are plenty of Thai restaurants in Tsim Sha Tsui too. And at that price – $148 for unlimited Thai BBQ for two – it was hard not to click that “Buy Now!” button.

So I did. Pattaya Your Thai Restaurant was an adventure to get too. First of all, they changed its name. And then we were informed that they changed their location, too. Google Map was a little useless, and the drizzling rain that afternoon we went didn’t help our grumpiness.

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Posted in: Thai, Tsim Sha Tsui