Archive for November, 2007

beacon urban chop house

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北海道産タラバ蟹のクラブケーキ、レムラードソース。
From the 4200yen lunch course. Taraba crab cakes with remoulade sauce. Generous amount of crab meat inside. Tasty though the sauce is slightly salty. Peach tea is free and refillable.
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オーストラリア産サーロインステーキ (200g)。
マンゴークレームブリュレとマンゴーソルベ添え。
Australian sirloin, Angus, grade 1, long grain fed 200g. Not a big fan of steak…but this is very good! Asked for medium-rare and it was juicy and tender. Mango creme brulee topped with mango sorbet. Chunks of mango in the creme brulee, very good!

The restaurant is about 10 mins walks from either Shibuya or Omotesando station. The seats are spacious and comfortable, and not so crowded even on weekends. Lots of foreigners. The price is not cheap but the portion is big. Will definitely go back to try their hamburgers.

beacon (ビーコン・アーバンチョップハウス)
Add: 1-2-5 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku
Tel: 03-6418-0077

Édition Koji Shimomura (エディション・コウジ シモムラ)

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パルメジャーノのスティックパイ。 自家製プチハンバーガー。
From the 6300yen lunch.
Parmesan stick pie. Petit hamburger with ham and basil.
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宮城産の岩牡蛎 牡蛎のクリームと海水と柑橘のジュレ添え。
Miyazaki Iwakaki(oyster), with seaweed, oyster cream(at the bottom) and citrus jelly. The oyster is only cooked in seawater for 10 seconds apparently. Very refreshing.
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まとう鯛のフリット。人参と林檎のソルベ。
Chef specialty: matodai fritter. Kadaif is used for the coating. Very light and crispy. There are broccoli cream and lemon jam at the bottom. Apparently the idea of having lemon jam under the fritter comes from the usual practice of squeezing lemon on fried things. Absolutely delicious.
Carrot and apple sorbet.
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鴨のポワレ。桃のコンポート。
Pan-fried duck. The consensus of our table(all Japanese except me) is that this dish is more Chinese than French because of the seasoning and the sauce. Even the melon underneath tastes Chinese. Everyone craved rice!
Peach compote. Peach sauce was poured in front of us. Very sweet fresh peaches with a touch of cinnamon and other spices. The bowl used is interesting too.
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赤スグリのソルベとアマレットのアイス。
豆乳とアンディーブ根っこを使ったプリン。 ピーナッツペーストと生の落花生を添えて。
Red currant sorbet and Amaretto ice-cream at the bottom.
Soybean and endive root pudding. Pastry crispy with peanut and peanut paste.

It was our friend’s birthday and we had the chef make him a birthday cake(here and here). It is chocolate mousse cake with passionfruit mousse and frozen raspberries inside. The cocoa sorbet on the side is also very nice.

The restaurant has only just opened recently. The chef was working in another restaurant which I have been before(entry here). I remember everything was impressive except the main dish, which can be said for the current visit too. Though to be fair, the meat dishes are certainly not bad. The chef is so friendly…and very funny! He kept bringing things to our table to show us…like rare water glasses, silver object in the shape of a bunch of grapes from Italy etc.
Édition Koji Shimomura
Add: 3-1-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-5549-4562

鉄兵 (Teppei)

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0710150008サーロインステーキ定食(200g)、¥3400。
Sirloin steak(200g) set, 3400yen. Comes with rice and miso soup. Soft and tender beef steak in simple soy sauce style. Not those shimofuri beef marbled with fat though. Unless you are a big eater, 150g(2660yen) set should be quite enough.

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サーロインステーキ丼(120g)、2300円。
(Visted in Jan 2007)Read a couple of reviews about this Japanese steak place with opinions divided between “Despite the publicity from TV shows, the steak-don is nothing special” and “Best steak don in town”. Hmm hesitated for a few months but decided to give a try anyway. Turned out it was quite nice~. Very simple seasoning with just butter and soy sauce and pepper, served rare. The sirloin steak was very soft and tender. 120g sounds very little but it was actually okay. A huge huge bowl of rice to fill your stomach too(I couldn’t finish…).
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牛バター焼き定食、¥940。
The much cheaper grilled beef with butter is not so tender but okay for the price.

Menu(J): 1, 2.

鉄兵 (Teppei)
Add: 2-15-15 Nezu, Bunkyo-ku
Tel: 03-3824-4919

谷中カフェ (Yanaka Cafe)

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0709190034Very tiny cafe offering healthy organic food. Lunch set with genmai(brown rice) is 1000yen, including coffee which is quite nice. You can choose either seafood or organic vegetables, but the veggy was sold out so I had the sauteed scallop. The portion is really small!! Taste-wise it is okay - the brown rice was quite soggy.

060319 079.jpg自家製2豆とそばがきのパフェ、ドリンクセットで1200円。Super ultra healthy-tasting Japanese-style parfait. ^^;
Menu(J) here.
谷中カフェ(Jap. & Eng.)

PG Cafe Paris

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Lemon meringue tart, with coffee 1200yen. This is a casual cafe of the French restaurant Pierre Gagnaire where I had lunch before. The cake set is a bit expensive for the quality but then the cafe is on the first floor of Shin-marunouchi building where everything is expensive.
Part of the cake menu here.
PG Cafe Paris

Hong Kong 2007

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From HK$450 lunch course. Pumpkin Velouté with Chestnut Cappuccino and Fresh Herbs. Crispy Pork Belly with steamed Brussels Sprouts and Sauce a la Diable. Citrus Pear and Caramel Napoleon with Carambar Ice cream.

Went to this expensive French restaurant inside Four Seasons Hotel twice before(see tag old entries). The food was not exceptional but still good in my previous visits but this time turned out to be a disappointing experience. The quality is mediocre and the portion has become so small just like Japan. My sister and my mom ordered their beef medium but they both came out well done. We didn’t want to wait so didn’t complain - I am sure they are willing to make new ones for us. But the manager came to ask us how the food was so I told him about this and he gave us all these reasons about how the beef was supposed to be like that blah blah. I couldn’t help but pointed out that he should have mentioned all those things BEFORE we ordered it. Also we had to wait forever for the desserts to come. Anyway, we had the window seat so the view was nice.
Menu here.

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Dong Lai Shun (東来順)
Restaurant inside the Royal Garden(hotel) serving Beijing cuisine. Food is delicious, price is reasonable, environment is nice. Unfortunately the service is very spotty - not rude or anything but most of the staff don’t seem to know how to serve and they don’t seem to care either. There is no pork in the menu due to religious reasons. I have been there twice and tried many things and most are good. The Crab menu is a must try: steamed crab dumplings, crab glutinous rice, crab and tofu hotpot, crab and lobster on rice crackers(left pic) etc. The soup, which has a large variety of choices, is also very nice. Spicy fish(right pic) is tongue-numbingly hot but super yummy. As for the desserts, go for the hot ones, like taro pancake or sesame dumplings.

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Restaurant Le Fauchon
Add: 6, Staunton Street, Soho, Central
Tel: 2526-2136
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Lunch is about HK$100~120 depending on your choice of the main dish. I had pan-fried sole in red wine sauce. My friend had the spring chicken. Both are a bit too deep-fried. Seems like a popular place as it is quite full at lunch time. Though I thought its quality doesn’t live up to its popularity. Perhaps dinner is better?

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Tai Fung Lau Peking restaurant (泰豊楼酒家)
Add: 29-31 Chatham Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: 2366-2494
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2007_11140020Old Peking restaurant famous for its lamb shabu shabu. The traditional coal-heated hotpot is so tall! They give you the sauces at the beginning and you can mix your own sauce. I just added a bit of everything. Thinly sliced lamb is a must. Squid balls with crab in the middle is really good. Try the pork meatballs too. Dessert is fried egg puff with sesame sauce inside and sugar sprinkled on the surface. Nice but the skin is very thick.

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Cafe de Paris
Add: 23 Elgin Street, Soho, Central
Tel: 2810 0771
Lunch is less than HK$100, including bread, appetizer or soup, main dish, coffee or dessert. I had leek and potato soup, pan-fried seabass, and carrot cake. Quality is okay-good but not impressive. Though we saw a group of guys ordering from the a la carte menu…and we couldn’t help drooling over their food.
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So we went back the next day for the onion gratin soup and the mussels in red wine sauce we saw the previous day - both are fantastic! The staff told us that a la carte(or dinner) menu are much better than the set lunch. Two of us shared the mussels which came with very good french fries and salad, plus each of us had an onion soup, total was HK$380 - not bad at all considering the quality.

2007_11140002I fell in love with Krispy Kreme when I tried it in Las Vegas so when it opened in Japan I was really excited. But after something like a year, I still haven’t managed to eat it because of the crazy queue! 2 hours wait is the norm especially on weekends, especially outside the Shinjuku branch. Just as I heard, it is so much easier in Hong Kong. I swallowed two donuts bought from the branch inside Hong Kong aiport once I arrived, and shared three more with friends in the Soho branch after lunch. Too bad they don’t have freshly baked ones hot from the oven. Apparently the donuts are baked somewhere else and are delivered to different branches. But still, good donuts!

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Changwon Korean restaurant (荘園韓国料理)
Add: G-1, Kimberley Street, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon
Tel: 23684606
Very delicious Korean restaurant. Big plates and very cheap. Love the octopus with veggy(left pic) so much! I ate a bowl of rice just with the yummy spicy and sweet sauce. Kimchi and pork is a bit sour(right pic). The staff said kimchi becomes sour when you heat it(really???). Also had spicy tofu soup and Korean leek pancake which are both very good.

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Bonheur
Add: 6/F., The Pemberton, 22-26 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan
Tel: 25446333
Bread has lots of stuff in it - cheese, onion, herb, bacon etc. Very good but quite heavy!
Pan-seared foie gras with glazed apple. The foie gras is very crispy on the surface. The foie gras itself could be a bit richer in taste though. Also the apple is not soft and sweet enough. Still not bad overall.
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Seafood soup. Mushroom cream soup. Both are good but a bit salty.
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Oven-roasted Australian Rack of Lamb.
Chargrill U.S. Prime Beef Steak, Green Pepper Corn Jus.
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Oven-roasted Kuro-buta, Forest Mushroom Sauce.
Mille-feuille with mango.

The main dishes are all very good. The meat are tender and juicy. Sauces are nothing fancy, and all the sides are the same mashed potato and veggy but they are delicious. We were too full so we shared one dessert. Again nothing too impressive but the mango is sweet.

Three-course dinner is HK$338, four-course is HK$368. Glass wine is HK$55. This is not a proper restaurant but a private kitchen. The environment is nice and there are quite a number of tables, which were all filled up when we went on a Thurs night.
Menu(E): 1, 2.

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Life Organic Health Café
Add: 10 Shelley Street, Soho, Central
Tel: 2810 9777
Lentil soup.
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Grilled Eggplant salad: With roasted peppers, pesto, air-dried tomato, wild rocket and manouri cheese with organic balsamic vinegar dressing. This is really delicious!
Spinach and Feta Filo Bake: Spinach, feta cheese and pine nuts wrapped in a filo pastry. served with a crispy house salad and shredded beet and carrot. Nice too!
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Homemade vegetable Lasagna: Creamy layers of organic whole-wheat pasta, spinach, zucchini and mushroom with an Italian style tomato and basil sauce, topped with melted cheese and grated nutmeg. Hmm everything is a bit too mushy.
Life’s pizza: An organic homemade whole wheat flat bread base topped with Lebanese zaatar, fresh tomatoes, roasted peppers, onions, black olives and manouri cheese with a sprinkle of rocket. Not bad but wish there were more veggy toppings. Must eat while its hot or the crust will get very hard.
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Mexican Burrito: With organic red kidney bean, mozzarella cheese, ground cumin and coriander served with organic red rice, mixed salad and tomato salsa. A bit too much beans stuffed into the burrito. Easy to get tired of the taste. The avocado cream on top is really good though.
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Zinger: Orange and Wild berries.
Sunshine Shake: Banana, mangoes, dates and flaxseeds.
Power Lunch Shake: Wild berries, homemade organic soya yoghurt and strawberry protein.
I like the Zinger the best.
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Food menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Sweets and drinks menu: 1, 2, 3.

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Kin’s Kitchen (留家厨房)
Add: 9 Tsing Fung Street, Tin Hau, North Point
Tel: 2571-0913
Today’s soup.
Braised luffa, bamboo with Yunnan ham.
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Fried shredded yellow eel with bean thread(vermicelli).
Braised pomelo peel and assorted vegetables.
Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.
One of my favourite restaurants in Hong Kong. See tag for past entries. Looking at old photos, the “braised pomelo peel and assorted vegetables” seems to have shrunk in size? Also I remember it was much richer in taste. But I like it still. Everything is good in this restaurant.

My friends recommended me cookies from Jenny Bakery, which is truly addictive, and also dried noodles from On Lee Noodle Factory(安利製麺廠) which I bought many as souvenir.

Arossa Ginza (アロッサ銀座店)

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アボガドとアンチョビのサラダ。
大山地鶏レバーのムース、ラルドとクルトン添え。
Avocado and anchovy salad.
Chicken liver, lard and crouton.
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仔羊の胸腺肉のソテー、シャキシャキ赤玉ネギ、オレンジとくるみのサラダ。
木の実に漬け込んだNZ産鹿肉のロースト、赤スグリとカシスのソース。
Sauteed baby lamb sweetbread, red onion, orange and walnut salad.
Roasted New Zealand venison with redcurrant and cassis.
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骨付仔羊肉のグリル。
フローマージュブラン、ズッキーニ、松の実、干しブドウのラザーニャ。
Grilled lamb chop.
Lasagna with white fromage blanc, zucchini, pine nuts and dried grapes.

Came back to try the dinner(See tag for lunch visit). The food is overall very good. The chicken liver is amazing - one of the best I have ever had! The lamb is pefectly cooked, but it can’t beat the venison which is super tender and juicy and the sauce is wonderful. The only bad idea was Lasagna….it was so terrible. Food is reasonably priced, but if you order wine by the glass, it can get quite expensive - probably wiser to order bottles.
Arossa Ginza (English review here)
Add: 8th Ginza Velvia-kan, 2-4-6 Ginza
Tel: 03-5524-1146