Category: food

Savoury Roast Beef Rib at Lawry’s

Lawry’s The Prime Rib is California’s interpretation of an olde English restaurant. With starched waiters uniforms, deep plush red velvet chairs, restrained elegance and quality US roast beef rib carved from a service cart at the table… It’s survived and thrived over the last 80 years because it offers a refined dining experience, so much so that such vapid ‘celebrities’ as the Kardashian’s have dined there.

Locally Lawry’s The Prime Rib is celebrating 11 years in the SAR with a “Round the World Savoury Journey” menu ($688) which offers six different sauces from various Lawry’s around the world – Beef au Jus (US); black pepper sauce (Hong Kong): wasabi soy sauce (Japan); Korean red chilli sauce; Singapore curry sauce: Taiwanese sesame soy sauce – to enjoy with your delicious slab of 10oz roasted prime rib.

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The savoury (because Lawry’s is American they spell it savory on the menu) starts with a trifecta of seafood: oyster with salmon roe and lemon vodka foam; scallop with black truffle salt and a shrimp with a tasty mango salsa. The 10oz wet aged roasted prime beef rib is served with mashed potatoes and gravy and a massive Yorkshire pudding.

Available side dishes include creamed spinach or corn ($55 each) and a sizzling skillet of mixed mushrooms ($85). If you have room for dessert there blueberry hotcake with maple syrup. To enhance your world journey experience there are six cocktails paired to the sauces.

The Round the World Anniversary menu, $688 for two courses, $738 for three courses, is available in addition to the regular and weekend brunch menus until the end of November, there’s 10% service charge.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Lawrys-Prime-Rib-Hutchison-House-17-October-2017/i-9FHNWN2

Lawry’s The Prime Rib
2/F, Hutchison House, 10 Harcourt Road, Central. Tel: 2907 2218
www.lawrys.com.hk

Fiji National Day Lovo @ Tai Po – 8 October, 2017

The Fijian Chamber of Commerce hosted a traditional lovo feast to celebrate Fiji National Day and commemorate independence. Traditional dancing, songs and cava accompanied the lovo.
A lovo is an underground oven where meat, fish and vegetables are wrapped in leaves and placed atop hot coals/stones and left to slow cook for several hours.
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All You Can Eat Wagyu Set Dinner Launch @ Carlo Riva – 3 October, 2017

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Carlo Riva in Wanchai launched it’s month long ‘All You Can Eat Australian M9 Wagyu Dinner Set’ promotion with a celebration lunch on 3 October featuring a plethora of beautiful women and lots of delicious steak.

Until 31 October enjoy the All You Can Eat Australian M9 Wagyu Dinner Set with buffet style appetiser, salad and dessert for $288 weekdays and $328 at weekends – book via whatsapp 6681 1967.
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Hilda and Sophia Talk Pizza in Pink October

In this the final round of the Cook Off 2017, PizzaExpress collaborated with the Hong Kong Cancer Fund to raise awareness of breast and prostate cancer as part of Pink October.

As Celebrity Chef & Founder of Flavor Mart Hilda Leung took on the winner of the last Cook Off round, Chef Sophia Cheng, Product Development Manager of PizzaExpress in a challenge to create three innovative dishes including one pizza for the “Pink Menu” we spoke to both women about their love of pizza and cooking.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Pizza-Express-Cook-Off-3-Times-Square-28-September-2017/i-V9k5Znp

What for you makes a great pizza?
Hilda: Fresh ingredients come first! Crunchy crust topped with colourful ingredients combing with perfect sauce, simply tasty and attractive.

Sophia: Freshly baked pizza with right combination of fresh ingredients will certainly bring out the best flavour in a harmonizing way.

What’s your favourite pizza style: Romana, Neapolitan, Sicilian, Deep dish/Chicago and why?
Hilda: I always love thin and crunchy crust, with a perfect balance of thin tomato sauce and LOTS of grated mozzarella cheese.

Sophia: Depending on the toppings. If it’s seafood toppings, I will go for Romana style’s thin & crispy crust, while for burrata mozzarella I prefer the Neapolitan style.

Best combination of pizza toppings?
Hilda: Tomato, cheese and basil.

Sophia: Burrata mozzarella, basil, olives and cherry tomatoes.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Pizza-Express-Cook-Off-3-Times-Square-28-September-2017/i-Rkk8DJh

How would you describe your approach to cooking?
Hilda: I focus on flavour matching, I love trying different combination of ingredients, fresh herbs and spice together. I have no boundary in using food elements, if it goes along, I will put them together and use the most perfect cooking method and create a perfect dish.

Sophia: Based on the seasonality, I will choose different ingredients and cooking methods. For example, I tend to create warm dishes with chilli, cheese and fulfilling ingredients during Winter, while I will use more seafood and fruits to create refreshing dishes during Summer.

For the PizzaExpress Cook Off 3, how did you go about creating your pizza?
Hilda: Using healthy and fresh ingredients that are suitable for everyone and the cancer patients. I’ve used lots of vegetables and fruits, as they are colourful and full of nutrients.

Sophia: Matching the theme of Pink October, I blended beetroot with béchamel sauce together and graced the pizza with a pinky look. Together with buffalo mozzarella, capers, cooked salmon chunks, fresh cucumber shreds and lemon oil, I want to add more vibrant colour and flavour to the pizza. So, people can enjoy the pizza when looking at it as well as tasting it.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Pizza-Express-Cook-Off-3-Times-Square-28-September-2017/i-59VnQNf

Hilda v Sophia Superfood Pizza Cook Off @ Pizza Express – 28 September, 2017

In conjunction with the Hong Kong Cancer Fund, Cook Off 3 – the ‘superfood’ pizza contest between celebrity chef Hilda Leung and PizzaExpress’ Sophia Cheng took place at Pizza Express Times Square. Hilda’s Superfood pizza and Sophia’s Salmone e Cetrioli will be onsale throughout October and part of the price of every pizza goes to fight cancer.
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Giando’s Fifth Anniversary Party – 23 September, 2017

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Porker, Simple Food Done Well

It’s easy to walk past the entrance to Porker the new tonkatsu (Japanese cutlet bar) on Wellington Street and if you enjoy and appreciate pork and sake that’d be a mistake. The nondescript stairs wind down to a small friendly room adorned with playing card wallpaper – porker/poker – and some fine food.

As with beef, the Japanese will claim you’ve never had pork until you’ve eaten Japanese pork. There are designer pork farms across several prefectures which produce amazingly tender juicy pork weaved with tasty fat. Porker uses Sangenton 30 day aged pork from the Kagoshima prefecture shipped vacuum sealed, so never frozen, to preserve the flavour.

The menu features a range of teishoku (set meals) available throughout the day and a selection of appetisers and a la carte dishes which are only available in the evening. The signature dish is the Porker set ($200) which combines two of the restaurants best sellers deep fried breaded aged pork sirloin (120g) and tenderloin (50g) served with Japanese rice, soup, pickles and cabbage.

Even though it’s been deep fried, there’s almost no oil residue or oily taste and the breadcrumbs are lovely and crispy, the thick cut pork remains juicy and moist throughout. The sirloin has tasty fatty edge and good flavour. The tenderloin, served light pink is juicy, soo soft and tender that it’s melt in the mouth delicious.

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The Minced Meat Cutlet with tomato sauce ($80) features minced pork with melted cheese in the center, breaded and deep fried and then served with a tangy tomato sauce which has just the right sharpness to cut through the oils. Delicious.

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I’m not a great fan of eating pork entrails, the taste and texture just never really does it for me. But there’s pork entrails and Japanese pork entrails… The Pork Giblets Stew ($70) has a miso base with the entrails stewed until soft and tender. It’s full of flavour and offers a nice contrast to all the fried offerings.

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Unexpectedly the Tenderloin Cutlet Sandwich (2pc, $70) is a little disappointing – that sounds a bit harsh and perhaps it is – the thick cut tenderloin was a little dry and for a sandwich the portion size isn’t visually impressive. Perhaps we had expectations for this dish, whereas for the others we didn’t. It still tastes pretty good though, although overshadowed by the other dishes. It’s offered as a 4pc take out option at lunch time ($140) and you’d want four pieces to feel full.

There’s a single page playing card drinks menu with a range of sake, wine and shochu chosen to pair well with the food offerings. Currently Porker has no desert menu.

We haven’t extensively sampled tonkatsu style restaurants around town, so can’t offer a comparison against other offerings. Porker offers good sized portions of very tasty and well cooked pork which won’t leave you feeling hungry at for what in Central are reasonable prices. It’s simple food, done well.

Porker is the sister restaurant to the Japanese beef centric 298 Nikuya Room (Central) and 298 Nikuya Kitchen (TST).

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Porker-Central-30-August-2017/i-c4X5MVj

Porker
55 Wellington Street, Central. Tel: 6706 5298
Opening hours: Noon-2:30pm, 6-11pm
10% Service charge

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Crafted Tea Salon – Flamingo Bloom

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Coffee has been flavour of the month locally for years now with numerous coffee chains and single shops offering from an averagely awful to a boutique cup of java. Flamingo Bloom a new tea salon in Central obviously aspires to establish a chain of outlets offering floral teas.

The owners creative branding of flamingos and pink ‘n’ blue colours is targeted heavily towards the ladies but it’s all done quite nicely and makes a welcome change to the drab browns of our local java outlets.

What about the tea? Flamingo Bloom uses four base tea flavours Jasmine Tips Green, Honey Orchid Black, Highland Oolong and Chrysanthemum Pu’er and brews using full leaves to get a better flavour and they’re pretty solid beverages. Everyone has a different preference for how long they like their tea to steep, but the flavours here are good.

On top of the basic teas you can add a wide range of flavours including fresh fruits, salted milk cap – a mix of fresh milk, whipped cream, cheese powder and sea salt – and boba pearls. With most available in hot (500ml) and cold (650ml) options. The choice is wide and prices range from $23 upwards and likely it’ll take a few visits or sharing with friends to find your favourite.

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Each drink is prepared to order and the back area resembles a cocktail bar with servers blending and shaking. A lot of thought has obviously gone into the drinks and there are some nice little touches: the ice is blended into the drink so with a cold drink you get a consistent taste rather than a continually diluted one as the ice melts. A little beetroot has been added to the milk to give a pink colour.

Iced Drink Update: this was during the first week and how their tea crafter explained it to bc, but on recent visits the drinks are just like normal iced drinks with ice-cubes – which is a shame.

All good so far, but there are a few niggles. Flamingo Bloom’s is looking for a healthy and refreshing image, unfortunately what’s not made clear on the menu and in the drink ingredients list is that unless you specifically ask for no sugar, each drink has a large, and we mean large, amount of sugar syrup added to it. Most of the flavour combinations shouldn’t need it – but the sugar hit as with fizzy and sports drinks is the unseen addictive hit.

The owners have carefully thought about drink presentation, yet have gone with a thick opaque plastic cup which hides the attractiveness of the drink. And with all the plastic and straws being handed out it would be nice to see FB aggressively pushing recycling.

Flamingo Bloom is a vibrant new tea salon with lots of tasty teas – our current favourite is the salted milk cap Pu’er – remember to hold the sugar if you want a healthy drink. Just because a drink comes with a straw doesn’t mean it’s best enjoyed through the straw. Many of FB’s drinks are best enjoyed from the top down, rather than bottom up.

Flamingo Bloom
50B Stanley Street, Central. Tel: 2483 1778. 11am-9pm
www.flamingo-bloom.com

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Crafted-Teas-Flamingo-Bloom-5-July-2017/i-R38kzhk