Third Hong Kong Whisky Festival

The third Hong Kong Whisky Festival, organized by InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong and Tiffany’s New York Bar, takes place from 12:30-5pm on the 14 April 2018.

This year’s festival features a wide range of brands and there will be over 500 different whisky expressions to sample including:
Highland Park The Light
Highland Park The Dark
Highland Park Full Volume
Glenmorangie Spios
The Macallan Exceptional Single Cask
Gordon & MacPhail – Longmorn 1967
Gordon & MacPhail – Glen Grand 1954
Gordon & MacPhail – Strathisla 1949

Alongside an array of master classes (from $200-$2,000) hosted by diverse brand ambassadors including:
Mr. Charlie Maclean – Independent Whisky Expert
Dr. Ian Chang – Kavalan
Mr. Jim McEwan – Ardnahoe Distillery
Mr. Brendan McCarron – Glenmorangie
Mr. Martin Markvardsen – Highland Park
Mr. Richard Urquhart – Gordon & MacPhail & Benromach
Ms. Lucie Stroesser – Isle of Arran
Ms. Chloe Wood – Bruichladdich
Mr. Mathieu Jeannin – Hine Cognac
Mr. Justine Ames – Heaven Hill Distillers

Mr. Madhu Kanna – Paul John
Mr. Ewan Henderson – Lost Distillery
Mr. Adam Knox – The Dalmore
Mr. David Ding – The Balvenie & Glenfiddich
Mr. Craig Johnstone – The GlenDronach, The BenRiach & Glenglassaugh
Mr. Michael Hsieh – The Whisky Agency

Hong Kong Whisky Festival
Date: 12:30pm, 14 April, 2018
Venue: InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong
Tickets: $320

Flavours of Ireland @ Tiffany’s Bar – 8 March, 2018

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Sláinte! The Hong Kong and Macau Irish Festival and Bar Talk Magazine hosted an evening of Irish Flavours on the 8 March at Tiffany’s New York bar in the Intercontinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong. Teeling supplied the Irish whiskey, as well as an informative talk on how to drink and enjoy whiskey, to complement Irish flavoured food and Bill Kong performed traditional and modern Irish tunes.

Joel Laird demonstrated how he hand-crafts his traditional his Sessile Oak Whiskey Tumbler which is toasted on the inside and shaped like a coopers barrel. The tumbler adopts the same methods used in the coopering and maturation process of whiskey making – where Oak barrels contribute to the colour, aroma and an oaky vanilla flavour to the contents.
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Frites Loves February

Belgian Beerhouse Frites has a variety of promotions to warm the heart, stomach and wallet this chilly February: Wagyu Wednesday, Valentines Day and a discount at the refurbished Quarry Bay outlet.

Wagyu Wednesday, after 5pm all four Frites outlets will be serving a wagyu burger with hand cut frites and truffle mayo for $100. The burger features a tasty 100g Australian wagyu beef patty, cheese, bacon, fresh tomato and leafy greens on a soft bun.

February is the month of love, Frites has a three course dinner ($495/person) on Valentines Day which starts with a glass of prosecco. There’s a choice of two entrees: mussels in a rich marinara sauce or Vitello Tonnato, braised veal served with creamy tuna mayonnaise. For your main course choose between grilled red snapper served with prawn bisque risotto, confit tomatoes and seared scallops or bbq 1855 Black Angus rib eye steak with a side of oxtail macaroni cheese. Dessert is a seductive chocolate fondant.

Located at Taikoo Place the chains Quarry Bay outlet has reopened after a month long refurbishment and to thank it’s customers there’s a $50 discount available until the end of February. Simply mention promotion code “FRTIESQB” to get $50 off any bill over $150.

FRITES Central: 1/F, The Wellington, 198 Wellington Street, Central. Bookings: 2217 6671
FRITES Wanchai: Shop 6, 1/F Causeway Centre, 28 Harbor Road, Wanchai. Bookings: 2877 2422
FRITES Causeway Bay: Shop 1, G/F, Park Haven, 38 Haven Street, Causeway Bay. Bookings: 2142 5233
FRITES Quarry Bay: G/F, Oxford House, Taikoo Place, 979 King’s Road, Island East. Bookings: 2250 5188
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday, 12pm – late

New Year’s Eve Mussel Party at Frites

Frites Belgian Beerhouse are looking to make your countdown a memorable one with a ‘Mussel Pot Party’ on New Year’s Eve. Starting from 6pm Frites’ four outlets in Central, Wanchai, Causeway Bay, and Quarry Bay will be serving unlimited amounts of their six signature mussel pots: Frites House Mussels, Hoegaarden Mussels, Provencale Mussels, Mariniere Mussels, Laksa Mussels and Mediterranean Mussels.

All the pots are served with frites and mayo. There’s also an unlimited drinks option ($245) and children under 10 can get a free kids meal from the menu with each adult. The “all you can eat mussels” promotion costs $245 per person and will start from 6pm on 31 December, 2017, terms and conditions apply.

Christmas Pizza Anyone?

Looking for something different this festive season? Perhaps Pizza Express’ Christmas menu which includes two festive pizzas and a range of themed dishes might interest you.

The seasonal a la carte menu features a baked cheese melt starter ($65), a turkey Caesar salad ($128), Farfalle con Tacchino ($133, turkey pasta with a white cream sauce) and Pumpkin Cannelloni ($138) – this is ok, the pureed pumpkin, spinach and cheese filling is tasty but it perhaps could have been delicious if the pumpkin had been in chunks to give the filling some texture and substance.

There are two festive pizza: Tacchinao Rosmarino ($153) – a thin crust pizza topped with turkey, cranberry and sweet peppadew sauce, pancetta, mozzarella, tomato sauce, a sprinkle of rosemary and pine nuts.  The Cicciolo e Fontina ($153) features pork, pork shin, fontina, mozzarella, Parmesan with caramelized onions, garlic oil, béchamel sauce and thyme served on a thin crust pizza.

Strange sounding combinations they may seem, but they’re both not bad.  The turkey one, perhaps a little sweet to eat a full pizza yourself. But Pizza Express allows mixing and matching so we sampled a half/half combination which was delicious.

Dessert options are Apple Tortino ($88, a baked apple, cinnamon  and puff pasty combination topped with vanilla gelato) and a Snowy Date Pudding ($88) which is rather nice. The warm pudding in a sauce of honey yoghurt and raspberry coulis topped with vanilla gelato.

The festive menu is available at all Pizza Express outlets until 1 January, 2018

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Anniversary Specials: Pizza Express, UberEATS

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Everyone loves a birthday or anniversary and restaurants are no exception. Here are two local outlets that have tempting offers this month.

Pizza Express

PizzaExpress is celebrating its anniversary this month and looking to share it with everyone via two special offers. From now until 30 November 2017 arrive after 8pm from Monday to Friday and spend over $250 to get a 30% discount (except Hong Kong International Airport, Times Square, New Town Plaza and Ocean Terminal outlets).

Customers with a birthday in October or November can get a plate of baked dough balls for free by simply saying “Happy Birthday” to the reception staff and showing their Hong Kong Identity card.

There are also several new menu items featuring a variety of “Superfoods” including Cook Off 2 winner Sophia Cheng’s vegetarian Beyond Chicken and Kale Pesto Pizza – which if you ask, can usually be made with real chicken as well.

UberEATS

Food delivery company UberEATS celebrates it’s first anniversary locally with a couple of discount codes on it’s app/website. www.ubereats.com/hong_kong/

From 23-27 October, log on between 12-2pm and if you find the flash promo code in the top banner get $50 off your next order.

Until 29 October enjoy free delivery from selected outlets by entering the promo code HKONEYEAR before checkout.

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.

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

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.
Click on any photo for the full gallery of images

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