Saturday, July 28, 2012

Craft Beers discovery continues...

Been writing about craft beers and so happened that hanging out at two beer bar & restaurants enlivened my weekend just nice~

Friday night-
The signature Beer Can Chicken and beer cocktails at "The Roundhouse" were sensational. This new restaurant was formerly the Manchester Bar Restaurant and anyhow, the successor has proven to be as gimmicky for Hong Kong people, well, foodies in particular. We were there in a group of 4 and were all fascinated by the creativity of their cocktails, especially their beer cocktails. The recipes are actually simple but the visual presentation could call out the inner child of an overworked girl on a Friday night >v<
(From left) English Tea Martini, Lovely Peach, Beergarita, My friend's fav blue and my fav 1664 blanc
Okay...for guys, there are also over 70 types of micro-brews (craft beers) to choose from, to satisfy the most curious type. I especially like the way they take their bar offerings serious by having an iPhone app to introduce every beer and cocktail on their menu, incl. the tasting notes - clap clap for it!
Roundhouse iPhone app

Food-wise, the selection is pretty friendly and decent, in terms of quality over price. Most items on the menu are of portions to share. The juicy and aromatic Beer Can Chicken comes in whole for $185 while a hearty California Cobb Salad costs $108. Together with a chicken wings platter (a dozen for $88), cheese fries and a Six-Cheese pizza (what a nice surprise for a cheese lover used to having 4-cheeses! $128), 4 of us walked out the door after a long night chat with full stomach without breaking the bank haha!


Anticipated enough, The Roundhouse has now taken a place in my list of the best craft beer bars in town~

The Roundhouse - No. 36 Lock Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

---
Saturday night-
Got an invitation from the owner of Stone's to their craft beer event co-organized by the Hop Leaf HK (a craft beer importer) and GeoExpat. 

Tai Hang Block Party - Presented by Hop Leaf HK & GeoExpat @ Stone's

The rain didn't seem to wash away the passion for craft beers of many expats and locals in town. It was a full house coming into sight when I arrived, people each sipping on different bottles from Rogue (Oregon, USA) / North Coast (California, USA) / Baird (Numazu, Japan). 

With an entrance of $150, I got a bottle of craft beer of choice and a small buffet of appetizers provided by the host venue. Kevin (one of Stone's owners) recommended the Numazu Lager by Baird which has a light overall sweetness without being too hoppy or bitter (forgive my totally unprofessional tasting note, it works just fine for myself tho). The Hazelnut Brown Nectar by Rogue was also a tasty one, but for your info, don't expect the same from its name coz it has nothing to do with 'nectar' :P It has a nutty and malty palate, quite exceptional!

I had a good time with my good friend over good beers and good food :) Nice one! Hop Leaf and Stone's!

Stone's - G/F, China Tower, 1-9 Lin Fa Kung West St., Tai Hang, Causeway Bay


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Recipe: Homemade Yuzu-Orange Sorbet - Coooool

Just went thru a whole series of laughter and tears watching a Korean drama - Rooftop Prince (屋塔房王世子), totally given my heart to this endearing and yet funny plot. While I was overwhelmed by this ancient and modern Korean romance flurry, apart from busy google-ing Park Yu-chun (朴有天), I was also well inspired to come up with this refreshing summer yuzu treat as a tribute - haha!
Yuzu Honey

Yuzu, 柚子, a small yellow grapefruit originated in East Asia. A famous product of it is Yuzu Honey, which is basically thinly sliced yuzu mixed with sugar and honey that is to make yuzu tea by adding water



Here it is - a nice simple recipe to cool down your summer~

Yuzu-Orange Sorbet (Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons yuzu honey (from supermarket, of course!)
3 oranges
2 cups water
1 cup sugar (I personally prefer less)
1/2 lemon
A pinch of basil (optional)

Yummy creamy Yuzu-Orange Sorbet :)
Method:
1. In a saucepan, stir together water and sugar. Bring to a  boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool. 

2. Stir in yuzu honey and basil while the sugar water is still warm

3. While cooling down the mixture, squeeze the juice out from 3 oranges, leave some orange pulp inside the juice for the texture

4. Filter the saucepan mixture, try to leave some yuzu slices to the filtered mixture

5. Mix the orange juice with the cooled mixture

6. Freeeeze!

7. Stab and crash the mixture when it becomes semi-solid (around 7 hours, as experimented), continue to freeze

8. When completely frozen, pour into blender to blend until creamy and smooth, then freeze again (as it would melt down a bit during blending)

9. Enjoy :)



How nice would it be watching Rooftop Prince together with your loved one/ones, licking sorbet and laughing together :)
Rooftop Prince (屋塔房王世子)!! Highly recommended!