R&B Research & Bakery - Great food concept but.......

R&B Research & Bakery has almost everything you can ask for from a good eatery - a convenient location, a creative menu that spurs anticipation, chic decor and even a beautiful banyan tree right outside the window. 

But what's missing, and most fundamentally important for a restaurant, is the cooking...no matter how well the food is being plated afterwards. On the up side, R&B has great potentials, and it's mainly the chefs to be counted on to make things right as they are supposed to be. Let's just hope, it doesn't hurt to stay positive right? 

Really love this natural light and tree view idea... :)

Here comes the food...let me start with the best - Elote - grilled corn cob with chili, butter and LOTS OF CHEESE! It doesn't look like a lot but in fact every kernel I had went with an abundance of cheese - amazing. The corn tasted really sweet and crunchy. The tricky part of this elote is you've got to cut out the sweet corn kernels from the cob, which is a bit large to handle, collaborative effort is recommended if you don't wish to make a mess. 

Here's another one worth trying - 

Ice cube coffee/ chocolate

Lovely concept about freezing the coffee/ chocolate into ice, and serving it with warm milk to melt it down. The end product is cool, not cold not warm. And the coffee I had was on the bitter side...it means quite bitter as I drink black coffee on a daily basis...anyway it was fun haha! The chocolate comes with mint leaves and orange peels, a thoughtful touch :)

Alright, you can stop reading from here as I have finished the 'recommendation' part. The rest of the food we tried only looked good. So if you have the leisure, read on~

Uni gnocchi

How exciting to see these two word being put together on the menu~ sea urchin and gnocchi...but when you have taken a bite and felt the sogginess of the overcooked gnocchi, you will be immediately turned off...putting the not-so-uni tasting sauce aside, I am more concerned about why the kitchen did not even prepare a simple pasta properly...

Chicken nuggets

I like the idea of it not using the processed McNuggets but chicken meat (with skin) marinated with lemon juice then deep fried. It comes also with fried garlic and a tartare-tasting mayonnaise. It's nice in general only the chicken was over fried, i.e. very dry...

Buttermilk fried chicken Benedict

There was an incidence with the Hollandaise sauce of our Fried chicken Benedict...didn't eat it and cancelled the order in the end...no comment

Chocolate blackout cake

It's huge!!! 4 layers of fudge and (very firm) choco pudding can feed 4 people after a normal to big portion lunch. The cake wasn't bad, very chocolaty. I could taste marzipan(?!) in the pudding in the rim part..okay

My friend and I literally blacked out after eating...haha! Will give it another try...have faith!

R&B Research and Bakery

Address: 3/F, Pacific Mansion, 172-174 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: 2191 5445

Recipe: Eggs Benedict

Egg Benedict is my synonym for weekend. When I don't feel like going out on Sundays, DIY egg Benedict is quite a good option.

There are 4 basic components to make eggs Benedict, poached eggs, Hollandaise sauce, English muffins and ham/ smoked salmon/ spinach/ mushroom/ bacon, whichever style you'd like it to become.

Here's the recipe, serves 4 with 1 egg each (reference taken from allrecipes.com)

1) Hollandaise sauce

Ingredients:

- 2 egg yolks

- 80g melted butter

- 2 tsp lemon juice

- Some hot water

- A dash of salt and white pepper

- A little tarragon / dill weed

1. Bring water in the bottom of a double boiler to a gentle simmer. In the top of the double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice, and white pepper.

2. Add the melted butter to egg yolk mixture 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time while whisking yolks constantly. If hollandaise begins to get too thick, add a teaspoon or two of hot water. Continue whisking until all butter is incorporated.  

3. Whisk in salt, then remove from heat. Place a lid on the pan to keep the sauce warm.

2) Poached eggs

Ingredients:

- 4 eggs

- 2 tbsp of white vinegar

1. Fill a large saucepan with 3 inches of water. Bring water to a gentle simmer, then add vinegar. 

2. Carefully break eggs into simmering water (or in a ladle to dip into water), and allow to cook for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Yolks should still be soft in center. 

3. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon and set on a warm plate.

3) English muffins

- 4 halves of English muffins

- Butter for spread

1. Lightly toast the English muffins just to brown the surface.

2. Spread the butter on the halves.

4) Ham

Ingredients:

- 4 slices of ham (of any type you prefer)

- 1 tbsp butter

1. While the eggs are poaching, brown the slices of ham in a medium skillet with butter over medium-high heat.

The presentation

Garnish: Chopped chives or dry parsley 

1. Top each English muffin half with a slice of ham, followed by one poached egg. 

2. Drizzle with hollandaise sauce. 

3. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.