Contemporary Japanese Cuisine at 0.5°

When the city's Japanese restaurants are close to coming to an excessive level, and the food are more or less the same everywhere, people would start looking for restaurants where something different, or something a little more special, could be experienced.

Tai Han is always a neighborhood for experiencing. As suggested by its name, 0.5°Japanese Contemporary Cuisine + Bar is an izakaya restaurant that serves contemporary Japanese cuisines.

It has awing interior designs, thick hemp ropes, instead of paint or wallpapers, were hung to decorate the ceiling and walls, oval stones were placed in the hand wash basin where I felt guilty running water through (don't ask me why :P), and the dim lighting all came together to create the ambiance of its own. I believe its Japanese yen priced menu (1HKD=10¥) was intented to part of the design too!

 

 

Naming itself "contemporary", it sets certain expectations for customers to anticipate special details in each dish regardless of the seemingly ordinary names. Here are some which really did impress me and my friend :)

Sweet shrimp tartar 甜蝦他他

The presentation looked fun! - a bamboo steam basket arrived at our table, the server opened it to reveal some purple chips (purple sweet potato chips) and a glass egg, I am sure at that moment we looked so confused you would laugh at our faces :D when we saw the shrimp tartar inside the eggshell, we were even more confused, how were we supposed to eat? I guess the server was used to being asked this question a thousand times and must have been cursing the creator silently haha - but easy on this, here is the demonstration-

The shrimp tartar with fish roes mixed in was seasoned right to bring out the natural fresh taste of the seafood. Despite the cotton-like texture of the tartar, chunks of shrimp meat could still be enjoyed accompanied by crispy salted sweet potato chips in beautiful purple color.

Wagyu Konbu maki 炭燒布包和牛

I'd rather say it's a painting than a dish. The stone slate was layered with black squid ink bread crumbs resembling soil, and flower petals were pitifully scattered around rolls of mundane wagyu flesh...I am not an art person but I had a feeling this dish was inspired by art pieces of Vincent van Gogh's or some other impressionist masters'. The slow cooked wagyu beef tasted very nice in terms of the meat itself, the balanced taste of the fat which seemed to be totally absorbed back by the meat and the seasoning. The 'konbu' rice paper wrapping the wagyu was just right in thickness that managed to balance the overwhelming taste of the meat.

Deep fries lotus root slices and minced chicken 炸蓮藕片免治雞肉

This supposedly simple snack was surprisingly successful in winning my heart. Maybe it's the creative combination of these two matching ingredients that impressed, lovely!

0.5° Style paella

The contemporary touch of this dish was a Spanish seafood paella served in a hot stone bowl, fair enough? But that wasn't the point, haha! The highlight of this paella was the rice, which was cooked with lobster broth and it was super yummy. My friend and I were full but we insisted in finishing it till the bottom.

There are so many more items on the menu we wanted to try, yes next time. To enjoy the most out of trying new restaurants with special concepts, there is a golden rule I'd suggest following -Don't walk in with too high expectations, let the surprises surprise you - it's sometimes better to just be happy fools than serious nerds :) cheers

0.5°Japanese Contemporary Cuisine + Bar

Address: Shop B, G/F, 12-13 Shepherd Street

Tel: 2504 2777

My Father's Day Weekend with Vero's Chocolates

 

Went to the Landmark for Father's Day cake hunting (I was thinking about Sift's Father's Day special - CARAMOCHA but it was closed the time I got there, so I ended up in Vero). Its Signature Dark 70% chocolate is something I always wanted to try, so glad about the unexpected visit yesterday :) 

As a chocolate drink, Vero's Signature Dark 70% is intense as it's basically a cup of melted 70% dark chocolate. Taking a sip, you'd find it smooth and velvety in the mouth with a balanced bitterness and a slightly nutty flavor, and the fine and subtle sweetness kicks in as the finish - 70% is just a right number. The drink is more a generous portion of molten chocolate tasting than a "chocolate drink" - this expectation has to be set so you could enjoy the most out of it :)

Apart from a variety of chocolates, Vero also has a selection of patisseries. Except a couple (don't really remember which), all others have 1lb size to order. Wherein the "Chuao" was highly recommended by the shop manager. The patisserie is made of one of the best chocolate varieties in the world, Chuao, and chocolate and caramel mousse with fleur de sel, almond praline and chocolate flourless sponge - would love to try it next time! 

 

Okay, here comes the Chocolate Mud Cake I chose for Father's Day. It's one of Vero's best sellers and indeed it's a rich and delightful chocolate cake with consistent texture, one you could imagine as a moist soft brownie with smooth luscious chocolate throughout, in every bite. It's totally addictive and more importantly, my dad loves it :)

The service was incredible too. I visited at their closing time but the staff was still fun and welcoming. When I told them the cake was for Father's Day, the supervisor even offered to write a chocolate "Happy Father's Day" tag for me! It took them an additional 5 min to prepare so - really appreciate that not only because they made this cake special, also because of their spirits to serve. 

Highly recommend Vero for chocolate lovers!

Vero Chocolates

Central

Address: Shop 236, 2/F, The Landmark, 12-16 Des Voeux Road Central, Central 

Tel: 2559 5810

Tsim Sha Tsui

Address: Shop 23, Kiosk, G/F, K11 Art Mall, 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: 9709 4868

 

Another beautiful piece of shop display...

Yahoo! Supermart - New platform for buying premium internationaldelicacies from Japan and beyond

Yahoo! Supermart is a new and unique marketplace offering premium international grocery goods online...with great discounts!! A collection of premium Japanese goods are first being introduced, though the product list is being updated constantly with new introductions, here below are some examples of yummy products for you to get an idea~ Visit supermart.yahoo.com.hk for more~

Japan’s No.1 Kuroge Wagyu “Miyazaki Wagyu”beef  

Graded by the Japan Meat Grading Association as top quality A4 grade with superior fat marbling, succulent and melt-in-the-mouth texture.

Price: HK$615 HK$398 (35% Off)


Miyazaki “Earl’s favorite” muskmelon - A monarch of melons
“Earl’s favorite” has only one piece of fruit produced by each tree. With a sweetness of Brix 15 or above, it is juicy and satisfying in the mouth, even better served cold.

Price: HK$1,292 HK$718 (44% Off)

Supreme Miyazaki mangoes “Eggs of the Sun” 
This delish looking “Apple Mango”, Miyazaki mango, has golden yellow flesh and a highly aromatic flavor (honestly it's seriously delicious and juicy). It is lovely and sweet with Brix 15 above in sweetness as well.

Price: HK$1,576 HK$898 (43% Off)

Sweet Okinawa “Snack Pineapple”
It is a rare and popular species in Japan. When ripened, the rind can easily be separated by hand into smaller snack-sized pieces to enjoy the luscious yellow flesh.

And many more, like Hokkaido hairy crabs and Fukuoka-ken Kyoho grapes (巨峰葡萄) are also on shelves now! :)

Fine fresh foods in offer are carefully selected and directly air-freighted from around the world. And a good thing is, delivery service is included which makes shopping so convenient having this being taken care of. The discounts are actually attractive and these special delicacies could definitely be considered as gifts / food to bring to parties or for celebratory feasts :)

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.

Street Food in Sham Shui Po

I am not a fan of most street food, but there are some I can't help being obsessed with... :P
Here are two in Sham Shui Po worth trying:

Coconut milk from King of Coconut (椰汁大王)
There is a constant queue in front of the store, which overshadows the bubble tea store next to it without any mercy. The coconut milk recipe is simple - just coconut meat, Black & White evaporated milk (黑白淡奶) and sugared water - to blend to smooth...and very smooth, but at the same time you could still find tiny bits of coconut meat in it :) absolutely tasty

Address: G/F, Hang Shing Building, 42-44 Kwelin Street, Sham Shui Po

Grilled dry squid
Located strategically at the crossings, the smell of grilled dry squid never fail to lure me. Make sure you ask for a pack that is freshly grilled, they are best served warm and crispy ;)

Address: Yen Chow Street (cross street of Un Chau Street)

There are other street food I like, such as takoyaki (章魚小丸子) and french fries with different dressings in Mongkok, egg waffle balls (雞蛋仔) from 蛋記 in Shau Kei Wan...etc. Excuse my lack of knowledge on the most common ones like fish balls, deep fried intestines and stinky tofu, I have sensitive stomach so I have been trying to avoid those >< Anyway, what are your favorites?

Cafe Loisl - A Viennese Corner in Sheung Wan

When the sun comes out after all these damp and rainy days, what's better than spending an afternoon alfresco enjoying a cup of coffee and a piece of delicious cake? The experience would even be greater if the location is quiet without people buzzing around and stressing you to finish your coffee. Cafe Loisl is one of the kind, you only have to walk up a bit for it.

This artisan Vienna style coffee house is located on the stair landing up Po Hing Fong, Sheung Wan. People who have visited would describe it as an oasis, or a corner of Vienna in Hong Kong. Yes, these are all correct descriptions for Cafe Loisl. The place is furnished with a Viennese touch, from the chandelier, marble coffee tables, floor tiles, wall decors to tableware, all the details suggest the owner's passion to bring the Viennese coffee shop culture to Hong Kong.

 

For those who have been to Austria, or wish to go there, you'll be happy to find some of the very best of this beautiful country. Number one on my list is definitely the Sacher Torte, this devilish chocolate cake traditionally consists of two layers of dense chocolate sponge cake with a thin layer of apricot jam in the middle, coated in dark chocolate icing on the top and sides, and served with whipped cream. The version at Cafe Loisl is more like a chocolate truffle cake, with alternate layers of chocolate sponge cake and rich ganache, coated with smooth chocolate icings. A Viennese coffee is a must to go with this sumptuous cake. Apfelstrudel, or apple strudel, is also a traditional Viennese dessert available in the menu. I didn't get to try it this time but it looked like a nice treat for people who loves the combination of apples cooked with cinnamon in puff pastry. 

The mille feuilles was a bit on the heavy side with custard.It would have been awesome if there were more layers of puff pastry (and must be fresh and crispy). The taste was great though, just too heavy.

 

Apart from desserts, classics like bratwurst, omelette and currywurst were also available. I was just a happy girl at Cafe Loisl having the food I miss from Europe :)

Cafe Loisl
G/F, 8A Tai On Terrace - Pound Lane, Sheung Wan
9179 0209

Bricklane - The Egg Benedict Place

After an exciting night watching the Cheung Chau Bun Scrambling Competition, you shall be waking up at brunch time and it's just perfect time to see this post :) Bricklane is an eatery with reminiscence of its namesake in London East End. Located in a relatively quiet corner of Tsim Sha Tsui, it's a nice place to sit back and chit chat for an afternoon if you go for a late-brunch (at least after 2:30pm), so you could have better chance to avoid being kicked out after your meal.

They serve a phenomenal egg benedict with Parma ham (yes! they do have this unique offer), with a perfectly poached egg with flowy yolk and delicious buttery Hollandaise. I especially like its 'English muffin' which seems to be a piece of burger bun instead toasted with savory butter. It is not as chewy as English muffin but still lets the sauce and ham hang on it perfectly well. One precaution is that you can't let the bun soak in the sauce for too long or it'd become soggy pretty soon. So yummy I'll go back only for this!

They have a supersize beef burger in the menu, with a patty of 10oz beef. It looked good but too heavy for me so I ordered fish and chips. The presentation was fun with chips building a jenga tower and a piece of crispy fish fillet laying on top. However, both the fish and chips were a bit too oily...it disappointed me when I was only craving for french fries at that time.

Out of curiosity I also ordered a red velvet cake for the sake of comparing with the one I made. I think my cupcakes could also be priced at $65...on the menu it recommends to order some time in advance for the cream cheese filling to soften at room temperature. I asked to verify, and the server said no need coz. he could take it out from the fridge in the restaurant across the street (?!) Anyway, the cake was a bit too hard, but the taste was fine, just like the red velvet cakes I had in Southern US. It would really be better if the cake was allowed to soften for maybe half an hour, guess the servers was only trying to be helpful though.

Overall it was a pleasant and relaxing afternoon sitting by the windows of Bricklane. Its location and egg benedict were major contributing factors to this :)

Bricklane [Menu]
G/F, 2 Blenheim Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui
2736 8893

Coffee Alley - A Sought-After Taiwanese Coffee Shop Is In Hong Kong

Coffee culture has grown enormous in Taiwan in recent years, visiting a cafe for an ice drip coffee has become part of the itinerary. What would happen if a popular Taiwanese cafe opens in HK? The answer is a two-hour wait in order to get in for its delish menu and be served by its good-looking, friendly and mandarin speaking waiters.

Coffee Alley (咖啡弄),  a sought-after chain coffee shop in Taipei, has just brought a replica to Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. It has all the traits of a good Taiwanese cafe, which would incorporate international food and localize to suit the local taste, pay great attention to details and give an effort to impress customers.

A group size of 4-5 is perfect if you want to taste the most out of Coffee Alley's overwhelming menu. These are what comprised a delightful lunch for 5 girls today:

Baguette with curry beef - A fun 'East meets West' dish, the curry was more peppery than the usual Indian curry, quite appetizing

 

Club sandwich - A fulfilling dish with a nice egg salad and Doritos chips on the side, the marinated chicken in the sandwich was sweet and smoky, which turned up to be a nice surprise

 

Pizza with roast chicken - It's not exactly a pizza but a thin crispy baguette with tasty toppings, it's better named a toast for a more accurate expectation though

 

Waffles with black sesame ice-cream, chestnut paste and sunflower seeds - These phenomenal waffles popped out fresh with beautiful dark brown and light brown colors on both sides, the whipped cream was firm and rich, while the scoop of lightly sweet chestnut paste and sunflower seeds helped add more texture to the waffles. The ideas of black sesame ice-cream and black sesame sauce were nice too, though the sauce could be more intense in sesame flavor, very satisfying overall!

 

Strawberry mille feuilles - it's such an eye-candy already, the crunchy buttery puff pastry, heavenly custard and fresh strawberries with the right ripeness came altogether in harmony, fantastic!

 

Chocolate brownie with vanilla ice-cream - It's good but not for those expecting an avalanche of chocolate sensation, 'cause this brownie has more walnut and black currants than chocolate cake. The good thing is the refreshing berries actually lighten up this massive looking dessert, so you could still manage it after a big meal, quite clever ;)

Other not to be missed are the variety of hand drip coffees from around the world and some unique and devilish ice coffees and lattes (I enjoyed my sea salt caramel latte with hazelnuts and almonds scattered around the whipped cream on the side, very thoughtful). 

It's also perfectly fine if you are not a coffee person because the fresh fruit teas are also to die for. The iced fresh fruit tea with passion fruit seeds, lime, orange, apple..and Lipton breakfast tea is a genius creation, the colorful mocktail comes in a carafe to pour over to a slice of frozen lemon embedded in an ice cube in a glass.

The menu portions are big, I guess it's because Coffee Alley insists to put so much details in each plate to wow its guests with sky-high expectations. Great job! The long wait surely worth it! (Recommended not to go during weekends)

Coffee Alley
Address: Room B1-B3, 1/F, Dragon Rise, 9-11 Pennington Street, Causeway Bay
Tel: 2493 3033