Photo Issue!

Here are some of the photos I've taken and and around the city of Seoul over the last few weeks.

Restaurant Review!

Marche l Jamsil l Seoul

It’s great. I love the fact that Seoulites have this love affair with Germanic foods. They seem to have the same love of hearty meals and beer; a similar roughhousing affection for drink and laughter. It reminds me a bit of Asterix to tell you the truth. I also love the fact that the food never really suffers for it. That is, it’s not too far off from the real thing and any differences are purely accidental.

Take Marche for example. It’s this hilarious cafeteria style restaurant with various cooking stations where you choose want you want and get a stamp on a card depending on how much it costs. The inside looks like a cross between a Hoffbrau and Boulangerie and the hostesses are dressed like Heidi. I had a chicken cordon bleu with a rosti while my friend had a rib eye steak with thick cut potatoes. It wasn’t too bad at all. My chicken was nicely fried with a good amount of ham and cheese but my rosti was on the soggy side. The steak was beautifully charbroiled and bloody as hell. Perfect.

The restaurant is attached to COEX mall which is supposed to be the largest underground mall in Asia. It’s not that big compared to North American malls but the choices you have are pretty good. Especially since it’s attached to Hyundai Department store which has a great food hall in its basement. There are quite a few choices for you here and all are reasonably priced. But if it’s an alpinesque meal that you want, you know where to go.

Restaurant Review!

Gubbi l Aogae l Seoul

One of my favorite Korean dishes is pork spine soup. Its sounds awful but the spine has the most delicious meat and a good spicy broth that is wonderfully warming. I remember when I was a kid, my mom would be the martyr and eat all the ribs and bone attached pieces of meat. Then as I got older, I realized that these were the most succulent, flavorful cuts of meat and maybe she wasn’t doing me such a favor after all.

So, I was looking forward to Gubbi which was well known for its pork spine soup and seemed busy, especially at our early dinner time of 6 pm on a weeknight. We sat down and ordered a big pot to share and prepared ourselves for something fairly hearty.
Out came the huge pot, sitting on a burner and big enough to feed 4, crammed with meat and spicy broth. We dug in and were surprised by the blandness of the meal. The soup lacked complexity and the meat seemed listless. Mind you, it helps to be hungry and by the time we got to the end of the meal, the soup had gained some flavor from its long cooking and yielded a decent broth for our meal ending rice.

On the TV was one of my favorite Korean shows which I have dubbed, “Let’s randomly film things with a high speed camera.” Somehow they’ve crafted it into a game show and have shown a man slicing cucumbers by throwing playing cards, a house with a cat, dog and rooster, and bacon frying in a high temperature kiln. I hope Gubbi gets the message and realizes that unlike the TV show, pork spine soup should take its own sweet time.

Restaurant Review!

??? l Sinchon l Seoul

Sorry again. I thought I had taken a picture of the restaurant’s sign but it didn’t turn out so once again, this Japanese restaurant will remain nameless. Anyways, I finally got to have one of those legendary dishes that are synonymous with certain cuisines. Well, maybe infamous might be a better term for sannakji or live octopus.

We started off with a series of starters such as some fantastic raw oysters. They were so incredibly sweet and this was the perfect time of year for them as the waters off of Korea are cold. The poached skate in spicy red pepper sauce was also good. Next, there was a spicy skate salad served with sesame leaves with tobiko and mayonnaise. With the usual sides and slices of sashimi, I was feeling pretty full after the shoju (rice wine) I had consumed to wash this all down. Then, I was informed that we had only completed our starters.

Out came the biggest plate of sashimi I have ever seen. In Korea, sashimi is never frozen so they tend to use smaller fish which have a much smaller chance of parasites and you could taste the difference. The fish have a much firmer texture and I knew that my hosts knew what they were talking about when they offered me the best part of the fish…the flesh around the fins. Then a small plate of wriggling tentacles arrived. I was speechless. The octopus is covered in sesame oil to keep them from grabbing onto your throat and choking you as those tentacles are really going. I carefully picked up a piece, dipped it in red chili sauce and popped it into my mouth, being sure to chew every bit of life out of it. I have to say, for someone who despises shellfish sushi, this was pretty good. It obviously wasn’t mushy and it had a slightly sweet seawater taste to it. It was pretty impressive I have to say but really, you need to get past that wriggling. Have a look yourself…

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Restaurant Review!

Mapongalpi l Ahyeon l Seoul

Do you like Korean BBQ? Me too! Do I like the way I eat it? Well, I was wrong. You know all that sliced garlic at the side of the table? You’re supposed to grill that first before you put it in your wrap. I learned that when I went to this fantastic BBQ restaurant specializing in fatty pork.

Thankfully, Koreans still care more about taste than their weight so we get to have 3 layered fatty pork for dinner. The 3 layers stand for the 3 layers of fat. In fact, they have a 5 layer variant as well from new improved breeds of pigs. The first thing you do is you take a piece of lard and you rub it on the grill to keep things from burning. Then you plaster on that fatty pork, liberally sprinkled with kosher salt. It came up juicy, succulent and tasting like actual pork. In our desire for more healthy pork, we’ve bred all semblance of flavor out of them. Wrapped in lettuce, sesame leaves and grilled garlic, it was so warming in the rapidly cooling evening.

Restaurant Review!

Chilgapsan l Jonggak l Seoul

This was the first time I actually had some unfamiliar food here in Korea. This hard to find restaurant sports no English I’m afraid, but is readily recognizable by its vine covered frontage. There is an incredibly warm wood feel that many Korean restaurants have but the added touch of tables made from uneven cross cut pieces of wood gave it an old/new feel that was refreshing. In the same regard, the food was also traditional with a slight twist.

To start, our neobiani, a large hamburger patty in a sweet marinade served sizzling on a hotplate, was extraordinary. It wasn’t overly sweet like many other beef dishes here but it had an intense meatiness to it that was perfect for a cold November evening. The accompaniments of spicy green salad kept the dish from becoming overwhelming. Following this was a more traditional Pajeon pancake filled with green onions and squid. Pan-fried and served piping hot, it had just the right balance of greens, seafood and eggy dough. Finally, we had doenjang bibimbap, a red rice dish served on a bed of mountain greens with a soybean curd sauce. The sauce was spicy and the tofu was slightly fermented in a way that gave it a hint of the sharp feta cheese flavor. Fantastic.

In Korea you have to really get use to the fact that you’re going to have to figure out some Korean to get around. Luckily, the staff was really helpful when they saw me fumbling with a phrase book. An adventurous attitude will help you get far here and sometimes, you might even discover a gem like this.

Restaurant Review!

??? l Aeogae l Seoul

Yes. I know. My Korean skills are useless at this stage. I should be able to make out the name of this place but to be honest, it was early in the morning and I was still pretty sleepy. This local noodle house seemed to get steady business all throughout the day so I thought it would be a good place to try out.

And since I was trying things out, I thought why not go for the ramen with cheese. Seriously, what the heck could it taste like? I have to say that it was a pretty unique with the noodles and the melting slice of cheese mixing itself in. this could only work with processed cheese as it seemed work with the broth too. I Rounded out the meal with a Korean sushi roll wrapped in an omelet. My breakfast of champions.

Restaurant Review!

Cabin Oak l Hongik l Seoul

In Seoul, pubs are often called Hofs. I have a theory that it’s named after a good old German Hoffbrau. I love hoffbraus and I love pubs so that makes it a pretty good combination. The common food at these places is fried chicken and beer. Cabin Oak, which is located in the fashionable university district of Hongik, serves barbequed chicken for a change of pace.

The chicken is cut into pieces and then smothered in a sweet, spicy sauce with rice cakes, macaroni, and squid. It’s not your typical sauce as it has raisins and has the more complex sweetness you might get out of something like baked beans. The heat though, was all Korean. It was good though because nothing gets you drinking beer like heat.

Hongik itself is a really interesting neighborhood with a real university feel and lots of bars with live musical acts. The one thing I do know is that whenever I go back, I’ll be sure to hit Cabin Oak.

Restaurant Review!

Good Restaurant l Yeouido l Seoul

The other day, I had a complimentary sauna session and lunch at a complex in the “Manhattan” of Seoul; Yeouido. The public bath was inexpensive and relaxing. You first sat down on a little stool and scrubbed yourself down. You could then sit and soak in a hot bath or heat lamp dry sauna. It was full of men just coming down for an hour or so just to unwind. Afterwards, you put on a robe and headed to tidy yourself up and relaxed by a big screen TV.

Lunch was even more pleasant when we sat down for Shabu Shabu. Thinly sliced beef with assorted greens, peanut sauce, soy sauce and Kimchi. Everyone had their own boiling pot of stock where they would dip the meat and veggies. First you took some veggies out of the boiling broth, dipped the cooked beef in the peanut sauce, wrapped the beef in the veggies, dipped it into the soy sauce and enjoyed. There was something really contemplative about this whole arrangement and the wide range of veggies made all the difference as it constantly afforded you a new taste. The personal hot pot gave it a dignity that contrasted sharply with the communal hot pots to which I was accustomed. A fairly different take on the hot pot but one of my favorite. In fact, I usually dislike going out for hot pot to be honest with you.

Finally, a warning: I haven’t mastered reading Korean yet and the only English I saw was a rather large sign that said “good restaurant.” In retrospect I think this might have been some sort of seal of approval. The sign is right though; this is a good restaurant.

Restaurant Review!

Wosk l Aeogae l Seoul

Today, I had the chance to have a common Korean lunch at a tiny restaurant. Nothing special. Nothing fancy. Just some pork and squid in a sweet spicy sauce, some rice, tofu soup, and salted pan fried fish.

It gave me a tiny window into an everyday meal in an everyday life. There was something charming about it as regulars and locals walked in and out through the chilly autumn air. They had gotten there by working their up winding alley ways flanked by walled courtyards and Persimmon trees heavy with festive orange fruit on leafless limbs.

teenage girl dance contest?
very good

Restaurant Review!

???? l Dongdaemun Stadium l Seoul

Do you like Korean BBQ? Me too! Do you like the way you eat it? Well, you better rethink it because it’s probably wrong. My first taste of Charcoal grilled meat was at a Korean joint in New York and it made a world of difference. The charbroiled flavor just can’t be beat and the fact that you wrap the meat with lettuce and herbs means that it is nowhere near as stomach stickingly rich as you might expect. My most recent experience was at Wooden Charcoal in San Francisco which was quite a long time ago. Not only was I itching for it, I was looking forward to the real thing.

Working our way though the craziness of the markets by Dongdaemun Stadium station, we entered a small alley and picked a good Korean BBQ spot. We sat down at a small table where they placed a selection of Kim chi in front of us. In the hole at the center of the table was placed a glowing bucket of charcoal which was then covered by a grill. The meat is cooked for you in these places and we had pork belly and pork loin all cooked to seared perfection. We wrapped the smoky meat in lettuce and sesame leaves with a bean paste and soy sauce, green onion dipping sauce. You could also place raw garlic and a spicy wild greens mixed salad into the wrap for added kick. It really does make a big difference as you end up eating way more meat and lots more vegetables. The Shoju made everything taste smoother and warmed me up just enough to watch the teenaged girl dancing contest in front of a local department store. Gamsa Hamnida.

Restaurant Review!

Felix l Tsim Sha Tsui l Kowloon

Ah yes. This is the place that’s known as one of the great bars of the world. Perched atop the swanky Peninsula Hotel is this Philippe Stark designed lookout point with its interior of contrasts and its hip crowds. The elevator ride up is an experience all its own with the lights dimming to match the interior of the bar as you exit. And the urinals. Don’t get me started on the urinals! They face outwards behind a huge glass wall that overlooks the city. It is hands down the best view I have ever had while relieving myself!

Sounding a tad cheese ball yet? Of course it’s tacky. The whole place is tacky. The drinks were decent though pricey but the service was dressed in these unfortunate MC Hammer pants with gold belts. The crowd was nothing more than a mix of drunken salacious Eurotrash tourists and wide eyed locals up for a special occasion at a “fancy” western bar. The desserts had that badly planned execution that made me think of “death by chocolate.” That same sort of faux 90’s fanciness that in the end is always meaningless. The dark and light interior was well past its prime, looking like a second hand Las Vegas stuck in the 90’s.

10,000 Golden Buddhas

There’s something strange about walking up a path towards a monastery that boasts 10,000 golden Buddhas. All along the path are life size statues of golden monks in different poses and expressions. You can’t help but feel that you are being watched and spied upon like some sort of intruder. Yet, walking through the quiet courtyard high up on the hillside, looking back down on the township of Shatin, I felt a calmness and tranquility come over me and the strange stares I felt turned into the sense I was being watched over. All because I saw a sign for the monastery by the Ikea parking lot. See, Ikea is the fount of all things good.

beef stroganoff
frosty mug
Stilton soup

Restaurant Review!

The Chinnery l Central l Hong Kong

Years ago, I had the great fortune of walking up to the wood paneled walls of the Chinnery at the Mandarin Hotel and asking for a table. The maitre’d advised us that there was no table available at the time so we advised him we’d be heading to the bar on the top floor for drinks. A few minutes later, while sipping drinks 10 stories up, we were approached by the bartender who asked us if we were the two gentlemen who had been waiting for a table at the Chinnery. Apparently, our table would soon be ready for us. A few minutes later, the maitre’d from the Chinnery approached our table to walk us the 10 floors back down to our table! We told him we would settle the bill first and meet him at the Chinnery. This is the level of service that has made the Mandarin hotel famous. It’s not about some sort of fawning servitude. It’s a professionalism that leaves you feeling that you were taken care of with respect and courtesy.

I was eager to rekindle that magic as I sat in the deep upholstered chairs of this small dining room. Serving a streamlined menu that focuses on a certain “old boys club” dining sensibility, it took me a great deal of time to choose amongst a wide set of winners. I settled on a horrifying yet delicious stilton cheese soup with crispy fried lardons. Indulgent but surprisingly enough, not overly rich. My main course of beef stroganoff will still remain as the best I’ve ever had. The beef was perfectly seared while the egg noodles had just the right amount of bounce. The meal and room seemed to emanate a quiet perfection. And, who can say no to a beer served in a chilled sterling mug?

Sadly, this old English feel also came with the reminder of Hong Kong’s colonial past. I hate to say it but race matters in Hong Kong. The all Chinese staff definately gave me a different level of service from my Caucasian counterparts. Its somewhat engrained at times and some people here equate western people with an inherent level of culture that calls for a certain level of entitlement. I switched to English when I noticed the difference but that only helped slightly. It may have differed last time as my server was Caucasian those years before but the spell was broken. Though I still love the food and the room, I will always cringe a bit when I walk in, like I’m just not as welcome as others.

that magical deep fried fish
prawns were an exercise in richness upon richness
lotus wrapped rice, pure genius
drunken squab, almost makes you want to drink

Restaurant Review!

Dong Bo l North Point l Hong Kong

Don’t mind the owner with the severe Hitler youth haircut. Don’t mind the movie posters he has rotting on the walls because he was in some movie or TV show. Pay no attention to the fact that Jean-Claude Van Damme eats here. Try to ignore the loud table of obnoxious office worker meatheads pounding back red wine like teenagers at a kegger. Just know that this is one of the 800 lb gorillas of great Chinese food here in Hong Kong.

I’ve seen this place slowly grow over the years. Located on the top floor of a wet market on Java Street, it’s slowly expanded and taken over the spaces of other restaurants on the floor and now takes up fully half of the space. On top of that, you’re going to have to make reservations if you want a seat and you’ll have to do it in the afternoon when their not open, otherwise, they may not even answer the phone much less make reservations. After some pondering, I decided that would be an appropriate place to take my 2 aunts and uncles for their last meals in Hong Kong before heading back to Vancouver.

Our first course was a drunken squab served with white vinegar. This is always a good opener as its cold, fast, and goes great with the chilled bowls of beer that you’ll soon be ordering through the go-go dancer beer girls. Next up, one of the dishes that made this place famous, Lotus wrapped rice steamed with chicken, pork, and shitake mushrooms. I can’t even begin to describe this dish in a way that will do it justice. Wonderful floral notes and woody tones from the leaf wrapped steaming process give it an elaborate complexity that nothing else truly approaches. I think I ate half of this on my own. Following this was a course of perfectly fried prawns with salted egg yolks. Did you know that prawns have tons of cholesterol? Did you know egg yolks; much less concentrated dried salted egg yolks are also heavy in cholesterol? Did you know that this dish was worth every artery punishing lipid? Tofu with broccoli and preserved vegetables was a great way to cleanse the palate and gird ourselves for the courses to come. A juicy fried chicken with dark crispy skin was up next in all its glory. In Hong Kong, when you buy a chicken at a wet market, you just point out the live bird from the cage, continue your shopping and in 10 minutes, you’ll come back to a freshly killed and dressed bird ready for consumption. Let me tell you, this bird flu taunting freshness makes a world of difference. Then there was a course that was almost magical. A deep fried “9 stomach” fish, similar in size to a sardine, yielded flesh that was so soft and smooth; it could only be described as panne cotta. As always, the meal ends with a hot dessert soup of mouth searing ginger and sweet potatoes. My uncle regarded the dish with suspicion, stating in no uncertain terms that this dish is only edible if there a lot of ginger. After a sip, his eyes widened ever so slightly and the only words that came out of his mouth was a quiet chuckle.

the delicious culprit

Restaurant Review!

Habitut l Tsim Sha Tsui l Kowloon

I spent the evening with the always effervescent Ms. Cheng tonight and maybe it was because it was my birthday, but it finally happened. That might be a bit of a surprise to people who know me well because I seem so experienced and sure I’ve dabbled before but never to this sort of level. I can finally see what all the hoopla is about. In fact, later on in the evening I caught a whiff of it on my breath and it had me thinking about trying for seconds. Even people who read my blogs would never have guessed that I’ve never had white truffles.

I am always leery of things that seem just a little too popular. I have a belief that with all things that involve the senses, there is only a percentage of any given population that truly appreciates it and the rest of the gang is just along for the ride. Even in so called food cultures, you’ll find that this holds up. Just look at France and growth in fast food. In the case of white truffles, high prices have only served to increase demand.

I had scouted out Habitut before and even though I didn’t see any glowing reviews for the place, the menu had just the right amount of daring and subtlety that made think I’d give the place a shot. The fact that it had an actual Italian chef and a visiting Italian guest chef, made me even more willing to give them a chance. First of all, the service was truly horrendous. The waitress assumed that we were sharing and started to take our menus away the moment Caroline finished ordering. We then explained that we weren’t sharing at which point she inexplicably walked away. We had to call another waitress to get our original server back to finish our order. We had to point out everything on the menu at which point she was saying things like, “OK. The third one on the menu.” For this, the blame falls squarely on the person managing the front room. They need to make sure that the staff knows what they are serving and how to serve. They need to take responsibility for the actions of their staff and this is especially surprising given the fact that half the clientele was from abroad. This lack of support could not have been fun for the waitress either as she seemed notably uncomfortable.

But at least the kitchen knew what it was doing. I started out with a porcini stuffed ravioli with a parmesan fondue and a pumpkin puree. Placed on top was a very generous serving of white truffles sliced to wafer thin perfection. The moment they put it down in front of me, all conversation stopped. I developed tunnel vision and I seemed to have ended up in a cone of silence. That indescribable smell so permeated and took over my senses that time itself seemed to stop. Poor Ms. Cheng was afraid to talk to me I was so taken aback. And I have to say, it was a perfect combination. The porcini mushrooms were a perfect base and starting off point for the truffles by extending its earthiness. The parmesan cheese was well aged and pungent which allowed it to really push and expand the aromas while the pumpkin puree gave it much needed warmth that completed the package. After I was done, I sopped up every remnant with some bread so that nothing would be wasted.

My main course of a foie gras stuffed rack of lamb, rolled in walnuts and served with white truffles and wild mushroom was decent. The lamb was perfectly done and everything was skillfully executed. Caroline’s whole roasted Sea Bass with rosemary, though an ethical no-no, was perfectly prepared with a just cooked moistness that wasn’t overpowered by the herb stuffing.

As the white truffle season is short, I do plan to go back again for that heavenly ravioli but the question arises, do I go back in the next 5 days before the menu ends or do I wait for the new white truffle menu at the Causeway Bay location? Will the other location have a better run front room? The first thing they should do is stop putting quotation marks around the featured ingredients because it makes it look like you’re serving mock food. The “white truffle” ravioli with parmesan “fondue” was delicious; you don’t have to try to convince me that you’re not making it up.

Seafood Udon

grilled beef tongue

Restaurant Review!

Koheitsu l Causeway Bay l Hong Kong

I got the warnings about Japanese food in Hong Kong. It’s supposed to be relatively expensive and just not particularly good unless you are willing to pay hefty prices. On top of that, like many things Japanese, it’s popular as all hell here. Whenever I try to explain the quality of Japanese food back in Vancouver, I get infuriating looks of disbelief. Listen, do you see Japanese people in Hong Kong, because I don’t see many. More importantly, do you see Japanese people actually preparing the food? That’s a definite no.

I decided to give Koheitsu a try based on a strong recommendation from Dolars and the did menu looked promising. It had a decent selection and it got be really excited as I hadn’t had Japanese food in months. I drew a chorus of protests from Dolars and Caroline who were appalled with the amount of food I was ordering.

Koheitsu is a private kitchen opened and run by an ex-Hong Kong TV celebrity who spent some time in Japan and wanted to bring some of it back to Hong Kong. The room was intimate and the staff was especially helpful. When the food arrived, it all looked pretty good.

First up, a pumpkin salad that was sort of like a cold mash potato salad. It lacked the mayonaised / thousand island creaminess that you might expect and instantly made me miss of Guu’s pumpkin korokke. The grilled beef tongue with a side of Japanese mustard was very well done. It had that nice bounce and bite that you expect when it’s perfectly grilled. The sashimi was surprisingly good although once again, I am not a fan of the shrimp sashimi but there was a nice selection. The grilled steak looked excellent and it was perfectly grilled but it had a miso teriyaki sauce that just couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. The soy sauce flavor was just too strong and it ended up tasting more Chinese then Japanese. Close but not quite there. The grilled eggplant was bland and lacked the sweet notes that you get with a nice grilling. The shrimp tempura roll had rice that was over vinegered so that it was more suited for battera than sushi and the avocado wasn’t ripe. Miso grilled black cod was over grilled so you came away with a rough flakiness instead of the buttery smoothness that you should get from black cod. An udon with wondrous seafood soup base was excellent though very Cantonese tasting though the toasted salmon rice cakes with daikon pickles was a good way to end the meal.

I think that the thought process and ideas are all there but the execution is just a little off. The flavors just aren’t Japanese but I have to give them credit for what they are trying to do. They are trying to be authentic. I think that they have an honest desire here, they just might need to go back to Japan for a bit for a refresher.

Almost perfect...
For Cdn, divide by 7...that's cheap!

Restaurant Review!

Ikea l Shatin l Kowloon

It was kind of funny. I was at the Ikea in Kowloon Bay a few weeks ago and I suddenly started craving Swedish meatballs. Who can say no to some meatballs in gravy, new potatoes, and lingonberry jam? They only had the hot dogs and soft serve at this location and the other three that I subsequently visited.

One day, while I was perusing the unassailable cannons of wikipedia, I came upon an article purporting that the flagship location in Shatin held an honest to god full on Ikea Restaurant. Seeing that I had some work to do their later that day, I made it a point to stop in for an early dinner.

After dropping off some parcels with a client, I turned towards the Ikea parkade and almost swerved onto the sidewalk. Right by the entrance was a picture of a chef and the words “Swedish Meatballs, $20.” I parked the car and worked my way through the displays at breakneck speed. It was late in the afternoon in that gray time between tea time and dinner so the place was quite empty. There they were, piled high in a pan staying warm in a steam tray. I waited patiently while the cook went to fetch a meal for a coworker which involved an insane amount of cream sauce over something that the two of them kept giving each other looks over. He was gone for an awfully long time so maybe the less said about it the better. American cheesecake rounded off my dinner choice along with a nice cup of coffee.

Meatballs smothered in gravy, tinged with a bit of lingonberry jam has that perfect salty, rich, tart, and sweet combination. The taste of boiled new potatoes both cleanses the palate and smoothes out the richness. The coffee was freshly ground and strong. I always like it when a place stands its ground a bit and chooses to walk the path of own its vision where it educates instead of compromises. I know its just Ikea and I know its just meatballs but I think this sort of lesson is important.

I dug into my American cheesecake and came back with…bland. You could barely taste the cheese and the cake itself was fluffy and airy. This is what is called a “light” cheesecake. This is a cake I despise. Listen, its cheesecake. Its suppose to taste like cheese. It’s suppose to be bold, not this neutered half cake that will never know the joy of conceiving flavor. I’m not saying this because I dislike local preferences; it’s the principle of not letting the vision water down so that you can reach a wider audience. Should I get upset that Ngau Kee doesn’t make their beef fried noodles like everyone else? No. Do I get upset when the strangely hot gangster boss lady with her cheesy Scorpio with roses tattoo gets ticked at a table of foul mouthed dock workers for swearing too much? Of course not. The day will come when she will hoist her rusty cleaver in the air like a shining beacon of Camelot and rally her loyal crew around her and I will be the first to flip my table over and join her with my folding stool cudgel for lust fears no sacrifice and mediocrity bears no champions.

you want lights? we got lights!
yeah, there's some weird marketing campaign too

Restaurant Review!

McDonald’s l Sham Shui Po l Kowloon

Really it makes sense to do a bit of a talk about McDonald’s. What you may not realize is that McDonald’s all around the world serve different food and sometimes even the standby regulars taste a bit different.

My big disappointment is the fact that north American McDonald’s serve baked pies while they are still deep fried in Asia and Europe. Let me tell you, it makes a big difference. The filling is piping hot while the pastry is crunchy with little crisp blisters on them. What’s nice about Hong Kong is they are always coming out with limited edition pies to try out so once I found out they had a banana pie, I scrambled to check it out.

Sham Shui Po is an area of Kowloon which is an older neighborhood and a little bit on the run down side. What they do have going for them is a great night market that sells the unbeatable combination of spare electronics parts and second hand porn mags. There is also Golden Shopping Center (aka Golden Shower) where they sell tons of computers, games, and books. It’s taken a tragic slide of late as most of its business use to be for pirated software but with crackdowns, it’s lost much of its appeal. Also in the area is Dragon Shopping center where the local Ice Hockey association plays its games on a rink on the top floor. Oh wait! I’m on the email list for WIHO! That’s the WOMAN’s Ice Hockey Organization. No wonder their executive is so stacked with woman. They probably never said anything to me because Leung is a genderless name. I just figured it out when I was trying to write about this organization I was curious about. Anyways, for some reason a roller coaster goes through the rink.

I was in the area looking to buy a new router for the office and thought that I might as well check out that pie. They also had a grilled chicken sandwich with a peppery mayonnaise as the special sandwich but I was all here for that pie. It was pretty damn good and the banana wasn’t super mushy either. Sort of like a banana sauce you’d get on pancakes. It’s not all good though. I recently also had their raspberry dipped cone. As I was eating the cone, the raspberry coating would not melt in my mouth so this big ball of tart earwax kept building up in my mouth. I had to spit it out and pick it off the rest of my cone. This little girl kept starring at me like it was weirdest thing she had ever seen.

BBQ stew
Tapenade with winter melon

Restaurant Review!

Club Qing l Central l Hong Kong

I was graciously invited to Connie’s birthday on the weekend and it seemed fitting that we would go to Hong Kong’s highest rated private kitchen to celebrate. After finally tracking down a flower arrangement that didn’t look like it was made of plastic, I headed upstream through the flow of dazed mainland tourists, gawking locals, and drunken Euro trash in Lan Kwai Fong. I slipped past a group of local Goths who looked more scared than disinterested, and headed into a skinny, nondescript office building. As I exited the elevator, I was immediately met by several large watercolor paintings and a room filled with Ching Dynasty furniture and traditional Chinese art. The staff was uniformed and the whole place had a polish which made me think that I had stumbled into a proper restaurant instead of someone’s personal hobby. The menu was well designed and printed with a description of tonight’s teas laid out in Chinese, Japanese and English.

Ordering the tea however, was a “choose your own adventure novel” all on its own. Would you like a strong tea or a weak tea? Would you like a green tea or a black tea? What kind of green tea would you like? What type of Iron Maiden tea would you like? I almost wanted to skip to the end and work backwards like when I was a kid. I do have to give them credit though for putting a great deal of thought behind the process and the tea was excellent. I especially liked the use of tea as a palate cleanser between courses.

How were the courses you ask? Very uneven. The braised winter melon with crab and black olives was inspirational and was hands down the best dish that evening. It worked remarkably well as an exercise in contrasts - very well thought out. The scallop and cream cheese spring rolls with a tart kiwi sauce and the bamboo shoots with sesame dressing both worked well with some interesting depth. The spring rolls were deep fried nicely and the tartness really cut through the rich filling. The asparagus and tobiko topped endive salad was a bit weak. For some reason, the endive came off as bland and the salmon filling was tasteless. We finished the meal with a braised ham hock that was truly abysmal. The hock was smoky while the braising liquid was a combination of sweet and spicy ingredients that made the whole thing taste like BBQ soup. All through the meal, the chef would come out, explain the courses and ask for our opinions as this was the first night of the new menu.

I’m not sure how this place was rated tops in Hong Kong but it was listed through a website specializing in private kitchens. That just goes to prove that anyone can post anything on the net.