Tsui Wah 翠華餐廳

Happy New Year!!!! I hope you all had a wonderful countdown with family and friends and wishing you all a prosperous 2011! As always, the only thing I want to talk about is...food.


A trip to Hong Kong would not be complete without joining the locals (and I mean all locals - from celebrities, business tycoons and just your average Hong Kong-er) and ordering milk tea and a meal from an extensive menu from this 'institution', Tsui Wah 翠華. While there are many branches in town, the Central branch, open 24 hours, has become the place for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner AND late night food after a long night out. There's always a crowd in this restaurant at every time of the day....ALWAYS.
The restaurant offers 3 levels of seating, so during a working day lunch hour, you may wait a bit but then up having a table with a local - normal proceedings at Tsui Wah and any local Chinese diner. 


Tsui Wah is one of Hong Kong's most well-loved char chan tengs 茶餐廳 (Chinese tea diner commonly found in Hong Kong). A note about Char chan tengs...

Char Chan Teng provide tea (usually weak tea) called "clear tea" (清茶 cing cha), to customers as soon as they are seated. It is also very common to use the heat to wash your utensils (this is will appear like an insult...) The name, literally "tea restaurant", serves to distinguish itself from Western restaurants that provide water to customers instead of tea. The "tea" in the name refers to the inexpensive black tea, not the traditional Chinese tea served in traditional dim sum restaurants and teahouses. 

Cha chaan teng serves a wide range of food. Both fast food and à-la-carte dishes are available. A big cha chaan teng often consists of three cooking places: a "water bar" (水吧) which makes drinks, toast/sandwiches and instant noodles, a "noodle stall", and a kitchen for producing rice plates and other more expensive dishes. 

Customers usually select their seats freely in a cha chaan teng, but in a crowded restaurant they may be given the choice of sharing a table with strangers. During peak hours, waiters in a char chan teng will seat their customers, "packing" as many customers into the restaurant as possible. In most char chan tengs, customers call out their orders to a waiter, who will jot down the prices of the ordered food 

Tsui Wah has branches all over Hong Kong, so you should have no problem finding it. This well established char chan teng is known to be open 24 hours, even during typhoons! The range of dishes served in this char chan teng will amaze, but perhaps the most amazing part is that none of the dishes has ever failed to satisfy. Locals come here, not for the service or decor but for the food. An extensive menu (shown underneath the glass table) offers a range of dishes from classic Fish ball with noodle, Chinese Fried Rice, Hainan Chicken Rice, to Japanese Udon Noodle and Indian curry - retouched to HK taste of course. This is as close as you can come to Chinese comfort food - all at very reasonable prices. 

Drinks are also varied here including the famous 'Lai-Cha' tea with evaporated milk, ice lemon tea and ice coffee. During special holidays, you'll encounter seasonal creations such as Marshmallow with Sesame Ice-cream or herbal jelly on ice. 
Everyone finds something they like to eat at Tsui Wah so don't be intimidated by the huge neon-lights and the hecticness of the restaurant. Trust me, this place has to be visited at least one time. 


During my short trip back to Hong Kong, I went to Tsui Wah A LOT as much as I could to show you the variety of food, but there's just so much and I couldn't display everything. So here's just a preview of what they offer, obviously there are many other great dishes that I didn't get to capture too... 


Tsui Wah in Central

I even have their t-shirt! :) I do love Tsui Wah

All restaurants provide the extensive menu literally underneath your table.

                              

Soft Pork bone..one of my favorites. The meat falls off the bone, is very tasty and tender so melts in your mouth.

You can even have it with Chive dumplings in Fish soup

Hands down to their fish soup stock. In this particular soup, the gravy of the pork bone adds a dimension to the fish soup that I really love, which is also why the soup acquires a brownish hue. Another topping that I love (not pictured) is fish skin dumplings (yu pei gao), essentially pork dumplings wrapped in a skin made of fish paste. 

Their famous ice-tea - keeps you up and running all day (the ice coffee even more so!)

Fish Ball and fish cake with noodle. My mom orders this EVERY TIME she comes here (3 times a week at least?) and never changes, NEVER. As a local, you tend to stick to what you love, and Tsui Wah makes this the best!

Pineapple Bun with Iced Butter. You basically place the thick slice of butter served on ice inside the bun and bite! Don't forget to get yourself one of their very famous iced coffees too!

Crispy Condensed Milk Bun: toasted bun with butter topped with condensed milk

A normal breakfast: macaroni soup with ham and abalone, with 2 eggs

Some vegetables too...Gau Choy Fa (Flowering chives)

Soya sauce chicken wings (a great afternoon snack)

Crispy noodle with King Prawns. The noodle served is crispy and soft at the same time (from the sauce). It's a great combination.

You can also have the same noodles with vegetables and mushrooms

So that's a just a LITTLE preview of the extensive menu Tsui Wah offers. Like I said, you'll have to try it to understand how GREAT this restaurant is and understand why Hong Kong people who live abroad and come back to the island, come to this restaurant as soon as they get back!


Main Branch...


Tsui Wah Restaurant 

翠華餐廳

15D-19 Wellington St., Central
Tel: 2525-6338
Subway Station: Central
Website: www.tsuiwahrestaurant.com

Caprice

Last night, I was blown away by my dinner experience at Caprice, 1 of 3 restaurants in Hong Kong and the only French restaurant in Hong Kong, to receive 3 Michelin stars. If you ever come to visit Hong Kong, I strongly recommend this restaurant (Need I add that reservations are a must?) 

Caprice is led by Chef Vincent Thierry and his team of 25 chefs including Pastry Chef Marike Van Beurden from Holland. The team works 7 days a week to create innovative dishes with 80% of produce coming from France (air-flown 3 times a week) including  Brittany blue lobster, Bresse chicken and Périgord veal. The menu changes every 3 months, reflecting the variety of produce that the Chef can gain inspiration from but more importantly creates a menu from produce rarely presented in Hong Kong. Chef Vincent Thierry, originally sous-chef at Le Cinq at the George V (Four Seasons Paris) was sent to Hong Kong five years ago to import property tycoon Lei Siu Kei favorite restaurant in a Hong Kong setting. 

There also seems to be a limitless numbers of staff, divided in different departments all headed by a French who beam résumés from Le Cinq: the sommelier, the maitre d' for example who are happy to make recommendations from the menu and the extensive wine list (around 10 pages!) and who seem to make the best decisions to accompany your meal.

Located on the 6th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel, the restaurant has stunning views of Victoria Harbour and Kowloon. I was very impressed with the decor of the restaurant: the glowing catwalk from the elevator to the dining room (making you feel like a celebrity and mirroring a contemporary vs. classic theme), the beautiful Chinese-inspired Czech crystal chandeliers (combining an Art Nouveau style with Chinese influences), the velvet seats and sofas and the centerpiece of the restaurant: the open kitchen that provides guests with a show to see chefs at work. The restaurant has a capacity to hold around 100 people who sit on the restaurant lower and upper floor, surrounded by floor to ceiling windows, the temperature controlled renowned wines from France (some dating from 1959!) and around the world.

The very classic and sleek table setting. You don't need much!

Awesome views and lighting

The open kitchen

Now...let's talk about food!

Garlic bread sticks with salted and unsalted butter from Bretagne

Amuse-Bouche: Lentil velouté with black truffle cream; Crispy toast with poached quail egg and mackerel; Fried potato with Foie gras.

Entrées

Pâté en Croute; Wild Game, Foie Gras, Green Leaves in Black Truffle dressing

Brittany Lobster Cannelloni, Trompette Mushroom Mousseline in Americaine Vinaigrette

Langoustine Ravioli, Veal Sweetbreads, and Wild Mushrooms in Shellfish Bisque Sauce

Plats

John Dory Melba, Aromatic Parsley, Cèpes and Eggplant in Mushroom Coulis

Périgord milk-fed veal, Young spinach leaves, and Forrestière Potatoes in Madeira Sauce

Presenting then cutting the veal in front of the table

                                

Wild Venison fillet, Cocoa Viennoise, Vegetable Roots and Cranberry Jam in Poivrade Sauce

Desserts

To munch beforehand: Pineapple with crumble and coconut, Pina Colada Sorbet

And a drawer of chocolate

Chestnut Mont Blanc and Nougatine, Cassis Beetroot Sorbet

Marinated Raspberries, Pain de Gène, Cheesecake Mousse, Yoghurt and Raspberry ice-cream 

And with the compliments of the restaurant: a taste from the Cheese cellar, Comté aged 5 years

Probably the most impressive room in Caprice is its Cheese cellar, holding the widest selection of artisanal French cheeses overseen by master affineur Bernard Antony that is kept in climate-controlled rooms. Never have I seen this before in Hong Kong or anywhere in France. 

The Cheese board being presented in the main dining room...but there's just way more Cheese than that!

Some of the cheese stock in the cellar

They say you can never be in two places at once; this statement is easily proven wrong by Caprice and Chef Vincent Thierry who brings you on a journey around France in your very own home, Hong Kong. 

Caprice
8 Finance Street, Four Seasons Hotel, Central
Tel: 3196 8888
Subway station: Central
Website: http://www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/dining/caprice/

Cecconi's

I haven't had proper Italian food in a really long time, especially living in Paris where I've just immersed myself in French cuisine. I think it's been more than 6 months, and for me, that's a really long time. Sadly, I've only realized this now but that's probably why when my friends suggested Cecconi's, I couldn't refuse...


Cecconi's is a small modern restaurant located in the heart of Soho. It's all about Italian food and you can tell by it's menu that it favors the classics with a few modern twists. The restaurant is rather narrow, hosting about 20 tables. The semi-open kitchen lies at the back of the restaurant with a marble counter top and 3 heat lamps. The decor is simple but chic and the seats adorned with dark velvet.

The traditional Focaccia bread and olive oil to start

Seared Hokkaido scallops with seasonal herbs

The pan-seared scallops were surprisingly bigger than the local scallops served in Hong Kong. It came with seasonal herbs (dill, cilantro, tarragon) and a butter-based sauce. 

Baby lamb slowly cooked in red wine, vegetables, green olives and herbs A generous portion of steaming and tender meat.

Linguine with seafood, olive oil, garlic, chilli and fresh herbs Spaghetti: with clams, garlic, dried chilli and chives I was impressed with presentation and taste. I can imagine a packed Friday night! An overall good atmosphere.

Cecconi's
G/F, 43 Elgin Street, SoHo, Central District,
Tel: 2147 5500
Subway station: Central

Zuma: Hong Kong

And so the blog continues to post culinary delights from abroad; for the next 2 weeks, we will get a taste of the what Hong Kong has to offer...let the tasting begin!

I have heard of Zuma for several years, when it opened in London, Istanbul and recently in Hong Kong and Dubai. Before I moved to Paris, my family and I decided to book a table at the much-anticipated Sunday Baiking Brunch special. I've heard many great things about it's dinner service but I knew Brunch would be a real treat. We ended up having such a good time (perhaps the amount of alcohol can explain a part of it), that we booked it again for today (Sunday).
If you're a fan of Zuma, like me, then you will be astonished by the 10,000 square feet restaurant spread on 2 floors. The decor of the restaurant is sublime with center-pieces of the rough hewn stone open kitchen, the beautifully lit and glass spiraling staircase joining the upper floor bar to the main dining room and outdoor terrace/lounge and sake bar (there's even a sake sommelier!). 

The main entrance (on the upper-floor)

Spiralling staircase to the main dining room

Located in the upscale Landmark shopping center, Zuma takes on a contemporary twist of the casual Japanese izakaya style of eating and drinking. The brunch includes a selection of appetizers including sushi, sashimi, maki rolls (like salmon, hamachi and seabass with avocado and sesame-lime sauce) from the Sushi counter as well as grilled starters from the Robata counter (like Hokkaido scallops with grated apple, wasabi and sweet soy sauce, or Japanese Wagyu beef with ponzu and wasabi). Then the signature dishes like miso-marinated black cod wrapped in hoba (magnolia) leaf. I feel like I will enter a food coma anytime soon!


The cold and hot starters counter...(I didn't take a picture of every single starter, but here's a sample)

Sushi counter

Spicy salmon roll with fish roe

Half-cooked salmon roll

A selection of sashimi: salmon, hamachi, scallops, and sweet shrimp

Tuna with scallions and garlic chip

Clam soup

Slow cooked egg with chive and dried fish

The main course open-kitchen

The main dishes

Salmon fillet with Ginger teriyaki sauce and pickled cucumber

Sirloin steak, sauteed mushrooms, wafu sauce

Roasted mackerel, with persimmon salsa

Dessert platter: seasonal fruits, ice-cream cakes and red bean, taro and strawberry cheesecake ice-cream

What's great about Sunday brunch is that it even includes free-flowing Perrior-Jouet Champagne, Sake - for those who can handle it, Zuma Bellinis, or a selection of red and white wine (But...if you're still hungover from the night before though, not to worry, you can enjoy Sunday Brunch minus the alcohol at a discounted price)

Zuma
The Landmark, Levels 5 & 6, Central District
Tel: 3657 6388
MTR Station: Central
Website: www.zuma.com