Saturday, November 29, 2014

Morton’s The Steakhouse - [ Macau ]

  As far as I am concerned,  Morton’s in Hong Kong was the 1st outlet in the world to have been awarded a Michelin 1* Star for a few years not too long ago until they became demoted.   That must say a bit about their pedigree if you believe the French Dining Guide,  and Macau also has a Morton’s outlet inside Macau’s Venetian Casino,   and after bumping into my parents somehow who arrived into Macau without notifying me,  a family reunion was bound to happen.  They really wanted to go back to Morton’s The Steakhouse in Macau.   I was actually more interested in Golden Peacock within the same Venetian hotel and the food is like 1/3rd of the price here,  but they are regulars here so let’s follow parental guidance. 


 

 

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Steak Knife -
I have a personal fetish with knives,  and I love one with a wooden handle.

 

 

 

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Onion Boule -
The signature onion bread was crunchy on the outside but soft aerated inside.   Unfortunately,  tonight’s version was a bit off as it was missing that signature onion taste I remembered..  ~ 6/10



 

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Samples of the Beef Cuts - 
The Bone-in ones are from Australia.   The others are USDA Prime grade.

 



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Interior Space -


 

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Ordered a bottle of Prosecco, 
Extra Dry Col Vetoraz from Valdobbiadene DOCG in Veneto -
The price was around the $450 range from memory.   Expect the typical 300-400% Mark Up in a high end restaurant but this was still enjoyable,  with a really dry and apple and citrusy note.  



 

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Baked Seafood Platter – $HKD/MOP 455
My mom keeps saying she likes the Seafood Platter here. It only has 2 nicely cooked crunchy Prawns,  2 way over Baked Rockefeller Oysters,  2 well cooked Bacon Wrapped Scallops and 2 tiny pieces of slightly fishy Crab Cakes.    Half hits and half misses and not that many pieces at all and look at the lemons in the middle to get a relative idea of the size of this platter.  It was tiny as for this price point,  I wonder if my mom ever checks the bill...  4/10 to 8/10






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Mushy and slightly Fishy Crab Cakes, 
way tinier than I imagined for the $455 price tag






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Baked Oyster Rockefeller with Spinach, 
Over cooked and has shrunken in size to the point ,  I can’t even dig out the oyster meat easily anymore.  ~ 2/10

 

 

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16oz USDA Prime Aged Rib Eye steak and one piece of Watercress – $663 
This was ordered as Medium, it came out as Rare at first and too chewy as nothing fatty or gristles has started to melt within.  I decided to wave to the staff and have them re-cook it to Medium Well Done instead,  and this time it finally came out as Medium!   The marbled beef oily flavour was good enough but it wasn't very Dry Aged in note,  so I suspect this as just wet aged.  HKD/MOP $663 or USD $94 for a single steak before 10% Service Charge?   The Truffles Menu I had last night at Bene started from only $628 for 4 Courses.  I know they are both under the same Casino management group in Macau, but I know which I would rather go back to instead, I prefer Chefs who have an input into the recipe and lots of preparation work!  I think this tasted fine but on a relative scale,  the specialty cow’s steaks I have in Europe are better still and yet sold at less than half the price as of here.  At $663 for a simple steak here this was bothering on blasphemy,  but so Morton’s concept.     ~ 7/10

 



 

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Bacon Onion Mac & Cheese – $115
This was very cheesy and filling,  just the way I liked it.   It was slightly too starchy within,  but the top had a lot of flavourful cheese and was gratinated well.   Definitely my top pick for an excellent Mac & Cheese in town.   I can’t actually come up with a next best competitor which was near this level  ~ 8.5/10 

 


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Sauteed Bacon and Dried Onions Brussels Sprouts – $100
My parents have eaten this so many times,  and it turned out to be pretty decent with the grilled aroma and not over-cooked,  the bacon is a must when cooking this vegetables.   ~ 7/10

 

 

 

Price:   $663 – $880 + 10% before Wines
Food:   ♕♕♕  to  ♕♕♕♕ 1/2
Ease of ACCESS:  3/5

Address: 路氹城金光大道望德聖母灣大馬路澳門威尼斯人度假村酒店大運河購物中心1016號舖
Shop 1016,  Venetian Casino, Cotai Strip, Macau
PH:  8117 5004

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Kobab & Koshi, LKF American Korean Burger & Korritos

  I hardly write so quickly as I just ate here this afternoon,  but since the photos didn’t need much tuning and it’s not a 10 course lunch,  let’s quickly share my findings today.   Basically,  I was deliberating between eating lunch at Comfort by Harlans,  Sushi Xuan,  Sushi Ginza Iwa,  Fish & Meat,  Tipping Point,  Breadstreet Kitchen or Mr. Taco Truck,  or even Zabon ramen or Law Fu Kee,  or Sui Kee or Kenko Ramen and even Ippudo or Yat Lok Roast Goose or Izumi.   As a foodie with only 1 stomach and not much time available,  you can struggle and become a little schizophrenic every day.   But when I walked past Kobab & Koshi,  I couldn’t help staring at some office guy’s half eaten burger which looked so temptingly and politically corect.   Sometimes you try to judge by visual indeed..    But what about the final taste?

 

 

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Opened for around 1 Month,  Kobab & Koshi is Korean-American in concept.  
And Truth be told -
From a Designer’s point of view,  no restaurants or cafes should ever use Blue colors and especially blue lighting.  This is a known fact statistically and all well trained Architects or Interior Designers should already know this if they had any sense.   9.5 out of 10 restaurants will close when using this color spectrum especially if it operates only during the night.   Weird fact!

 

 

 

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Menu is kept Simple -
Burgers,  Korritos,  Salads.   Some wines and beers and soft drinks. 

 

 

 

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Pepsi -
Part of the Burger Set for $95,  no 10% Service Charge.


 

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K&K Sauce Hamburger with Bacon,  Tomato,  Cheese, 
Beef Chuck Patty and Iceberg Lettuce,  Brioche Bun
and with Twisted Fries -  $95
The brioche bun was toasted well and buttery soft.   The bacons fried well,  but the Beef Patty was what impressed.   It was cooked just right,   the Patty to Bread proportion perfect and no stingy proportions here.  It  had a nice non-dense and not overly grinded texture which is in-house grinded upstairs,  but most of all it also carried a really good beefy taste.  I am not going to compare this to the big names in town directly coz somebody aren’t going to like it very much..  but this was by far the most convincing burger I have eaten in Hong Kong context.   The Chef came out to chat after seeing me taking food photos and slightly contradicted the Menu description,  explaining that the final beef muscles and fat mixture isn’t only Chuck,  and it definitely tasted like it had Sirloin fat mixed in as that unique aroma is unmistakable.   Only 2 minor nit picks is that it was a little oily and also the cheese didn’t fully melt but which I personally prefer.  ~ 9/10


 

 

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Inside the Burger -
I ordered Medium-Rare,  because I am weary of always over-cooked burgers in HK.  This came out slightly rarer than that but it was so juicy with myoglobin and jus,  with a strong flavour and nice seasonings.   A little greasy overall but I like it this way.  Yum !

 

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Twisted Fries -
Part of the $95 Burger Set Price including a Drink,  very reasonable.   The fries were more like wedges,  but were really crispy and fluffy and hot.  A little under-seasoned but you can always correct that afterwards.   They were really burning hot so be careful.

 


 

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$95 for a Burger Set -  Lunch & Dinner prices the same
I have to say I am glad I came to try it out,  it was one really impressive Burger and afterwards,  I somehow got to have a chat with one of the Korean owners.  You can tell he is so passionate about his food and he asked me to come back and try out his Korrito,  which is more L.A. based in recipe and concept.   If this burger was this good and impressive,  I will definitely want to try out their other items too soon.  

 

 

 

 

Price:   $95 no Service Charge
Food:   ♕♕♕♕ 1/2 to ♕♕♕♕♕

Ease of Access:  4/5
Address:  6 Wo On Lane,  Central,  Hong Kong

Monday, November 24, 2014

Dining Kitchen Vegi – Japanese Cuisine with an emphasis on Vegetables

  Dining Kitchen Vegi is opened by the same guys who run the All-You-Can-Eat Farm Dining Kitchen in TST,  which I previously thoroughly enjoyed eating there,  but I don’t eat much so haven’t been back lately.   The Causeway Bay outlet is slightly more upscale,  and before coming to here I kept having the misconception that they are very vegetarian based…     It turned out they actually do carry a lot of seafood or meat dishes too,  it’s just that they prefer to have a more balanced diet and that starts with more Japanese vegetables in the recipes. 


 

 

IMG_9323Chef’s Daily Special Menu -
Excuse the shaky iPhone photo

 

 

 

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Sashimi 3 Types – $280
We chose Salmon,  Scallops and Tuna.  I was instantly attracted by the Tuna as it was like a Chu-Toro cut when it wasn’t described as so on the menu.   The Salmon was fresh enough but sliced a bit too thick.   The Scallops really impressed,  they were very plump and sweet and fresh.   ~ 9/10

 

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Crab Meat Tempura,  Edamame,  Renkon Lotus Root in Ankake sauce – $98
For the price the portion was bigger than we thought and the combination of ingredients fun!  However this was wrapped in a Green Shiso which slightly over powered the other flavours a bit.  ~ 7.5/10

 


 

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Kurobuta Pork,  Mushrooms,  Radish with Okoge Rice Puffs – $168
This is basically a Chinese “Chuka Ryori” dish to me,  and done very well here.   The rice puffs stayed crispy despite pouring in yet another starchy ankake sauce,  which was also present in the crab tempura dish above.   I also encounter this sauce more on Western side of Japan,  where it tries to emulate a Chinese dish..   The pork belly was well layered and tasty.   ~ 8/10

 


 

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Seared Salmon Salad with Onsen Egg -
This was interesting with the thick cut and a crusted skin.   Surprisingly there isn’t much salad dressing so you mix in the egg to lubricate it a bit.   Personally I found the salmon slightly fishy after searing,  but I am really sensitive to semi-cooked salmon,  I prefer them totally raw or fully cooked myself.   ~ 7/10

 

 

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Grilled Chicken with Caponata and Cheese -
This was an interesting combination and so Japanese-Western style food.  One also has to remember that I don’t always eat with fellow dedicated Foodies…  My friend just picked this coz she liked the cheese and chicken part,  just like the 2 salmon dishes we ate above,  and usually I won’t pick such recipes but I liked this homey style of food and eating with friends is fun,  it doesn’t preclude you to always eat with dumb ass Food Nazi’s who control you at every anal opportunity..   ~ 8/10

 

 

 

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Mango Crepe Mille-Feuille Cake -
Didn’t take pics of the menu,  since it’s uncool when hanging out with a date?   And in fact the above are just iPhone photos,  what did you expected from me anyway??   I am not really a food blogger and never claimed to be one.  This is just my own website so I can post whenever and whatever at will.   But this mango crepe cake was interesting as it has a frozen layer in between.
  We loved it a lot but it’s probably better if you wait for it to defrost a bit !   ~ 8/10

 

 

 

 

Price:   $350 – $400 a person with Wine included
Food:   ♕♕♕♕ 1/2 to ♕♕♕♕♕  (I absolutely loved their concept and it’s so refreshing.)
Ease of ACCESS:  2/5

Address:  銅鑼灣駱克道487-489號駱克駅3F
3rd Floor,  487-489 Lockhart Road,  Causeway Bay,  Hong Kong
Ph:  2576 6161

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Roast Turkey Options for Thanksgiving and Christmas ? - Hong Kong

 Recently I received several chances to try out a few Turkey dishes as previews before Thanksgiving and Christmas period.   I even got to roast one for myself!   I didn’t try all of the options on the market due to time constraints,  but here is a quick write up of what I experienced these past few weeks.   Not very comprehensive as an overall guide as it’s only covering 3 places,  but if you want a turkey sort of night during this festive season..    I would have liked to try 1 more though,  coz that makes it 4 instead.   I am really weary of those Top 3,  Top 5,  Top 10 guides.   Why not Top 4 or Top 7?    

 

 

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Fish & Meat -  Turkey Ballotine stuffed with Italian Sausage, Sage and Hazelnut
$780 for 3 People
This also comes with a Turkey Leg Ragout on Creamy Corn Polenta inclusive,  as posted below.   The stuffing of Italian Sausage and what I detected was Pancetta ham,  made this differ a little from the usual bready stuffing.  The Turkey had a whiff of smokiness from the Josper Grill,  in fact I have been to Fish & Meat quite a few times and that Josper fragrance was at its strongest this time.  Chef Russell made this turkey with a even crispy skin all around,  the meat was cooked perfectly.   Loved it.   ~ 8/10




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Fish & Meat -
Turkey Leg Ragout on Creamy Corn Polenta
Part of the above Turkey Course,  you have to give credit to the Chef for turning the dark meat into another amazing dish.   $780 for 3 people really is a good price..

 



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85 South - Whole Hickory Smoked and Slow Roasted Turkey for 8-16 People.  $1,500
This 16 pounds Turkey is huge!   It is slowly smoked overnight as per Southern style BBQ.   To me the dark meat tasted more fattier and tender than the breast part,  but surprisingly some other Media/Bloggers attending on the same night preferred the breast.   Comes with a creamy Mashed Potato and gravy.   ~ 7.5/10




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85 South – Rice Pilaf and Mac & Cheese
These sides are available for $50 each for normal portions.   Nice to have some rice with the Turkey,  instead of eating only the stuffing.    I prefer my Mac & Cheese to be more gratinated and stronger in cheese flavour however..   But no doubt the slow roasted Turkey re-defines Hong Konger’s perceptions that turkey are rough and tough.     

 

 

 

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turkey-ballotine-cooked
Secret Ingredient – Roast your own Turkey Ballotine at home!   $800
Officially this rolled turkey can serve 4-8 people,  but it is just slightly bigger than the Fish & Meat portion so I would say it feeds 4-6 more comfortably.   It also comes with some vacuum packed winter vegetables,  bacon,  and green beans as part of the priced package.   I personally like Cooking my own food nowadays as honest farkingly what have I not really tried eating repetitively in this world in my pitiful,  boring life?  I mean we all need to eat everyday!   I don’t really get excited by much recipes these days.    So this one was a very complete Family package to me and all the deboning hard work and rolling has been done for you !  I personally am not totally sure about the 35 Minutes then 10 Minutes roasting time on the instructions guide though,  I personally tend to slow roast them for around 60-90 minutes myself.     ~ Rating N/A Coz we all cook differently!

 

 

 

 

Fish & Meat –
$780 for 3 people.  Eaten 2 Ways
 
Address:  中環雲咸街32號2樓 
2nd Floor,  32 Wyndham Street,  Central,  Hong Kong
Phone:  2565 6788


85 South –
$1,500 for 16 Pounds Turkey,  serves 8-16 people. Reserve 48 Hours

Address:  中環九如坊6-10號
6-10 Kau U Fong,  Sheung Wan,  Hong Kong
Phone:  2337 2078


Secret Ingredient –
$800 for 4-8 people.  Including Vegetables.  Reserve 48 Hours
Address:  32-34 Tai Ping Shang Street
Phone:  2108 4000
Email: 
orders@secretingredient.com.hk

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Dai Kwong Dang 新大光燈 - Institutional Wonton Noodles near Hung Hom area ? I still don’t think so after all these years…

  The Original 大光燈 was almost like an institution in the Hung Hom area,  discovered amongst the Coffin retailers which surrounded around these two street blocks,  and since we deal with these people on a business basis,  I didn’t ever think highly of the situation.    It might sound eerie too,  but 208 Duecentto and the likes of Corner Kitchen and Chachawan in Sheung Wan are also surrounded by the same historical shops which also sold Coffins.     Here it was said  to serve one of the better wonton noodles for a while in this suburb.   Back then I didn’t really find it too satisfactory.   But we came back to try anyway with the re-located shop 2 streets away,  and the newly re-opened 新大光燈  was certainly very average in performance.

 

 

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Plain Wontons in Soup -
The skin was over boiled slightly.  Though filled with adequate amounts of pork and prawns,  there were also some chives,  but ultimately the soup base was sort of weak in all components  if not borderline watery.   ~ 6.5/10

 

 

 

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Prawn Roes Noodle with Oyster Sauce -
The oldies in us will remember that Prawn Roe noodles are always paired with Oyster Sauce.  It might not work in concept but that was the trend back then.
   Over at here,  I appreciate that they brought back out this traditional combination.   But the prawn roes were a bit sterile undetectable in taste,  and the noodles were too dry to be lubricated enough.   It’s a shame as the basic recipe sounded alright enough and nearly there to compensate. ~ 6/10

 

 

 

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More Wontons in Soup -
The original store from a street away wasn’t that impressive back then,  but somehow this newly opened store became more complacent with its lower overall performance.   If the original store had me hardly to look back already,  this newer management based shop will inevitably have me less so willing to return and it is not conveniently located.   At least we got to try it out somehow to see.

 

 

 

Price:   $30 – $50
Food:   ♕♕♕

Ease of ACCESS:  2/5
Address:  紅磡必嘉街69號E舖
69 Bakers Street,  Hung Hom,  Kowloon

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Tiger Curry - Customizing your Curry

  Tiger Curry is apparently a new adventure by Satoru san,  who also helms the kitchen of the famous Japanese restaurant Sushi Kuu.   The base curry sauce here ranges over 12 spices and also uses some unique fruits to lend it that base sweetness for balance.  Here’s coming over to finally trying it out after a few months of opening,  as I got attracted in by the fluffy omelette.


 

 

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Back Communal Table -
Was told to come to the outside courtyard,
which I didn’t know existed.  
Having a draught Suntory beer here..





 

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Spices used for making the Curry -
There’s 12 shown here but apparently there are more used,  and some tropical fruits and vegetables.






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Grilled Edamame -
With a hint of curry spice on top.  Interesting combo.   ~ 8/10






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Chicken and Onsen Egg Caesar Salad with Curried Dressing -
This was way bigger than I thought.   You can’t see much of what’s underneath but it was done well,  again with a curry twist.   I can come back just to eat this for lunch.  ~ 7.5/10





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Deep Fried Cheese Mochi -
For me a lot in Hong Kong don’t have enough cheesy flavour.  The one here was pretty decent in this aspect.    My favourites in town are Sake Bar Gin (Central) and now the recently name-changed Shizuku (Causeway Bay).  ~ 7/10

 

 

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Fried Vegetable Chips -
This is highly recommended.  It comes with a variety of Lotus Root renkon chips,  Goubou burdock fries which were excellent crispy,  some Goya bitter melon and also some Potatoes,  etc.   Actually this was one of my most memorable dishes here as I loved the crispiness and combination,  goes so well with beers.   ~ 9/10





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Bone in Sausages -
This is fun,  but as a foodie I don’t really have any comments..  It is a bit artificial to me personally.  I don’t mind bringing some to a casual BBQ though.

 

 

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Curry Sauce with Kurobuta Tonkatsu Pork,  Fried Prawns,  Scrambled Eggs -
This is a 4 Step process.  You pick the sauce,  then spiciness,  the main ingredients,  then additional toppings.  It comes with the Fukujinzuke sweet pickles by default,  which cuts back on the spiciness.  The base Curry sauce was surprisingly quite spicy already at 2 times Spice Level,  with a sophisticated spices base and a tropical fruit taste.   The scrambled eggs were also done fluffy great although the lighting was so dark here it’s hard to tell from the photo.   The prawns were fried well,  I personally think the Pork Tonkatsu can be more tender moist,  hope it was a once off.  ~ 7/10


 

 

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Shaved Ice with Green Tea sauce,  Lychee Bursts,  Frozen Mango, 
Nata de Coco and Orange – $58
The Kakigori was surprisingly shaved like snow flakes more like Taiwanese style than the more icy Japanese version.   It’s nice to have one of these as the spices in the above curry slowly began to invade your tongue and it became hotter than usual.     I think Tiger Curry has a good base sauce and a good Concept behind it.   Izumi Curry is definitely another competitor,  and I still haven’t tried Cats Eye yet which seems to offer similar options.   The only Winner in the end can only be the customers,  who get to choose !

 

 

 

Price:   $78 to $250 Per Person
Food:   ♕♕♕ 1/2 to ♕♕♕♕ 1/2

Ease of Access:  4/5
Address:  銅鑼灣邊寧頓街14號地下
14 Pennington Street,  Causeway Bay,  Hong Kong
Ph:  25111051

Friday, November 14, 2014

Sushi Tsuraku 鮨 津樂 - Omakase Course

 The Kitchen team behind Sushi Tsuraku,  is said to be trained under Sushi Hiro’s outlets plus some other notable Japanese shops in Hong Kong,  which through no fault of their own I cannot recall.   I was surprised to get an Invitation to try out their Omakase Menu here,  which starts from $880 for an Appetizer, 2 Sashimi, 8 Sushi pieces, Sushi Roll and Miso Soup with Dessert.   4 Sashimi with 10 Sushi Pieces and all the other items will be $1280, which is affordable especially during dinner time.   The biggest course with all the seasonal items will be $1680.



 

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Got some Fresh Sake to start off the meal with -






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Hokkaido Sweet Corn Chawan Mushi egg custard (Cold) -
This was interesting as a concept,  with corn presented as puree and as whole kernels,  and surprisingly served cold!   I liked this idea and recipe,  I personally think it could benefit if it had some more Kamaboko fish cake and Mitsuba leaves as decoration to bring out some colors!   Taste wise ~ 7.5/10




 

 

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Got some more Sake after as a Food Pairing -
Will skip elaborating on the Sake this time,  as the main focus is more on the food. 




 

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Grilled Anago eel with Vinegar -
This is the appetizer dish.   With some sesame on top of wakame seaweed.


 

 


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The Octopus was sliced in a way similar to de-boned Hamo eel,  honegiri style in look, 
served with Apple Vinegar jelly -
Also some Shiso flowers.   One of the dishes I liked the best today,  with the octopus cups and body textural combination together with the slightly acidic jelly.   ~ 9/10


 



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Seared Hairtail Tachiuo fish, 
with Yuzu Vinegar marinated Pear and sauce -
I really liked this combination of flavours again,  down to the marinated pear.  
Pretty smart as a concept with some smokiness and the pear…   ~ 8/10


 

 

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Sushi Counter -




 

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Toro Tuna with Wasabi -
I liked the marbling of this but it was served a bit warm than the norm.  Luckily this had a good oiliness and flavour.   ~ 7.5/10




 

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Next piece of Chu-Toro wrapped in Shiso and Seaweed -
One of the Signature dishes here.   The tuna temperature of this,  I liked it much more.   I think the toro can be slightly cut thicker,  either that or the Shiso Ooba can be over-powering sometimes.   I think everyone had their own favourite items here..   ~ 7/10



 

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Abalone Slow-cooked in Sake and Kombu Dashi -
This is knife sliced with wavy patterns,  which is pretty correct traditionally.  I liked this a lot too for it’s sake balanced sweetness and umami.   ~ 7.5/10





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Ginger Juice Pickled Mango,  Cherry and Ginger –
Interesting to be served at this part of the meal,  but very appetizing and thoughtful.
I would rather this than a fruit platter at the end of the meal!

 

 

 

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Same-Garei Right Mouth Roughscale Sole -
Our Sushi Chef shifted to this from a Left Mouthed Hirame at the last minute,  which I can’t complain about because back then it was in the perfect season and had more oiliness even during summer,  right before giving birth.   Quite crunchy too.  Nice knife work   ~ 9/10




 

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Hokkaido Ishigaki Gai -
Seasonal back then for a short period,  this was crunchy and sweet and still moving.  I detected a small bitterness within the piece – some Japanese friend explained this could be the liver flavour.   Which makes sense as even Tsubugai and other Shellfishes do carry this trait often enough...   ~ 7/10

 

 

 

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Botan Shrimp with Tomalley and Roe -
One of my preferred pieces.  Usually these are served with it’s own prawn roes,  and some Hokkaido ones have a greenish hue whilst most others are bluish.   This one however was served with it’s own head sauce instead...  Smart   ~ 8/10





 

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Hotate Scallop -
When this came I thought it was Ika (Squid or Cuttlefish variety),  but interesting that this was sliced up this way with grooves.   I mean there’s hand-teared ones for texture,  or some Japanese chefs love to us non-knife sliced meat usually with a shellfish shell scraper,  but this was a first for me.  

 



 

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Slightly seared Shima-Aji with some Radish and Onion compote -
This was decent enough.   I like them a bit fattier though.





 

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Grilled Kinki Fish with Aged Balsamic Vinegar and Crispy Rice Puffs -
Quite possibly the most fussy sushi I found today.   Whilst I liked the novelty factor,  Kinki is super sweet naturally.  Personally I want that natural and subtle sweetness to sing through and knowing how expensive this fish usually is…  I think this will work better with a similar Kinmedai fish?   ~ 6.9/10









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Hokkaido Bafun Sea Urchin -
This was ok sweet with umami.   It seemed more briny than usual,  despite not being of the sea water brined versions.   ~ 7/10



 

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Seared Tuna Toro nigiri -
Definitely as controversial as the above Kinki Rockfish for me,  but at least I liked the idea above more.   For me this was under-flame grilled and didn’t release enough of it’s oily flavour…  it should be more flame-grilled darkened and plus personally,  I think a confident Sushi Restaurant should always end on a high with really good fresh Tuna and Toro pieces.    Luckily we got a dose of those too earlier in the meal.  One could argue this method means a heavier taste,  but may be we needed a piece of akami to build up to the crescendo part?    ~ 6/10

 

 

 

 

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Kinmedai with Matsutake Broth -
This was served clear like an osui mono,  surely more thoughtful than your usual Miso Soup or Ara Ni Miso versions.    The matsutake personally could have had slightly more fragrance,  but then again the same can be said about many White or Black truffles hitting town during late Autumn…   ~ 7/10


 


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Green Tea Pudding -
To end the Tasting Session.   Overall the quality of the seafood here was quite decent.  The rice grains were what you would expect from a sushi ya of this calibre.   I especially enjoyed some of the starter Sashimi otsumami courses.   Some sushi nigiri pieces are a little more aggressive in pushing forward the sauces, garnishes, rice puffs and as a sushi aficionado I believe that many of the fishes can be presented plainer and let them sing solo by itself.   However that doesn’t preclude a single fish variety from being presented in 2 different preparations,  say a grilled Kinki vs plain raw Kinki fish,  to play with the customers minds,  and let them choose which they prefer.  To me this is what intrigues diners to go out too sometimes !

 

 

Price:   $880 – $1680  (Omakase Price for Dinner.  Meal was by Invitation by Sushi Tsuraku)
Food:   ♕♕♕♕ 1/2

Ease of Access:  4/5
Address:  9/F., Stanley 11, 11 Stanley Street, Central
中環士丹利街11號Stanley 11, 9樓
Ph: 2521 0008

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