Non-Christmasy things at Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve. Don't expect a fancy entry about a romantic dinner or glamorous party. None this year. I will be honest with you that I do want a romantic dinner date following up with a steamy hot all-night love making session. It just happens none this year. In the festive season, those questions become partly confusing and partly annoying. I am not sure whether you experience before but everyone seems to be especially interested in your christmas plan and secretly competes whose schedule is more packed. My Christmas is very chilled and there is only one plan - Christmas dinner with family which I reserved table a month ago. On top of that, nothing really special. Just a very chilled time with friends like other holiday.

At Christmas Eve, My friend, Mung Sing and I did very non-Christmasy things.
1. Attempt to queue for ramen for lunch
2. Have a Thai lunch instead as we are patience limited
3. Finish off the lunch with creme brulee and molten chocolate cake next door
4. Shoot zombies in game center after lunch

I always wanted to visit Butao Ramen but it turned me down everything I think about the fact that you need to wait there at 10.30am to make sure you get a seat at 11am. With a great urge the night before, I asked Mung Sing to have a lunch there together. Excitedly anticipating the famous ramen, I showed up in front of the restaurant with shock face. Damn. It is closed! Is this a Christmas joke?

We finally ended up eating thai for lunch and had desserts in Ocio. We ordered a Creme Brulee and a Molten Chocolate Cake. One thing I don't like about the desserts is that the portion is too small. I am a greedy creature who cannot get enough. I want more I want more I want more! As a dessert specialized cafe, Ocio could do a better job. Both the creme brulee and molten chocolate cake are just average. 

Anyhow, eating is not just eating. It is also about who you eat with, where you eat and how you eat.  The best meal, for me, is not having the best food. It is the sense that the food and people you eat with make you feel, "This is the moment I want to freeze." Most of the time, I will say, it really isn't anything about the food but the people you are with. It is the very person that makes you want to freeze the moment, just like freezing the moment by a photo.

Creme Brulee at Ocio (around $35)

Molten Chocolate Cake at Ocio (around $45)

P.S. Oh, and following up the lunch, we feel like shooting zombies in the game centre in Mong Kok. Isn't that just Christmasy? Shooting zombies at Christmas Eve. Nice.

Where: Ocio

Address:Shop D2, Tang Fai Building, 36-48 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Tel: 2891 0855

Opening hour: Mon - Fri, 12nn - midnight; Sat - Sun, 10am - midnight 

Buying a snowman fantasy

I haven't seen any snow before, in person (not movie). I am not saying frost, ice, dew or whatsoever. I mean, snow. Floating snow flake or heavy thick snow layers on the doorway. I haven't seen any form of snow before. I know it sounds crazy for some of you (particularly you Europeans) but I grew up in a warm place in Hong Kong and travelled to either hot or warm places (Sunburning Phuket, Sunny California, New Zealand in January, Sweating NYC in May, Europe in June, Korea in July etc) The closest thing I get is the frost on the rock starting to melt in the Great Canyon. Or the fake snowflakes that are made of bubbly soap which makes your hair completely messed up in Disneyland.

I have a fantasy in snow. "You're that kind of romantic person who will feel touched by seeing a snowflake outside the cafe." That's what my best friend, Rachel, told me more than five years ago. That's my fantasy in snow. I have been warned by many friends, "You will be so disappointed when you see the dirty grey snow in the city." Still, fantasy is a fantasy and I think everyone should have at least a little faith in their fantasy. Therefore I still look forward to my first moment of snow.

Snowman cupcake in Starbucks ($24) and the snowman cupcake portrait by me on the coffee cup

Without any snow (again) this Christmas, I bought myself sugar snowman instead. They are basically everywhere. No matter how much I know that's just another marketing product of Christmas and it will 99% likely taste like shit , I can't resist buying one. The other day, I was meeting my gradschool friend, Grace, for a coffee chat in Starbucks in Festival Walk. I can't help buying the snowman cupcake. With $24, I am buying a fantasy. Isn't that great? $24 a fantasy for sale! And the truth is it actually tasted not bad.

When I am writing this entry, I had another sugar snowman that I got at the bakery in Wellcome supermarket from the grocery shopping with my mum today afternoon. See? Christmas is all round! And the christmas spirit simply fits into Hong Kong so well, in such a commercial way. (If you think the Christmas in the States is commercial, you should come to Hong Kong for our specialized commercial-ness.)  This time, the snowman stuffing (sort of dried fruit) was horrible. Still, I am buying a fantasy! $13.5 a fantasy for sale! This is good enough.

Sugar Snowman bread from Breadtalk in Wellcome Supermarket ($13.5)

Speaking of fantasy, watching movies is another form of fantasy, isn't it? It's like fulfilling your inner wants of ideal scenario (aka Hollywood cliche of true love or superhero). I am a huge movie fan who practically watches at least two movies (repeated or new ones) a week. Indulging in the movie fantasy is like an escape from real life. Call me a dreamer. I am. Below are some of the bits and pieces of my favorite scenes. What are yours?

Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones's Diary is one of my favorite movie characters of all time. He is quite surreal. A top human right lawyer falling in love with clumsy Bridget Jones, just as she is. " I like you very much, just as you are." This is the scene that Mark shows up in Bridget 's apartment and helps out in the kitchen for her Christmas dinner with her friends. He is the sweetest character ever.

Celine and Jesse train encounter in Before Sunrise is a fantasy I experienced before. What I like best, instead, is how they meet after losing contact in nine years in Before Sunset. They become more mature about life but still have the romantic fantasy in their heart. "I guess when you're young, you just believe there'll be many people with whom you'll connect with. Later in life, you realize it only happens a few times."

In Love Actually, Mark (Andrew Lincoln) makes a silent confession with cardboards to his best friend's newly married wife, Juliet (Keira Knightley) at Christmas. "But for now, let me say - Without hope or agenda - Just because it's Christmas - And at Christmas you tell the truth - To me, you are perfect - And my wasted heart will love you - Until you look like this. [picture of a mummy] " video below

This is the scene that the charming Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem, sexy man)  comes over to Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson)'s table and invites them to join him to go to Oviedo for the weekend. I love this movie on its adventurous love and the dark humor of Woody Allen on finding self but it turns out everything remains the same after all the adventure. "Why not? Life is short, life is dull, life is full of pain, and this is a chance for something special." video below

It sounds cheesy but I love the night-out scene in Sex and the City. Four modern women who enjoy their  life in NYC, four old friends who stay together for a decade, drinking cocktail. "And there, in the same city where they met as girls, four New York women entered the next phase of their lives dressed head to toe in love. And that's the one label that never goes out of style."

This is the scene in He's Just Not That Into You where Neil (Ben Affleck) and Beth (Jennifer Aniston) break up as Neil doesn't want to get married. Meanwhile, Beth's father has a heart attack and she needs to take care of everything at home while no one, including her sister's newly married husband, gives any help. Neil shows up without notice and helps out cleaning the wishes in the kitchen. "Our life together is what I want. Your love is what I want. Did you see those guys my sisters are married to? You are a better husband to me - without being married - than any of those real husbands will ever be. And that's enough for me."

Beef Battle: $400 Wagyu Beef VS $40 Beef Brisket

If I can eat only one meat in my whole life, it will be a hard battle between beef or chicken. I am a total lamb lover but I can't bear even to think about eating lamb every single day in every single meal. But for beef and chicken, I think I can deal with it. Last week, I happened to experience two different styles of beef. All I could say is THANK GOD I am not a vegetarian. 

My friend and I planned to go to Iroha, a Japanese restaurant famous for its grilled beef in TST, a month ago. Without making a reservation in advance, we clearly had no patience to wait for ten tables and left with disappointment. With prior experience, I made a reservation this time and visited the restaurant with my two long-time-no-see friends, Johnny ,whom I met from dish photo shoot, and Lilian, who is a chinese dish recipe writer. 

Premium Assorted Meat (salted Wagyu togue, thick sliced prime salted outside skirt, diced sirloin steak, selected rib eye beef, selected roast sauced beef) $530

We started off having the premium assorted beef set (above). Five different parts of beef, five different enjoyment. Grilling the beef yourself is fun, in the sense that you can see how the beef looks like in raw, then how it turns brown and how hot and good it tastes right from the grill. It makes the dining experience complete. I know for some of you, it sounds completely bad to say I really like beef tongue. But I am telling you - it really tasted awesome! But the best was the diced sirloin steak (the middle one). After it was grilled (DON'T OVERCOOK IT!), you put it in your mouth. It just melt in your mouth with strong flavor of beef with rich beef juice. It felt like heaven. Mmmmmmmmmmm. 

Grilling the tongue. I know this caption sounds so wicked about tongue. But it tastes so nice that you will completely ignore it's tongue.

Ya, I know, it's expensive. The $530 assorted beef can hardly fill your stomach. They are just teases. You never get enough and you always want more. That's why we further ordered one Assorted Japanese Wagyu, one Grilled Pork Neck with Citron Pepper and one Seafood Pancake. When you feel like, "ya, I think we start to get enough", that's the time you will be in the situation of "Oh fuck, I think I just got broke by eating five slices of beef." Anyhow, it's worth it if you want to treat yourself nice once in a while. 

Assorted Japanese Wagyu (wagyu karubi 6 slices, medium fatty karubi 4 slices, karubi backbone 2 pieces) $300

Besides beef, another dish I recommend will be the Grilled Pork Neck with Citron Pepper. I am not a fan of pork at all as pork itself is not a tasty meat. But here, given the premium black pork and marinade of citron pepper, the pork neck was so soft and rich. The citron pepper also brought the taste of pork to another level of sophistication with different layers of tastes. 

The final bill was HK$1200 for three persons. Well, a little bit more than I expected. (I know it states clearly in the menu and you kind of know how much you will finally pay. But I always have a stupid subconscious to tend to think, "Maybe it will cost less when the bill arrives...") Still, still, still, it was a bliss to discover the beauty of food on its superiority of ingredients. 

Grilled pork neck with citron pepper $95

Another night, I visited another famous local restaurant which is famous for its beef soup - the Kau Kee  Restaurant in Central. Don't underestimate this little restaurant. It had a long history for its specialized beef; it was in a lot of TV and newspaper interviews; and there were always soooo many people coming in and out for its beef brisket. Kevin and I went there on Friday night at around 830pm. We squeezed into the place and found two seats (sharing tables with random strangers), ordering two bowls of beef brisket with noodles in clear broth. 

Kau Kee Beef Brisket with rice noodle $30ish

There is a reason they got famous. The beef was soooooo soft with strong beef flavor. The broth was clear but not plain. A simple bowl can include such a complex taste that you can feel the dedication of the chef. For such a beef brisket, the chef will need to wake up in early morning to prepare so to get such a soft texture and strong taste that fills throughout the whole beef brisket. That is another beauty of food - even for a bowl costing less than $40, the chef is making the best out of it. And as a foodie, I chose my best way to enjoy the beauty of it by eating all of it and eating it out loud. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. 

1/ Where: Iroha
Address: 1/F, Cameron Plaza, 23 Cameron Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Opening hour: Mon - Sun, 12nn-3pm, 6pm-12 midnight
Tel: 2311 4700


2/ Where: Kau Kee Restaurant
Address: G/F, 21 Gough Street, Central, Hong Kong
Opening hour: Mon - Sat, 1230pm - 1030pm

It feels so alive with cold beer, warm sun and all-day music

Sitting on the boardwalk with beer and fries and listening to acoustic music

Outdoor concert is rare in Hong Kong, not to mention a free one. Thank God we are evolving and there is a two-day music fest Clockenflap in West Kowloon Promenade this weekend. A lazy Sunday with day-to-night music, sunshine, beer and chips. Mmmmm, this is my way of living. 

They divided the promenade into different areas, featuring two large outdoor stages, two electronic stages, an acoustic stage and a film tent. My friend, Gal, and I just grasped two beers and fries with excessive ketchup and mustard - my style. It will be perfect if they also have cheese and sour cream and avocado, but I guess I am asking too much. ("This is so Israeli!") 

Sitting on the boardwalk, listening to the acoustic music, sipping the beer, eating the fries under the sun beside the sea. If life is clustered with different moments, this is a moment I like to save and last. 

The acoustic stage at Clockenflap

The boardwalk, city view, sun and music today reminded me of the combination of so many different things - Central Park in NYC, Sunset in Santa Monica, laid-back boardwalk in Venice beach, and Spring music fest in USC. 

Today was like a getaway from the city though as a matter of fact, we were at the heart of the city. It felt like Central Park in New York except we were by the sea, which felt like Santa Monica pier. And music on boardwalk under sun felt so much about Venice beach. With the music from day to night, it reminded me of the Spring fest in USC back to 2008 where I was laying on the grass outside leavey library and listening to William Tell. I am not saying they are similar - It is just a feeling attached from one to another. All good old memories link with all good fresh memories, forming a new picture in my life album. Oh, this feels so alive.

(Left) Hong Kong city view from the Promenade. (Right) New York city view from the Central Park.

(Left) Sunset in West Kowloon Promenade, Hong Kong. (Right) Sunset at Santa Monica, Los Angeles.

(Left) Boardwalk in West Kowloon Promenade, Hong Kong. (Right) Boardwalk in Venice Beach, Los Angeles.

(Left) Performance by Nova Heart in Clockenflap. (Right) Performance by William Tell in Spring Fest USC.

Where: Clockenflap Music & Arts Festival

Address: West Kowloon Promenade, Hong Kong
Website: http://www.clockenflap.com/

I have a great mood and I hate Tiramisu

Out of any reasons, I had a great mood today. What happened? You experienced that before? You wake up and you feel great. You hair doesn't exactly look good; your eyes are morning baggy; and you nearly miss the bus (but you don't!). Everything isn't really in a right shape but you feel great! 

No, I am not in love. And mum, I don't have a boyfriend.

Then I think, "Is it because of Christmas? That I feel it in my fingers and I feel it in my toes like Billy Mack?" It's December. You know, holiday mood throughout the whole month. Christmas carols, Christmas puddings, Turkey (!), Christmas party, Pre-Christmas party (THIS SAT), Christmas window display (Explicitly stating "Merry Christmas" in Zara's window. Oh thanks, you too merry christmas.) 

Merry Christmas to you too, Zara. When will your Christmas Sale be again?

Speaking of Christmas, instead of cooking a big Christmas dinner at home, just like a typical Hong Kong family, we dinner out. And guess what? You will need to reserve a table one month in advance. I am heading to Amaroni's Little Italy in Festival Walk for Christmas dinner this year (as I like BIG BIG portion. Sue me.) On top of booking one month before Christmas, I will also need to pay $400 for deposit. Madness in Hong Kong. But this is the plan and I really look forward to it. 

Amaroni's Little Italy in Festival Walk. (Sorry I don't own this picture.)

With a great mood, I bought myself a cake in Italian Tomato afterwork (Perfect reason for a cake: CUZ I HAVE A GOOD MOOD). I am a slow decision maker when shopping for any kind of goods. When I say any kinds of goods, I literally meant any kinds of goods. From a magazine to a cheese, from a cake to a dress, I need to spend a long time to decide which one to buy. Sometimes it can take as long as a month for me to finally decide to buy a pair of shoes and then turns out they don't have my size anymore. 

Like this evening, I basically stayed in front of the cake display for my slow decision thinking process and finally decided to randomly buy a piece of cake after around five customers finished their orders. You know what Tom Hanks says in You've Got Mail?"The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino." (Check out  the scene here) I am the type of person who has a hard time in Starbucks. I do have decision-making ability - I am just slow. What's worse is even though I spent a long time to choose, most of the time I chose the one I don't really like. Tonight, I chose the Tiramisu that I never liked. I actually hated Tiramisu as I think it's always too soft. 

Tiramisu ($28) from Italian Tomato

After dinner, I tasted my piece of cake, sharing with my brother. It turns out I really don't like Tiramisu. I don't like it soft. I don't like it creamy. I just don't like it. Lesson learnt: Don't buy something you don't like and secretly hope this piece may happen to change your mind. Next time, I will buy myself a dark chocolate cake or a lemon cheese cake instead.

Whatever, I still have a great mood and a small  piece of Tiramisu cannot change a thing.

1/ Where: Amaroni's Little Italy
Address: Shop 32, LG1, Festival Walk, Kolwoon Tong, Hong Kong
Opening hour: Mon - Sun 11am - midnight
Tel: 2265 8818


2/ Where: Italian Tomato
Address: Counter 3004, Yata Shatin Department Store, 3/F, New Town Plaza Phase 3, 18 Sha Tin Centre Street, Shatin, Hong Kong
Opening hour: Mon - Sun 10am - 10pm
Tel: 2604 0185

Ms B's Cake, Ice-cream at Sunset, Wedding Dress: All Wrapped with Love.

Christmas window display in Lane Crawford -
"Wrapped with Love"

I had a hard time writing this entry. How should I wrap up for my discovery? Three completely different things, but somehow connect to each other and click with me. Not until I saw the Christmas window display in Lane Crawford in TST. Ding-dong. They are all WRAPPED WITH LOVE.

1. Cakes that make you fall in love: C'est la B

Patisseries from the brand new cafe, c'est la B

"Better than Sex" from Ms B's Cakery

Ms B's Cakery is definitely the most drop-dead-gorgeous cakes in town. The best is that they also taste superb! The only flaw was that Ms B's Cakery at Gough Street (Address: 39 Gough Street, Central, Hong Kong) only offers take-away (No seats!) and the one in Sevva (Address: 25/F Prince's Building, 10 Charter Road, Central, Hong Kong) doesn't have the by-piece patisserie above. Here's the good news: Ms B's Cakery just opened its cafe-bar C'est la B in Tai Hang! Finally we can sit down for those patisseries!

I tried the Sunshine cake before (the yellow one at top left coner with a flower sugar garnish). It feels like heaven. I can't wait to visit c'est la B in the coming week and tell you how it is. Sunshine, Butterfly Kisses, Paradise, Madame Butterfly, Better than Sex. What more can I say? Better than sex? I see no reason of not trying.

Where: C'est la B
Location: Shop 3, G/F, 110-114 Tung Lo Wan Road, Tai Hang, Hong Kong
Opening Hour: Mon - Sun 1130am - midnight
Tel: 2806 8168
Website: http://www.msbscakery.hk/cestlaB.html

2. A getaway terrace from the crowd: Spasso

Sunset from the outdoor terrance of Spasso in TST, Hong Kong

A typical Saturday in Tsim Sha Tsui (aka TST) can only be described in one word - Crowd (or Crap). Or direct quote from my friend, Eric, "It's exactly like a Shanghai mall and you cannot hear any Cantonese; it's all Mandarin and Shanghainese." That's why I always try to avoid weekends in Tsim Sha Tsui. It's not fun at all to squeeze yourself in the crowd of tourists. I mean, there is a 30-people queue outside Louis Vuitton. What else can you expect other than people, people and people?

Pistachio I-Scream ice-cream ($34)

Surprisingly, Eric took us to a quiet getaway restaurant/bar, Spasso at the terrace of Ocean Centre. I never knew such place in the middle of hustling TST. We didn't make a reservation and just walked in. The outdoor terrace was lovely, especially in such a nice weather, feeling warm and chilled under the afternoon sun. I cannot make any comment on the food as I only had the I-Scream Pistachio ice-cream which was pretty okay. Eric and Stanley ordered the tea set for two. The price was reasonable ($138 per person) but I guess they were running out of the afternoon tea tray as it was served in a big plate. (Eric: What?) 

An urban sunset, an outdoor terrace, and an ice cream scoop. This is the romance of the city. 

Where: Spasso
Address: Shop 403, Ocean Centre, Harbour City, 17 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Opening hour: Mon - Sun 12nn - midnight
Tel: 2730 8027

Afternoon Tea set for you ($138 per person)

3. Once-a-lifetime wedding dress: Pronovias

You & Your Wedding (Dec 2011 issue)

As cliche as it is, I grasped a wedding magazine, You & Your Wedding, when chilling in the public library yesterday afternoon and was attracted by one of its ads. The Pronovias. It really is nothing about food here but I can't help mentioning it here as it was so dreamy and simply beauuuutiful.

With more and more weddings happening around (colleagues, college friends, secondary school friends, primary school friends, and I know it will come very soon - kindergarten friends), weddings are no longer inaccessible to be referred as a "They are getting married", "They are the bridesmaids", "They are sending invitations" when I was a kid. It's now more like a  "You are getting married" or "We are the bridesmaids". Well, it's still not a "I am getting married" or "You are my maid of honor". Still, it seems wedding is all around.

And I bet every girl has dreamt about her Big Day. Don't pretend to be cool and appear as if you don't care. You care. I care. (Don't roll your eyes, boys.) Wedding is more than a huge beautiful party with flowers and cakes. I hate to say there is a very good quote from the movie, 27 dresses. (I say stop rolling your eyes, boys.) "When the bride comes in and she makes her giant grand entrance, I like to glance back at the poor bastard getting married. Cause even though I think he’s an idiot for willingly entering into the last legal form of slavery, he always looks really, really happy.", says James Marsden in the movie. That is my faith in marriage.


Website: http://www.pronovias.us/

Pronovias ad on 2012 bridal collection

Pronovias ad on 2012 bridal collection

Pronovias ad on 2012 bridal collection

You are what you eat. And it can save your soul.

My happy Saturday Breakfast

It sounds maniac but I have been planning and thinking about every Saturday breakfast throughout the whole week. Saturday breakfast is sure my favorite entry nearly all time. I was already excited on Thursday night to think about what to buy and the order to cook first and then so to make everything warm and nice when served. I mean, it's the first Winter Saturday breakfast that it's so cold out of bed and warm from the omelette. What could be better to have a nice warm cheese omelette and soft pancake (and watching home movie) on a cozy sofa on a lazy Saturday? If we are talking about pursuing happiness of life, this is my happiness of life. 

Close-up

Naturally waking up at 830am, I woke up with a great mood and perfect sunshine. Scrambling the eggs, cutting the tomato, pan frying the pancakes! It sounds like a good start of the day. Turning on the DVD player, playing the second half of You've Got Mail. Greg Kinnear says in the movie, "You are what you read. And it can save your soul." Well, I am reading "Country Driving: A Chinese Road Trip" by Peter Hessler. I don't how it saves my soul reading a chinese factory manufacturing the brassiere wires. My twist on that line could be "You are what you eat. And it can save your soul." That's my own point of view. If the hustling life is sucking your soul, you need to get yourself a nice breakfast. That's the best way to save your soul back. By the beauty of food.

Sometimes, what you need is not a big thing. Not a great success or a big applause. You just need a nice breath of fresh air, an impressive line in movie, an inspiring chapter in book, or simply a nice boiled egg in the morning. No noise from vacuum, no hustle from traffic, and no one to bother you. Just you and your day to do your own things. Or I should say. Just me and my day to do my own things.  

Whenever I feel like my soul is dying, I look for sunshine, I watch my favorite movie, I read a great chapter of book that I bookmarked. And I make myself a nice omelette.

Meg Ryan from You've Got Mail (1998) - "What will NY152 say today, I wonder. I turn on my computer. I wait impatiently as it connects. I go online, and my breath catches in my chest until I hear three little words: You've got mail. I hear nothing. Not even a sound on the streets of New York, just the beating of my own heart. I have mail. From you. "

Hot, Crispy & Incredibly Juicy Islam Beef Cake

It is hot. It is crispy. It is chewy. It is incredibly juicy. What I am talking about is the beef cake from the Islam Food Restaurant in Kowloon City. With my friend's continuous recommendation, I decided to try the famous Islam beef cake yesterday night.

My friend and I ordered three dishes. The Beef Cake, the Lamb Curry and the Sour and Spicy Soup.

The Islam Beef Cake ($24 for two pieces)

The Beef Cakes were freshly pan fried so when it arrived, the surface was still crispy. And they were sooo nice and warm especially in such a cold weather. I am not exaggerating. The first bite was insane. The beef juice comes out out of control! I hold the bowl under the beef cake when I ate the cake. When I finished the cake, the beef juice filled out the whole bowl!! I especially ordered one more set to take away for my family. It was just too good.

Lamb Curry (Sorry I forgot the price. I guess $40-50)

The Lamb Curry was very tasty as well. A good curry should not be just spicy but rich with different tastes of spices. The curry had strong flavor (The lamb as well!) and was just at the perfect level of spiciness. We finished the whole dish and almost the entire sauce with the steamed rice.

Sour and Spicy Soup (around $30)

The Sour and Spicy Soup was not bad. Sure if it is compared to the two other dishes, this was not the signature dish in the restaurant. It was, though, above average. This dish is very common but most of the available ones are not dense enough or do not have enough ingredients. The soup was not too liquid and not too dense. Just right. The ingredients include mushroom, tofu, carrot with green onion garnish. Not bad not bad.A nice dinner doesn't necessarily to be expensive. And Hong Kong is such a nice place we can find nearly all kinds of food. Some may not be exactly traditional but the dishes were dedicated with the chefs' own perfect version of tastiness. Isn't that the precious part of food? You find a recipe; you make it; you modify it; and you pass it on.
Where: Islam FoodAddress: 1 Lung Kong Road, Kowloon City, Hong KongTel: 2382 2822Opening hour: Mon - Sun 11am - 1145pm

X-treme eating experience - Molecular Xiao Long Bao. Wait what?

Sunshine and good food are the perfect match to define a good day. Rachel and I decided to sarge for food in Stanley in this lovely day with incredibly lovely weather. There was a food fair named "The World of Food & Music" in Stanley this weekend, with the booths of - obviously - food and wine and beer. What I was expecting was just having random hot dogs, nachos, and beer. 

Yet, I had a total new eating experience today - Molecular food.

The music performance in "World of Food & Music" in Stanley Plaza

Bo Innovation booth in the food fair in Stanley

There was a booth by Bo Innovation which is a restaurant with X-treme chinese cuisine. How extreme can food be? I will tell you what - it is truely mad and gives a whole new perspective of food. Rachel and I were firstly attracted by the Molecular Xiao Long Bao. What the hell is Molecular Xiao Long Bao anyways? I mean, I tried Molecular cocktail with champagne bubbles but Xiao Long Bao? What?

So, first take a look of the Xiao Long Bao that we, as a Chinese, are so familiar.

Molecular Xiao Long Bao (1 token - $20) 

Ya I know! This is the Molecular Xiao Long Bao!! It doesn't even look like a Xiao Long Bao! Isn't that crazy? I put the whole thing into my mouth. Pop! The juice inside is the taste of the Xiao Long Bao! Yet, it doesn't have any meat (or even solid) under the thin skin. It just tastes like Xiao Long Bao without actually being a Xiao Long Bao!

 In case you don't know, this is how a "real" xiao long bao looks like.

Oyster, Green Onion and Ginger Snow (2 tokens - $40)

The next one I had was my favorite in the booth - Oyster, Green Onion and Ginger Snow. By that, the oyster was a real poached rock oyster. But the green onion was no green onion but green paste; and the ginger was no ginger but some icy white powder. I had hesitation to put it in my mouth but this was too exciting to see how it really tasted like. It tasted EXACTLY like the stir-fried green onion and ginger oyster!!!! This is the maddest food I ever had! The ingredients weren't really there but it tasted exactly the same!! It feels like future food in those sci-fic!

Tom Yum Gong, King Prawn (2 tokens - $40)

Up next, it was the Tom Yum Gong King Prawn. Okay the prawn was prawn that was seared. But the Tom Yum Gong was like a cocktail that I saw the chef mixing with Grey Goose and something else (secret recipeee) to make the dry ice smoking effect. It was also a nice dish (yummy fresh and spicy prawn) but relatively less shocking than its other dishes.

Foie Gras Lettuce Wrap (3 tokens - $60)

We also tried the Foie Gras Lettuce Wrap with Sauternes Miso. 

This one was the realest food they had there. It was a real Foie Gras (aka goose liver). Wait, I think it was real. I had no idea, though, on the sauce. It's a little bit sweet, a little bit sour and a little bit fruity. The match with Foi Gras was nice, smooth and rich.

Nasi Lemak ice cream (1 token - $20)

The last one goes to Nasi Lemak Ice Cream. Nasi Lemak is a common dish you can find in Singapore and Malaysia which is rice mixed with coconut milk. The Nasi Lemak of Bo Innovation, however, was not exactly rice and not exactly ice cream. In the first bite while you were expecting something sweet and chewy, it was spicy, salty and bubbly. The nuts on top were salty, the red sauce was spicy while the white "ice cream" was bubbly with a little bit of sweetness. It was a new interruption of Nasi Lemak. 

The whole experience was mad, mad and mad. It feels like a baby having its first time tasting new food. Like OMG, this is orange! This is cabbage! This is beef! This is lamb! After eating for over twenty years, I felt like a baby again today, anticipating all the new food that I never had before.

Isn't that just mad?

The tasting menu in Bo Innovation. $860 per person. wow.

Quoted from the founder (also chef), Alvin Leung, of Bo Innovation, "I like to challenge people's expectations, to surprise and excite them. My aim is to have people say, 'That was the best meal I've ever had.' and I just work backwards from that." 

You may miss the chance of having the dishes above in Stanley as the food fair only lasted til today. But you can visit Bo Innovation in Wan Chai (Shop 13, 2/F, J Residence, 60 Johnston Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong) for this extreme experience. Well, it will also be an expensive experience as the meal will cost  $860 per person up to $1680 per person + 10% service charge there. What can I say? We are talking about an extreme experience. Oh, and I only spent $180 for it today. Ha, this made my day.

1/ Where: Stanley Plaza

2/ Where: Bo Innovation

Address: Shop 13, 2/F, J Residence, 60 Johnston Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong)

Opening Hour: Mon - Sat, 12nn - 2pm, 7pm - 12 midnight

Tel: 2850 8371

Website: http://www.boinnovation.com/