LE SALON DE THÉ de Joël Robuchon

It was 7:45am. It was a Monday. Humidity above 85%. The weather sucks. It was definitely not a good way to start the week. Usually I would still be in bed at this time under my blanket crouching like a prawn with the air conditioning unit blowing out cool air at 24 degree Celsius. But not this very morning because there was a breakfast gathering with a few friends. I was (am still) very surprised I can actually get up this early and be so awake when I arrived in Central. Maybe I should try to sleep around 5 hours a night and get up bright and early for a change !? humm ... when was the last time I had breakfast? 3 weeks ago? or was it a month ago? ... o well.



Since we were meeting at Landmark, we were too lazy to walk back over to LFK for some Tsui Wah breakfast which I enjoyed once in a while but it tends to be too much for breakfast in my opinion. Also, we were a bit tight in terms of schedule so Cafe Landmark was ruled out. Other than Starbucks, where can we have a light and simple breakfast? LE SALON DE THÉ de Joël Robuchon Note: Not the restaurant which is either LE JARDIN de Joël Robuchon or L'ATELIER de Joël Robuchon; but the Patisserie store on the 3rd floor.



(1) Le croissant aux amandes (Almond croissants) & Le pain au chocolat (Chocolate croissant)
Now, I don't know about you but I think the Almond croissant here is one of the best in Hong Kong. I am yet to find a place that can top it. At HKD 17 a piece, both hands down and two big thumbs up from me! It was served warm (re-heated with oven on order) and the layers were very thin, making it very crisp on every bite. The icing, the almond flakes and the almond filling ... o o o ... yes ... o o o ... so good! The chocolate croissant was equally well done with just the right amount of chocolate filling together with thin and crisp layers. The layers were so thin that you can break through them by a slight touch with the tip of your tongue. How I wish I can stuff the whole thing into my mouth so no single croissant flakes would be left behind (or went to waste). Leave no flakes behind !!!



Next breakfast gathering ... to be decided; but maybe it can be a weekly thing from now on? humm ... maybe I should stop by tomorrow morning and grab myself an almond croissant for breakfast again. A little luxury to start the day! By doing so, at least there is something to look forward to in the morning other than heading back to the office right away ... right? ;)

Likes:

• Le croissant aux amandes (Almond croissant) - you have to experience it yourself! If chance permit, sit down to enjoy instead of buying take-away.
  
• Le pain au chocolat (Chocolate croissant)
• Le croissant aux amandes (Almond croissant)
• Le croissant aux amandes (Almond croissant) - I mentioned that already right? haha .. well, worth mentioning again and again !!

Dislikes:

• I am sorry, I am still thinking ...

Avg Spending: Below HKD 100 per person

LE SALON DE THÉ de Joël Robuchon
Shop 315, 3/F, The Landmark,
16 Des Voeux Road Central, Central
Tel: 2166 9088

Brunch Club @ CWB (Revisted)

There are only a few things in life worth a second try, and for me, one of the very few turns out to be food. After my previous experience at the Brunch Club @ CWB, I decided to give it another try because (1) there is just a lack of other options for similar brunch in Hong Kong and (2) I do have high hopes for this franchise so I do hope there would be some improvement in all aspects of things. However, the booking management remains a chaos! I booked my table near the window 5 days in advance but I was assigned one at the very end of the dining hall. Of course I objected so I waited for one at least CLOSER to the window. Why am I so keen on the windows seat? It was because during my last visit, we were refused of those seats due to prior booking so why can't we book it accordingly? Anyhow, to solve this booking chaos, I serious think that they should just forget about the booking system and apply the first come first serve rule!

(Added 19 September 2009 - Finally, starting 26 September 2009, no more booking service is available, it will be on a first come first served & full parties basis)



O yes, later in the evening while chilling out at Pacific Coffee, I came across a restaurant review on this place from the current issue of Time Out Hong Kong Magazine and the following description caught my undivided attention:

... the truly best thing about brunch is not being in a rush, instead you’re free to lounge around, read the newspaper, and catch up on gossip ... [and] if you’ve approached brunch in the correct manner – several hours should have passed since your arrival. - Time Out Hong Kong

I really cannot stop myself from laughing after reading the above passage because such scenario just can't happen, maybe possible on a weekday, but not possible on a lovely Sunday afternoon when brunch is supposed to be enjoyed. We were constantly being rushed to finish and each table seem to have a time limit (and the lime limit depends on what time you arrive and when the next booking for your specific table is scheduled!) Don't even talk about reading a book, I doubt one would have enough time to complete the first few sections of the Sunday paper! Maybe the reviewer from Time Out Hong Kong got some special treatments or arrived at 4pm (we arrived at 1:30pm which I think was a common brunch time), but I certainly was not allowed to enjoy such a brunch in the correct manner for my two visits so far. Anyhow, time to get back to the food aspect of my visit.

(1) Omelettes (Egg White w/ Tomato, Onion & Mushrooms)
I tried a bit of this omelette and it was decent (compared with the Spanish omelette I ordered). The ingredients were all tugged inside the omelette and the egg white was not overcooked. Flavors of the mushrooms blended well with the egg white and onion as well. A fair dish but one with a very oily harsh brown (see next item).



(2) Omelettes (Spanish)
Spanish omelettes consist of bell peppers, onions & tomatoes. From the look of dish it looked alright but once you cut it open, problems start to flood out, literally. It was watery not just because the eggs were not properly cooked, it was also the mixture of ingredients that seem to be generating a lot of moisture making the omeletts so watery! I rather eat it with a spoon! Another issue I have with this dish was the way how the ingredients were prepared. They were sliced instead of being diced into small cubes. That is usual way to do prepare it if I am correct. (unless it is a baked Spanish Omelettes then it would be different I guess) Disappointing ! o yes, did I mention that the harsh brown was floating? yes, floating on top of a pool of yellowish liquid I like to call OIL or GREASE if you like. Ask for a paper towel to soak up the oil if you like.



(3) Two eggs and two toppings on toast
This item was basically a pick your own items kind of dish and it looked pretty nice. I did not try any but it did not look greasy or watery at all.



(4) Pancakes
Just from the look of it, one thing for sure was that the pancakes were made from those machines instead of free-hand pan-fried. The pancakes were alright while still hot but more syrup would be nice. Not a big fan of pancakes but I still prefer the bigger IHOP style pancakes than these mini-pancakes.

Likes:

• Omelettes (Egg White w/ Tomato, Onion & Mushrooms) - it was alright compared with other items
• I guess the decor and environment are still a plus for this place (but honestly, more and more disappointments are driving me away from this place - maybe there some meals not worth a second attempt? hmmm)

Dislikes:

• Booking management remains a chaos!
• Omelettes (Spanish) - watery ! and ingredients were sliced instead of diced.
• Harsh Brown - happily floating on a pool of oil on my dish ...

Avg Spending: HKD 100 - 200 per person

(Added 19 September 2009 - Finally, starting 26 September 2009, no more booking service is available, it will be on a first come first served & full parties basis)

Brunch Club and Supper
1/F, 13 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay
Tel: 2890 2125

http://www.brunch-club.org/

Gaylord @ TST

Indian cuisine reminds me of the good old university days when dining out was a luxury. There were only a few Indian restaurants where I studied and it was usually on a special occasion that my friends and I would head out to dine; and Indian cuisine was one of our usually top picks. Those were the good times! This meal was with the same old crowds mentioned so it did bring back a lot of memories. We picked Gaylord because of the relatively more comfortable environment compared with those in Chung King Mansions.



We were assigned the VIP room at the end of the dining hall. Perfect! A perfect environment to talk and catch up with good old friends. I would not consider the decor and environment as authentic at all but it was nice and cozy, a bit westernized in my opinion. Apparently they offer buffet that night but we opted for a la carte because we were all too lazy to walk out to get our food all the time. HAHA



(1) Chicken & Vegetables Samosa
This was a classic standard dish to order as starters and I love them as always. I prefer the vegetables samosa this time but I think they used a little bit too much dough. For some reasons, I have a very strong feeling that these samosas were grabbed from the buffet table.



(2) Tandoori Mix Grill
It was served on a sizzling hot plate with a delicious smell filling the room. The chicken was too dry though while the prawn was wonderful with just the right amount of flavors and seasonings. The Seekh Kabab (lamb sausage kabab) was the highlight of this dish and that was why we ordered an extra dish to share.



(3) Seekh Kabab
It was wonderful, the flavors were great. The minced meat was tightly packed to form the sausage but it was soft on every bite. Great texture, not bad at all.



(4) Paneer Tikka Lajawab (Grilled Cheese)
An interesting dish in my opinion. It was grilled cheese, grill block of cheese to be exact. However, there was lack of cheese flavors and texture was like tofu but only harder. It was so-so, a new dish to me for sure.



(5) Chicken Korma
One of my favorite non-spicy "curries." The sauce was rich and deep, very nice. Yes it was creamy, which means heavy on the cream but it tasted very good, I don't mind at all. If my understanding is correct, the authentic way to prepare curry is to use onion based cream / paste which takes a long time to prepare and master as well. Many places now opt to use milk / cream / flour as a substitute for convenience I think. That was my feeling towards this dish and I can be wrong.



(6) Chicken Madaras
I used to be very reluctant to eat hot and spicy food but gradually I am slowly having a higher tolerance for it. One is because I want to be able to enjoy a wider variety of food and two is because I have the belief that the hot food would help me sweat out the humidity inside my body. I am not sure how true that is but hey I am enjoying the food ! haha ... The chicken Madaras was rather spicy in a good way of course. The flavor was very strong and the sauce was a lot thicker than the Korma for some reasons. It seemed to have a very strong herb taste though.



(7) Achaar Gosht (Lamb)
I only had a few spoonful of this dish because while the sauce was rich and flavorable, it gave me a sour kind of taste like Kang Som (sour curry) in Thai cuisine. Don;t get it wrong, I love Kang Som and I once made it myself at the Blue Elephant Cooking School in Bangkok, but just not quite the same since it was a totally different dish! And yes, the curry served was quite spicy as well!



(8) Aloo Gobi (Vegi)
This dish was more about the paste instead of the curry sauce and it was alright. There was a mixtures of various vegetables which I could not really distinguish myself. I do taste a lot of cauliflowers and alot of herbs. A fair dish in my opinion.



(9) Naan / Paneer Kulcha / Roomali Roti
How can an Indian cuisine go without Naan! In additional of the Naan, we also ordered some cheese Naan (Paneer Kulcha). Both types of Naan were a bit disappointing because they were overly thick and firm, closer to pita bread than Naan in my humble opinion. The handkerchief size Roti was thinner but it was rather greasy. I was expecting better Naan from this place especially with an open oven area showing customers the making process of tandoori rotiyan. Chung King Mansions, I am coming back very soon!

Likes:

• very comfortable environment compared with Chung King Mansions
• Seekh Kabab - flavor was great and texture was lovely.

Dislikes:

• Naan - too thick and too firm
• Paneer Tikka Lajawab (Grilled Cheese) - lack of cheese flavors, or maybe it is suppose to be like that?

Avg Spending: HKD 100 - 200 per person

Gaylord Indian Restaurant
1/F, 23-25 Ashley Road, TST
Tel: 2376-1001

Amici @ MK

I am lucky enough to have the chances to try so many different kinds of food and gradually I have grown to be pretty picky with my meals. Well, "picky" is a word many like to use to describe me in all aspects of things; but in my opinion, I am just being a bit critical sometimes with my food because I truly value and appreciate each meal as an unique experience. Therefore, as a food lover, I am always ready for different cuisines, looking forward to a new experience every time no matter what the result is, be it a memorable one or a disappointing one. For this meal at Amici, it was a disappointing experience unfortunately.

I have to say that the menu looks cool with the pages inside a pizza box. It was pretty easy to read through as well. My friend and I sat there for 10 mins without being asked for any drinks or etc, we have to raise our request after the whole 10 mins for someone to come and serve us. Service certain has room for improvement.



This location used to be Simply Thai if I recall correctly and the decor certainly got polished up to look like an upscale but casual sports bar themed joint. Ambiance / environment wise it was pretty comfortable especially with the open spaces.



(1) Deep Fried Oysters
What the #$%#@? Pardon my language but I was pretty shocked at the quality of the dish and the presentation. Based on the menu, it is deep fried oyster topped with XO sauce, wasabi mayonnaise and hoisin sauce. First of all, the presentation was not appetizing at all. The oysters were mini oysters slightly bigger than the size of my thumb and they definitely don't tasted fresh or deep fried at all. (not to mention they were semi-cooked only, the center was a bit raw in my opinion. Although I like oysters but these type of oysters should be fully cooked in my opinion) O o o, did mention that the combination of the wasabi sauce was not the best match at all.



(2) Caesar Salad (w/ grilled Chicken)
It looked alright but the grilled chicken was overly salty with excessive seasoning and the salad was very warm! Part of the reasons can be due to the freshly grilled chicken on top which made the salad warm, but not the whole dish right?



(3) Amici Pizza
I like thin crust pizza because I believe that is the way it should be. The crust should be thin, firm and crispy instead of soft and soggy. I understand that it is not easy to make a good pizza because there are so many different factors to consider, for example, the use of oven. Alright, the pizza here was firm and crispy but it was too firm and too hard! If the pizza was not sliced, I can literally grab it and play ultimate frisbee with it as part of my much need exercise session. Also, the tomato cause was very weak and definitely not enough in my opinion. The same applied to the amount of cheese. Very disappointing.



(4) Full Rack of Spare Ribs (Amici Homemade Gravy)
Yes you are right, not only does it look overcooked, it was overcooked. The meat was very dried with overly rich / salty sauce all over it. The fries were really soggy and the so-called vegetables on the side were simply boiled vegetables without much taste, not even traces of salt. Well, depends how to like to see it, it is definitely much healthy this way I guess.

Likes:

• Decor / Environment - casual sports bar feel

Dislikes:

• Deep Fried Oysters - presentation was bad, taste was weird, the combination of wasabi sauce with the semi-deep fried oysters were not the best match
• Amici Pizza - crust too firm, tomato sauce too weak
• Full Rack of Spare Ribs - meat too dry and slight tough to chew as well.

Avg Spending: HKD 100 - 200 per person

Amici
L13-05, Langham Place Mall,
8 Argyle Street, Mong Kok
Tel: 2148 1009
http://www.amicihk.com/

Portal: Work & Play

Since its opening in 2004, Langham Place (and the Langham Hotel) has become a landmark in the busy district of Mong Kok for the its height and contemporary architecture. Within the area, the Langham Hotel is the only 5-star hotel to my understanding. I have only been to the Chinese restaurant, Ming Court, before and there seems to be a new Japanese restaurant named Tokoro specializing in robatayaki. Maybe it is worth trying next time.



While waiting for my friend to arrive, I wandered around the mall and I somehow walked towards the hotel trying to find some tranquility. Although it was not as tranquil as I hoped, it was way better than that in the mall, especially in the open podium level where there seems to have a huge echoing issue in my opinion. I like the name of the lounge, Portal - Work & Play, Work hard and Play hard ! Well for me it would be Work hard and Eat better !!



It was happy hour and 2 for 1 was the special deal. However, there were only a handful of selection that qualify for the deal and I mean only 6 - 8 choices of drinks of which already includes a limited selection of beer, wines and sparkling wines. I forgot the mark down the name of the sparkling wine I ordered but honestly, not worth remembering. It was overly citrus and overly carbonated in my opinion. One minor thing I really wanted to mention was its menu; the pages are all worn out and there were stains on some pages. I had to flip through the pages with my thumb and index finger only. Now that I think of it, it is not a minor issue at all, it is indeed a big concern especially for a 5-star rated hotel. You can call me picky if you want but minor things like this (considering all relevant underlying factors of course) really put me off.

Likes:

• A good place to chill in the MK area (due to the lack of other options options of course)

Dislikes:

• Pretty noisy and with a DJ at 6 PM ?? (they used to have a live band but I guess it did not work out at the end)
  
• Menu - worn out with stains
  

Avg Spending: Around HKD 100 per person

Portal: Work & Play
5/F, Langham Place Hotel,
555 Shanghai Street, Mong Kok
Tel: 3552 3232

Taku

After reading KC's review on this place, I had the urge to try it out myself. My friend and I were in a bit of a rush because we booked tickets to watch Sunshine Cleaning at IFC. The entrance of the restaurant has a very Japanese village feel to it with a 1920s style bike placed next to the door. When we entered the premises, we were led to the second floor via a wooden staircase.



The first thing I realized after scanning through the menu was that there aren't many choices in the menu, main sections include Tofu (which they specializes in apparently), sushi, noodles and robatayaki. One thing that shocked me right off the bet was the item under the drinks section: Premium Japanese Green Tea. Yes you are 100% correct, the loose leaf green tea that I was drinking while reading the menu was not included, HKD 22 each thank you very much! I rarely mention prices in my review but there is always a first and you got me this time Taku! (No wonder we had to ASK the staff to bring us some tea after sitting there for 10 minutes without anything being served.)



(1) Kawahagi (Grilled Dry Blowfish)
The flavor was fair indeed but it was rather too moist to my liking. I like it dry and relatively tough like beef jerky but that was not how it was done here apparently. Overall a fair dish to start the meal with. (well, I guess I started my meal with the Premium Japanese Green Tea instead.)



O yes, if you are planning to visit this restaurant in the near future and are having some kind of expectation in terms of food quality, STOP ! STOP READING NOW because I am afraid the rest of this review will truly disappoint you because I was very disappointed ! Continue reading at your own risk ....

(2) Chilled Silken Tofu (with diced maguaro tuna tartar, light soy and yuzu)
This place specializes in homemade tofu. I am not an expert in tofu nor am I a big fan of tofu but I think I can distinguish a good one from a not-so-good one. The portion being served had little traces, or lack of in my opinion, any tofu or soybean taste at all. The tuna tartar on top has more taste than the tofu itself for some very, very odd reasons.



(3) Sushi Platter
The first thing I noticed when I entered the restaurant was the rather long sushi / sashimi bar with the sushi chef busy slicing behind the counter. I told myself the raw stuff should be alright here. Well you know, I can be wrong sometimes. A few pieces were actually quite warm and my friend who ate the the tuna belly sushi I think, had difficulty chewing the fish because there were excessive amount of FISH TENDON (or gristle) in her piece! Another highlight of this restaurant is the use of the brush to "paint" the sushi with soy sauce as described on the paper dining mat. However, the brush reminds in the soy sauce container WITH the sauce inside and you use the SAME brush to apply the sauce on all different sushi? I was not very comfortable with it even if it is a regional classic or traditional way of doing it. Also, the writing on the dining mat stated that "chefs apply a small amount of wasabi on all of the sushimi which we think makes perfect sense - and creates perfect flavor," please help me define "small amount" and what perfect flavor does it create with such multiple small amount of wasabi being applied? Perhaps the flavor of strong wasabi that goes right up to my nose? Not happy at all!




(4) Obinmushi (tea pot soup)
Flavor wise it was comparable with other restaurant. It was rich in chicken, shrimp and mushroom flavors. However, the soup was in ROOM temperature!!!! (Air Conditioned Room Temperature too!!) That was a BIG NO NO for me!!! At that particular moment, all I can think of was the 1920s style bike at the entrance because I really wanted to jump onto it and ride my way home!



(5) Grilled Genko nuts and Quail Eggs
I love quail eggs in any ways being prepared. However, I never expect such simple grill item to result in such "unique" way. The outer skin of the egg was actually hard and chewy; chewy as in difficult to chew or in lack of a better word, tough to chew. I told my friend to try the other skewer to see if it was just an isolated / independent issue but it was the same for hers. It you ask me to describe it more vividly, imagine the egg was wrapped by a very thin layer of plastic and you will get the picture.



(6) Grilled Eel
First of all, the sauce was excellent in my opinion and the portion was rather generous as well. However, as for the eel itself, I have some major reservations. Based on my humble knowledge, a good eel (or grilled eel for that matter) should have meat that is tender in general and with the skin being relatively chewy. For the grilled eel we had, I had several tough rounds of tug-o-war with the eel's skin because it was overly chewy and "stretch-y." It was like trying to chew off a rubber band! The meat itself was nice and tender, but the chewy skin really took me something effort to eat.



Sigh, what an experience indeed. At the end of the meal, I was looking forward to the popcorn in the movies.

Likes:

• Decor / Atmosphere - very cozy and authentic Japanese village feel

Dislikes:

• Sushi Platter - sushi with fish gristle / fish tendon???
• Obinmushi (tea pot soup) - Room Temperature Soup??
• Quail Eggs - plastic wrapped grilled quail eggs??

Avg Spending: HKD 300 - 500 per person

Taku
G/F, 35 Elgin Street
Central, SoHo
Tel: 2545 9966

Kitchen @ W Hotel (Revisted)

The Five Ws are Why, What, Where, Who, When and I ask myself the 5 Ws everyday. Why did I now start this food blog sooner? What cuisine should I try next? Where am I going to eat next? Who am I going to invite next? and When should I start exercising more after eating so much? For this Sunday brunch today, I headed to yet another W! My friend invited me to try W Hotel's Sunday Champagne brunch because she tried it a few months ago and enjoyed it very much especially with the various seafood selection. When I arrived at the Kitchen restaurant around 11:50am, I was kindly asked to wait for another 10mins until noon when the brunch session official starts. Fair enough. For the next 10 mins, I wandered around the floor and took some pictures with the beautiful sunshine flooding in. It was at the same time I realized that the Sunday Champagne brunch has a special theme for today, a New Orleans' Jazz theme focusing on New Orleans' cuisines. (bye bye to the wide selection of seafood!!)



I was the first one to arrive and got assigned a table at the very far end of the dining hall which was good because the center area was pretty noisy based on my previous visit to the Kitchen.



I took the advantage of my early arrival and invited myself to take a look at the buffet area hiding on the other side of the restaurant. There I met (Culinary Director) Chef Curt Saasak who was doing a final check on the serving area. I took this valuable opportunity and exchanged a few conversations with him. The most important information from our brief encounter was that in a month's time, the Kitchen is going to have a Seafood theme for its Sunday Champagne Brunch. Horray !!



Since it was a buffet style brunch, I would only review on selected items which I think are worth mentioning, both positive and negative comments. After my chat with Head Chef Curt, he now knows that I like seafood so he asked one of his sous chefs behind the counter to prepare us some Oyster Rockefeller. It was not as good as I expected. Based on my understanding, Oyster Rockefeller can be baked or broiled and for the Oyster Rockefeller being served, they were more like the broiled style but I think they were a bit under-broiled because the oysters were not heated very evenly. But hey, the special treatment made a world of differences to me.



Before heading back for another round of food, I took a few pictures of the serving area. I like its open kitchen arrangement but it would be tough for the staff behind the counter because it can be pretty stressful with all the customers watching their every move. Oh yeah, I really liked their freshly squeezed juice (without added sugar) in the pretty individual bottles.




I almost forgot to mention about one of the key items of this brunch, the champagne. Not bad at all. It is sightly sweet in flavor and easy to drink compared with the one being served at the Oyster and Wine Bar's Sunday Champagne Brunch at Sheraton. (I think the brand was Mumm's) Not bad at all.



Time to head back for more food. The raw oysters being served were not the best nor the freshest in my opinion. Also, a big thumbs down on the fact (or so I assumed based on my humble experiences) that they used distill water to clean the oyster, washing out the "sea-water" within the oyster shell. It is most often the taste and flavors of the sea-water inside the oyster shell that distinguish or even elevate the savoring sweetness of oysters and give the individual oysters their unique characteristics. Very disappointing on the oysters. As for the shrimps, they were not as big as the cocktail shrimps offered at the Sheraton but they were pretty fresh. Even for smoked salmon which I loved, they have various interesting flavors such as lemongrass and beet roots.



In addition to pre-cooked items, they also offer on-demand / made-to-order items ranging from salmon steak, rack lamb, steak and various other kinds of meat and fish. The way you pick them is to select the actual raw ingredient you want from the open fridge near the juice area and they will prepare it for you right away (and deliver to your table when done.) No worries about getting your hands dirty because the raw ingredients are all individually wrapped / sealed. A nice touch for great interaction. I order the rack lamb and with the current theme, it was made with special New Orleans' sauce which I am still trying to figure out what that is. (I think it is rosemary and mustard sauce, maybe? But what was the orange color came from? ... hummm ) Anyhow, it was very well prepared with a strong rosemary flavor to it. It was cooked medium the way I like it for lamb.



After several more rounds of food, it was time to for some desserts. I was surprised to see that they have Apple Crumble and Bread Pudding, both of which I heart. However, the apple mixture / fillings were too sweet and the bread element of the bread pudding was too "bread-y." Argh, where can I find a good bread pudding (or bread and butter pudding) in Hong Kong? Where can I find good bread pudding? Why is it so hard to find? Who can recommend me a place? When can have taste it? What makes it so difficult to make? The 5 Ws again!



To end the brunch, I order a cappuccino. Interesting use of cup for cappuccino but I guess it matched the decor of the restaurant with various silver wares hanging everywhere. The foam was of the creamy type (instead of the foamy) which I like; but the espresso blend used was rather weak in my opinion. Maybe an extra shot would do the trick.



The brunch was not the best I had before but it was decent enough considering the decor, service and environment. The food selection was rather limited in my opinion, especially in the seafood department. Maybe it was the New Orleans theme that they are doing right now, hopefully the seafood brunch in the coming months would surprise me. In the meanwhile, I think I will stick with Sheraton's Oyster and Wine Bar Sunday Champagne Brunch. (yet to be reviewed on this blog)

Likes:

• Champagne
• Rack Lamb - the sauce was new (although still trying to figure out what exactly the sauce is)
• the ambiance (because of the amount of sun lights and the background Jazz music due to the New Orleans theme.)
  

Dislikes:

• Raw Oysters - I think they cleaned them with distill water, the sea water taste was gone!
• Oyster Rockefeller - rather disappointing, a bit under-broiled
• Apple Crumble & Bread Pudding - Disappointing! One was too sweet and one was too bread-y
  

Avg Spending: Above HKD 500

Kitchen
6/F, W Hotel,
1 Austin Road West (Elements)
Tel: 3717 2299
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/index.html