Adventure #185: Oolaa

Weekend without kids. G and I drove to Soho for a leisurely Saturday brunch at Oolaa.

The interior is large and bright.

The flat white looked and tasted better than the cappuccino.

I ordered a bruschetta.  It was delicious.  The avocados and tomatoes made it more refreshing and appetizing than a standard eggs benedict.

As expected, G had a BIG breakfast - with everything!

I enjoyed our brunch.  I thought the food was better than the coffee though.

Oolaa
G/F, Centre Stage
Bridges Street
Soho
Sheung Wan
Tel: 2803 2083

Adventure #184: Chilli Fagara

G had a craving for spicy food again. I really wanted to go back to San Xi Lou but it was fully booked for the next 3 days, so we tried another popular joint which we had never been before - Chilli Fagara.

 

It is dark and very RED inside.  Table's are small and close together. Feels like you are having dinner with everyone else in the room!

Cold beer in a bowl! Cool!

Standard starter - from non-spicy to very spicy.

We ordered 水煮牛肉. Lots of spices. Wonderfully spicy and numbing.

Next came the 四季豆. Spicy with a hint of sweetness. Good.

Finally stir fired chicken in chilli.  There are 2 versions to this dish. Chinese version - chicken pieces with bones. Western version - chicken breast pieces with no bones. Of course we asked for the Chinese version!

Finally, banana fritters with ice cream to take the spiciness away.
And it really did!

Food was good.  Service was another matter.  The male waiters were more friendly and helpful. The female ones were not rude but rather abrupt.  This place is also rather pricey. So, for the price, the service and the tight seating, we still prefer San Xi Lou.

Chilli Fagara
Shop E, No. 45-53, Graham Street
Central

Adventure #183: Al Pescatore (Sirmione)

Despite the many picturesque historical towns in the Veneto region, we were all getting tired of visiting another Duomo or Piazza. So on our penultimate day, we decided to skip our planned visit to Padua and headed for Sirmione on Lake Garda instead.

There we found a restaurant a little further out from the main tourist area but famous for lake fish.

Spritz - our must-have for lunch

The older one ordered spaghetti vongole which she said was absolutely fab.

The little one had penne with salmon. Even she was impressed and finished every last bite (which was not very often on this trip).

I had the grill sardines which were crispy on the outside and fresh and moist on the inside.

Waiter preparing G's trout

The trout was so good, G almost cried from joy. Actually, I think he did! Hahaha

This was certainly a great find, a hidden gem.  Well worth the track.  Restaurant is a bit old but the service is good and food, well, excellent.

Ristorante Al Pescatore
Via Piana 20
Sirmione
Italy
Tel.: +39 030/916216

Adventure #182: Batzenhausl (Bolzano)

We were in Bolzano, the capital of the autonomous province of Alto Adige where most people speak German.  After a few days of good Italian food, I couldn't believe it when G suggested we try out Batzenhaus, a local beer house for dinner. What? German food again?

The restaurant has an outdoor area which makes very pleasant dinning especially in fine weather

Local beer made in the microbrewery next door



The ribs looked a little dry but tasted ok especially with the sweet dipping sauce.

Can't get away from sausages! Good with those wonderful chips.

Goulash, wonderful home cooked food.

Although this is a beer house, it is after all in Italy, so coffee still wonderfully good.

Adventure #181: Restaurant 7 (Merano)

We were walking along the main street in Merano and was looking for lunch.  Most of the restaurants with tables along the street looked very touristy and the food not very inviting.  That is until we past this one.

It was a very beautiful day.  The restaurant was very big but practically empty inside.  All the 10 odd tables outside were taken as soon as they were vacated.  We were lucky to get one.

Spritz - our new favourite drink. A very popular drink in northern Italy and a very appropriate drink in such sunny weather.

It was a rather hot day so I didn't feel much like eating. So we had 3 mains to share. First to arrive was the cheese ravioli.  Very rich but delicious.

Even the most standard dish - the spaghetti looked inviting.  Ingredients fresh and very tasty.

Fish on a bed of spinach and peas mixture.  It was so good even the little one (who won't eat green veggies) ate it without any complaints!

Adventure #180: Restaurant im Seehotel Gruner Baum (Hallstatt)

Hallstatt is a very beautiful lakeside town in Austria. So beautiful that a Chinese businessman replicated the entire town in China!  

We stayed the night in Hallstatt. Since many tourists are day visitors, there aren't many restaurants in town.  Luckily, the one in the hotel right next to ours looked very decent. 

 



This is a rather high end restaurant but the waiters don't really speak English. Took us a while to order a beer.

 

We were in Austria, so I chose to have a schnitzel. It was very good, especially with the berry jelly.

G ordered a grilled trout fished from the lake. He loved it.

The older one had a lasagna which she thought was very good.

And the little one had a very normal but delicious spaghetti.

It was a very enjoyable meal. The weather was pretty cold, so instead of the outdoor terrace, we sat indoors. However, as the restaurant had a very high ceiling and very large windows, and with a table facing the window, we still managed to have a meal with a view.

Marktplatz 104
Hallstatt 4830
Austria

Adventure #179: M32 (Salzburg)

Today, we made our way back to M32.  M32 stands for the address - Mönchsberg 32. As the restaurant is on top of the Modern Art Museum, it supposedly has panoramic views of the city from north of the River Salzach to the Hohensalzburg Fortress and the mountains behind them.  To get to the restaurant we had to buy a one-way ticket up and after the meal, they will give patrons free tickets to get back down.

It had been pouring all day, so we didn't expect to see anything up there. We just wanted to sit down and have a nice warm meal. And we were not disappointed.

Lift ticket with the restaurant's signature decor of deer horns.

As mentioned, the weather was not good and hence we weren't able to enjoy the views from the restaurant.  On a good day, this is what you will see from the restaurant's outdoor terrace:

But today, we had to be contented with the inside of the restaurant:

 

M32 specialises in fine dining serving Austrian and Mediterranean cuisine.  The service was great, waiters very attentive (what a surprise!).  They also had a kids menu so the little one can have her chicken nuggets and fries while we have some proper food.

The older one had roast lamb with polenta.  She loved it.

G had pan fried salmon on a bed of mushrooms.  The fish fresh, the skin crispy and the fish cooked just right.

I had sole with risotto.  It was good but a bit rich for me and I liked G's salmon better.

It was a fine dinner we had.  This restaurant is definitely a must when the weather is good.  There is a bar and an outdoor terrace, so if not for dinner, definitely for drinks.

Adventure #178: Afro Cafe (Salzburg)

After a leisurely afternoon wandering through the streets of Salzburg, we ended the day at the Modern Art Museum, which also houses the restaurant we wanted to visit - M32.  Unfortunately, M32 was closed for the day for private function.

As an alternative, we went down the street to Afro Cafe.  We chose this because it looks really funky from the outside!  The photos we took were a bit dark, so I "borrowed" some from their website.  The decors were made from recycled materials - rubbish!



Head made of bicycle seat, nose made of something knitted, ears made of shoe soles and horns made of bottle caps. Funky!



Spare ribs with peanut-chili sambal, pita, sour creme and harissa. The ribs were nicely barbecued and the peanut-chili sambal sauce was heavenly! And the portion was also very large so everyone got a share of this wonderful dish.

Afro-chicken breast with lentil ragout and coriander. The chicken was tender and the lentil mixture was absolutely delicious. We rarely eat lentils but we polished off the whole lot. 

Roast pork on okra with fried bananas.  This was the weakest dish of all. Maybe because we weren't huge okra fans. The fried bananas were interesting though.

Waffles with cream, fresh fruits and maple syrup.  Standard dessert. No surprises but well received by the kids.

Panacotta with pineapple compost.  This is a more adult dish than the waffles and we enjoyed this very much.

This was a very interesting find.  The decor was funky and thoroughly entertaining.  The food, although different, was good. A nice change from Bavarian food.