Adventure #218: 121BC

The other restaurant on the "choice" list of the SCMP which we decided to try is 121BC.  It was tucked away on a side street in Central.  First impression - small and cosy. Rather promising.

The restaurant only consisted of 1 long table sitting maybe 30 people and a long narrow table top with bar stools.  So it felt rather different when we were first seated as the restaurant was only half full at the time.

There is no menu, only a large chalk board at one end of the room.  With the dim lights it was quite impossible to read. So the lady gave us the ipad with a picture of the chalk board so we can order.

You can choose 8 dishes at $500pp but we prefer to order separately. The restaurant reviews indicated that their wine list was pretty impressive stocked with mainly boutique Italian producers.  What surprised me was how much a glass cost (well over HKD100 on ave).  The 2 glasses of reds we ordered was very mediocre at best and nowhere near the Chiantis, Brunellos or Amarones that we drink at home on a regular basis.  The waitress then let slip that these boutiques are much cheaper than the more well known producers.  It's  fine to promote your "boutique" wines if they taste on par or better but not when it is sub standard and cost even more than the better known producers. 

Homemade ricotta, eggplant, oregano, chilli.  Nice but pretty ordinary and nothing unusual.

Calamari, green beans, lentils, tomato.  A bit taken aback when I saw this dish.  Tasted worse than it looked.  Bland. Nothing Italian about this, like a fake Thai dish.

Caramelised lamb ribs, pomegranate, caraway.  This was the best dish of the evening but even then, we have had much better ribs elsewhere.

Whole sea bream.  This was the worst dish. The fish was not fresh (a crime in HK where fresh fishes can be bought almost everywhere!), the meat was mushy.  Totally lost interest in this.

Can't even remember which one this was.  By now, we just wanted to finish the meal and leave (not a usual move for us). Dessert was ok.

As the restaurant started to fill up, the place just felt so cramped.  Not a nice feeling squashed on both sides by strangers.  And the noise........

The food was absolutely disappointing.  Shocking that the SCMP reviewers rated this place with a "star".  For the price they charge, this restaurant would rank at the bottom quartile vs its peers.  No way I would recommend this place to anyone, even for half the price.

121BC
42-44 Peel Street
Central
Tel: 2395 0200

Adventure #200: 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA

I finally made it to Otto 8 1/2. After missing it the last time, I never made it back until today. I have been here many time for lunch but this is the first time for dinner.  We arrived early so it is nice and quiet inside.

It is white truffle season but I am not a fan of white truffle, so we ordered from the main menu.

Complementary pre-starter of salmon and carvier. Yum.

Roast octopus and roast artichoke with lemon dressing. Very delicious.  Love the combination of the octopus and the artichoke.

G had roast duck foie gras with piedmont hazel sauce.  Rich and creamy. Not thinking about cholesterol tonight.

Roast blue lobster with sea urchin and lobster emulsion. Really enjoyed the lobster. Didn't quite taste the sea urchin in the sauce.

Tajima beef tongue and cheek braised in red wine with blackberry and spices compote. Another rich dish.  Meat was melt-in-your-mouth soft.

Can't remember the name of this dessert but it was beautifully presented.  And wonderfully refreshing after all the rich food. A good choice.

G said the soufflé here is a must have, so that's what he had.  And he was right!

Complementary petite 4 or in the case 3. 

Food was great.  Very pricey though.  Can't help but missed the wonderful food we had in Europe.  But this is HK, got to pay rent. Nevertheless, a great experience.

8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA
Shop 202, Landmark Alexandra
18 Chater Road
Central
Tel: +852 2537 8859 

 



Adventure #186: Lupa (with wine tasting)

Lupa, a rather well known restaurant, has opened its door in Hong Kong for a couple of years now.  As the reviews were generally mixed, I never made an effort to try it out.  Today, Amorosso Fine Wines organised a wine pairing dinner there.  And the organiser, Luca, told us that an Italian chef from Rome was in town and had designed the menu for the tasting. So, it seemed like a good excuse to finally sample the dishes at Lupa.

The wines we would be tasting were from 2 vineyards owned by the same family - Isole and Olena. One in Tuscany and the other up north in Piedmont.

Today we were joined by Betty and Samson. Great for some long overdue catching up.

When we got there, we were served canapes while we mingled with the other guests. With the canapes, we were served Propieta' Sperino - Lessona, Nebbiolo & Vespolina "Rosa del Rosa" ~ Piemonte 2011.  The rose was light and refreshing.  Good with starters and kinder on the empty stomach.

For starters, both G and I opted for the house marinated salmon on crispy carasau bread with sour cream and chives instead of the seafood salad with white polenta and herbs.  Small dish but refreshing.
Paired with Isole e Olena's Chardonnay "colleczione de Marchi" ~ Toscana 2011. Usually not a white wine drinker but this one is light and went really well with the salmon.

Once again G and I both chose the beef tartare with quail egg with tarragon, mustard sauce and crutons, rather than the smoked duck breast with salted butter, black bread and soya shoots.  This dish looked very appetizing but didn't taste good.  The beef pieces were too chunky. Disappointing.
Pair with Isole e Olena's Sangiovese "cepparello" ~ Toscana 2007 Magnum.
Although the dish was disappointing, the wine was good. The owner said 2007's vintage was good but all made into magnums.  He said many customers preferred the 2008 which we tried next.

For the 3rd course, we chose guinea hen ravioli over gorgonzola (a kind of cheese) ravioli.  This dish was better than the last but nothing great. 
As the owner said earlier this dish was paired with the 2008.  And indeed we prefer the 2008 to the 2007 magnum. The 2008 has a fully body which I preferred.

Look at the wine we tasted! By now, we were rather tipsy......

G and I went our separate ways on the 4th course. I chose Oxtail meatballs, gnocco alla Romana and candied celery.  An intersting dish but not very nice.  The meatballs were a little sweet, a very unusual taste which we didn't quite like. The gnocco were ok.
Paired with Propieta' Sperino - Lessona, Nebbiodo & Vespolina ~ Piemonte 2007. By now, I can't really taste what is what but my favourite so far is still the 2008.



G chose lamb saddle with lardo, chopped zucchini with a mint and yogurt sauce.

I had plum tarte for dessert.  I think this was by far the best dish of the night!
Dessert was paired with Isole e Olena's Malvasia & Trebbiano "Vin Santo del Chianti Classico" ~ Toscana 2004

The other dessert was chocolate budino. I didn't taste it but it looked rather boring.

Overall, we thought the food was not up to standard.  The restaurant was nice and the wines were good. Not likely to return again.

Lupa
3/F, LHT Tower
31 Queen’s Road
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 #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 #176: La Fontana (Nordlingen)

Arrived in Nordlingen, a little town built on top of a 15 million-year-old meteorite crater and our stop-over destination for the night. After settling down at our lodgings for the night, we wandered into town for a walk and then looked for dinner.  Not wanting to miss out on good local food, we actually went in search of 2 restaurants which was recommended by our guidebook and both were closed!  Luckily, luck didn't totally abandon us and we came across a little Italian pizzeria (yup not German) near the main square. 

Housed in an old (18th century?) corn storage, this restaurant called La Fontana, was buzzing with diners.  The weather was nice and there were tables outside, so we plonked ourselves down for the evening.

Started with half a litre of house wine which turned out to be very decent.

Both G and the older one had Pizza Margherita.  The pizza was super thin and fresh. Delicious! Very lucky to have found this restaurant as the kids were a bit tired of sausages (although only the third day into our 2-week journey!)

I had a Pizza with salami. Equally delicious.

The little one had a spaghatti Bolognese. She loved it.

Definitely an unexpected find and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal.  This was compounded by the wonderful weather and the alfesco dinning.

Adventure #172: La Bottega di Luca (Bangkok)

Today is the older one's 12th birthday and we are celebrating it in Bangkok with my sister and brother-in-law.  The older one likes Western cuisine, so we picked an Italian restaurant for the festive occasion.  We read good reviews on La Bottega di Luca. 

The restaurant has 3 seating areas, 2 indoors and 1 outdoor.  After a hot day at JJ market, we were glad to be given a table indoors next to the wine cabinet. 

The very enticing antipasti counter

The wine cabinet

The main restaurant

One of the art pieces on the wall. We wondered if the artist did this or the chef.....

A nice selection of warm bread

The complimentary onion soup. Delicious.

Caesar's Salad. Nicely done, dressing not too thick.

Classic handcarved Fassone beef tartar with wild rocket and shaved parmesan. Different from the ones we had in France but beef texture very good, mixed with parmesan cheese and rocket, delicious!

Fresh Tuna "yellow fin" tartarre with avocado and anchovies reduction from Cetara.  The tuna was chunky.  Very clever in mixing the saltiness of the anchovies with the sweetness of the sundried tomatoes.  Loved this.

Grilled scamorza (Smoked mozzarella cheese) wrapped in speck ham topped mushrooms in red wine sauce.  Couldn't see the smoked cheese but could taste the smokey flavour.  Once again another delicious dish.  Very rich and creamy.



Tonnarelli basil spaghetti with Blue Crab Meat in a lightly spiced lobster bisque sauce.  Light with a hint of spiciness. The older one loved this.

Luca's speciality, risotto with black truffle cheese topped with lightly spiced cured bacon from Italy. This was simply heavenly. Rich and full of flavour. That is why this is Luca's speciality! Must try.

Tagliatelle with red wine duck confit topped with foie gras medallion and thyme sauce.  I was not too sure of this dish. The duck confit was minced and although tasted good, didn't have a distinct flavour to it and it was a tad dry. The little one liked it though but she is no connoisseur.

Roasted lamb rack with fragrance of Italian herbs.  This dish didn't have a good start. We ordered the lamb medium because my brother-in-law does not like his meat too raw. And the lamb came medium rare. So we had to send it back.  I was a bit disappointed that the kitchen made a mistake.  The "re-cooked" lamb was much better.

The birthday girl got her complimentary tiramisu which was so delicious we had to have another one.

This is what their normal tiramisu looks like.

We also tried the Penacotta with berries. Yum!

We had a very enjoyable dinner. Luca, the chef, was chatty and walked round the restaurants many times. The food was excellent and so was the wine although it was a bit pricey by Thai standards.  Nevertheless, money was not an issue as long as the food was up to par, and it was.

La Bottega di Luca
Soi Sukhumvit 49
Sukhumvit Road
2/F The Terrace 49
Bangkok
Thailand
Tel: +66-2204-1731