Adventure #187: Laduree

Laduree finally came to Hong Kong! And months after opening, we finally went over to Habour City to visit it.

The boxes came in various sizes. We bought a box of 8.

We got (from left) vanilla (for the little one), orange blossom, raspberry, Marie Antoinette and 4 lemons.
 

Verdict: Based primarily on the tasting of the lemon macaroons, they are not as good as the ones from Paris. This is expected as the lemons used are likely to be different. Just like the lemon gelato in Hong Kong can never be as good as the lemon gelato in Italy.

However, G thought the Marie Antoinette which was made from different type of teas is very good, different but good.

Laduree
Shop 3224, Level 3, Harbour City
17 Canton Road
TST

Adventure #158: Cendol at Damansara Uptown (Petaling Jaya)

There is a cendol stall just outside the mosque at a roundabout in Damansara Uptown.  G said he has been going there since he was a boy.  And whenever we are in the neighbourhood, we would buy a pack or two home.

When we got there today, only the old man was there on his own.  His son had gone to get more ice.  I gave my orders and he worked slowly but steadily assembling them.

Still using the old manual crush ice maker.

Cendol with pulut (sticky rice) and only crush ice.

This is by far the best cendol in this part of town. In KL, it has to be the one at the small parking lot beside lake Titiwangsa. 

Adventure #157: Durians at SS2

I am a HUGE durian fan.  I can eat durian everyday.  So, every time I come back to KL, whether durian is in season or not, I seek it out.  Lucky for me, the durian stalls at SS2 are always open. 

There are 2 stalls at SS2, Uncle Donald and Durianss2.  Both are equally good.  Prices relatively similar, service too.

As this was not durian season (season in July and August), the stands were not fully populated, same for the tables.  

The type we were familiar with such as D24 were not on offer, although Mao Sang Wong was on offer - I passed coz of the high insecticide content associated with it.

Red Prawn was in season and so was only RM18 per kilo.  The flesh was attractively reddish and very sweet. 

We also tried Jantung (the Heart) - which was appropriately shaped. This was more creamy, not as sweet as Red Prawn with a hint of bitterness.

Can't wait to come back again!

Adventure #153: Air Mata Kucing (Petaling Street)

After the wanton noodle, we went to get a drink at the Air Mata Kuching stall at the junction of Petaling Street and Jalan Hang Lekir.  Air Mata Kuching means 龍眼水 but is actually made from boiling 龍眼, 羅漢果 and 冬瓜 together.

 

The drink used to be served by the proprietor and in a metal bowl with a metal spoon (kept the drink cold). But now the drink is served by Indonesian maids in a paper/plastic cup.  Still taste good but no more feel.

Adventure #147: Sherry Tasting

Received an email from Amorosso Wines for a Finest Sherry and Tapas Experience at "Fofo Privat".  Not really sherry drinkers (usually drink port) but we have eaten at Fofo before and like the food there. So, for something different, I signed us up.

The invite said 6pm aperitivo, 7pm tasting.  We arrived at around 6.30pm and were told to go up to the roof.  Assuming this to be a normal tasting session, I didn't bring my camera with me and so no picture at the roof of a tiny building right in the middle of Central.  While at the roof, we were given each a class of very dry sherry from Tio Pepe (A brand we came across while in Madrid many many years ago, see below).  We only ever had sweet sherry, so a dry sherry came as a shock to our pallet! But with food the dry sherry tasted better.

An assortment of hams and tapas were served with the dry sherry.  Thinking this was all the food we were going to get before tasting, we lined our tummy as much as we could, not a difficult task as the hams were very tasty.  7pm came and we were invited downstairs to Fofo Privat which was a private dinning room for a sit down tasting!

 

Private dining room which sits about 20 people

Before the tasting, Maurico Gonzalez Gordon, the owner of Gonzalez Byass gave us an interesting history of the brand which also owns Tio Pepe (means Uncle Joe in Spanish).

 

The 5 sherry we tasted that night

The 3 sherry on the left were dry sherry (from left): Vina AB Amontillado Sherry, Leonor Palo Cortado Sherry and Alfonso Oloroso Seco Sherry.  And the 2 on right were sweet sherry (from left): Cristina Oloroso Abocado Sherry and Nectar Pedro Ximenez.

And the food to go with the sherry! Now we wished we didn't have so much ham.....

Instead of specific pairing, we were asked to try the different sherry with each course.  We decided to try the food with the dry sherry and kept the sweet ones for dessert.  And interestingly, each tasted very different with each course.

 

Confit bonito, White asparagus, Green peas and Piguillos. Very good and refreshing dish. A mixture of sweet and sour. Even the pea puree was wonderful.

Sardine fillets "A la plancha", Turnip cream and Cous Cous. The best dish of the night. The combination of the sardine and the fruits in the cous cous and the cream was excellent. Wonder if this in on their usual menu...

Once again, we were too eager to eat.  Iberico pork and chorizo paella.  This was a rich dish.  Not bad but we were told by some restaurateurs at the tasting that this is not the way paella is made. In Spain, they don't use iberico pork like this. 

Finally, churros for dessert.  I enjoyed this dish very much as well as the sweet sherry that went with it. In particular, the one called Nectar.  If you like extremely sweet stuff, this is it!

All in all, a wonderful experience. Interesting company, many of the participants who sat near us are restaurateurs.  Great food. And totally value for money at $280pp!

Adventure #124: Snacks in Osaka

As with in Kyoto, we snacked through the day.  Here are some interesting ones we had in Osaka.

Custard Bun in Shinsaibashi



This is a chain store and can be found throughout Osaka.  We ordered the most standard item to try - custard filled bun.



Looked at that custard oozing from the bun!

Octopus Balls in Dontonburi

There are numerous stalls selling octopus balls scattered across the city but from our guide book, this stall was the most highly rated.  This can always be evidenced from the perpetual queue outside the stall.

Ice Dog in Amemura

Warm fried cinnamon hot bog bun filled with ice cold vanilla ice cream made from Hokkaido milk. 

The hot and cold sensation was incredible. Not an easy thing to eat - make sure you do not have sensitive teeth!

Adventure #119: Snacks in Kyoto

In addition to the proper meals we had, we couldn't resist some of the treats we found along the way.  Here are samples (I missed some) we had.

Soy ice cream in Arashiyama

So dense, it won't fall off!

Grilled fish in Arashiyama

OK, we didn't have the grilled fish, although they looked really appetizing.
We had fried croquettes instead.

Green tea cookies in Kyoto

G first saw this when we were walking from Kiyomizu temple to Ninen-zaka.  He bought a small pack to try.  It was so good, he bought a bigger box at Isetan the next day.

 

  

Green tea cookie with white chocolate filling. Kids just can't stop eating.

Green tea ice cream in Gion

Green tea ice cream is available almost every where around Kyoto. G and the kids just couldn't resist.  I lost count of the number of ice cream cones they had.

This seemed to be a very popular dessert shop in Gion, there's always a queue.

Fried chicken in Kawaramachi

Green tea cake in Kyoto

Adventure #118: Nakatanidou Mochi 中谷堂 (Nara)

After we finished lunch at tofu wrapped udon shop in Nara, we stepped out of the restaurant and what did we find round the corner? A shop that sells G's favourite Japanese dessert, mochi (a rice cake typically with red bean paste inside).  It did not only sell mochi, its chefs made the mochi dough on site every half hour or so giving us one of the best shows of this trip.

Chefs pounding mochi.

Freshly made mochi, so fresh it's still warm!

G kept sending the kids back for more.

In G's opinion this was the best mochi he has ever had in his entire life.  Again, it must be pretty darn good then coming from picky G.