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 #199: Pik Wah Lau 碧华楼 (KL)

We have three November birthdays in the family, my dad, myself and the little one.  This year we celebrated it in KL with an unusual Sturgeon Feast 鱘龍宴.  An 8-course meal made entirely from a sturgeon. And each course has such wonderful Chinese name. Let's see if the food lives up to the name.

天馬行空 -天麻茯苓黨參清湯燉魚頭
First course is fish soup made from the fish head and Chinese herbs.

Very delicious!

朝夕相對– 新會陳皮薑絲蒸雙飛魚柳
Next came steam fish with ginger and dried orange peel. Sturgeon is a large fish and I expected the meat to be a bit tough but was surprised to find that it was juicy and tender.

草船借箭– 香草汁煎透魚皮配薄荷葉
Deep fried fish skin.  Crunchy and went well with the lemon and mint sauce. Tasted a bit like a Thai dish.

見龍在田– 炸脆脊棰軟骨拋秘制椒鹽
Deep fried fish soft bone with salt and pepper. Nice and crunchy.  Beer food!

冰珀玉液– 冰鎮皮下魚腩用花雕刺身
Sturgeon sashimi. Luckily, this dish also came with a hot pot.  I was not too sure about sturgeon sashimi but had to try at lest a piece.  As expected, the texture of the meat is a bit tough.  However, once dipped in the hotpot, it became a whole new experience.  Much better cooked.

幹腸寸斷– 古方蔥段泡制魚幹和魚腸(didn’t have this, in steam egg instead)
They changed the menu on this dish. Instead of stir fried fish liver and intestine with ginger and spring onion, they cooked it in steamed egg.  This dish tasted fishy and was left mainly untouched.  The old menu would have removed the fishy smell of this dish.

張燈結綵– 四川豆豉燈籠椒炒魚尾球
Stir fried fish with bean sauce and pepper. An OK dish.

火舞黃沙– 魚油膽鮮帶子黃金炒冷飯
Fried rice with fish oil and scallop.  This is my favourite dish as the rice is dry and fragrant, very well made.  Unfortunately, we were all rather full by now.

This was a birthday dinner so dad had to order a birthday noodle. I still prefer the rice.

All in all, a very interesting meal.  Most of the dishes were good and definitely worth a try.

MABA House Basement Level
Stadium Block
6 Jalan Hang Jebat
50100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603 2072 3668

Adventure #198: Ippodu

The Japanese ramen joint at Queensway, Ippudo is always pack at weekday lunch. So I never bothered to try.  Today is Saturday, we were just back from a wonderful break in Tokyo and there was no queue, so it was a great opportunity for us!

G ordered a standard white ramen.  It was good.  Noodle texture good and soup base tasty. Bowl was a bit small for G and he had to order extra noodles.

I had the red ramen - spicy one. No complaints there.

We also had some dumplings with lunch.

Good quality Japanese ramen though a bit pricey for lunch.

Ippodu
Queensway Plaza
Admiralty

Adventure #197: Duddell's

Girls' gossip lunch.  Amy booked a new place called Duddell's, a restaurant above Shanghai Tang's flagship store in Central.  Although situated in the heart of Central, the inside of the restaurant is quiet and peaceful.  The decor is simple but elegant.

 

 

Abalone tart - how decadent!

Veggie dumpling

A fried veggie dish, light but delicious.

Fried noodle, not too oily.

Since it was a girls' lunch, we just have to have dessert - 2 to share between 3 - not so guilty! Hahaha

Nice decor. Food quality good. Had more waiters than customers but too many suits around (we are after all in Central) so unable to fully relax!

Duddell's
3-4/F, 1 Duddell Street
Central
Tel: 2525 9191
Closed Sunday

Adventure #196: 班鳩 (Tokyo)

Last day in Tokyo.  Went for a stroll in Tokyo Station before we leave.  And while we were there, we had ramen for lunch.  There were a couple of recommended ramen restaurants there but we chose 班鳩. 

Before 12 and already a queue.

Restaurant is small but well equipped.  And everyone is there just to eat, people moved like a factory line!

Look good, taste good!

Adventure #195: Hiraboku 平田牧場 (Tokyo)

This afternoon we went to the American Pop Art Exhibition from the John and Kimiko Powers Collection at the National Art Center. After which we strolled to Tokyo Midtown for some shopping and dinner.

One of the restaurants recommended by the guide book was Hiraboku which serves deep fried pork from pigs reared in their own farm.  Not a big fan of deep fried pork but we gave it a go.

First to arrive were the salad and a bowl with sesame seeds. We were to crush the sesame seeds then mix with special sauce for the dipping the pork.

The other bits of my set meal arrived.

Although deep fried, the pork was crispy on the outside but juicy on the inside.  Very tender! Excellent!

G had the pork cutlet with curry. 

Food is simple but delicious.  Pork was fresh and succulent! What more can I say other than yummy!



Adventure #194: Bento Boxes (Tokyo)

Spent the entire day shopping at Shinjuku. Totally knacked at the end of the day.  Didn't fancy sitting in a restaurant, so we bought one of my favourite Japanese food - bento boxes from Marui food court and had dinner in our room.

These bento boxes were beautifully displayed, so full of colours and so inviting. And best of all, they were delicious!

Also bought some desserts and fruits.  Yum!

All department stores sell bento boxes.  They are all beautifully done and reasonably priced.  Great for lunch in the park or a quiet dinner at home.  A must on every trip to Japan. 

Bento boxes often go on sale after 7pm, a good time to pick up some good ones for dinner!