Eat With Jess: Eat Clean, Train Mean, Be Lean

April 23rd, 2014

Get ‘Naked’

No….not! Get your mind out of the gutter! Naked food = Clean food? Oh yes, it does. Naked Gurume Gyarari (Gourmet Gallery) is a new Japanese, Italian fusion hybrid featuring fresh sashimi, a whole lot of wholesome quinoa (I love that stuff) and hearty pastas! Naked is the brainchild of Locofama’s (post) executive chef, Justin Chan. And if you have ever been to Locofama- you can expect quality, wholesome and organic food. Naked offers the same healthy alternative except with a Japanese fusion twist. Just a floor up from a small white hallway entrance on 28 Elgin Street in SOHO lies Naked, there’s a private room AND gigantic gallery space on the left, and the dining space/restaurant/bar and open kitchen on the right. Naked is dark, moody and sexy- with dark wood, low lighting and minimal decor…its a great place for dining with friends, family or a date OK. Enough about the restaurant space…lets get to the NAKED food.

Nom nom nom nom nom!! Get ready for a ~~sexy~~ Naked feast!

Black Truffle Lotus Root Chips | Yuzu Garlic Cream, Black Truffle Pate $78 These lotus root chips were the perfect starter. They were so addictive though. Lightly fried, these crunchy crisps dipped in the fresh yuzu garlic cream sauce was perfect!!

Goji Sesame Quinoa | Mixed Quino, Cherry Tomato, Mesculin, Red Radish, Cucumber, buttery Croutons & Sesame Vinaigrette dressing $88 This serving size is quite large… the salad was delicious! I loved the sweet goji taste, light sesame vinaigrette dressing and the nice blend of quinoa. I loved everything about this salad. We easily scooped up every last refreshing bite.

Lobster Risotto Bisque |Smoked Turkey Cognac Reduction, Parsley Lime Risotto, Crouton $168, This was recommended to us and I thought it was pretty good, but it was missing some more flavour….But still it was beautifully presented and a nice warming starter soup!

Toro, Y 48 Months Iberico Ham Wrap (3 Wraps) | Tuna Belly, Sea Grapes, Negi, Mixed Quinoa, Shisho Cress $168, These wraps are a must get! They are a bit pricey though. 3 comes to $168…but they are very very gooooooood. The tuna belly is incased in a thin slice of flavourful iberico ham, topped off with fresh negi, sea grapes and some added quinoa (QUINOA is their secret ingredient…it pretty much showed up in all the dishes! Which I definitely had no problem with…loved them!)…delicious.

A closeup of this lovely toro wrap!

So far…so good, Naked! We waited quite a while for our main to come….we went during their soft opening phase!

Grilled Garlic Steak | Black Angus Rib Eye, Shimeji Mushroom, Garlic Chips, Crisp Purple Potato, Lemon, Orange Ginger Sauce $188, When the grilled garlic steak did come…my, my, my…was I excited! The fragrant smell was terrific. The steak was very nice, juicy and tender- I really liked the garlic chips, and crisp purple potato. The orange ginger sauce is very flavourful…so I didn’t use too much of it…but overall. YUM.

Uni & Quinoa Pasta | Sea Urchin, Mixed Quinoa, Bacon Loin, Cherry Tomato, Garlic Cream, Parmesan, Linguini | $188, Ooooh la la…WE gobbled this up, quickly! The uni and quinoa (secret ingredient) pasta was perfect! It wasn’t too heavy or saucy but had the perfect amount of light garlic cream and parmesan. The sea urchin and quinoa mix was seriously the perfect combo! WHO KNEW?!

We thought we were done…but Chef JC came out to give us these specials….

On the house! Fig Headed Ferns, Shimeji Mushroom Dish! Mmm…. The fig headed ferns were so fresh, refreshing and fragrant. I loved how the mushrooms and bacon add a different texture and flavour to the ferns. Nice!

On the house! Delightful Dessert. Cucumber Blueberry & Sponge Cake Sushi. Doesn’t it look like sushi rolls? Wasabi and soy sauce? Green tea jelly and dark chocolate sauce!! Haha, love how this is a dessert made to look like sushi rolls! I personally thought this dessert was just alright…but it was very light, refreshing, and simple. I loved how light I felt after popping one of these in my mouths…the best part was definitely the green tea jelly and dark chocolate sauce!! MMM… Thx JC! Congrats again!

Go get NAKED soon THE FOOD, I mean…it’ll definitely be filling up fast!! <3 I’ll be back! Need to go get Locofama sometime soon again, Hehe.

Naked | 1/F, 28 Elgin Street 伊利近街28號1樓 |2363 7299 |

<3 Always, Jess

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April 21st, 2014

A ‘Comfort’-ing Meal

Harlan Goldstein’s famous name is synonymous with hearty fine dining like the premier establishments in Hong Kong: Michelin starred Gold and previously Strip House in Lan Kwai Fang. I was invited to go to a tasting (remember all my meals are paid for by myself, with friends or family- I rarely go to a tasting and if I do. I will state it…I get a lot of questions about that! HEHE) a few weeks back and much to my surprise ~~busy~~ Mr. Goldstein (who will be expanding his culinary empire, Penthouse and Sushi To later this year) was there to offer us a bunch of his recommended items in his new ‘Comfort’-able dining experience. When you walk into the busy, loud and casual dining eatery- I immediately noticed how busy it was! It was a Wednesday evening but was bursting with people whining, dining, laughing and chatting. A bit different than the more grand, luxe Gold. I was excited to try Comfort. I’ve been calling in myself to try and book…but every time I got a “full booking”….and I see why…it was packed!

The food at Comfort is meant for sharing! The starters are all roughly $80-$100 and the mains go from $150-400, which is very standard & reasonable for LKF. I didn’t post prices! Cause I was invited to a tasting!

Alrighty, lets get this Comfort-ing feast started, get ready for a BIG splurge meal! These are Harlan’s “Melt In Your Mouth” pork belly bao, The Pork Belly was extremely fatty :/ and juicy with a good dose of Hoi-Sin sauce- I cut out a bit of the fatty bits- but definitely very yummy pork belly.

Italian Crispy Calamari & Garlic Aioli | Next were the crispy calamari which were pretty simple, nice but sort of standard. They came out in a simple fried batter but I did really love the creamy aioli and garlic dip! The sauces at Comfort are all very savoury but heavy.

Texas Crab Cakes, ‘Yummy Yummy’ Tartare sauce & lemon | The crab cakes were also quite delightful! Its very deep fried and there were a lot of tartare sauce. I’m not complaining…but just for the Eat Clean (post) readers! Like I said…a splurge meal.

Lemon Herbed Halloumi Cheese | I really ~~like~~ LOVE cheese! And when its lightly grilled and pan fried like Halloumi Cheese in….well I’m in cheese heaven. So simple, but brings out the sharp, sweet, savoury taste of the halloumi cheese.

A few glasses of White Wine… Mmmm- subtle, sweet and simple!

The Slow-Cooked Spanish Octopus w/ a Turkish Tomato Salad | I really liked this dish! It was delicious. The octopus was very well seasoned, plump and chewy! Just the way I like it! And the nice Turkish Tomato salad was great!

Frikndel, Mini Dutch Sausage, Curry Ketchup, Mayo & Chopped Onion | This was another delectable surprise. I really liked the texture, taste and mix of this entire thing! Its a really interesting dry sausage type of taste!

Spanish Pork & 5J Ham Meatballs in a Coriander Tomato Sauce | The meat ball was recommended but it wasn’t my favourite thing on the menu! Its very deep fried and a bit too much on the saucy side for me! But good for those who like meatballs!

Slow-cooked Spanish Duroc Pork Ribs. These were helmed as the BEST ribs in LKF…honestly, I think its the BEST ribs in HONG KONG. PERIOD. They were amazing– the mouthwatering meat just simply falls off the bone! It was perfect. Literally very well seasoned, juicy, tender, sweet, savoury, and meaty. It was a good amount of fat and succulent pork ribs! LOVED THIS….wish I didn’t have to share…

Main: beef brisket curry is a favourite of Harlan’s wife, and comes with a side of rice and pickled veggies | By this point…my stomach was BEYOND bursting. I was at the point of SOOO full. The beef brisket curry was very curry heavy though. But the thick cuts of beef brisket were terrific! Mix in with a little bit of rice…NICE.

Harlan G’s Nitrogen Dessert Creation of the Day | Our special creation was chocolate and it was every bit as good!! I don’t even know how to describe the delicious texture of the pieces of the nitrogen ice cream. It was so addictive, wonderful and we scooped up every bite.

Harlan Goldstein’s Comfort | 5/F Grand Progress Building, 15-16 Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong | 2521 8638

<3 Always, Jess

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April 18th, 2014

Upper Modern Bistro

Upper Modern Bistro is the newest foodie destination taking up space on the ever expanding foodie haven, Po Ho. A few turns away from Teakha (post) and a few spaces above 208 (post) & Heirloom...Upper Modern Bistro is situated in the newest Po Ho foodie haven. Its helmed by the Michelin-starred Chef Philippe Orrico (formerly of Pierre and St George), the food is French with a twist of Asian. The space at Upper Modern is beautiful, light, and lovely; the modern grey space will immediately put you in a calming and relaxed manner, its a great space for chit chat. There’s also an open elevated kitchen with glass windows- where you can see the chefs whisking away! I went two days in a row…. The food is good, decor is good, service is good- but the price is a bit higher than I expected (with a lot of the mains running over $300+….upwards to $600 Gasp!!) Good thing both times I went for lunch (slightly cheaper).

My first lunch visit. (With the fam bam!!)

Fresh warm bread is a must! (I always look to see if the restaurant serves hot bread)…the slightly salty butter was whipped to perfection! We devoured the first plate in an instant…They quickly handed us a second plate of hot hot bread (and butter!) NICE.

Lunch Set +$40 for a salad or soup and a daily dessert. (Light Green Salad) Pretty standard!

Y got the Leek and Potato Soup…Creamy, delicious perfection! It was buttery, sweet yet salty and everything a hot creamy soup should be!

Y’s main was the Ham & Cheese Penne Pasta, Parsley $148. The pasta was cheesy, hot and hearty! The cheese melted evenly into the penne pasta, it had generous amount of baked ham and was absolutely fragrant with the black pepper, shredded cheese and parsley. Only complaint its quite pricey for a ham and cheese penne pasta.

My uncle and aunt both went for the Traditional Veal Blanquette, Risotto w/ Saffron | $158 | I had a bite of the veal…and it was rather nicely cooked. Just a bit on the drier side. But once you slurp it up with the risotto!! Its pretty good.

I went with the Half Spring Chicken, Truffled Mash & Jus | $168 | The chicken was terrific! Everything about it. HIGHLY recommended. Soft, juicy tender meat. The delicate truffled buttery mash and the perfect amount of jus. So savory and memorable! My mouth is salivating ….

Mango Dessert! Nice, light and very refreshing…Felt satisfied without feeling full.

Fam <3 Great lunch! Awesome conversations!! <3 Missed you C & J!

The following day…I went again for brunch. This time. We ordered a la carte….For the 2 of us…came to about 1000…FOR LUNCH!! :/

Steak Tartar, Avocado, Pecan Nuts, Parmesan Cheese Foam | $228 | The steak tartar was pretty good, but somewhat on the tasteless side. For $228…I’ve definitely tasted better though! Nothing was too spectacular about it…But I did like the parmesan cheese foam!

Tomato Salad w/ Burratta, Cress | $118 | My burratta cheese salad was very small! It was beautifully presented, and the various tomatoes were fresh, plump and juicy. But overall, I would say this is a skip…I was hungry very quickly.

Roasted Lamb Saddle, White Beans Ragout, Sauce Regalice | $298 | This lamb saddle was delicious. Perfectly cooked and I loved the white beans ragout sauce- absolutely delicious and very easily slurp worthy!

Upper Modern Bistro | 14 Upper Station Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong | 2517 0977