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

March 10th, 2014

Duddell’s

Duddells has been sitting pretty on top of the Shanghai Tang flagship on (what else?) Duddell Street for over half a year, and still garners the same big crowd that first got this art gallery, dining space, and drinks/lounge (which conveniently sits atop the busy and buzzy Chinese restaurant).

Duddell’s is the newest baby of Alan Lo, Paulo Pong and Yenn Wong (the folks behind the likes of The Press Room Group(post), 208 (post) and 22 Ships (post)!!! WOW….thats an impressive group! However, this time they are departing from the usual Western, Italian and Tapa dishes but venturing into modern meets traditional Cantonese/Chinese/Dim Sum dishes. The dim sum dishes aren’t your traditional dim sum choices. But with a Western/modern twist! It’s definitely a great space for business meetings, gatherings and then drinks though!

The place was a buzz when I went for a lunch meeting one Friday afternoon. Works been crazy busy and I was glad to finally have some time to go out and eat. Remember, I typically eat clean (post) when I’m working. Here’s a sneak peak into a busy few work days. For business inquiries, click here!

Timberland Event! (2nd event of the day…never rushed or ran so fast in my high heels!)

Working with Super Action Star Mr. Donnie Yen for the BMW Derby!! March 16th at HKJC. Who wants to start betting!!

Filming at TVB!! More to come….can’t release any other pics just yet!

Cancer Fund Ball with gorgeous Cissy Wang!! <3

OK. Enough of my week. Lets get to the food. That’s what you came for!

We start off with spring rolls! A classic, crunchy, crispy treat. The tasty crunch of the rice wrapper perfectly wraps the veggies and minced pork filling. I also like how they cut it for you! Perfectly fits in your mouth.

Steamed Barbecued Pork Bun | $54 | The steamed bbq pork bun definitely doesn’t look as good as it really is… The sweet char siu pork was great! Fresh, hot and steamy! But nothing too fantastic.

Dim Sum | Scallop Dimpling w/ Shrimp & Caviar | Shrimp Dumpling w/ Mushroom | Mushroom Dumpling w/ Black Truffle | Pork Dumpling w/ Birds Nest and Yunan Ham | All was $54 -$60| These were all okay. Pretty standard, but came all mushed together. I think there’s definitely some stand out Chinese dishes…but I thought the dim sum pieces were too pricey for quite ordinary stuff!

焗釀鮮蟹蓋 Baked Crab Shell with Onion and Fresh Crab Meat | Per Person $180 | This fried little crab was perfectly crusty and crisp, but once u broke the outer layer resides a plump, juicy mix of fresh crab meat and onion bites!

蜜汁燒叉燒 |Barbecued Pork with Honey |$200 | This was my favourite!! I actually love this stuff. The sweet, delectable, fatty, succulent piece of pork was perfect! It had the perfect amount of fat and pork! Loved the soft sweetness of the honey. Definitely a must get.

Dessert| Caramel baked sago pudding| a sinfully rich and milky dessert that was terrific! Creamy, milky, and mushy! Haha With lots of sago bubbles! Loved this.

Overall, its a good spot to people watch. The food comes out hot! Its not the most homey Cantonese spot, but its modern, creative and full of chatter! Prices are not exactly wallet-friendly (dim sum from $50-$100) and the portions aren’t too big, so be prepared to shell out more for your typical dim sum faves!

Duddell’s |Level 3-4, Shanghai Tang Mansion, 1 Duddell Street| Central, Hong Kong | 2525 9191

<3 Always, Jess

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March 9th, 2014

Water Bar

Here’s a look into my San Fran posts :), and my post on famed steakhouse, House of Prime Rib (post) My flight over to SF was even a huge foodie heaven! Read that here! Fine Dining on fresh seafood in San Fran..try out the Water Bar!

When we arrived; we were a few minutes early for our reservation…but we got to see a very cool CAKE!!! All decked out like the Candlestick Park!

We begin with an assortment of oysters. Most of them specials that Water Bar recommended..The Humboldt Kumamoto US$4….a piece were SOOO good! We had over 2 dozens of their best oysters!

Wood Over Roasted Dungeness Crab Legs | Meyer lemon, garlic, spiced raw beet salad |US$16. This was a surprise hit for me. It tasted very similar to the Chinese style crab legs we order at big family gatherings. But with a Western twist and kick! Spicy, full of garlic and tender juicy crab meat!

Grilled Ono |Cauliflower puree, braised leeks, uni butter, shoestring potatoes| US$36. This was divine!! I was sooo sad I didn’t order it- because it was definitely delish!! The ono was marinated to perfection: buttery, juicy, flavourful, soft and decadent. The uni butter was a perfect match atop the milky soft ono fish. Finish off with some of the most delightfully crunchy shoestring fries…mmmmmmm

Braised Kale |Olive Tapenade |US$7....Kale lovin’ in SF! It was pretty good, but baked kale…still the best!

Oven Roasted Sablefish| Red Curry Braised Pumpkin, Black Rice, Pea Leaves, Sierra Beauty Apples | US$37. I went with the recommended sable fish, but I have to admit it was pretty good, but for the price- it wasn’t all that great. Very salty and tough to chew. :/ Not my best fish.

2 rounds of Gingersnap skyy vodka | Luxardo maraschino liqueur. ginger beer lemon | US$11 Slightly happy off of this.

Ice Cream Sandwich |chocolate fudge cookie, chef’s selection of ice cream, bittersweet sauce | US$9. This ice cream sandwich was just the right cap off to the night! But it is a BIG BIG cookie. The ice cream was a honey ginger flavour. The outside was a chocolate fudge ….BIG BIG cookie. Stuffed, to say the least.

Water Bar | 399 The Embarcadero South| San Francisco, California 94105 |415.284.9922 |

<3 Always, Jess

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March 3rd, 2014

Have you heard of Celebrity Cuisine?

So so so…another little family/friend favourite of mine! Apparently a lot of you guys liked my post on How to Order Dim Sum (post) at West Villa! SO THANK YOU I’ll continue posting more about places I love to eat at. So, Celebrity Cuisine is another one of those spots that I frequent quite a bit but don’t seem to have posted about! In the heart of Soho situated on the 1st floor of the Lan Kwai Fang Hotel (don’t be mistaking this place for LKF Hotel) is a hidden gem of a place and a 2 Michelin Star Chinese restaurant. I present you…Celebrity Cuisine | 名人坊 | opened since 2007. This is a compilation of times I’ve taken pics of…I’ve got numerous times.

The interior is warm, clean, intimate, and purple! The staff is always lovely, pleasant and polite. Reservations are highly recommended since they fill up fast and tables are limited. Its not a big space, they don’t advertise- but they pull in a fully packed room every day.

Lets dig in…That’s CC signature dish! Can you guess what it is?

Complimentary ~~Radish~~ Turnip Cake …..FREE!!! I love me my Lor Bo Gao!! <3 So except my excitement. Fresh, hot, very glutinous with the perfect amount of crispness on top.

Steamed Assortment of Meats in a Fluffy Bean Curd Cake $140. I know what you think. The name…is not very scrumptious sounding. But this delightful meat ball (if you will) packs so much flavour, bite, and juice! I couldn’t help popping 3! Its deep fried, but the batter is so light, you really don’t taste too much oil!

Almond & Pig Lung Soup | was greatly flavoured, tasted so healthy yet well seasoned. Every spoonful had me wishing this bowl was endless. Came out piping hot, milky, creamy and delicious! Close up of that juicy pig lung.

Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry….As much as I crave a mouthwatering steak from the likes of La Vache (post). I crave this dish a 1000 times more! So fragrant, and CC stir fry is WOW. The beef cubes are soft, tender, juicy, succulent and bomb. It’s the perfect amount of seasoning mixed in with black pepper sauce, onions and peppers….So darn good.

Stir-Fried Tripe w/ Red Bean and Chilli Sauce | Don’t knock the looks of this dish. Its spectacular in every way. Flavourful, hearty, chewy, and scrumptious!! There’s a slight spicy kick that packs it in with flavour!

Their birds nest in chicken wings is famous as well as this dish!! This is CC famous 燒乳鴿 | Roast Pigeon |This was very well seasoned, a bit on the oily side. But comes with gloves to help you! The Crispy skin marinate was mouthwatering perfect, encasing the juice from the pigeon meat!! LOVE.

Steamed Egg w/ Crab Meat $220, The steamed egg is velvety smooth, silky and milky. It’s delightful in each spoonful. The succulent and juicy crabmeat leaves a satisfying taste!! LOVEEEEE this dish. My grandma makes a variation to this dish….so when I see it on a Chinese menu. I definitely will order it.

Spinach w/ Crab Meat, Egg Whites and Salty Egg …I took a terrible picture! You cant see the milky salty eggs- but they’re hidden inside there!! This dish came out piping hot! Filled me right up!! So much flavour in each bite.

Dessert | Egg White & Almond Tea Soup | Just so lightly sweetened, silky, milky ending. And a side of fruit on the house to end the full but oh so satisfying meal.

Celebrity Cuisine | Lan Kwai Fang Hotel | 3 Kau U Fong, Central, Hong Kong |3650 0000