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

July 23rd, 2014

Aberdeen Street Social

Aberdeen Street Social is one of the newest bars to open up in Central, I mean in Hong Kong thats been causing quite a buzz these days. With the new installment of the absolutely adorable 1600 pandas exhibit. PMQ has been buzzing with people and well, with buzz.

Opened by entrepreneur Yenn Wong and Jason Atherton- who had much success thanks to his profitable 22 Ships (post) and buzzy new spot Ham & Sherry. Atherton is finally coming to Central- in a big way…with Aberdeen Street Social. Its a huge social house/restaurant.

Located right next to Police Married Quarters (PMQ)!! Currently showcasing the cutest panda bears!!

The duplex has an upstairs restaurant with open kitchens and the downstairs bar/cocktail service area. The interior is more on the industrial, rustic side downstairs. Upstairs is a more serene, formal setting. We opted for the downstairs cocktail area.

We stuck with the bar bites and the mixed drinks!

‘Get Lucky’ for Val! A healthy alcohol free drink….Check out her blog: THE CHOWDOWN!!! New food blog around town! And, its so pretty, simple AND full of good foodie stuff!

Bloody English for moi! Two, to be exact…Slipsmith gin, tomato juice, “Full English” spice mix, lemon, Bristol cream sherry, egg on toast ($110) I’m a big fan of Bloody Mary’s…not sure since when? But this cocktail makes me happy! And they do a good job! Spicy and refreshing.

Goat Cheese Churros, Truffle Honey ($78) The goat cheese churros were pretty bomb. Slightly crispy on the outside, and the strong creamy goat cheese (the inside goat cheese is warm and perfectly melted without burning your mouth). I didn’t use as much of the truffle honey sauce because I wanted to enjoy the goat cheese flavour!

Pulled Pork Empanadas ($102) It’s been a while since I’ve seen pork empanadas on a menu…so we jumped at the chance to order this!! Like a baked dumpling/pastry. The outside pastry was perfectly browned and slightly flaky, while maintaining the pulled pork meat inside!

Chorizo, Iberico Ham Flatbreads 6″, ($98) This was my favourite out of all the pizzas. I loveeeee my some pizzas. And this chorizo, iberico ham flatbread did the trick. The meats all added a nice spicy kick to the tomato based pizza with a nice amount of cheese atop it. Loved the dough pizza base! Not too bad at all.

I’ll be back to try the formal dining restaurant upstairs. But overall, its a nice chill area to go for drinks and catch up with friends!

Aberdeen Street Social PMQ, G/F, JPC, 35 Aberdeen St, Central, 2866 0300

<3 Always, Jess

Nature's Way Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil, 32-Ounce

by Nature's Way 582 days in the top 100

(957) Buy new: $17.98 35 used & new from $9.93

by Amazon Auto Links

No Comments »

July 21st, 2014

Akrame

Akrame is one of the newest modern French restaurants to have opened up in Wan Chai…on the ever popular Ship Street, might I add. I went to a tasting one Sunday afternoon, and was I surprised by the space, food and service. I had some high expectations because chef Akrame Benallal has caused such a buzz in the culinary world. Being an alum of both culinary wonders: Ferran Adrià and Pierre Gagnaire, Akrame opened his first Restaurant also named: Akrame in Paris in 2011, with this Hong Kong branch being the second restaurant! Boy, are we lucky. I personally had an awesome time. The restaurant is moody, sleek, with black and bare concrete walls. We sampled the 6 course lunch menu at $580 per person! (But theres so much food actually! Well worth it) They also offer 3 course at 280, 4 courses at 380. For dinner they offer 4 courses at $788, and 6 courses at $988.

We started with some amuse bouche. Above is my favorite, which was the Endive and Salmon Roe...I loved the fresh salmon roe popping in my mouth!!

Loved the presentation of each dish. Even the cutlery was so beautiful and constantly changing!! Yummy bread and butter.

Soup- White Asparagus, Orange Blossom, Smoked Haddock, Almond, and crushed almonds...so interesting! Light, frothy,

Vegetable- Zucchini, Crab, mayonnaise, brown butter, and squid ink sauce. I loveeeed this. It was a nice, artistic, and beautiful piece of work. I loved the simplicity of the lightly sauced crab meat sandwiched between two slimly cut pieces of zucchini. Yum!

Pearl- Oyster, Mayonnaise, Risotto: What makes this dish special, is the mayonnaise sauce is blended in with oysters…so the fragrant oyster smell is even more strong! I personally looooove oysters- but not the biggest fans of cooked oysters…yet, Akrame still did a good job with it. The risotto on the other hand was divine! I loved every creamy, delicious bite.

Ooooh...cool presentation!!! The Surprise dish came out like this!

Surprise- Lobster, Smoked Beef..Love, love, love! I loved the plump lobster meat enveloped inside the smoked beef from Holland. I loveeeed the mix of salty beef and smoky taste of the juicy and succulent lobster meat. Perfect. And, look how pretty each dish is! I loved how they change each and every plate setting!

So…I thought the Surprise dish would be my favourite…but then….I encountered…..

Sailor- Snapper, Risotto, and Endive…SO freaking beautiful, delicious and absolutely savoury.

This snapper with rice crisps, and creamy risotto was the highlight of the meal. Perfectly cooked snapper fillet over the most awesome risotto. The risotto is creamy, with a strong seafood taste and I loved the black rice complexion, taste, and texture. The snapper was cooked perfectly. The meat was so fresh, delightful and added with the rice crisps…made this dish perfect! LOVE.

Basil Ice cream to clean the palette…..I just wish they gave me 3 or 4 scoops of these! SO goooooood. Absolutely loved it! Hehehe.

Pigeon-Jelly of Raspberry, Grilled Leeks. So, I’m not the biggest fan of pigeon, but this was really well executed. It was soft, tender and succulent. But, of course its for those who like to eat pigeon!

Milky- Comte Cheese, Mushroom, and mushroom consomme …Ooooh oooh oooh! I LOVEEEED this. I’m a fan of comte cheese, and I looked the thinly sliced mushroom pieces sandwiched between the sharp cheese strips! SOOO GOOD.

The Sweetness Section…. 3 Desserts!?!?!? WOW…This meal was WAY worth it! And, much more than 6 courses!!!

Milk Froth, Ginger, Strawberry Jam, and Pepper: wow! I really enjoyed this dessert. It was light and smooth. Absolutely delicate and love the frothy-ness of this dessert. There’s a subtle ginger taste that was super refreshing!

Clafourtis w/ Cherry, Emulsion of Honey Lavender: I loved the honey, lavender taste of this dessert. Akrame’s homemade ice cream is beyond incredible. So milky, creamy and perfect!

So full by this point! But…its CHOCOLATE! How could I resist.. Plus, the desserts were all really light! Creamy milk chocolate, tonka, crisped rice, coffee ice cream. Wow! Really liked all the textures, taste and balances of this dessert. The rice crisps pop and fades into your mouth. The coffee ice cream (another homemade masterpiece)….was really impressive! Great job!

I really enjoyed my tasting at Akrame! And, I’ll be back to try out the ever changing menus! Welcome to HK Akrame

Restaurant Akrame 9 Ship St, Wan Chai, 2528 5068

<3 Always, Jess

Viva Labs Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, 16 Ounce

by Viva Labs 252 days in the top 100

(3792) Buy new: ~~$18.95~~ $10.95 18 used & new from $10.95

by Amazon Auto Links

1 Comment »

July 15th, 2014

TAPAGRIA

Tapa Fever! Check out my other Tapa-licious posts…here! Finally got to try it. On the 18th floor of The One in TST lies 3 restaurants all from the same owners. One being Hong Kong actress Carina Lau (劉嘉玲)ea. I’ve been to Zurriola (post) a few times, Kyo-Shun once and now...FINALLY I got to dine at Tapagria!! One evening before a movie we went into the stylishly large and spacious Tapagria. Split into an indoor restaurant and outdoor patio each with its own bar and dining area. Yup, you guessed it- the food is…TAPAS. The space is beautiful, large, lively and elegant. They have an extensive list of tapas and sangrias…Alrighty, lets FEAST.

We start the night with a pitcher of sangria (which is not pictured…but we finished it all….I mean look at my slightly pink/red face. Hehe.) I pick a red wine and more fruity based one and am glad to hear no objection! The dishes come out fast and hot! We had to eat fast to keep up with the food coming in at lightning speed!

Hand crafted 48 months Joselito Iberico Ham ($285). The iberico ham (a type of cured ham) was AWESOME…It tasted sooooo good. Perfect sharp and salty flavour, and I loved the thin layer of perfectly sliced iberico ham.

Scallop wrapped w/ spanish bacon, ganchet bean cream and squid ink oil ($98). Yummy! This tapa dish is quite pricey. For 2 pieces of salty bacon wrapped scallop….it costs about $50 a piece. But the ganchet bean cream made a nice soft balance to the salty, sharpness of the bacon and plump, juicy scallop.

Slow cooked crispy suckling pig w/ caramelized apple and honey mustard sauce ($95). This was one of my favourites of the night! I really enjoyed the plump, juicy, and tender suckling pig. I loved the crunchy and moist pig skin. The apple and honey mustard sauce created a soft delicate balance!

Homemade bread accompanied w/ fresh tomato and garlic ($65) This was nice, but tonight I only had half a slice…it was pretty good though. Nice and crispy, like a chip!

Mussels in Parsley & Garlic Green Sauce ($145)...I LOVEEE me some mussels, and these were really great! I could eat these for days!! The garlic green sauce was slurp-worthy and I practically drank it all up!

Mixed Seafood w/Red Prawns, Meat & Paella (Market Price)…The paella was mouthwater-ing great!! So smooth, rich, and moist! I loved the plump red prawn mixed into the rice paella. The flavours were so strong and rich..I absolutely loved everything about it, this was just my first scoop from the big platter of paella.

Potato Omelette w/ Onion ($55). This was one of the signature dishes, but I didn’t really prefer it. It was a little more on the dry and bland side! Just okay for me.

Chocolate Mousse w/ Banana & Passion Fruit Duo (Sorbet & Jelly) ($85) I loved the fresh fruits and sorbet. It was nice and fresh…mix it all in, not a bad ending to the evening. A little bit on the pricier side, but was a great meal!

TAPAGRIA Tapas & Sangria Bar, 18/F., The One, 100 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, HK. Tel: 2147 0111