Product Review: Frulifresh Oyster Mushroom Crisps

Sounds weird right?  Thats what I thought to so I had to give them a try, and honestly you should too.  There really isn’t much to them.  They are simply oyster mushrooms that have been dried out and/or baked into a wonderful crispy texture.  As you may know, oyster mushrooms are known mostly for their distinctive shape, and they have a light mushroom flavor which is perfect for these crisps. 

My only qualm with these babies is they dried my mouth out like crazy, but nothing a delicous V8 couldn’t solve.  Great combo too with the mushroom flavor adding a nice extra twist to the V8.  What are you waiting for!?!? Go crunch on some oyster mushroom crisps!

Chez Patrick

Last week when walking home I stumbled upon Chez Patrick.  After checking out the menu I decided to take my family there for dinner.  Chez Patrick is a french restaurant serving lunch and dinner by the course.  They have two locations, one on Peel Street in Central and the other on Sun Street in Wan Chai.  We had dinner at the Peel Street location and had a great time.

When we walked into the dimly lit dining room we were greeted instantly by eager wait staff.  After dealing with some confusion we were led to our table.  (My father placed our reservation at the Sun Street location on accident.)  After making our water selection (sparking or still) we were promptly joined by the chef.  The chef described the specials that he had prepared for the evening, each sounding especially wonderful through his french accent.

For my appetizer I chose one of the specials which was smoked foie gras injected with whiskey served with some raw salmon and a small mixed green salad.  I thought that the foie gras was over smoked and that if it were indeed injected with whiskey, there wasn’t enough because the flavor was lost to the smoke.

My main dish was partridge which was cooked to perfection.  Simply delicious.  I couldn’t get enough of its juicy meat and the sauce was beyond words.  We also had the cheese platter which was to die for.  There was a vast selection from blues to runny brie types.  It was simply delicious and well layed out.

My parents told me that they have never been served a good poached pear so I had to give this one a try.  The poaching liquid was very tasty, but the pear was served cold.  I would have enjoyed it much more if it were warm.  The texture was just about there, the pear could have probably been poached for another minute or two and would have been perfect.  Then again if it were served warm it probably wouldn’t have had that problem at all.

Overall I enjoyed my meal at Chez Patrick.  Some parts of the meal could have been better but the partridge and the cheese platter (and the wine…sorry I cant remember what it was exactly) made up for it.  I suggest taking a loved one to Chez Patrick for a romantic evening.  I’d just stay away from the smoker

Pizza Express

Pizza in Hong Kong, what can I say?  So far I’ve had a wide variety ranging from good to, well, lets just say as you’re plate it brought to the table you wonder if what you’re being served is really pizza.  I’m glad to report that Pizza Express falls on the higher side of the scale with pretty good pizza.

I’ve had Pizza Express’ pizza twice now, once delivery and once at their restaurant.  The restaurant’s atmosphere gives off a hip and friendly vibe with the decor being somewhat modern.  The wait staff themselves are young and friendly delivering quick service with a smile.  I didn’t meet the delivery person but I would assume the same from them.

As for the food, Pizza Express offers a little bit of something for everyone.  They have a great selection of pizza, my favorite being the “Giardiniera” which is topped with asparagus, roasted artichokes, mushrooms, grilled peppers, cherry tomatoes, olives, garlic, and pesto genovese.   All their pizza is served on a crispy thin crust.  If you’re going to try some of their pizza I suggest dining in as opposed to delivery.  Although the crust at the restaurant had little flavor, the delivered pizza tasted a little like the box it was packaged in.  Even so, with prices ranging from $98-$125HK, I enjoyed the toppings enough to have this pizza excursion be a pleasant one.

Check out their website for a peak at their menu and learning about their clubs and events.

If you’ve got it, drink it…NOW!

I’m not sure if this is going to be true for all South African Shiraz, but I do know that Guardian Peak is drinking perfectly.  I recently picked up a bottle of Guardian Peak 2003 Shiraz and was blown away by the flavor.  I typically purchase cheaper bottles of wine and don’t expect to much from them.  This was the case with this Shiraz, but I was pleasantly surprised by the huge cherry forward followed by some spice and a nice smooth finish.  If you live in Hong Kong you can find it at the 360 grocery store at the Landmark Mall.  DELICIOUS!

Roasted Garlic Cream Cheese

This is an extremely simply recipe that will excite your buds, your taste buds that is.  Ok bad joke, the recipe is much better I promise.

Ingredients:

·         1 Head Garlic (roasted)

·         1 8oz Pkg Cream Cheese

Instructions:

1.    Leave Cream Cheese on the counter for 1 hour or until soft

2.    Chop the garlic, nothing fancy; this is just to make the mixing easier.

3.    Using a handheld mixer (if you don’t have one a fork will do just fine) blend the garlic and cream cheese together for about 30 seconds. (About 1-2 minutes with the fork)

That’s it! Now spread it on your favorite bagel and enjoy! You can also serve this with a vegetable platter, or spread on crackers of your choice.

Garlic #2

Ever get tired of buying the fresh heads of garlic only to throw away half of it?  Never let this happen to you again.  Fresh garlic can be used in just about any recipe to add some extra flavor and wonderful aroma.  Stores sell “fresh” minced garlic in jars which is a great product but if you’re used to the delicious flavor of fresh garlic in your dishes, this substitute just won’t do.  If this is you, try following these few simple steps and never throw away half your garlic again.

All you need is an ice cube tray with a lid.  Now don’t go out and buy a normal sized tray.  They make trays that make all different shapes and sizes of ice cubes.  In this case, what you’re looking for is a tray that makes really small cubes. (About 1 tablespoon or so would be perfect.)

Finding this tray may prove to be difficult, but believe me, they’re out there and once you find it, the rest is simple.

Ingredients:

• 1 Head Garlic
• 2 tsp oil (Any oil will do, I suggest either your homemade garlic oil, or some olive oil)

Instructions:

• 1. Peel and mince the garlic and place in a small bowl.
• 2. Stir together the minced garlic and the oil
• 3. Fill the ice cube tray with your garlic mix

Presto! All you need to do now is place the cover on and pop it in the freezer.  Now, anytime you need some fresh garlic, simply pop out one of your cubes and enjoy!

Garlic #1

Typically when people roast garlic in the home they tend to cut off the top of a garlic clove, drizzle some oil over the top, and then bake it in the oven.  I’m here to offer another route which will leave you with some delicious garlic infused oil as well as the roasted garlic you need for that dip you plan on serving at your next party.

Ingredients:

• 2 Heads Garlic, peeled and cut in ½
• 2 Cups Oil (Any oil will really do here, I used a Canola oil but have used Olive as well as Corn)

Instructions:

• 1. Place garlic and oil in a small pot and heat SLOWLY over low heat for about 20 minutes or until all the garlic cloves have become a deep golden brown.
• 2. Allow to cool before removing garlic cloves with a slotted spoon.
• 3. Slowly pour the garlic oil into a container. (A good use for an empty water bottle) 

I suggest using the roasted garlic as soon as possible because the refrigerator will steal away that fresh roasted goodness within 24 hours.  The oil on the other hand can be kept on the shelf for about two months.  Any leftover oil (if any) should be discarded.

My next couple of posts will be dedicated to the many uses of garlic (roasted, fresh, and your homemade garlic oil) so check back soon for the next reason garlic gives us to live to eat.

Mi-Ne Sushi

Located at G/F 12 Pak Sha Rd Causeway Bay HK is a great Japanese Sushi Bar.

When you walk in you have the choice of sitting at the “bar” or at table.  I suggest the bar because you are able to have the entertainment of the chefs creating the dishes right before your very eyes.  The other reason I suggest the bar is if you’re in a hurry/impatient because they have a selection of sushi that travels around the bar on a conveyor right in front of you.  Besides the sushi parade, Mi-Ne offers a vast selection of sushi, and sashimi items on their menu.  Items are priced by dish which is quite easy to recognize by the color of the plate and the diagram of color prices right in front of you when seated at the bar.

After enjoying several dishes from the parade, as well as several sushi, sashimi, and soup items from the menu; lunch for two was just under $90HK for two!  Now, I’m not typically a light eater and this meal didn’t prove to have me pushing away from the table early either. Service was quite prompt, the sushi was of good to great quality, and the soup was quite delicious as well.  Now don’t get me wrong, if you would like to, you can spend much more.  They do offer plates for up to $90HK each, but none of those seemed to strike my fancy that day.

So if you’re looking for a quick meal while shopping at Times Square Mall, Ikea, or anywhere in Causeway Bay, I suggest taking a short walk to Mi-Ne Sushi for a great value and a great meal.

A day in Stanley

This weekend I traveled to the south side of Hong Kong Island to Stanley Plaza where my family and I ate lunch, took some pictures, ate some gelato, took some more pictures, and went home.  A very fulfilling day indeed. 

This area of the island was a nice escape from the everyday hustle and bustle of central Hong Kong.  It is far less polluted and there aren’t many huge skyscrapers blocking the natural beauty that surrounds us.  As I said before we had a nice lunch outside at Sea Front.  I had an “American” burger which was slightly dissapointing because it was a cooked ground beef patty between two buns, with a mixed greens salad on the side and a pile of fries.  This is all fine and dandy but I would have liked to see atleast an onion or some mayo on my burger, but the fries were extremely delicious and the meat was seasoned well so I soon forgot about my lack of toppings.  I washed it all down with a Hoegaarden from the tap which was quite refreshing.

We walked around for awhile after lunch to discover what Stanley may have to offer and wound up in my favorite place in the whole wide world……the grocery store!  This one happened to be a Taste, one of the better local grocery stores.  I love the selection offered by the grocery stores in Hong Kong, especially compared to those typically found in the United States.  They had a great selection of fresh fish that you can buy the whole thing, or select a portion that you would like and they’ll cut it up right there for you.

They also have a great selection of live seafood:

As well as ready to eat items:

After walking around Taste for awhile, we decided it would be a good idea to get some gelato seeing how the temperature just kept climbing.  We squeezed passed the running children into gino’sgelato where the intoxicating aroma of waffel cones filled the air.  They had a pretty good selection of gelato to choose from ranging from vanilla to mango ginger to tofu.  I would typically just go with the vanilla but my girlfriend Katie and I have been discussing my lack of joy when it comes to sweets and how vanilla is so plain. (Ok so she is pretty much just wierded out that I only eat vanilla ice cream.)  So with this in mind, and strawberry basil on the menu, I tried something new. Turns out that strawberry basil gelato is quite delicious, so long as you don’t mind the taste of basil in the back of your throat for the next few hours.

Overall I had a great day in Stanley.  If you’re ever in the area, give gino’sgelato a try and have yourself a scoop of strawberry basil.  You’re in for a real treat.

Finding something new, one more reason to live to eat.

The secret of Chocolux

I was walking around SOHO last night with my parents after dinner looking for a place to have a drink and dessert if possible. We came across a few places that I will probably go back and try for drinks and appetizers but I was trying to accommodate the group as a whole and find some dessert. After exhausting our options on the “main” streets I decided to walk up a darker alleyway where I saw a few more restaurant signs. When we got to the darkest portion of the street I saw a sign with no lights on it reading “Chocolux”. Below the sign was a set of curtains that were closed and the place looked completely empty. I decided this place looked promising and we slowly made our way in. What a great little gem was waiting for us on the other side of those curtains.

57 Peel Street SOHO Central Hong Kong is home of one of the best molten chocolate cakes I have ever had. Paired with the only port they had on the menu, this dessert was delicious. I’m not typically a huge dessert fan but the cake was recommended at the house specialty so I gave it a whirl.

It took only ten minutes before I had my plate in front of me with a tiny scoop of ice cream and small molten chocolate cake still steaming from the oven. The cake was stiff, but moist and the volcano of ganache came erupting out of the cake as soon as you stuck your fork into it.

For those chocolate lovers out there, I highly suggest making your way to Chocolux for a great dessert experience. They also have a great selection of chocolate martinis and other alcoholic beverages focusing on chocolate.

Finding the little gems, one more reason to live to eat.