富小路やま岸 (尖沙咀)

富小路やま岸 (English name: Tominokoji  Yamagishi) is a name that foodies that focus on fine dining know about. From Kyoto, it opened in 2015 with a focus on kaiseki. It has one Michelin star and a 4.69 Tabelog rating along with a silver award from Tablelog. That's a lot of accolades.  And now they have opened their first location outside Kyoto at the new K11 Musea. Booking is required as they do not take reservations. The dining area fits 15 people (although there were only 9 of us that evening) and they only have two sessions per evening: 6 PM and 8:45 PM.


A little background on kaiseki. While most people think omakase, kaiseki is a whole different beast. Considered the haute cuisine equivalent in Western dining, it's a multicourse dinner that showcases the chef's skill and technique while combining art and food. All the while using seasonal produce. The meal is more formal and the chef's do not engage as much compared to omakase. 


When boyfriend and I heard it had just opened here, we were curious as there are not a lot of restaurants here that focus only on kaiseki. It seems most places here do a little bit of everything.  Understandable as competition in Hong Kong is fierce and local diners don't really understand just eating that one item and nothing else. We made a reservations after a few attempts (apparently other foodies have heard about it's opening) and were told to be on time as the meal all at the same time.

The restaurant outside looked exactly like the one in Kyoto.




As we arrived a few minutes before our reserved time (we wanted to be exceptionally on time to show our respect to the chef), we were shown to a small waiting room with a pretty garden. We did see some slippers underneath our mini bench and were not sure if we were to remove our shoes and use the slippers. As we weren't told to do so, we kept our shoes on.





Promptly at our reserved time, they showed us in. The hallway was exactly like the original restaurant in Kyoto. A pathway of stone lighted only with lanterns and a beautiful bonsai in front of us. The stone pathway was wet with water. At first I thought ... wow, they were so rushed to clean up they didn't dry the floor? But no! How uncultured of me! The staff explained that the path was sprayed with water as that is how Kyoto welcomes their guests. How many times have I been to Kyoto? How come I never noticed that? I learned something new.





The price of this entire evening  (without alcohol) is $2500 per person. The menu is written in Japanese only. The chefs are all Japanese from the main branch and only speak Japanese. They do have a translator throughout the evening. The menu changes with what ingredients are received that day. All seafood are air flown direct from Kyoto daily by head chef Takahiro Yamagishi in Kyoto's main branch. On this day, it arrived at 5 PM and the chef here worked quickly to prepare tonight's meal. The theme changes with the season.




Each person had a dining tray and chopstick. The dining area was very simple. A counter table facing the chef and his sous chef work away. There was a charcoal grill on one side with charcoal heating away.



The tea cups were beautiful. And I noticed that each group of people had the same matching tea cups. Perhaps to let the chef separate the groups of diners?



Once everyone arrived, the chef and his sous chef worked meticulously away. With no words  and deft fingers, they plated everything quickly and precisely. The only words the chef spoke was after each plate was presented in front of all the diners to explain what was placed in front of us. This was spoken all in Japanese with a translator that followed.



First Dish: steamed seabream fish with ginko nuts, edible shisosprouts on top of rice, served on a taro leaf that was laid on a bed of sea salt which the sous chef was massaging for a good 10 minutes prior to plating.  It was beautiful and a signal to the autumn season. The fish was delicate and rich in flavor. The rice soaked up the oils from the fish very well. The rice was also mixed with diced abalone and daikon for texture. All was balanced by the peppery flavor of the shiso sprouts and nuttiness of the ginko and a zesting of the yuzu peel.





Second Dish: sliced abalone, Hoikkaido sea urchin with edible shiso flowers on top of mozuku seaweed (水雲菜). All was layered with soft shell turtle (水魚) dashi jelly. The sea urchin was fresh and the abalone sweet. The seaweed was stringy and salty. But all was balanced by this wonderful soft shell turtle dashi jelly. A deeply savory jelly that was cold and refreshing while providing that umami moment.




Third Dish: Soup was long tooth grouper fish (九繪魚), fresh shitake mushrooms, pickled plum paste and a slice of sudachi. The soup, we were informed was simmered since 9 AM that day.  The soup was clear but delicate with a woodsy taste. The touch of pickled plum paste and slice of sudachi gave it a bit of freshness.



Then the chef brought started to flame away in preparation for our next dish. He was apparently scorching the skin of a fish called kinmedai.



Fourth Dish: Sashimi three ways served with rice vinegar (on the left) and soy sauce (on the right). Seared kinmedai (炙燒金目鯛) on the bottom left, hamachi (幼鰤魚) on the top and white shrimp on the bottom right. The kinmedai was dipped in rice vinegar and the skin was so crispy from the scorching done previously.  The meat was sweet and was further enhanced by the vinegar. The hamachi and white shrimp were dipped in soy sauce.  The hamachi was so fresh. I usually find this fish a bit on the fishy side in some places but this was not the case here. The white shrimp was so sweet.




Fifth Dish: charcoal grilled white eel and tempura maitake mushrooms. The mushrooms represent the mountain. The eel represent the sea. This was a shared dish between boyfriend and I so the chopsticks used for sharing looked like bamboo and it was also sprinkled with water. It was explained that it signified the chef was finished plating and would not touch the chopsticks. We also learned that dishes with lids were also sprinkled with water for the same reason. And here I wondered if it they had forgotten to wipe the plate clean. How wrong I was! The eel was out of this world. The skin was grilled so long, it crunched. We actually heard the loud crunch when the chef cut into it. The meat was hot and flaked away perfectly. The mushrooms were lightly coated with tempura that was so crisp and not heavy at all.



Sixth Dish:  Considered their signature dish, this was sea urchin handroll. Uni was from Nemuro, Hoikkaido and was handed to us one by one by the chef after he swept it with a bit of sauce. The nori was so crisp. I love crunchy nori. The rice was soft but held everything together without falling apart. The uni was so sweet and rich. Much better than the one we had previously. 




Seventh Dish:  Another lidded dish. Opening the lid it held chawanmushi (steamed egg) with big ball of Hoikkaido hairy crab meat and topped with fresh Hoikkaido salmon roe right before serving so it still maintained the squishy juice from the little orange balls. The steamed egg was smooth and soft. Sweetened by the dashi used. The crab meat was firm as it was steamed with the egg. A wonderful series of sensations: soft, hard, squishy.




Next up was a hot pot item. The ingredients were placed before the chef.




A low simmering soup was used while he cooked the ingredients. The beef was run through the hot soup three times.




Eighth Dish: hot pot of A5 Omi  Wagyu Beef (近江牛), mizuna lettuce (京水菜), matsutake mushrooms. Topped with sea urchin that was quickly dipped in the hot pot. The broth was a rich beef broth that was both sweet and sour. Almost like pho but after you squeeze in the lime. The beef was literally melted in my mouth. You really do not need teeth to chew at all on this. It was that soft. It had a deep beef flavor. The lettuce was still firm and soaked up the soup well. I love these mushrooms. Deeply woodsy, they reminded me of the taste of fresh porcini mushrooms.




Ninth Dish:  sliced whelk with Japanese bok choy, decorated with edible chrysanthemum flowers and layered with rice vinegar jelly.  The whelk had a strong taste of the sea which was soaked into the bok choy. The rice vinegar jelly gave a good balance of acidity while giving a freshness from the texture of the jelly.




Tenth Dish: Charcoal grilled cutlassfish (太刀魚), pickled  nagaimo (Japanese mountain yam) and salted black beans (紫頭巾). I don't know? They looked and tasted like edamame but the translator said they were called black beans. You eat them like edamame and they didn't look black inside? They did have a thicker shell though? And they did have black streaks on them? The fish was fantastic. Crispy skin. The meat was cooked perfectly as it separated so easily without much effort.



Eleventh Dish: was plain white rice with toppings. Toppings from left to right: black pepper white bait, mentaiko, yuzu enoki mushrooms. The enoki was my favorite as it was strong with the taste of yuzu and was packed with so much flavor.



The rice used was from Nagano and was prepared in a traditional kamadosan. A clay pot rice cooker. Rice was a lot more sticky and soft.




The meal began to wind down with the anticipation of an upcoming dessert. Chef prepared the dessert over a hibachi grill. The black pots you see there are the kamadosan that was used to make the rice.




Twelfth Dish: dessert was grilled monaka filled with azuki bean paste. Monaka is a thin wafer Japanese cookie that I think tastes like an ice cream cone without the ice cream. It was warm as it was heated up on the hibachi grill.




It was stuffed with warm azuki bean paste. It was a great little combination of sweet paste and crisp light wafer.




Thirteenth Dish: another dessert was fresh figs with Japanese pear and plum wine water jelly hidden under a leaf to signify the autumn season.




Lifting the leaf off, you see the lovely yet simple presentation. the fig was sweet but the stand out was the pear. Crisp and refreshing. The jelly had a light boozy taste from the plum wine.  A wonderful little ending.





Meal was finished with freshly whisked uji matcha tea. Rich and fragrant. Thick and strong.




The beautifully presented food was meticulously crafted with high skill and craftmanship. All with a clear ode to the autumn season.  Staff was professional and fitting of a fine dining experience. The restaurant design was simple yet elegant all the while transporting you back to Kyoto. A wonderful evening that I am so grateful to have experienced.  ご馳走様でした!

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon (中環)

On my birthday, boyfriend surprised me by bringing me to L'atelier de Joel Robuchon. Awarded three Michelin stars, we always wondered ... was it worth it? We were about to find out.


There are two ways to enter the restaurant. One is inside Landmark. The other is an exclusive elevator located outside Landmark on Queen's Road Central.  The layout of the restaurant was interesting as the kitchen was in the center and everyone sat on a huge bar table surrounding the kitchen to watch the chefs at work. Decor was dark with colorful peppers and pasta as their only decoration.



As it was lunch, a lunch menu was presented to us.  Menu is in English and French. They have a la carte and a set lunch menu. Set prices are $498 for appetizer/soup , main and dessert, $598 for appetizer, soup, main and dessert and $798 for appetizer, soup, two mains and dessert. All came with coffee or tea.

The waiter spoke very quietly. In fact everyone seemed to talk in soft tones. He asked if it was our first time and explained to us the menu and suggested the set lunch was the best value as we could pick and choose whatever is on the a la carte to create the set. Boyfriend and I decided to go with the $598 set and chose different things to try more  items.

While we waited (and I want to say, do not expect an express lunch here as food arrived very slowly), we were givent a big bread basket. The bread was warm and wonderful. Every item was great. Bread worth a note: the mini baguette with cheese. The waiter even walks by and refills it when he sees it's half empty.


We were given a large disc of butter but I wasn't a big butter person as the bread clearly didn't need it. I just took a photo because it had the restaurant's initials on it.


We were then presented with an amuse bouche of a mysterious black pot.






Lifting the lid was this pretty little item surrounded by smoke from dry ice. It was a cold cream of cauliflower foam that was highlighted with chorizo oil. Giving a little heat to otherwise cold dish. An interesting mix to hot and cold on my palate. An interesting start to the lunch.


Our appetizers arrived at the same time.

Boyfriend chose this:  La Joue de Boeuf.  Braised beef cheeks in a wasabi sauce, egg mimosa and carrot and ginger puree.  There was also a small dab of jellied beef stock. The beef cheeks literally melted in your mouth. The wasabi sauce wasn't not overpowering and it just gave the beef a bit of kick.





My appetizer was La Saint Jacques. Hoikkaido sea scallop salad with avocado and coriander.  The scallops were cooked perfectly. This was a clean dish where nothing overpowered the scallops but yet made it the star.



Soup arrived. Boyfriend chose La Langoustine. The soup was rich and flavorful with the taste of the langoustine.  There was some mini raviolis stuffed with pieces of the langoustine and it was balanced with a taste of mint. I think we preferred this soup between the two we chose.



My soup was L'oeuf de Poule. An asparagus veloute, topped with a poached egg and chorizo bits. Wise to add some spicy chorizo to lift the soup otherwise it would have tasted a bit plain. It did taste a bit like the amuse bouche we had earlier. But what astounded me was the poached egg. It was poached, wrapped in a meringue and then poached again and still the yolk remained runny. A feat of absolute amazement in my eyes.




Mains arrived and this is boyfriend's choice. Le Turbot. A nicely pan seared filet of turbot that was topped with a razor clam and mousseron mushrooms. It was complimented with a ginger foam. The fish and clam was cooked perfectly. It was balanced with the woody taste of mushrooms and the sharp ginger foam. There were edamame beans scattered to give it a nutty taste.





My main was La Carnard. Grilled duck breast with a cherry confit and almond praline. The duck was so moist and tender. It went very well with the tart yet rich cherry confit. The addition of the pralines gave it crunch and there was a smear of cauliflower puree to give it balance.

Our mains came with mashed potatoes. This little pot was so rich in butter, it felt like all I was eating was butter. It was smooth like ice cream. Boyfriend, who loves  potatoes, thought it was even too rich for him.


Dessert arrived and boyfriend chose Le Chocolat. A chocolate  tart with Grand Mariner jelly and Malibu ice cream. A lovely boozy yet chocolatey dessert. Something about chocolate and alcohol go together so well.


Then my dessert came and what a surprise! The entire wait staff came out and started to sing happy birthday! They the took  a photo with their camera and later gave a print of in in a framed card as a souvenier. WOW! I felt really special. My dessert was Le Miel. Yuzu cream puffs with honey ice cream and hazelnut tuille. This was wonderful. Theice cream was creamy and sweet with the taste of honey. The cream puffs were crispy on the outside and filled with a delicious yuzu cream. All balanced with a crispy tuille.




Lunch ends with a coffee or tea. My lovely latte.




A plate of sweets were provided to compliment to coffee. This included chocolates, raspberry macarons, chocolate nibs and my favorite. Passionfruit jellies.

Beautifully plated food that tasted as good as it looked. Each item placed on the plate had a purpose and everything flowed together well. Service was fantastic. Not snobby and very inviting. They did try to make the lunch a very special event. Food arrived at the same time so not one of us were sitting eating while the other was still waiting. It was also great to watch the chefs at work as they were clearly the stars. Would definitely return and suggest it to anyone for a very special day.

Jules Bistro (跑馬地)

When friends come to my flat in Happy Valley for the first time, they usually ask me what's good to eat here. I always reply, not much. There are ok places but nothing worth recommending to anyone to make that trip in. Until now.

Recently, a French bistro opened down the street from where I live. It's painted in antique red with curtains up so you really can't see what's inside. But every time I walk by on my way home, I wonder what the deal was? And oddly, there were always people inside. Day and night, they had customers. This, dear readers, is a rarity in Happy Valley because when the sun goes down, most of the restaurants here grow quiet.

From local media, it appeared the chef is Laurent Brouard, former catering chef to Chez Patrick. From their official website, they describe it as a goal to bring good honest food to all just like his grandfather in Paris.

I arrived for lunch and was greeted with a bonjour from the waiter. There are only three people working there. Two waiters and the chef. The restaurant is small but every little detail is so French. Just like the bistros in France. Especially the little hidden ones that aren't in the tourist areas. The ones that are owned by a small family who work hard to make you a real French meal. Every detail is there, right down to the French music they played. I felt like I was in the film, Amelie from Montmartre. Especially when the one of the waiters and the chef started to sing in French as they placed napkins and glassware.One end is a deli area.There the chef cooks away, places his finished meals on the counter and says "Service!" They also do take away here.Very serious knife for cutting meat. Love the checkered napkin.They have a regular menu and an decent wine list. However, like most French bistros, they have the daily special (plats du jour) on a black chalkboard that they bring to you and place on a chair for you to decide. Menu is all in English or French. If you are not sure what it is, the staff are eager to explain. They do have one Cantonese speaking waiter.

As it was my first time here, I wanted to try the plats du jour of duck breast in truffle sauce and French onion soup. First time here ... gotta start with the classics. They do ask if you want bottled water, but you can request regular tap water.

Bread basket. A bread basket was presented to me of sliced baguettes. The bagettes were wonderfully crusty on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. I didn't use the butter but used it to mop up the sauce. It mopped up wonderfully.French onion soup ($78). I want to start by saying portion size is HUGE. Normally when I go to a French restaurant in Hong Kong, this soup is served in a cup and you're finished pretty quick. This was in a huge soup tureen. It was so large, they had two large slices of baguettes loaded with guyre cheese floating on top with room to spare! There was also A LOT of soft, sweet onions. The broth had a rich beef flavor that was fragrant with a generous dose of thyme. The guyre cheese was strong and decandent. This was possibly the best French onion soup I've ever had in a Hong Kong restaurant. Because THIS is how it's supposed to taste like. Not some weak canned broth with a few onions sprinkled inside and a stupid puff pastry on top.Duck breast with truffle sauce ($238). This was one of the daily specials and I wanted to try. Again portion size was HUGE. Plating wasn't fancy. It was actually homelike. It came with a half a roasted tomato, a good portion of French green beans and mashed potato. The duck breast was so huge, it looked like an 8 oz steak. Mashed potatoes were creamy, fluffy and for the first time in a restaurant in Hong Kong, I tasted actual butter. How rare is that to find in Hong Kong? The green beans were soft and fragrant with a generous scatter of thyme. The roasted tomato gave the dish a bit of tartness.The duck breast was done to a perfect medium rare. It was rich without being oily. The black truffle sauce was not done using the horrible truffle oil that is so popular in restaurants here as a way to pretend they are giving you truffles. Instead, I saw some flecks of truffle in the sauce itself. It was not creamy and not watery. It also wasn't a overly rich sauce. I used my bread to mop up as much as possible.After finishing my meal, I ordered a cafe latte. They gave me sugar which was all individually wrapped, making them look more like candies than cubes of sugar.The latte itself was served with a pretty good caramel macaroon. It wasn't overly sweet and just the right pairing with a very strong French roasted coffee. It didn't need latte art. This wasn't here for pretty looking cups of coffee. This was just an honest, down to earth, cup of coffee. Nothing more. Nothing less.The food may not be fancy. This is not haute cuisine like Alain Ducasse. If you are looking for pureed whatever streaks with foam on one side, you've come to the wrong place. This is simple, honest French food. Food for the people. Food to warm your soul and make you appreciate and love every ingredient in front of you as much as the chef loves it himself. The chef, himself, comes around and asks his customers how everything is. This is what French food is. At least to me when I was in France. It's wonderful I've found it here and so close to me! Will return and recommend to many.

Note: there is no 10% service charge. And no lunch or dinner sets. Prices are fairly decent with generous portions. Most main dishes under $200 with appetizers and dessert under $100.

Town (銅鑼灣)

I came here last month for lunch and was blown away by my meal. I've been keeping tabs on their Facebook page that show what the week's lunch set is going to be. And this particular week, I saw they had a blanquette de veau ($238). That is something I had in a tiny country town in France and and loved it so much. Pure comfort food from the countryside. Since the weather had gotten a bit cooler, I thought .... this is perfect.

The lunch set ranges from $188 - 238, depending on the main. It includes a soup or choice of anti-pasta buffet, choice of two desserts and coffee or tea. You can opt for a light lunch which only includes the anti-pasta buffet, soup and dessert for $168. The anti-pasta buffet table was actually quite decent. However, I'm not a big buffet person (yeah ... I'm kinda lazy walking up,  getting my food and return to my table in a repeated process), so I chose the soup.

The place is very quiet during lunch hour. Just like last month, there was only two other tables filled. View is spectacular. Decor tasteful. Service was again attentative. So, attentative, that the waitress that served me last month remembered me and came over to serve me again. I've never had wait staff remember me (except for places I go with my relatives).

Bread basket came and just like last time, it was hot! And smelled fantastic! Like fresh baked bread. How is this possible? It was like this last time. No place I know has a bread basket that smells like fresh baked bread and is so hot, my fingers felt toasty afterwards. This time the bread was carrot. It tasted amazing. Fluffy and soft inside. Crispy and chewy outside.My crab soup was a generous portion. Rich in crab flavor.Swirling around, there were several large chunks of crab meat in my soup. Seriously, that's how big the chunks of crab meat was.Blanquette de veau was served with celery root puree and morel mushrooms. There were serveral pieces of morel mushrooms. That's actually quite generous as morel is not considered a cheap mushroom. The celery root puree was smooth and creamy. The veal was soft and rich in flavor. There was wonderful waft of herbs. I finished every last drop. Mopping up the sauce with my bread in true French style!For dessert they had a choice of strawberry clafoutis with cinnamon cream or chocolate mousse. I don't like chocolate, so I chose the clafoutis. I love cherry clafoutis and is actually my go to dessert when I'm doing a dinner party at home with friends for it's simple and impresses. I had never had a strawberry version but I'm told you can use any fruit as per the season and not just the traditional cherry. The dessert was dainty and pretty to look at. The strawberries were sweet and melted into the clafoutis, giving this warm dessert a comforting feeling of bliss. The cinnamon cream was smooth and went well with the clafoutis. There wasn't too much cinnamon to be overpowering. There was also a fresh tasting strawberry puree.They had some sort of promo to get a cute panda if you follow their instructions on how to do so. Isn't he the cutest thing ever?One month later, I revisited the place and the standards are still high, portion sizes still generous and all with a fairly reasonable price. I will be back.

The Butchers Club (灣仔)

When I first heard about Butcher's Club in Aberdeen, I wanted to go check it out and buy some steaks home for an evening in or a BBQ day with friends. When I heard they served their burgers at certain fairs, I kicked myself for not knowing to get to try them. When I walked by an art gallery in Sheung Wan that had a Butcher's Club beef extravaganza, I put myself on their mailing list so not to miss out. Then I found out they were opening a burger place in Wanchai. I excitedly messaged boyfriend....WE GOT TO GO!!!! And so we did.

We arrived at 11:50 on a Sunday and it wasn't open until 12. We heard music pumping inside, so we decided to walk around first. Arrived at 12 SHARP and found the place packed! We ended up sitting outside!

Building is small, dark, very bar like. You can sit inside on benches or outside at the windows. We sat there and had a friendly chat with people next to me who were chomping their burgers like they had gone to heaven.




To be honest, their menu is simple. One burger. One price. $100. You can also add fries fried not once, not twice but three times in glorious duck fat for $20. Typical soda is served along with Dr. Pepper, Cherry Coke and omg!!! much missed A&W root beer! Yeah, can't seem to find that in Hong Kong. They do have beer...this is PBR. Boyfriend wasn't too impressed with that as they charge $35 for the cheapest watery beer from the USA when at that price they can offer an excellent selection of craft beers. He opted to get a good beer elsewhere. Anyways, I already knew they had a secret menu. It's on their website. It's on the QR codes in the restaurant. But boyfriend and I decided to try the one offered on the original menu as it was our first time.

The burgers are ground on site. Meat is a mixture of chuck, rump and brisket. From the photo you can see the meat in the fridge. It's an assembly line. One guy grinds, one guy shapes and seasons, one guy cooks away. They tell you it takes about 20 minutes before you can devour away. But, honestly, it didn't seem that long a wait.



Burgers were served on a wooden board with a nice white paper underneath. The burger included a slice of cheddar, honey glazed bacon, tomato, pickles, onion spread and secret sauce that tasted like a mix of thousand island and mayo. It was....omg....can your brain be blown away when you eat a burger? The answer is yes. The patty was perfect in every way. Medium rare. Moist. Juicy. I bit in and juices flowed down my fingers. The cheese melted away. It's messy. It's glorious. The bun was soft, lightly toasted. Brain KABOOM! Any burger I once thought was ok, passable, pretty good....GO AWAY! I've finally found the burger of my dreams. I want to marry this burger, it's so good. Boyfriend laughed at how messy and unlady like I looked with flour from the bun all over my mouth.

Duck fat fries were really unhealthy. One serving was pretty small but it came in a cute mini Chinatown take away box. Fries were big. Soft on the inside. Crispy outside. Lightly seasoned with salt. Went fantastic with ketchup.



A few people may think $100 is expensive for a burger. But honestly, it's not for if you think about it, most "better" burger places cost around $70 - 100. But these guys do a burger like it's supposed to.

Definitely be back. Will tell my friends. Next time try the secret menu stuff. Boyfriend heard there is a challenge burger. He wants to try.