Applegreen (銅鑼灣)

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS REVIEW

The reward of opening a branch on the OTHER side of the city is that you get to cover the clientele who have heard so much about you but was reluctant to travel across town to eat at your place -- People like myself included, thought AG was somewhat of an extension like Ruby Tuesday only to replace most of the carnivorous menu into herbivorous items. But the starters, salads and pasta dishes have proved me wrong -- AG is in fact quite similar to typical American restaurants here in Hong Kong, serving continental classics in sizes about half the continent itself. (that big?!) AG is giving the good news to fellow diners that they will encourage more vegetables and fruits in everything you order and they insist, all diners march with their causes.

The mains were about to come, and just as we were discussing over roasted garlic on sausage platters, there it was, the waitress with a gigantic platter containing a polished version of BANGERS AND MASH. The GRILLED SAUSAGE PLATTER ($108) featured 4 sausage links (hot, veal, pork with herb, and one we couldn't identify) served alongside a fluffy pile of mashed potato and the reigning favorite -- roasted garlic bulb. The roasted garlic bulb was wolfed down first, each of us getting just one tiny bulb. I popped my previous bulb of garlic into my mouth. A rush of intense garlic flavored exploded, followed by a caramelized sweetness not unlike frizzled onions on and Italian crostini. The flavour was robust and sweet at the same time, no wonder it was a favorite for all of us. The sausages, were on par as well. The hot sausage was the particular favorite, with a colour of red coral, and tasted sharp with a fine stimulation of red chilies. The heat disappeared as you swallow but once you did it reappeared gushing up your throat which would require swift motions to the nearest water glass. It was not that hot afterall, but the funny sensations of a mildly hot sausage was inspiring enough then one that's just too hot to handle.

The HAWAIIAN GRILLED RIBEYE STEAK ($238) was next. With a price-tag hanging on in the minds of us diners, the steak seemed a little small compared to our appetites and the portions we got from previous rounds. But fret no more, once again the side-dish was what we were after first. The two slabs of grilled pineapple was sweet as honey, with the crisscross of grill marks that reminded us the perfect summer grill party of someone's backyard (or better, by the pool). No burger flipping needed, this pineapple was genuinely the star of this show, but the steak was medium, and just as great as a rib eye steak can get. I would, however, prefer to have a plate of greens to toss in the sauce, or perhaps another chunk of that bread to mop it up?

We've had the red meats, why not a white one? The ROASTED CHICKEN VERDE ($158) was the last main course for the night. This piece of chicken was moist and SO tender, as if it gave way to the knife before the blade reached it. Buttery moist and juicy, the chicken was accompanied by a Parsley sauce that's not very VERDE to begin with. I was assuming it looking like, a real SALSA VERDE which was chunky with flakes of green throughout, only to find out ours looked like a beurre blanc with perhaps just another extra shake of dry flakes of pretend-parsley that didn't quite taste like it. The side-salad had us convinced it was Courgettes with Yuzu dressing, only to be confirmed later on that they were fine juliennes of GREEN PAPAYA with its slightly crunchy texture we were so familiar from the THAI salad, The use of Yuzu dressing offered a sweet counterpart to an otherwise rather bland vegetable/ fruit/ salad ingredients. The extra addition of lemon juice in this toss-up salad also added zing to the honey-sweetness of the entire dish.

Then, the time has finally come.

DESSERTS -- I was told to save an appetite for some creative desserts here at Applegreen. I wasn't wrong when the desserts arrived -- they looked great. I wouldn't expect a place like AG to pull off desserts with plating like these, but nonetheless it was a surprising list of desserts that I expected less before I arrived here.

KEY LIME CHEESECAKE ($52) is a tall cylinder of a cheesecake with a rich sable crust. The crust had a decided crunch and the light flavouring of lime zest. The cheese mixture was moussy but dense. It's also not very sweet to begin with. The slight tang of key lime juice set off the cloying richness of the cheesecake and made this dessert a desirable one even after a big meal earlier. COCONUT TARTLET ($52) was architecturally sound, with a shortbread crust at the bottom (and shallow sides), containing a thin layer of coconut panna cotta at the bottom followed by a snow-mountain worth of whipped cream and pointy shards of toasted coconut. It was nice to look at on its own, but this mountain was soon demolished by gigantic metal forks until mere crumbs were left. The coconut flavour was strong, almost potent, but not strong enough to let me turn my nose away from it. I don't usually like coconut desserts and this one was good enough, as it is. PEANUT BUTTER AND BANANA TURNOVER ($52) was next. It reminded me of Banana Foster at first, with half a banana sliced and coated with caramel sauce, which was toasty on the taste but soon recovered by the gooey banana slices. The turnover was made with phyllo pastry and as it gave way to the fork's plunges, the sweet smell of peanut butter took over, taking "Peanut butter sandwich with banana " to a whole new level.

Who could call themselves dessert-lovers when they visit Applegreen without having their renowned APPLE GREEN CRISP ($48). Here, thin slices of granny smith apples were piled up, with cinnamon spiced crumble and a few blueberries scattered across the top and baked until golden brown. It was not as good as I expected it to be, perhaps because the serving was rather small for a change (I have always been a believer for bigger portions when it comes to baked fruit desserts like Peach Cobbler, Apple Crisp, and Rhubarb Crumble). The crumble was crisp nonetheless, but the apples were quite mushy by the time it got to the table and somehow it HAD TO go with the vanilla icecream. It tasted rather flat on its own but just about right with the icecream. Perhaps that's why the icecream was here alongside. CREME BRULEE ($48) marked the end of this meal. The brittle coating of caramelized sugar was there, and cracking it revealed the velvety smooth custard beneath. It was satisfactory in a sense that creme brulee has been popular for a while, and there are many places who make good creme brulee even in HK. It held no surprise for me to find a good one at Applegreen.

A note on pricing. Some folks who have been to the new APPLEGREEN complained about the pricing, and frankly, after this meal I kinda did too. Of course I would recommend a group of food-loving friends to come here if you intend to come. This way you can have more dishes and split the cost between you. It's also true that one person who intend to have that grilled Ribeye may not be able to have a salad and a dessert without feeling he or she has just eaten a horse. The price tags may look a little ridiculous at first, but once the numbers sink in and you're with your friends sharing the fantastic joy, having the most fun you can have like we did on opening night, you may change your mind and decide to treat yourself to a venue where the tasty apples aren't necessary the reddest in the orchard, as the green ones are just as attractive and tempting all apple-lovers to take a bite, or perhaps another bite if you may give it a try.

Applegreen (銅鑼灣)

One afternoon a bunch of lovely ladies were nibbling on expensive rabbit-food (salads) during lunch. They were raving over something that 'knows what they wanted', 'what they need', and 'lots of it'. I thought, alas, that they have finally decided to declare men as obsolete species, no longer capable in providing the '3 wishes' they need fulfilling outside of those toys wrapped in chocolate. Some smugs and giggling later, I found out about Applegreen. It was far on the other side of the harbour, and being all good with salads for some years I was still unable to get my enthusiasm up, enough to cross the harbour and visit. Then thanks to the newsflash of a dear friend, that AG will be opening its first outlet in CWB, I promised I would wait, and that's what I did.

On a fanta-bulous day of post-badminton/basketball gathering, it was the Grand Opening of the AG outlet in CWB. Looking in from the entrance the place was neatly decorated in beige, with concepts of comfort and fluidity embodied in the contemporary accents of modern artwork placed in the dining space. The space, rather unevenly lit, was also an irregular polygon with tables just about everywhere to maximize real estate and perhaps, also the confusion for diners to get back to their own tables after heading out. The typical placement of the RED and GREEN apple was there, free for all to touch, hug, and toss from one hand to another, or one table to another. The host of this gathering has managed the orders in advanced, and just as everyone was seated on two long tables, the onslaught of salad charms began.

For starters, ASIAN NACHOS ($98) were crispy fried wontons covered with chicken and a sweet sauce, with melted cheese and the Asian twist on a Wasabi Cream rather than conventional Mexican Crema. The sweet sauce, it turned out was somewhat similar to a mix of plum sauce and teriyaki sauce. The nachos were fried crispy and the wasabi cream had only the slightest sting. MEXICAN CEVICHE ($98) was a delicate two-tone dish. A plate of freshly cut rounds of break served with butter, together with a goblet filled with tomato cocktail sauce. Fishing through the sauce we could find chunks of octopus and shrimps within, blended together with red onions, and celery. The sauce doubled as a salsa dip for the bread and accented on the Mexican twist with flakes of coriander leaves and the tangy squeeze of lime.

Next up are the Salads. AG seems to have a knack for fusion in this sense, as if the good 'ol "greens and dressing" doesn't have what it takes to fulfill salad lovers. ORIENTAL WALDORF ($88) used celery, red, and green apples, cut into matchsticks together with raisins and blue cheese dressing to make a similar classic, topped with candied walnuts. The dressing was creamy and the apples were sweet enough on their own. STEAKHOUSE SALAD ($135) featured meat as the star. A 6oz Prime Beef on a bed of greens, together with roasted red bell peppers, a sprinkle of blue cheese and ringlets of red onion, tossed entirely with Italian vinaigrette. The beef was medium rare (and disappeared in a flash) and the vinaigrette was just tangy enough for the blue cheese to give the entire dish a rich lift in taste and substance. Last of three salad looked like a fiesta exploded in awe. The MEXICAN BEEF TOSTADA ($108) was a burst of textures and fancy colours with a Latin twist. On the very top there were minced beef, followed by toasted tortilla on the side. The kidney beans, mixed greens and corn were tossed with a Spicy Vinaigrette -- I could taste the zesty lime juice mixing with the occasional bite of Ancho chilies together with a long-lasting sting of jalapenos lurking beneath the palates, only to be smothered further with the richness of Guacamole, salsa, Jack cheese and sour cream. Each element brought an explosion of flavour one right after the other, and frankly for those who thought salad as a meal was a boring notion, you'd probably rethink that should you land yourself a table at Applegreen.

After the round of salads have subsided, we were just about ready for the pasta to arrive next. The CARBONARA ($78) was a famed icon, I heard, for Applegreen fans. I was told it was a must-order, despite it not being very 'Carbonara' at all. It arrived steaming with an addition of a sunny-side up Egg and Bacon to top. It was bacon-and-eggs (and carbs) time, as if breakfast had descended upon us already. The Spaghetti was slightly over the al-dente stage but not mushy. But the creamy sauce mixed with the rich egg yolk made up for the texture. As crispy bits of bacon flakes accompanied the rich creamy pasta and sauce, I realized that sense of significance of having all the vegetables beforehand just now -- to calm ourselves into thinking that we've already had the vegetables and be healthy individuals so we won't feel the guilt as if we jumped straight into the carbs! The pseudo-comfort was no longer needed or paid attention to, as we doved ourselves into the next pasta dish to come, the SPAGHETTI WITH CLAMS (98). Topped with juliennes with nori the lightness of white wine and garlic washed away the richness of cream, butter, egg and bacon, replaced with a simple yet extraordinary mix of olive oil and white wine. The simple no-fuss creation similar to Linguine alla Vongole of Italian descent. The broth was slightly briny with the sweet aroma of garlic gushing up to fill our noses before we dug in.

Just before the mains arrived we had the pleasure to try out the FREESTYLE SHRIMPS ($208, Regular / $114, Half-order). 1 lb of shrimps made on your choice of three sauces. Tonight we had the pleasure to sample two sauces including the peanut sauce and the Tomato Parma Ham sauce. The SHRIMPS IN ORIENTAL PEANUT SAUCE was the dark horse but won out at the end. It's lighter than a satay sauce but had both smooth and chunky peanut-butter blended into one. The sauce clings nicely on the headless shrimps and did not leave an unpleasant aftertaste. The SHRIMPS IN TOMATO PARMA HAM SAUCE was supposedly well-anticipated, only did we find "Shrimps in tomato sauce" instead. The Parma ham was a faint remembrance in the taste, and even that smelled more like bacon than its Italian kin. The shrimps were good with the chunky tomato sauce, but we just were hoping that if they're going to charge us $100+ for a few piece of shrimps they're going to give us at least 1 thin shaving of Parma ham, even if it's for show...

We were just about to hit the mains, as the conversations flowed across the table about past-experiences at AG...and anticipation of what's about to come next. Some members in the group were highly anticipating the roasted garlic sidedish on a sausage platter, while the rest of us were drooling just hearing what's on the dessert menu. That would come in the next review. (didn't want to make it too long-winded...)

TO BE CONTINUED...

滄浪上海麵家 (上環)

曾經有一段時間, 到上環時少不免感到一點點的失落. 只因"滄浪"關門了. 上星期某天, 打算到Monsieur Chatte 買Canelle 的時候, 那熟悉的味道吸引了我. 在蘇杭街尾, 抬頭一看, 正是重開了的"滄浪". 來到門口了, 哪有不進去的理由?

甫進去, 發覺門面是大了, 座位亦多了. 從前一旁的廚房現已變成半開放式. 看見師傅正在做包子. 見我坐下了, 竟跟我揮揮手, 說"很久沒見你來了!". 其實說不上很久. 只是舊店關門了到裝修新店到重開了沒有舖. 沒有開, 自然沒得吃了.看看menu,先點了生煎包和鍋貼. ($12 有 4 只, 可雙拚--每款兩只). 師傅把兩個剛做好的包子端來. 味道還是一貫的好. 豬肉餡是一個小球. 包的外皮是軟熟,但底部是煎得香脆. 鍋貼依然是有十摺的彎月形. 肉餡卻是大塊了, 外皮都厚了點, 但那脆皮仍在. 正想加單的時候, 看到鄰桌有人點了酸辣湯. 趁肚子還餓, 要了酸辣雲吞麵 ($26).

酸辣雲吞麵上桌的時候還是熱氣騰騰的. 看上去是對辦的.麵用的是上海麵, 煮得剛好, 至少沒過腍. 雲吞一碗有四隻, 挺大的, 餡料多菜少肉的. 用的是刴得很細的白菜,但味道很鮮. 酸辣湯質感則有點"杰", 但味道不錯 (酸味比辣味明顯). 說著又有生煎包做好了, 但自己已再吃不下了, 唯有先拍照, 下次來時再吃過!

Note: 之前在討論區上有食友問過舊店英文名字的由來, 是否串 錯了字. 現在新的英文名字改成"Chong Long", 自然再沒問題呢!!

皇家印度餐廳 (鰂魚涌)

Way before Slumdog Millionaire, the world got some Indian flavours from Aishwarya Rai, song and dance routines, and Bollywood. I have not been to India myself, but friends have educated me the world of Indian food before I headed back to Hong Kong, equipped me with enough terminology and aromas to remember what is what. Royal Garden Restaurant serves up a typical Indian lunch I was determined to try over the past couple months, and then one day, I did.

The menu held no surprises as many dishes are familiar enough in English -- Tandoori, Chicken Madras, Rogan Josh ...etc I have always loved Lamb Vindaloo, sadly that was too fiery hot to become popular for locals' tastebuds. Hence it's not on the menu. This day we ordered one Chicken Madras and One Lamb Rogan Josh. Each order completed with a soup and a beverage. For $5 more you can have one piece of deep fried vegetable samosa (fried triangular shaped vegetable-filled dumpling).

The soup arrived first -- It was tepid and thin. I dipped my spoon into it and tried to convince myself it was chicken noodle soup from a can. But it wasn't. Instead I was confronted by a uniformly golden soup that didn't taste like anything at all. It tasted like thinned out bean soup. I took another sip, still unidentified, I decided to ask. Turned out, it was lentil soup (I think he meant split pea soup). It didn't taste like pulses, it was truly so bland and flavorless that I refused to drink up mine. Between the two of us we shared half a soup and asked to have the other untouched soup taken away.

I thought we were in for a bad meal, as the iced lemon tea arrived before the mains did. The tea wasn't so bad, and the lemons were in generous supply, which was just fine. The SAMOSAS were presented to us still sizzling hot and glowing with hot fat. The aroma made us forget everything about the offending soup just now. Cutting open with a knife, a whiff of curried steam arose, filling the entire room with unisons of half "it smells nice" and the other half just speechlessly in awe. Cubed potatoes and green peas mixed together with just enough spices including cumin seeds to give the samosa texture and "substance". It's a good samosa indeed.

LAMB ROGAN JOSH arrived with a piling up of fluffy basmati rice on one side, some fried potatoes on the other together with Pappas and Vegetables. It looked like a huge lunch but when the tray was set before me only the rice seemed large. The curry rested in a bowl not unlike a rice bowl I normally had. Inside I could smell a rich tomato mixture together with the stings of chilies used here. The colour was of a cross between iron's rust and coral -- so brightly orange in colour that I forgot to dig in at first. It tasted rich and spicy but with a tang from the tomatoes. It went well with the basmati but seriously, you will need more sauce to go with that gigantic pile of rice.

CHICKEN MADRAS did not live up to the hype I had with Rogan Josh just now. It was expectedly mild and not filled with spice, but it's also borderline "light and mild" on the taste as well. It was too saucy for naan despite the moist pieces of chicken went perfectly with the sauce. I would suggest having more sauce though. I didn't see anyone asking for seconds, but those who didn't either had leftover rice on their plates or were stuffing their faces with naan with no sauce. Neither was a perfect example of what it should happen should there be naan in the picture.

Royal India Restaurant can be a good place to lunch but do get real crowded with the adventurous palates who lunch near Taikoo Place during the week. The restaurant plays some Canto-Pop that's a few years old and lighting can be considered quite dim on a cloudy day. Do expect hot lunches and if you can, place your special requests (less rice, more sauce, etc) when you place your orders in.

It's a decent place I wouldn't mind coming again every now and then. The NAAN comes out of the oven and directly to your plate served piping hot, soft and pillowy and fluffy -- just about the greatest foil for sauce you can have in the Cuisine. (And you can eat them with your fingers!!)

大角咀麥太甜品 (大角咀)

It was yet another fabulous night of dinner with the guys. On our way back one dessert monster decided to head over to the anticipated desserterie serving McDull and McMug (for the eyes) while sweets for the appetite. I feared shops like these, most often they serve mediocre foodstuff as they put too much focus on the merchandise they're trying to get you to buy and focus on and seem to have forgotten that the shop actually is registered as "serving food"

Strolling across the strip mall we arrived at the entrance greeted by the two piglets, all too familiar to locals who grow up with the cartoon. Entering the joint I realized that the dessert menu was a simple one, with neither specialty you cannot find elsewhere, nor are the names a play of words from the cartoon. It lacked the inspiration I was hoping to get a high from. But here's what we ordered, after some prolonged anticipation and struggle in decision making.

CHEESECAKE -- A generous thick wedge of it with a promisingly thin biscuit crust, moist with a decided buttery flavour. Kudos to that. The cheese mixture on the top is slightly too gelatinous to my taste. It tasted like cheese, with a slight twist of lemon zest blended within, but it also tasted somewhat like powdered gelatin overdose. The cheese mixture was very set but slightly 'granular', if I may describe it.

腐竹薏米糖水 is a milky white concoction you can easily re-create at home. The barley was not turned to mush, but some gingko nuts turned out to be quite bitter at the core.

番薯糖水 is only so-so. It's not about the sweet potato, as each chunk of it was sweet to the core, and very starchy indeed. It was the 'syrup' part that was too bland and the fatal mistake of the lack of ginger in it. You could only taste the faint sting of ginger from the aroma but not quite on the flavour level.木瓜雪耳糖水, on the other hand, was good. Yet another simple dessert this one was not double boiled. The snow fungus has a slight crispy texture (not mushy) while the papaya was sweet enough as the 'syrup' just complement both crucial ingredients that make a simple dessert proud.

紫米露, the last of all desserts, was a favorite order of mine. I prefer a version like this one, where the black glutinous rice are cooked until thick and coconut milk was added when served. The sweet chewy texture of the rice was slightly mellowed out into part-mush, part-chewy congee only to have a rich finish with coconut milk. I have not always enjoyed 紫米露 in a lot of places but this one was surprisingly satisfying.

The concept of inviting cartoon characters into a themed shop is quite exhilarating to begin with. Yet I envision something quite different, maybe on a more creative level of referencing to the comics/ cartoons through the creative processes of making some of these dishes different from "just an ordinary dessert store with cartoon merchandise for sale". It may be able to get the children perked up with the opportuny to "eat with your favorite cartoon character", but for the folks who are paying for the desserts, it remained just another desserterie around the corner, only with dolls and cuter decor.

Note: I do realize that none of the desserts here were made with LARD/ PORK FAT -- was it on behalf of health, or was it coincidentally because the cartoon characters were two cute piglets? That, is for the customers to decide, I guess...