A month ago, I was in Hong Kong. This place's a shopping paradise. The local delicacies are great. Anyone who has been there and blogged about it or heard about it knows that you have to go Hong Kong to shop and eat! It has everything that you want. My darling and I had an awesome time together scouting for mango desserts everywhere with the usual dim sum ventures and street shopping. And I wish to comment that many food hideouts are worth trying.
I know tonnes of people wrote on dim sums when it comes to Hong Kong. Both myself and darling had a share of that but in particular I wish to comment on two gastronomical venues/delights:
The Initial Cafe at Tsim Sha Tsui.
Location: 48 Cameron Road, Tsim Sha Tsui > http://www.initialfashion.com/
I love this place. The ambience is a clear hands-down winner when you walk in and feel the warm, cozy atmostphere with a particular cooking-at-the-stove scent that airs away in the cafe. I have a thing for rustic ambience thats warm and gets you all fuzzy over and if vintage does that, I guess you know that I'm a vintage chick! Yes! Initial Cafe has a vintage vibe that I love. Totally eye-ing all the chairs and furns in there! Wants to bring them home XD. Great place to have a romantic meal or a laidback chill-out spot. By the way, Initial is a lifestyle and fashion brand in Hong Kong that prides itself as being unusual providing 'The Unusual Experience' to customers but to me I really adore it because of the foreign vintage knick-knacks they carry. I got a few vintage bottles at their lifestyle store in Central and now those are sitting beautifully on top of my vanity table at home. Their Initial Cafe carries the same kind of unusual experience when it comes to dining or perhaps just being vintage with gourmet in general.
Specifically, I dig this plate of steak thats so finely done up. Its the 'Grilled Ireland Rib Eye Steak with Mushroom Cream and Mashed Pumpkin. You see, the title is simple but it is clear what it contains and so packs a punch!
I really liked the pumpkin thingy (the yellowish substance with cucumbers on it), its good and it matches the meat texture. Did I mention that this steak is so meaty good and so succulent? Mine's a well done but still really fine and bouncy. Mushroom sauce goes very very well with it and never goes wrong. The overall presentation of the dish is similar to any typical beef steaks in most parts of the world but there is a symmetrical beauty and minimalism that conveys alot more when you look at it.
Maxim's Palace at Kwai Chung. (many other outlets available) > http://www.maxims.com.hk/en/main.asp
I had to convince Darling to go with me to Maxim's Palace in Hong Kong as it is reputed all over (man, about nine in ten HK tour-related blogs say something about it) to be the best and finest dim sum in Hong Kong. When we finally made it there and called a few little crates of dimsums to start with and then THIS! I was completely dumbfounded with the orgasmia deriving from it after a mouthful. AWESOMNESS just took over. Apparently the dimsum wagon wheeled by and visibly I saw this bowl straightaway and had to have it. Just make sure the wagon comes and you'll see it!
I mean. Look. Look at this bowl of yellow that you may thought of or familiarised yourself with Creme Brulee. It is similar to Creme Brulee only more than that. Theres sago (if you know honeydew sago) and lots of egg and sweet stuff in it. I can't really recall every single ingredient thats in there but it is really delicious. One thing I recalled when it was swish-swashing in my mouth was the very rich and starchy feeling that got me yearning for more. And I wonder why! So I termed this little sweet bowl of goodness 'Canto Brulee'. Theres a default Mandarin/Cantonese name to this already but its in the heart of the Cantonese where I'm enjoying this treat. So anyway, go Maxim's Palace to savour the Canto Brulee. Look out for the wagons.
