Can HK Restaurants Survive the Pandemic?

Hong Kong's new normal of restaurants having 50 percent capacity

This morning (well late morning) I ventured to a place near where I live that just organizes pop-ups, or guest chef promotions on a regular basis, with chefs from around the world.

However with the coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions, the owner had to quickly switch gears -- and in fact he did several months ago already -- and instead do collaborations with young up-and-coming local chefs who are keen to try some new culinary ideas.

Chef Eric Raty with his blueberry pie

The owner was telling me how business was very difficult these days, as his space is not open everyday, and with customers not really having an appetite to sit down to a multi-course dinner, he has moved very quickly to have a bake sale today, his first.

I walked over to the place just after it opened and it seemed to be doing a brisk business, with a lot of people already pre-ordered items that were packaged in large brown paper bags.

I hadn't, but came prepared with my own takeaway boxes and the chef who has a Michelin two-starred restaurant, personally packed my boxes with baked treats like gluten-free chocolate walnut cookies, a blueberry and cardamon pie, and a small Finnish tart.

Later after lunch I had one of the cookies -- it was so delicious and overwhelmingly chocolately that I could not finish the second cookie, which is very rare for me to do. It was just so delicious that texted the chef to tell him that.

The owner was there and we didn't talk much because he was really busy preparing tea and coffee for guests who were sitting inside and enjoying their pastries. I was worried about him because before the bake sale,  he had told me that he needed to find ways to make money fast, otherwise he could only sustain his business for another two months.

Gluten-free chocolate walnut cookies were for sale today

That is the reality of a lot of restaurants in Hong Kong now. One large restaurant group that has 21 restaurants in the city and another exclusively for takeout, and is under a lot of financial pressure to ensure its over 1,000 staff still have jobs.

However, one local group has decided to shut down all 48 of its restaurants for two weeks "for everyone's health and safety", the group said in its Facebook page on Friday.

Tao Heung Holdings has a variety of Chinese restaurants like Tao Heung, Pier 88, Hak Ka Hut, Chao Inn, Chung's Cuisine, and Tai Cheong, famous for its egg tarts.

Meanwhile a lot of places quickly implemented the 50 percent capacity rule, with some restaurants literally taping off tables or removing them on Saturday before the 6pm deadline. Other places had signs outside the doors explaining because of the strict rules they could only have a maximum of three tables at any one time.

One of Tao Heung's restaurants before it closed for two weeks

It will be interesting to see if the implementation of these strict regulations will indeed lower the number of cases in the next few days; the odd thing is that karaoke establishments fall under the restaurant license but how do you prevent people from sitting too closely together in a small room and they are sharing microphones...

Are people still going to these places when they should be social distancing?

Or is now the time to sing your heart out as a stress reliever? It's a dilemma.

Picture of the Day: Chocolate Souffle

It's not easy making a good souffle, but Hugo's does it well

A good souffle is not easy to execute. The egg whites need to be completely clean, devoid of any yolks, and whipped with sugar until peaks form. Meanwhile the flavouring needs to be mixed separately and cooled down before the egg whites are folded in.

This is a chocolate souffle from Hugo's in the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong. The fine dining European restaurant is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and it has its classic desserts perfected over the decades, from crepes Suzette to Bombe Alaska.

And this souffle is perfect. It's a large one, big for one person, but too delicious to share, and inside it's not wet at all, cooked through with a very light texture.

A souffle can't be rushed either -- it takes about 15 minutes to bake in the oven and you hope you did everything right so that it rises evenly and high, and this one does.

Guests can add either vanilla or chocolate sauce to the souffle
. Why more chocolate? We added some vanilla.

The bonus is having the rich chocolate sauce on top with a piece of gold leaf.

So good.

Hugo's
Hyatt Regency Hong Kong
18 Hanoi Street
Tsim Sha Tsui

London: Ottolenghi's Strong Flavours

The tempting baked goods dispayed at Ottolenghi's restaurant in Spitalfields

Yotam Ottolenghi is a well known Israeli-English chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He also hosts podcasts where he cooks for a friend at home and they talk about... "simple pleasures". I listened to him on the flight back to Hong Kong, which helped me fall asleep.

He has six restaurants and delis in London and is the author of seven cookbooks. The recipes that I have tried in his book Plenty are not too difficult and delicious.

Cumin roasted cauliflower with tumeric yogurt and cherries

We went to try his restaurant in Spitalfields which has a bakery attached to it, featuring a cornucopia of sweet treats, like massive raspberry and chocolate meringues, cookies, peanut butter s'mores, chocolate tarts, tangerine and pistachio cakes, carrot and walnut cake, and so on.

I wish we had come here during the day to sample these baked goods, as the dishes in the restaurant for dinner left more to be desired. It's packed and noisy for a Friday night and we got an online reservation at 8.30pm, though we were able to sit down earlier.

Our table is by the window so we can see people walking by from tourists to locals. The room is not well lit and each table has a live candle that melts away and a new one is added on top of the pile of wax accumulated at the bottom.

The prices on the menu range from £9.80 to £19.50 (US$12-US$24) and our server tells us for two people we should be choosing five to seven dishes; we chose to be conservative. It's a good thing we did as we struggled to finish what was in front of us.

Roasted beetroot, grilled nectarines, and whipped feta

When the dishes arrived, almost all of them were surprisingly cold, including things like the onion squash, cumin-roasted cauliflower, and roasted beetroot with grilled nectarines that one would think would be at least warm.

Another shocker was how strong the flavours were, to the point of extreme tartness. I actually like eating sour foods like pickles, but this was too sharp to the point where we made squinty faces, and it revealed how the ingredients weren't properly mixed together or too much lemon or lime juice was used.

A dish we tried featured prawns that were covered in tiny bits of coconut and flavoured with lemongrass that overpowered the delicate sweetness of the prawns (or was it because they were frozen)?, while the roasted squash were marred by bits of licorice that left a horrible taste in my mouth.

Stir-fried king prawns, oyster mushrooms and coconut

After dinner we went to the bakery next door to take a look and were shocked to see several of the same dishes we tried available for take-out. So what is the point of eating at Ottolenghi then at those prices? It was disappointing to say the least.

One of our main dishes was good, chargrilled Chalkstream trout with masala and mango chutney. The trout was cooked perfectly and while we were warned there might be bones, we didn't encounter any. The mango chutney on the other hand, was another tart experience.

The combination of roasted beets with grilled nectarines was interesting, along with roasted cauliflower with cherries, but they weren't enough to keep us sated.

The one saving grace was the dessert, a new item on the menu: moist chocolate cake with Bailey's cream. It was indeed moist and not too sweet.

Moist chocolate cake with Bailey's cream

So while I will still like flipping through Ottolenghi's cookbooks for inspiration and the fact that he makes vegetables the main ingredient of a dish, dining at his restaurant was not quite what I had expected...

Ottolenghi Spitalfields
50 Artillery Lane
London
+44 20 7247 1999
ottolenghi.co.uk

Picture of the Day: Appealing to Chinese Sweet Tooth

Fancy some Chinese New Year chocolate from a Vancouver chocolatier?

When I was in Vancouver, I was impressed to see one local chocolatier specifically jumping on the Chinese New Year bandwagon.

Purdy's is a Vancouver company that started in 1907 and now has 75 shops across Canada.

This year I saw a table in the store that not only had a "Happy Lunar New Year" sign with a pig as well, but also the design of the packaging featured cherry blossoms on a red and gold box, as well as red metal cylindrical tins with a golden dragon.

While Godiva and other big chocolate brands have long caught onto the importance of gift giving for the Chinese market during Chinese New Year, a local Canadian brand has too.

Vancouver Eating Part 2

The flavour of Joe Fortes in a bowl, a seafood bowl to be exact

My eating odyssey in Vancouver continued with a visit to Joe Fortes for lunch. I don't think I have ever eaten in this well known establishment and glad I finally made it.

It looks like a power lunch place with its downtown location and everyone seemed to be having meetings while they ate -- except us.

Clams with chorizo sausages in tomato broth were a hit

According to the menu, there really was a Joe Fortes -- Seraphin "Joe" Fortes, who was a sailor from Barbados who went to Liverpool then Vancouver. He came to the Canadian city in 1885 where he was a bartender at a hotel and then was a fixture at English Bay where he was the unofficial security guard and taught many children how to swim.

The city appointed him the first official lifeguard in the early 1900s. When Fortes died in 1922, the city held the longest-ever funeral procession, which was unusual for a black person.

Joe Fortes the restaurant was opened in 1985, exactly a century after he arrived in Vancouver.

Perhaps as a link to his being at English Bay, the Joe Fortes menu is best known for its seafood, freshly-shucked oysters and blue plate specials at CAD$12.95 that are a real deal -- if you can snag one.

A lot to munch on in the lobster and shrimp roll

On the day we went it was panko-crusted haddock, but by the time we ordered -- around 1pm -- they were already sold out. That was disappointing to say the least for my friend, who was very keen to try it.

Nonetheless we were very happy with the seafood bowl (CAD$25.95), a kind of bouillabaisse with salmon, mussels, clams, tomato broth, rice and garlic bread. Everything was cooked perfectly, the clams didn't have any sand in them and the mussels plump.

The roasted mushroom soup (CAD$9.95) is cooked with sherry, cream and sage, the steamed clams (CAD$25.95) were seasoned with chorizo sausage, tomato-wine broth and had garlic focaccia.

Starter of hamachi, coconut, fennel and mandarin

My other friend had the lobster and shrimp roll (CAD$25.95) and it was a mouthful! I had a small bite of the filling and it tasted very fresh, topped with a dill pickle and a generous salad on the side.

We were too full for dessert after.

Later that evening we paid a visit to Hawksworth for dinner. I haven't been there for a few years so I was keen to see how the restaurant has developed. In short the food was fantastic -- every dish was plated nicely, featuring choice ingredients.

Absolutely divine roast duck with lentils, squash and figs

To start I had the hamachi with coconut, fennel and mandarin wedges (CAD$25). It's more of a summer dish, but we liked it anyway, very delicate flavours on the plate with a hint of coconut sauce at the bottom.

My main was a delight -- Yarrow Meadows duck breast with squash, red cabbage, lentil and fig (CAD$43). The duck is very lean --- there isn't the fattiness you get from most other ducks, or perhaps it was slow roasted to remove the fat, but also retain the juiciness of the meat.

It was accompanied with very earthy flavours: squash puree, lentils, red cabbage, and sweet figs that all went well together, and keeping the duck as the star of the dish.

The ling cod with black rice and curried root vegetables

Another standout was the salmon with cucumber, potato, mussel and dill (CAD$42), as well as the ling cod (CAD$48) with black rice, curried root vegetable, and orange lassi. A decadent meal for two is the lamb shoulder (CAD$130 for two), that could even be for three, as the feast includes polenta, root vegetables, and a generous portion of lamb that falls off the bone.

Dark chocolate was the theme of the evening, as one of our party suggested eating it would stave off dementia. As a result a few of us ordered the dark chocolate chantilly, a decadent-looking treat complemented with raspberry sauce and almonds (CAD$14).

I had the Meyer lemon for dessert. It was a lemon custard topped with a mixture of mandarin oranges and shaved lemon on top and jasmine-flavoured meringue cubes. Again more a summer dish than winter, but we like tart finish.

Meyer lemon dessert with mandarin and jasmine meringue

The deconstructed apple tart (CAD$14) was delicious too, with milk chocolate, pecans and caramel.

While we enjoyed the food immensely, service was lacking in attentiveness that marred the overall experience. At first I thought it was because we had ordered several "Chinese martinis" -- hot water with lemon, but I later found out from a few friends that they had also been disappointed by the service when they went.

And as a friend pointed out, even if you drink tap water the whole evening, the service should still be good, and I agree.

A decadent dark chocolate chantilly dessert

Joe Fortes
777 Thurlow Street
Vancouver, BC
(604) 669 1940

Hawksworth
in the Rosewood Hotel
801 Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC
(6040 673 7000

Picture of the Day: Ghiradelli Hot Fudge Sundae

The Ghiradelli hot fudge sundae takes teamwork to polish off

Ghiradelli is the famous confectionary that was started in San Francisco in 1849 by Domenico Ghiradelli.

While the chocolates themselves are a sweet souvenir from the West Coast city, digging into a Ghiradelli sundae is an experience, much like Beard Papa cream puffs (we tried of of these too).

We found ourselves in the food court in the basement of Nordstrom in downtown San Francisco and my cousin suggested a dessert -- Ghiradelli classic hot fudge sundae.

Originally she was going to buy one for each of us, but I managed to persuade her to just get one for five of us to share.

It came in a large plastic cup, filled with vanilla ice cream, that were smothered in a hot fudge sauce. The dessert was then topped with whipped cream, Marashino cherry, and chopped almonds. WHOA.

At first we were unsure what to think of this cup of sweetness, but once we dipped our spoons in there and tried it, the sundae was so good! Wish there were a bit more chopped almonds though.

Nevertheless, with teamwork, we managed to devour the sundae, resulting in each of us gaining several hundred calories that we had to promptly work off...

Picture of the Day: Cake for Smiles

The Valrhona chocolate and banana cake is the sweetest fundraiser

Every year around this time, The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong has a fundraiser that brings smiles not only to the beneficiaries but to donors too.

Smile Asia is a group of charities that help treat children with facial deformities like cleft palates and lips and The Ritz-Carlton hotels Asia Pacific have been helping to raise money through the sale of scrumptious cakes (HK$385 each) for one week.

I put in my order as soon as I heard about the fundraiser and picked up the cake yesterday as my relatives and I had an early Mother's Day gathering.

When we finished dinner and I opened up the box, the strong smell of chocolate pricked up our taste buds with anticipation.

The cake is Valrhona chocolate with banana, as the hotel pastry chef explains that children like both these ingredients. It's an unusual combination, but for a cake that's fundraising for kids, why not?

When we cut into the cake, it was pretty dense, but in a good way -- rich chocolate with hints of banana -- though more banana would have been appreciated.

Nevertheless we're glad we did our part to help children better lives.

Defining Hipsters

Identical twins Gary and Alan Keery from Belfast opened Cereal Killer Cafe

One more interesting documentary I watched on the plane to keep myself awake was Peter York's Hipster Handbook by the BBC.

York is a social commentator and dressed very dapper in contrast to hipsters -- who we should point out don't like to be called that -- who wear beards, flannel shirts, no mass fashion labels, have retro looks. tattoos and scruffy hair.

The dapper host Peter York contrasts with how hipsters look

During the one-hour documentary, he tries to figure out if hipsters are a fad or trend, and how it has influenced consumerism. When it comes to their look, it is decided that hipsters may be anti-fashion label, though they do appreciate authenticity, such as old school work overalls from the 1950s, say, or leather bomber jackets that are made today but look exactly like ones from over 60 years ago.

Many men may be identified as hipsters from their beards and man-buns, but York finds out that facial hair is in fact carefully groomed and there are specialist barbers that carefully shape beards and add products to them to keep their shape or condition the facial hair.

Hipsters are also usually in the creative field, and can be found in cafes with their Mac laptops and iPhones, and they have this fascination, obsession or passion for artisan-made products, from coffee to clothing. They like knowing where what they are eating or drinking comes from, preferably locally sourced, which creates a sense of belonging to community.

A man gets his beard groomed in a specialist barber shop

York observes the word "authenticity" creeps up again and again, how hipsters don't want something manipulated, but real and true to some degree, which is why they like decor to show things like exposed brick, old school style light bulbs.

A fun shop called the Cereal Killer Cafe is filled with lots of boxes of breakfast cereals from our childhoods all lined up on the shelves and people can choose which one they want with milk they pour into a bowl themselves.

The ironic thing is that the concept of "authenticity" and "artisan" have appealed to mass market brands and they have replicated the exposed brick look and co-opted the aforementioned key words in their marketing to appeal to hipsters or hipster-wannabes.

The Mast Brothers were exposed for not so authentic chocolate

In addition there are some allegedly faux hipsters, such as the Mast Brothers, known for their beautifully packaged chocolate. They claim it is from "bean to bar", but in reality some chocolate experts claim some of their chocolate included Valrhona mixed in.

The Mast Brothers differentiated themselves not only with the nice packaging to justify pricing at US$10 a bar, but also their distinctive look with bushy beards, and how they apparently travel the world sourcing cocoa beans.

Nevertheless, York still finds it a fascinating discussion with experts about the hipster history in the United States, where African Americans claimed hipsters were cool with black music, while in England, Shoreditch is an example of a neighbourhood that was previously not cool, but became so thanks to hipsters transforming the area.

In the end York concludes that hipsters are not creators of new products per se, but "curate" them, and look for things they are willing to spend on, like quality pints of craft beer or "authentic" fashion pieces as a way to live better.

The documentary was a fascinating discussion, and now I see hipsters in a new light -- and am more aware of big business co-opting the concept of "authentic" and "artisan" with varying degrees of success.

What's the next lifestyle trend going to be?

Peter York's Hipster Handbook

BBC4

Lunching at Le Crocodile

The signature chocolate petit fours at Le Crocodile

A friend from Hong Kong who visits his family once or twice a year in Vancouver had asked me earlier about eating at French fine dining restaurant Le Crocodile.

He didn't know any friends or relatives here who had eaten there before and even though he wouldn't mind eating there alone, he had wanted to try it and I volunteered to accompany him for lunch.

Delicious lobster bisque topped with creme fraiche and chives

I made the reservation before I arrived in Vancouver to ensure a table and was given the choice of either 11.30am or 1.30pm. I chose the latter so we wouldn't be rushed, but also, other than dim sum or brunch, who eats lunch at 11.30am?

The menu doesn't change much, but there are a number of daily specials to choose from. We decided to stick to the perennial favourites.

My friend had the classic Alsatian onion tart (CAD$11.50) that was a very large slice (I had it last year), and it wasn't too heavy, a touch of ham in it.

I also tried a spoonful of the "Le Crocodile classic" tomato and gin soup (CAD$7.50). It has a wonderful tomato flavour lifted by the gin, making it a refreshing, but also heart-warming soup!

Venison medallions with chanterelles and spatzle

For my starter I had the lobster bisque served with Cognac and topped with creme fraiche and finely chopped chives (CAD$9.50). The flavour was so pungent, though not too rich or thick. Good to the last drop.

Not long afterwards our mains arrived. My friend had the fresh pappardelle pasta served with braised veal cheeks, in a pinot noir reduction and truffle oil (CAD$23). The veal cheeks were so tender a knife was hardly needed to cut through them. The pasta was also delicious, having soaked up the red wine sauce.

I ordered the venison medallions, New Zealand venison that was raised in Duncan, on Vancouver Island, with a rustic chanterelle sauce served with spatzle, an Alsatian/German twisted egg noodle, again perfect to mop up the sauce with.

Fresh pappardelle with braised veal cheeks in a red wine sauce

We heartily enjoyed each bite, appreciating the attention to cooking, the ingredients and the cozy but not too stuffy ambience.

My friend couldn't think of another comparable restaurant in Hong Kong. I suggested perhaps Va Bene in its heyday on D'Aguilar Street, but he wasn't too familiar with the restaurant.

There just aren't many authentic French restaurants, that aren't too formal, and yet not so casual that the staff don't know what they are serving.

We were too full for dessert, but the restaurant still gave us a scoop of delicious pear sorbet accompanied with a giant mint leaf! We also got the signature four chocolate crocodiles.

Refreshing pear sorbet with a mint leaf to finish the meal

I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to walk off the meal! I'm glad my friend had a good impression of the restaurant, and maybe we will start our tradition of meeting up in Vancouver for lunch at Le Crocodile.

Le Crocodile

Suite 100 - 909 Burrard Street

Vancouver

(604) 669 4298

lecrocodilerestaurant.com

Desserts in K-Town

A sweet treat in the form of chocolate and banana waffle!

Near where I live there is a small dessert shop called Summer Ice that always has a line-up in front, mostly young people willing to wait. Inside it looks packed with people so you have to wonder, is it really that good?

I finally got my chance tonight, when a friend and I finished dinner in Tsim Sha Tsui and decided to meet her husband for dessert in Kennedy Town. Where should we go?

Soft ice cream with mixed berries

When we got there, there wasn't a line, but we had to wait outside, as all the tables were occupied. However, the waitress gave us an iPad mini to scroll through the images of desserts they had.

The repertoire isn't large, but seems to be enough to draw crowds: soft ice cream, waffles, coffee, shaved ice drinks, with berries, chocolate and matcha flavours.

After about five minutes we were shown our table that we had to share with other customers, and we ordered a soft ice cream with mixed berries (HK$50). We were told that each person had to order an item on the menu -- so that's how they make their money!

And so we also chose the chocolate banana waffle (HK$60).

The soft ice cream was quite sweet, but creamy -- we had had a spicy dinner so it was a good way to cool down our fired up taste buds. The waffle was delicious, and made extra sweet by the scoop of chocolate ice cream and chocolate sauce drizzled on top.

Sorbet (left) with roasted pineapple and a kind of limoncello

Our third dessert my friend's husband ordered is something I would definitely order again if and when I return -- the sorbet combo (HK$88), that features a lemon sorbet with a shot of what seemed like a limoncello lite, and two slices of roasted pineapple.

Most people ordered the waffle desserts, particularly matcha flavoured, and the mango smoothie.

The restaurant doesn't serve water to customers, who seem fine just having their dessert and leaving. Outside a line had formed, and by the time we left, there were at least six or seven people hovering by the door.

Ka-ching!

Summer Ice

Shop D, G/F, Full Harvest Building

6-18 Hau Wo Street

Kennedy Town
5541 0655

Hip Osteria in Vancouver

The restaurant encourages diners to eat family style

A good friend of mine who likes trying new restaurants went to Savio Volpe over a month ago and immediately decided to book a table for when I was back in town for me to try it.

The high ceiling and chic interior make this place hip

Located on Kingsway near Fraser, the area used to be pretty much a dead zone because it's a hard place to park and there weren't any particular stores to gives the neighbourhood some exposure, except for maybe buying Bibles?

But in recent years a Mexican restaurant called Los Cuervos Taqueria Y Cantina opened up on the same block, drawing in business with its tacos and margaritas.

Black kale salad topped with pecorino and crisp bread

And now with Savio Volpe, a new osteria that has a total hipster feel, the neighbourhood should gain momentum in becoming a new cool place to see and be seen.

Reservations are a must and we were lucky we made a booking so long ago that we got one of the best seats in the house -- a little nook area by the bar. We liked the high ceilings and the bar also had a guy slicing proscuitto and cheese, while at the back was the kitchen complete with a wood-fired grill.

The friendly waitress suggested the two of us order about four items on the menu and we obliged.

We started with a black kale salad with lemon pepper dressing, pecorino and crisp bread. The kale was chopped into bite-sized pieces and a refreshing, rustic taste. We also ordered clams, but their delicate taste was overpowered by the bits of ham they were cooked with.

Roast suckling pig, topped with fried egg and crackling

Nevertheless we must have gotten the last order of the roast suckling pig -- our waitress immediately put in the order for us -- and it was definitely a winner. The pork was so tender and juicy, topped with a fried egg and crackling that was absolutely crunchy delicious.

This main was accompanied with a side of polenta and gorgonzola that was perfect, and filling too, with its creamy, rich texture. And to wash down the meal we each ordered a 10oz glass of craft brews from local breweries in Vancouver.

For dessert, the gelato was hardly a light affair -- made by local chocolate and pastry shop Beta5, the flavours were bay leaf, lime topped with pomegranate, and chocolate hazelnut. The last one was our favourite -- chocolatey and crunchy make a perfect sweet finish.

Trio of gelato (top) Lime, chocolate and hazelnut, bay leaf

Savio Volpe

615 Kingsway

Vancouver

Tel: 604 428 0072

saviovolpe.com