Joe's - Lunch Long Overdue

Jidori Chicken Crisp "Panzanella", Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, Cipollini Onions, Japanese Cucumber, Lemon & Basil, Chicken Sauce

Long before I went home for my winter holiday, I spent an afternoon at Joe's located at one of my favorite neighborhood, Abbot Kinney. When I looked at the Michelin guide, this place used to have one star, I wonder maybe the quality has changed. I tried this place for dinner and it was not memorable, so I thought Joe's will redeem itself for a round of lunch. All of the food tasted good, but not spectacular. Especially with splendid presentation, I expected to have sensational bite after bite. Thank goodness for the chocolate crunch cake, which change the mood to an A-OK ending.

Open-Faced Seared Albacore Sandwich, Cherry Tomatoes, Celery, Japanese Cucumber, Shaved Red Onion, Eggplant Puree, Grilled Garlic-Rubbed Baguette

  Chocolate crunch cake. Hazelnut Praline & Coffee Crunch Ice Cream, Candied Hazelnuts

Joe's Restaurant

1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 399-5811

www.joesrestaurant.com

Koi Kei Bakery - Tart Delicacies

 

presenting: scrumptios Portuguese egg tart

If you have a chance to visit Macau, you have to get your hands on these babies!! They disappeared quickly before your eyes, due to high tourist demands. The warm filling is creamy and has silky texture, the outer crust is flaky and messy once you get your bite on - just they way they perfectly should be.

Surely, Koi Kei Bakery is always jam packed with tourist grabbing their almond cookies and pineapple pastry. but I only got my eyes on you, egg tart...

Koi Kei Bakery

Venitian Hotel &

City of Dream

Macau

Aurora - Enchanted

Living up to its one Michelin star, Aurora is the go-to place to make you feel inevitably spoiled whenever you're in Macau. A serene atmosphere and wondrous Macau peninsula view created  a jaw-dropping impact, especially at night. Choice of high tables for tapas, poised dinning room, and Japanese-style rattan terrace for the ocean view are available. Just a flawless spot to celebrate our new year...

The exquisite eight courses cuisine were tantalizing our taste buds and the 500-strong wine list is no less impressive. The stellar service added touch of real class in the overall experience.

 

oysters in bellini jelly, oscietra caviar, lobster and sicilian blood orange mousse

pan-seared foie gras with black truffle, celeriac cream and rossano licorice flavored juice

scallop cappuccino with porcini mushroom, belgium endive and coffee emulsion

smoked scamorza and eggplant ravioli, orange duck ragout, five years old parmesan broth

wild smoked amadai with winter vegetables and herbs sauce

japanese beef tenderloin with purple potato puree and gaja sauce

italian cheese selection

manjari dark chocolate mousse with chesnut cream and hazelnut eclair

two sets of petit fours

the other companion. a glass of red.

As if the fascination of Aurora was not enough, we lounged at the terrace to enjoyed Macau skyline light up together with fireworks working its magic. Sealed with toasts, hugs, and kisses of new year.

Altira Hotel

10F Avenida de Kwong

Tung, Taipa

Macau

www.altiramacau.com

Modern Toilet - Holy Crap!

welcome!

Pardon me for the shitty welcoming figure above. It took me by surprise when we walked into the restaurant and the giant shit-shape cushion gave us a crappy greetings. Oh well, obviously from the name Modern Toilet, I should expect to see some random shiz...

 bathroom atmosphere with toilet seats as chairs, faucets as tables, and showers on the wall

The franchised restaurants spread in Taiwan and Hong Kong uniquely decorated the space with bathroom elements while visitors get to sit on real toilet seats. The toilet themed restaurants also went all out by serving their meals on miniature toilet bowls, bath tubs, and even squat toilet containers.

 

korean kimchi hot pot on toilet bowl

braised sirloin hot pot on a toilet bowl

toilet, lavabos, toilette, privada, lokus. you name it..

When you think the idea is really disgusting but cute, wait 'till you hear the flushing sound while enjoying your beef curry on a squat toilet. yummm...

p.s: it's best to keep potty-training-in-progress kiddies at home.

Modern Toilet
4th Floor Capitol Centre 5-19 
Jardines Bazaar, Causeway Bay 
Hong Kong 

Thai Basil - Fusion At Its Best

Coming to Pacific Place shopping enthusiasm, but first, I gotta feed my empty tummy.  My friend tried Thai Basil and upon her previous visit, she completely satisfied. If you're sweating for extra spicy curry, try to look elsewhere. The dark, romantic, and seemingly classy interior adds the impression of a non-authentic food, rather fusion Thai fare. But it's good. Wait, they're delicious.

pepper beef with yellow curry, green pepper corn, shallot, and onion. tender and juicy beef are best served with flavorful curry.

pad thai with prawns, scrambled egg, pea shoots, peanuts, and chili flakes. not every thai restaurant could serve a simple yet delicious pad thai, but Thai Basil got this one under their belt.

wok fried thai spicy crab with lemongrass, lime leaf, chili, garlic, thai basil, shallot, and fresh green pepper. the only complaint is the lack of meat!

sticky banana pudding with honeycomb ice cream and caramel flakes. the combination warmth of the naturally sweet banana pudding and not-overly rich ice cream is a must order! you'll die over the crispy caramel flakes alone...

Not only Maxim's group done it again with a great restaurant concept, but the food are consistently spot on.

Thai Basil

88 Queensway, lower ground fl.

Pacific Place

Hong Kong

Mochi Cream - Filling Me Softly

green tea mochi cream before 

after. the best bite after shopping for endless-joyous hours in causeway bay..

Food is number one thing on my mind, shopping comes second. So, when my friend told me we gonna stop by at Mochi Cream before hitting the next shopping arcade, I said hallelujah sistah!

Mochi Cream as everybody can tell, is Japanese glutinous rice cake filled with flavored ice cream. They have a wide range of flavor, from cafe au lait to sweet potato. But being the indecisive of me, I choose the safest bet which is green tea. It taste so fluffy, delectable, and chewy, the ice cream just melt me away. 

black sesame mochi cream. this thing is equally good. oh boy....dangerous love!

I believe you can find Mochi Cream in anywhere else, since it's originally from Japan. So anytime you accidentally find these babies, grab 'em, chew 'em, love 'em!

display only. they will take cold mochi from the back fridge.

 hello, pretty lovers!

I couldn't believe that I only got one for myself. I should've got three. at least. Urghh silly me...

Mochi Cream

Sogo Department Store

555 Hennessy rd.

Causeway Bay, HK

Hutong - Location, Location, Location Is Not Always The Case

The huge array of bird cage and beautiful carved wood panel makes you feel instantly in vintage China era and makes you almost forget the breathtaking harbor views. The authentic atmosphere and one Michelin star Cantonese restaurant, however, fail to deliver some impressive dishes. Unsure with which dishes to choose, we trusted the "Hutong's signature dishes" all the way, from starter to main entrees. I've had taste better Cantonese cuisines before.

chili spiced bamboo clams steeped in chinese rose wine and chili sauce

beef tenderloin wok fried with scallions. plenty of scallions, as you can see. finding the tenderloin is like finding a needle among haystacks. The beef were perfectly seasoned and cooked.

sugar-cane prawns in lemongrass-chili sauce. we adore these pretty looking prawns, but not the taste. so bland was an understatement.

crispy boneless duck served with scallion sauce. my favorite dish among all. the so crispy skin, yet tender duck meat so scrumptious yet so never-ending, at least for the three of us girls. 

the view under the misty grey HK skies

night view sparkly lights midnight skies

Presentation wise, dishes look splendid. Location wise, flawless. However, I suggest just come here for the view, and go to the street down at Tsim Sha Tsui Nathan rd. for more delicious and cheap finds.

Hutong
28F, One Peking Rd.
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
www.aqua.com.hk

Yuyu Sushi - Where It All Began

I know, I know.... It has been weeks of my long hiatus. This holiday season I got some time off of La La land and traveled to Asia. After months of anticipation, finally I hit Hong Kong, Macau, and home :)...

My galfriends and I did more than shopping, awesome dinning, drinking - we laughed 'till we almost died.... Just the best time of our lives. So, with no further due, let's get down to business.

The first stop after I got off the plane, we ate at Yuyu Sushi. A trendy kaiten style sushi bars located in Wan Chai district of HK. The place seemed too fancy for serious sushi, but their sushi were no kidding.

 
salmon sashimi

  korean grilled salmon sushi. spicy*sweet kimchi salmon

uni sashimi. We can't resist to these ultra fresh sea urchin.

sweet shrimp sushi

eel yakitori

deep fried soft shell crab avocado roll

cutlet pumpkin croquette - kabocha

tuna mixed shanghai onion & california hand rolls

foie gras sushi. this particular item blows our mind away! we couldn't believe what we tasted. the so gooey center, yet uber crispy outer layer of these foie gras with warm vinegary rice were just the real treat!

This seemed underestimated sushi joint might seemed doubtful for real sushi, but our impressions were completely unfounded. Certainly by no means authentic, but the consistency of these fresh and mouth watering raw fish were impeccable. Start to finish, yakitori to sashimi, basics to artistry, supremacy!

I'll cover the rest of my HK cuisine findings soon, stay tune hungry piggies ;)

Yuyu Sushi

3 Ship St.

Wan Chai, HK