bc magazine

Megabites: 8 November, 2014

Thanksgiving
A national holiday in the USA, Thanksgiving originated as a day of celebration of the previous years harvest. Local American stalwart Dan Ryan’s is offering a traditional 4 course menu for $398 + 10% featuring pumpkin soup, roast turkey with giblet gravy, candied yams, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.
Dan Ryan’s Chicago Grill is located at Shop 28, LG2, Festival Walk, 80 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong (t: 2265 8811) and 112 Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty (t: 2845 4600).

Isola Reopens
A newly renovated and slightly remodeled Isola re-opened in IFC recently. At first glance you might not notice many of the new features, but take a look at the most important part of the restaurant… There’s a brand new kitchen, designed with the input of two-star Michelin Chef Marco Sacco and built in Italy. Yes, Isola is the latest eatery to partner up with an overseas Michelin star chef to add ‘prestige’ to it’s name… While Marco Satto will ‘oversee’ the gradual revamping of Isola’s menu – so don’t expect to see any of famous dishes on the menu quite yet – the new chef on the ground is Omar Agostini. At the media introduction of Marco Satto’s appointment there was little to taste, so we’ll have to wait and see what impact Marco and Omar bring to Isola, and it’s prime location with wonderful views across the harbour.

Great Idea
As part of their Christmas promotion Great in the basement of Pacific Place will be holding a series of food tastings and demonstrations loosely entitled “Comfort Foods for the Holidays”. The series of tastings and hands on activities starts on the 21 November from 3pm with the goal of inspiring and entertaining while learning more about food and how to prepare, cook and enjoy it.

A full list of the classes and tasting is posted in the store where you can sign-up in advance for those that interest you most. The list includes: Dressing a Whole Turkey (Demo), Pumpkin soup (Demo/Food Tasting), Making A Ginger Bread House from Scratch (Hands on instructional Class), Old Fashioned Christmas Cookies (Hands on instructional Class), Roasting Poultry (Hands on instructional Class), Christmas Pudding (Demo/Food Tasting), Composing a Cheese platter (Hands on instructional Class), Cooking with Cheese (Demo/Food Tasting), How to Carve a Turkey (Demo/Food Tasting), Understanding Craft Beer Instruction (Tasting).

Cooking videos
The Sheraton in Macau is posting cooking videos on it’s facebook page showing viewers how to enjoy the specialty dishes from the Sheraton Macao Hotel’s restaurants at home. Tied in with this are a series of weekly competitions and give-aways – check out their facebook page for more details www.facebook.com/SheratonMacau

If you have any food news please send it to [email protected]

Megabites News: Plant Based Mayonnaise

Something new and different – Just Mayo, a ‘plant based mayonnaise’ that is egg-free contains zero cholesterol and is gluten and soy free… Sounds a little too good to be true. Well oddly in this case it’s not. Hampton Creek a US company has spent over two years researching a replacement for the egg-based emulsifiers found in traditional mayonnaise. After screening over 1500 plants they found it was possible to use a specific variety of the Canadian yellow pea (a type of split pea) to replicate the binding properties of the eggs to create a ‘plant-based’ mayonnaise.

Just Mayo is exclusively available in four flavors: Original, Chipotle, Sriracha and Garlic at Great in Pacific Place (although expect to find it in PARKnSHOP, Fusion, Taste, International , Gourmet and SU-PA-DE-PA stores soon). At the recent product launch Great’s Tim Broderick demonstrated by preparing a range of dishes that beyond the ‘plant-based’ hype Just Mayo is a tasty option for all.

More info: www.hamptoncreek.com/just-mayo

Tasty Vietnamese Cuisine at the Embankment

The healthy simplicity of Vietnamese cuisine with its minimal use of oil and a reliance on herbs and vegetables is evident at the Embankment in Causeway Bay where the dishes on the newly revamped menu look to appeal to our five senses – the aromatic ingredients stimulate the nose, the enticing plates treat the eyes, sounds comes from crisp ingredients, while the texture is felt by our fingers before the five spices are detected on the tongue. While appealing to our senses each Vietnamese dish has a distinctive flavour which reflects one or more of the fundamental taste elements: spicy, sour, bitter, salty and sweet.

The 7000 square foot restaurant on the 2/F of Cigna Tower at 480 Jaffe Road in Causeway Bay has been working hard to eliminate MSG (a common complaint from diners under the previous owners) and enhance the freshness of the ingredients – but as Nelson Tam one of the new owners comments “We’ve done everything we can to eliminate it”. “With the recent change of management, as well as a new team of highly experienced Vietnamese chefs from Vietnam who have joined our team we hope to introduce some of most authentic cuisine from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City available in Hong Kong. We are proud to introduce our new menu and renovation to our customers to create a value for money dinning experience”.

What makes Vietnamese food special – the fish sauce! At Embankment the home made fish sauce features complex but delicate layers of sweetness, lime, garlic, chilli, saltiness of dark fish sauce and vinegar. These fragrant elements and fresh herbs feature in most of Embankments signature dishes which include:
Roasted minced prawn w/ sugarcane – the sweet sugarcane juice soaks into minced prawn for a unique flavour when roasted.

Stir fried garlic diced beef & tomato served w/ tomato rice – marble diced beef marinated with sweet basil, garlic, and slightly dark fish sauce, to enhance the original flavour from the beef. Stir fried with fresh basil, tomato, onions, topped with dried garlic, serve with tomato rice.

Deep fried chicken wings w/ butter & garlic seasoning – a unique cooking process merges 3 delicate procedures in order to bring out the prefect butter chicken wings. 1. marinate with lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce. 2. deep fried with precision timing between high and low temperature. 3. low heat stir fried with butter and garlic, in order to absorb the essence of the taste and scent of butter and garlic.

Marbled beef in Vietnamese vinegar hot pot – marbled beef cooked in a vinegar beef soup, merging the original sweetness of the beef, with a soft scent of vinegar and herbs

Nelson is also a foodie and for those new to the delights of Vietnamese dining he offer this piece of advice “When ordering remember a good meal will have balance, where the texture and flavours contrast the temperature and spiciness of the food.”

Embankment
2/F, 470-484 Jaffe Road,
Causeway Bay,
Hong Kong.

Embankment paid for the meals written about in this review.

Megabites: 1 February 2014

Alfresco Terrines and Pâtés
Almost two years on from an extensive renovation and rebranding the Causeway Bay Centre – the former Sanlitun – has still to imprint itself on many people’s dining radar. But if you enjoy sitting outside and especially if you have kids it’s worth a look as there’s extensive seating on the spacious walkways – all discretely labelled for general public use so you don’t have to actually buy anything to sit down, but expect some dirty looks if you don’t. A couple of reasons to sit-down at Divino Patio’s comfortable chairs are it’s Italian Aperitivo Buffet and this month’s Terrines and Pâtés promotion. The free (upon purchase of a drink) Aperitivo Buffet is typical of the type you’d find in bars across Italy and is full of nibbles including cheese bites, pizza squares, salmon bites, vegetables in tempura, grissini wrapped with salumi’s, polpette (meat balls), fried fish, pork belly and is available nightly from 5:30-8:30.

February’s Terrines and Pâtés promotion includes a country style pâté flavoured with guerande “fleur d sel” at HK$118 per 100 grams; Foie gras terrine and yellow wild mushrooms at HK$138/100grams; a traditional duck pâté at HK$168/100g; and a free range chicken breast and fresh tarragon terrine at HK$128/100g. The pates are served with toasted farm bread, gherkins and garden salad and are paired with a selection of wines and beer from the Italian artisan microbrewery 32 Via dei Birrai.
Divino Patio: Shop !1, 1/F Brim 28 Causeway Bay Centre, 28 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Tel: 2877 3552

Fondue
Locally fondue has in recent years come to mean dipping marshmallows and other confectionary in chocolate and while that’s nice and incredibly sweet the more traditional dipping medium is cheese (An aside, marshmallows and jelly beans dipped in cheese… intriguingly tasty idea….). Nightly through February 28 Divino in Central is offering three delicious cheese fondues to share with friends, Fonduta Svizzera ($300/person) comprising 1⁄2 Gruyere and 1⁄2 Vacherine Fribourgeois with a hint of Kirch wine; Fonduta Alla Valdostana ($280/person) using fontina cheese and Fonduta al Gorgonzola ($250/person) which as the name implies, uses gorgonzola. All are served with a selection of toasted bread cubes and fresh vegetables – including lightly poached Brussel sprouts and pumpkin both of which are delicious when dipped and coated in cheese, especially the gorgonzola. Remember to scrape the bowl, the slightly burnt cheese that sticks to the bowl is a crispy oft forgotten delight. All three fonduta are offered paired with wine or Italian artisan beers.
DiVino: G/F, 73 Wyndham Street, Central, Tel: 2167 8883

A Chinese New Year Option
It’s Chinese New Year, the weather’s sunny and you’re stuck for something to do… Why not check out Ocean Park or Disneyland both have a variety of restaurants offering CNY specials and a wealth of other activities to make for an enjoyable day-out. And with the mainland hordes staying north of the border visiting their relatives crowds should be light and meal prices are not too extravagant.

The Food of Gods – Cacao

There’s a lot to savour and enjoy for chocoholics today, as we look to sate our desire for the cacao bean. As with products like coffee, wine, tea and cheese not all chocolate is created equal, and everyone will have own favourites. At GREAT in the basement of Pacific Place, both Lindt and Valrhona have chocolate counters where the range of flavours to explore is extravagant.

Newly arrived at the Valrhona, the French chocolate makers, counter is the Vintage Single Origin collection, an annual celebration of cacao – the 70g bars ($98) are made with cacao beans from a single plantation with each having a unique sensory signature. This year’s collection features:

Ampamakia: a 64% cacao dark chocolate made from a fine blend of Trinitario beans harvested at the Millot Plantation in Madagascar. A fruity and refreshing, single origin dark chocolate with an additional sharp edge on the finish.

Gran Couva: sourced from the San Juan Estate in the village of Gran Couva, tucked on the hillside of Montserrat. The damp climate and rich, deep soils encourage the cacao trees to flourish producing beans with intense chocolate notes and a touch of dried mint and fresh spices. A mild mannered dark chocolate with low acidity and good length of flavour, not as tart as the Ampamakia vintage.

Loma Sotavento: a beautifully smooth dark chocolate created from Trinitarion and Criollo cocoa from the Loma Sotavento estate in the Dominican Republic. Very long on the palate, little acidity and with caramel notes, toasted aromas and a particularly creamy melt. A satisfyingly rich chocolate flavour to savour.

El Pedregal: the name of an estate in Venezuela dedicated entirely to the growing of Porcelana cacao – a form of Criollo cacao. An almost extinct variety of cacao bean known throughout the world for their wonderful flavour profile. A very creamy dark chocolate with notes of dried fruits and honey, with a spicy edge. Perfectly balanced with slight acidity and great depth of flavour. Ends with a touch of liquorice and prune. Outstanding length of taste

What is the difference between cacao and cocoa?
Cacao is the bean that comes from the cacao tree, which is known by the scientific name of Theobroma – which translates as “food of the gods” – cacao. Cacao pods – large football-shaped fruits – grow off the trunk and limbs of the cacao tree, and cacao beans are found inside the pods.

The beans are harvested, fermented, dried, cleaned and roasted, after which point the products are often referred to as cocoa. In other words, cocoa is what the bean is called after it has been processed (and lost much of the nutritional goodness that has cacao labelled as a superfood).

Valrhona:
GREAT, Level LG1, the Food Hall, Pacific Place Phase II, Queensway, Admiralty
Opening Hours – 10am – 10pm
Enquiry: 2918 9709

In the production of this article, bc sampled chocolate provided free by Valrhona.