Monday 28 January 2013

EATING: Shui Hu Ju, Hong Kong


Part 2/3 of my restaurant review from the foodie heaven of Hong Kong... Shui Hu Ju

Yes - I did play with my food

After Zuma came a quick hop to Thailand. On my return to Hong Kong from my mini beach break (much needed) - and following my insistent nagging to my hostess that we were going to eat some CHINESE food while in China - Belinda picked me up from central station post flight and we headed to Shui Hu Ju on Peel Street, Central HK. 



The Shui hu Ju exterior


I have to say I had my work cut out getting Bee to agree to taking me to a Chinese restaurant, and much as I banged on about Anthony Bourdain hopping from one street food venue to the next, Bee was having none of it. The strange thing is westerners living in HK tend to stick to the western food (We had steak Tartare and Moules-frites on our fist restaurant visit) Still who am I to judge, I live here and they live there. After much pushing for this Chinese feast and after a little research from bee, we learned that if you must eat Chinese food, that this was a restaurant that was worth seeking out.

Serving mostly northern Chinese fare, specifically from the Sichuan region, Shui Hu Ju was named after a mystical mountain in a Chinese fable.

If the name carried a sense of China's past, so to does the decor.  and stays true to its namesake with Once entering you are in a homely style restaurant, with dim lighting and plenty of charm. the food was delicious and portions generous, we ordered a cold noodle salad and then for mains the MOST delicious Duck and a very garlicky squid dish. We drank rice wine and I am blaming this for all of the pictures of me playing with the food! 


Belinda tucking into the beef and coriander noodle salad

 The Main courses - crispy fried Duck and squid in roasted spicy garlic



We decided we had NEVER eaten duck this good.


Digging in the Garlic 'sand' for the squid



Street food this is not, but a delicious exciting Chinese gem it was, thoroughly recommended.



xx O xx

Tuesday 22 January 2013

EATING: Zuma Brunch at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental


So... Whilst on my Trip to Hong Kong I ate at a good many restaurants, over the next 2 posts I will cover my top 3 Asian meals eaten up and enjoyed whilst in the mega foodie haven that is Hong Kong.


First Post - the biggie, ZUMA 

The first place of note in Honkers was actually an outlet of a London institution - Zuma (quite appropriate as most of the people in the room were expats and most of those from good old London town) so the food... in a word - WOW, or Nom Nom NOM.




At a set price of around $700HK (£65) the Zuma's Baikingu brunch brunch is a brilliant option for a long drawn out and rather boozy saturday brunch. Perfect to cure a hangover, or indeed in this case, for some of the guests - perfect to keep the party going for those who had forgone sleep altogether (not - I hasten to add myself!)

The location cannot be surpassed as Zuma HK is housed at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental hotel, in the heart of Central Hong Kong, and the interior and atmosphere matches the glamour of the location. Booking is essential and you see why as you enter down a wide and winding staircase and walk into a clinky busy bustly room crammed to the rafters with a laid back yet super chic crowd.

The Restaurant

Bellinis or Champagne are on tap and glasses are topped up almost as soon as you put them down on the table (so, pretty dangerous but lots of fun!)

I was sat at a table of 12 friends and, following a Bellini or two we made our way up to the 'Robata counter' that runs down almost the entire right hand site of the restaurant. Here we found the freshest sashimi and both nigri and maki sushi - presented on little baskets resting on mountains of ice. There were also little pots of steaming clams in scrummy juice, noodles and fresh vegetables in gorgeous clay dishes, as well as mixed tempura and chicken pieces cooked in the MOST delicious signature Zuma sauce - basically it was a buffet to end all buffets...


After about an hour and a half of visiting and then revisiting my new friend 'Robata', our main course arrived. I had chosen Gyuniku no sumibi yaki to kinoko with wafu sauce Which translates to... Frickin delicious steak OR...




Sirloin steak and sauteed mushrooms with wafu sauce. Needless to say, it was GOOD. 

It was halfway through the steak that I realised my rookie error in tucking in with quite so much enthusiasm to the scrumptious first course, and - as the mains were cleared to make way for 3 large mountain's of exotic fruits, Ice creams and some frankly quite questionable looking cakes I believe I was done!




(apologies for not so brilliant pics!)

Thank You Zuma

TBC...

xx O xx

Friday 4 January 2013

GOING: Serge De Nimes Pop Up, Dover Street






In the middle of a hectic December wrapping up work for the holidays (and sorting out my handover!) I went along to see and congratulate Ollie Proudlock on his Pop Up Shop for Serge De Nimes, housed at the newest site of the ever edgy concept store Wolf and Badger.


Wolf and Badger is great as they support new talent such as Ollie. The designers they showcase, weather they be clothing, jewellery or even home accessories - are always treading the line between luxury living and quirky style. I'd wager you'd find it hard not to fall in love with at least one beautiful piece of stock if passing through.

(Personally I also fell for these tongue in cheek plates by illustrator James Ward...if only I had cause to buy them)



available here

On arrival Caroline and I squeezed past a plethora of party people, including a number of Ollies Made In Chelsea co-stars. After saying our hellos to Ollie we headed downstairs to check out the new tees and to enjoy the transformation of the store into a nightclub like environment, complete with DJ and lots of gorgeous faces having a dance. 





Check out the video from the night here (inc a little cameo from Caroline, Bonnie and I about a min in)
The designer has produced a range of limited edition tees for the store, as well as some cool caps and beanies that - as a beanie obsessive I loved. The pop up ran from the 13th-23rd of December, but Serge De Nimes is available on the wolf and badger site as well as directly from sergedenimes.com.

If you like Ollies style, check out his other blog ProudlockStyle.