Tag Archives: HK

Harbour City Chocolate Trail 2013 – going cocoa loco!

Posted on February 13, 2013 | 1 Comment

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 chapon 1

Anyone who knows me should already know about my sweet tooth. Well, it ain’t just the one tooth, I tell you! Dessert queen, pudding princess, sweet treat sucker – call it what you will, but I’m an addict… and top of the (cake) pops is my love for chocolate! So as soon as I heard about Harbour City’s Chocolate Trail, I knew I had to get in on the cocoa action.

Having read and drooled over That Food Cray’s chocoholic tour of the mall, I was lucky enough to be offered a similar whistle-stop walk-through from Harbour City’s awesome PR, Season. On emailing Season, I declared that my 90-minute window should offer us ‘plenty of time’ to look around The Chocolate Trail – turns out that Nicole (That Food Cray) spent three hours there! And having seen and sampled just a few of the dessert delights on offer, I can totally see why!

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 Gerhard Petzl chocolate display

The Chocolate Trail is an annual fixture at Harbour City, featuring displays, demos, exclusive pop-up kiosks from gourmet chocolatiers, and special treats from some of the mall’s existing brands and restaurants. Some of the chocolate themed displays are more cheese than chocolate (boom boom) but the coolest/craziest HAS to be the royal banquet created by Austrian pastry chef Gerhard Petzl. Every single thing – the table, the place settings, the cutlery, crockery and the food itself – had all been hand-crafted from chocolate and the level of detail is insane; we’re talking Heston levels of dedication here!

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 gerhard petzl chocolate banquet

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 chocolate royal banquet

The room smelt absolutely incredible (ever wondered what eau de chocolate might smell like? Get a waft of this!)… although this might be too much chocolate even for me! I asked Season what was happening to this once the Chocolate Trail was over and she wasn’t sure – so maybe you should hang around come closing day to try and grab a bite!

Gallery by the Harbour, Harbour City, First Floor

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 kapok

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 kapok 2

Our first chocolate stop was Kapok, which I knew mainly as a cool style boutique on Star Street in Wan Chai. Turns out that they carry a whole lotta chocolate too! In-keeping with Kapok’s hip and edgy style, many of the brands were beautifully packaged artisanal chocolates that you can’t find anywhere else in HK.

I already wrote about ChocoYOU – a website where you can build your own customisable chocolate bar – for Sassy; Kapok is the only physical retailer to sell some of their pre-packaged varieties, so this time I tried their curry-infused chocolate. It was a whole lot less daunting than I imagined, with a mellow spicy buzz that complemented the chocolate taste well (even if I doubt I’d ever choose curry chocolate of my accord!).

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 kapok rannou metivier

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 kapok rannou metivier pistachio

Kapok has also scored an exclusive partnership with Rannou Metivier, producing these gorgeous selection boxes of assorted chocolates. We tried several – the Ceylon tea one was slightly disappointing without much noticeable tea taste, the salted butter caramel one was more buttery caramel than salt, whilst our favourite was the pistachio with its deliciously nutty yet silky smooth and gooey filling.

Kapok, Gateway Ground Floor

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 thierry mulphart macarons

After seeing so many Instagram photos of Thierry Mulphart’s chocolate sea salt caramel macaron, I had told Season that it was my only definite must-have. Chocolate, sea salt, caramel AND macaron?! I mean seriously, it’s like someone stepped into my wildest chocoholic dreams and made it happen! Alas, I probably set my expectations too high but this was still pretty tasty.

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 thierry mulphart chocolate sea salt caramel macaron

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 thierry mulphart chocolate caramel sea salt macaron

It didn’t really have the trademark airy but chewy texture of a macaron; instead, there was more of a crunch and combined with its unusual hard chocolate shell, this felt more like a biscuit or chocolate bar… a super tasty one, that is! I don’t think you can really go wrong with that marriage of flavours and this macaron-biscuit-yum hybrid was further proof of that.

Thierry Mulphart, Gateway First Floor

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 christophe roussel star ferry chocolates

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 christophe roussel yuzu chocolate

Next was Christophe Roussel, a French pâtissier who allegedly supplies Lauduree with their chocolate – well, with provenance like that, how could I resist?! I loved their super cute Star Ferry chocolates created exclusively for the Chocolate Trail – they’d make for great souvenirs… albeit ones that disappeared into your belly very quickly! Roussel’s signature chocolates are his lip-shaped ones, so we dutifully tried the Yuzu flavour. Normally, I steer clear of fruity chocolates as I usually find the syrup artificially sweet, but these were actually rather lovely and light. Yuzu is a pretty unusual fruit flavour to go for and the sweet but sour citrus cut through the chocolate nicely, making the whole thing sing on the palette.

Christophe Roussel, Gateway First Floor

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 la madeleine de proust display

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 la madeleine de proust florentines

Sugar and spice and all things nice… La Madeleine de Proust definitely wins for prettiest display! This French brand is nothing new in Hong Kong, having hosted many similar pop-up kiosks in malls before – but their set-up is absolutely stunning, reminding me of the sweet shops you thought only existed in fairy tales. We tried their signature Florentine – a gorgeously chewy biscuit featuring chopped nuts set in a caramel base and coated with dark chocolate. Apparently, the name originates from the words for a French kiss (‘baiser florentin’) and the sensation of eating one is supposed to produce a similarly sweet feeling; well, I’m not entirely sure about that, but given some of the ropey kisses I’ve “enjoyed” in my time, I’m pretty sure the Florentine biscuit would be the reliably more pleasurable option! This was so yummy that I was nearly tempted to buy several on the spot – it wasn’t too sweet and the soft but feather-light chewiness was delightful.

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 la madeleine de proust

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 la madeleine de proust turtles

La Madeleine de Proust also sell a variety of sweets, biscuits and other confectionary, so if you’re getting a bit of cocoa overload, stop by here for a breather!

La Madeleine de Proust, Gateway Second Floor

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 chapon 2

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 chapon eiffel towers

The next stop on our tour is a must-visit – French artisan chocolatier Chapon. This stall was buzzing with people – apparently, they were re-stocking from selling out over the past few days and the staff literally could not get the chocolates out fast enough! Chapon is selling exclusively in Hong Kong at Harbour City for the Chocolate Trail and it’s the first time the brand has been here… and with any luck, they’ll be back soon because the chocolates are divine. Patrice Chapon was previously the ice-cream maker at Buckingham Palace, but luckily found his true calling in chocolate, and his Smoked Salt Praline Dome is his signature calling card… and they are SENSATIONAL.

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 chapon smoked praline domes

I can’t quite describe the flavours of this unique chocolate; simultaneously blow-your-socks off stunning but still subtle, refined and sophisticated. The dome has a thin salty smoky outer layer with a satisfying caramel crunch layer inside, followed by the soft smooth nutty centre; the flavours are perfectly balanced and the final lingering taste of mellow smoky chocolate exquisiteness was just beyond. I will definitely be back to grab a few more (if there are any left!) and we should all keep our fingers crossed that Chapon becomes a permanent fixture in HK! In case you hadn’t realised, this is THE must-have chocolate from the Chocolate Trail – miss it at your peril!

Chapon, Gateway Ground Floor

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 lucullus

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 baruzzo display

There was a small pit stop to check out the unbelievably cute animal chocs at Lucullus, before we moved onto Baruzzo, an Italian chocolatier inspired by the handmade precision and bespoke nature of couture dressmaking. Fittingly, their thin square-shaped chocolates are all decorated with beautiful colourful designs; normally, super pretty chocolates look super pretty to hide the fact that they don’t taste too pretty… but I was very pleasantly surprised with Baruzzo’s! They have loads of innovative and interesting flavours just as unusual as their designs.

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 baruzzo

Our personal favourites were Rosemary, with the aromatic savoury herb nicely setting off the chocolate’s richness and complementing rather than overwhelming it (and I managed not to think about roast lamb once!). I have previously tried VERO’s rosemary chocolate with its liquid caramel centre, but Baruzzo’s rosemary element was delivered in the form of a scrummy crunchy middle – one of our favourite chocolates of the day. We also loved the Jasmine chocolate, which really did deliver the clean light and fragrant essence of Jasmine tea but without being too floral.

The Marigold variety was also intriguingly complex, with many different playful flavour notes (none of which I could quite put my finger on!), whilst I also tried their salted caramel soft centre and it was a-ma-zing. Normally, I hate orange-flavoured chocolates (Terry can keep his Chocolate Orange thanks very much!) so the fact that I even enjoyed their Orange Blossom variety (light, fruity and enhanced with some fine crunchy hazelnuts) means that Baruzzo must be onto a good thing!

Baruzzo, Ocean Terminal Ground Floor (by KidsX)

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 prestat

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 prestat truffles

Our final port of call was British brand Prestat, the only chocolatier to hold two Royal Warrants. With over one hundred years of chocolate expertise, their speciality is the truffle so we tried the Banoffee (the banana-caramel filling was luscious but the shell being white chocolate just made the whole thing too sweet) and the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt. I am obsessed with the chocolate salt flavour combo and this hit all my buttons – saltier than most with a rich addictive caramel filling. The packaging is also suitably grand and gorgeous, chocolate truly fit for royalty so you can feast like a queen! P.S. I was clearly in a chocolate coma by this stage, as I forget to take any chocolate photos – sorry!

Prestat, Ocean Terminal Ground Floor (by KidsX)

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 chocolate swag

harbour city chocolate trail 2013 godiva truffles

Season also generously gifted us a swag bag of chocolate goodies, including a few brands I didn’t have time to try. I was surprised by Godiva’s Truffles, which are MUCH better than I gave them credit for. They’re a little on the sweet side but the Crème Brulee and Apple Tart Tatin ones in particular were beautifully nuanced and way more interesting than I thought mainstream chocolate brands were capable of being – it definitely beats Thorntons, that’s for sure!

I’d highly recommend a little jaunt around The Chocolate Trail – it’s a great opportunity to check out tonnes of awesome chocolatiers at once, many of which have only limited availability in Hong Kong… if they’re even available here yet at all. My must-visits? Chapon, Baruzzo and Prestat.

Obviously, given the beautiful presentation of these brands, many of these chocolates would make for amazing presents for others – but it’s just as important to bag a few to treat yourself! I know I will…

The 2013 Chocolate Trail runs at Harbour City until 24 February; Harbour City, 3 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, 2118 8666

Many thanks to the lovely and generous Season for arranging our tour, my friend Mirander for coming along and being my hand model and Nicole for doing such an amazing blog post that inspired me to get off my ass and hit TST!

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Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap @ HKAPA review

Posted on October 22, 2012 | 2 Comments

It has been a long-time dream of mine to go see Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, the longest running play in the world ever, in the West End. Given I have now upped sticks and moved to Hong Kong, this ambition was seeming ever more unlikely… but luckily for me, a production decided to come over here to the HKAPA instead!

I say ‘luckily’ but actually I’m now not too sure. This 60 Year Diamond Anniversary touring show by Lunchbox Productions (the chief stagers of global productions in Hong Kong, including Grease and Chicago) turned out to be rather average with precious little West End sparkle – and now I know ‘whodunit’, if I should ever make it back to the British original in St Martin’s Theatre, it just wouldn’t be quite the same as seeing it for the first time.

The plot is classic Christie – a small cast of characters with dodgy pasts and hidden secrets, locked away in a country house where the phone lines are down, no one can get in or out and a murderer is on the loose… And to say much more than that would spoil the whole thing!

Of the cast of eight, only about half are up to scratch. Matthew Lotter camps it up perfectly as foppish architect Christopher Wren and steals every scene he’s in, whilst Claire Marshall knows exactly how to live up to the pompous grand old dame stereotype in Mrs Boyle. Sarah Richard does a decent job of holding everything together as Mollie Ralston, the owner of the guest house where the action takes place and the anchor of the drama. And Mark Rayment, as the obligatory suspicious foreigner, is the only one to truly have fun with his part and add something new and unexpected to a production that honestly, and even on its opening night here, already came up smelling of mothballs.

The mostly South African cast seem to be concentrating more on maintaining their RP accents as opposed to building characters that either felt real or had fun with the clichés. [They also need to work on their diction and volume, or be fitted with microphones.] Clyde Berning, as Mollie’s husband Giles, is terribly woefully wooden, Ashley Dowd’s Detective Trotter too shouty and the other two… well, I can barely remember them, they left such a great impression.

The set? The lighting? The music? The costumes? All these elements are so standard in this genre of front room play, that they’re barely worth commenting on. The Mousetrap is all plot, plot, plot. Twists, turns, red herrings, clues and cliffhangers… and what it really needs is a cast to sell that to you, so that you’re swept along on the ride. Already restless and vaguely bored by the end of the first act and with an uncertain abrupt end to the second, this cast just didn’t cut it.

I couldn’t help comparing this production to Nottingham Theatre Royal’s yearly Classic Thriller Season of plays – as the title suggests, a season of classic thrillers, murder mysteries… and yes, possibly even a few Agatha Christies. These were always magnificently entertaining – whether the cast played them for laughs, totally straight, or in the best cases, a brilliant mixture of both.

Perhaps the director here was too scared of The Mousetrap’s behemoth status. Perhaps it’s a lack of growing up with that murder mystery culture, which is so seeped into my consciousness. Or perhaps it’s just the fact they couldn’t be bothered to do any more than was strictly necessary to stage a production that only ran for six days and which, come opening night, played to a half-empty auditorium.

Lunchbox Productions’ version of The Mousetrap has an overall feel of ‘Will this do?’ For the most part, it almost does, simply because the play is an indestructible indefatigable and expertly constructed beast, as all the best Christies are. But really, for HK$750 a ticket (about £60, which is definitely more of a West End than Rep price), it should be a lot better. Christie deserves it. And so do we.

5/10

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap by Lunchbox Productions, Hong Kong Academt of Performing Arts’ Lyric Theatre, 9-14 October 2012. Tickets cost $350-950.

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Fiat Caffè restaurant review: start your engines!

Posted on October 8, 2012 | 1 Comment

My friend Mirander and I are engaged in on-going quest to check out every café in Hong Kong… and latest to make it on our radar was the Fiat Caffè in Causeway Bay. And yes, that is Fiat as in cars.

Cunningly disguised as a car showroom in Leighton Centre, I must have walked past countless times before realising that there was actually a menu pinned outside… and not just a basic café menu of perfunctory espressos and sad-looking sandwiches, but a mouth-watering menu stuffed with interesting Italian dishes.

Amongst the bruschetta, panini, pasta and gelato on offer, there is one gimmicky ‘most expensive coffee in the world’ (it comes with a Fiat) but otherwise, the menu is done with far more conviction and flair than you would expect of a café parked within a car showroom (parked… see what I did there?!).

The environment is bigger than expected (from outside, all you can see are the cars!) and a little busy – there’s a large kitchen-bar area, food to buy and take home (including pasta, tea bags and ice-cream) stacked everywhere, and a wall constantly re-playing Fiat commercials (I will probably now take Jennifer Lopez’s advert to the grave). Again, I was expecting a more gimmicky element – Fiat branding on the crockery, seats shaped like cars (clearly, I’ve been to too many Disney themed restaurants in my time!), but thankfully it was much cooler than that. Mirander and I eyed the uncomfortable-looking latticework perspex chairs dubiously, but actually they were surprisingly fine (for the first hour anyway) – so not just style over comfort!

Because I am a pig and couldn’t pick between two salivating-sounding bruschetta, I ordered both! First up was one topped with crispy pancetta, fried eggs, stewed tomatoes and black truffle – come on, doesn’t that just sound seriously sexy?! It arrived looking just as sexy, a mountain of indulgent Italian goodies (like a posher English breakfast!) piled atop a hefty wedge of toasted and defiantly un-soggy bruschetta, and it was as utterly scrumptious as those ingredients would have you expect.

The eggs (two eggs! result!) were cooked beautifully; one prod and beautiful yellow creamy goodness spilled out from the yolks. The pancetta was crispy salty and wonderful, although I do wish there had been a little more of it given the size of the dish, whilst the truffle flakes added a slight but unmistakeable woody smoky touch. I’m not a huge fan of tomatoes so would have preferred them in a less ‘wet’ form, but they added the right amount of fresh tanginess to balance the other rich flavours.

Second and even better was the prosciutto, sun-dried tomato, shallots and Fontina cheese bruschetta. The flavours here were much lighter and more obviously Italian than my first pick. The prosciutto was heaped on generously (how many times have you ordered this kind of thing only to get a tiny handful of the stuff?) and was dreamily beautiful – soft, salty and dangerously addictive. The sun-dried tomatoes were also packed with flavour; I see these all too rarely in restaurants here and wish they’d been more generous with these too! Nevertheless, the lack of sun-dried tomatoes was almost made up by the abundance of beautiful shallots – little balls packed with zinging sweet but sour loveliness. The Fontina was sliced very thinly, meaning it was practically welded to the toast, and has a more mild nutty flavour compared to other Italian cheeses, but the tastes all came together perfectly. I had to admit defeat and couldn’t finish half of the bread this time – yes, there are limits to my gluttony!

Miranda opted for a panini stuffed with more Fontina, balsamic mushrooms and tomatoes, pronouncing it ‘pretty good’; panini are a bit of a weakness for me so I will definitely be back to try one. I also really liked the honest presentation of all the dishes – no fancy drizzling of this or that, just plated up (in the case of the panini, on a rustic chunky wood board) and letting the ingredients and tastes do the talking.

Even better, despite the fact that this is a table-service joint and the waitresses are happy to keep topping you up with free tap water at all times? No 10% service charge! With the bruschetta and panini costing around $60-80, prices aren’t unreasonable for the quality of ingredients and hearty portion sizes, plus if you are that way inclined, they do offer good value lunch, afternoon tea and dinner sets too.

Although Hong Kong is not exactly short of Italian restaurants or indeed cafés, Fiat Caffè is a one-of-a-kind here. The dishes are a cut above the norm and despite their simplicity, are combinations that I just haven’t seen elsewhere. They’re well thought-out, authentic and have been created with an obvious love for food – and are absolutely delicious enough to warrant repeated return visits to work your way through the whole menu (I’m already eyeing all mentions of anchovies and homemade ricotta)!

The busy environment and the gradual sensation of the chairs’ latticework pressing into your bum means that the Fiat Caffè isn’t really the place to enjoy a long leisurely meal or a social dinner gathering. However, as a pit stop for an afternoon pick-me-up or a quick, filling and very delicious lunch, it’s definitely right up there for pole position. Vroom vroom!

Fiat Caffè, Shops G5-6, Leighton Centre, 77 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, 2960 9222

Bottom photo credit: Fiat HK’s Facebook Page

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Mid-Autumn Festival 2011, Moon Fun Playground lantern exhibition: fairground attraction!

Posted on September 9, 2012 | 3 Comments

Mid-Autumn Festival is rolling round again (four day weekend, hollaaaa!), so what better time to bring you… a full year late… the gorgeous lanterns from last year’s festivities?!

My advice is to bypass the crowds at Victoria Park and instead head to Tsim Sha Tsui’s Cultural Centre Piazza, where every year they have an awesome thematic lantern exhibition. It stays on display for a full month (much longer than the ones at Victoria Park), is less crowded (especially if you hit it when everyone else is having their dinner or when they are otherwise occupied with the Symphony Of Lights show), provides almost an hour’s worth of photo opportunities and intense study of all the amazing close-up details of each lantern, plus you can then get the Star Ferry home and admire HK’s amazing skyline… its very own modern cityscape of a lantern show.

I wondered how the LCSD were going to better their charming wonderful Rhapsody Of Hong Kong Memories lantern exhibition from 2010… so in 2011, they went straight for the cute jugular with Moon Fun Playground, a fairground themed display with loads of adorable bunny lanterns everywhere (well, it was the Year of the Rabbit after all!).

Here are a few of my highlights…

Moon Fun Playground’s centrepiece: a giant bunny rollercoaster, with cavorting dolphins, whales and errr… windmills. Take that, Ocean Park!

Tightrope walking… plate spinning… these bunnies got skillz!

Mid-autumn festival lanterns holding… other mid-autumn festival lanterns. Totally meta!

I love the detail that went into all the bunnies’ outfits – they could have easily just made them block colours, but instead they have little dungarees, waistcoasts and bows.

I think pirate bunny may be my absolute favourite… can you tell?!

This year, TST’s lantern exhibition will be the much less light-hearted sounding Terracotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty. It will run from 13 September until 21 October… so I’ll probably bring you my recap of that sometime in 2013! As for Victoria Park – well, last year, they had some of the Rhapsody of Hong Kong Memories lanterns recycled for the display there, so you never know, you might see these bunnies make a return appearance this time round too!

Moon Fun Playground thematic lantern exhibition, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza (near Star Ferry), Tsim Sha Tsui; 1 September until 9 October 2011, 6.30-11.00pm.

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Brasserie De L’ile restaurant review: frites for my sweet…

Posted on February 22, 2012 | 6 Comments

I may have mentioned on just a couple of occasions (like here… and here… and errr… here too) that my boyfriend is a bit of a chip connoisseur. For him, fries are one of the main food groups and golden chip fat probably runs through his veins. So when I heard about a new joint in town, Brasserie de L’ile, that was serving all you can eat fries, I knew it wasn’t a matter of if we would go, but WHEN!

Luckily for Brasserie de L’ile, it is located on Arbuthnot Road – and Central not being one of our frequent hang-outs, I felt slightly less nervous that my boyfriend would manage to put them out of business in just one visit!

They bill themselves as Hong Kong’s first authentic Northern French brasserie and specialise in pots of moules and handmade frites – with the large 800g option (note: smaller than Frites 1kg offering) coming with the much-heralded all-you-can-eat fries deal!

The restaurant itself is exactly my kind of place – very casual, very French, with comfy plush banquettes lining the walls and an open-front out onto Arbuthnot (not admittedly much fun when lorries and traffic come charging down it, and a bit chilly in winter too). It reminded me of nicer-looking Café Rouges in the UK and of a lighter brighter Press Room here; gorgeous Art Noveau prints and classic French advertising posters adorn the walls, red velvet curtains cordon off the back, and I knew it was made for me when I discovered a stash of amazing-smelling luxurious Aesop hand wash and cream in the bathroom. Yes, the make-up junkie in me is never put to rest, even on foodie trips!

My boyfriend and I ended up going at a betwixt and between time (following my knockout new haircut courtesy of Lorena Severi – see all the photos here!), meaning they weren’t actually serving dinner yet. So, we ended up doing our meal backwards and starting with dessert, a novel way of me getting round the fact that I often feel too full for pudding!

We opted for… well, I chose and assured my boyfriend that he would like it… crepes with sea salt caramel. ‘Oh my God…’ the boyfriend drooled, as soon as he had a bite. Salted caramel is truly a gift of the gods and this was the stuff of Zeus’ dreams. The crepes themselves were a thin, light delight and our plate was licked clean all too soon. We could have done with just one more of the feather-light crepes to truly satisfy our sweet urges though.

Then, we moved onto our starter – escargot with a garlic herb butter. Whenever I see escargot on a menu, however sketchy the joint (and I have had some truly sketchy escargots in HK, which the proprietors probably sourced from the back streets), I just have to have them. Brasserie de L’ile is a definitely non-sketchy joint and these escargots were absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious. Boyfriend had cautioned against having them (as he wanted to leave as much room for the fries as possible!) but these are worth making room for. However, not served in their shells and swimming in a pool of green sauce, I’ll admit it doesn’t make for the most appetising picture – but trust me, these are so good!

The snails themselves were juicy squishy little morsels that carried the full flavour of all the heady rich garlic butter could throw at them. Sadly, these weren’t served on a bed of mashed potato to catch all the juices; my advice is to save some of the (rather average) bread to soak up every last drip! See how full the bowl is in my picture? Well, by the time we were done, it was completely wiped clean!

Finally, the main event… the moules! We went for the classic Mariniere – white wine, garlic, leeks, herbs and love in a pot. The obvious point of comparison here has to be Frites; for me, Brasserie de L’ile’s sauce was a little thinner but the flavours were spot on. As for the mussels themselves, Brasserie’s are mere tiddlers compared to the big ‘uns at Frites; the result is that although the large option here weighs less, it feels like you get more! The taste of the mussels themselves was delightful – sweet with just the right hint of the sea, and tender without a hint of that rubbery stringiness of being overcooked.

And now… onto what you’ve all been waiting for… the frites. WOW. Even for a non chip connoisseur like myself, these are definitely amongst the best in Hong Kong. They are defiantly homemade – soft, light, hand-cut chunks of awesome. They are also seasoned to perfection, salty, buttery, even a little garlicky. We made it through three dishes… and my boyfriend claims he could have made it through at least another three more. (It seems to compensate for the all-you-can-eat deal, they do make your initial serving smaller than the norm but don’t be afraid to ask for more, and they come quickly enough not to put you off your rhythm!)

I must also complement the service that day, from a lovely smilingly attentive waitress who made us feel so welcome, even when we wandered in at the most random of times, and for whom nothing was too much trouble.

My boyfriend and I have actually taken to reminiscing about the chips, like some golden childhood memory… that’s how good they were! The truth is though, that everything we tried off Brasserie de L’ile’s menu was similar levels of wonderful and, coupled with its relaxed vibe and reasonable for the quality prices (most mains are around the $150-200 mark), we can’t wait to go back. Maybe we’ll even do the menu the right way round next time!

Brasserie De L’ile, G/F, 4 Arbuthnot Road, Central, Hong Kong, 2147 2389

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Beauty Spot: Cosmoprof Hong Kong 2011

Posted on December 4, 2011 | 2 Comments

I had heard of a mystical wonderland called Cosmoprof on other beauty blogs.

This mystical wonderland was a magical place where you could get sneak previews of new nail polish lines, discover secret cool cosmetics brands, get to try products so new they didn’t even have names, hob-nob with the great and the good of the make-up world and generally hang out with other beauty addicts. So I was extremely excited when an invitation to Cosmoprof landed in my letterbox!

Unfortunately, Cosmoprof turned out to be less a Wonderland and more a ‘Wonder what the hell I’m doing here’ land. Although at least I got this awesome visitor pass – yes, ‘Through The Looking Glass Blog’ is famous! Well, sort of.

Just for those not in know, Cosmoprof is a super-huge-massive-enormous beauty trade show that lands in the HKCEC once every year – with numerous other high-profile international destinations too. There are booths and exhibitors for every beauty product and machine you could think of (and probably a few you wish you couldn’t) but really, it’s for brands to find distributors/buyers and for businesses to find products. So quite how bloggers started coming along for the ride I’m not entirely sure!

Luckily, I went along with the gorgeous Georgie, who as a beauty salon owner actually had a valid reason for going. She was great company and her proper business credentials meant that I didn’t feel such a fraud!

Georgie ended up visiting Cosmoprof on all three days that it ran – and may I extend my deepest sympathies to her feet, which are probably bloodied stumps by now. Seriously, I can’t remember the last time I walked so much! The booths were spread over three or four floors, jam-packing each huge stadium-sized room like sardines in a tin (where I saw Kylie a few months before and where my position remained relatively stationary!)… suffice to say, I won’t be doing a fun-run, let alone a marathon, anytime soon! After just a few hours, I was knackered – the things I’ll do for make-up!

I was actually invited to Cosmoprof by the gorgeous Clara of MOR Cosmetics, an Australian brand I had never previously heard of. And, despite everything, I’m SO glad Clara did invite me because MOR Cosmetics are a definite keeper!

I was totally wow-ed by this brand and it was by far the highlight of the day – which had I known when I set out to visit them first thing, I might have planned to end things on a high instead! All of MOR Cosmetics’ products look and smell totally deluxe-ly divine and I wanted them all! They specialise mainly in bath and body care, with a few cute lip products too, but encased in the most beautiful, classical ancient Greek and Roman-inspired packaging.

Just look at this packaging and tell me it isn’t irresistible?! I honestly don’t know if I’d ever be able to rip off that beautiful embossed wrapping paper to use the stuff inside! The scents were just utterly delicious too – Georgie and I really loved the Lychee Flower Soap, whose light fresh fruity scent was near enough edible!

Unfortunately, MOR Cosmetics aren’t yet available in Hong Kong – although that might be a good thing as I’m sure large chunks of my bank balance would disappear into an MOR shaped hole! I think these perfectly-packaged pretties would go down a storm here (they remind me a little of Fresh, which is sold in Lane Crawford) and if you do live somewhere where MOR is available, the gift sets would make absolutely wonderful Christmas presents *hint hint*.

The ladies at MOR were also really lovely and welcoming, which unfortunately cannot be said of most of the booths I visited. I encountered plenty of really interesting and gorgeous products but sadly, once vendors found out that I didn’t have a business to stock, the conversation was over. Could I take photos? No. Could I read the brochure? No. Could I look more closely at the products? Take a guess what the answer was.

I instead took to snapping ninja photos, so excuse the poor quality!

Gosh Cosmetics had a fabulous display of their range – and I was both excited and disappointed to see they had so much that wasn’t available in Hong Kong. They had SO much make-up, much of it looked fabulous and, when I swatched some, the quality seemed good too. They also had a much more extensive range of skincare and body products, which I hope they bring over as all my Gosh experiences have been pretty great so far.

Of course, I had to get a photo of these nail glitters. I’ve read about them somewhere before and think this is such a fun idea! Basically, it’s a pot of dazzle dust that you stick your freshly-painted fingernail into for a glitzy glamorous glittering look! I asked and these WILL be coming to Hong Kong, sometime in 2012, and the price (as with all Gosh stuff) sounded very reasonable indeed!

Australian drugstore brand BYS also had a huge display of their cosmetics, which I pored over happily. Of course, I wasn’t allowed to take photos, but I’d already snapped a few so never mind! They had a massive range of nail polish, which I was salivating over, with some really innovative (and competitively-priced) products. There were tonnes of shatters, of course, but I was more interested in these Colour Change Polishes (which takes me back the days of my mood stone… and even further back to my childhood Barbie whose dress changed colour in different temperatures!) and UV Polishes that glow under UV lights in clubs, which is a totally awesome concept. [And you can just see to the left some very glittery and highly covetable Wonderland Polishes, no doubt inspired by OPI’s sell-out Alice In Wonderland collection.]

Meanwhile, these Animal Instincts palettes were just too pretty not to show you! I did learn that BYS do international shipping, so I’m currently sorting through their enormous online catalogue to sift through what I want!

I also spotted Barielle Nail Polish, which had a few standout colours (Georgie and I were obsessed with Falling Star, a lush sky blue with copper glitter), and Palladio Beauty, whose herbal lipsticks intrigued me – but again both aren’t sold here!

My other major lust moment of the day came with Golden Rose, who have some of their nail polishes in the Colormix vats here (and alas, none of their really cool stuff, like flakies and holos), but nothing else. Well, we are missing out BIG TIME. As you know, I’m obsessed with mineralised baked cosmically awesome eye shadows – and Golden Rose has a whole galaxy of these Terracotta Eyeshadows available! These were a huge range of stunning swirls of marbleised colour, glittery, shimmery, intensely-pigmented, multi-dimensional and super-soft to the touch. I bet they’re a hell of a lot more affordable than the MAC ones I keep being conned into buying!

I also really liked the gorgeous retro packaging of these Coca-Cola cosmetics. These were at the same booth as the Coca-Cola Lip Smackers that are currently available at Sasa/Watsons/Mannings so I’m hopeful these will be brought to HK. The line consisted of lip balms, glosses and body cream – the left is Vanilla Coke, the middle regular Coke and the right Cherry Coke. Vanilla was the one that smelt the most divine, whilst regular was my ultimate favourite packaging. [Note: I have a vested interest in these as my boyfriend is a Coca-Cola fiend and I bought him a framed vintage poster, very similar to these, last Christmas!]

And well, we all love Swarovksi-encrusted nail files and Hello Kitty cuteness, right?! I particularly love Geek Chic HK!

And finally, a few shots to show yow just how random Cosmoprof was. This is a poorly-attended yoga display, happening right in the middle of all the action with absolutely no-one but press paying attention!

And here is a man having a crazy-ass treatment done to his face. At the next stall, there was a woman with a dripping face-mask being (badly!) applied. Georgie and I pondered the purpose of an egg-shaped cocoon, only to walk round and discover a model wearing nothing but a bikini and glum expression slumped inside. No-one talking or interacting with her… too miserable a scene to take a picture of!

So there you have it! Cosmoprof – not quite the mystical wonderland of my wildest dreams but a mix of interesting and exhausting nonetheless! Even if non-one wanted to talk to me!

Cosmoprof Hong Kong 2011, 9-11 November, HKCEC.
Cosmoprof HK 2012 will be held on 14-16 November.

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Jack Wills is opening in Hong Kong… and it’s Fabulously British!

Posted on November 27, 2011 | 7 Comments

Amidst all the new international store openings in Hong Kong (Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, American Eagle, Gap, Forever 21), one store has quietly sneaked in under the radar… and may just eclipse them all. Ladies and gents, may I introduce you to Jack Wills.

And it definitely is an introduction. When I mentioned Jack Wills to most of my HK friends, the resounding response was ‘Who?!’. Having lived, attended school and gone to university in the UK, I was very familiar with Mr Wills. It was just getting big when I left around 4 years ago; Nottingham, the big university town where I spent far too many of my formative years, had just got its own store and had basically become THE uniform of choice for nearly everyone from my old school and uni.

The typical Jack Wills wearer then was:

In case you don’t know, that’s JP (played by Jack Whitehall) from  Fresh Meat (and do watch it, it’s hilarious), who basically epitomises near enough every person I went to school and uni with. JP would probably pronounce Jack Wills as “totally rape”… but enough Fresh Meat in-jokes!

Back then Jack Wills was very much a preppy British A&F, beloved by poshos and public schools (their tagline is ‘University Outfitters’, after all). Round my parts, we call these people ‘rah’s – for girls, think Ugg boots, sweat pants, all-enveloping scarves and big artfully-tousled bed-hair; for guys, think rugby shirts with collars never anything but up, lived-in jeans or board shorts determinedly worn in a country and climate that really doesn’t warrant having your hairy legs out for 8 months of the year.

Seriously, I could spot people from my school long after I’d left from the fact their hair was fluffed up to about five times the size of their body and that they were slouching about in sweats with ‘Jack Wills’ emblazoned on their arse. And as you’re probably now realising, I might just be a bit of a rah too. Like blates. But sadly, without the budget!

So I was already more than interested in Jack Wills opening in Hong Kong and the chance for me to relive my rah days. But, having attended a preview of their new store, I am now no longer interested, but EXTREMELY BLOODY EXCITED.

What became clear, especially after chatting to the fabulous Rachel Johnson, head of womenswear (and with a totes awesome first name, may I just add), is that Jack Wills has come on leaps and bounds since my time in the UK. Yes, there’s still rugby shirts, sweatpants and checked shirts galore, but now there’s so very much more too.

I was blown away by their range of dresses, all of which were immediately covetable, absolutely gorgeous and yet still had that signature Jack Wills feel about them. My heart did a little hop, skip and jump of delight when one of the models came out in the spotted black dress above – the very dress I pointed out to my friend a few moments before from the lookbook, stating ‘It must be mine.’

I was also rather enamoured with their fur capes, sparkly cardigans and fabulous tweed-y outdoors coats (with adorable metal anchor-embossed buttons – its the little details that count!) – here’s hoping HK actually gets cold enough to wear them! I’m also going through a cute print underwear and legwarmer obsession, so you can imagine what I made of the box of treasures below!

I loved the way the outfits were styled too – classic but still fashionable and in a way that felt distinctly British. I was also smitten by this Liberty-style print dress (most prints are bespoke to JW), paired with a slouchy knit cardigan, the perfect mix between dressed up and dressed down; all I have to say is, yes, yes YES! And this mannequin, showcasing sparkly sequinned shorts matched with a plain tee and statement-outfit making red blazer (I’m getting Claudia Winkleman vibes off this look) – even more YES! Even if I’d probably never be able to pull it off myself…

The great thing, especially for someone like me who buys what I like rather than paying close attention to whatever’s in fashion, is that Jack Wills doesn’t slavishly follow trends but rather forages its own distinctive path. I’d describe it as British heritage with a modern twist but with clothes classic and well-designed enough to last far more than a few seasons. However, unlike other shops that have an easily-identifiable signature look (*cough A&F cough*), Jack Wills doesn’t feel like a one-trick pony stuck in a major sartorial rut.

The other cause for major excitement – they’re doing BEAUTY. I think I totally freaked out Rachel, JW’s lovely brand coordinator Lauren and gorgeous PR extraordinaire Elle with my extreme excited squealing when they told me! It seems, in my time away, that Jack Wills have branched into nearly everything – home décor, mugs, iPhone accessories, jewellery and, obviously much to my delight, cosmetics too. The packaging, in their signature pink and navy stripes, is absolutely beyond cute and everything looks really affordable too. Obviously I can’t wait to get my grubby little mitts onto some of the product to give them a test drive – but that Union Jack tin stuffed with nail polishes?! It may as well have my name written on it!

I also NEED the following make-up bags – well, you can never have too many make-up bags, right?!

The lookbook is basically the cast of Skins having had a shower and minus the hipster posing, mini Rosie Huntington-Whiteleys and Prince Harrys. A sense of quintessential Britishness is as intrinsic to the brand as with Burberry or Mulberry, but at high street prices. (Though not that High Street – I’d say prices are on the more premium side, comparable to Ted Baker or Club Monaco here, but not unreasonable for the quality and with some more affordable basics. Rachel assured me they wouldn’t be jacking up the price tags for the HK market either, and my wallet thanks them hugely). There’s an emphasis on heritage prints, old-school Arran knits and little details, like embossed buttons and vintage-style labels sewn into each piece, that give it a sense of much-loved tradition but with a youthful twist.

I was also totally in love with the store itself. In HK, home to the mega-mall, store anonymity is the norm. The Jack Wills flagship, housed in Leighton Centre (behind G.O.D) in Causeway Bay, is anything but.

Firstly, it’s huge. Two floors, high ceilings, practically a mansion by Hong Kong standards. Yes, A&F may have got the press inches by forcing out Shanghai Tang but, unless they’re going to work wonders, this is actually the much better shop space.

Secondly, it’s amazing. No longer will wandering through M&S be my only port of call when pangs of homesickness strike – I can now go stroke some Jack Wills stuff too! There are so many idiosyncratic little touches, just the right mix between quirky and cool whilst being distinctively and delightfully British, that I can imagine people (especially Mainland tourists) will be popping into the shop just to take photos – and no doubt, grab a few Union Jack emblazoned souvenirs whilst they’re at it. So there’s a fireplace, vintage luggage cases, huge pre-loved Union Jack sofas, sweeping staircases, dazzling chandeliers, walls of haphazardly placed but perfectly-thought-out pictures, neon antlers, stuffed animals (didn’t take any pictures of these, slightly creepy)… oh and did I mention the big Jack Wills-striped Range Rover too?!

In a place where stores rarely have such a quirky sense of individuality expressed in their décor, this makes Jack Wills a very exciting… and enticing… prospect indeed. Their unique brand identity is just so cohesive (even their business cards have the pink and navy stripes!)… flick through their lookbook and everything just goes. It’s a study in easy fluidity yet without trying too hard.

Honestly, I really can’t think of anywhere that could compare to it in HK, which can only be a good thing. For me, another British chain with a similarly strong (though totally different) brand identity would be All Saints – in Notts, its store was an old bank kitted out to feel cutting-edge cool and rock-star gothic; meanwhile, another brand that has the quirky Brit thing would be Ted Baker, although I feel this has pretty much been entirely lost in HK stores (they used to give away condoms in my local one… can’t see that ever happening here!), whilst on the whole cool word-of-mouth front they’re totally doing a Superdry… but with a slightly posher accent!

A verrrry English tea… complete with too pretty to eat cupcakes!

Jack Wills is famous ‘in the industry’ for not doing billboards and conventional advertising, but going by word-of-mouth and viral marketing campaigns; they used to hire pretty young things to wear their clothes (and no doubt look stunning on them) and have Jack Wills beach and pub parties in the UK, all the time promoting the brand and handing out freebies.

I had a little chat about their marketing strategy here, as I was concerned that with all the new stores opening that would be aggressive about their marketing (seen those huge Gap adverts taking over the whole of Central MTR yet?!) and with very little brand recognition to work on, they might get somewhat lost. However, it sounds like they do have some cool tricks up their sleeves (involving HK’s iconic trams and some fab Facebook competitions) and they’ve created a bit of social media buzz already by inviting so many bloggers to check it out – and from what I’ve seen so far, response has been really positive, myself included!

I brought my friend Aurora along, a hot local twenty-something with a shopping addiction almost as bad as mine (i.e. totally JW’s demographic) and no previous knowledge of JW. She was won over within minutes. What she saw even from a half-finished store and a few racks of clothes had her almost as excited about the store as I was. (And here she is above, rocking her Jack Wills goodies far better than I ever could).

Her – and my! – final thoughts? Forget A&F! Head to Jack Wills instead!

Jack Wills will open two stores in HK – at Leighton Centre, Causeway Bay (see artist’s impression above!) and LCX (Ocean Terminal), Tsim Sha Tsui – at the beginning of December. Thanks to Elle and the whole Jack Wills team for inviting me and being so very welcoming and lovely throughout.

I’ll see you all at the launch party!

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London Show Rooms HK: Spring Summer 2012

Posted on November 6, 2011 | 3 Comments

Regular readers may remember my Red Carpet Rundowns from awards ceremonies of yore, which generally consisted of me writing in the throes of passion to some stunningly beautiful designer dress. Well now, I’ve actually been and gone and seen and TOUCHED these dresses in person. And they are all SO MUCH MORE AMAZING in person!

But also, in a way, not that much more amazing too. At the end of the day, they are just body-part shaped bits of material, much the same as the body-part shaped bits of material you’d find at H&M, Primark or even the local wet market. Celebs, models and the beautiful people have a way of making you think their garments are some sort of magical mystical cloaks of wonder, elevating them to minor divinity status. But actually, having handled the very garments I’ve swooned at on a pixelated level, I can now tell you – it really is just a dress. No pixie dust, no ethereal glow, no heavens opening sound when you touch them… just a dress after all.

But still exceedingly pretty dresses after all!

Enough rambling and onto the point… I was lucky enough to be invited to the London Show Rooms, a British Council initiative to showcase the work of some of Britain’s hottest designers. Having pored over the recent pics from London Fashion Week, it was honestly like a dream come true!

I went with the lovely Hester from Sassy Hong Kong, and tried to keep my ridiculous squeeing in check in case she realised what a fashion fan-girl I am – especially for someone who generally looks such a state in person!

The event itself was a little weird – I saw someone toting a giant papier-mâché hand, which just about says it all. Apart from the fact that no-one bothered to introduce themselves so I had no idea who worked there or who was just wafting around to cover the event like myself, the biggest downfall was that very few of the dresses were displayed on a body – either real or plastic. These dresses come alive shown on people, yet there were fewer than 10 models standing around the room, strutting their insolent stuff (and yes, I did totally feel like I was in an episode of Next Top Model!). A fashion show, or even a small presentation about the designers (or even just better lighting!), would have done more justice to these wonderful garments.

On the plus side, you were allowed to handle the garments to your heart’s desire. I’m far too intimated by snobby shop assistants to ever try and go into the retail shops myself (Pretty Woman syndrome!) so it was great to be able to enjoy a leisurely swoon and sigh, without feeling like my grubby mitts would be shoo-ed off at any moment!

My favourite – Mary Katrantzou. I loved these dresses in print, I loved these dresses in pixel and I LOVED these dresses in person!

Katrantzou’s calling card is colourful, mental, full-on floral prints – as you can see from her rail (banner photo), which is just a riot of rainbow! The dress on the model was just exquisite – the flow, the shape, the way it sat on her body, that gorgeous train and most importantly, the fabulous print itself. You can appreciate how precisely thought-out the colours and shapes are by the way each different print begins and ends so crisply and beautifully – the fact the model looks gift-wrapped is a Brucie bonus! – but this is a perfect example of why high street knock-offs will never quite cut it. There is no way you could get as complex and crazy a print that still looks expensive, flattering and elegant for el cheapo prices!

I also loved this tropical-coloured coral reef asymmetric dress from The Katrantzou (held by Hester!). What you can’t really see in this photo is the gorgeous stiff full skirt, which pouffed out uber-cutely, and it’s such a shame I didn’t get to see this on a model, where it really would have come alive. Again, this isn’t the kind of tailoring you can get for high street prices – and that’s coming from someone that has been looking for that proper pouffy structured full skirt for ages! (Or alternatively, tell me where and I’m there!)

My next favourite, somewhat surprisingly, was Marios Schwab. His pieces were SO much more beautiful in person; on the catwalk, they can look a little plain – especially compared with all the other crazy colours and vibrant prints that come out to play for Spring/Summer. What I’ve always loved about his designs is how they always perfectly combine the tough with the sensual, the sexy with the soft. Despite the corsetry and cut-out elements to many of his dresses, they’re the very antithesis of the tired old trollope standby, the bandage dress.

It’s an overtly sexy, tight-fitting silhouette, but muted with netting, overlays and veiling. It’s lattice-work that actually reveals very little at all. It’s tough shapes and colours, but then a sprinkling of Swarovski crystals. And what amazed me most was how soft these were to the touch. Many bandage dresses I’ve handled before felt hard, rigid and constricting – that’s how they suck you in all the right places – but these were meltingly fluid, like a buttery soft fluid leather. I really loved the pretty lilac and blush coloured ones, which often lose out on the red carpet stakes to the more obvious black, white or nude numbers.

I also adored the work of Peter Pilotto. Pilotto’s digital prints were really hot a couple of seasons ago, where everyone and their ice-cream man was seen in his colourful abstract numbers (or a high street knock off of them!) but I feel he’s since been overshadowed by the likes of Katranzou and Erdem. Well, this collection showed me that he’s definitely still alive and kicking… with a vengeance! These were ultra-colourful, but in much less whimsical way – I’m gonna call it future-tribal! These were also some of the more complex dress shapes on show with lots of intricate cutting and plenty of those full structured skirts I love. Here’s the red dress I was eyeing for my wardrobe!

I was expecting to be wow-ed by Roksanda Ilincic and Jonathan Saunders, two of my other favourites on the red carpet (especially the divine Ms Roksanda, as worn by my ultimate girl crush, Kate Middleton) yet I ended up being a little disappointed.

Ilnicic’s pieces for me have always been about stunning cutting, draping and folding and an effortlessly tactile structured but unstructured elegance that enlivens her essentially simple and classic shapes. On coat-hangers, this just wasn’t evident. The colour palette was gorgeous – vivid turquoise and fuchsia jewel tones playing off muted mustards and grey but I needed to see these on a person! I’m still lusting after her Debenhams collection though!

Saunder’s rail was pretty delicious from afar – a cool ice-cream coloured rack of spring sorbets, especially to the right of my picture where my favourite of his pieces sat. As worn by Samatha Cameron and another one with a Debenhams collaboration under his belt, I felt his outfits were a lot more mainstream than most of the other designers here, though would probably look lovely on (Thandie Newton is another fan and I always think she looks amazing), but unfortunately they didn’t do much for me on the hanger either. Some of his prints were surprisingly acid-y, Pucci-esque and Mystery Machine-worthy though – I guess we just don’t get to see those on the red carpet as much.

David Koma was another surprise – him of dressing Cheryl Cole on X Factor in dustbin lids fame. As expected, lots of chunky embellishments (see the 3D Persplex on what I believe was a miniskirt yet which was so short I wouldn’t even wear it as a scarf!) but I saw some more mature designs in there too.

I loved the model’s outfit, which was decorated with awesome iridescent panels of sequins, shimmering and gleaming like insects wings in the light, which just looked intensely flattering yet still different. Expect to see more of Koma on the red carpet – and with a Topshop collaboration on the way (as has Katranzou, by the way), his time is definitely now.

Holly Fulton is another ‘one to watch’, who apparently revels in bad taste. Not really my style but nice to see some unashamedly happy designs (she’s supposedly influenced by Versace and most of these would fit right in with their H&M partnership) – but I have to admit, the model does look amazing!

Finally, some shoe porn of the highest order from Nicholas Kirkwood. I could have spent half an hour playing with these alone. If ever there was a case for shoes as art work, here it be. I once called Kirkwood’s designs ‘pure joy on a hoof’ and after seeing them in person, I stand by that description!

Of course, they’re far too beautiful for me to ever actually want to wear, as opposed to bring out the closet to stroke lovingly in times of sadness – as if I’d ever be able to afford a pair anyway!

So there you have it… amazing designer dresses are amazing. Not that amazing. But still amazing enough.

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Forgotten Fine Art: The Cityplaza Copper Suite

Posted on October 30, 2011 | 11 Comments

In Hong Kong, you can often find pretty things in the strangest places… which often means discovering fine art in the most mundane of anonymous corporate offices.

Such was the case with this stunning series of plaques entitled The Cityplaza Copper Suite by Australian sculptors Joan Walsh Smith and Charles Smith in Tai Koo’s Cityplaza complex of buildings.

I was taken aback by the level of detail in these – you could spend ages poring over these still find even more interesting and clever little vignettes revealing themselves in the copper artwork. The style reminds me a little of Jan Pieńkowski’s silhouette illustrations for the Joan Aiken books I used to read when I was little. Click on each photograph to enlarge and zoom in  and you can check out some of the detail for yourselves!

Each ‘Rondo-Progression’ has a different theme (unfortunately, I forgot to note them down, bad blogger, slaps wrist!) but I believe they were The Arts, Food, Leisure and Work. My favourite is probably The Arts with its striking centre-piece of the two Chinese theatre masks and loads of other dynamic pictures surrounding it – it’s almost like it’s alive with movement!

You can’t really tell from the pictures (which have distorted the light reflections weirdly) but these are made from copper, which is even more stunning and vivid in real life – and I loved the way the light reflected and bounced off these pieces, making them even more vibrant.

It seems a shame that these are tucked away in a place most people wouldn’t even notice so hopefully this post does its bit to show them off to the rest of the world!

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Le Salon de Thé de Joël Robuchon high tea set review: one sandwich short of a picnic?

Posted on October 7, 2011 | 12 Comments

One of life’s laziest pleasures has to be high tea. Being able to enjoy a mid-week afternoon tea set basically signals ‘Hey, I’m a jobless slacker!’ but that’s all part of the fun, right?

My BFF Mirander (studying so not a jobless slacker btw) and I (freelancer, so technically not a jobless slacker either) have a fondness for long afternoons spent shopping with occasional – and even longer! – dessert pit-stops, so we decided to check out the Le Salon de Thé de Joël Robuchon after I heard lots of good things about it on Twitter.

Braving the high-end, too-good-for-our-sorts designer label playground that is The Landmark in our quest for good cake, we quickly opted for the High Tea Set For Two ($315). We didn’t really pay much attention to the description, instead being won over by the pretty pictures, and so our meal mainly consisted of eating first and trying to identify the tastes later!

Even though the menu made the tea set look sizeable, all the pictures were printed practically to scale! They were all rather miniature, though definitely more of the ‘small and perfectly formed’ rather than ‘stingy Masterchef-y nonsense’ variety.

First up, the savouries. These were utterly delicious and we both wished there were more, as the sweet side rather overbalanced this tea set. Belated online consultation of the menu tells me this consisted of the following sandwiches (left to right): lobster flavoured with tarragon, tuna and poached egg, Norwegian smoked salmon and caviar and premium ham and mustard seed. Our universal favourite was the salmon, which was soft, smoky melt-in-mouth deliciousness, even if there was too little caviar to make any difference.

The filling of the lobster one was lovely (but we hated the intense sharp sweetness of whatever those little red cubes were on the top), the tuna was pleasantly un-fishy though the egg pieces felt a little cumbersome for such a dinky morsel and the ham was blandly unmemorable but probably the best a ham sandwich could be. All-round, the bread was delightfully light, fresh and made swallowing these whole an easy and all-too-enticing prospect!

The scones were also great. Served with PROPER Devonshire clotted cream (not the nasty straight-out-of-a-can stuff many places here serve), these were warm, heavy, buttery globes straight out a (posh) English teashop. The real star was the homemade strawberry jam, which despite looking initially thin and watery, was actually wonderful. Just the right amount of sweetness, neither too tart nor too sugary, with lashings of luscious homely fruitiness.

Finally, the pastries, which were almost too delicately artistically pretty to eat! Alas, consulting the menu online hasn’t really helped me to decide which sweet was which! Apparently there was a Paris-brest, L’exotique, Mont Blanc, macaroon ganache and blueberry cheesecake; well, I don’t even know what three of those things are (don’t Mont Blanc make pens?!) and there’s clearly no blueberry going on in my photo!

Let’s start with the obvious – the macaroon ganache (far left). The most visually stunning – and the most difficult to divvy up! The macaroons themselves were light sweet confections of airy nothingness, as the best macaroons are, and they were given a hit of rich creamy chocolate thanks to the ganache. As a high tea pastry, it was pretty perfect.

Second from the left is what I think may be the Mont Blanc, which Wikipedia tells me is a dessert of chestnut and whipped cream. For me, the cream topping and mousse base was just too much of one texture – super soft, super creamy and way too rich for my palette.

In the middle is what I reckon was a mango cheesecake. That sounds so ordinary, yet this was a whole different level of mango cheesecake! I found it utterly more-ishly wonderful. The cheese part was blended just right to be such a wonderfully creamy, non-heavy, non-lumpy consistency that it just slunk down my throat with a seductive sweet shiver. The mango was fresh, fruity, juicy and exuberant, the perfect counterpoint to the cheese. We just wished the base had been a bit more crumbly and biscuity, in the traditional cheesecake way, but the whole thing was feather-light enough to not register you’d swallowed anything at all!

Second from the right and here’s where I start losing my way. I reckon this might be L’exotique, with Wikipedia coming to the rescue to say it’s a pastry of white chocolate and passion fruit (no mention of raspberries though!). I distinctly remember tasting pineapple at some stage… and I guess my mistaken pineapple could easily be passion fruit… so L’exotique it is! Honestly, this was a bit nothing-y – just small squidges of some chocolatey creamy fruity substance on a fairly flavourless cardboard pastry bottom. It looks better than it tasted.

Finally, on the far right, is what I’m guessing is the Paris-brest – a choux pastry with praline-flavoured cream (thanks again Wikipedia!) – and also not a favourite at our table. Although the dessert itself gave me profiterole vibes in its composition, it simply wasn’t as tasty as one. The choux pastry was dry, bland and there was far too much of it, compared with the filling, which I can’t even remember.

On the extreme left are the Petit-fours… basically yet more sweets. These were bigger and more filling than most of the pastries proper! There was a slice of banana cake/bread, which you’ll either love or loathe depending on quite how much you like banana. My friend Mirander is a banana fiend and was all over this; I’m not such a fan and found it’s full-on BANANA-ness and intense sticky moistness a bit much. Even after one bite, I felt full! (Incidentally, I love the banana bread at Applegreen, which Mirander hates because it’s too dry and not banana-y enough, telling you everything you need to about our banana scale, so you can see who you side with!).

There was also a dark-chocolate covered nut stack and some tiny blackberry pastilles. The former was extremely gorgeous – I’m a sucker for chocolate covered nuts (keep your dirty jokes to yourself thanks!) and the pastilles packed way more tangy intensity than we could ever expected from such a little cube! Imagine a whole pack of blackberry Fruitips (Fruit Pastilles to British readers) distilled into one miniature square and you’re almost there.

All in all, I could have done with the Petit-fours counting towards the sweet portion, sparing us a few of the less memorable pastries and giving us an extra sandwich for good luck!

Tea was served in chunky metal super-stylish Chinoiserie-inspired pots, which totally fitted into the restaurant’s red-and-black décor but were a heavy pain to lift! Note to anyone picking the orange tea: don’t bother. The free glasses of water which had a lemon swirled around in them had more of a citrus taste!

A final word on the place itself. The restaurant, L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, is upstairs and continues the red and black theme, but to Edgar Allan Poe levels of Gothic intent. You have to go there to use the washrooms and, in the middle of the afternoon, it’s eerily quiet, creepy and deserted – and that’s before a door springs open soundlessly and automatically with no warning! I was searching for a headless horseman of a doorman (thankfully to no avail!) but luckily, Le Salon is open-plan in the mall itself, so has a much lighter and less oppressive feel!

Overall, Le Salon de Thé de Joël Robuchon delivers a premium high tea experience that looks fabulous on photos and is almost as fabulous to the taste. Saying that, I wouldn’t go for the tea set again (though I’ve heard good stuff about the sandwiches), simply because there is such an ocean of other high-end high teas to sample in Hong Kong and although this was great, I’m sure it wasn’t THE best. Suggestions in the comments box please!

Le Salon de Thé de Joël Robuchon, Shop 315, 3/F, The Landmark, 16 Des Voeux Road Central, Central, Hong Kong, 2166 9088

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