Hong Kong food blog | Sugared & Spiced

2016/09/262019/06/29

[Hong Kong] Toritama 酉玉

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酉玉 Toritama

Add: G/F, 2 Glenealy, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2388 7717
Hours: 6pm-12am (closed on Sun)
Website: www.toritama.hk
Price: 人均400+港币
Visited: Aug 2016

Tokyo’s Toritama, famous for going beyond the standard chicken skewers with its “beak-to-tail” experience, has settled in Hong Kong on Glenealy. Grill master Hironobu Matsumoto from Japan mans the Hong Kong outpost, bringing his expertise of chicken heart, esophagus, soft chest bone, and gizzard skin (etc. etc.) with him…but first, the meal begins with a selection of homemade pickles, and a small dish of grated daikon topped with a raw quail egg to be eaten on its own, or used as an accompaniment for the skewers.

在東京以 “Nose to Tail”（從鼻尖到尾巴）雞料理出名的酉玉去年在香港開分店，派了在總店工作五年的松本浩暢師傅坐鎮。酉玉在香港可能還未像 Yardbird 那樣衆所皆知，不過去過的朋友都非常喜歡，所以就約在這裏了。

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The original Tokyo shop offers over 30 different parts of the chicken, while the Hong Kong outpost does around 24. On the menu there is a handy diagram indicating each of these parts, I was surprised to see that even the tiny chicken butt is divided into three different sections…wow.

菜單上主打的是 ”1 雞 24 味” 的串燒，除了常吃到的部位之外，還有雞冠、雞膝軟骨、雞食道、雞血管、雞肝外層薄衣、雞膊肉、雞心口軟骨、雞心血管、雞膝軟骨、雞小腿肉、雞髀骹肉等共24個部位，據說連小小的雞股也仔細地分成尖股、股皮及上股 3 部分，風味各不相同。我說，也太細了吧…不愧是日本人，真是把雞發揮到了極致。

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Toritama uses local free-range chickens for its skewers (all except for the chicken butts), and as each chicken part has its distinct flavor and texture, the grill master uses different seasonings (including a 15-year-old sauce brought in from Tokyo) and grilling techniques to bring out the best of each.

除了雞股由東京總店直送香港之外，其他部位都來自本地農場的走地雞，根據老師傅的說法是因爲雞的新鮮度最爲重要，用當地的比較好（那雞屁股呢？可能有特殊的講究吧）。由于每個部味道不同，師傅會用調味料（包括東京總店送來的15年燒汁）、燒烤時間和技巧來調整風味。

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At Toritama, you can either go a la carte or choose from one of the sets – tori (7 skewers, 388 HKD), tama (10 skewers, 388 HKD), and omakase (12 skewers + rice + soup + ice-cream, 588 HKD). We went for the 7-skewer Tori set, and tagged on a few a la carte items at the end.

在酉玉可單點，也可選擇不同的套餐，比如 tori（7串，288港幣）、tama（10串，388港幣）、omaksase（12串＋主廚推薦飯料理＋雞湯＋冰淇淋，588港幣）。我選了 7 串的 tori 套餐，再單點了一些小東西。

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2016/09/232019/06/29

[Hong Kong 香港] Mott 32 卅二公館

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卅二公馆 Mott 32

Add: 4-4a Des Voeux Rd, Basement of the Standard Chartered Building, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2885 8688
Hours: 12-2pm, 6-11pm
Website: www.mott32.com
Price: [lunch] 350+ HKD/person
Visited: Aug 2016

You wouldn’t expect a fine dining restaurant to be located in the basement of a bank building, but such is the case for Mott 32. This sleek Chinese restaurant, named after New York’s first Chinese grocery store, is tucked all the way down in the basement of the Standard Chartered Building in Central – yet it attracts a steady crowd with its captivating interior design and delectable cuisine.

在香港的某天中午，在中環做金融工作的朋友約我在 “卅二公館 Mott 32” 吃飯。跟著地址尋到渣打銀行大廈的地下室，沒想到這裡會藏著一間餐廳。而且，還非常漂亮。

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The design style is a fusion of New York industrial style with Chinese elements, from the calligraphy on the exposed concrete walls to the Chinese medicine cabinets adorning the bar area.

設計這家餐廳是在香港非常出名的 Joyce Wang 事務所。斑駁的牆上畫著上海灘的旗袍美人們、各式燈具也很漂亮。

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In terms of cuisine, Mott 32’s offering ranges from barbecued meats and seafood to clay pot dishes, while the lunch menu is mostly dim sum-based.

Mott 32 的名字來自紐約的毛街 32 號，是紐約唐人街的中式美食發源地。餐廳的菜式以廣東為主，不過也有一些四川及北京的元素。

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2016/09/162019/06/29

[Hong Kong 香港] Elephant Grounds

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Elephant Grounds (Wanchai)

Add: 8 Wing Fung St. Wan Chai
Tel: +852 2778 2700
Hours: 8am-10pm
Website: www.elephantgrounds.com
Price: [coffee] 30-68 HKD
Visited: Aug 2016

Occupying this much coveted corner location on Wing Fung Street is Elephant Grounds, a coffee roaster local to Hong Kong. The open store front and warm wooden tones are immediately welcoming, and the interior is equally pleasant with handcrafted furniture by Start from Zero and a custom-made moss wall installation by local plant artist Quest Terrarium. Coffee, anyone?

某天在上環 gough street 逛街時，發現了藏在買手店 Woaw Store 背後 Elephant Grounds。同行的朋友告訴我這家咖啡很不錯，而且冰淇淋三明治非常有名。當天沒時間坐下來，不過幾天後又在灣仔遇見了它。

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There is even a bowl of water for pets at the front, how thoughtful.

灣仔的分店比上環的大了許多，位于星街附近一個熱鬧的街角。開放的門面和溫暖的木頭色都非常吸引人，門口還放了給狗狗們的喝水碗。

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2016/09/162019/06/29

[Hong Kong 香港] Omotesando Koffee

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Omotesando Koffee

Add: 24-25,G/F.,Lee Tung St ,Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2601 3323
Hours: [weekday] 8am-8pm [weekend] 9am-9pm
Website: www.ooo-koffee.com/hongkong.html
Price: [coffee] 40~60 HKD [sweets] 18+ HKD
Visited: Aug 2016

Omotesando Koffee started out as a pop-up shop in Tokyo’s Omotesando district, situated in a tiny, traditional Japanese home. It became famed for its espressos and cube-shaped designs – logo, work station, and even pastries are cube-shaped – that it eventually stayed for 5 years, until the building became too old to sustain the shop. Cafe owner Eiichi Kunimoto then moved it to Toranomon Koffee in Tokyo’s Toranomon Hills, before he expanded to a second Omotesando Koffee in Hong Kong.

香港的第一杯咖啡，在Omotesando Koffee。這家咖啡館的本店設立于東京表參道，據說本來只是家快閃店，沒想到大受歡迎，一開就是5年。本店因爲建築老舊的原因歇業後，主理人國友榮一開了姐妹店 Toranomon Koffee，以及香港灣仔的這家分店。

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The charming surroundings of an old Japanese residential building cannot be replicated in Hong Kong’s Lee Tung Avenue, but just about everything else has been carried over, including Omotesando Koffee’s signature cube design as you can see below.

Omotesando Koffee最明顯的特點就是 “盒子” 主題的設計，從標志、店裝、到甜點，全部都是方塊狀。國友榮一的解釋是：“日本傳統茶道中，泡茶及品嚐的過程都會在一個簡潔場所進行，衝咖啡亦如是，Omotesando Koffee 所提倡的「盒子」概念令我們專注於咖啡。”

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Beans are sourced from the same roaster in Tokyo, and Japanese staff members have been stationed in Hong Kong to ensure the same quality of coffee is served. Omotesando features two house blends, one is a mix of Ethiopian, Brazilian and Indonesian beans with a balanced flavor, and the second is a fruitier blend of Guatemalan and Panama beans.

Omotesando Koffee一部份日本店員常駐香港，提供與東京本店一致的味道，選用咖啡豆也是與日本同樣由小川咖啡室烘焙而成。根據店員的說法，這裏主打兩款house blend，第一款選用埃塞俄比亞、巴西以及印尼的咖啡豆，味道較平衡；第二款則選用危地馬拉及巴拿馬的咖啡豆，味道較鮮明，果香味比較重。

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2016/09/152019/06/29

[Hong Kong 香港] Grassroots Pantry 豆苗居

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Grassroots Pantry

Add: 108 Hollywood Road, Shengwan, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2873 3353
Hours: 9am-10:30pm
Website: www.grassrootspantry.com
Price: 150~250 HKD/person
Visited: Aug 2016

My first meal in Hong Kong this time was at Grassroots Pantry, a vegetarian restaurant with one core philosophy: “to create food that heals with the highest culinary standards and using the freshest, most nutrient-dense of sustainable, plant-based ingredients.” That reads like a mouthful, but what it’s basically saying, is that they make healthy food that tastes amazing. And it’s true.

到香港的第一餐，和一位注重養生的朋友相約在上環荷李活道上的 Grassroots Pantry 吃午餐。餐廳的創始人 Peggy Chan 本身是素食者，堅持用 raw food 的烹調方式將營養豐富的食材做成美味料理，不論吃素還是不吃素的朋友都很推薦。

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First, the design. Grassroots Pantry’s interior is bright and airy thanks to the large windows and a lofted ceiling. The combination of light grey cement wall and warm orange couches is lovely, and the plants adorning the space is more than welcome. Above the bar suspends a selection of gorgeous decanter lights from Lee Broom – a personal favorite.

店裏設計清新明亮，淺灰色的水泥牆搭配溫暖的橘紅色沙發，吧台上方吊著好多我喜愛的 Lee Broom 玻璃燈飾，室內養了不少綠色植物，感覺非常好。Grassroots Pantry 似乎是個很受外國人歡迎的地方，餐廳裏過半的客人都不是本地人。

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Word has it that Grassroots Pantry was the first shop in Hong Kong to use acai berry, and their recipes are laden with nutrition-packed ingredients like flaxseed, buckwheat, kohlrabi, cashews, chickpeas, and the likes. They promote “raw foodism”, which is about eating unprocessed and uncooked foods. The cooking process involves sprouting, soaking, fermentation, pickling, dehydration, etc., which is a time-consuming process, all aiming to preserve the maximum amount of nutrients in the food.

據說 Grassroots Pantry 是香港首家引進巴西莓 (Acai Berry) 的店家，也經常使用亞麻籽、荞麥、苤藍、腰果、鷹嘴豆等健康食材。這裡采用 raw food 技巧來處理食材，包括發芽 (sprouting)、浸泡 (soaking)、發酵 (fermentation)、醃製 (pickling)、風乾 (dehydration) 等。比如，要入菜的種籽必須浸泡于自家榨制的堅果奶中至少8小時使之發芽，讓種籽的營養容易被人體吸收，是費時費力的烹調方法。

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2012/01/202015/08/31

[Hong Kong] Madam Sixty Ate

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Madam Sixty Ate

Address: Shop 8, 1/F J Senses, 60 Johnston Rd, Wan Chai, Hong Kong / 香港灣仔庄士敦道60號1樓8號鋪
Tel: +852 2527 2558
Hours: 12:00pm~12:00am
Website: www.madamsixtyate.com.hk
Price: [lunch] 148~178 HKD, [dinner] 400+ HKD
Visited on: 2011-09-12

Chef Director Chris Woodyard and Head Chef Andrew Braham have put in plenty of heart into Madam Sixty Ate, and it shows in the details. From the hand illustrated menu featuring cauliflower-tailed fish and bunnies nesting in pea pods, to the edible art pieces that come pouring out of the open kitchen, there are quirky personal touches sprinkled throughout the restaurant. It all starts at the elevator, where a pig (her name is Eliza) greets diners in her wooly attire.

Entrance

Love the bright, airy space.

Dining room

Love the wall paper.

Wall paper

Love the open kitchen.

Open kitchen

LOVE the hand-illustrated menu. Meet Pedro the Squid.

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2012/01/032015/08/31

[Hong Kong] 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA

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8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA

Add: Shop 202, 2/F, Alexandra House, Central, Hong Kong / 中環德輔道中5-17號歷山大廈2樓202號舖
Tel: (852) 2537 8859
Hours: 12-2:30pm, 6:30-10:30pm
Website: www.ottoemezzobombana.com
Price: [lunch] 330 HKD/set (a la carte also available), [dinner] 800 HKD+
Visited: Dec 2011

I won’t be able to describe my dinner at 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA in much detail. It was one of those charming experiences filled with constant oohs and ahhs that in retrospect, everything is a blur – the copious amount of wine consumed that evening certainly contributed to the buzz. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

We were lucky to get one of the C-shaped booths in the corners, which provided a great vantage point from which to survey the entire dining room: a comfortable interior in a warm palette of bronze and cream, made festive by Christmas decorations here and there. The faceted mirror ceiling is a nice touch.

Corkage fee at Otto e Mezzo is charged not by the bottle, but by the number of people at the table (100 HKD per person), and in total we only paid 400 HKD of corkage fee for all three bottles we brought that evening (instead of 500 HKD/bottle charged by other high-end restaurants). It all started with a bottle of bubbly Egly Ouriet Brut Tradition Grand Cru (thank you J & C :)

The amuse bouche may look like a chocolate truffle, but it’s actually a cube of chocolate foie gras.

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2012/01/012015/08/31

[Hong Kong] Caprice

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Caprice

Address: 6F Four Seasons Hotel, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 3196-8888
Hours: 12:00pm~2:30pm, 6:00pm~10:30pm
Website: www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/dining/caprice/
Prices: [lunch] 460~520HKD + 10%/set, [dinner] 1000+ HKD
Visited on: 2011-12-23

Caprice barely needs an introduction. The only French restaurant in Hong Kong with three Michelin stars, Caprice is led by Chef Vincent Thierry (ex-Le Cinq of Four Seasons Hôtel George V, Paris), who orchestrates a contemporary French menu around seasonal and imported ingredients, many air-flown in from France. All these takes place in surroundings of opulent gold, custom-made Swarovski crystal chandeliers, floor-to-ceiling windows, a spectacular vista of the Victoria Harbour, and a chandeliered open-kitchen as the focal point. Even the air smells elegant.

Caprice

Swarovski chandelier

Open kitchen

It is also worth mentioning that the maître d’, pastry chef and sommelier all have Le Cinq on their résumés. An impressive lineup, for sure.

Plating

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2011/09/212015/08/31

[Hong Kong] La Maison du Chocolat

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La Maison du Chocolat

Add*: IFC Mall – Shop 1050, Podium Level 1 8 Finance Street, Hong Kong
Tel: (+852) 2801 4880
Hours: 10:30am-9:30pm
Website: www.lamaisonduchocolat.com
Price: 23 HKD/macaron

La Maison du Chocolat, opened in 1977 by Robert Linxe (once referred to as a “ganache magician”), is world-famous for its exquisite chocolate creations: ganaches, truffles, and mendiants in classic and not so classic flavors like basil, rosemary, and jasmine. The shops also offer an alluring assortment of chocolate pastries like eclairs, macarons, chocolate tarts and cakes, as well as ice cream!

*4 locations available in Hong Kong, check website for details.

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2011/09/202015/08/31

[Hong Kong] Sift Dessert Bar

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Sift Dessert Bar

Add: G/F, 46 Graham Street, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2530 4288
Hours: Tue-Thu 3-11:30pm, Fri-Sat 3-12:30pm
Website: www.siftdesserts.com
Price: 75~95 HKD/dessert

I’ve been craving Sift’s red velvet cupcakes ever since I first tasted them at Sidewalk on my previous Hong Kong trip. Upon returning to the city, I was determined to get a dozen of these fluffy delights, so I arrived at Sift’s Graham Street outlet right when it opened – just because I wanted none of the “sorry we are all sold out” business. So imagine how devastated I was when told that – “Umm, we don’t have cupcakes at this outlet. You have to go to our Wanchai location for them.”

Seriously?!

To mend my broken heart, we decided to go ahead and try Sift’s plated desserts, which are the specialties at its Graham Street outlet. After much contemplation and consultation, we placed our orders and waited to be impressed.

First came Sticky Toffee Pudding (80 HKD), a steamed date puree sponge cake lavishly drizzled with toffee sauce. A forkful of this amazingly warm, moist, fragrant cake with some accompanying banana ice-cream and caramel crunch made me very, very happy at heart. Red velvet cupcakes? Already out of mind.

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