Hong Kong Eating - Guangdong BBQ

We were in Hong Kong only for a short while, and the people I was travelling with weren't the sort to go queue or travel for long periods of time to get food. I really wanted to try Yung Kee but someone had been there and said it wasn't worth the money. So we had to settle for a roast meat shop about 5 mins walk from our Citadines serviced apartment in Ashley Rd (another story for another day - it must be the saddest Somerset/Ascott/Citadines property in the whole world). I had read about Guangdong BBQ in a blog, and the person found it to be fairly decent. So off we went for a last good Asian meal the evening of our red-eye to San Francisco.

The exterior looked very inviting

We ordered char siew to share

Seafood broth in a winter melon

The roast goose was actually pretty good - tender, moist and tasty.

Went beautifully with this chilli oil.

More siew yok and char siew to share

Look at the luscious slice of meat.


They do breakfast as well - this was the satay beef with instant noodles.


Great for an inexpensive night out. I'd go back again for a trouble-free, value-for-money meal.

Ground Floor, 43-49A Hankow Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Calgary Tower

We were brought up the Calgary Tower for lunch by the people hosting our visit. It was a pretty ugly concrete tower but it gave us a fantastic view of the city.


It was a revolving restaurant that rotated fairly quickly - kinda weird when you thought you have no idea where the restrooms and entrance/exit are, after a while.

It was a beautiful day, with a great view of the city all the way out to the Rockies in the distance.

My burger and fries. Think the US beef is better.

Calgary eating: Cora

So we hopped off to Calgary from Hong Kong (that segment's reserved for a later post) via San Francisco, and boy, was it a quiet town. We had a very nice hotel in the middle of the city that I thoroughly enjoyed. We had brilliant 20+ degrees C weather as well. All in, it was a lovely visit except for the jetlag.

We found this amazing breakfast place called Cora thanks to the bellboy. It was about 20 mins walk from our hotel.

It was a waffle and pancake place, filled with all sorts of good things.
Plus a menu that made you wish you could order everything.

And I mean EVERYTHING.

My colleague's breakfast

This was mine! The plate was bigger than my laptop computer.

Another colleague's strawberry waffles

Close up of the strawberries

Another colleague's huge big breakfast

My lovely amazing crepe with strawberries and chocolate sauce

There's none quite like Cora!

Website: http://www.chezcora.com/home

Gray's Papaya Hot Dogs, New York

After a walk in Central Park, we were determined to get a real New York hotdog - with mustard and catsup. Following a friend's recommendation, we walked along Broadway to find Gray's Papaya which looked rather exciting from the outside.

It looked even more exciting on the inside, with all the various drinks that they sold - papaya, coconut, pineapple and I can't remember what else!

These looked so yummy

Just look at that hawtdawg

Got all our ducks lined up in a row

It was a pretty damn good hotdog! Could have had 2....but that would have looked too greedy in front of the boss.

2090 Broadway (72nd Street), open 24 hours
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray%27s_Papaya

Bouchon at Time Warner Centre, New York

I enjoy fine dining, and I'm not bothered about eating alone. But there are certain places that I would never go to by myself - zi char restaurants, because you can't order much, and super fine dining places. Oh on that note, I have to say I'm so excited that Eleven Madison is the latest kid on the 3 Michelin star block!

When I knew I was going to be in New York, I was super excited at the thought of being able to have the chance to try out a Thomas Keller restaurant. However, the excitement quickly faded when I realised (1) the price of a meal there and (2) that I would be short-changing myself of maximum enjoyment without someone to share it with. So the next best alternative was to look for a cheaper substitute, which was a bakery owned by the same group, located in the same building as Per Se. Thomas Keller had already established Bouchon in Las Vegas and LA, with another branch at Rockefeller Centre. But I wanted to visit Time Warner Centre to understand how the architects had managed to cram hotel, residential and commercial (office and retail) use all within the same development.

This was right at opening time, at 11am. The tables filled up pretty soon after.

The view from our seat.

We ordered the set lunch. This was the Heirloom Tomato tart, with ricotta and roasted garlic served with a salad at the side. Ordinary, but nice.

A closer look. The flavours were milder than expected, which I appreciated.

My friend had the Caesar's salad with prawns. I didn't think it was worth coming all the way to Bouchon to try a salad : )

I had the Steak Tartine, which was basically a sirloin steak sandwich served with tomato, aioli, scallion on a batard. This was pretty average.

The desserts were the best part of the meal. We shared the macaron and chocolate tart.

It was one huge macaron, and I really liked the texture. It was the perfect mix of crumbly and chewy.

The chocolate ganache and praline crunch were absolutely fabulous. The chocolate was very smooth, rich and not too sweet.

The set cost around $20 or $30, which was not too bad considering the association with Thomas Keller. But next time, I'll stick to the desserts.

Restaurant details at http://www.bouchonbakery.com/

Al Li Da in Brooklyn

After the work part of the trip was over, I stayed on in New York for a few days with a friend in Brooklyn. She brought me to her favourite Italian restaurant, which is perpetually crowded with queues starting before 6pm. It's owned by a husband-wife pair, where the husband settles the customers and the wife runs the kitchen. Bragging note - My friend's husband spotted Maggie Gyllenhaal, who is also a Brooklyn resident, at this restaurant once.

We had a Barbera to share, at the recommendation of the waitress. It was light but flavourful. Loved every drop of it.

First up - grilled calamari salad. Normally grilled calamari is usually a bit too rare, but this one had bite and charred bits that added to the flavour.

This was oxtail cooked in squid ink sauce served with polenta. I have dreamed of this dish so many times since eating there. If there was one reason to go back to NYC, it would be this.

We had a home-made squid ink pasta with seafood. This was okay.

Hangar steak. Loved it! Tender and tasty. What is it about US beef that seems to taste so much better than Australian beef?
Dessert - pear cake and panna cotta. The panna cotta came in a huge drinking glass. Both were really yummy too.

It's amazing how much joy a good meal with a good friend can bring. I'm very grateful for my life : )

Restaurant details at http://www.aldilatrattoria.com/about.html