Monday, December 6, 2010

Oh What A Night! Sugar & Feast - East Hotel, Hong Kong

I've heard so so so much about Sugar, and finally, last week, I've had the chance to try it, many thanks to East for the invitation.
Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong

As I entered the place, I saw a super stylish place, filled by young, hip and chic crowd chilling out...
Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
...sipping drinks, sampling snacks, and chit-chatting, generally having the much needed good time after work. Walking by, I was still trying to maintain my composure, pretending to be cool, but when I saw where I was about to sit...

Wow.
Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
(photo courtesy of East, effectively ruined by me ^_*)
WOW indeed! What a view and what a cool corner! And what's cooler than that? I've met wonderful people, Patricia of Plain Face Angel, Takako who writes for Cathay Pacific Travel Blog, Frances and Selina from East, and the ever so hungry Jason of Life as A Bon Vivant.

Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
I started the night with Sugar's Espresso-tini. I am not much of a drinker, but I am a sucker for cocktails, and I love this one. It's sweet yet light, not too creamy, the coffee flavor is there, with a fragrant hint of cinnamon. Cheers!

Oh, one embarrassing moment. The bean bags where we sat on were hip, stylish and everything, but I sank so deep, I had a hard time getting up and spilled quite a bit of my Espresso-tini on the table. Opps. Maybe I'm too...ehm...fat wholesome for the bean bags? So much for trying to look "composed" ^_^'

When this platter of goodies arrived, I've totally forgotten about pretending to look cool. I went mad!
Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
It's a sausage tree! My favorite's the big-fat-tender-juicy-and-tasty ones at the bottom. Absolutely delicious! My favorite item from the snack platter is the spicy feta cheese spring rolls. I love that extra kick of spiciness. There was also a yummy cheese platter and endless servings of crispy papadum to down my drink with.

Fantastic view, tasty snacks, delicious drinks...it's a great place for the young (or the young at heart, like me?) and hip to hang out after work or bring a date for before-or-after-dinner-drinks. Simply perfect for the don't-wanna-go-home population of Hong Kong ^_^

I had a little too much fun, I almost forgot to make some room for dinner at Feast.
Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
Please allow me to make a girly comment: love the orange butterflies on the wall. How pretty!

We were seated at the chef's table, a gorgeous corner overlooking the "open kitchen".
Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
Nothing I love more than seeing chefs at work, getting a glimpse the actions that made deliciousness happen.

Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
The meal started with a bread basket, and a savory girl that I am, I love the crispy cheese bread.

Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
We sampled some oysters from the buffet spread, which were fresh and creamy.

Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
We also had different kinds of ham, slices of melon and pickled shallots. Very refreshing. The melon brought out the best of the white wine we had.

Every dish was served with a carefully selected wine.
Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
I may not know much about wine, but if the wine makes the food taste better or vice versa, it's all good in my book ^_*

On to the next course...
Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
I adore the idea of the Goats Curd and Mushroom Tartlet with Pancetta Crumble and Yellow Pepper Jam since I am a big fan of savory pastries. The yellow pepper jam was a highlight of the dish, it gives the much needed touch of sweetness to balance the rest of the savory ingredients.

The next course is my favorite of the night.
Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
The name "Lobster" Tea, Foam, Grilled, and Ice Cream aroused our curiosity. Lobster? Ice cream? Really? Yes, and it was fantastic! We're supposed to start with the subtly flavored lobster tea, which was light and refreshing. The lobster foam was light in texture, but bursting with flavors of a good lobster bisque. If I didn't think about my company, I would've licked the bowl clean! The grilled lobster was succulent and perfectly cooked, and the lobster ice cream? Satiny smooth, rich and creamy goodness!

Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
The dish was served with a glass of rose. Call me shallow, but apart from the flavors, scent, and how it complement the dishes, I also love how pretty the pink is. Please excuse me for being such a girl.

Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
We had a rockmelon lime sherbet. I am a huge fan of melon. But I never thought of pairing citrus with melon. I always thought of melon as a "sweet" fruit and adding citrus would ruin it. Clearly, I was wrong. The addition of citrus made this combination perfect as a palate cleanser. I was ready for our next course.

When this came...
Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
...I thought we were getting a rich and moist chocolate cake! Obviously, I was wrong. Heheheh. Call me crazy, but I love being deceived by appearances. I love playful. I love whimsical.

What was it?
Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
It's Vanilla Braised Beef Cheek with Celeriac Ravioli and Leek Consomme. The beef was impossibly tender! It's a result of hours and hours of braising. I had always been skeptical on the trend of cooking savory dishes with vanilla. However, the touch vanilla of vanilla in this dish is subtle, just the right amount to enhance the dish without being overwhelming.

Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
The robust flavored dish was served with this bottle red wine. Guess what we discussed the most? It's not how the wine has fruity after taste, etc, but how much we all love the packaging of the wine. Heheheh. Packaging is important!

Ready for something sweet? The chef insisted that we start with this...
Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
...and finish it in one shot!
Aptly named Snap Crakle and Fruit Pop, it "exploded" in our mouth in a plethora of fruitiness. How playful! How creative!

The meal ended with a plate of petit fours and Moscato dessert wine, which was so good, I totally forgot to take a picture of it ^_^'
Sugar Feast - East Hotel Hong Kong
More than a night of delectable treats in a fabulous place, it's a night of great conversations, plenty of laughs, with amazing people. Thanks for hosting such a wonderful event, East!

Hong Kongers, have you made plans for the holidays? East might just be it ;)

Sugar
32/F East
29 Taikoo Shing Road, Island East
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 3968 3738


Feast
1/F East
29 Taikoo Shing Road, Island East
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 3968 37777
Website: http://www.east-hongkong.com

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh i love sugar! it was near 'the mother's' work in HK that we went there so often!!1 very cool and chic place :)

Indonesia Eats said...

beef cheek and oyster... yummm

Cool plating all!

Rosely said...

Looks mouthwatering!

Joanne said...

This meal is just full of excellent things! One great dish after another...good stuff.

Mims said...

Oh my!! They all looks so delicious!

Little Corner of Mine said...

Wow, that Sugar place is really chic and modern!

tigerfish said...

The beef cheek must be tender tender tender!

Andrew said...

Hey Rita

Sounds like a great night out.

If you like the label of the Innocent Bystander wine you should try and track down some of their 'Pink Moscato' - this wine is one of the most beautifully packaged wines in Australia, is slightly sweet, really delicious and really pink! Have a look here http://innocentbystander.com.au/uploaded_files/product_uploads/1272602181_6d1bc678ed96499c658db2ddbdf844b2.pdf.

Cheers
Andrew

pigpigscorner said...

WOW, I love your corner!

jisampedro said...

After seeing all these nice pictures, canot resist and should go to give a try. Sure ur mouth still remembering such nice meal :)

Suzanne said...

Now, after seeing and reading this, I will def pay a visit!!!! :)))))) Thanks for the review! :))

Anonymous said...

Sausage treeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! Everything looks so goodd! Must go bak to HK soemtime!

baobabs said...

beef cheek cooked in vanilla sounds really interesting! stunning photos! I've been to sugar but have yet to try the food at FEAST. Definitely on the list of to-dos on my next HK visit!