Last weekend, SC and I brought baby Marcus to have lunch with a group of pretty ladies in this lovely place. We arrived early. We were seated at the gorgeous charming little patio at the back of the restaurant. There were two ladies lunching at the only table next to us. As we waited for the others to arrived, I took pictures of the menu to tweet and tease my other lunching companions. The next thing that happened annoyed me.
One of the ladies, after shooting some unfriendly glances our way, started making comments on how she was not impressed by people who take pictures during meals, she wondered, audibly, why "some people" can't just enjoy their meals without taking pictures. And by "some people" she probably meant me? She continued to make unpleasant remarks about food blogs and how food bloggers have no credibility, and she said, rather smugly, that she doesn't follow any food blog. Her words of "wisdom", loud and clear, most probably for our benefit?
She knew exactly that we were within earshot and we should have been able to hear everything she said very clearly. While I respect that everybody has the right to their own opinions and free to express them, I couldn't help feeling appalled by her rudeness. Ew.
But, oh wells, if I had a Hong Kong dollar for every annoying person I encountered, I'd be able to buy newer, bigger, and more bad ass top-of-the-line food photography gear to wave in their face by now.
Aaaaanyway...the lunch!
The food looks absolutely gorgeous under the most perfect soft natural sunlight ever!
Decent bread, lovely soft and creamy butter.
'The country pate and toasted baguette with a side salad was not my favorite. The pate was not bad, but the already cold toasted baguette didn't do it for me.
The onion soup was absolutely delicious!
Sweet and hearty. Love it!
There were some other dishes that I didn't get to taste, so I won't comment, but look at this gorgeous tomato salad with goat cheese and balsamic dressing..
..I kinda regretted that I didn't order that ^_^'
The roast of the day was roast beef served with a side of fries.
The beef, despite looking beautifully cooked, was dry and chewy. The side of fries, on the other hand, was a winner! They're well seasoned, crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Delicious!
Our friends who ordered the seared salmon with spinach and lemon butter sauce both mentioned that the fish was overcooked.
Ouch.
The creamy mushroom tagliatelle looked fantastic...
But I always pick meat over meatless, sometimes to my detriment...
I ordered steak tartar with french fries. It arrived looking amazing...
...and it has some really good flavors. There was a good balance of rich, creamy, salty, and acid, but the meatiness was kind of lost somewhere.
The fries were still fantastic though. I finished each and every single piece.
To sum up, my favorites are the fries, the onion soup, and the charming place. I'd go back for those and maybe try their dessert and pasta.
A set lunch costs HK$108, add HK$48 for the steak tartar.
Bouchon Bistro Francaise
F/F, 49 Elgin Street, Soho, Central
中環蘇豪伊利近街49號地下
Tel: +852 2525 9300
I too wonder why some people cannot respect what we love. We respect those who talk behind ppl's back or in front in some cases as illustrated. I think the ladies annoyed you as much as she thinks you annoyed her so please respect us, seriously! go go go snap snap snap!
ReplyDeleteRita, that looks absolutely amazing, all except for the meat dish that you ordered. Was that a raw egg on top and was the meat cooked? I have never seen anything like that before. I'm glad you had a fun time :)
ReplyDeletehi Rita, here's and award for u :
ReplyDeletehttp://iloveicookibake.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-first-blog-award.html
:)
I have a feeling people like that are just jealous that they don't have the talent or the eye or the tastebuds for food bloggins. PSSHHH to them.
ReplyDeleteYou are too nice. I would have said something like "You know what really bother me, people that have nothing better in life than minding someone else's business" but living in France for some years is getting the worse out of me.
ReplyDeleteBTW for jaimie, steak tartare is raw meat with egg yolk, onion, herbs and other things (depending on where they add capers, chives, Worcestershire sauce, tabasco stuff like that)
Rita, your photos are always lovely, and make me want to try and make many of the dishes myself. Keep up the good work, with your food photos and your clothing photos!
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda used to ppl giving me weird looks at restaurants now..lol. Are those pork belly pieces in your onion soup??
ReplyDeleteI would've definitely said something to "counter" their rudeness, indirectly of course. Then maybe I'll purposely point my lens at them for a bit. :D
ReplyDeleteSo I'm coming tomorrow, might visit this place over the weekend!
The price of the food seems very reasonable. I love steak tartare too and also having the salmon rare. Re: the 2 b*tches at the next table....u should have gone on and on(exaggerate!!) abt how well your 5 food blogs are doing and how much $$ you are making and that u might consider quitting your regular job, etc. Then, lean over and ask loudly if u could take a pic of their food! Hah!!
ReplyDeleteSometime back, I also encountered someone talking about food blogging, pple taking photo on food in a negative way (obviously about me too coz I was taking photo of my food). After I shoot her an evil look, she backed off and discontinued her comment to her dinner partner.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I welcome freedom of speech, sometime being judgemental is another issue.
That tartar is really calling me. I haven´t eaten in ages, maybe should go to give a try and the price seems quite reasonable for all the food.
ReplyDeleteA pity that some people "was trying" to ruin your meal. Where´s the respect? chi seen!
I like to take photos of food too. Not necessary to blog about them but as some visual memories. Looking through some of my old food photos will bring back fond memories.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I feel that those bitchy ladies were way out of line and rude. Think it's a typical HK-thing to bitch aloud.
I had a bad encounter once when I was eating char siu ramen at 360. One middle-age old fark kept "whispering" to her husband (but so loud that I could hear everything clearly) while looking at my direction that ramen in HK simply tasted bad & not up to par. She went on & on criticizing the ramen in HK the whole time while I was at my meal. So damn rude & annoying. I never asked for her opinions or forced her to eat. Why couldn't she respect others personal's space. Tsk tsk!
@mochaccinoland hehehehe...i know! annoying, right? hmm...not that it matters, but I don't think the two ladies are local Hongkies ;)
ReplyDeleteLua, thank you so much for explaining steak tartare to me :) I love that I now know something new about food (which I'm not a food junkie so I am learning a lot lately) And thank you Rita for exposing me to steak tartare so that now my food knowledge has broadened :)
ReplyDeleteLoves!
No prob Jaimie!
ReplyDeleteI'm currently living in France so steak tartare is pretty common. Also in general they don't like the beef steaks around here cooked too much. It's raw beef land!
Ah, there's a Bouchon in HK! Amazing! I went to the original in Yountville when I was travelling this time - was fab.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I hate to say it, but it's not just an HK thing. It's a generally rude thing. When I was in Chicago I had a similar experience with a table over from me, but the guy wasn't complaining, he was just making incredibly loud, racist and bigoted remarks about how "fascinating" it was that "people from other cultures" photographed their food. I wanted to smack him in his smug little face.
The only thing you can do in those situations is take a deep breath and forget about them: their ignorance is not worth losing time over. Your passion is exactly that! What do they have? Probably a mortgage, a boring job, dissatisfied husband/wife, 2.2 bratty kids and a dog that pees all over the furniture. BORING.
Jax x
You are very nice because my inner bitch wouldnt have been so inner! i hate when people try to make other uncomfortable or feel bad!
ReplyDeleteLua, you live in France? That's awesome! Where are you from originally? Do you have a blog? I want to see what France is like :)
ReplyDeletehaha..i totally know what you are talking about ...sometimes i feel little bit guilty for my friends because they have to wait while i was doing my snapshots for my food ..but i just can't resist to record and capture the moments..hahahha...
ReplyDelete