PP Cafe, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong

A nice little hidden place in Kwun Tong, a good option for those who work around here, or happen to be in the area.

Set dinner starts with a little salad. I like how sweet and fresh the melon is.


We were so hungry, so we ordered quite a few snacks on top of our set dinners.
Don't be greedy like us ^_^
Buffalo wings were decent.


Nicely cooked mussels in white wine and cream sauce.
I wanted to pour that sauce over everything.


Baked oysters with creamy cheesy spinach topping.
Could use a little more salt, but not bad!


Nicely seasoned creamy black truffle soup. LOVE this!


The lobster bisque. After adding a touch of salt, it's lovely.


I can never resist lasagna. Even in this super hot and sticky summer. The ultimate comfort food!
Eat it in air conditioned room, ok? :)


I hardly ever order risotto as I am often disappointed by it.
This was not my favourite from the dinner. It's for those who like subtle flavours, I like mine with a little more kick.


Lobster spaghetti. A little under seasoned too for me.
But I do like how it's not overly creamy.


The pork knuckle was lovely. I love how crispy the skin is, and the meat's tasty.
Full of collagen too ;)


Cheesecake. Not bad~


Sawdust pudding. Also not bad...


Mango pudding. This was ok, but I personally like mango just the way it is without being turned into puddings and cakes.



The 4 of us ordered so much food (I brought home most of our main courses) and the dinner costs us HK$225 each (including drinks). Great value for money.
I'll be dragging my colleagues here, I wanna try their meat dishes next time.

PP Cafe
Rm A, G/F, Good Year Industrial Building, 
119-121 How Ming Street, Kwun Tong. 
Hong Kong
(you have to turn into a small lane to find the entrance)
觀塘巧明街119-121號年運工業大廈地下A舖

Tel: +852 2345 5569

Culinary Jewelry Dinner - Damiani’s 90th Anniversary Celebration, Tosca, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Hong Kong

Fine food and fine jewelry! Oh, hello... come to mama! 

I was really intrigued when I heard about this Culinary Jewelry Dinner inspired by Damiani's 90th Anniversary Celebration. Food inspired by some serious bling? How would that go? Let's give it a go!

The bread. I absolutely adore the squid ink one. Hot from the oven, crusty outside, fluffy inside & really tasty!

Cured salmon with beluga and snail caviar, porcini mushroom and creamed risotto. How pretty is this dish! Inspired by black and white diamonds. I could see where the inspiration's from, it's a treat for my eyes and my taste buds. Love it. 

The dish was paired with this lovely Pinot Grigio. Look at its copper tinge. Gorgeous and delicious!

Next, we had squid ink fettucelle pasta with scallops, lobster, zucchini and tomato. This gorgeous plate is inspired by a black ribbon necklace. Love the sauce and the seafood! I just wish the pasta was a bit more firm.

For the next course, some of us chose the crispy monkfish served with chickpeas cream sauce and fried sage. I didn't try it (I wish I stole a bite off my neighbor's plate. Regrets....), but it certainly looked gorgeous.

This is my weakness. I always have to go for rich, meaty dish, so I went for the stewed oxtail served on potato with foie gras, with balsamic mushroom sauce.

The dish looked gorgeous. It's very luxurious and decadent. Just like the earrings it was inspired by.

The meat dish was paired with this lovely Barolo. I don't drink much, I only think that when the wine tasted good with the food, then it's a good pairing. They were great together :)

On to dessert! Pain d'epice parfait with chocolate ring hazelnuts and five spices sauce. Looks very impressive, especially looking at the bracelet that was the inspiration. When we had this, I think most of us think of Christmas gingerbread cookies :)

 

All of us went "oohhh" and "aahhhh" when this petit four plate arrived. Jewels on fluffy cloud! 

What's not to love? 

We enjoyed eating (and taking photos of) the fluffy cotton candy, and I especially love the chocolates.

Look at these gorgeous chocolate "pendants"

Absolutely gorgeous, and they're delicious too :)

I had a great time appreciating how modern Italian fine dining could be when inspired by fine jewelry. Thanks for having me, Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong!

Damiani's 90th Anniversary Limited Edition Collection menu by Chef Pino Lavarra will be available at Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong's Tosca  until 30 November 2014.

Tosca
102/F Ritz Carlton, Hong Kong
尖沙咀柯士甸道西1號環球貿易廣場(ICC)香港麗思卡爾頓酒店102樓
Tel: +852 2263 2270

Also, check out what Gary of Joie de Vivre think about this dinner.

Nicholini's, Conrad Hotel, Hong Kong

A lovely dinner by Chef Luca de Berardinis at Nicholini's. Love many of the dishes & the romantic setting. Considering bringing SC here for a major romantic date ;)

It all started with this yummy parmesan amouse bouche. 

Pan fried scallop lentil soup with chestnuts and Montepulciano reduction.

Succulent scallop, tasty everything else. I tilted my plate to clean everything up :)

A lovely little drama involving fennel flowers...

Salted cod with red vinegar flavored potatoes, roasted peppers & black olives. Very yummy. I especially adore the potatoes :)

Beef tartar with crunchy egg yolk, baby salad & black summer truffle.

OMG. The egg yolk has a thin crunchy exterior and then it oozes beautifully onto the beef. YUMMY MAX!

Cream of green beans with egg pasta, pennyroyal and bottarga. Everything's perfect together. LOVE.

Fried smoked eggplants with ricotta ravioli and octopus in pizzaiola style. I love the ravioli, but the flavor combination could have been a little better...

Meditteranean tuna in potato crust with chard, fava beans and mango mayonnaise. I love how each potato "dome" is meant to be different instead of uniform. Flavor wise, my favorite part of this dish is the veggie. Nicely cooked and well seasoned.

Traditional Italian sorbet. Very tangy & refreshing! However, I wish that the green juice wasn't for aesthetics only..

Warm chocolate olive oil cake with strawberry sorbet and balsamic vinegar.

My, oh my! Very yummy!

The petit four, those babies in tiny cute glasses are yummy creamy milky treats with a punch of chilli! I love love love it!

I ended my epic meal with a cup of hot mint tea :)

I'm so going back for more! 

Thank you Chef Luca, Nicholini's and Conrad Hotel for the lovely dinner.

Wanna know more?

Here's Nicholini's website.

Here's the Openrice link.

My friend Gary's review.

Epic Dinner at Linguini Fini

Here's some Friday delishfest for you.

Yummy pictures from a bloggers dinner at Linguini Fini.
Linguini Fini prides itself for using locally produced organic produce, sustainable seafood, head-to-tail pigs,  as well as all natural meats, rice and pasta. All fantastic and admirable principals, but most importantly, the food's gotta be good, right?

The dinner was...epic. We had at least 33 dishes that night (whew!), but I'll just show you my favorites...and I'll try to describe each in just two words.

Stracetti di Manzo
Rare beef, artichokes, gorgonzola dolce, with anchovy aioli.
Two words, absolutely delicious!


House Cured Lingua (Tongue)
I've always been a huge fan of tongue dishes. It could be really good when it's done well. The tongue was cut in perfect thickness, not too thin (I am not a big fan of thinly cut tongues), not too thick, very tender, and everything ingredients work well together. Love.
So, I've failed to describe this dish in only two words.
Sue me.


White gold bars. 
Herb breaded pubblico mozzarella with marinara.
Soft and yummy cheese with crispy deep-fried exterior. What's not to like?


Eggplant, Scamorza, Sundried tomato and basil flat bread.
The base has a good amount of crispness yet still kinda fluffy inside. Again, I hate it when it gets too thin and too crispy, so this was perfect for me. The toppings are super duper tasty. Love it.


Chitarra.
Pasta with chicken liver, pancetta, sage, and brown butter.
Creamy and rich liver, perfectly cooked pasta. I adore. It's my favorite pasta of the night!


Rotisserie Porchetta.
Pork belly, fennel sausage, chili mostarda.
Tender and juicy meat with crispy crackling. Yumminess!


Lardo Roasted Chicken with basil and cherry tomato vinaigrette.
I normally avoid ordering roast chicken when I dine out, but this was absolutely lovely. Juicy, moist, flavorful.


Cast Iron Charred Hanger Steak with caramelized onion aioli.
Nicely charred and tender, bursting with flavors. I took seconds :)

From the sweets department...

Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Poppy Seed Gelato.
If I were to order my own dessert, this would be my last pick. I was very pleasantly surprised when I crowned this as my favorite dessert from the selection. The cake was perfectly moist, it's not too sweet, not too rich, just right. The gelato was indeed the perfect partner for it. Lovely.

If you wanna see which other dishes we tried that night, check out my Facebook Page.
I'll post the pictures there.


The goodie bag's beyond adorable. I love how they encouraged us to make our own pasta.


I had a lot of fun! I'll post what I made soon, stay tuned!

Thank you for the lovely dinner and the memorable goodie bag, Linguini Fini!


Linguini Fini
1/F, The L Place, 139 Queen's Road, Central
Hong Kong
中環皇后大道中139號The L Place 1樓
They don't take reservations, so go early.