Press Room

To continue with the feasting on our happy hiking day, we decided to treat ourselves to a gluttonous meal after our physical exertion. L and I decided to dress up just for the fun of it even though the place we went to was not particularly formal. I’ve always known about Press Room and have been here a few times, but for some reason I never come as much as I would expect myself to. The food is really good and I love the atmosphere, its location is also very convenient for me so I am always a bit perplexed with my low frequency of visits! Press Room’s goal is to serve simple and delicious food made from the finest ingredients. The menu is mostly French Bistro yet contains other European comfort favorites. The atmosphere at Press Room is cozy and casual yet retains a sophisticated air.

Hmm... the photo quality is not as good as I expected, I've been using my iphone to take photos recently but I suppose I will go back to my camera for dimmer settings!

Oyster Platter
The oysters were very fresh and was very sweet and flavorful! A great start to the meal.
 

Onion Soup Gratineé
I only had a small spoonful of this but I remember it was well flavored and the amount of cheese was also very decadent :) The amount of onions was very generous which resulted in a very rich soup. 

Grilled Flatbread - Caramelized Onions, Goat's Cheese, Bacon, and Rocket
This dish was decent but was not particularly memorable. The bread was nice and crunchy and went well with the hearty bacon and onions, but I would prefer to order other dishes over this next time!

Louisiana Chili Crab Cakes
The crab cakes were just ok. They were not bad, but I would have preferred them to be a bit denser and crispier!

Dressed Crab - with Gazpacho Dressing
This dish was absolutely delicious! Every delightful morsel was gobbled down in a blink of an eye. The amount of crab was generous and was fresh and sweet. The avocado was creamy and went perfectly with the crab. The gazpacho dressing was refreshing and just took the dish to the next level. We enjoyed it so much that we did not hesitate for a second to order a second serving! Yum!

Slow Braised Lamb Shank - Parmesan Polenta
The lamb was incredibly tender and drenched with a decadent and rich sauce. The meat was infused with the hearty flavors and melted in your mouth. The polenta was a little bit lumpy and I would have preferred it to be smoother and creamier. The vegetables were cooked perfectly, slightly seasoned as to not mask the natural sweetness. Overall a lovely dish. 

Lobster Risotto
I was getting rather stuffed at this point, so only had a small spoonful of this. The risotto was perfectly al dente full of rich lobster flavor. I would like to have more of this next time when I am not filled to my eyeballs with food. Presentation was also very appealing as you can see. 

Cedar River U.S.D.A Natural Prime Ribeye - Peppercorn Sauce
Ok so I had a bite of this even though I was on the verge of explosion. Or at least I am quite sure I did as we also had a lot of wine... oops. But if I do recall correctly this was definitely a solid steak. 

These were the sides that came with the steak. Can you guess what that huge white puff is? Cauliflower! 

Pistachio Crème brûlée and Biscotti
There is always room for dessert! I had a spoonful of this. I don't remember a distinct pistachio flavor but it was nice and sweet. Will have to pay more attention next time! 

Winter Spiced Bread and Butter Pudding - Armagnac Crème Anglais 
This is the final dish of the meal I promise. Bread pudding can always put me in a good mood. And this version was quite good but I think it was a bit too dense. The shaved chocolate and excessive amount of sauce was lovely though. And I must admit I was quite overcome with the previous dishes and wine that I may not be giving this dish a justified review. 

The Press Room is definitely worth a visit! The food is overall very good and the atmosphere is also enjoyable!

Press Room

108 Hollywood Road

Sheung Wan

Hong Kong

Daruma Ramen House 達磨日式拉麵

Sick with the monotonous activities of Hong Kong, H, T, L, and I decided to have a healthy Sunday where we are not buried under the covers hungover and on the verge of death. We decided to hike the "Dragon's Back" trail and planned to get to the trail by 2 pm. Naturally we met up around 3 and did not arrive to the trail until 4 pm. We also ensured we pigged out before engaging in our hike...

I've been to Daruma Ramen House before but did not take any photos therefore did not blog about it. The ramen is quite good, but still does not beat out Butao as number 1!

Daruma Ramen R8 - Tonkatsu Broth Ramen with Mentaiko Paste, Pork Belly, and Chashu
This is one of Daruma's most popular choices and I believe was the same choice that I had the first time I came here. The tonkatsu broth is rich but definitely not as flavorful as Butao's. The mentaiko paste is yummy and is a unique aspect of Daruma's ramen. The chashu was a bit too fatty for my liking but surprisingly the pork belly was tender and had just the right amount of meat and fat. I recommend getting an extra plate of scallions. Overall this is a solid bowl of ramen but H did think that the broth was a bit sweet for his tastes. 

Purple Yam Croquettes
L spotted this on the menu and I am so glad she did! These croquettes were really scrumptious, the yam filling was moist and sweet while the outside panko crust was crispy and not overly greasy. Will definitely get this again next time!

Deep Fried Gyozas
I thought these were ok, they were just normal deep fried gyozas... nothing special. But then again I guess its hard to make some mind blowing gyozas that will change me forever. The dumplings were a bit TOO deep fried for my liking, I would have preferred it if only the undersides were crispy. T really liked these those and gobbled them up.

Cheese Mochi
Yay! My favorite. The best cheese mochi are the ones from Sumi Yakitori, but these are also quite yummy. Daruma also serves these already indulgent treats with a plate of condensed milk... which is a added bonus. 

Mentaiko Stuffed Chicken Wings
The flesh of the chicken was quite moist and the mentaiko filling was flavorful. I would have wanted the chicken wings to have a bit more meat but these were quite yummy nonetheless. 

Although Daruma is not as good as Butao, they offer very solid food and is a good choice for a satisfying bowl of ramen. They also serve other foods such as the mochi and chicken wings unlike Butao who only serves ramen. The lines here are also not as long (although both times I've been here was not during peak hours). Definitely keep Daruma in mind if you are craving ramen!

Daruma Ramen House 達磨日式拉麵

92E

Tung Lo Wang Road

Tai Hang

Hong Kong

A not so glorious return to Boqueria

After my first experience at Boqueria, C and I were completely won over and could not stop raving about how delicious it was to our friends. Therefore when S said she wanted tapas I fervently suggested that we go to Boqueria so that she could find out how great the food was. Sadly the meal was a GREAT disappointment and it was nowhere near as enjoyable as our first visit. We have previously heard mixed reviews from our friends who visited the restaurant and could not understand why they did not like the food as much as we did. Now that I have gone a second time I understand why! S and I were joined by H and T; all of us were ready for a nice meal to beat out the weekday monotony, sadly this meal did not meet expectations! All the dishes I had last time were delicious, and when I ordered one of them again it was still very good. Some of the dishes were decent, yet there were also dishes that were absolute misses. But a good restaurant simply cannot have such discrepancies in the quality between each dish! The service was also a little bit spotty with dishes repeating itself and wrong orders. The male host was very friendly however and happily made our sangria stronger at our request.

Chorizo Cantimpalo - Mildly spicy pork sausage cured in pimentón 
T has this obsession with chorizo, therefore we got two things featuring chorizo. I am not particularly a fan and I can't really judge if this is good or bad chorizo but I am not too fond of this dish. The bread was also cold and dry and just not very appetizing.

Chorizo Braised in Red Wine Reduction
Chorizo dish #2. The sausage was just really hard and I did not think the flavor was particularly striking. 

Albóndigas - Lamb meatballs, tomato sauce, sheep’s milk cheese
The lamb meatballs were a bit dry and very mediocre. The tomato sauce was nothing special either. I did like the addition of the sheep's cheese, it added a interesting texture and a nice tang to the dish. Apart from that, the nice was very subpar.

Buñuelos de Bacalao - Salt-cod and potato fritters, citrus allioli
After three disappointing dishes, this was a pleasant change. The fritters were fluffy, flaky, and well seasoned. The outer crust was delicately crispy and went perfectly with the creamy allioli dip. 

Pimientos de Padrón - Blistered Shishito peppers, coarse sea salt
This dish was not bad. The peppers had a nice char to them and a strangely satisfying bitter taste. The presentation however was slightly pathetic. It was not bad, but not something I would order again.

Bombas de la Barceloneta - Two beef and potato croquettes, salsa brava, garlic allioli
These croquettes were mentioned frequently in the reviews and I had high expectations for them. I felt that the croquettes were packed too tightly and was just a big ball of potato. The crust was nice and crispy but I would have preferred the insides to be creamier and fluffier. More meat would also be nice as the ratio of potato to meat was unbalanced. I think a higher amount of allioli and salsa brava would also improve the dish as the big ball of potato seemed a bit dry and one dimensional by itself. I much preferred the creamy croquettes that I had last time! We got them again at this meal and luckily they were just as good as I remembered.

Carne a la Plancha - Seared beef a la plancha, fingerling potatoes, Shishito peppers, mojo verde
"a la Plancha" means grilled on a metal plate, and grilled beef sounded rather promising. Unfortunately this was mediocre dish #I don't even remember. The beef was overcooked and lukewarm. Actually the temperature of the food was a big issue the entire night. Almost all the dishes were lukewarm and that just does not make me happy. I do not recall this problem at my first visit. The beef was seasoned decently, yet the flavor and texture of the meat was very mediocre. As you can see, the fingerling potatoes also left a lot to be desired. 

Tortilla Española Traditional - Spanish omelet of farm eggs, confit potatoes, Spanish onions
This easily was the worst dish of the meal. I understand that the omelet can be served cold but this dish was just not tasty at all. It was basically a bland and cold block. The egg was too firm and the potatoes were mushy and tasteless. The onions did not add any level of sweetness or flavor, it was another empty component to the dish. Even as a egg fanatic I could not eat more than 2 bites of this. 

Anchovies with Salsa Verde and Olives
This dish was a bit of a joke as it came in this humongous dish and contained a few little pieces of fish. I like to eat anchovies but this dish was literally just a few pieces of anchovies... nothing else (well besides the dressing I guess). I would have wanted something done to the anchovies... perhaps on top of some toasted bread with other components to result in a complete dish with harmonious flavors and textures. I don't need to go to a restaurant when I can just grab my own huge red plate and plop some anchovies on top of it myself at home. The quality of the anchovies was fine, but this dish was just too simple and did not qualify as a restaurant dish.

Paella de Mariscos - Bomba rice, monkfish, sepia, squid, shrimp, clams, mussels, saffron, salsa verde
The rice was well flavored and the amount of seafood was decent. This is one of the better paella's I've had in Hong Kong. I think the amount of saffron can be increased as it was not very aromatic. I would not say this dish was amazing, but it was decent. The presentation was also appealing. 

Considering how much I loved my first meal at Boqueria, it was a huge disappointment for me to realize that many of the dishes were of such low standards. Some of the dishes were very good while others were extremely unappetizing. I feel that Boqueria has a lot of potential it is apparent that the chef has talent as reflected by the few excellent dishes that I have tried. Yet the low quality of the bad dishes cannot be redeemed by the tasty dishes! Boqueria should ensure that all dishes are made to the same high standard. People all have different palates, yet some dishes were simply not made well. I may return to Boqueria for the dishes that I enjoyed such as the lamb skewers and potatoes, yet I do hope that the other dishes will be improved to show that they truly care about their food and customers!

Return to Tutto Bello

I have raved about how much I loved Tutto Bello when I went for the first time back when I went to Taipei with my parents. We decided to have our first dinner in Taipei here and Tutto did not disappoint! I think the first time was probably more impressive since it was a surprise but the food was still delicious and service was extremely polite and professional. Every dish was executed well and presented beautifully. The plating was absolutely gorgeous and the ingredients were fresh and of high quality. It was definitely a lovely evening with great food and amazing friends :)

TRUFFLE BUTTER. Give me. 

mmm handmade linguine with truffle 

Such lovely attention to detail 

Amazingly juicy, tender, flavorful lamb. YUM

Tutto Bello

Shuang Cheng Street

Lane 25, Number 15

Taipei 104, Taiwan 

Kitcho

I went on another one of those blink of an eye excursions over the weekend to Taipei :) There was a fun party for Halloween so we assembled a crew and flew over to join in the fun! Unfortunately we had really little time for food so we had to make sure each meal was well planned. On Friday we went to Tutto Bello, you may remember my previous post regarding this delicious Italian restaurant. The post on that will be posted soon :)! On Saturday we decided to have a nice sushi dinner at Kitcho. A has heard great reviews about this place and the online reviews were also extremely promising. The restaurant is very small and all diners are seated at the sushi bar where we are able to witness the sushi chefs in action. Diners can choose from different omakase menus at different prices. The chefs explained that the amount of food is similar, the only difference is the ingredients given in regards to the price. The majority of us opted for the basic omakase while two of our friends indulged in the pricier option. In hindsight I would have wanted to try the pricier option but we will save that for next time! The sushi was very fresh and the chefs were skilled and friendly, I would not say it's the best sushi I've ever had, but it was a enjoyable experience and some pieces of nigiri was extremely delicious. The meal consisted of sashimi, nigiri, and cooked items. We were positively stuffed. Service was polite and efficient.

I'm ready!

This is art.

Kitcho
No. 48
Lane 181, Section 4
Zhōngxiào East Road
Daan District 
Taipei City
Taiwan