IWFS Kuala Lumpur Hong Kong Jolly January 2019 Day Five

IWFS Kuala Lumpur Hong Kong Jolly January 18 - 22 2019 - A recollection of Five Days of Food and Wine in Hong Kong, and how I became a Lap Cheong mule

Day Five - Tuesday January 22nd

Woke up to a pretty uneventful but intensely busy morning trying to figure the puzzle that was the packing of all of the Lap Cheong and the other foodie bits. I was concerned at the amount we were to carry. If the cases got scanned, then most if it could get confiscated - pork products coming into Malaysia? Not good methinks. So I stuffed as much as I could in my backpack, which took a lot of the strain out of the cases. All the Yung Kee and all of May's were vacuum packed so it was an easy fit to the backpack. Lenglui was able to pack the Century Eggs into her hand baggage roller. Notwithstanding, both mine and Lenglui's cases had to take one goose each along with the Lap Cheong bought from West Villa Restaurant and bagged in normal plastic. The wines were wrapped in socks and stuffed into the foam wine carriers for extra protection. It was two darn heavy cases at the end. Just as well we were flying MAS with its hugely generous 30kg baggage. 

Having solved the packing puzzle, we headed down for a late breakfast and rested up back in the room ahead of our return flight to KL. 

We checked out at 10.30 and sat in the Jen reception pending an elevator down one level to where the shuttle bus would stop. We had decided to take an earlier shuttle bus (the 11am) to the Central with a view toward buying some hard to find gin at the airport. The shuttle was quite full and the driver again opted to stack all the luggage in the front bus area; this made for much ease of de-bagging when we arrived at the Central 10 minutes later. Check in at the Central was a breeze - buy your Airport Express tickets in the machine (with group discount again - for four pax total HKD280), go through the barrier to the MAS Counter, check the bags in and stroll back out to the Airport Express train to the airport. Hugely efficient. The airport itself was a bit large and involved a fair walk to get to the immigration. We lost one of the couples on the way, and so it was that four of us parked up in the CP lounge for lunch and bubbles ahead of the afternoon flight home. I have half a memory of being in the lounge a long time ago on a transit flight from USA. Very pleasant, food not bad, though not really able to do it justice so early in the day; could have used an extra hour to have let breakfast settle. So it goes. 

The flight was at 15.10 which gave us about an hour to shop the duty free. We found the Duty Zero and snagged a bottle each of Four Pillars Gin (HKD405) and Edinburgh Gin (HKD355) for cash which pricewise seemed fair, all wrapped up in the brown foam protection mesh and plastic bagged before heading off in search of the boarding gate. 

Uneventful flight. Ate some food, watched a movie and pretty soon we were belting up to land. Quickly through immigration thanks to a designated MM2H counter and out to the carousels. 

And so we came to it - the X-Ray machine at the KLIA and the last hurdle to negotiate before the Airport Limo home. What would happen? Would they be checking all bags coming through as I had previously read? What would they say to all our booze and food? I had visions of being the poster boy for a Lap Cheong mule. Scary. I trundled with trepidation to the duty exit preparing to plead Mat Salleh ignorance...

It became a non-event - there was one guy at the machine who was being selective about who to stop (with an apparent predisposition for cardboard boxes) whilst the rest of us just kept on sailing through. I later wondered whether it was because we had got our bags along with a number of other flights and that 7.10pm was prayer time with a resultant thinning out of staff at the gates. Could be. Whatever, I breathed a massive sigh of relief as the Airport Limo counter came into view. Lenglui went off to return the RoamingMan machine to the counter in Departures and, having bought the Limo ticket, I waited for her to come back near the main exit. 

And that was it. Back home for 8.30pm, early supper of a Burger King cheeseburger that Lenglui had picked up at the Airport with a glass of our house red, unpacked for the laundry, parked the food booty in the fridge for distribution and bagging on the morrow, and sleep. My time as a Lap Cheong mule was done. Never again. Well, not on this scale. Maybe one or two packs. But not twenty. And no more goose. Geese. Whatever. 

Epilogue

This had been a brilliant trip of food, wines, friends and general merrymaking. Supremely well organised by the Money and the Bank, it took us on a great ride across their Hong Kong and, thanks to liaison with their IWFS compadres, into places we might otherwise have not got to visit. So many wonderful memories, some of which I have tried to capture in these scribblings. All the restaurants we went to were brilliant - the H Kitchen for its unique style and sense of exclusivity, the Ying Jee for some excellent dim sum, the Boardroom for the booze and farm to plate freshness, the Tycoon Tann for a wonderfully bubbly dim sum lunch, and the Tosca for the view. The IWFS Hong Kong is in process of organising a APZ Festival for November 2020, and hopefully those of us in the IWFS KL will be able to join and maybe return to these places. 

Hong Kong is a hugely vibrant place with a buzz I have not felt for years. My last visit was circa 1995 and I remember getting hugely drunk in some bar and dispensing wisdom to some guy on the verge of leaving his wife and pretty much little else. Oh, there was a walk by the dock where some locals were getting their feng shui and tai chi exercises in. I was the only gwailo and one of the assembled asked me how I knew this place. "Just on a walk from the hotel. Nice place here - feels good." He smiled and outside of a nod goodbye the rest was silence. Sometimes it is good to just follow the sense of the soul and go where the feet of serendipity take you. 

But I digress. It has been way too long to have spent away from the place. Yes, it can get expensive and this has probably militated against me going there - hotels, food, all of it can add up and whack this half Scot and half Eng Choon's heart with the costs. But you can save here and there - load up on a good breakfast at the Jen, catch a tram or the subway to Causeway or Kowloon and find the backstreet stalls to snack and feast. But if you are prepared to pay for it, the food can be exceptional, far more so in terms of its intensity and ingredient freshness across all the cuisines we could want to compare. And shut your eyes and devote your savings to the cost of the goose at Kam's Kitchen. One of the tastes of my life, seared into the soul along with the sea bass in pastry at Paul Bocuse in Lyon, the steak at the Extebarri in San Sebastian, and the Bresse Chicken at the Hotel de Ville in Beaune. An absolute and total privilege to have been able to have tasted these things, and so far still with the mobility and appetite to taste more. Roll on the next food adventure! 

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IWFS Kuala Lumpur Hong Kong Jolly January 2019 Day Four

IWFS Kuala Lumpur Hong Kong Jolly January 18 - 22 2019 - A recollection of Five Days of Food and Wine in Hong Kong, and how I became a Lap Cheong mule

Day Four - Monday January 21st

Many of the Jolliers were making their various ways back to Kuala Lumpur today. Lenglui and I had decided to extend an extra day, with an original plan to take a day trip to Macao. We were dissuaded from this by the Money, who advised that it would take two hours to get there (and back) and would be not highly enjoyable given the preponderance of mainlanders visiting the Island. What about the Ferry? Faster, but still have to put up with many mainlanders. Some more, it now seems that most of the world needs a Visa to visit since it is all part of China. These can be arranged, but the story goes that it is tedious and requires patience and time and as a result better to spend an overnight on Macao rather than go through all the rigmarole just for a day trip. Fair enough. I guess. Maybe next time. Or not. 

So... following the now traditional breakfast of scrambled eggs and beans with bread and butter, we all variously lounged and rested up until 11am to get the Hotel Shuttle that would take us the ten minutes drive into Central and the IFC Mall containing shopping delights for everyone by the bucketful. The IFC also houses the Airport Express that can take people direct to the, er, airport and time it so that you can buy your ticket and check your bags, shop and eat in the Mall and then get the lift down to jump the Express and be on your plane and off into the world faster than Superman. Hugely efficient and totally integrated. Very impressed with the system. 

Those with luggage saw it parked near the shuttle bus entrance ready to get faster offloaded at the Central. The rest of us gazed out of the windows at the water and the traffic and eventually got down and headed into the bright and airy Mall. Floors and floors of stores of mostly globally known brand names of various calibre. And buzzing - people moving quite quickly through the floors with roller bags and families in tow. Lots of families, all looking well heeled and brand savvy. I must have cut a comparatively forlorn figure in my baggy chinos and walking boots. So it goes. I dress for function and utility rather than brand projection. 

Lane Crawford was the designated destination by mutual consensus (well, not that the guys had much say in this). Three couples separated and wandered their individual ways around for about an hour. I took off on a tour of the Mall more for exercise than looking to spend. Hugely spacious and with superb natural light coming through various windows in the centre. A surprisingly enjoyable walk. We eventually all met back up at the appointed meeting spot and headed off for lunch, a noodle place of apparent legend somewhere in the Mall. There was a queue to get in and it was heaving full. One of the group gave the name for the waitlist and the men wandered back along the walkway to where a wine store was conveniently located, spending a solid ten minutes ogling the lovelies. Then it was back to the Noodle Shop for a bowl of steaming and tasty noodles. Six of us were packed around a tiny table and elbowing our way to chopstick and spoon the food into the mouth. In my years in the tropics, I have adopted the Oriental way of soup eating - face close to the bowl and chopstick the noodles onto the spoon and suck it up. Or skip the spoon altogether and chopstick the noodle straight into the mouth. It might look a bit unclutured - but it is a hugely efficent way of eating this kind of dish. Also avoids splashes of soup from staining the ensemble. 

I suppose the noodles were good - can't remember too much about it nor the place except as said that it was crowded. Lots of noise too. Though apparently it is a must eat place. Well, and all right I guess. Didn't impact that much on me. Noodles is noodles, no?

We then decided to part ways, with Barry and Jan heading off to Kowloon in search of markets and the remaining four of us grabbing a couple of taxis to take us to Sogo in Causeway Bay. We could also have taken the Subway but didn't want to waste the time doing the escalators and getting confused over how to pay. Well, I didn't. We arrived at about 2.30pm and figured to meet back up for coffee somewhere in the Sogo about 4pm.

Sogo in Causeway Bay is a shopping emporium of apparent legend. The place is ten storeys of pretty much everything you could want to look for in a department store. Though initially I found it a shade confusing as we were dropped off at a side entrance and could not find the central escalators. The signage also seemed a bit thin. But it was clear that the elevators did not go down. We asked a lady who was looking after the elevator lifts in visual (viz point up, then upturned palms = up, how?) who pointed the way with a smile. Lenglui went up whilst I went down to the amazingly stocked supermarket to spend about thirty minutes ogling at all the fresh meat and fish and the well stocked and fairly reasonably priced wine racks. Though there was ultimately nothing to buy - the beauti9fully fresh meat and seafood would not survive the trip. And anyway we had already spent at the Enoteca on the Saturday.

The place was heaving. On a Monday afternoon some more. In fact, the whole of the main road was a constant moving mass of people all moving in and out of each other to their various destinations. During my time at the Sogo I popped out through a back entrance to get some respite. No chance - the backstreet was equally teeming with bodies going in and out of the various pharmacies located there. I joined the throng for a brief hunt for my magnetic soles. No joy. 

Having scaled the escalators a couple of times in an unsuccessful search for my magnetic soles, I was getting pooped so I headed back to the rendezvous spot and found a spot to sit and rest the legs for a while and plugged into the free Sogo wifi to send a couple of whatsapp messages. After about 15 minutes I spotted the Lenglui approaching looking equally pooped and told her of a coffee spot on the seventh floor. We both went up and on her approval sat down. Our friends had found another spot on the fourth floor, but Lenglui insisted they join us on the seventh as her remembrance of the fourth floor cafe was small and dim whilst the seventh was brighter and more room. They came and we shared some cake with our respective coffees. It was a very pleasant way to rest up ahead of whatever HongKong could throw at us. 

Sogo Causeway Bay

555 Henessey Road

Hong Kong

+852 2833 8338

Our dinner was to be at Kam's Kitchen, which Google Maps said was a 15 minute walk from Sogo. We were a bit early so decided we would look for a pub to pass some of the time. Google reported that there were none in the immediate vicinity. So we opted to gently walk to the restaurant and look to find somewhere on the way. We ducked into a couple of malls and along some roads but met with little success. Presumably the Mall rents militated against small scale operations. We looked into a bar in one hotel en route but decided against. Too dark and not very relaxing.

The Bar at the Hong Kong Taphouse

Back out into the sunlight, we followed my paper map which indicated a pleasant walk through the Victoria Park and out past the Tin Hau station onto Electric Road. Our destination was Mercury Street which was up a few blocks and to the left. Paul and Molly were walking strong ahead when I looked to the left and saw a bar looking style place. Lenglui took a brief stroll along this side street to confirm what was the Hong Kong Island Taphouse. Perfect - somewhere to sit down and have a couple of beers ahead of the dinner. I waited for Paul and Molly to turn around and pointed and gesticulated drinking a jug and they quickly returned. Seem to be getting quite good at this visual communication - they understood perfectly. 

Lenglui, Molly and Paul. And the beers. Yes.

The Taphouse is basically a bar and burger joint, but the edge is that they have a range of 40 craft beers from across the world on tap. And they offer a tasting of your choice of any five which comes in a wooden glass server and you can share with each other to decide which is a personal favourite and proceed to get merrily sloshed whilst watching the football. What was also interesting was the availability of Hong Kong Craft beers, which presumably not much of which would leave the island given the transport costs. So it was a grand opportunity to get a taste of the local and see how it compared with the overseas. 

Some of the available craft beers

I seem to recall we ordered some chips to go with our beers and spent a merry hour tasting the beers and figuring which one was our favourite. Though it seemed to be a strange location for a beer haunt such as this - clearly aimed at the expat crowd, it was a bit out of the way and quite quiet for a 6pm in the evening when joints like this should be jumping. Thouhg on reflection it was a Monday; maybe Fridays would be stomping. So it goes. We certainly enjoyed it. We posted a few photos on the Whatsapp Chat Group. The Jolliers seemed to like what they saw and were all keen to find out all about the place when we saw them at breakfast the following day. Teh Hong Kong Taphouse is well recommended for the thirsty traveller in need of a refresher in the Causeway Bay side of town. And a great destination for the adventurous seeking to sample craft beers from both across Hong Kong and the world. It would be be brilliant to see something like this in Kuala Lumpur. Though I suspect it will be a long time coming - not much of a craft beer culture here at this time. And probably a lot of ding dong to try to get a licence for this. So it goes. 

Hong Kong Island Taphouse

1a-1b Tsing Fung Street Flyover, Tin Hau, Hong Kong

+852 3705 9901

Think it was Foie Gras on deep fried bread. Wicked yum.

Back out into the street for a ten minute bowl along the Electric Street and looking for a Mercury Street. The Electric Street seemed to be living up to its name - lots of activity in the shops and eating places, brightly lit and buzzing. Adn with a couple of Michelin Star stickers on windows of food stalls that we passed. Seems we were at the end of the food market, lots of fresh veggies and meat still being hawked on the street. It was beginning to drizzle a bit so we put a step on and reached Kam's Kitchen pretty much on time. 

Minced Pork deep fried, I think. Double wicked yum

Kam's Kitchen is the breakaway venture from the Yung Kee restaurant talked about in Day Three where one of the grandsons set up the kitchen with the Yung Kee chef. The Money swore it is the best goose she has ever tasted and went and organised a dinner with the four of us along with Yasu and Allie who would be making their individual way there. We almost passed it, and would have done were it not  for a small sign in English on the shopwindow procaliming it to be the restaurant. In through the door, it lived up to its name - most of the place was the kitchen. Only the front area was tabled, and looked to have a capacity of about twenty maximum. Clearly one would have to book well ahead to get a table, though apparently they do a roaring takeaway trade. 

The Roast Goose. Beyond sublime. Wowowowowowowow...

The Money and the Bank were already there sorting out the wines and glasses and we sat to crack a tasty white ahead of the meal and catch up on everyone's day. 

Lap Cheong Fried Rice. Double wicked. 

I don't now remember too much of the dinner except that it was huge fun and full of taste and good wine and fellowship and that the goose was indeed the absolute top dog business. Best, best ever. The skin and the meat when combined with the special gravy that chef puts together is out of this world. Massive taste, full of rich fat and salt and grease - so, so good. I would go back there in a second. The other dishes were of equally good taste but they just paled in the presence of this awesome goose. Which was far from cheap. But wicked good. The folks back home would love it. 

Booze for the night

What I didn't know was that the Lenglui had ordered two cooked geese for takeaway to those folks back home in Kuala Lumpur. Seems that Lenglui's extended family would often come to Hong Kong and buy back the Yung Kee Roast Geese to share with the siblings. So I was somewhat shocked when two foil wrapped masses made their ways into plastic bags for transport back to the hotel for packing into the cases. Unbelievable. Smack my gob with some goose feet. So what with all the Lap Cheong and the wines and other bits we had pruchased along the trip, we would now be adding two cooked geese. And the gravy. Yes. 

Jolliers outside the Kam Kitchen, well wined and dined

Allie and Lenglui

Sanjeev, me and Yasu

Yasu, Chris, Molly and Paul

Kam's Kitchen

G/G Hoi Hing Building 5

Mercury Street

North Point

Hong Kong

Paul and Molly would get a lift back to the Jen whilst the Lenglui and I opted to brave a taxi. I didn't fancy trying to negotiate the Underground with all the booty in our possession and the booze in the system. Pay the money, shut the eyes and thank the goose gods. 

The taxi was good and fast and got us back in fair time. Have to say the cabs here are far better than expected. Clean, efficient, and fair. Puts the KL street and mall/hotel cabbies way in the shade. On the drive back to the Hotel Jen, I got a SOS Whatsapp from May. Seemed she had left all of her Lap Cheong loot in the Hotel room fridge and could someone please fetch it back for her. I guess I was first responder and was able to retrieve it from the reception and park it in our room fridge for packing. So we come to it….   what with Lenglui's purchases at both the street market and the Kam Restaurant and the Yung Kee, and now coupled with coming to the rescue of May's Lap Cheong buys, this had become a massive shedful of Lap Cheong and Roast Goose to pack back to Kuala Lumpur. Wow. Don't quite remember signing up for this. Never mind, we would figure it. Just as well we had a fair sized fridge in the hotel room - I managed to pack most of the Lap Cheong in it. The Goose would have to sit on the desk table. We turned up the aircon to keep it cool and shivered our ways to sleep and figuring that tomorrow should prove interesting. 

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IWFS Kuala Lumpur Hong Kong Jolly January 2019 Day Three

Look what I found!! 

IWFS Kuala Lumpur Hong Kong Jolly January 18 - 22 2019 - A recollection of Five Days of Food and Wine in Hong Kong, and how I became a Lap Cheong mule

Day Three - Sunday January 20th

Shopping on Sheung Wan Road

We woke up late and headed down for a light breakfast at the Malacca Grill restaurant in the Jen Hotel - fruits and cereal this time given the prospect of a large champagne lunch ahead. 

Pretty much all got on the bus in timely fashion, though I seem to recall two of our Doctors were a bit delayed. The bus took us for a ten minute drive to a shopping street laden with traders all selling various types of delicacy that sets the Chinese hearts a quivering - lap cheong, sea cucumber, century eggs, and all being sold cheek by jowl by stores competing next door to each other. This was the Sheung Wan Road which would be the formal start of the Jolly. Quite how one differentiates between one seller's wares and another's eludes me, but clearly there is a process by which one store's products are selected over another and the bargaining begins. The Money previously advised to follow the nose to determine the best. Didn't work for me - all the shops smelled pretty much the same; that porky fatty waxy earthy salty smell that all the dried goods seem to collectively exude. Same with the Chinese Medicine shops - that herbal, chewy, bitter gourdy stink that seem to characterise them the world over. Total assault on the nose from this stinky but quite fun street. Some great photos of the Jolliers selecting and buying up all the delicacies ahead of Chinese New Year. 

The Doctor enticing Lenglui to chew a Century Egg

Group We-Fie on the Sheung Wan Road

The Money and The Lenglui

We were all due to meet at the end of the street for a short uphill walk to a private tasting of XO sauce at a place of apparent legend, Mrs So XO Sauce. Story goes that Mrs So once worked at an embassy and would prepare her special sauce for the visiting dignitaries. They liked it so much that they would ask her to prepare some to take back to the home country. Business boomed and she opened the store and seems to do a good trade on the tourist trap trail. 

A Mrs So Box Set. Pigs are extra.

All thirty nine (well almost - we had managed to lose Mossie somewhere along the way, though he would eventually turn up) of the Jolliers crammed themselves into the smallish store and scoffed down some specially prepared bites to pair with the various sauces on sale. I didn't feel the need to partake, especially ahead of the large lunch in prospect, and headed off up the street to explore. Actually I was looking for one of those small sundry shops to see if they had any of those magnetic insoles that you can slip into your shoes. Used to be an abundance of them in KL but now all have disappeared [NB eventually found some at Mr DIY in Malaysia - brilliant store, got everything]. Age and diabetes seem to be kicking in and the toes and heel are starting to pain up with some shooting pains along the side of the foot. Google says it is tendonitis, but I do recall previous foot issues being resolved by the plastic magnetic insoles. Didn't find any, but I did find the bus parked up and ready to transport us to lunch. Though the driver seemed to have disappeared. Never mind, plenty of time. Saw a cafe named "Winston's" which was pointed out with much hilarity to one of our Jolliers bearing the same name. 

Doc George with Dato Tony and Dato Jeremy

Headed back to Mrs So where the Jolliers were in full swing flashing credit cards and snapping up the sauces and scarfing down the tidbit bites and generally having a jolly time of it all. I fought my way to the bathroom, more because now I never pass up an opportunity when one is available and take advantage of somewhere to wash the hands. Then we were all quickly back on the bus and off to our lunch destination. 

Lunch at Tycoon Tann
Lunch was to be at the Tycoon Tann restaurant and would be free flow Champagne with unlimited Dim Sum delights and would prove a hugely pleasant way to spend a Sunday lunchtime. We were split across two floors and ended up competing with each other as to which floor was drinking the most wine. Tycoon Tann has 30 varieties of dim sum and classic mains and including the Peking Duck and all of which would be available for unlimited re-order. There would also be unlimited G H Mumm bubbles throughout the lunch with a selection of white and red wine for those who needed the varietals. There was also a starting selection platter with three dishes and a signature Tycoon Tann Cocktail to kick things off. 

I happened to take a look at our location and Google Maps showed that the legendary Yung Kee Restaurant was a mere 50 yards up the road on the same side as the Tycoon Tann. Much of the previous day had been taken up with discussion as to how to procure the Goose Liver Lap Cheong and the Century eggs for transport back to the homeland to please the Duchess. I shared this info with Lenglui who immediately rose and commanded me to show her the way. Within five minutes we were at the place and ordering up a storm of Chinese Sausages and Century Eggs and making the lady behind the counter very happy. 

Molly and Lenglui

Located on Wellington Street in Central, Hong Kong, Yung Kee is a Chinese restaurant most famous for its roast goose. Yung Kee once held a star in the Michelin Guide 2009 but was redesignated to the "Bib Gourmand" section in the 2012 edition.

Lenglui, Dr jag and Kit

History holds that in 1938, one Kam Shui-fai began selling siu mai on Kwong Yuen West Street, near the old Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Pier. He opened a restaurant in 1942 at 32 Wing Lok Street which was destroyed during a Japanese air raid in WW2. It was resurrected in 1944 on Pottinger Street and twenty years later moved into its current premises on Wellington Street. Following the acquisition of neighbouring properties, the entire plot was rebuilt in 1978 as the Yung Kee Building and is now owned by Yung Kee Holdings Ltd. 

Dim Sum at Tycoon Tann

Kam Shui-fai passed in 2004 and the company shares were divided among Kam's children, though there seems some dispute as to the exact allocations. Whatever, continual disputes between brothers Kam Kin-sing (or "Kinsen Kam Kwan-sing") and second son Ronald Kam Kwan-lai as to management strategies ultimately led to the BVI holding company being wound up by court order. Net assets were stated to be HK$2 billion ($256 million) in 2012.

More Dim Sum at the Tycoon Tann

Yung Kee is most famous for its roast goose, and reportedly serves as many as 300 whole birds per day.  But it is not cheap - a half bird serving six is around HK$240. The late founder Kam was nicknamed "Roast Goose Fai". Further, boxes of roast goose and preserved ("century") eggs can be bought at the restaurant for takeaway by locals and tourists alike. 

Paul and Molly

Even more dim Sum at the Tycoon Tann

Yung Kee Restaurant

G/F 32 - 40 Wellington Street

Central 

Hong Kong

Tel +852 2522 1624

Suitably laden with bags of unquestionable treasure, we ambled back up the hill to our lunch where we found the Jolliers getting stuck right into the bubbles and plates and bowls of food coming out from the kitchens. I remember lots of cheering and clinking of flutes and quaffing of Champagne, and some well tasty bites of various dim sum delights, and then it was over and we were all packing up our bits and heading back to the bus and hotel to recharge the batteries ahead of the final onslaught at the Tosca. I think I slept for an hour. Be happy to come back to the Tycoon Tann. 

Tycoon Tann

74 Wellington Street

Central, Hong Kong

Tel +852 3125 3228

Mob +852 9861 4718

email info@tycoontann.com

Dinner - Tosca Restaurant with Roberta Picco from Ethica Wines

View from atop Ritz Carlton on Kowloon

Kit and Hans

All were spiffingly ready in suits and ties and evening frocks and IWFS Medallions and pretty much on time for the bus and following a fifteen minute vroom under the Causeway we were alighting at the Ritz Carlton and embarking on a two lift trip up to the 108th floor and magnificent sunsetting views across the Causeway to the Island. It is hugely pretty; twinkling lights and darkening skies make for a fairytale landscape, and one that would have been rarely viewed before. The Jolliers naturally selfied and we-fied with the cameras and phones whilst some fruity and somewhat citric liquid sherbet stuff in a glass got distributed. I drank it more for the booze content than the taste - when the fire in the throat needs slaking, anything alcoholic will do. I start to understand the sterno bums and cheap booze sucking old street tramps of my city youth. Once the booze gets a real hold, it's a hard master to crack. There's a little tick in the brain telling me to keep an eye on the brute; getting to be more of a need rather than an indulgence. Raises a question, when does that line get crossed? Presume it's different degrees for different folks. I still feel in control, though perhaps that is the signal - feeling in control when in fact you're no longer the master of the bottle. This is some grim thinking here for what is supposed to be a Jolly. To be meditated upon at a later date. 

IWFS KL President May Peng and IWFS Hong Kong President Karen

Once the sun had set and the strange tasting drinks been despatched, we all headed back down a couple of floors to the Tosca. Actually, I detoured to the bathroom and was rewarded with a brilliant view of the Ocean side of the hotel. An earlier visit would have merited a photo but now in the dark it was somehow not enough to warrant a shot. 

Ambience at the Tosca

Lenglui and Lake. Leng....

We all mingled around the dining area and tables sipping the most welcome fizz after that strange cocktail and most Jolliers kept taking photos of the magnificent vista stretched out below. The fizz seemed never ending and pourings were hugely generous. Could be a long night. We were joined by IWFS Hong Kong President Karen who I was told had been hugely helpful in securing some of the venues on the Jolly. Eventually we fell into our allotted seats and things got underway with a short speech from President May and a somewhat longer one from the Ethica Wines representative and part sponsor of the evening's wines Ms Roberta Picco to explain the wines. I seem to recall meeting Ms Roberta at a wine dinner in the Publika a couple of years previously (late 2016 perhaps - I remember wheeling the Lenglui to the dinner, she having broken her foot and it was around this time) with some other wines for that night (which we bought). This evening would see a range of Italian delights presented for our delectation with the offerings from Tosca and the team. 

Kalsom, Kit and Ajmal

Ethica Wines Roberta Picco

Once again, I had opted against written notes and figured to try talking to my phone to record my thoughts. Ultimately this proved quite effective though actually more unacceptable as dictation took the place of conversation and I got a scolding for doing it. Fair enough. Table guests should come first. I'll dine alone next time…

The first wine came across as very floral on the nose, with a hint of Turkish Delight which would mark it as a Gewurtztraminer, though mouthfeel wise suggested a blend given the textural firmness. Couldn't find any info on the varietals on the website. It just talked about complexity and "sophisticated aroma of peaches and apples and textured on the palate with mineral tones." Whatever, the table noted it as very nice. I got rich and full in the mouth, pleasant acidity, and should be good with the scallop.

Which probably would have been the case had the scallop been a shade less spongy. Not sure what happened here - whether a bit long in the pan or the fridge, they lacked that crunchy bite that mark the little puppies as absolutely magnifico. In contrast, the truffle slice was hard and chewy and didn't really have much taste to it. However, the food did manage to take the edge off the acidity and revealed a beautiful silky texture and fruit sparkle. Got a sweet yet sharpish tang tickle on the tonsils, lovely mouthfeel and a lingering finish. Me like. Would happily buy this one. Ultimately, the scallop needed some carbo to undercut the sponge - the bread came to the rescue.

Scallop and Truffle. Needed bread. And butter. 

Wine number two (the Petra Hebo) felt very much like a Bordeaux but way more light in texture. Ms Roberta had earlier said that this one was a Super Tuscan blend (one webbie says 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 10% Sangiovese). Petra is a 300 hectare estate, created by the Moretti family of Bellavista, and situated in Suvereto in the Val di Cornia, south east of Bolgheri. The name Petra is derived from the Latin for stone, or ‘pietra’ in Italian. One webbie says the winery is "in the process of organic conversion and the winery has been designed to use the force of gravity during vinification, reducing stress on the skins and saving energy."

(https://www.toscanaccio.co.uk/shop/wine/petra-hebo-toscana-rosso-igt/)

On the nose it has full, rich and sweet cherries, light forest, berry fruits, slight hint of damson. Sweet cherries dominate the mouth (cinnamon note) with a light bordeaux texture and feel. Think Ribena Light texture with underlying booze. Firm tannins, good medium finish. Could maybe use a couple of years but drinking nicely now. Also can buy this one. 

Gnocci and Ossobucco Saffron Sauce. Quite hearty.

The Gnocchi has a nice smooth texture, though initially the Ossobucco and Saffron sauce seemed to lack fire. Not unpleasant or inedible but seeming to lack vim. However, once the knife had separated the beef and let the juices run free it all came together. The meat and sauce with the gnocchi complemented each other beautifully and the wine started to shine - good mouthfeel, lots of cherry berries, hint of wood spice, cinnamon, finish on the back of the cheeks is beautiful and long lingering finish. Mmmm… very happy with this wine. Excellent match with the food. 

Hello Duckie...

At this point, I started to notice the sound levels creeping up, and meditated on the fact as to how a wine dinner evening develops. It is aways a bit quiet to start with, but once the Jolliers have had a glass or three of the white and the red then all the noise starts to increase. Malaysian wine dinners are so much fun. To hear the buzz and the jolly is always really, really good. Most happy meditation. I also noticed that the white wine pourings had not been ungenerous but got a slight feeling of a shade on the thin side with the reds. But then again it is a refined dinner at a two star Michelin restaurant in Hong Kong rather than our usual chug it down gangbusters affairs, so I get the need for a shade more decorum. But only a shade. Eventually, I found that all I had to do was ask for a tad more of the reds and they were quickly forthcoming. Sometimes all it takes is the thick face to be a bit bold. Om. Also can note that the service is very professional, with staff waiting for tables to stop eating and asking to clear, all dressed in dark suits, white shirts, black ties. Saw the Chef prowling around like a tiger keeping an eye on things. Or perhaps also keen for the punters to cast an eye on him. Tall and lengjai and disgustingly handsome. I sought to combat this self esteem misery by sucking down more Barolo. Seemed to work - can't remember what he looked like now...

The Barolo nose was O Dear Lord massive, massive black cherries. Hint of Turkish perfume on the nose similar to the earlier Alto Adige. Fragrant rose petals, quite floral and feminine. On the mouth, though, it was pretty tannic, drying out the tongue and cheeks, and a bit acidic on the finish. Even after a decant. This one has at least a decade and probably more. I probably have one, if I am lucky. Seem to be a lot of 60 year olds kicking the bucket in the news. Can't take a single day for granted...

Sea Bass. Lenglui felt was a bit overcooked

I had the Duck Breast whilst Lenglui had the Fish (originally it was the other way round but we exchanged on Lenglui tasting the duck and pronouncing it "ducky"). As it would happen, Lenglui would find the fish overcooked, so it was a no-win; I had a taste and thought it was okay but not great. In fairness, she is the fish expert so I defer here. She stayed with the Fish. The Duck did indeed feel a bit "ducky" in the mouth, (strong-ish purines), though maybe because it was full and firm and there was unusually a lot of meat. Most duck in my life has lacked much in terms of meat volume; this boy was generous. The crisp and smoked skin went well with the tannic and young Barolo but another five years would definitely have helped. Good match with the food. 

Cheese Platter

Next out were the cheese plate and dessert. The hard cheeses were very tasty, though I found the soft ones a bit iffy. The Sicilian wine didn't quite pair it for me. I understand that cheese can often make a bad wine taste good; all these seemed to do was douse the Sicilian fire. Could perhaps have used some grapes or citrus to cut the cheese goo and gunk and crunk.

Dessert. Pretty, yes?

Dessert wasn't bad, a kind of peachy looking thing (which turned out to be pumpkin) with some biscuit thingy, and a white chocolate strip across the top of some white ice-creamy stuff (presumably the almond milk). It was pleasant, though it seemed to lack intensity and power; it all became some crumbly kind of biscuit cream mix and also quite on the sweet side. I found the matching Moscato too sweet for personal taste, though somehow managed to end up with half a bottle of it and being told to sneak it out of the Tosca. I didn't really want it but the urgings of (nameless) prompted a kind of duty. As it would happen, no one else wanted it either - ultimately it got left in the hotel room. 

Paul and Molly with Handsome Chef

I had managed unusually to have remnants of all the wines in glasses on the table and went through re-tasting them at the end. I found the second still worked well, and the Barolo started to open up fantastically. The Sicilian is full of fire, vim, blood and everything - very tasty. We have forest berries nose, firm tannins, good fruit. Nice, rich full fire on the mouth, good pepper, bit of cherry, bit of damson. 

The Wines

Ultimately, Tosca promised much but for me and those I spoke to afterwards didn't feel to have fully delivered - we could not quite see where the two Michelin stars were. The Jolliers know their Stars and the standards and styles those starred places have established. The feeling seemed to be that these expectations were not quite met. Okay, factor in the fact that doing covers for the forty plus group that we were does not showcase the kitchen at its best, and the individual dishes will take a hit resulting from the extra time necessarily needed to get taken to get them from pan to table. Numbers always create delay. I don't recall if the plates were warm. Notwithstanding, there just did not seem to be quite enough "wow" in the food to match the setting. Though as said, not fair to judge the Tosca given the large group context. Have to come back and do the food in a more intimate gathering. 

End of the Evening

Dr Jag and Lenglui, er, crossdressing?

On reflection, for me it all felt a little "hotel" - I have come across this elsewhere in my foodie adventures in that hotel restaurant chefs appear to get intimidated by the corporate soul and back off from being bold and adventurous in case the good customers gripe to the management and the hotel loses return business. I get that hotels need to be all things to all people and this was very much all Italian cuisine to all the world. Don't get me wrong - the food was far from bad. It is just that whilst I concede that this approach engenders the necessary consistency in dish delivery, my experience is that it builds in an element of "bland" which detracts from adventure and the excellence that could result. And THIS is what I find I now prefer and which I like to seek and report on. So it goes. In sum, I would go back for the sunset and the wines, but would repair to either the Ying Jee Club or Kam's Kitchen (see Day Four report) for dinner. 

Ethica Wine Dinner at Tosca Restaurant HongKong

MENU

Welcome Canape

Eric, Dr Jag, Kit, Winston, me

Bellavista Alma Gran Cuvee NV Magnum, Franciacorta DOCG, Lombardy

Capesante

Hokkaido Seared Scallops, Jerusalem Artichokes, Black Truffle

St Pauls Pinot Bianco Riserva Passion DOC 2015, Alto Adige

Gnocchi

Potato Gnocchi, real "Ossobuco", Saffron Sauce

Petra Hebo, Suvereto DOCG 2015 Tuscany

L'Anatra Migrante

Duck Breast with Autumn Roots, Steamed Raviolo with Confit Duck Leg

OR

Branzino in Crosta

Sea Bass in Celeriac Crust, "Cacciucco" Sauce, Sea Lettuce

Mirafiore Lazzarito Barolo DOCG 2010 Piedmont

I Formaggi di Tosca

Tosca's Cheese Selection

Cusumano Sagana Nero d'Avola, Sicilian DOC 2015 Sicily

Zucca e Mandorle

Pumpkin and Almonds

Saracco Moscato d'Asti DOP 2018 Piedmont

Mossie

TOSCA 

Level 102, International Commerce Centre (ICC), 

1 Austin Rd, West Kowloon, Hong Kong

Open today · 12–2:30pm, 6:30–10:30pm

Phone: +852 2263 2270

ETHICA WINES ASIA PACIFIC

Roberta Picco

Resident Sales Manager Asia-Pacific

134A Hillview Avenue

669620 Singapore

Email roberta@ethicawines.com

website www.ethicawines.com

All The Jolly Jolliers!

We paused in the Hotel lobby to get some group photos and got whacked by the driver for the ten minutes that this took. The hotel could not let him park up for us so he had to keep driving around the forecourt. Fair enough. 

As said earlier, I tried to offload the souvenired Moscato but to no avail. Even tried singing a revised "It's Now Or Never" in an attempt to get it drunk. Didn't work. Think the words went something like 

"It's Now Or Never, 

Must drink this wine, 

It's very tasty, 

But out of time - 

The bottle, 

Is yours to drink, 

Or else it's going, 

Straight down the sink"

Back at the Hotel it was decided a nightcap was necessary so a few of us downed either coffee or beer in our individual attempts to get knocked out for bed. Was indeed a good solid knockout for two hours and then the usual fret and clockwatch for a couple of hours whilst the system processes the booze and eventually nod off for an hour or two before the dawn. So it goes. Tomorrow was lazy shopping and dinner so no desperate need to plan too much. Just roll with the day. And a good day it would indeed prove to be. It would also be the day I would get to become the mule. Read on...

Click here for Day Four of the Jolly>>>