Hong Kong Number One

Pisco is on vacation in Hong Kong, visiting friends, seeing sights, and generally eating his way through the city. It’s my second visit here, but the last time was several years ago, and only for a weekend; this time, I’m staying with local friends for a decent stretch of days.

The visit hit the ground running – I arrived in the late afternoon, took the excellent train into Central, and found my way to my friend’s apartment in Happy Valley. One of my other friends would not be able to join for the big dinner on Friday, so he wondered if I could go out on Thursday, just hours after I landed. No problem – that’s why we’re here! He came and collected me, and we headed out to Soho for dinner.

He suggested an Italian place that was pretty good, and we sat down around 9p. The place was packed and pretty electric with energy – a welcome change from the normal Seattle laid-back vibe. He told me that the place was actually owned and operated by Indians, which struck me as odd. But he said they were fanatical about the food, and he was right. The mozzarella sticks were lightly fried, not too heavy, and the pasta in the mains was a shade less than the advertised al dente. The bolognese sauce around my spaghetti was rather tasty, and had fresh herbs sprinkled throughout. Accompanied by a glass of young Sangiovese, it was a good start to the trip.

The next day I met my friend for lunch near Cheung Kong Center. She took me to a lovely restaurant in a nearby park that served an excellent vegetarian dim sum. We dumped the umbrellas near the door and walked into a busy, buzzing teahouse environment.

I left the ordering to N and she did not disappoint. Steamed buns and steamed dumplings arrived light and fresh, bursting with flavor. (Lots of other dishes that I can’t remember). The only dish that did not meet expectations was a carrot/coconut mix that tasted like… bitter carrots.

We each had a tea; I chose a “flower and honey-scented” oolong, and it was wonderful. The serving method was new to me – the trick was to have two cups, one filled with tea leaves, and the other empty. You poured the water into the first cup, let it steep for a minute or two, and then swiftly emptied the tea into the second cup for drinking, leaving the tea in the first glass ready for the next cup. It was ritualistic and delicious.

Dessert was two small plates, one with bean curd, and the other was coconut-coated peanuts. The bean curd was light and smooth; once I finally was able to pick it up, it tasted wonderful. The peanuts were left after a half-bite; one sweet dish at the end seemed to be the right amount. The restaurant, now practically empty, was quiet and calm. We picked up the umbrellas at the door and walked out into the rainy, humid afternoon.

Review: Crémant

I visited the new French bistro Crémant yesterday with a few friends. Located in Madrona, it was completely packed by the time we arrived, around 10p. Since we were running late, I called to let them know, and the maître d’ replied with a laugh, “Everyone’s running late today, just come by whenever you are ready.”

We opted for a few glasses of bubbly shortly after sitting down – the restaurant is named Crémant, after all, and something like ten sparklers are available by the glass. Of the two flutes that arrived, the Lucien Albrecht Crémant d’Alsace was the notable choice. Light and refreshing, it had a slightly nutty flavor, reminding me of an old vintage Charles Heidsieck Brut Mis-en-Cave 1996 that I tasted many years ago. Clearly this is something that will become the house bubbly at Casa Pisco.

The menu is just the right size, with enough small and large plates to show off what they can do (a rather impressive range), but not so many that it’s hard to choose. It’s a very French bistro menu. As this was my first visit, I stuck with the basics: rillette to start, and the steak frites to follow. My friends insisted on ordering an endive salad, which turned out to be lovely, but I was struck by the absence of anything on the menu that could be construed as a good vegetarian option. Such blatant disregard for crunchy options is rather refreshing in this city, and only increased my respect for the venture.

The rillette was served from the glass jar in which it was made, and it was fantastic. It’s a rather large quantity, so feel free to order just one to share – we had three people at our table and there was a bit left over, even after gorging ourselves silly on it. The endive salad, rich and yet smoothly bitter, was a nice accompaniment.

Mains showed up – two plates of immaculately prepared hanger steak, rare, and a white Le Creuset pot filled with Blanquette de Veau (braised veal). A slice through the steak revealed a deep ruby-red interior that you could practically cut with a fork – hands down, the best hanger steak I’ve had in Seattle, which up until this moment had been the only slightly more elaborate dish at Zoë. The frites were perfect, crisp, appropriately salted… really a heavenly experience. The only way it could have been better was the wine; our knowledgeable waiter had recommended something on the lighter side, so as not to overwhelm the veal, but the choice, while eminently drinkable, just wasn’t up to the steak. I can’t recall the name, probably because I drank most of it myself, but seem to remember that it was a 50/50 Pinot Noir/Cabernet Franc blend. Really lovely, just pair it wisely.

The room was packed until around midnight, when it started to thin out. We became friendly with the table next to ours; after several minutes of nervously eying each other’s choices, we figured out that we were all foodies and just started talking. The portions at Crémant are quite large, so we kept offering each other tastes from our still-full serving platters. Favorite restaurants, dishes, wines… I hope we didn’t interrupt their date, but we all had a great time.

Dessert was not a priority for my friends, so I made them watch me eat a dish of riz du lait (a less-gelatinous, more-fluid form version of rice pudding), which was made with real cream and was rich and beautiful and “la cerise sur le gâteau” of this rather enjoyable meal. We closed out the restaurant and left sometime after 1am, making plans for the next time we would come back.

Food: A
Wine: B
Service: A
Ambiance: A
Value: A

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