Birdie – Palm Island, China
Another mediocre day on the golf course. Ups and down…the greens (if you can call them that) were terrible. Sandy, bumpy and some had patches without any grass. Looked like the “browns” they play in desert golf. Even those roll truer. Anyway, this was for the United Hearts Charity Golf Tournament at Palm Island, China. On the first hole (our seventh) of the Lake Course (327 yard Par 4) our drive left us 125 to the center of the green. Faced with a back pin position and a fairly strong wind straight in our faces, we hit a 7 iron and got it three feet past the hole. This was tricky, a downhill putt on a bumpy green…hmmm. Had to be aggressive to hold the line but couldn’t hit too firm otherwise I could have ended up way down the slope if we missed the hole. A good firm tap and I trickled down into the hole.
100326 Palm Island, Lake 1 (Par 4)
Review – one-thirtyone, Hong Kong
Updated April 16, 2010 – website back online
If we just showed you pictures of this place, not in a million years would you guess that this small restaurant is in Hong Kong. Located in Sai Kung, New Territories, it took us only about 40 minutes to drive from Central on a beautiful sunny Sunday morning. Top down in our C’s Z4 made the drive even more enjoyable.
Recognized as one of Asia’s finest restaurants in the Miele Guide 2009/2010, we haven’t been back here for years. Not sure how the food will fare, but at least the environment will not disappoint. It was such a nice day we asked whether we could sit outside. We didn’t mind the sun and the waiters kindly moved our table out onto the patio. The restaurant has only four tables inside and two outside. It ended up that everyone wanted to sit outside, leaving the main indoors dining room empty.
Garlic lovers rejoice. Even before lunch started, we were given plenty of fresh garlic to liven up our palates. Soaked in olive oil, it made a great dip for the fresh bread that accompanied it. The lunch menu was set (HK$500/US$64 per person) and no à la carte. However, they did ask us our dietary preferences when we made the booking (and reservations are a MUST).
We couldn’t resist some wine in such a beautiful setting. But since we had to drive, we ordered a half bottle of Domaine des Sénéchaux Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2006. Just right for the warm spring afternoon. We started off with a block of duck foie gras that was a bit hard at first, but once at room temperature it was perfect – very smooth and buttery. Great with the brioche. The truffle-scented port jelly was very strong on the port. A bit overwhelming, but refreshing, perfect for the 27 degree weather. The side duck confit was also very nice.
We knew the cappuccino soup of wild mushroom was arriving as we could smell the French black truffles miles away. Very fragrant and smooth. Lovely. Before the main course, a Calamansi Sorbet was served to cleanse our palates…C of course passed. The slow cooked USDA prime beef sirloin was very juicy, but the Australian Wagyu beef cheek was out of this world…even better than what we had at Otto e Mezzo. It was so tender and soft it almost melted just when cutting it not to mention when it reached our mouths.
C enjoyed a fine selection of French cheeses as her dessert while R had the Cointreau macerated Californian long-stem strawberries with clover-honey ice yogurt. A nice finish to a perfect afternoon.
This was no doubt an excellent way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Everything was perfect. We wonder why it took us so long to revisit this place. We must make this a frequent routine from now on.
– 18.5/20
one-thirtyone
131 Tseng Tau Village
Shap Sze Heung
Sai Kung, Hong Kong
T: +852 2791 2684
E: onethirtyoneinhk@gmail.com
W: www.one-thirtyone.com
Closed Mondays
100321 one-thirtyone - Gate entrance through Garden Farm
100321 one-thirtyone - Entrance to the restaurant
100321 one-thirtyone - Indoor dining area
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Eagle Golf has landed…kind of
The Eagle has landed…well sort of. We were off the yellows, and there was a temporary green which made the hole 60 yards shorter. This was on Diamond 4 at Discovery Bay, so the Par 5 was in fact only about 400 yards. Nevertheless, we got on the green in two and was about 30 feet right of the hole. Argh, temporary green again. R was just joking that it would be a miracle if I went in. AGGRESSIVE. That worked on Ruby 4 on the front 9, why not Diamond 4? After a lot of bouncing and rolling, I got dizzy after a while, but managed to fall into the hole! EAGLE! At least that’s what it says on the scorecard. We won’t consider it a true Eagle, but an Eagle nonetheless.
100320 Discovery Bay, Diamond 4 (Par 5)
100320 Discovery Bay, Diamond 4 (Par 5) temporary green
100320 Discovery Bay, Diamond 4 (Par 5) temporary green
Can there be more than one Birdie in the life of a golf ball?
As superstitious as R is (all golfers are like that), my spirit has to hop over to a new ball after every Birdie. One, to keep the Birdie ball as a souvenir, and most importantly, there’s only one Birdie in the life of a golf ball…right?
Well, it’s been a while since we had a Birdie (fluke‘s don’t count), so we were a bit rusty in the procedures after hitting one. We were on the Par 5 Ruby 3 at Discovery Bay and hit a spectacular drive (off the yellows though). Left with 230 yards to the green, we opted to play safe and lay up to around 100 yards. Spot on, almost…115. Good enough. A pitching wedge got us onto the green in regulation, but we were 45 feet from the hole. No way could we get this in…hold on…smack right in the center of the cup! BIRDIE…
We were so happy, at least we remembered to take a picture of the hole, we forgot to switch balls. So we teed off #4 (Par 4) with the Birdie ball and landed right in the middle of the fairway. There was a temporary green on this hole, about 60 yards shorter. This took the elevated green out of the picture and it was a simple pitch of about 75 yards. Got pin high to about 3 feet from the hole. But how do you putt on a temporary green? The surface was so uneven and the grass so long…AGGRESSIVE! Straight in the hole.
Oh no! We forgot to change balls at the 3rd! So two Birdies in a row, with the same ball…Hmmm…Maybe there can be more than one Birdie in the life of a golf ball…
100320 Discovery Bay, Ruby 3 (Par 5)
100320 Discovery Bay, Ruby 4 (Par 4) temporary green
Review – Otto e Mezzo (8½), Hong Kong
We were delighted to hear that Umberto Bombana, the chef from Toscana at the Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong, recently opened up a new place at the Alexandra House in Central. We loved Toscana and missed it ever since the Ritz closed down in 2008. As with many new restaurants, we had to make bookings more than a week in advance. Not a problem, just book and wait…we’re used to it.
The decor is modern with an irregular shaped mirror ceiling, which made the dining area seem larger, but unfortunately echoed the conversations from the diners. It made it too noisy for a restaurant of this caliber, maybe not be the best place for a candlelit dinner. We sat near the entrance, which was next to their Ageing Cellar housing aged hams and cheeses. We couldn’t stop noticing the room every time the door was opened, as the smell was quite pungent.
We started immediately with the amuse-bouche – even before we ordered. A lentil bean soup with mozzarella was not bad as the beans were well blended so that there were no whole beans left. You can tell we’re not fond of beans. The bread was incredible. We just had to refrain ourselves from filling ourselves with it.
The sommelier recommended the 2000 Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso Superiore from Tuscany, which fulfilled our requirement for a full bodied wine and showed a resemblance to Bordeaux, which we love.
We ordered the Marinated Beef Tenderloin as appetizer. Essentially, this was beef carpaccio with a fancy name. Large crispy Parmesan cheese flakes replaced the normally shaved type. Accompanied with sun dried tomatoes, this was good, but not spectacular.
The main course, Braised Veal Cheek and Veal Fillet on porcini mushroom and barley risotto was amazing. The veal cheek was so tender and soft, it just melted in our mouths. And the barley risotto was very nice, no rice but replaced with just barley. A nice twist that worked well.
For dessert, C tried the Coffee Trio, which contained a Tiramisu, a warm coffee tart and a crunchy coffee ice cream. The tasty trio’s strong coffee flavor almost had her skip her Cappuccino. And we had to try the Crispy Pear Tart. This was R’s favorite dish at Toscana. Although it was still wafer-thin, it could have used a few more minutes in the oven. It wasn’t uncooked, but a slightly browned crust would have made it much better.
The food was good but maybe we had high expectations, so we expected a bit more. Since the restaurant is quite new, we hope that time will iron out the small imperfections. The portions were small for à la carte, but that means that there will be room for dessert(s) 
– 17/20
Otto e Mezzo (8½)
Shop 202, 2/F, Alexandra House
18 Chater Road
Central, Hong Kong
T: +852 2537 8859
E: info@otto-e-mezzo.com
W: www.otto-e-mezzo.com
100319 Otto e Mezzo - Main entrance on 2/F
100319 Otto e Mezzo - By Chef Umberto Bombana
100319 Otto e Mezzo - Amuse-bouche, lentil bean soup
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