Posts Tagged Review
Review – The Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland
You won’t believe it. We didn’t believe it. When we first knew we were going to Scotland in February for the R&A’s Referee School, we expected rain, snow and freezing weather so we didn’t even bother bringing any golf gear along. But in the back of our minds, we had a glimmer of hope…maybe with all this global warming stuff, it might be sunny and warm in Scotland in February. Yeah, right…dream on.
Even when we arrived on Monday, it was cloudy with a few showers now and then. Well, so much for that glimmer of hope…anyway, R did need to study for the rules exam. But we woke up on Tuesday to what was a picture perfect sunny day. It must be cold outside, no? It was a bit nippy, but the sun did warm things up a lot. Shall we study or go play golf? Study? Golf? Study? Golf? Such a hard decision. We studied till 11:30 when we had to make a decision, otherwise it will be too dark to finish all 18 holes. Well it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, WTF. Off we went to the St Andrews Links Clubhouse. We hired a set of Callaway clubs, shoes and a caddie to guide us on our journey. We were able to walk in as there weren’t many people on the course. Sure beats the ballot system they have during the regular season. And hey, the £64 green fee is half the high season price of £130. Enough said.
Since it was winter, we had to hit off mats when we were on the fairway, but standing on the first tee and soaking in all that warm sunshine, we knew we made the right decision. Many bunkers were also roped off as GUR in preparation for The Open. We were fortunate to avoid all the dangerous looking pot bunkers, but maybe we should have entered one just for the experience of getting out of one, or trying to get out of one.
John White was our caddie for the day and he was the most enjoyable company one could ask for. Very cheerful and boy did he have stories to tell. Lucky that we had him as our guide, otherwise we would definitely have gotten lost and possibly ended up on the New Course! (John, if you see this, please drop me a line below so that I know you have seen this).
We’re not very familiar with links courses, but the fact that we are standing on the Old Course, absorbing all the history at the Home of Golf is just out of this world. We were fortunate that the wind was mild that day and a score of 92 was respectable by our standards.
The most memorable undoubtedly was the 17th Road Hole. “Aim for the left church tower” John said. “That far left?” “Yes, the wind will carry it to the fairway.” Well, OK and off I went. Landed five feet inside the edge of the right fairway. It’s a stunning hole with the Old Course Hotel right next to us. This is not where you would want to slice the ball. I’d stay away from the corner suite in this hotel if I were you. Before we teed off, John took us to the tee boxes they built for The Open later this year. It’s very far back and across the path to the driving range area and very intimidating. This lengthens the hole by at least 80 yards, so if the wind is against, it will be interesting to see how the pros reach the fairway on this one. We hit a decent shot to the front bottom tier of the green. A good lag putt got it hole high and one putt to finish with a par, which is a birdie for this hole.
We experienced a part of history and we will tune in closely to watch The Open this July with a different perspective.
Thank you John for a great time and hopefully we’ll be back very soon.
– 20/20
The Old Course
St Andrews, Fife
KY16 9SF, Scotland
T: +44 (0) 1334 466666
E: enquiries@standrews.org.uk
W: www.standrews.org.uk
100209 St Andrews - St Andrews Links Clubhouse
100209 St Andrews - The Old Course
100209 St Andrews - Scorecard (Par 72, 6,721 yards)
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Review – The Seafood Restaurant, St Andrews, Scotland
We arrived at St Andrews, Scotland today and we were surprised to see fairly calm skies, just cloudy. No rain or snow here in February? Maybe it’ll be sunny enough to play some golf? Dream on… Well we headed out to one of The Seafood Restaurants – the one at St Andrews naturally (they have another one in St Monans). We came across this place from Home of Golf TV and the setting looked spectacular.
It turned out that it is just located behind the British Golf Museum, which is just next to the Old Course at St Andrews! Perched on top of a small cliff, there are stunning views of the West Sands beach. Unfortunately, the car park next to the museum blocked some of the natural scenery. Nevertheless, the restaurant setting was very clean and simple with large windows to “soak up” the expansive St Andrews coastline, even on such a cloudy afternoon.
The restaurant emphasizes sustainability of the seas and makes every effort to source sustainably caught fish. That’s why every dish on the menu lists the origin of the seafood.
We were highly recommended the Winter Menu, which was a bargain at GBP14.95 for three courses. First on was a Smoked Haddock Rarebit (from the North Sea) – the crust was very crispy, definitely not the dry and hard type. A tad salty, but nothing the Chardonnay couldn’t fix. The fish was very soft and moist, confirming its freshness.
Our main course was the Salmon (Farmed on Loch Duart) – we normally don’t go for salmon because it’s always overcooked and dry. But this was highly recommended by the waiter and he wasn’t kidding. Very juicy with the skin cooked to perfection. The risotto that accompanied the dish was very al dente, which was nice. The garlic butter added a lot of fragrance to the dish. We felt that there was just a tad too many peas in the risotto, but that’s just a small blemish in an otherwise great dish.
Then the surprise for the day. The Black Forrest Gateau – this was to die for. And boy we didn’t expect this. And in Scotland? Definitely not your typical Black Forrest cake! This was no doubt an updated and enhanced version. The brandied cherries and dark chocolate took it to a new dimension. That hit the spot dead on.
The location couldn’t have been better. With the Museum, Old Course and numerous souvenir shops nearby, there was plenty to do after lunch. Maybe you can even walk over to play the Old Course!
– 17.5/20
The Seafood Restaurant
The Scores
St Andrews, KY16 9AB
Scotland
T: +44 (0) 1334 479475
E: info@theseafoodrestaurant.com
W: www.theseafoodrestaurant.com
100208 The Seafood Restaurant - Views of the West Sands
100208 The Seafood Restaurant - Open kitchen
100208 The Seafood Restaurant - Salt & pepper
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Krug Room Revisited
This is our second visit after the Krug on Tour last September. This time we were being invited to a friend’s birthday party. And instead of the three chefs last time, the Hong Kong chef, Uwe Opocensky, was to awe us with his creations. Some dishes were repeats of the last visit, but the following were some that really stood out.
One of them was the first dish – Lucky Oyster. All contents in the three shells provided us with strong oyster flavors, but only one was an actual oyster. One was in the form of a leaf, which was grown in a greenhouse with sea water and oyster shells mixed into the earth. This gave the leaf a distinct oyster flavor. Smart. Then an “oyster pearl” contained oyster juices in a jelly sphere. Ironically, the actual oyster did not give out the strongest flavor, the leaf did!
Next came a big can of Caviar. We thought we would definitely get our money’s worth this time. But it turned out that the “caviar” was in fact apple juice mixed with gold leaves that were put in a vacuum container with Champagne overnight. Not quite the same, but the bursting effect when biting on them was quite cool.
The highlight of the evening was the Flower Pot. I’m sure you’ll never see a flower pot in the same way again. As the name suggests, the presentation looks exactly like a flower pot. Leaves and other salad greens were stuck in the ‘earth’, which was actually salad purée mixed with bread crumbs and anchovies. Everything was edible except for the pot itself. The taste was not too bad, but we just had to overcome the fact that we were eating soil.
One of the desserts was a mini baked Alaska on a bed of dried ice. Made for a very dramatic entrance, especially when there were 12 of us with all of them marching in one after the other.
Another memorable experience and we are never short of surprises at the Krug Room. Well done Uwe.
– 19/20
Krug Room
Mandarin Oriental
5 Connaught Road
Central, Hong Kong
T: +852 2825 4014
E: mohkg-krugroom@mohg.com
W: www.mandarinoriental.com/hongkong/dining/restaurants/the_krug_room/
100202 Krug Room - LUCKY OYSTER pearl / oyster / lemon
100202 Krug Room - CAVIAR gold / apple / sparkling
100202 Krug Room - FLOWER POT herbs / salad / soil
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Great Pizza @ Gvsto, Hong Kong
We planned for a casual lunch at this Italian restaurant in the new Nexxus Building in Central, Hong Kong on a nice Saturday afternoon. Didn’t plan to do a review, but had our camera close at hand for other purposes. There’s a set menu with buffet appetizers and desserts plus a choice of main courses, either pasta or meats. But what caught our taste bud’s attention was the pizza at the buffet appetizer area. We noticed a new one was bought out from the kitchen, but we must have taken a slice at least 5-10 minutes afterwards. Even after the delay, the pizza was very good – the crust was a bit chewy, the way we like it. Those who like it very crispy might be disappointed. And the proportion of the tomato paste and cheese was just right, neither over powering the other. We went back for more, but it was a bit cold by then. The waiter told us that they didn’t use a brick oven, but rather just a specialized pizza oven. That explains why it lacked a bit of the brick oven’s burnt aromas. Nevertheless, it was very impressive.
We will definitely come back for a more formal tasting and review.
– 18/20 (for the pizza)
Gvsto Pasticceria – Ristorante
2/F, Shop 201-203, Nexxus Building
77 Des Voeux Road
Central, Hong Kong
T: +852 2147 3768
E: info@gvsto.com.hk
W: www.gvsto.com.hk
100116 Gvsto
100116 Gvsto - Pizza
100116 Gvsto - Pizza
Brie at Gaddi’s, Hong Kong
Updated on Jan 25th, 2010 with feedback from C.
Ah Gaddi’s again… Didn’t intend to do a full review this time, but brought the camera along…just in case. Luckily we did. In between our soup and main course, the captain asked us if we liked cheese… You must be kidding…of course!!! YES!!!
Just when we thought the question was referring to an after dinner cheese trolley of some sort, a cheese dish appeared in front of our eyes. It was a long strip of Brie! In the middle of a course? It turned out to be Brie marinated with truffle. Kept in the fridge for a few days, it was served slightly melted on a bed of truffle mash potatoes and topped with more truffles. Wow! The taste was not as pungent as we expected (judging from the ingredients), but it was just right as it did not overwhelm the main course that followed.
We later found out that this was a teaser for the black truffle dinner at the end of January. Reservation please.
– 20/20 18/20
Gaddi’s
Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong
Salisbury Road, Kowloon
Hong Kong
T: +852 2315 3171
W: www.peninsula.com
100109 Gaddi's - Brie marinated with truffle
