Posts Tagged Seafood
Finally a place to buy great steak in Hong Kong
Ever since our favorite butcher, Fentons Gourmet in Happy Valley closed its doors we lost a great place to get high quality beef for our barbecue nights. Even the high end supermarkets (Great, Oliver’s, City Super) couldn’t satisfy us. Then our friend at Geoff’s Twitchen posted a writeup of his winter barbecue and mentioned an online place for steaks called The Porterhouse. From his pictures, it looked like it was worth trying.
A search on their website www.porterhouse.com.hk mentions that the operations is headed by James Fortier, who previously was the General Manager of Morton’s The Steakhouse in Hong Kong.
Calling itself The Porterhouse, naturally we ordered a 35oz Australian Angus Beef Porterhouse steak (HK$370/US$47). We also tried their New England Jumbo Sea Scallops (HK$212/US$27 per pack of 10). Ordering online was simple and promptly delivered the next day, right on time for our weekend barbecue.
The package arrived in a nice cooler bag and the steak was individually wrapped and tied with their signature Red Ribbon, which signifies their slogan “Our Red Ribbon Is Your Assurance of Quality”. There was also a handwritten note from James, a nice personal touch. Our Porterhouse was from Australia, but they also have USDA steaks as well as seafood and other meats.
The steak was very juicy and tender. Compliments to the chef (C). The scallops were a good size and matched the steak very well for a nice surf and turf.
We will be sure to bookmark The Porterhouse and visit whenever we have a crave for great steak…which is quite often.
– 18/20
The Porterhouse
T: +852 2553-3765
E: info@porterhouse.com.hk
W: www.porterhouse.com.hk
100306 Porterhouse - Their signature Red Ribbon
100306 Porterhouse - Nice handwritten note from James
100306 Porterhouse - 35oz Australian Porterhouse
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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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Review – The Press Room, Hong Kong
What started out with Classified, a cheese room on Hollywood Road, Hong Kong, has now over just a couple of years expanded into the Press Room Group with another Mozzarella Bar and other restaurants The Press Room, The Pawn and SML under its umbrella.
We decided to revisit The Press Room after its recent renovations last year. The New York style bistro decor did not change much inside the main dining area, the wall sized blackboard showing the extensive wine list is still there. Most notably, however, is the relocation of the seafood bar to the entrance area. This immediately highlighted their emphasis on the freshness of their seafood. Just behind, is a new bar area perfect for enjoying some apéritifs before dinner. There are also many empty wine bottles lining the windowsills around the restaurant, a reflection of the owner’s love for wine. Not surprising as one of the owners is also the owner of Altaya Wines, a local wine wholesaler.
We weren’t wild on seafood tonight, but rather dived into the oldies but goodies. For starters, the garlic toast was delicious. R wasn’t quick enough as half was gone before he got his camera out. The escargots were done the traditional way, with lots of garlic and butter…followed by LOTS of French bread to soak it all up. With so much tempting seafood, we had to squeeze it in somewhere – and nowhere better than on an Eggs Benedict to form their Lobster Benedict. The prime steak frites was good, but the best part was the frites. Cut just right, not too skinny and not too fat, they kept their crispiness down to the last bite…it did go pretty fast though. And finally, the steak tartare…presented so beautifully that R opted to mix it himself, so that he could take a picture of it first. As traditional as you can get, and R did a pretty good job of mixing it too…very professional 
Before dessert, we headed over to Classified (just two shops down the road) to select some cheese from their refrigerated cheese room. Very convenient and plenty to choose from. Dessert was none other than Crêpes Suzette with vanilla ice cream. Slightly too thick and a bit watery, but the overall taste was good.
So it goes to show that food doesn’t have to be fancy. Sometimes traditional dishes with little bells and whistles can also hit the spot. Their brunch is also very relaxing and great place to spend a Sunday afternoon over a bowl of Cappuccino. But next time we’ll be back to try their famous seafood platter.
– 17.5/20
The Press Room
108 Hollywood Road
Central, Hong Kong
T: +852 2525 3444
E: info@thepressroom.com.hk
W: www.thepressroom.com.hk
100104 Press Room - Seafood bar @ main entrance
100104 Press Room - Wall sized blackboard wine list
100104 Press Room - Empty wine bottles lining windowsill
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Review – Hog Island Oyster Co.
Posted by birdie in Food, North America, Review on April 11, 2009
This is our favorite place in San Francisco. It’s in the Ferry Building just across the street from Hotel Vitale in Embarcadero. So fresh! Opens at 11:30am Mondays to Fridays and 11:00am on weekends. There’s always a large crowd, so go there a bit earlier to grab a seat at the bar.
– 18/20
Hog Island Oyster Bar
One Ferry Building
San Francisco, CA 94111, USA
T: +1 (415) 391 7117
E: bar@hogislandoysters.com
W: www.hogislandoysters.com
090411 Hog Island Oyster - A must
090411 Hog Island Oyster - Menu
090411 Hog Island Oyster - Best seat @ the bar
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