Caffe Vergnano’s in IFC, Central HK

This next meal comes out of a whim from Janet’s and my indecisiveness. While our date was supposed to be a purely “frozen yogurt” excursion, our empty stomachs drove our legs to walk towards…. dinner. Since we had decided to meet up at IFC in Central, our laziness and hunger drove us to more local destinations; aka inside the mall itself.
After much contemplation, we finally agreed on Caffe Vergnano’s. Since we both wanted to save room for frozen yogurt, we decided to share the:

Dello Chef Pizza(Parma Ham Reserve, Buffalo mozzarella cheese, arugula , tomato sauce, and rosemary olive oil.

After my arrival in Hong Kong, I have taken a fond liking to parma ham and honeydew. This pizza was no exception. While arugula tends to be on the bitter side in salads, the texture and bitterness was well paired with the light tomato sauce and super flavorful parma ham.

Additionally- being born and raised in New York has made me a thin crust pizza girl. Sorry you Chicago-ans, still a new york girl at heart no matter how many times you place deep dish pizza in front of me. AND this pizza was just that. Super thin but still able to hold the many ingredients of the pizza without it getting soggy or too thin- or crackerlike.

Overall, a delightful light dinner for those looking for something to satisfy your meat and pizza craving!

Cheers! and happy eating!

Day 3 of Business Trip Dinner

Not much narration needed. Another fabulously filling and delicious meal at the hotel restaurant.

Menu:
-Yi Mien with carrots, mushrooms, pork, and shrimp stir-fried with light soy sauce
-Baby Bok Choy with Shitake Mushrooms and a fried bean curd puff with fish paste inside
-Teppanyaki style beef strips with wild mushroom and red peppers
-Eggplant in a Hot Chili Oil with Chili, green onions, and minced pork

The entire menu was pretty delicious and cheap to boot because we were about an hour’s distance from the Guangzhou city center.
There were two dishes worth mentioning! The teppanyaki style beef strips were by far my favorite dish of the night. The seared flavor of the beef complimented the wild mushroom so well! The second place award would go to the eggplant in chili oil. While I have to admit I used to barely touch spicy foods, I have grown to rather enjoy the tingling sensations of my taste buds when it touches chili. My senior was sweating and looked rather uncomfortable… poor boy. While many people do not like the texture of eggplant, the super high temperature and hot chili oil make the dish a must try. I have to say the oddest texture and combination of flavor award would go to the fried bean curd puff with fish paste. It was soft with the oddest slimy texture. Not really my cup of tea but others might enjoy it.

Cheers! and happy eating!

Business Trip Day 2: Hotel Restaurant

Hello. Hello. Its been a while since my last post. I suppose I have been procrastinating about updating this blog for quite some time now. This post is supposed to directly follow my last post about my business trip day 1 to Guangzhou.
This meal is from Day 2 of my business trip to Guangzhou. The manager for our team had just returned to Hong Kong and all that was left of us was myself and my immediate superior who happened to be a 1.5 year recent graduate from college himself.
Instead of working at the client site, we precisely packed up our laptop at 6 pm sharp, and returned to the hotel where our next two dinners would take place. Surprisingly and luckily, the food was quite delicious.

Here’s a Recap of the meal:
-Short ribs in a light sweet and tangy honey reduction
-Teppanyaki style tofu with carrots broccoli, and mushrooms
- Cooked Pot-Style spinach in a chicken broth with minced pork and raw egg
-Singaporean Chow Mei Fun(Singaporean thin noodles with ham, green onion, bean curd shreds, and mixed vegetables, stir-fried in a curry sauce.
Cheers! and happy eating!

**Special Post: Business Trip To Guangzhou Day 1 Dinner: The Manchurian Special Flavor Jiaozi Restaurant

**Special Post: Business Trip To Guangzhou
Day 1 Dinner: The Manchurian Special Flavor Jiaozi Restaurant

Greetings! While the purpose of this blog was to document and illustrate the foods I was consuming in Hong Kong, I wanted to share some of the food experiences I have had in the past two weeks that actually took place outside of Hong Kong and in particular that of Guangzhou, China. .
For those that have spoken to me recently, you should be well aware of my reluctance to spend a week possibly more in the rural parts of Guangzhou. Truth be told, the job part was both tedious and stressful but I could always look forward to a decent meal that night.

Day 1 dinner was one of the most flavorful and delectable Chinese meals I have had in a while. The restaurant was two whole floors atop a department store and seemed frequented by the locals as there was a long wait even at 9 o’clock, which is what time, we finished work. We were greeted with waitresses and waiters dressed Manchurian style in their attire and hairstyles. While waiting for our table, one could hear the snapping of sunflower seeds that were being consumed by hungry diners waiting for their table.
But enough about the story! Here’s the Food!

Menu Includes
- Beef & Turnip in a spicy oil broth
- Pan Fried Pork in a sweet, sour and spicy sauce
- Baby White Cabbage in a mushroom, pork soup broth
- Egg, Vermicelli, and Chives Pocket
- Variety platter of Dumplings (Vegetarian (celery), pork & white cabbage, chicken & mushroom, pork & chives
Everything was delicious but my favorite was the Beef and Turnip in a spicy oil broth!

Cheers! And happy eating!

Triple O's

Triple O’s: BC Burger
Sorry people for the super delayed food posting…. being lent out to audit is more like a death sentence than “good exposure” but this blog isn’t about work or life but rather one of life’s greatest pleasures… at least for me it is; food. A few weeks back, I went youtube crazy for my favorite food network/travel channel shows….alas, three hours later I was craving good western food.
While Cantonese/Chinese food is my favorite cuisine and I could easily be content with consuming all forms of Chinese food, I am still American in my food upbringing. My friends had been mentioning this really good Canadian burger chain…and I thought this just might curb my craving for American food.

The location was directly next to IFC- or central’s most trafficked area filled with shops, supermarkets, restaurants, cafes, bars, offices an even a cinema. The inside of Triple O’s(the home to the famous burgers) was like any Americanized/western fast food chain but offered a slight old-fashioned diner feel. Ten minutes later, I finally chose to order the BC Burger…which was also recommended to me by friends.

The contents of this burger include a 100% pure beef patty topped with the special Triple “O” sauce, 2 strips of bacon, cheese, lettuce and tomato. It’s safe to say that my review of this burger is unjust because of just how long its been since my last burger. The bun was a delicate, buttery crisp.. .much like In N Out’s burger buns but the best part of the burger was the balance between moist and flavorful beef patty. Usually, burgers at fast food chains come out much too dry but this one was an exception. The bacon and toppings only added to the delicious greasy treat that this burger offered its tasters. Because I usually do not skimp on food, I tried their fries. Surprisingly enough, I could taste the potato taste, which is usually lacking at fast food chains. All in all- quite satisfying and definitely filled my craving for western food.
Cheers! And happy eating!