Cenacolo Steak & Pasta - So Italian!
I can’t resist the drive but to introduce this lovely and tasteful Italian restaurant in Hong Kong to you.
Shortly after it’s opening since a few months ago, I tried this restaurant and fell into it at once. I have brought lots of friends to this restaurant and they all love the food and wine there.
In fact, this restaurant is another shop of a famous restaurant in the SoHo area in Hong Kong, the Al Dente(for information of SoHo, please refer to my earlier post: Enoteca on Elgin). Both restaurants are famous for good quality of food and wine, reasonable prices and very cozy and comfortable dinning environment.
The restaurant has a good collection of Italian wine to match with their dishes. All the wine selections are of high quality and very reasonable prices. I especially love those coming from the Chianti region.
My number 1 favourite dish in the restaurant is their Prosciutto e Brie (Parma Ham & Cheese). The Parma Ham goes prefect with the Brie cheese: salty, creamy and delicious. This appetiser is a perfect match with the Italian red wine. The other appetisers like Antipasto (Parma Ham, smoke salma and grilled vegetable), Carpacciao (Italian raw beef) are very nice choices.
Being an Italian restaurant, their pasta and risotto are the signature dishes. I love their Seafood Cafafu (lobster and seafood risotto) most. Don’t miss this dish when you visit this shop.
Another must try item in the restaurant is their rib-eye steak. The steak is very nicely done, very juicy and tender. I would say that not many restaurants could compare with the quality.
Some other dishes worth recommending to you include their very crispy pizzas, mussels, lamp chop and smoke salmon salad. Their freshly baked onion bread is also delicious.
Their desert, the chocolate pudding, is awesome! This desert is a piece of hot chocolate cake filled with melted hot chocolate cream. Beside the pudding, there is a scone of vanilla ice-cream. The contrasting black and white, hot and cold, chocolate and vanilla, all sum up to a great tasting experience. Other than the chocolate pudding, the Panna Cotta and Cream Brulee are also my favourites.
The prices of the restaurant are very reasonable. For a full course dinner, from appetisers down to deserts, with a bottle of sparkling wine and a bottle of good quality red wine, the total expenditure for 2 persons would be around US$120. This restaurant also serves weekend lunch sets, with 3 courses at USD$16 - 18 per person only.
My favourite: Prosciutto e Brie (Parma Ham & Cheese)
Cenacolo Steak Pasta
No. 45-53 Gramham Street, Soho, Central
tel) 852 25252430
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Related posts:
- Enoteca on Elgrin - good wine, good food, good time
- Chez Patrick: a night in Paris
- TOTT: a sparkling afternoon
- my beloved southern france cuisine
Enoteca on Elgrin - good wine, good food, good time
Enoteca on Elgin, where Enoteca means “the Wine Bar”, is a restaurant located in the famous SoHo area in Hong Kong and is a place I love to spend a whole weekend afternoon in.
Located in the heart of financial and business activities of Hong Kong, i.e. the Central District, the SoHo is well known for its numerous fine dinning restaurants. The SoHo refers to mainly the areas around the Elgin Street and Straunton Street, which are just next to the Lan Kwai Fong, the clubbing paradise.
Unlike the Lan Kwai Fong which is full of bars and clubs, the SoHo is mainly for dinning. Wide ranges of cuisine can be found in the SoHo, like French, Italian, American, Greek, Thailand, Chinese, Japanese and even fusion dishes. There are classic and luxurious restaurants where you can enjoy fine dinning or you could find a casual and cozy restaurant to chat and laugh with your friends loudly. When I have no idea of what to have dinner with my friends, I always go to the SoHo to drop by any one of my favourite restaurants. In SoHo, there are always so many choices to match with the style and taste of each visitor.
The Enoteca on Elgrin is a relaxed and hip mediterranean wine bar and cafe with tapas, salads and rustic pizzas. It has comfortable environment with a lovely outdoor backyard and semi-outdoor shop front. It opens from 12noon to 2am and it serves set lunch and full weekend brunch.
Their salads, tapas and pizzas are delicious. I especially love their weekend brunch where there are lots of choices and the cost is only around US$9.0 to US$12.0 with a glass of fruit juice or tea / coffee. In the night, I usually like ordering their white wine patter or red wine patter to share among with my friends. The patters are the selections of some signature tapas in the restaurant which go well with the wine. One more worth mentioning point is the freshly baked bread of the restaurant (free when ordering dinner dishes), I usually can’t resist the temptation and have to request more.
(the resaurant) (the white wine patter)
(the pizza and full weekend brunch)
Naming as the wine bar, the Enoteca has marked it’s identity by the comprehensive wine list it offers to its visitors. It serves over 20 world class wines by the glass and 60 by the bottle, in very competitive prices. I especially love ordering the Prosecco / Pink Prosecco (a kind of sparkling wine, at only US$5.0) in the afternoon, reading my books, writing my articles and spending a whole weekend afternoon there.
The Enoteca has a sister wine bar named BACAR, located on the Shelley street in (close to the Enoteca). I shall introduce its sister restaurant to you later.
The semi-outdoor shop front of the Enoteca is really enjoyable, not only that we could enjoy some outdoor air, we could also watch many pretty people come and go along the small
SoHo street. Watching over the street and saying “hi” to the passersby are really cheerful and relaxing experiences.
Enoteca on Elgrin
47 Elgrin Street,
Hong Kong
Tel) 852-2525 9944
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Related posts:
Filed under restaurants, chill-out & fever, cuisine, hong kong | Comments (6)b. wing - a child lost in the city
“isolated, loneliness, wandering, self-reflections”
b. wing is a Hong Kong artist focusing her work in installation art and illustration.
After her graduation from the Middlesex University in the UK, b.wing returned to Hong Kong and began as a fashion designer. Soon she discovered a love of, and a special talent for, creating installation art and illustrations. And she started her life as a full time artist in 2002.
b. wing’s talent was soon recognise by the artist circle and she held her first solo exhibition, “if you don’t want to be perfect, you’ve come to the right place” at Agnès b. Librairie Galerie in Hong Kong. The same exhibition was then staged at Agnès b. Gallery in Taipei, Taiwan as well as Agnès b. Aoyama store in Tokyo, Japan.
After some more exhibitions, b. wing published her first illustration book in 2006, taking the same name as her first solo exhibition: “if you dont want to be perfect, you’ve come to the right place”.
May be you have to lose everything and you’ll then realise you still have yourself. - b. wing, 2006
The character “A” in this book comes from b. wing’s previous exhibitions. A keeps changing his identity and appearance. One day he’s a rock star, and the next day he’s a solitary superhero. The star he’s holding all the time is his only companion.
Day in and day out, he’s often consumed by his feelings of inadequacy, of not fitting in anywhere. A is so sensible but has an almost strange sense of innocence and imagination. He has someone he’s really in love with, “B”, though he never knows that ‘someone’ is actually himself ……
Apart from “A”, rabit is a recurrent theme in b. wing’s work. She once said: “I was asked once to give my 3 favourite animals in order of preference and description as well …”
“And I said:
01 an eagle: unaccompanied, superior, accurate
02 a jagar: cool, silent, dangonerous
03 a rabit: empty-headed, doing nothing, funny looking
The first one is what you think of yourself
The second is what others think of you
the third is what you really are.
You don’t have to tell me if it is true.”
b. wing’s art work always communicated with her audiences the immense passions and emotions. Her characters are in simple form but with strong and “impure” colours which represents the confusing of the childlike nature in human beings in the complicated world. The beauty of the combination of horror and innocent is created in her work.
Loneliness, isolation, remoteness and self-reflections are the main themes in b. wing’s creations. Through the big round eyes of her characters, we could see our own horror, worry, insecure and lack of confidence. A, may be a projection of b. wing herself, and also a projection of all of us. A child lost in the city, may be a protrait of me and you.
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b. wing’s illustration books:
If you don’t want to be perfect, you’ve come to the right place, 2006 (want to buy this book?)
We all need someone to kiss us goodbye, newly released, 2007
(want to buy this book?)
Chez Patrick - a night in Paris
“It was always our intention to offer a homely experience to our guest. We very much wanted to create the atmosphere of a typical Parisian apartment in our dinning room which is very recognizable in the wooden flooring and the white walls panels.” - Chez Patrick
Chez Patrick, a luxury and yet cozy France restaurant in Hong Kong, serves not only the finest France cuisine in Hong Kong, but also the elegant Parisian atmosphere and experience. When dining in the restaurant, we would feel that we are enjoying the fine food, tasting the French wine and experiencing the prestige moments with our friends in Paris.
Patrick, the Chef, “comes from a small village near Lyon in France where people are very serious about their food. Patrick first studied in France and worked in France, but then went on to work in London for a while before making his first stay in the Caribbean’s working in one of those high end hotels.” He then went back to France in a restaurant in Provence, before going to Italy in Rome. In 1996, Patrick went to Vietnam where he worked in a fine dinning French restaurant. Then he went back to the Caribbean’s in an up-market fusion cuisine restaurant at Barbuda. Then it was back to France again in Macon in a traditional Burgundy restaurant before finally heading to Hong Kong in 2002 working in a small French restaurant on Arbuthnot road called Chez Moi.
After working some time in the Chez Moi, Partick has opened his own shop in the Soho area (always the hippest dinning place in Hong Kong) and then another shop in the Sun Street.
Signature dishes of Patrick include: foie gras terrine, pan fried lobster and black truffle, crustwarm almonds and apple tart, pan fried veal tenderloin, pan fried duck breast, poach pear in a red wine, caramelized floating island, Crème brûlée, etc. The fresh made bread is also a favorite of all customers.
For lunch, the 2 - 4 courses menus are ranging from US$20 to US$30. For dinner, the 3-5 courses menus are ranging from US$ 60 to US$80.
I have been to this restaurant for wine tasting lunch some time. The dishes are outstanding, especially for the deserts. The environment is superb and it is so “French” in every corner inside the restaurtant.
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Chez Patrick Peel Street
G/F., 26 Peel Street Central
Hong Kong
Tel) 2541 1401
Chez Patrick Sun Street
G/F., 8-9 Sun Street Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel) 2527 1408
related post: my beloved southern france cuisine
Filed under hip & stylish, cuisine, hong kong | Comments (15)Club 97 - a classic icon
What Hong Kong is famous for? Eating and shopping? What else?
One should count to the night life in Hong Kong, and Lan Kwai Fong, is always the most glamorous and hippest place to go when you want to have a fever night out.
Not matter it is for tourists, or local party animals, the temptation of Lan Kwai Fong is just irresistible. From time to time, I also like going to Lan Kwai Fong to have drinks and meet friends.
There are tons of bar, club and disco lying side by side in Lan Kwai Fong. No matter you are a techno lover, hip hop lover, house lover or live band lover, only if you like good music, drinks and friends, you should be able to find a place that suits your taste and mood here in Lan Kwai Fong.
For every Friday and Saturday, starting from 2300 until 0400 next morning, that comes the peak hours in Lan Kwai Fong. Sexy girls and cool guys are walking around the streets, changing from shops to shops, like performing on cat walks. “To see and to be seen”, should be the main purpose of every party animal.
Club 97 and la Dolce Vita 97, is a classic icon in the Lan Kwai Fong. For Club 97, it has opened some 20 years ago, while la Dolce Vita 97 (just beside Club 97) was opened in 1994. These two bars have survived through different period of time, even in the lowest tide. Designed in the black and red, with stools around the bar counter, low sofas inside the bar and small table at the semi open space along the street, you could enjoy your night with your friends, listening to the music while watching all people come and go out there on the street.
When you are coming to Hong Kong, don’t forget to have a night out in the Lan Kwai Fong. You would have an enjoyable night.
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Club 97 & la Dolce Vita 97
| 9 Lan Kwai Fong Central, Hong Kong Tel:(852) 2186 1837 |
TOTT - a sparkling afternoon
The TOTT’s, “Talk of the Town”, located on the 34/F., the top floor, of the Exclesior Hotel, Hong Kong, is my all time favourite.
With its spectacular view over the most renowned Victoria Harbour of Hong Kong and its location at the most popular shopping and dinning centre in Hong Kong, i.e. the Causeway Bay, the restaurant is a best choice of all time. No matter you are the first time visit, or you are a local “hipper”, I would recommend the TOTT’s to you without hesitation.
Be it day time or night time, one would find the view of the TOTT’s very impressive: blue sea and skyscrapers along the shore in the day, and colourful lighted up buildings in the night. The restaurant serves international cuisine, from Western to Asian, from oyster bar to Japanese Sushi. You could always find the dishes to match your taste and mood.
The restaurant has undergone an overall renovation project since last month, and has just re-opened last Thursday. After the renovation, the tone of the restaurant has changed from the classic and elegant red and black to the stylish brown and blue. The feel of the restaurant has become younger and stylish.
Apart from enjoying the happy hour in the restaurant with the spectecular harbour view of Hong Kong, I like spending a Saturday afternoon in the restaurant too. In weekend’s afternoon, the restaurant serves brunch buffet with unlimited sparkling wine, at a cost of around US$40 per person. The lovely seaview, the sparkling wine, the oysters, the Sushi and the dessert, all contribute to an enjoyable weekend afternoon.
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related link: my beloved southern french cuisine
Filed under restaurants, hip & stylish, cuisine, hong kong | Comments (9)Sun and Beach - chill-out place in Hong Kong
after the typhoon, it has been raining for more then a week here in hong kong.
how i miss the sun and beach! haha!
hong kong is an crazy city: crowdy, noisy, busy. it’s really not my cup of tea.
however, being my home town, there are still lovely things around. the one receiving the highest rating from me should be the pretty beaches here.
lucky we are, there are many pretty beaches in hong kong. some are big, some are small, some are lousy and crowded with tourists, some are quiet and hip. for me, i love going to the big wave beach and the southern beach in hong kong, both are small but hip.
the beaches in hong kong are not only for summer, they are good for winter too. in summer, you could swim or play some water sports and would be able to see many pretty bikini girls and cool guys playing around. the water is warm and the sun is hot. for winter, when there is soft sunshine and the weather is warm, it’s really relaxing to bring a book to read at the beach.
if the weather is fine, i would normally spend a day in the beach during the weekend, finding some shelter under the tree, laying on a mat, reading a book, writing some articles, listening to music, drinking a glass of champagne or white wine, swimming for a while, taking a nap with the message of sea breeze, nothing could be more comforting and refreshing. the blue sky, white cloud, the golden sunshine and the crystal blue water are the perfect combinations for a relaxing afternoon.
big wave beach, which is one of my favourite beaches to visit during the weekend, is famous for surfing. driving to the beach from the hong kong central areas is around 30 mins drive (of course we could take a minibus or taxi to get there). the road leading to the beach is challenging, narrow and with lots of sharp turns. if you like driving, the route is already fun for you.
there are many surfers staying in the big wave beach all over the year. in summer, this beach is rather hot and crowded, but one would still be able to find a quiet corner if so wish. for winter, here is a paradise, with only some surfers, a few visitors, very quiet and peaceful. there are many local shops selling food, drinks and beach stuffs, if you forget to bring something, don’t worry, you could always buy it at the local shops.
there is one sea-side bar at the big wave beach. it’s decorations are most basic and natural. after a week’s busy and stressful work, this bar is a great place for chill-out in a sunny day.
if you are visiting hong kong and you are not too rush in your schedule, this lovely big wave beach would worth you a visit.
my beloved southern france cuisine
when i first started writing this site, i was thinking of sharing my precious moments with my readers. “good wine, good food and good friends”, should be an universal formular for our “precious moment”.don’t envy me, what i am going to introduce to you, is the only restaurant of a world-wide culture and trendy label, the Agnès b. le pain grillé. 
this is the first and only Agnès b. restaurant all over the world (except that there is another Agnès b. cafe opened in HK as well, shortly after this le pain grillé), serving southern french cuisine. it is located right underneath the Agnès b. Travel Concept Shop. it seems that the restaurant itself is making a declaration on the fushion of fashion, travel and cuisine, i.e. culture and life. during its first opening in Sept 2006, the waiting list was up to 3 months. this restaurant was really the talk of the town at that moment.the food and wine served by this shop are pure southern france traditions, even every decoration inside the restaurant is from the southern france. sitting inside the cozy restaurant, tasting a glass of fine french wine (in a very competitive price) and ordering their tradition french dishes, one would hardly believe they are now in hong kong. among their dishes, i love their freshly baked bread, foiue gras, la omlette, mussels (exactly the same as those i tasted in paris and southern france), crepe & souffle in particular.if you ask me for a recommendation of french cuisine in hong kong, this Agnès b. le pain grillé should be on the top 3 of my list._______________________
Agnès b. le pain grillé - Shop 1, G/F, 111 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
(852) 2577 2718
Filed under cuisine, hong kong | Comments (7)
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