Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Nicholini's, Conrad Hotel, Hong Kong

A lovely dinner by Chef Luca de Berardinis at Nicholini's. Love many of the dishes & the romantic setting. Considering bringing SC here for a major romantic date ;)

It all started with this yummy parmesan amouse bouche. 

Pan fried scallop lentil soup with chestnuts and Montepulciano reduction.
Succulent scallop, tasty everything else. I tilted my plate to clean everything up :)

A lovely little drama involving fennel flowers...

Salted cod with red vinegar flavored potatoes, roasted peppers & black olives. Very yummy. I especially adore the potatoes :)

Beef tartar with crunchy egg yolk, baby salad & black summer truffle.

OMG. The egg yolk has a thin crunchy exterior and then it oozes beautifully onto the beef. YUMMY MAX!

Cream of green beans with egg pasta, pennyroyal and bottarga. Everything's perfect together. LOVE.

Fried smoked eggplants with ricotta ravioli and octopus in pizzaiola style. I love the ravioli, but the flavor combination could have been a little better...

Meditteranean tuna in potato crust with chard, fava beans and mango mayonnaise. I love how each potato "dome" is meant to be different instead of uniform. Flavor wise, my favorite part of this dish is the veggie. Nicely cooked and well seasoned.

Traditional Italian sorbet. Very tangy & refreshing! However, I wish that the green juice wasn't for aesthetics only..

Warm chocolate olive oil cake with strawberry sorbet and balsamic vinegar.

My, oh my! Very yummy!

The petit four, those babies in tiny cute glasses are yummy creamy milky treats with a punch of chilli! I love love love it!
I ended my epic meal with a cup of hot mint tea :)

I'm so going back for more! 

Thank you Chef Luca, Nicholini's and Conrad Hotel for the lovely dinner.

Wanna know more?
Here's the Openrice link.
My friend Gary's review.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Party Perfect: Crispy Chicken & Veggie Dumplings

Golden delicious, super cute looking & highly addictive. Perfect snack to serve your guests at a party. It's not hard to make (except the deep frying part - I know, I know) & the veggie in the filling gives it a crunch & sweetness as if there were chunks of prawns. Genius!

This is my helper's recipe. She is da bomb, she rules my kitchen! I know, I am soooo blessed.

Recipe
Filling:
- 2 chicken legs (or breast) filled, skin removed & minced
- 1/2 cup frozen veggie (cubed carrots, corn & peas)
- 1 egg yolk 
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 1/3 tsp salt
- a pinch of chicken stock powder (optional)
- a pinch of sugar
Skin:
- spring roll skin (square ones), cut into 4
- oil for frying

Mix filling ingredients in a bowl. Prepare spring roll skin. Add 1 heaping tsp of filling in the middle of wrapper & bring the 4 corners together to form a pocket. Deep fry just before serving. Serve with sweet chilli sauce or mayo.

The cute yummies shall be gone in no time.
Crunch crunch crunch.

PS. Drink lots of water or herbal tea after sinful treat ;)