1/F Koon Fook Centre, 9 Knutsford Terrace, TST
Visited 10th January 2010
Knutsford Terrace is a great spot for a happy hour ale, but never inspires me as a dinning destination as it always seems over-priced and dominated by chains. Looking up seems the way to go as there's a few more interesting options tucked away on the floors above including the Korean restaurant Apgujeong Tent Bar. Look for the big glowing Korean writing and head up to a room that's authentically decorated
with wood panelling, traditional floor seating and a TV playing Rain DVDs.
When I visited Korea last year I got the impression that while the food was tasty there were only about thirty different dishes in the whole country (stonepot rice, chicken and ginseng soup, barbecued meat, rice cakes). Strangely the menu at Apgujeong Tent Bar has at least thirty-five dishes. We ordered samgyeopsal-gui and japchae. First came the mandatory banchan or side dishes. These were of top quality and the range of tasting treats included clams, broccoli, garlic, mushrooms, beansprouts, salad and of course kimchi. Next was the japchae; the big serve of sticky cellophane noodles came with beef and mushrooms and went down a treat. Cooking at the table is always fun and the samgyeopsal-gui or barbecued pork belly was great. The strips of chunky pork came with plenty of lettuce for wrapping and a tasty, spicy sauce. To drink I thought I better order a Korean Cass Beer, while Joey had a can of something Korean and mango based. 
I enjoyed the authentic and tasty Korean food at Apgujeong Tent Bar. The staff were efficient and cheerful, but that could have been because there was so many of them working for a relatively small place. I thought the prices were pretty fair; the beef was $128 and the noodles $88. If you’re on Knutsford Terrace and after more than a beer Apgujeong Tent Bar is definitely worth a look.
Douro, MOP$83, cork seal
I do drink a lot of Portuguese wine. This bottle is another purchase from Macau, where there seems to be a never ending supply of good value wines for midweek dri
nking. Sourcing fruit from the sub regions of Cima Corgo and Douro Superior it's made from Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca and Tinta Roriz grapes.
This is dark and intense; almost black with just a bit of garnet around the rim. This smells rich and luscious with hints of dusty chalk and sweet oak, but it’s really just about fruit, black fruit, lots of black fruit. Tasting this there’s an initial wallop of sweetness and plenty fruit; I’m thinking plums and boysenberries. There’s also the richness of coffee and caramel flavours. It has a long finish and plenty of big integrated tannin. The touch of warmth on the finish is pleasant rather than ungainly. Casa Ferreirinha 'Vinha Grande' 2003 is a nice wine, but you’ve got to like the sweet, rich style.
Visit winery website.
210 Napier Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne
Visited 2nd January 2010
Saturday night in Melbourne and it's time for a final fling before a way too early flight back to Hong Kong Sunday morning. The inner city suburb of Fitzroy is home to a great assortment of old-school Aussie pubs, but for food the Napier is perhaps my favourite. Housed in a hundred and nineteen year old building the pub is tucked away in a backstreet just opposite the old town hall (once upon a time Fitzroy use to 
have both a mayor and a football team). Inside the decors a mix of traditional charm with wood panelling, stain glass windows and modern cool with plenty of cool art, plus the odd piece of football memorabilia. The crowds a mix of the area; professional and bohemian, old and young, all are welcome.
Sure the Napier's a pub and the menu's a pub menu, but it's good. If you want a parma, burger or fish and chips they've got it, but there's plenty more interesting options including kangaroo, seafood, curry and the massive 'bogan' burger. I ordered a scotch fillet off the specials menu. The juicy, well cooked steak came with crunchy greens - broccolini and asparagus - and some rather tasty fat cut chips. I also managed to procure quite a bit of my mother's burger as its massive girth was well out of proportion with her appetite. Served on toasted ciabatta, with top quality bacon and a delicious garlic yogurt it was an interesting take on my usual pub favourite. The food at the Napier is really top-notch; the serves are exceedingly generous and quality of the ingredients is obvious. A pub cold beer is the order of the day and Melbourne brewed Mountain Goat 'Hightail Ale' on draft was the perfect choice.
The Napier's does everything a pub should, but does it perfectly. The bar staff are friendly and knowledgeable, to drink there's an interesting selection of beers and the ambiance is eclectic and welcoming - where else can my parents and such a crowd of my scumbag mates manage to mingle with the public? Oh and the food. The food's just want you want in a pub - big serves of well cooked, delicious grub at very fair prices. My steak was $23 and the burger I devoured half of was only $16, which all in all is pretty bloody good value. Back in Hong Kong - a land of happy, happy theme pubs and glitzy corporate bars - I'll miss the Napier, a true Melbourne pub.
A Country Town in Australia
2nd January 2010
Who in Hong Kong knows what a dim sim is? While Chinese in origin, a dim sim or ‘dimmy’ is very much an Australian dish. I’d assume the name is the corruption of the Chinese ‘dim sum’. These popular snacks are available from takeaway shops, fish n chip joints and Australian Chinese restaurants across the country. So what is a dimmy? Basically it’s a big, nuggetty, think skinned dumpling filled with cabbage and pork or chicken and either deep-fried or steamed. They are traditionally served smothered in soy sauce. 
Driving back from the beach I called into an average looking take-away joint with the intention of getting Joey’s reaction to a dim sim. Tradition labels poor quality dim sim as being filled with a whole assortment of miscellaneous meat and so I was almost disappointed when the smiling proprietor told us he was from Hong Kong and hand-made all his dim sims. The verdict? Joey was almost laughing when she saw the “monster dumpling” and while there’s nothing dainty about a dimmy, we both enjoyed are little snack of Australian Chinese fusion.
Read about dim sims here.
Port Philip Bay
2nd January 2010
We’re up before down, trying to beat the storm clouds gathering over the Bay. A group of us grabbed the required mountain of gear and headed out SCUBA diving in an attempt to get a feed or two of scallops. Port Phillip Bay is a massive body of water on which the city of Melbourne adjoins and lots of Victorians spend summers fishing, swimming and boating. 
I hadn’t dived in a couple of years so was hopelessly incompetent and retired from the adventure early. Before surfacing I did see a massive school of crabs that had swarmed for breeding and were churning up the ocean floor; an impressive sight. The others however did their job and returned with bags full of the fresh molluscs. 
Eating scallops is easy, but cleaning them is a different matter. Slaving away with a knife opening shells at least had that benefit of being able to munch on them, sashimi style, I worked. We had to head back to Melbourne, but took a bag of the fresh, juicy scallops for lunch. Pan-fried with and garlic and butter, they became the feature of a delicious salad. Fresh scallops gathered in the morning and eaten latter that day; oh Australia I’ll miss you.
26 Merricks Rd, Merricks, Victoria
Visited 1st January 2010
A mate of mine had been raving about the Paradigm Hill Pinot Gris recently and when we passed the sign for their cellar door at Merricks Joey and I thought we'd drop in for a look. We were actually lucky that it was New Years day as they only open the first weekend of every month and public holidays. Entering the stylish, open building we were greeted by the proprietors of this family run business; George and Ruth Mihaly. This husband and wife team have 10 acres of north facing 
vineyard and, with aims of sustainability, the winery is carbon neutral. Firmly believing that they make 'food wines' you are not just poured a glass, but rather presented with a freshly cooked sampling plate to accompany each wine.
Matched with a white bean puree the Paradigm Riesling 2009 was lovely with attractive floral nose, great length and even a hint of minerality on the palate. Next stop was the Pinot Noir 'L'ami Sage' 2007 with a tasty local turkey and cranberry sausage. The fresh Pinot was all about cherries and spice, but was also extremely focused and structured. Well matched with a spiced lentil and carrot soup was the Shiraz 'Col's Block' 2007. This velvety, cool climate Shiraz was absolutely delicious and packed with pepper, spice, plums, cherry and a whole lot of seductiveness. To finish was the Finir 2009 accompanied by chocolate dipped pineapple. This spritzy Moscato was awash with citrus and pear flavours, had beautifully balanced sweetness and just screamed yum. 
Our visit to Paradigm Hill impressed me. The Mihaly's were extremely hospitable and it was great to chat to them about their wine, vineyards and life on the Mornington Peninsula. The food pairing was a relaxed and enjoyable way to try the wines; which were all excellent. Joey wasn't particularly fussed about drinking, but had a very pleasant time playing with Jemima their beautiful Golden Retriever. I certainly recommend a visit to Paradigm Hill or even just trying their wines. 
Visit winery website.
159 Shoreham Rd, Red Hill South
Visited 31 December 2009
New Years Eve down the Peninsula and instead of the traditional barbie and midnight skinny-dip of my youth, I found myself being all sophisticated and mature. We were invited through a friend of a friend for dinner at Red Hill's the Long Table and I was overjoyed to be spending new years with the lovely couple whose wedding I celebrated a year ago. Red Hill is a bit of a gourmet hub with a brewery, cheese factory, cafes, produce store and ensnarling ring of wineries. The restaurant is an open, airy affair featuring plenty of rustic bricks and timber.
They were running a special New Year's Eve dinner menu and we were restricted to a choice of four entrees, mains and desserts; though choosing still wasn't easy. To start I went with the crowd favourite; pork belly and scallops. The tender (but tiny) square of pork was accompanied by beautifully well cooked scallops, apple and a scattering of crunchy black rice; tasty stuff. Though tempted by slow cooked beef fillet for a main, I went with Port Lincoln seabass. The well cooked crisp fish was served with an enticing side of smoked potato, mussels and chorizo; again delicious stuff and obviously top quality ingredients. Joey's juicy chicken with pear, artichoke and witlof salad was also an excellent dish. I wasn't interested in dessert, but the little samples of cheesecake and chocolate bar I tried were superb. Their winelist is pretty impressive; it’s stacked with local offerings, alongside and a fair bit of interesting international stuff. However we kept things simple and went for carafes of the house wine. The white; a mystery local Pinot Gris was unfortunately pretty average, but the red was tasty; a delightfully, fruity local Pinot Noir cleanskin.
For me sweaty crowds vibrating at a doof or gazing vacant eyed at fireworks holds absolutely no attraction on New Year's Eve. I much prefer to spend the evening with friends; enjoying good food, wine and maybe even a bit of intelligent conversation. It’s never pleasant to work on New Year's Eve (and I’ve done my share), but the staff at the Long Table were outstanding; friendly, efficient, knowledgeable and most importantly possessing the sense of humour needed to get through the night. I was obviously impressed with the grub and considering it was New Years actually thought it was a pretty good deal at $50 for two courses or $65 for three. The litre carafes of Pinot were also OK at $30. If you ignore the spewing beachside suburbs filled with overpriced monstrosities, the Mornington Peninsula is a great spot for food and wine; the Long Table just another feather in its cap. A lovely evening.
Visit restaurant website.
Tarrawarra, Yarra Valley, Victoria, A$40, screwtop
The turkey's in the oven and it's time to face the dust, spiders and explore the 'cellar'. Most of my wine is stacked unlabelled, in miscellaneous boxes so it's always an element of lucky-dip. I smiled however when this number emerged as it seemed it would meet all criteria. Aussie? Tick. Goes with turkey? Tick. Tasty? Let's hope so. I've raved about their excellent cellardoor previously, but Giant Steps also gets a big thumbs up for producing distinctive single vineyard wines, that promote the concept of terroir within Australia. This specific bottle comes from the Tarraford Vineyard a 21 hectare plot located at Tarrawarra between the towns of Healesville and Yarra Glen. 
A vibrant crimson colour, this screams Pinot as soon as it hits the glass. The nose has plenty going on and while it's initially all cherry and rich red fruit, soon more subtle aromas of cloves, cinnamon and rosemary emerge. On the palate, red cherry again dominates, but there's plenty going on in the background and complexity is added by spice, cedar, dried herbs and a slight smokiness. This tastes delicious, but it's also very well crafted. Acidity balances out super fine tannins and keeps the fullness of the palate in check. Length is also excellent. A superb wine that contributed to a lovely Christmas day; and yes it went well with the turkey.
Visit winery website.
Baskerville, Swan Valley, cork
Christmas morning and pop go the bubbles. I'm at my folk's place in Melbourne and when celebrating they normally reach their favourite Mann Méthode Champenoise. The Mann Winery is a small, family run bouquet winery in the Swan Valley near Perth.
Interestingly the wine is a blanc de noir made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. From what I understand it normally sells out on allocation so I've no idea how my dad manages to get the odd carton of this.
This is just off white in colour; a pale onion skin pink. It's got plenty of fine, persistent bubbles. The nose is pretty faint with just a delicate shimmer of red fruits; specifically cranberries and raspberries. On the palate though it comes alive; there’s a load of bubbling acidity to keep the whole outfit refreshing and crisp, while the flavours are rich and complex. I tasted red fruits, especially cherries, as well as lemon rind. There’s also an aromatic herbal component and a touch of floor polish(?) that reminds me a lot of Nolly Pratt Vermouth. Bubbles on Christmas morning always taste good, but I like Mann Méthode Champenoise 2006; it's a well cut drop with plenty of personality.
Lunch at a mate’s
24th December 2009
Drawing up a list of things I miss about Australia wouldn’t be an easy task. On top, of course, would be friends and family, but then what? Clean air? The bush? The open road? A half decent education system? But surely, near the very top somewhere, would have to be the subtle joys of fishing. So when I see the fish my friends catch it tends to make me just a tad jealous; jealous of all the casts I’ve missed since being away. 
It’s my first morning back in Australia and time to begin the circus of catching up with friends; something, that unfortunately for Joey (on her first visit), tends to dominate trips home. First stop is lunch at a mate’s and alongside the super company and delicious wine is this massive Snapper he caught; stuffed with rice, herbs and onion. Freshly caught, well seasoned and packed with juicy flavour it’s a memorable meal that brings buckets of joy, but also just a hint of regret at what would be a much more regular occurrence if I still lived in the Land Down Under.
Asia Wine Service and Education Centre, Sheung Wan
9th December 2009
This seminar was a collaboration between the wine loving dudes at SOPEXA and the wine teaching dudes at the Asia Wine Service and 
Education Centre. I'd never visited the AWSEC rooms before and I was impressed with the professionalism of the setup. We were seated in a large classroom and provided with everything we needed to learn, as well as drink.
The seminar used resources provided by Medoc Wine Council that included a seemingly never-ending parade of powerpoint slides. Stephen Mack, the lecturer, did a fantastic job of making all this information digestible in an entertaining manner. The Medoc and its communes were explored in detail and eight wines supplied to emphasis the different aspect of the area.
The wines were a good cross section of different styles ranging from unoaked Cru Bourgeois to classed growths Chateau Kirwan and Chateau Grand-Puy Ducasse. While the rich and structured Chateau Kirwan Margaux 2005 impressed with its floral nose and potential for cellaring my favourite wine of the night was the Chateau Chasse-Spleen 2003. This drop from lowly rated Moulis was delightful with a complex nose rippling with blackberry, mocha, smoke and spice and plenty of black fruit and spice on its long, smooth palate. 
My night of tasting the wines of Medoc was an entering and engaging evening. I was impressed with Stephen Mack's knowledge of the topic and enjoyed the opportunities offered by a comparative tasting.
Valpolicella, Veneto, $98, cork seal
Corte Giara is produced by big Veneto producer Allegrini, as a ready to drink range using fruit purchased from outside growers. The wines are readily available in Hong Kong and I've previously looked at their Amarone. Ripasso is made by fermenting new wine on the lees left over from Amarone production, thus adding body and intensity to fresh young Valpolicella.
The nose on this is pretty busy; it's intense with a real mixed bag of aromas. There's sweet fruits - cherry and boysenberry, but also a fresh floral aspect, seductive spice and meaty gaminess; yum, yum. There's plenty of action on the palate as well; it's all cherries and herbs, while fresh acidity balances out the sweetness of the fruit. This is a pretty wild wine, some may say it lacks focus, but it sure makes up for it with bunches of crazy fruit and fresh flavours. Corte Giara Ripasso Valpolicella 2007 offers plenty of interest for a very fair price; it's good easy drinking and goes perfectly with food.
Cariñena, $49, screwtop
This has a shinny sticker proclaiming it won gold in the Decanter World Wine Awards. I'm not normally interested in bling but thought I'd give it a try as it was very 
reasonably priced at Park n Shop. It comes from the small Spanish region of Cariñena and is apparently produced by Terrai Viñedos y Crianzas of whom I can't discover a thing. It's good to see a Spanish wine sensibly sealed with a screwtop.
It looks dark and purple and smells of dark, purple fruit. There's a massive whiff of sweet blackberry, alongside hints of cured meat and pepper. The palate has plenty of ripe fruit with plums, red cherry and liquorice. It's not "big" or "sweet" more bright and juicy with plenty of pure fruit flavours. I had this over a couple of evenings and on the second night it noticeably softened with liquorice and blueberries on the nose and a real velvety smoothness overwhelming the palate. Pléyades Shiraz 2007 is fresh and smooth with high quality, fine tannins. It's a lovely wine that offers tremendous value; weighting in well above its price tag.
40-46 Avenue Sir Anders Ljungstedt, Macau
Visited 5th December 2009 
The first weekend in December and yet again it's time for the Macau Marathon. The night before the big race a group of us got together for a feed at Antica Trattoria. A few friends have recommended this Italian joint and we thought we'd give it a go in the name of carb-loading. It's on the second floor in a bit of an odd location; halfway between Fisherman's Wharf and the city centre. Climbing the stars you certainly get the impression of an Italian restaurant; red bricks, timber and a walls covered with the usual black and white photos of old Italy; I'm even sure I saw a few old style Chianti bottles stuffed with candles.
The menu was packed with all the usual suspects; pasta, pizza and a selection of grilled stuff. There actually looked like a really good selection of antipasti on offer, but instead we shared a gorgonzola pizza to start. The pizza itself was OK - thin base, rich tomato sauce and too much cheese - but what blew me away was when the waiter came over and told me I couldn't take photos of the food. WTF? Was he serious? When he asked me to stop snapping he was smiling and I thought he was joking, but no, seriously you couldn't take photos of the food. Is this legal? Anyway, as you'd imagine we all went for pasta and the serves of bolognese, pomodoro and lasagna spun past, but my selection was tortellini with mushrooms. The cheese filled pasta dumplings were good and added to the rich creamy sauce made a filling dish with plenty of flavour from tasty mushrooms. I also helped a friend finish her disappointing cannelloni; it was too dry, heavy on the ricotta and lacked the flavour and texture of sufficient spinach. The couple of desserts that others ordered looked OK, though one friend was pretty frustrated that her lemon gelato was served in a lemon; her reasoning was a lemon is a lot smaller than a bowl and she wanted more than too mouthfuls. Playing at being athletes we all drunk soft drink or water. 
My visit was tarnished by the fact I was shocked and kind of frustrated at been told I couldn't take photos, but I started annoyed when even though I'd rung from Hong Kong to book they had no record of it. My mate, Mr Camera Police, was actually an efficient and friendly bloke, though a couple of the other waitresses were a bit slow on the uptake. The pizza was just OK and the cannelloni average, however I did enjoy my tortellini and most of my friends seemed happy with their meals. Food in Macau is normally pretty good value, but in this case I thought Antica Trattoria to be, if anything, a bit overpriced. Our bill came to over $200 a head which for a bowl of pasta, a slice of average pizza, mouthful of dessert and glass of Coke isn't fantastic. For those looking for an authentic feed of Italian Antica Trattoria meets the criteria, though I have to wonder why visitors would bother when there're a heap of great Portuguese joints in town.
Level 3, Langham Place, 555 Shanghai St, Mong Kok
Visited 4th December 2009
Friday night and a mate organised dinner for a group of us at Tokoro. I normally avoid restaurants in hotels, but was pretty impressed when we strolled into the third floor of the Langham Place hotel. This robatayaki style Japanese joint is working hard at being hip and the rotating ‘cage’ where we were seated was all rather cool. There seems to be a definite emphasis on quality ingredients with plenty of fresh vegetables
and seafood on display around the kitchen counter. They also have a separate bar area for those who simply want to look cool and drink, rather than look cool, drink and eat.
I’m not a massive eater so was hesitant when my mate suggested we go for an extensive set menu, but got talked into as carb-loading for the Macau Marathon. First off was a simple lettuce salad with row and croutons and an appetizer of tasty marinated eggplant sprinkled with bonito flakes. The salmon, tuna and sea bream sashimi that came next
was beautifully presented as well as fresh and tasty. Then it was the first robatayaki round; velvety textured, grilled tofu and fish balls. Next stop was miso soup, enriched with tiny claims; it was satisfying stuff. Then it was time for more stuff on sticks; this time Kobe beef and minced chicken, accompanied by grilled corn and asparagus. The simple char grilling allowed the flavour and quality of the ingredients to shine. Tempura time next with a crisp fried oyster, prawn and a couple of sweet potato slices. The food fiesta continued with mushroom topped chawanmushi, a bowl of chewy homemade udon and finally sesame ice-cream to finish an epic eating adventure.
Being saner (or perhaps less susceptible to peer pressure) Joey wasn’t interested in a set, but instead ordered homemade udon and a couple of robatayaki items; a grilled pork chop and sausages. The noodles came with plenty of tender beef, onions, and an egg and were floating in a lovely soup base. The grilled pork chop was decent and the little frankfurter style sausages were tasty, but not remotely Japanese. With the samples she had of my meal she walked away happy.
OK, so I’ve listed off a whole parade of dishes above, but what did I think? Was it good? Was it worth it? Would I do it again? Well I certainly enjoyed the food; it was beautifully presented, well prepared and genuinely tasty. However while delicious it’s worth noting that it wasn't particularly innovative or overly interesting. If my meal was worth it is a whole other discussion. The quality of the ingredients was obvious, but was I getting $650 worth of these ingredients? There were only two slices of each type of sashimi, a couple of cubes of Kobe beef, a single prawn and a single oyster. The cool setting and professional service however helped make the experience memorable; so would I do it again? I don’t have a big appetite so can’t really see how gorging myself to excesses is meant to be pleasant. Joey’s food was good and more reasonable at $37 and $47 for the grilled meat and $97 for the tasty udon. I definitely liked Tokoro enough to visit again, but wouldn’t bother shelling out the coin for the multiple fat boy courses.
Visit restaurant website.
McLaren Vale, South Australia, screwtop
The Kay Brothers Amary Vineyards are McLaren Vale legends and this wine is a bottle of Australian history. The 'Block 6' part of the Amery Vineyard was planted in 1892 with Shiraz cuttings taken from Thomas 
Hardy's Tintara Vineyard. Where else in the world are you getting to drink wine from 114 year old vines? I think this may have been wrongly priced; I picked it up for AU$26 at Melbourne airport; the winery's website lists it as AU$60 (which is still a bargain!).
It's deep, dark purple in colour. The nose is rich and seductive; there's obvious oak, but it's tasty stuff with hints of sweet cinnamon, cedar and coffee. There's also plenty of fruit aromas that I suppose are more 'blue' than red or black; I'm thinking boysenberries, mulberries and blueberries. Having a sip and I'm hit by how rich and concentrated this is; there's black fruits, smoke and almost sweet, boysenberry. It's silky, smooth and surprisingly soft, with firm, but fine tannins. The 15% alcohol is nicely integrated and the finish is as long and seductive as you'd imagine. This is one tasty wine and a great example of classic, old school Aussie Shiraz.
Visit winery website.
Shop 1045, 1/F Elements, Kowloon
Visited 3rd December 2009
A midweek movie at Elements and we decided to try somewhere new for dinner. When cruising the water zone I normally find it pretty hard not to head to the roof for tapas at Olive, but I was a little more willing to experiment when I discovered that Nahm is bought to us by the same crew; the good people at Dinning Concepts. It's an upmarket
Thai and Vietnamese place that's dolled up to be a step above your average pad Thai joint. The restaurant is fronted by big 'windows' that open onto, well onto a shopping centre... The decors slick though I couldn't find a picture of his Majesty Rama IX.
There are plenty of the usual Thai and Vietnamese favourites on the menu, but also a few dishes that I hadn't seen before and a selection of 'main courses' that seem more aimed towards individual munching rather than sharing. We went for the 'signature' spicy beef noodles, smoked eggplant and roasted game hen. The rice noodles came with a generous amount of beef and oozed fresh flavour from a mountain of chilli, basil, fried garlic and lime. The peeled, smoked eggplant was served with a chilli and vinegar dressing. I really liked this dish, though its flavours were pretty subtle and got a bit lost amongst the wild aromatics of the other two dishes; Joey however wasn't a fan and found it too sweet. The roasted game hen was half a smallish bird, stuffed with fragrant rice 
that helped keep it really moist. This Thai version of a Sunday roast was served with potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower; it was sticky, sweet and obviously flavoured with turmeric.
Our visit to Nahm was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I liked the food, I liked the setting and to top it off the service was excellent. Impressive touches like cloth serviettes and constant refills of iced water went a long way to impress me. Our tab came to very reasonable $235, which I thought was a bit of a bargain, though looking at the menu I think you could spend a fair bit more if you got stuck into the booze and seafood. Nahm; I'm now a damn fan.
Visit restaurant website.
10 Sai Ching Street, Yuen Long
Visited 31st November 2009
I've heard mixed reviews about this little Yuen Long Japanese restaurant. It's located right next to where we play tennis, but the tennis crew don't rate it, yet on the other hand Joey's boss is a big fan. Inside it's all you imagine of a small, local Japanese joint; crowded, tiny wooden stools and a f
ew flags fluttering lonely away on the walls.
Joey’s boss loves this place because of their miso hotpot, but unfortunately the night we went they were sold out. Instead we decided on a beef hotpot, giant salmon sushi, gyoza and a friend prawn sushi roll. Filled with mushrooms, udon, beef and an egg the hotpot was tasty, especially the flavoursome, slightly sweet soup. Handmade from pork rib the dumplings were really satisfying, though oily. Both sushi dishes were decent; though I preferred the massive sushi roll over the OK the salmon. Stuffed with tuna, a big fired prawn, lettuce and mayo, the sushi roll 
came sprinkled with crunchy crab row and was so large that it was difficult to eat. Big isn’t always better, but this guy was tasty in a somewhat untraditional manner.
I enjoyed my visit to Iroue Japanese Restaurant. The service and environment were nothing special, but that’s not what this kind of place is about; what matters is the value and the quality of the food. Our meal was $146 for the two of us which I thought was fair. The food? Well it was pretty good; I think I’ll come back and try the miso hotpot and maybe bring along that pack of scoundrels I play tennis with. 
Level 1, IFC Mall, Central
Visited 31st December
It's strange that I've never managed to make it to Simplylife Bread and Wine before; my mother lives in Australia yet she seems to be something of a regular. Anyway, located on the first floor of the IFC mall this joint is both a restaurant and a cafe. The restaurant is off to the side while the casual cafe seating has views over Victoria Harbour and Kowloon, though the low angle means the foreground is chocked with buses. As
I entered, the busy open kitchen, rows of pretty pastries and a wine covered wall all vied for my attention.
I suppose the 'cafe' is more of an upmarket sandwich bar as they mainly sell pastries and pre-made sandwiches. I wasn't overly hungry so went for a small, toasted panini with cheese and prosciutto and a cafe latte. The crisp, grilled sandwich was good; filled with plenty of salty prosciutto and a gooey cheese it was a nourishing and tasty lunch. The coffee was decent though I was a bit disappointed that it was served in a paper cup; I saw mugs there and it would have been nice if the barista asked me for my preference. I did glance at the main restaurant's menu and it looked interesting so I'll have to come back and check it out.
Simplylife Bread and Wine is a good spot for lunch in the IFC; the bread is tasty and obviously fresh, while the views aren't half bad. Value wise it was pretty fair; my sandwich was $32 ($48 for a large) and the coffee was $22. If you compare Simply Life Bread and Wine to Starbucks and Pacific Coffee you have to wonder why anyone bothers to visit the chains. At Simply Life the food is miles ahead, while the coffee is better and cheaper. I do find this rather interesting as Simplylife is run by the Maxim's Group who also hold the Hong Kong franchise for Starbucks - one works, one doesn't.
Visit restaurant website.
with wood panelling, traditional floor seating and a TV playing Rain DVDs.
View looking east from the top of the Eureka Tower; Art's Centre, National Gallery, Botanic Gardens, Government House, the MCG, Flinders Park and the Yarra River.
View of Flinders Street Station, Federation Square and St Paul's Cathedral.
I'd never visited the 
A trip to the 
As is an afternoon or two at the MCG.
Visiting mates in the Yarra Valley; it felt so good to be back in the Bush.
Vineyards at the excellent 
Bushrangers Bay at Mornington Peninsula after an enjoyable walk in.
Yes you do see 'wild' Kangaroos in Australia.
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