Dinner @ La Creperíe

C's old pal Tee, a crêpe lover, Whatsapped him in June and asked where she could get decent crêpes in Hong Kong.  Crêpe is a type of French pancake, and means "curled" in English. I remember the most popular crêpe place in Canada was Cafe Crêpes, but I didn't really like it back then. 

I am no crêpe expert, but it doesn't take one to tell her where to go. All I needed to tell her was to go to LA Creperíe in Wan Chai. Nestled on the 2nd floor of a building in Wan Chai, you will find yourself in a seaside town of Brittany in France. There are photos of lighthouses, models of ships, ropes and ship's wheels, sale and pepper shakers shaped like lighthouses. Do, however, be prepared for the coziness as it was kind of cramped in the room! Dinner was priced at $120 to $150 per head. 

As we browsed through the menu, we were quickly drawn to the collection of interesting names for each of the crêpe (savory or sweet)! 

(1) Although the La Marin ($118) Tee ordered did not excite us by its appearance at first, the scallops were surprisingly well cooked. The taste of each scallop was scrumptiously juicy and moist. The mushroom and beacon cream sauce added divine flavors. Ironically, the scallops were a bit big and too substantial for the crisp texture of the crêpe. 

(2) The La Piano ($98) that C picked looked cute with the smoked salmon and egg in the middle. The salmon tasted a bit too salty for my liking. The spinach, however, salvaged the dish successfully and offered a nice, sweet and fresh taste to balance the fish. 

(3) After the two savory crêpe, we ordered a sweet La Admiral's Cup ($80) to finish off our dinner and it completely cheered us up! It was a commendable dessert as there was a symphony of invigorating flavors with the vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and slices of fresh pears in steaming chocolate sauce. It was a winner of the evening! 

VERDICT

Ambience: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ 
Service: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Food: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Overall remarks:  Marketed with crêpe as its main attraction, the crêpes at LA Creperíe were at times not as refined as other places with a similar price tag.  But it was definitely creative, playful and a calming oasis which satisfies our crêpe-cravings with its wide selection.  It is a good choice if you like crêpes and want a relaxing afternoon tea or dessert. 

INFO

La Creperíe (website)
1/F, Kui Chi Mansion, 100-102 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Dinner @ 囍宴 東‧丰 Xi Yan

囍宴跟李安多年前的電影同名，由名廚Jacky Yu開設主理，但聽過不少好壞參半的評語，所以一直也沒有去試。今天跟D剛巧經過在太古城的分店，囍宴東丰，便決定去試試那裡的晚餐。兩層的餐廳，地方不大，用上傳統紅色的牆紙和柔和燈光，有點溫馨的感覺，二人晚飯套餐有五款餸菜，價錢也只是大概＄270左右。

1) 很喜歡這道皮蛋雪菜涼拌凍豆腐作為頭盤，皮蛋雪菜醬汁加上切好大小適中的凍豆腐，入口感覺冰涼入味，成為一道簡單但輕盈的前菜。


2) 這道腐乳脆香雞是C最愛的主菜之一。賣相十分吸引，外面的皮香脆可口，裡頭的肉很軟滑。腐乳加雞肉是絕妙的組合，非常出色。


3) 咕嚕斑塊雖然是一道普通的家常便菜，但是要做到外脆內軟並不容易。這道菜做得相當不錯，咕嚕汁不會過紅，炸粉適中，脆卜卜，很好吃，而且很有住家飯的感覺呀。


4) 這碟熱騰騰又香噴噴的囍宴XO醬蝦仁煮豆腐用煲上，又是另一種風味，跟之前吃的冷豆腐形成一個有趣的對比。XO醬的微辣，十分惹味，豆腐入口亦軟暖滑口，D說搭此下飯，份外好味道。

5)上海時蔬很新鮮，味道很好。


6) 最特別就是這碗芝麻白飯，香氣很濃，吃起來很爽口，蠻不同的。


這頓在囍宴的「晚宴」充滿驚喜和溫馨的感覺，猶如在家裡吃飯一樣，餸菜有質素又健康。加上店員態度都友善欣勤，面帶笑容，很快地把每道菜送到面前。週末來這裏用膳，環境亦不會太吵，看到周圍也是一家大小來真窩心，非常不錯，值得再來！

Dinner @ Pasta Marche

D found out about this newly opened restaurant in Tseung Kwan O called Pasta Marche a few months ago and we decided to go and try it.  Pasta Marche is an Italian casual diner founded by Japanese Master Chef, Mr. Akira Watanabe located in Metro City Plaza.  With an upbeat atmosphere resembling a farm house, cute drawings on the wall, a wide selection of pasta with a variety of seasonal fresh vegetable in the menu, this restaurant aimed to provide a healthy diet.  Dinner is extremely reasonably priced at around $80 to $100 per head. 

(1) We started off with  Simple Tomato Sauce with Basil - Spaghettini ($49).  The attractive pasta mixed with pieces of tomatoes which said to be fresh off from Japan, tossed in a homemade pesto sauce, was full of flavour in each bite.  The tomatoes tasted superbly sweet and fresh. This was a very light, but very delicious dish. 

(2) They did not lie about the whole onion in the Whole Onion Cheese Cream Sauce - Rigatoni ($65).  An entire piece of onion was served, and well  cooked and blended in the adoringly fragrant cheese cream sauce.  C discovered that you could pick out tons and tons of onion rings from it! Each slice of onion ring was steamy and nicely seasoned and a tad sweet. 

(3) Again, they were extremely generous with so many bits of corn in Sweet Corn & Green Chili Pepper- Spaghettini ($55) covering the pasta. The pasta, cooked also in a sauce made with corn and green chili pepper, tasted awesome - a hint of sweetness and spiciness made the dish fantastic! 

VERDICT

Ambience: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 
Service: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Food: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Overall remarks: The food at this down-to-earth Pasta Marche greatly exceeded our expectations with its price and the quality of the food. Our only complaint was that the dish was perhaps a bit small for dinner, but the menu proved to be very interesting and the vegetable was quite fresh. It is definitely a good place if you are looking for a nice, light and healthy experience.

INFO

Pasta Marche (website)
Shop 1072-1074, 1/F, Phase 2, Metro City Plaza, 8 Mau Yip Road, Tseung Kwan O