Lunch @ Beef & Liberty

來自上海的Beef & Liberty，在金鐘星街開了於香港的首間分店，標榜專做用草飼牛肉的高質素漢堡飽。餐廳在Pizza Express樓上，要進去用Pizza Express的升降機才能到達，比較難找。主菜如Cheese Burger ($92) 和Bacon Cheese Burger ($108)都不錯，但比預期中小份，而我們也吃不出牛肉有甚麼與別不同。反而前菜Crispy Chicken Wings ($62/4 pieces) 頗出色，雞皮香脆，雞肉嫩滑，加上韓式辣醬，互相配合得很美味。相比之下，Beef & Liberty的招牌漢堡包比較遜色，缺乏獨特魅力，而價錢也較貴，午餐大概每人＄200 到＄250。

If only J has made her hatred for Chinese food less explicit, we wouldn't have the chance to go to the recently opened Beef & Liberty for her sort-of farewell lunch last weekend.  Nestled on top of the Pizza Express on Star Street in Admiralty,  most of us are misled by its name and thought it's a burger joint run by the Liberty Exchange group, but Beef & Liberty is actually a Shanghainese brand which is known for using 100% Australian grass-fed cattle for its high quality burgers, or so it claims. 

The weather was rather cool and gloomy that day.  Yves and Brown Sugar, being their sporty-selves, suggested we walk from Causeway Bay to the restaurant which seemed far at first, but it only took us around 20 minutes to get there in the end.  When we arrived at the building, we saw T standing at the entrance for Pizza Express, looking clueless by himself.  It turned out that to be able to get up to Beef & Liberty on 3/F, we needed to use the elevator at Pizza Express, and this was confusing.  

Once the elevator opened to 3/F, a friendly waitress greeted us with a smile and led us to our booth next to the window.  Although the restaurant wasn't a big place, its high ceilings and decoration rendered a casual and hip vibe.  The booth was however quite small for 6 people.  When we saw that there was a very reasonably priced "All Day Set" on the menu, we were quite excited until C drew our attention to the smaller print underneath which stated that "All Day Set" was not available on weekends, which was a total bummer!  As J and Julie were "fashionably/excusably/absolutely" late again, we decided to order some drinks first.  The price tags of this place were on the hefty side and lunch was priced at around $200 to $250 per person. 

(1) The drinks we ordered failed on multiple levels and it was definitely not the best way to start our meal.  The Liberty Iced Peppermint Tea ($32) Brown Sugar ordered looked good but tasted like normal iced tea soaked in peppermint leafs with too much ice. 

(2) We knew we wouldn't be getting freshly squeezed lemonades for the Liberty Fresh Lemonade ($32) but this un-fresh drink could use a more suiting name: iced lemon water.  It was so tasteless and bland, and we were disappointed to tears to have to pay for this. 

(3) Our table of 6 decided to order some starters to share.  The Crispy Chicken Wings ($62/4 pieces) with Korean spicy sauce were intensely satisfying.  The size for each chicken wing was big enough.  Although the use of Korean spicy sauce was perhaps inspired by the widely popular Korean TV show, we were certainly blown away by the alluring spiciness and the delightfully crispy skin.  Speaking as a lover for wings, this dish was absolutely enticing for my tastebuds and was easily one of the most memorable dishes! 

(4) The Sticky Rib Fingers ($68) were slow roasted US pork ribs covered in honey bbq marinade and spring onions.   But there was just simply much more bone than meat for this dish with an overwhelming taste of honey sauce which made my fingers fairly sticky. 

(5) Julie, being just back in town, went for the classic Cheese Burger ($92) with beef, cheddar cheese, butter lettuce, pickles, and house BBQ sauce.  You can tell the waitress how cooked you want your beef to be and Julie opted for Medium Rare. The burger was accomplished where the beef was exquisitely juicy and tender, while melted cheddar cheese and the house BBQ sauce composed a complex and fine taste!  Though we couldn't tell the difference between their grass-fed beef and the other ones (i.e. the grain-fed ones), we were satisfied but we just wish the portion could be bigger! 

(6) Yves and J ordered the same Cheese Burger but they added extra $20 for it to be served in a bowl.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with this concept, it is a more healthy option for those counting carbs, and the Cheese Burger would come with a tender leaf salad without the buns!  But we couldn't help but wish the salad could use more salad dressing or some more citrus elements to help balance the fattiness of the beef and they could also keep the house BBQ sauce too! 

(7) The Bacon Cheese Burger ($108) T and C ordered was delicious.  The beef was tender and moist, and the bacon had a fabulously crispy and chewy texture, and they were always a fantastic match to me!  The cheese and house bbq sauce further accentuated the indulgent flavours! 

(8) The Green Chili Burger ($98) ordered by Brown Sugar was marvellously prepared with green chili sauce and jalapeno relish.  The mayo and the beef complemented the spicy flavors well but stronger flavouring was needed. 

Overall remarks:  Burgers at Beef & Liberty were delicious but they were not particularly outstanding. We don't need to be having top quality beef burgers to enjoy a meal- most meals I have are far from good or healthy but I like them and I enjoy them.  Beef & Liberty's biggest disappointment is wasting a perfectly good opportunity to become the next hit burger joint in Hong Kong and being unable to live up to its expensive price tags and our high expectations it set up.  If only the dishes were worthy of the restaurant, it does just about everything right -- the decoration, the service and the goodwill idea.  For a farewell party, we were happy with its ambience.  For a burger place, it is just a blank void as vacuous as the brand itself. 

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

INFO

Beef & Liberty 
2/F, 23 Wing Fung St., Admiralty 金鐘永豐街23號2樓
Telephone: 3460 4900

Brunch @ BRICKLANE

Brick Lane 本是倫敦東邊的一條以印度菜聞名的街道，所以當知道這餐廳以BRICKLANE為名，但卻不是主打印度菜，而是英式早午餐（English Breakfast），也大感相當詫異。餐廳的裝潢很有英國特色風味，牆上的單車佈置頗有心思，令人感覺十分悠閒寫意。但是它的菜式如Egg Benedict with Scottish Smoked Salmon ($98) 和Pancakes ($78) 等就平平無奇，更遠遠不及真正的英式早餐般傳統多變的味道。它的 All Day Breakfast（＄88) 不會令人失望，是最有水準的一道菜。雖然BRICKLANE的理念是要把傳統英式菜帶來香港，可惜現在看來純粹宣傳技倆，不理想之處很多，希望可以好好改善。午餐要大概每人＄150 到＄200。

When we first heard that BRICKLANE was opening in Hong Kong serving English breakfast  dishes, we were definitely very skeptical.  The name of the restaurant, "BRICKLANE", refers to a street in East London which is famous, not for English breakfast diners, but for Indian curry houses.  So we thought it was a misconception that the English breakfast dishes brought by BRICKLANE would be anywhere near representative of the true Indian dining scene of Brick Lane in London.  But BRICKLANE is dedicated to take the iconic landmark in London and turned it into a popular and cute English diner that highlights the best and worst English breakfast dishes for Hong Kong. 

First opened in Tsim Sha Tsui, BRICKLANE opened its Hong Kong Island branch in the quiet Citic Tower in Admiralty which was a good news to most Island people. The layout of the restaurant is laid-back and stylish, complete with a bicycle on the wall, a patio area, and a bar/cake counter.  It was almost reminiscent of the airy and comfortable coffee houses and diners you would find in London. The staff were all very welcoming and friendly.  Brunch was priced at around $150 to $200 per person. 

(1) We started off with Egg Benedict with Scottish Smoked Salmon ($98).  The place provided a wide selections of toppings for egg benedict such as Gammon Ham, Parma Ham, and Corn Beef.  You can also choose to add extra toppings such as Black Truffle Paste or Caviar. The English muffin was deliciously thick and buttery, and the smoked salmon was flavourful and juicy.  However, the poached eggs lacked the runny yolks which were essential probably due to being overcooked which is a common error made by many undertrained chefs.  Sadly, this was quite fatal to the whole dish and render the taste to be subpar. 

(2) The All Day Breakfast ($88) may be ordered with 3 choices of food and D went with Bacon, Hash Brown and Mushrooms.  This combination was utterly satisfying.  The bacon was beautifully grilled on the surface without being too oily but keeping its softness and tenderness.  The scrambled eggs were marvelously runny and smooth.  The hashbrown and mushroom were also delicious.  This definitely hit all the right places on our taste buds and was ultimately an authentic and substantial English breakfast combo. 

(3) The Pancakes ($78) were the most disappointing dish of them all.  They were unattractively ordinary, and each slice was cold and not fluffy at all.  D commented this was even worse than the ones he had at McDonald's, which might very well be true. 

Overall remarks: BRICKLANE might feel contrived, artificial and its dishes needed improving, but it didn't have to be.  It is hard to dislike the restaurant because of the casual and laid-back London atmosphere it successfully re-creates, which was certainly not like Brick Lane in East London.  It was an interesting concept, but their opportunities to offer alluring dishes were repeatedly squandered when the lack of cookery skill could be overlooked and replaced by its ambiance. BRICKLANE could have been so promising, which makes the final result really mediocre. 

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

INFO

BRICKLANE
Shop 404, 4/F., Citic Tower, 1 Tim Mei Avenue, Admiralty 金鐘添美道1號中信大廈4樓404號舖
Telephone: 2363 2500