Ocean Private Kitchen (HK)

B and I were in Hong Kong over the weekend for my cousin's wedding, so naturally we had to sneak some good eats into our itinerary. I had heard about Ocean from friends and that it was very "value-for-money". When I found out that corkage for the first 750ml bottle of wine is waived, and it's $50 from the second bottle onwards - I was sold!
Aww always so nice to see Rosemary (pet name) - long distance relationship has lasted us what, 7 years? It's nice to know that we both make efforts to stay close.

Ocean restaurant is a in Happy Valley and the chef apparently used to work at Mandarin Grill and Bar. This was the menu for the night. We all had the steak and at HKD420 for the set (SGD 70) it was excellent value! 

(1) Tomato with mozzarella cheese and osmanthus

What a great start to the meal. Fresh succulent tomatoes paired with cheese - so clever infusing the dish with osmanthus (it's called 桂花 in chinese, usually used to infuse teas and desserts). Very refreshing and left us wanting more.

 (2) Cream of pumpkin

A classic done well with robust flavours. Served piping hot - a small gesture but one I insist upon - nothing worse than a bowl of lukewarm soup (no, not a fan of gazpacho). 

(3) U.S. Beef Tenderloin with rosemary butter & port wine reduction

WOW. This was the highlight of the meal. A generous cut of tenderloin perfectly (and I do mean perfectly) cooked medium rare, dressed in a beautiful (and I do mean beautiful) sauce. I wiped the plate clean of that amazing rosemary butter too. The 2004 Chateau Bel-Air-Ouy I byo-ed made a heavenly (and I do mean..) combination

(4) Coconut and pineapple in 5 textures

I usually expect mediocre desserts when the main courses are amazing but here, I was happily proven wrong. Chunks of pineapple + strands of coconut + coconut jelly +coconut/pineapple ice cream + coconut mousse + sprinkling of cornflakes for crunch = what-genuis-made-this #cannotgetenough. Read this - enough said.

Verdict - We loved the impeccable food at this non descript hole-in-wall restaurant and the service made us feel like family. It's heartening to know that such an enjoyable, intricate meal can be had at such value. I whole-heartedly recommend this place to anyone looking for a good meal in Hong Kong!

As the waiter (brother of the chef or his wife) explained, the family are devout christians and so we each got a pick a psalm on a piece of paper to take home with us.

I am not publicly (haha) religious but this was a nice touch to end a most lovely meal.  

Symmetry

Who doesn't love eggy brunches? Taking time out from the rough and tumble of everyday life and just vegetating out in front of a plate piled with carby (toasted brioche's the best) eggy (scrambled or poached, they have to be runny) goodness. And of course, a good cup of coffee. No better way to ease slowly into/out of the weekend - feel the knots loosen in your shoulders, just laze people watching. No next appointment to go to, and no errand to worry about. Pure bliss. I wish I can do it more often.

Symmetry is a new find which serves up some pretty yummy brunch grub. You have the usual brunch classics done right, but at the same time, I love the interesting twists they put to new dishes. Unfussed but trendy decor with distressed metal details and raw brick walls + great service from the (young teenager) waitstaff. Very cool.

I thought my choice of the Truffle Eggs Mushroom ($21) was an excellent one - check out my runny scrambled eggs and who doesn't love all things drizzled with truffle oil. I wish there was a larger serving of bread though - not enough to mop my plate clean! The strawberry jam was a nice touch. Pretty.

The crispy duck egg on a bed of watercress, pancetta and pearl barley ($19) was what I meant when I said they are innovative with their egg dishes. I loved the cheesy mess here, especially the crunchy bits of pork fat!

Another impressive dish was the Flan $23. Nope, not a dessert - excellent take at the savoury end - my only grouse was that I wanted a larger portion. The pork cheek confit was very tasty and tender and how does one not love perfectly poached eggs and sauteed mushrooms swimming in a pool of cream? Best way to inhale (yes inhale) this dish is to stir it all up, use a spoon to gobble and save the soggy flan pastry for last - t'was so good! 

A latte ($5.50) and gingerbread man cookie to end my very satisfying meal.

Verdict - I approve! Such a refreshing take, after my disastrous re-visit to Spathe for brunch last week. Yes that's another story to tell. For now, let's just make reservations for my next trip down to Symmetry. Will bring B along - he can try the bloody mary and I can indulge the cocktail craving I was trying so hard to resist this trip #mindovernectar 

Oca Grassa

When food reviews tell you that you need a "part giant or party of four" to share a Florentine steak, you cannot help but feel a tad cheated when the portion comes small. Especially when the Chef really was genius in (apparently) grilling meat over Japanese charcoal embers with no flame - a technique which gave the well-aged meat an amazingly smoky charred-but-not-burnt flavour, and a I-want-more-melt-in-your-mouth texture.

No fair. At $158 a portion, we just couldn't afford to order a second serving #innerstrength.

I honestly cannot see how the hot slab of salt the steak arrived on enhanced its taste though. But it was pretty. One wonders how long they recycle each slab for, or if they will throw it away if rogue customers decide to lick it *grin*.

I wouldn't exactly call Oca Grassa an Italian restaurant since the head Chef is Edwin Lau, but labels don't matter as long as the food is good, I suppose. By the time we arrived at 8.30pm for the 2nd seating, quite a number of items on the menu were already sold out. Oh well. Of the ones we did manage to order, there were hits and misses.

A big hit with me was the Octopus Salad ($20). It's difficult to cook octopus without making it hard and chewy, but the chunks here were oh-so-tender. I loved the combination of textures between the octopus, mangoes, capsicums and lettuce. I was most impressed that even the octopus had that (see above) lovely smoked flavour - I regret that I didn't take a picture of it.

The Brodetto di Pesce ($56 for two to share) - a garlic/tomato based seafood broth with generous servings of clams, mussels, sea bream and shrimps - was pretty good too.  A bit pricey I thought, but quite enjoyable.

The linguine with sauteed prawns and squid aglio olio ($20) did nothing for me. No offence to the Chef but I could have cooked it myself. Again. Don't trust food reviews blindly - there I was, futilely looking for that zing which the dish purportedly has because "he adds prawn stock to the mix". I felt quite silly haha.

We also had the tiramisu for dessert. It was so-so.

Verdict - I am not too sure if I will be back even though the meat was good. It's a bit pricey, to be honest. The acoustics of the seating area was really bad too - it was very noisy and we had to raise our voices to be heard. Not a place for romantic dates, FYI.