Coffee Shop - Kitamura Coffee in Happy Valley Hong Kong

So what is the minimum investment to make a good cup of coffee? An espresso machine with combo grinder will set you back for around HK$6,000 minimum. A set of cheap siphon or a french press jug will cost a few hundred dollars. But if you come to Kitamura coffee, you will find out that the minimum investment is a grinder, either hand or electric, a simple set of filter and some freshly roasted coffee beans.

Single origin Peruvian coffee beans roasted on location that day.

Kitamura coffee is probably the longest surviving locally roasted coffee shop in Hong Kong. Opened in 2003, it has moved its location a few times and now located on the second floor of an apartment building in  one of Happy Valley's many side-streets. Inside a tiny apartment, Kyoko Kitamura serves you coffee from beans that are not just locally roasted but roasted on location. There are no fancy equipments just a grinder and a few filter holders. The brewing method is "pour over" which allows more control over the brewing temperature and time of the coffee.

You must be thinking - jee I can do that as well, pouring hot water over ground coffee!!

If you thinking the same, you should read an excerpt from the web-link below:
http://417coffee.com/2010/11/15/all-analog-hand-brewed-coffee/Excerpt - The barista dampen the filters, insert a precise measure of grounds, and then slowly and smoothly pour the hot water over the grounds, often using a funky looking teapot with a spout specifically designed to give the most controlled pour possible.  The weight and time and temperature are watched closely in order to achieve a good cup of coffee that brings out both the highs and lows of the coffee being brewed, usually a single origin coffee.  The pourover method creates a clean cup of coffee that typically balances out the flavors available in the coffee, and as Tom Pikaart at PouredOver.com notes in the Oregonian article, it typically brings out the floral or fruity essences in delicate coffees — flavors that otherwise might be missed using a French press or other brewing method.

If you like a smooth, clean cup of mild aromatic coffee, you should head over to Kitamura. You might discover all the floral and fruity notes that people keep talking about but you never quite get.

Address: 2/F, 4 Shing Ping Street, Happy Valley, Hong Kong
http://www.kitamuracoffee.com/

Note - the photos were taken by iPhone.

Coffee Shop - Espresso Alchemy in Quarry Bay Hong Kong

Peter Lau, the owner focusing on brewing

When mum and dad visited Espresso Alchemy (EA) last Sunday, there was no references on the web and the physical location was in existence for just over 2 weeks. The only reason why they knew its existence was because Daniel at KC Coffee mentioned during the coffee appreciation class.

As they didn't go there on purpose, all the pictures were taken using the small Nikon Coolpix AW100.

EA is one of the coffee shops which uses locally roasted beans. The espresso was the best cup he had experienced in Hong Kong and she was impressed by the piccolo latte. The espresso was low in acidity, great texture and full of citrusy flavor. If you work in Quarry Bay, it's definitely worth giving it a try.

Their hot chocolate was like a cup of melted chocolate with a bit of milk. If you like a thick cup of chocolate on a cold wintry evening, you will like it.

Address: 4-6 Hoi Wan Street, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong

One of the staff was still drawing up the white-board with the shop's alchemy signs, the 4 elements of good coffee.

Piccolo latte - also known as caffe macchiato - espresso with a smaller amount of milk than a typical latte

Like liquid gold - one sip and it's all gone, so make sure you smell before you drink. 

Coffee Shop - 18 Grams in Causeway Bay Hong Kong

The one thing missing after the delicious desserts from Tony Wong Patisserie (TWP) was a cup of good strong coffee. Since attending the coffee appreciation class, there are a few more coffee shop names on mum & dad's checklist. 18 Grams is one of them and one is located not far from TWP in Cannon Street, Causeway Bay. The location of the shop is prominent among the shops along this tiny stretch of street next to World Trade Centre. The decor is hip and it has a tiny but well equipped kitchen which serves all-day breakfast, which looked appetizing. Perhaps next time.

The espresso was aromatic and strong, but it was a bit too acidic. The latte was average. And the shop appeared to have some difficulties taking orders. One of our cups came out as espresso instead of doppio as ordered and it took almost 10 minutes for the replacement cup to come out. During that 10 minutes, two lattes was served to a couple when two piccolo lattes were in fact ordered.

If you are in Causeway Bay, you might want to try Cafe Corridor in Russell Street near Times Square for a better cup of coffee. The best cup is arguably the newly opened Espresso Alchemy in Quarry Bay. We shall write about these at a later stage.

Best Cake in HK － Tony Wong Patisserie in Wan Chai Hong Kong

Meticulous presentation - also notice the lower amount of glare and condensation on the glass of the display fridge. Wondering if it's the lighting, the glass or the fridge.

Hope the photos do justice to the real thing. They remind us of some of the better cake shops in Japan.

Dad mentioned that Tony Wong Patisserie had some good reviews when its only shop was in Kowloon City, but the area was never high on his culinary list ever since they follow the advice of Chua Lam (蔡瀾) and went to this Thai restaurant located in Kowloon City which was diabolical. It was the era before the advent of GPS phones and you could only find your way by navigating a booklet of maps, known as "A to Z" in the UK and 地圖王 in HK. With absolutely zero sense-of-direction inside a dimly-lit car, you can just about imagine, so we're not gonna bore you with the details. Suffice to say after driving round and round blocks after blocks of nondescript buildings, he finally stopped the car inside a tight semi-lit car multi-level carpark nearby. When the Tom Yum Kung arrived, it was lurk warm and the prawns didn't taste very fresh either. The rest of the meal brought no positive surprises. Two lessons came out from this journey to the dark side:

• take a handful (not just a pinch) of salt on any culinary advices offered by Chua Lam, 蔡瀾. [Would love to hear anyone's take on this!]
• don't drive to Kowloon City

So when dad heard that Tony Wong Patisserie (TWP) has opened a branch in Wan Chai, he couldn't wait to go. Finally he and mum went there with Uncle & Auntie S. After having queueing for 1 hour for ramen at Tamashii 魂, (yes again!!), they walked over to TWP. The shop was brightly lit with very clean and simple decor. There were a couple of stools and two cantilever benches either side of the shop,  not a romantic hangout by any stretch of imaginations. The shop's highlight are the rows after rows of mini patisserie, tarts and cakes inside two display-fridges. And rightly so. They picked 4 different ones and shared every single one. Lets just say mum and dad will go back there soon!!

Green Tea Opera - a lot of different flavors in one bite, you can even tell the green tea taste from the chocolate. A bit firm for the chocolate layer but I guess it adds texture to the cake. This looks like the Tanabata special edition cake from Sadaharu Aoki without the sugar Milky Way and the Macaroon featured here in this blog.

Tiramisu - you might say it doesn't look very special, then again you can't taste it. Good balance of amaretto and the juicy spongy cake. There are even crunchy bits in the pot.  Picture just doesn't do justice.

Chocolate Truffle Cake - they occupy the most prominent part of the fridge and rightly so.

Napoleon Cake - it's good but then it wasn't as memorable as the other ones. And there was no good pictures of it before it turned into a mess!!

Chocolate Truffle Cake -  the mini cake offered by La Maison du Chocolat in Hong Kong, which one is better? It's well worth going to both shops and compare yourself.

Address: 399 Lockhart road, Hong Kong
Note: These photos were taken with no special props or lighting and the cakes were all bought of the shelves, ie not hand picked. Really show the care they put into each and every single output. If Chua Lam (蔡瀾) and a bunch of TV crews were making a show, you should expect nothing less. That's why most culinary advices from celebs are inherently pointless.

Cake - Juchheim Baumkuchen バウムクーヘン in Hong Kong

We mentioned in one of our earlier entries, dessert in Kyushu, about Juchheim Baumkuchen. So when we saw the news about a branch opening in Hong Kong (in Concierge Magazine, the monthly Japanese free publication), mum was excited and couldn't wait to try. The shop opened its door inside Sogo department store, on 22 Mar and mum finally bought one to try yesterday. The painstaking effort from the Japanese chef didn't disappoint. The freshly cut layered-roll-cake still retained a whiff of fresh eggs and the thin layer of sugar coating brought a sweet touch while didn't overwhelm. Normally mum buys food with the furthest date to expiry on the packing, but these have short shelf-life of 1 day!!

Note - Baumkuchen is a German word which is a combo of "tree" (Baum) and "cake" (kuchen). It's not pronounced as Baum-ku-chen, but more like Baum-kuc-hen. While traveling in Germany, it wasn't widely available instead it was sold inside a tourist shop catering for Japanese below Schloss Neuschwanstein. But shops selling one version or another of this seem to be springing up everywhere in Japan.

Restaurant - Shanghai Lo 上海佬 in Wan Chai Hong Kong

It's an illusion. You can see this dragon so clearly because the picture was taken using long exposure and post-processing was applied to the photo. So you need a small tripod to take photos in this restaurant.

Perhaps one of the funniest thing eating at Shanghai Lo was that everyone at the table, there were 11 of them, were having a hard time reading the menu. They only realized upon exiting the restaurant that a tiny LED book-lamp should have been offered. So you know how dark it was inside the restaurant. Perhaps understandable given that this restaurant is located in the building where the most famous nightclub this side of Hong Kong Island used to be. Even going to the washrooms you need to be ushered pass dark velvet curtains!! Once you get accustomed to the lighting, or the lack thereof, the Shanghainese food waiting for you were mainly traditional, some with a modern twist and high quality. Portions are small but not overly expensive.

We dare say this is shoo-in Michelin star candidate!! Make sure you reserve a table and come enjoy one of the better Chinese restaurant in town.

Address - 5 Tonnochy Road, Wanchai. Tel: 3125 3888

熏蛋 (smoke duck's egg) - wonderful texture cooked to perfection, just look at the runny egg yolk on the right

川味鴨舌 (spicy duck's tongue), 清炒河蝦仁 (wok-fried shrimps)

上海佬鍋巴 (Shanghai Lo's rice crisps) - one of the signature dishes, the raw quail's egg yolk gets mixed into the small bowl of minced meat sauce and then eaten together with the rice crisps. A great combo

花雕酒醉雞 (Huadiao drunken chicken) - one of the starter highlights, you can smell the fragrance of the Huadiao when the dish arrives.

油淋雞 (literally chicken drizzled with oil) - not the most appetizing name, but great crispy skin and tender meat!!

無錫脆鱔 (sweet & sour fried eel)

脆皮素鵝 (fried yuba)

Ramen - Tamashii Ramen Hong Kong 魂

Mum and dad are eating out a lot these days because JieJie J is on her 3-week home leave. So we get to write a lot more. So lets take a look at Tamashii 魂.

Mum and dad love their noodles and would even dare to boast they have tried more noodles in more corners of the world than most. One of the highlights for their many trips to Japan was to try out ramen and udon in those places. Tamashii's bowl of ramen must rank amongst the top of anything they have had. The shop's ambience is perhaps the most nostalgically Japanese in Hong Kong. If one is forced to pick between Butao 豚王 and Tamashii, the latter is their current top pick. Before we carry on with their praises for the place, you should know what Tamashii is NOT about:

Big portion - smaller than Butao and probably small than Ippudo

Super rich broth - lighter than Butao, similar to Ippudo. But the soup broth imparts a subtler flavor then either.

Queue at 11:30am, half-hour before opening.

A place to chat over a bowl of ramen - while nobody drives you away, but you feel bad occupying the seat while all the poor souls queueing outside breathing exhaust fumes from the constantly passing traffic going up Canal Street Flyover. Go to Ippudo for a more hospitable place to wait in line.

Feeling healthy - even though all the ramen come with small bits of veg like, sugar snaps, bamboo shoots  and the pork broth is lighter; the one piece of char siu will send your cholesterol reading through the roof. The worst thing is after the first piece melted in your mouth, you will be itching for a second helping to put even more load onto your pumping heart. Not sure if this is the feeling that the name of the shop is referring to.

Tai Keku 太極 - with black squid sauce

Tamashii 魂 

Hidama 火魂

Address - 18C Sharp Street West, Causeway Bay (side street behind South Pacific Hotel)

Feel free to check out where else we have written about eating noodles and ramen in Hong Kong and elsewhere in the world. tag - noodles

You might like to read this "Lifestyle" article in the Standard with more background. You get greeted by the broad bright smile from Lily Chen, the owner, when you enter the venue.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=36&art_id=119783&sid=35447828&con_type=3&d_str=20120217


Check this out to see what "tamashii 魂" mean in Japanese. 
http://japanese.about.com/od/wordoftheday/p/Word-Of-The-Day-Tamashii.htm

Coffee Shop - Coffee Appreciation Class with KC Coffee in Hong Kong

Barista waited for the water inside the round-bottom flask to boil

Mum and dad went for a coffee appreciation class ran by KC Coffee in Kowloon Bay last week and they enjoyed their evening trying the different coffee brewed and Daniel, one of the shop owners, discussed his own experience with coffee appreciation.

During the session, Daniel went through a lot of different concepts and the distinctions amongst different coffee brewing methods, different beans and different grinds. Also what you can expect in terms of taste and smell from a quality cup of freshly brewed coffee. It was wide ranging and a short blog entry wouldn't do justice to what's been said. However, the gist of the session was perhaps captured by the very first question that Daniel asked. "how many of you drink black coffee, i.e. no milk, foam or sugar?" To fully capture the essence and enjoy the aroma of perhaps berries or citrus, you want to avoid polluting your cup of coffee with other stuff. A quality cup of coffee should deliver something similar to the Whiskey tasting we mentioned here before.

French Press and the importance of precise timing!

A cup of mellow and soothing black coffee

Despite all the persuasion, mum still likes her cappuccino with lots of milk and froth. Similar to the one seen in an earlier blog entry here. KC Coffee's brews were best described as mild and aromatic. Their coffees endeavor to bring out the fruitiness and nuttiness of the drink. More Japanese than continental European style and they get their beans from a Japanese roaster in Fukuoka, Kyushu.

The coffee appreciation class was a lot of fun and well worth joining if you want to know more about what you drink. You can tell Daniel is passionate about it and he has no qualms in telling you where else you can find quality coffee in Hong Kong. So we might write about some of these other places in time.

KC Coffee - Exchange Tower, 33 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay, HK
Tel: 852 - 3106 0363

You may also like this audio podcast by "Stuff You Should Know" about coffee.

http://podcasts.howstuffworks.com/hsw/podcasts/sysk/2011-12-29-sysk-coffee.mp3

Just Baked! - Pierre Herme Cake au Citron & 加藤千恵 Chie Kato Cocoa Almond Icebox Cookie

Pierre Herme - Cake Au Citron

加藤千恵 - ココア＆アーモンドのアイスボックスクッキー
Chie Kato - Cocoa & Almond Icebox Cookies

Hong Kong Flower Show 2012 香港花卉展覽

Hyacinth is the theme flower this year.

Their natural fragrance attracted a lot of bees.