The Yuu Wanchai - very tasty casual Japanese fare

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Yuu-Wan-Chai

I'm sorry to say, but sometimes I'm really, really lazy and can't be bothered looking for new restaurants to try.  I know, shock horror, I'm a food blogger and it's my job to inform you of the latest and greatest; blah blah blah.

I'm also at heart a creature of habit and love going to a familiar place and having comfort food that is simple and I don't have to think about it.  Lately, that place has been le Relais de l'entrecôte (see post here) and we've been eating there a lot!  Unfortunately, the girl gets a fed up by going to the same spot a little easier than me, so I've been forced to find a new local spot that we can frequent when feeling lazy.

SC had visited The Yuu Japanese restaurant while I'd been away travelling and had been pestering me suggesting that we visit together, so I finally bit the bullet and agreed to walk across the street to check the place out.

Atelier Vivanda - Akrame's other global restaurant chain

http://www.ateliervivanda.com.hk

Akrame Benallal seems to be a man on a mission.  Not content with a Two Michelin starred restaurant in his native France, the young gun chef has been looking to expand and create a global culinary empire.

I'd been to his self titled restaurant, Akrame, located in the very hip Ship Street Wanchai, recipient of a Michelin Star in its own right and thought his take on French cuisine was nice (see post here).  So, when we were looking for an alternative to the steak frites dinners that we'd been consuming lately, Akrame's other global outlet sprang to mind.

Atelier Vivanda is located right next door to Akrame, but while Akrame is quite hidden from view, Atelier Vivanda is much more open and easy to find.  A bold and striking brand sits above an open window that brings the vibe of Ship Street right into the dining room, enlivening the feel of the restaurant.

We'd had quite an early reservation for dinner and arrived earlier still, so were the first diners to be seated at our table, in a prime position right in front of the open style kitchen.  The bold styling of the logo translated to a clean and modern fit out inside, with each of the tables created with spots to hold the specially made steak knives that are a feature at Atelier Vivanda.

The menu at chef Akrame's steak restaurant is quite simple and like many steak frites restaurants, is largely fixed.  I say largely, but there were quite a few options and combinations available on the menu, so for a set price, you were able to pick and choose from a wide variety of options.  At the crux of the menu however, you chose an entree and main, then get to select from the unlimited sides selection; which ran to five different styles of potato.

Le Garcon Saigon - a taste of Southern Vietnam in Hong Kong

http://legarconsaigon.com/

There is a long history of French domination in Vietnam, including a more than passing influence in the cuisine from the Indochina region. You might not know, but France conquered Vietnam's largest city in 1859 and held sway there until 1945 - where there was quite a bit of global realignment of nation states.

Everything from language to architecture and food were influenced by the French invasion of Vietnam and as a consequence, some incredible food was created by the melding of two nations palates.  Traditional Vietnamese food was most certainly influenced by the French (but then again, this could be said of most countries cuisines) and le Garçon Saigon in Wanchai perhaps epitomises this best.

Le Garçon Saigon is a collaboration between Vietnamese-Australian Chef of Bao La and the boys from Black Sheep Restaurant.  Keeping up their affinity for Australian chefs, le Garçon Saigon has helped deepen the options available to all that live in arguably Hong Kong's fastest growing foodie district.

We'd booked for an early dinner and were surprised that le Garçon Saigon was already half filled by the time we arrived for our 6:30pm reservation, and even more surprised that by 7pm, the place was completely packed.  Hong Kong is a place where dining is done later in the evening, so it was a testament to the concept that it was still drawing so many people many months after opening.

Gin Sai - tempura does not get better

http://www.ginsai.com.hk/en

What's with the obsession with Japanese food in Hong Kong?

With a plethora of amazing Japanese restaurants opening across Hong Kong, you could be forgiven for thinking that it was the predominant Asian cuisine.

One of my all time favourite meals in Hong Kong comes from Wagyu Takumi (see post here), the two Michelin Starred restaurant located on the fringes of Wan Chai.  So when the girl suggested we do a double date with some mates at Gin Sai, it was easy to say yes.  After all Gin Sai is the sister restaurant to Wagyu Takumi and is located right next door.

A late bout of food poisoning (not related) to one of our dining companions meant that instead of a double date, it was just the two of us for our Gin Sai experience.  Which was amusing since we'd been booked into a private dining room by the girl's mate, whom just happened to be cousins with one of the head chefs, Chef Eric!

So we arrived for our dinner and were taken to an amazing looking private dining area that could easily have taken twelve.  It was one of the more spacious table settings we'd had!

Wooloomooloo Steakhouse Wanchai - the steaks were a little bland

http://www.wooloo-mooloo.com/hk/wan-chai.aspx

As an Aussie living in a foreign city, there is a natural propensity to gravitate to what you know, to what is familiar and what make you comfortable.  I'm sure that's true of most expats living in a place like Hong Kong, you only have to wander past a 'British Pub' to see plenty of pasty white guys spilling onto the sidewalk, beers in hand, taking about the latest premier league game (football for the uninitiated).

Anyway, this post isn't about pasty white guys in pubs, it's about an Aussie in Honkers finally getting around to visiting an Aussie steakhouse.

Wooloomooloo is one of Sydney's most iconic inner city suburbs, the home of the rich and famous and just happens to be the name of a chain of steakhouses here in Hong Kong.

With a number of outlets across HK, Wooloomooloo caters to a range of diners, from their very cheap and cheerful Chop House (see post here), all the way to their fine dining establishment Wooloomooloo Prime.  Our visit was to their mid range steakhouse, conveniently located just down the street from our new place in Wanchai.

Located on the 31st floor of the Hennessy, the Wooloomooloo Steakhouse at Wanchai has pretty much unrivalled views of Hong Kong.  Exiting the lift and making our way to our table reconfirmed our view that we were living in one of the most spectacular cities on earth and our table had a jaw dropping vista of the many skyscrapers that make up Wanchai and Causeway Bay.  Floor to ceiling windows helped provide a sense of space in the modern looking dining room that screamed Aussie Steakhouse.

Burger Joys - great burgers but a little too cheesy?

http://www.burgerjoys.com

I'm always on the lookout for a new burger joint and moving to Wanchai has certainly opened up a few more options.

I'd been noticing posters all over the place advertising a place called Burger Joys, so set about tracking it down for a spot of lunch.

Wanchai is an interesting location, it's got a wide variety of dining options that range from three Michelin Starred fine dining restaurants, hip and happening 'now' spots, as well as down and dirty grungy bar cum restaurants.  

We'd moved away from the glamorous end of Wanchai to the much seedier side, where the nightlife runs from seedy bars to strip clubs.  Burger Joys finds itself right in the middle of the Wanchai red light district, which is pretty benign during the day and pretty darn racy in the evening.

I was pretty surprised by how small Burger Joys actually was, expecting something a little bigger than the 'almost' hole in the wall diner on Lockhart Road.  Small as it was, there was still room for a half dozen or so tables to be crammed around the serving area, which looked very much as if it doubled as a bar once the sun went down.  We'd arrived for a Saturday lunch and the place was pretty empty, so we had no trouble finding a table which surprisingly was managed by table service.

Fishsteria - hip and happening fish joint

https://www.facebook.com/fishsteria/?fref=ts

The district of Wanchai has been abuzz lately with the opening of a restaurant that's been causing quite a bit of good vibes.

Fishsteria is the latest restaurant from Executive Chef Gianni Caprioli, a name you might recognise from critically-acclaimed and FoodMeUpScotty recommended restaurant, Giando (see post here), as well as GIA and Eat.it.

Opened in September 2015, Fishsteria quickly acquired a loyal fan base and became everyone's favourite fish restaurant.  Conveniently located on Queens Road East, I'd walked past Fishsteria dozens of times where I'd peered through the front door and looked at the menu board; pondering going in for a meal.

We finally stopped pondering and made a decision to go one Friday night after work, making our way into the hip and happening joint.  We'd not made a reservation and were really there on a speculative visit and thankfully we were't turned away and were advised a table would be free shortly.  It gave us a moment to sit and soak up the vibe of the downstairs bar area.  

Vibrant painting adorned the walls and I couldn't help thinking that some of the works would look fabulous on our apartment walls.  Interestingly, the seat that we were waiting on was a faithful cement replica of a comfy looking couch.  There was a moment where we didn't quite believe our eyes, but the couch was indeed rock hard while at the same time looking inviting and soft.  Funky music played through the sound system, and I immediately felt like Fishsteria was my kind of place.

Le Relais de l'entrecôte - steak frites in the heart of Wanchai

http://www.relaisentrecote.hk/

Man I sure do love steak and chips!

We'd become pretty regular customers of SoHo's La Vache - mainly because by Hong Kong standards the traditional French 'steak frites' joint is incredibly great value.

La Vache is super popular too.  In the past, we've turned up just before opening, only to find a huge queue of hungry diners waiting to feast on some decent steak and all-you-can-eat frites!  The place fills up so quickly, it's pretty unbelievable.

So it's equally unbelievable that Wan Chai's own steak frites joint le Relais de l'entrecôte isn't just as popular!

I'd know about le Relais de l'entrecôte for quite some time, but it wasn't until we signed a lease on an apartment in Wan Chai that we decided to finally get along to check it out.  As much to get a feel for the dining scene in our new neighbourhood as anything else.

There are a couple of entrances to le Relais de l'entrecôte, there's an elevator that takes you upstairs to the rather grand entrance, as well as an escalator a little further along Queens Road East.  You get to the dining room through a long walkway that has bright red wood paneling, and has prints depicting cute and arty Parisian drinking scenes.

Le Pain Quotidien - finding a home in Wan Chai

http://www.lepainquotidien.com.hk

Man, I really love crunchy fresh baguettes. 

There's something special about lathering a heap of room temperature hand churned salted butter on a fresh baguette that captivates me.  

Sometimes, when I go to a restaurant and there's a fresh crunchy baguette on offer, I make the mistake of filling up on bread and ruining my appetite for the pending meal!

As much as I love bread, it's nowhere near as much as Alain Coumont, the mastermind behind global phenomenon Le Pain Quotidien; "the daily bread".  Coumont opened his first Le Pain Quotidien in his home of Brussels in 1990, with his fanatical approach to producing the absolute best 'daily bread' leading to a global empire that as of today stands at more than 200 outlets, including a flagship bakery on Madison Avenue in New York City.

Coumont had always been around food, his grandparents owning a restaurant near Liege in Belgium and his father was a trained chef, so it seemed natural to continue in the same vein. After training at the same hotel school that his father attended, he eventually deviated slightly to become a baker as opposed to a chef.

Blue Brick Bistro by Yoku Moku - the cheapest four course meal ever?

http://www.openrice.com/en/hongkong/restaurant/wan-chai-blue-brick-bistro/482950

I've been watching with great interest the development called The Avenue, in Wan Chai.  There's a couple of reasons for this, firstly, the spot looks great with shops and restaurants, it seems to be the perfect blend of east meets west in the area.  Secondly, we're about to move away from our Mid Levels location and The Avenue is one of the three or four spots we're really keen on.

We'd arranged to meet a real estate agent to look through a couple of properties in Wan Chai and as it turned out, we had about ninety minutes spare that we needed to fill.  Contemplating heading to Causeway Bay and hitting our default restaurant, Din Tai Fung (see post here), we paused by a newly opened restaurant in The Avenue.  In fact, we did more than pause, we looked over the menu and decided that the Blue Brick Bistro by Yoku Moku was to be our lunch destination.

Yoku Moku is a well known and acclaimed Japanese patisserie, who has followed the steps of many a brand by creating a cross over concept.  The Avenue was selected as the first location for a Blue Brick Bistro outside of Japan and the funky bistro sits above the more well known Yoku Moku patisserie, which is on street level.

Breakfast Series - The Coffee Academics

https://www.facebook.com/TheCoffeeAcademics/

We've been spending a lot more time in Wan Chai just recently. We're thinking of moving out of our Mid Levels location and the allure and action of Wan Chai has been calling out to us.

While the girl has had breakfast at Coffee Academics before, and we'd both stopped in for a quick latte every now and then, it was time for me to visit the little cafe for food.  Interestingly, Coffee Academics in Wan Chai opens a lot earlier than most of the cafes around Hong Kong, which means you can actually get a breakfast (and not brunch).

It was pretty quiet when we walked in just after the opening time, but we weren't the first there and there was another westerner taking advantage of an 'early' morning opening.  That is if you'd call 9am early!  

Taking a seat at one of the many available tables, we were given one of the snazzy looking menus to look over, which had a photo of a beautiful looking European 'fry up', which included a strip of delicious looking bacon.  One of the options on the menu was the Academic's Breakfast, which included all your typical breaky goodness like fried eggs, baked beans and of course fatty (oh so fatty) bacon.  The rest of the menu was quite contemporary by Hong Kong standards, and reminded me of some of the breakfast menus back home in Brisbane.

Beef & Liberty - bloody good burgers

http://www.beef-liberty.com/hk/

I'm a sucker for Australian beef, and even more so when that beef is ground up and forms part of a spectacular burger!

That's what I was hoping for when I visited Beef & Liberty, the latest in a long line of burger joints to hit the shores of Hong Kong.  Beef & Liberty started its life in Shanghai of all places, and picked the gentrified part of Wan Chai to establish it's first HK outlet.  

The team behind Beef & Liberty are pretty confident in their product and proud of their location, which they proclaim on their website as being the best location for burgers in Honkers!  I'm not so sure about that, but trendy Wan Chai is changing pretty quickly and the second floor location (above Pizza Express) in Wing Fung Street is very convenient.

Paying homage to the beefsteak clubs of old, Beef & Liberty takes its name from the beefsteak club phenomenon that (apparently) formed part of the 18th century's gastronomic culture:  I didn't really know that there was a gastronomic culture in the 18th century (outside of Paris), but you live and learn!  Whether or not the team have replicated the essence of the 18th century 'Sublime Society' founded by John Rich (look it up) or not is probably not too relevant, but what is pretty darn relevant is the approach Beef & Liberty takes to creating their burgers.

Akrame - the beginning of a global empire?

http://akrame.com.hk/

While there is little dispute that Hong Kong is one of the world's great food cities, for a westerner in an Asian city there are a couple of locations that seem to capture my attention most.  It's no surprise that Wan Chai and Soho/Central are the locals where I dine out most often, after all those two hot spots have the highest concentration of French restaurants in all of the land.

Renowned French chef Akrame Benalla, who'd secured his second Michelin star in only his second year of operating Akrame in Paris, picked Wan Chai as his location for Akrame Hong Kong.  That Chef Akrame had earned two stars at such a young age was not so surprising, after all, he learned his trade from culinary legends Ferran Adria and Pierre Gagnaire.  What was surprising was that the young chef decided that Hong Kong would be the location of his second French fine diner.

So well regarded is Akreme Benalla, he was recently voted as one of the top 100 chefs globally by Le Magazine Le Chef in 2016.

Located in trendy Ship Street, the facade of Akrame is unobtrusive and understated and, unlike many of the flashier dining establishments along Ship Street, would be quite easy to walk by if you weren't specifically looking for it.  We'd made our booking quite late on a Saturday morning, more just hoping that we'd score a seat than actually thinking we'd get in.  As it turned out, we secured the last two seats in what turned out to be a busy Saturday night.

Giando - simple ingredients for classic Italian

http://www.giandorestaurant.com/

I'd been certain that I'd picked poorly when deciding to check out Giando Italian Restaurant and Bar, absolutely certain.  We'd felt like Italian and while there are some great Italian restaurants in Hong Kong, there are as many pretty ordinary ones too.  It was a case of picking a restaurant that looked OK from their web site, then spending an hour reading mixed reviews about Giando, leading me to contemplate cancelling and looking elsewhere.

Originally located at Fenwick Pier at Wan Chai, Giando had recently moved to the ever popular Star Street, which was familiar territory to me and was the final deciding factor to keep my reservation.  My scepticism about my decision came back though once we walked into the dining room, which was so new, it still smelled of paint and construction.  It was also the weirdest looking space I'd seen in a restaurant for a while, with lots of pokey spaces set up with tables around a larger central area that held a huge central table.  What seemed so weird about the interior was that it looked like a throwback from the 70's with loads of exposed light brown brick.

By the time we were seated and perusing the menu's, I'd reached the conclusion that I'd made a terrible mistake and there was no way I'd enjoy the meal.  There was nothing that really jumped out at me on the menu and I really struggled to find many options that appealed.  A small positive seemed to be the white truffle specials on offer, which seemed to be the only shining light in an otherwise uninspiring menu.

Catalunya - a slice of El Bulli in HK?

http://www.catalunya.hk/

There are restaurants that are so famous that they transcend the industry and fundamentally change it.  Current paradigm changer is Copenhagen's Noma but Heston Blumenthal's the Fat Duck is probably better known for changing things up.  The grandaddy of them all though has to be El Bulli, Ferron Adria's Spanish game changer, a restaurant that has closed but its legend lives on.  I was never lucky enough to visit El Bulli, but then, very few were.

It was with great excitement that I realised that some of the team behind El Bulli had established a restaurant right here in Hong Kong, and that I'd be able to experience some of the brilliance of the famed restaurant, albeit a tenuous link.  Catalunya is located in a quiet side street in Morrison Hill (the back of WanChai), hardly the setting for one of Hong Kong's hottest restaurants, but in a way it's oddly poetic that a such a Spanish beauty can be hidden so well.  My excitement remained at insane levels for a few days while I maintained a fantasy that I'd be dining at a spot helmed by Alain Devahive Tolosa and Pol Perello, the El Bulli trained chefs that ran the kitchen......  at one time!

My bubble was burst by a well known and connected chef out of Singapore, who sent me a quiet FB message to inform me that the dynamic duo had moved on from Catalunya.  C'est la vie I guess, but it did help settle my expectations for our meal, with were rapidly reaching unrealistic proportions!

Serge et le Phoque - relaxed French fine dining

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Serge-et-le-phoque

Do you need a five star location to serve five star food?  It's a question worth asking.  I'd recently dined at perennial fine diner Amber (see post here), located in the oh-so-swanky Landmark Oriental and blessed with two Michelin Stars as well as a rating in the top 50 restaurants in the world.  It was lovely, if not a little sterile.  I mean it's nice walking through Central's million dollar shops to get to a meal, but it doesn't feel like old school Hong Kong.

I'd heard about a fancy little French fine diner that felt like it didn't need the fancy location to produce amazing food, so I set about checking it out.  Serge et le phoque is located in the back streets of Wan Chai and to get there you need to get out your map (well, SatNav) and then traverse the back streets, past the open fish markets and fruit vendors before finding the unassuming little restaurant.  The sights and smells of a more traditional Hong Kong assaulted my senses as we traipsed through the streets and when we finally walked through the black velvet curtain at the front door of Serge et le phoque, I was ready for just about anything.

What I found was an interesting little set up that was part post industrialist warehouse and part fancy dining room.  The area was split between a private dining room, sectioned of by more black velvet along with a series of circular tables surrounded by comfy booth style seating and along the front of the dining area (where we were sitting), tiny little two person tables facing the restaurant.  While I found the tables tiny, they were at least serviceable, but I think I'd have preferred to have the seats facing the huge plate glass window at the front of Serge, which provided a TV style view of the comings and going in busy Wan Chai.

22 Ships - tapas at the cool end of town

http://www.22ships.hk/

I've not really been in Hong Kong long enough to have witnessed the gentrification of parts of Wan Chai. I mean I can still see elements of the old Hong Kong in the hip Hong Kong district, but it seems as if a large part of the area has already changed.  It's not for me to say whether that's a good or bad thing, I have a natural predilection towards urban renewal, but there are some parts of Wan Chai that are now pretty hip and cool.

Ship Street is probably one of the leading lights in the gentrification of Wan Chai, with an ever expanding number of cool little restaurants and bars, along with some of Asia's top restaurants (see post here and here).  It was with this in mind that we decided to catch up with local food buddy Cynthia from JustCozitsTuesday for dinner, it also helped that it was in Cynthia's neck of the woods for a change!  Big fans of Aberdeen Street Social (see post here), we went to Jason Atherton's other Hong Kong restaurant, casual diner 22 Ships.

Named after it's location in Ship Street, 22 Ships is easy to spot from the street.  As with a lot of small, hip restaurants, there's a no reservation policy at 22 Ships, which normally means you need all parties together to score a seat.  We'd arrived a little earlier and with puppy dog eyes, asked if we could take our seat as our friend would be joining pretty quickly.  The waitress took pity on us and led us to one of the few tables that was still available inside and as we waited for our dining companion to join us, we looked over the menu.

Zelo Spanish Restaurant and Tapas - it filled in some time

http://www.gaiagroup.com.hk/zelo

Normally when I'm heading out to eat, I have an interesting story about the choice of the restaurant or a little bit of background about the chef.  Not this time, we did have interesting plans for the evening, we were going to see Tomorrowland and were then cracking on with a visit to Wagyu Takumi (see post here).  What we need though was a quick and simple lunch before heading to the movies, one that wouldn't ruin out appetite for an expensive dinner.

Since we were at Pacific Place at Admiralty, there were a couple of options that included Thai, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish.  Being a fan of Spanish cuisine, in particular tapas, we decided that bite to eat at Zelo would satisfy our need for a quick and light meal before the movie.

The thing that stood out most about Zelo was the beautiful cast iron dome that decorates the casual dining area of the restaurant.  It's an impressive looking feature that dominates the space and is clearly visible from most spots in that end of the shopping centre.  The feature also played acoustic tricks on us, while we were seated at a table right at the edge of the dome, by placing an ear next to the structure, it seems you could clearly hear people talking on the other side....  Cool.

Wagyu Takumi - as good as it gets

http://www.ginsai.com.hk/en/wagyu-takumi

Some of the best meals I've had have been eaten sitting at a bar. Now, that might sound a bit strange, but the type of bar I'm referring to are 'bar style seats' that wrap around a kitchen, taking the drama and theatre that happens in a kitchen and bringing it to the diner.  The fact that there are more and more restaurants that either have 'chef's tables' or have open kitchens is testament to the fact that diners want to have more than just a meal.  They want the whole experience and that includes interacting with a chef.

I had a suspicion that I was going to have a memorable meal, I mean the very fact that I was heading to a Two Michelin Starred restaurant was enough to almost guarantee a great meal.  The fact that a couple of my favourite cuisines were combined surely had something to do with my high expectations as well.  We were heading to Wan Chai and Chef Mitsuru Konishi's Wagyu Takumi and my expectations were skyrocketing!

Chef Konishi is no stranger to Michelin Starred restaurants, apart from running one of the few Two Starred restaurants in HK, he spent time at fellow Two Star restaurant, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Tokyo, as well as a numerous Michelin restaurants in France, including Taillevent, Michael Rostand and L'Hotel De Carantec.  It's that type of pedigree that gets my heart aflutter!

In an amazing twist of good fortune, we were able to secure a table for two at Wagyu Takumi on the morning of our Saturday night reservation.  The food gods were indeed smiling down on us.  It was more remarkable when you consider the size of the restaurant, which seats a cozy twelve diners at a time.  As we arrived for our 7:30pm reservation, we almost got lost in the back streets of Wan Chai, but Google Maps had us at the slightly hidden front door just in time.  As we announced ourselves, the door slid open 'Star Trek' style and we made our way to one of those few precious seats.

Bo Innovation - X-treme Chinese perfection

http://www.boinnovation.com

We've been attending the 2015 'Chefs Talks', organised by the Fringe Club and Slow Food Hong Kong, where Hong Kong's best and most popular chefs come along and have a candid chat with an audience.  They've been really good.  One that I was really interested in getting along to was Bo Innovation's Alvin Leung Jnr, but fate wasn't on my side and I missed it due to work commitments.  SC on the other hand was able to get along and hear Alvin's view on the world, which was apparently quite amusing!

As fortune would have it, when I suggested that we book a table for arguably Hong Kong's best restaurant, we were able to secure a spot at the Chef's Table the following Saturday night.  With three Michelin Stars and a string of other accolades including appearing in the San Pellegrino Asia's Top 50 restaurants (#28) and the World's Top 50 restaurants (#97), restaurants don't get much better.

Fronted by a man that's been called the 'demon chef' (well, he calls himself the demon chef), Alvin Leung presents as quite the character.  Walking out of the elevator that took us from Ship Street in Wan Chai, we were greeted by a large wall mosaic of the demon chef himself.  Once we'd walked the dozen or so steps to the front of the restaurant, we'd been greeted warmly by many of the multitude of wait staff on hand to make our night's dining experience a memorable one.