Monthly Archives: September 2017

Yum Cha

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Interior

Menu

*** (3 stars)

I admit I’m not a huge bao fan, so I wasn’t expecting to love the food here, and I didn’t. I felt the bao was mostly heavy-handed and thick, with little filling. But it was, indeed, very cute, which is really the reason to go here.

Service was friendly, and the place (once you find it) is fairly spacious.

Yum Cha
3/F, 20-22 Granville Road
加連威老道20-22號3樓
+852 2751 1666
https://www.yelp.com/biz/%E9%A3%B2%E8%8C%B6-%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF-2

Kaetsu Japanese Restaurant

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Interior

Sashimi

**** (4 stars)

I admit to being a bit underwhelmed by Kaetsu, but perhaps that’s just because the space is so beautiful that it sets high expectations. We had the multi-course menu, and everything was fine, but there were no standout dishes. It includes the Japanese standards such as miso soup, tempura, and sashimi. All were fine, but no better than I’d expect from most mid-level Japanese restaurants. Considering the pricing I was expecting a bit more sophistication. Still, if you’re staying in the hotel it’s convenient. I wouldn’t make a special trip just to dine here, though.

Kaetsu Japanese Restaurant
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road
港灣道1號君悅酒店
+852 2584 7088
https://www.yelp.com/biz/%E9%B9%BF%E6%82%85%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E6%96%99%E7%90%86-%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF

Amber

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Interior

Amuse bouche taste: sour

Amuse bouche taste: salty (oyster leaf)

Amuse bouche tastes: bitter and sweet

Caviar tart

Tomatoes

Langoustina

Octopus

Foie gras

Brill

A5 Wagu

Kabocha pumpkin and lemon sorbet

Solies figs

Chocolate

Petit fours

***** (5 stars)

Often I find myself at odds with Michelin’s rankings, but not this time. Amber is an exquisite restaurant, with food, service and wine that all deserve the acclaim they’ve received.

The ten-course tasting menu was spot on, with every course (and the many unbilled amuse bouche and petit four bites) all scoring high marks.

The accompanying six-wine Burgundy pairing was the most educational wine pairing I’ve ever encountered. What a treat to be able to compare, side by side:
Bourgogne Rose
Chablis “Les Clos”
Chassagne-Montrachet
Puligny-Montrachet
Meursault
Nuits-St-Georges
Gevrey-Chambertin

We also started with a bottle of Taittinger Le Comtes Champagne

The wine list is one of the best I’ve encountered, well organized, and with a range of prices.

Service was professional yet not stiff, and everyone was obviously very proud of their fine restaurant.

Amber
7/F, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 11-19A Queen’s Road Central
皇后大道中11-19A號置地文華東方酒店7樓
+852 2132 0066
https://www.yelp.com/biz/amber-%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF

Grand Cafe

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Interior

Menu

Tray set wok fried chicken

Mushroom sandwich

Tray set steamed tilefish

**** (4 stars)

This hotel cafe serves an extensive menu of Asian and Western dishes for breakfast lunch and dinner. There is also an extensive buffet.

The ambiance is sleek and modern, and service is friendly. Pricing was reasonable for a hotel restaurant.

Grand Cafe
Lobby, 1 Harbour Road
港灣道1號大堂層
+852 2584 7722
https://www.yelp.com/biz/%E5%92%96%E5%95%A1%E5%BB%B3-%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF-4

O’Charley’s Restaurant & Bar

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Exterior

Entry

Interior

Interior

Bread

Wedge side salad

Cedar plank salmon

Appetizer sampler

***** (5 stars)

I rarely give five stars to a chain restaurant, but this place really deserves it. Sunday lunch here was one of the best dining experiences I’ve had in months. Everything about our visit was perfect, from the hostess stand to the friendly and attentive server, James, to his helpful assistant and the manager. And the food was far above expectations.

The first surprise was the interior decor. From the outside I was expecting a dark and dreary steakhouse. But it turns out those brown walls are panes of smoked glass, and inside the place is lit by a two story atrium. There’s also outside seating, which wasn’t apparent from the parking lot.

I had the cedar plank salmon. It was a huge, succulent piece of perfectly seasoned fresh salmon, and had really picked up the cedar flavors from the plank it was served on. This was honestly better than the cedar plank salmon at Disney’s Artist’s Point, at about one-third the cost.

Not only was the salmon great, the sides were, too. I selected the wedge salad and a loaded baked potato. Both were every bit as good as you can get at any high-end steakhouse in town. For all that fabulous food I felt like $16.99 was an extremely fair price.

My companion went a completely different route and had the appetizer sampler. The potato skins, fried cheese, and chicken tenders were all perfectly crisp and excellent–everything you’d expect from a good sports bar-type place, but served in a much nicer environment, and at $8.99 another great value.

Our drinks were refilled multiple times, the waiter stopped by to check on us and chat several times, and the manager bid us farewell on the way out the door. I can’t really imagine a better dining experience than this.

O’Charley’s Restaurant & Bar
8081 Turkey Lake Rd
Ste 700
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 354-0010
http://www.yelp.com/biz/o-charleys-restaurant-and-bar-orlando

Anita’s Mexican Restaurant

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Exterior

Interior

Appetizer sampler

Chicken chipotle

Green enchilada

*** (3 stars)

This place serves typical Tex-Mex food in a road side diner environment.

The most interesting item we had was the chipotle chicken, which had been simmered in a thick red sauce and was fairly spicy. We couldn’t try the rellenos or the tamales because they were out of both, but the green chili cheese enchilada and quesadilla were average. The rice was good, refried beans had an odd flavor.

I would avoid the appetizer sampler, a literal pile of loaded nachos, quesadillas, taquitos and guacamole. It just sort of dissolved into a sodden mess, although the taquitos were pretty good.

Anita’s Mexican Restaurant
114 W Central Ave
Lake Wales, FL 33853
(863) 223-8504
http://www.yelp.com/biz/anitas-mexican-restaurant-lake-wales