Queen’s Birthday Weekend – Legacy, Camberwell

I hope all my Dear Reader’s in Melbourne have enjoyed the Queen’s Birthday long weekend 🙂 Mr Bao and I had a lovely weekend catching up with friends and spending time with our little puppy. As a weekend ritual we always go out for brunch and this time we ended up going to Legacy in Camberwell nice and close to home. They are owned and run by the same owners as Collective Espresso and Mob Espresso.

It was a very cold morning probably 13 or so degrees outside, but for Cupcake we still decided to sit outside and wear 4 layers of clothing plus a jacket and scarf. Now this is what I call love haha! The staff were wonderfully friendly and attentive.

My Two Boys

Chilli Mocha $4.6

Because it was so cold, I ordered something a little different, this is the chilli mocha. I’ve never heard of this combination before, it’s usually chocolate and chilli which I love and now with the addition of coffee. It was surprisingly nice and very comforting with the hint of heat from the chilli. Great combination and I hope more places will start offering this 🙂

Latte $3.9

Mr Bao ordered a latte which is a single origin (Sorry I forgot the country it’s from!) but it did had floral notes and quite light tasting. The latte art is also beautiful here!

Full House $23

We definitely eat more when it’s cold! Mr Bao needed a big and hearty brunch, he ordered the Full House with Kaiser bacon, field mushrooms, spinach, cherry vine tomatoes, potato rosti, sourdough toast and poached eggs.

You know I can’t resist a good yolk porn shot 😛 So here it is! We enjoyed all the ingredients and everything was cooked so well, our favourite was definitely the potato rosti that was made from grated potato. It was fried so the outside was so crispy but inside still stayed soft. You can’t see the Kasier bacon in this photo but it had great flavour without being too salty.

Legacy Buttermilk fried chicken $19

Another thing I can’t resist is fried chicken especially if it’s buttermilk because it means the chicken stays tender and moist. The fried chicken was placed in a brioche bun with charred corn slaw, mustard and sriracha mayo. Honestly, can’t fault this burger! The fried chicken was absolutely divine!

I forgot to share with you the amazing dessert/pastry cabinet I was staring at from the moment we got to the cafe. I’ve heard from Ash (Im So Hungree) that they make their own donuts and that I must try some! I am kicking myself for not asking the waiter to put some aside for me, as I missed out on the Salted caramel and the white chocolate and Reeses Peanut Butter cup one! Guess that just gives me another excuse to come back ~

Nutella Donut $5

Instead I got the filled donut with Nutella filled up to the top and covered in icing sugar, unlike some of the other donut outlets in Melbourne now. These are still fried donuts but definitely not oily with a slightly dense texture.

 

Can anyone resist a Nutella donut?! Seriously 🙂 I know I can’t hehe

Raspberry Poppyseed Donut $5

Surprisingly Mr Bao agreed to get another donut and he chose the Raspberry poppyseed which had a lovely deep rose colour. Raspberry flavours were strong with hints of poppy seed, a nice combination of flavours and I usually see poppyseed with orange ~

Another great cafe by the guys from MOB and Collective Espresso. The interior is a little more modern than the other two cafes, but food is definitely on par. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and I’m starting to get worried that it will soon be too popular for us to get a table on the weekends! 🙂 Note to self MUST TRY White chocolate Reeses Donut!

Legacy Camberwell
347 Camberwell Road
Camberwell
Melbourne
PH: 9041 1796
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Legacycamberwell

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Lobster, Oyster & More – The Bostonian

My Dearest Readers, are you a huge fan of seafood? Let you in on a secret, growing up I wasn’t really a fan, I’ll eat most seafood like fish, scallops (I actually love), prawns and crab. Oysters was a whole different story, I would only eat them cooked but the it all change a couple of years ago when I went to Tasmania, I had some super freshly shucked oysters and now I really like them 🙂 However, Mr Bao is the one who is nuts about oysters he’ll order then whenever they’re on the menu and can’t get enough of them! I think his record was 3 or 4 dozens in one seating.

The Bostonian

Anyhow, I’m getting side tracked with today’s post! The reason why I brought up the topic was oysters is because I wanted to share with you our recent seafood feast at The Bostonian at the The Langham Hotel in Hong Kong, where we got to sample a wide variety of oysters. An overview of The Bostonian mainly focuses on seafood and steak and is located in the basement of the hotel, underneath Main St Deli. I haven’t had the chance to explore much of America, but the decor and atmosphere of the restaurant sort of reminds me of a underground secret restaurant for the rich and famous in the 1960s 😛 Or maybe that’s just my imagination hehe

Oyster Bar

I recognised the manager Brendan from my last visit to the Langham and we chatted like old friends, he led us to a quiet table at the back and introduced us to their menu. When we visited they had a lobster themed menu and also a 3 course lobster dinner set. I couldn’t wipe the smile off Mr Bao’s face as he walked past the oyster bar, there were at least 30-40 different kinds of fresh oysters imported from around the world. I had no idea there were so many kinds of oysters in this world! I let Mr Bao pick the ones he wanted, while I focused on choosing the wine.

Chardonnay

Sorry for my bad memory but I don’t quite remember the name of the Chardonnay we had but I do know it’s from Spain and it was recommended as it would compliment our seafood dishes very well. Even though I found it to be a little dry, Mr Bao really liked how well it went with the lobster.

Fresh bread

While Mr Bao was still choosing the oysters, a board of bread – white with olives, rye and multigrain was placed on our table. But I had my eyes on the mini crab cake instead.

This was the complimentary start, a mini version of their signature Maine Crab Cake served with spiced avocado aioli. After having this bite sized treat, I regret not ordering more, it had a crispy toasted texture on the outside but it was the intense crab flavour that really got me.

La Perle Blanche, Tsarskaya and Royale Cabanon per 6 $208HKD ($28.5AUD)

We didn’t want to go overboard with the oysters as there was so much food on its way, Mr Bao chose 3 types of oysters for us to try from – La Perle Blanche, Tsarskaya and Royale Cabanon correct me if I’m wrong my Dear Readers, but I’m pretty sure they’re all from France, please don’t take my word for it because I’m no expert ~ Brendan explained to us that you always eat the oysters from the right of the lemon, reason being the oysters are organised from the lightest tasting to the strongest flavour towards the back. It was also served with vinegar and cocktail sauce.

La Perle Blanche oysters

My favourite were these large La Perle Blanche oysters which had a a firm texture, decent seawater flavour but still remained some sweetness.

Pan-fried Foie Gras $258HKD ($35AUD)

Some how I really wanted Foie Gras that night, and felt that more restaurants in Hong Kong serve foie gras compared to Melbourne. This was the pan-fried Foie Gras with Port-raisin spinach, raisin-pear chutney and sour chicken natural jus. Not much I can fault about this entree, since it’s hard to go wrong with foie gras anything and thought the raisin-pear chutney was perfect to cut through some of the richness.

New England Chowder

Brendan highly recommended the New England Chowder claiming it to be one of their signature soups. I loved the presentation of the soup in a round sourdough roll, I don’t think I’ve had a soup served like this before! I only recently found out there are so many different types of clam chowders, but the New England is a milk creamed based and this one had a generous amount of seafood – clams, scallops and prawns.

The Bostonian Lobster Bisque $138HKD ($19AUD)

Another recommendation from another waiter was The Bostonian Lobster Bisque with Canadian jumbo scallop and Maine Lobster. I really wonder how many lobsters were used to make this bisque, it was wonderfully fragrant and tasty.

Lobster Bisque

Moving onto the mains, we both ordered from the Lobster menu. This is the Lobster Two ways I got, half of the lobster was baked with vine ripe tomatoes, while the other was baked in garlic butter and Cep mushroom. Both were delicious, but I think I prefer the garlic butter one more because the butter accentuated the flavour of the lobster.

Lobster Two Ways $638HKD ($87.5AUD)

Mr Bao ordered the Casserole of Lobster and Cherry Stone Clam with penne pasta and lobster sauce. Even though it was summer in Hong Kong, I think this would be the perfect dish for the cold winter nights we’re currently experiencing in Melbourne.

Casserole of Lobster and Cherry Stone Clam $648HKD ($88.75AUD)

Look at the lobster claw 😀 The shell had been removed so all we had to do was put it in our mouth ~ We also liked the penne pasta was al dente and not too soft which helped scoop up the lobster sauce.

 

My meals always end with a sweet note, Hazelnut crunch and chocolate mousse with caramelised hazelnut ice-cream. Brendan told me this recipe was from a French Michelin star chef who had gave the recipe to chefs at The Bostonian last time he visited. It’s definitely my type of dessert, I love anything with hazelnuts and that crunchy base was lovely!

Hazelnut Crunch and Chocolate Mousse $98HKD ($13.5AUD)

It felt wrong for me to leave without trying the Boston Cream Pie since we were at the BOSTONIAN 😛 Believe it or not, it’s actually the first time I’ve ever nada a Boston Cream Pie before. Sure I’ve seen it in recipe books and heard about it, but never come across it. I blame that it’s because I live in Australia hehe Even though it called a pie, it’s actually vanilla sponge cakes with cream and custard filling with chocolate frosting.

Boston Cream Pie $98HKD ($13.5AUD)

I’m sure this is a fancier version using Valrhona chocolate and gold flakes on top. The sponge cake was light and still remained quite moist. Brendan mentioned their plans to add more desserts to their menu which would be awesome, and I’m looking forward to coming back and trying them!

If you would like to experience some Boston inspired dishes in Hong Kong, I would definitely recommend The Bostonian. Keep an eye out on their specials too, they recently had a Man VS Steak challenge which I found really interesting too. Customers were asked to finish a 1.5kg steak with 2 sides and chips, valued at $1980HKD ($271AUD) and if they could finish all the food in 1.5 hours it was all free! I wish I had known about this offer earlier because I’m sure Mr Bao would be able to do it! Would like to say a huge Thank You to the Langham, Hong Kong for having me again, it’s always a pleasure coming back as everyone is always so nice and friendly. Will definitely come back and visit next time I’m in town!

The Bostonian
The Langham, Hong Kong 
8 Peking Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Hong Kong
PH:+(852) 2375 1133 

Daisy@Nevertoosweet and Mr Bao dined at The Bostonian as guests of The Langham Hong Kong Hotel 

Tiffin Afternoon Tea – Langham Hotel, Hong Kong

It’s no secret that I love high teas 🙂 So if you’re a fan like me, you’ll have to make a trip to Hong Kong because so many places offer it and I find them to be relatively cheaper than the high teas we have in Melbourne ~ I’ve visited the Langham Hotel in Hong Kong before and dined at a couple of their restaurants and would recommend the Main St Deli for their burgers. I’ve also had drinks at the Palm Court before but wasn’t aware that they offered high tea there.

Palm Court, Langham Hotel HK

I was definitely surprised and slightly overwhelmed when I received an email from the Langham hotel in HK inviting me to try their afternoon tea set. I was also asked to bring a friend so I invited Win Win because she loves high tea as much as I do 🙂 Because we couldn’t find a baby sitter we decided to bring my little nephew Aden with us, thankfully the staff at Palm Court were very understanding and made us feel so welcomed.

Smile Aden!

Here’s my naughty but nice nephew Aden 🙂 I’m sure regular readers would recognise him, he’s grown up quite a bit and I can’t believe he’s actually turning 4 this year! Time honestly flies by without you knowing! Perhaps because he was so well behaved he was also given his own mini afternoon tea set for only $98HKD ($14AUD) which is basically a smaller version of the one you’re going to see in this post ~

Win Win and I really like the ambience of the Palm Court it’s got the traditional Victorian feeling to it, with light music playing in the background and I really liked the silver that they used it was super shiny giving that regal feeling ~ I can imagine sitting here all afternoon chatting to my girlfriends.

Starting with some champagne

Another surprise from Langham, they organised for our afternoon tea with some champagne and not only that it was Veuve Clicquot which I absolutely adore. I use to really like Moet and Chandon but lately, I’m starting to find that I enjoy the Veuve Clicquot more ~

 

Hot Chocolate

Of course Aden is a little bit too young to start drinking! So they offered him a hot chocolate which he kindly accepted. We had to keep telling him to slow down and not scull the drink! For blogging purposes 😛 I took a sip of his hot chocolate, and was warm milk lightly flavoured with chocolate, I personally would have preferred it with a richer chocolate flavour. However, this is probably great for little kids as it’s not too sweet.

Tiffan Afternoon Tea $428HKD ($62AUD) for two +10% Service Charge

Now that we’ve settled in having a drink, staff then came to explain that they offer two afternoon tea sets – Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and The Beast. The first being more fruit based and the latter has more chocolate and sweeter desserts. Both sets come with the same savoury items as you can see on the bottom layer with selection of sandwiches such as slow cooked chicken and foie gras warp and smoked salmon with horseradish cream. I’m a simple person and enjoyed the sandwich with the egg perhaps quail egg the most ~

They were very attentive and decided to split the afternoon tea set and to allow me try both sets. From the Sleeping Beauty desserts (on the left) there is mango coconut tartlet, raspberry brioche, passionfruit fruit quark cheesecake. I was particularly impressed with the crisp profiterole with green apple even though the filling was a little sour the pastry was done very well. On the right is the desserts from Beauty and The Beast with hazelnut and chocolate chip cupcake, Opera cake and bitter chocolate and vanilla cream tartlet. Hard to pick my favourite but it’s probably the little tarlet because the flavours complimented each other so well.

More sweets!

Then there were more treats on the top layer, definitely my type of high tea. With three types of chocolate bark in the shot glass on the left, followed by the lemon ‘marshmallow’ macaron, panna cotta and the last was a chocolate mousse with a berry jelly filling topped with fresh cream.

Scones with clotted cream and preserves

I was so naive and thought that because we already had too much food, we won’t get scones hahaha but that’s not true we got some scones to share which came with clotted cream and strawberry jam and I think it was rose preserves (please correct me if I’m wrong).

Cream first? Jam first?

I always have this argument with my friends, is it cream first or jam first? I’m definitely a cream first sort of girl but decided to conform and do it the ‘right’ way according to my friends hehe ~ No matter which way you eat them, scones are always good and these did not disappoint with a slight crust and still slightly warm inside.

English Breakfast Tea

To finish up and help with digestion, I got an English Breakfast tea 🙂 Can’t help but thank Langham Hotel for their generosity Win Win and I had a wonderful time at Palm Court and really enjoyed the high tea. Would definitely recommend it for other high tea addicts out there, and don’t forget the Langham Hotel is in a great location. Right off Canton Rd in Tsim Sha Tsui, trust me it’s every girls dream there! They have literally all the brands you can imagine ~

Daisy and WinWin@Nevertoosweet dined at as guests of Palm Court, Langham Hotel HK 

 

My favourite Matcha Softserve – Via Tokyo, Hong Kong

My Dearest Readers! I’m back 🙂 I arrived back home in Melbourne on Monday morning. And even though it’s great to be home, I’m already starting to miss my family, friends and one of the best matcha soft serve I’ve had! I don’t use these words lightly, but I honestly liked the matcha soft serve so much from Via Tokyo, I visited 3 times in during my short stay.

Via Tokyo in Causeway bay

Via Tokyo is one of Kosei Kamatani many ventures in Melbourne, he’s also the owner and operator of Ramen Jo which is just a stores down from Via Tokyo and believe it or not he also owns a Shisha bar. A lot of my foodie friends in Hong Kong are friends with Kosei so I was lucky enough to meet him in person. He was surprisingly young, friendly and very dedicated to his businesses, I’ve visited both Ramen Jo and Via Tokyo and they’re both brilliant, will have to try the Shisha bar as well next time 🙂

*Warning* Via Tokyo is definitely designed for matchaholics! More than half of their menu is matcha based and the rest is focused on soft serve made from Hokkaido milk and a range of coffees. My first visit was on my 3rd night in town and I dragged my friend Mary to come with me. We arrived at around 8pm and there was already a queue outside. We were told to stand line up and given the menu to look at, I couldn’t decide I just wanted it all!

Matcha Azuki Parfait $45HKD ($6.3AUD)

We were both quite full from dinner so we only ordered two things, the first was the Match Azuki Parfait, the base is a matcha soft serve, Azuki beans puree, mochi (glutinous balls), sliced banana and rice puffs. I didn’t even pay much attention to the toppings and just dived straight into the matcha soft serve, and it was everything I expected but more! It had the smoothest texture but what really impressed me was the strong matcha flavour. That is the main issue I have when I go to most places for matcha soft serve, it always look green in colour but usually the matcha flavour is really light and merely tastes like green vanilla ice-cream. But here at Via Tokyo the matcha flavour is not only strong enough but it doesn’t have that bitter aftertaste 😀

Sample Set $45HKD ($6.3AUD)

We then got the sample set with mochis azuki beans, matcha soft serve and a soft jelly served with a brown sugar syrup. Once again I had my eyes and mind set on the matcha soft serve, which was just as nice but the other two sides was also nice and shouldn’t be ignored especially the mochi which was chewy on the outside but still soft in the middle. That concludes my first visit to Via Tokyo and I can only describe it as ‘impressive’.

Matcha Addicts!

I went home with a huge smile on my face, and kept bugging my other matcha loving friends (Ivan, Minnie, Winnie, Margaret and Ann) and kept telling them we have to go back together as soon as possible. So about a week later we finally found the time to go, conveniently, we had dinner at Ramen Jo first (blog post to come) then walked over to Via Tokyo. Its a small store and we had 5 of us so we wanted for a good 20 minutes before we got a table. And we went nuts hahaha we ordered a whole table of matcha desserts and drinks!

Matcha Affogato $42HKD ($6AUD)

I’ve heard and seen so much about the Matcha Affogato that I was so excited to try. But note that this isn’t on the menu so if you want to try simply order it at the cashier 🙂 It’s basically a serve of matcha soft serve topped with matcha latte. It’s a genius idea! Because we get the best of both worlds.

Moving on we got the Okome Shiratoma Matcha Soft serve, which is similar to the Azuki Parfait with the matcha soft serve base and I found out the Shiratoma are not really mochi but more sweet rice flour dumplings. I particularly liked the rice puffs which gave the soft serve a little crunchiness.

Okome Shiratoma Matcha Soft Serve $45HKD ($6.3AUD)

Nope we still weren’t matcha-ed out and Margaret suggested we get a matcha latte, and I was so surprised to see the latte art. It was a very cute Winnie The Pooh face and also the word ‘Pooh’ with a little heart on the side! Definitely one of the prettiest lattes I’ve seen! Didn’t even want to drink and wreck the face! The matcha flavour wasn’t as strong because we’ve been overdosing in matcha but I know if I drank this first it would’ve had enough matcha flavour ~

Matcha Latte $32HKD ($3.5AUD)

Ok to give you guys a relief from matcha, we also shared a regular Affogato with Hokkaido milk soft serve and a shot of Espresso. I loved this shot! Thanks Ann for being such a great pourer hehe even though it’s not matcha, I still enjoyed this soft serve it has the richest and creamiest texture probably because they use the milk imported from Hokkaido to make all their soft serves.

Affogato $38HKD($5.30AUD)

That’s the second time I visited and I was left thinking about the matcha soft serve again, and I knew I would’ve visited even more often if it was closer to where I lived. So on the last day I was about to leave, we had peking duck with the family for lunch and then we had a couple of hours before I had to fly out … and there was only one place I wanted to visit before I left and that was Via Tokyo for the matcha soft serve yet again 🙂 And I really wanted Win Win (sister) to try because she also likes matcha ice-cream ~

Matcha affogato

I got another Matcha Affogato all for myself and no sharing 🙂 I mean it was my last day so I think I had the right to be selfish hehe still just as good! Win Win got a simple cup with the matcha soft serve and she was also impressed with the strong flavour.

Okome Shiratama Soft Serve $38HKD($5.40AUD)

My nephew Aden isn’t a fan of matcha yet probably because he’s 3 and doesn’t like the slight bitterness which comes with matcha. So got him an Okome Shiratama Soft Serve with ‘milk’ instead and the shiratama again. Aden really liked the soft serve and kept asking for more haha I think soon enough I will be able to train him to like match as much as his Auntie Daisy done 😀

And that there sums up my 3 visits to Via Tokyo and trust me when I tell you, I really really like the matcha soft serve here. One of the best I’ve had and if you’re a matchaholic like me or like really rich and creamy soft serves, I highly recommend you trying Via Tokyo! Now I can’t wait till the next time I get to visit 😀

Via Tokyo
Shop nos. 1A-1B, G/F., Leishun Court,
106-126 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay
銅鑼灣禮頓道106-126號禮信大廈地下1A-1B號舖
PH: +852 2895 1116
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viatokyocafe

Black Truffle Mac N Cheese – BLT Steak HK

My Dearest Readers, do you remember a few posts back I was telling you about how my family and friends in Hong Kong always ask me to buy them Tim Tams and other Aussies sweets. Something else my family ask me to bring back (I’m not sure it’s legal) is bacon and steak! Yup they will ask me to go to the butcher get them a kilo or two of bacon, wrap it up and chuck it in my suitcase. I’ve never done it myself, but my parents have done it for them and our relatives LOVE IT 😛

BLT Steak in TST

Talking about steak, I think we’re putting lucky in Australia we have really good beef so I know it’s a little strange that I decided to try out BLT Steak in HK. But it was in a good location and I’ve heard good things about the dessert there, my partner in crime that night was Margaret, perfect person to go with.

Heirloom tomatoes, watermelon, burrata, ginger sherry dressing $138HKD ($18AUD) +10% service charge

We started our meal with something light, a heirloom tomato salad with watermelon, burrata and ginger sherry dressing. All elements complimented each other quite well and the type of salad I like, but I did find the heirloom tomatoes to be a tad firm. While Margaret found the burrata not as fresh as she would’ve liked it more if it was creamier and not as watery.

Popovers with butter

BLT Steak is quite well known for their popovers, and I know they’re quite common in America, but it’s actually the first time I’ve actually been. They reminded me very much like yorkshire puddings or Chinese donuts (You Char Gwey) but they’re lighter and are hollow inside. I’m not sure if this is the right way to eat them, but I ripped it apart and spread butter over it hmmm yum!

American USDA Rib eye with bone marrow $398HD ($54AUD) +10% Service Charge

We then shared a Rib eye steak with bone marrow, apparently Margaret was telling me, it’s quite difficult to find good quality steaks in Hong Kong. Even though the steak was cooked very well, perfectly medium rare with a good chargrilled smokey flavour to it. The steak wasn’t as flavoursome or tender as we would’ve liked.

As our side we ordered the Black Truffle mac and cheese, it was served in a little cast iron pan and I could immediately smell the cheese and truffle as the waiter was walking towards our table. Instead of using macaroni pasta, they actually used penne covered in a rich creamy sauce, covered with tasty cheese and topped with a few thin slices of black truffle. Hmmm so good turns out to be my favourite savoury dish that meal 🙂

Black Truffle mac & cheese $78HKD ($11AUD) +10% Service Charge

Now moving on to desserts, the Banana spice cake with candied walnut and mascarpone sorbet caught my eye so that was the first dessert we ordered. I thought it looked quite appealing with the layers in the cake, unfortunately, it was very dry and even though the mascarpone sorbet was nice and helped add some moisture it didn’t really deliver.

Banana Spice cake with candied walnut and mascarpone sorbet $98HKD ($13.5AUD) + 10% service charge

Margaret did some research and said that this crepe souffle with passion fruit sauce was one of their signature desserts. I’ve never had any crepes like this before, it’s puffed high and fluffy and has the texture similar to a souffle omelette but instead of a savoury filling it had custard instead. It was quite nice especially the vanilla custard, yet we found it lacked a pronounce flavour and was slightly bland.

Crepe Souffle with passion fruit sauce $98HKD ($13.5AUD) + 10% service charge

I have heard mixed reviews about the BLT Steak in HK as well as their branches in America, overall, I enjoyed my meal here and find that they have some good dishes to offer, I think they would be even better if they were able to source better quality produce and work a little on their desserts ~

BLT Steak
Shop OTG62, G/F
Ocean Terminal, Harbour City
17 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
尖沙咀廣東道17號海港城海運大廈地下OTG62號舖
PH: +852 2730 350