Deericious!

Last week while in Hong Kong, Rei and I stayed at the fabulous Phillippe Starck designed Jia Hotel (thanks, Jaime!!) in Causeway Bay. On the first floor of this hotel is a fusion restaurant called Opia. I was really wowwed by this place right when we walked in. The decor is modern and hip, but very sexy at the same time. We had an entire staff waiting on our party the entire night, and left feeling very stuffed and happy.

While we were waiting for the rest of our party to arrive, we were served dinner rolls to be dipped in extra virgin olive oil, followed by a dipping seasoning of your choice. There were three - the first was a top ramen-like seasoning (for lack of a better description), the second was a chinese brown sugar spice, and I don’t remember the third. I thought the top ramen seasoning was the best. To start, everyone had an oyster shooter in mirin with a soba roll chaser (4*). Fantastic! This was better than most oyster shooters, which I find often to be disappointing (too much alcohol, ikura, ginger, etc). I almost wanted to order another half dozen - just for myself. Rei started with a scallop and choriso appetizer (2*) which we found to be just ok. The scallops were good, the sauce interesting, but the choriso overpowered and was a bit too tough. For entrees, half of our party went with the Wagyu beef cheeks (3*) while the other half chose the halibut and trout (3*). When the entrees arrived, we were all surprised by how large the portions were - yay! The Wagyu was seared crispy on the outside with a tender medium rare inside, brushed with a sweet glaze. The cut sat on top of a green papaya salad with peanuts, over a bed of coconut rice. I loved this dish - it totally surprised, and proved to be a genius combination. The trout was also a winner - served on top of thai inspired veggies and coconut sauce. This dish was a bit spicier, and had more lemongrass flavors.

If you’re in HK and want to try something less traditional, definitely visit Opia. we had a great time sampling all of the dishes, and I’m sure you will too. =)

Last week, we went to Mastro’s Steakhouse for a friend’s birthday. Mastro’s is considered a favorite among many of my dearest meat-loving friends, so I had to go see for myself. The space is charming, but a little on the dark and noisy side. The restaurant was packed, with a live band playing and people chatting it up at the bar. Our party of 7 sat at a long table, so it was difficult to carry a conversation with anyone, aside from the people sitting directly next to you. Celebrity sighting: William Fichtner.

We started the evening with two bottles of red wine, a St. Francis merlot and a Trefethen cabernet sauvignon (3*), both from California. Following, we ordered oysters which were fat but nonetheless super tasty (4*), an iceberg salad topped with bacon, tomatoes, other goodies (I didn’t actually try this one), and the house special crabcakes w/ microgreens (4*). The crabcakes were excellent - almost entirely crab, not the ripoff kind that is usually filled with breadcrumbs, etc. One notable thing about Mastro’s is their gi-normous portions. Amanda and I shared the chef’s cut rib-eye (5*) which was expertly cooked to a perfect medium rare. The steak came out on a hot plate, and was buttery tasting in every bite. However, this was not your typical steak presented in a pool of butter like they have at Ruth’s Chris. Our table ordered a feast of sides to share, but we underestimated the size of their portions. Usually, sides at steakhouses such as Flemming’s or the Lodge are big enough for 3-4 people. At Mastro’s, the sides are big enough for 6! We had mac and cheese (3*), sauteed mushrooms (3*), shoestring fries (3*), lobster mashed potatoes (4* - big pieces of lobster in garlicky mashed potatoes with a lobster broth), creamed corn (2*), and creamed spinach (2*). We barely had room for dessert, but since we had a birthday to celebrate, why not?! Mango sorbet (3*) came on a plate with three giant scoops the size of tennis balls, and the key lime pie (3*) and cheesecake (3*) were comparable to two slices at other ordinary restaurants. All were very good, but the key lime pie was a bit too sweet for my liking. Take a look at all of the food we had!