Tough Cookie

My husband and I will be heading to Hong Kong for a week or so and would like to have one memorable French dinner. We usually prefer tasting menus and I am having a tough time which restaurant to try. I am sure all three are great but would love to hear people's opinions. Which one would people recommend: Petrus, Amber or Caprice? Thank you!

Out of curiousity, which blogs are these? Would love to read more about Asian cuisine and related reviews.

Looks like Shijo has closed its doors for good.

Same story as currypuff - even though we arrived earlier on Sunday (around noon), there were only a handful of apple varieties for sale. The festival was from 11 am to 4 pm, so we thought we were early! Quite disappointed. In terms of the apple taste testing, the line-up was ridiculous! We had to leave, having only tried the apple chips and hot apple juice (not tasty at all ). The sunny weather definitely played a part, with people coming in droves. Will try again next year, but on the Saturday!

Looks like Guu will be taking the old Sushikan space...

Meinhardt is having a huge sale: http://www.meinhardt.com/qs/page/5495/0/37

Just about anything savoury.... Salt Aioli Tartar sauce Gravy Sour cream Malt vinegar Just no ketchup!

Awesome - another place to check out. If it has canucklehead's stamp of approval, it's good enough for me!

Sorry that my earlier post wasn't clear - I found the W.4th location to be better. I think it is because there aren't the huge lineups that the Denman location suffers, so the grilling is not as rushed.

I believe this is the second location for them, the original one is on Denman (right next to the Dairy Queen across from the Safeway). Although the menu is not as extensive, the quality of food is better and one doesn't feel rushed during the meal. I've visited the place three times in the past month and each time, all orders have been perfectly grilled. Gotta love that smoky charcoal flavor....

Do you run the hot water over the backs of the trays or the tops? If tops, try running it over the backs--you don't even have to use hot water. Just lukewarm or even cold works (as long as it's not too cold). Just don't forget to put a hand under the icecubes, or they'll all end up in the sink! ← I had used hot water over the backs of the trays but the timing is tricky - too long, the ice cube melts and too short, you need some brute force to pluck the ice cubes out. The shapes are cute but too much work for a couple of ice cubes - the soft rubber is not meant to shape ice!

I bought 3 of these.... They are in the freezer as I type, I did manage to remove the puzzle and star shaped ones yesterday but it wasn't easy. I was hoping we can use them for making homemade gummies or jello shapes, do you think this will work? ← I tried jello too but the rubber of the tray is too "sticky" and the shape too small to cut out without wrecking it entirely. Haven't tried homemade gummies though... I have also tried using hot water but it only melted the ice cube . I think the trays were a good idea but not really practical...

I would agree with the responses above. The only item I would advise to skip are the plastic "cute shapes" ice cube trays. I have yet to get the ice cubes out without breaking my fingers - if anyone has a tip, please forward them on!

Need your help! Being the ever so dutiful daughter, I need to find a brunch place for Mother's Day that is toddler friendly. The kids in question are used to restaurant settings (i.e. can sit quietly for more than an hour) but we would prefer a place that is not too quiet, where we are not the only table with kids. I've done my research from above and narrowed my choices (based on menus) to Feenie's, Provence Marinaside, Wedgewood Hotel and Adesso Bistro. Which place would not be offended by giggles in a booster seat? Thanks in advance.

I disagree. We went to Shanghai River for the first time last night. What a place. I know you can't declare a place your favourite after one visit, but damn things have to slip a long way with future visits for it not to take top spot.

Just consider yourself lucky that you get to try all these wild and crazy flavors - we only get the standard bbq and spicy Calbee potato chips. What I wouldn't do to have all these different flavors (well, maybe it's a good thing or I'll be 20 lbs heavier! )

Dude - I'm with you an cotton candy also - candied apples. They are absolutely wretched. Teeth sticking sweetness meets sour mealy apples - what for?!. The combo brings out the worst in eachother. Worse are those 'gourmet' candied apples with sprinkles, m&m's, and icing. Sickening. That being said - I like just about everything else at the fair. Put a stick in it and deep fry it and I'm there! ← I forgot about how much I hate cotton candy. Even as a kid, I hated it because I always felt cheated when I ate cotton candy. I loved to watch them make it, twirling those sticks around that machine and building up the lovely fluffy cotton candy. But then when I ate it, it was so ... nothing! Just nothing. It disintegrated in your mouth and left you with nothing, just a sickly sweet nothing on your tongue. Cotton candy. One of the biggest disappointments of my childhood. ← There are people like me! Absolutely detest cotton candy, candied apples - and, yes, gasp, marshmellows! I've always wanted to fit in with everyone else over the campfire but the white gooey mess didn't do anything for me (except hurt my teeth with its sickening sweetness). Liked burning it though.

It seems from all of the earlier posts that people rave about the Bar Room but no recent discussion on the Dining Room. We have booked for July 9th and would appreciate any reviews on the tasting menus or the prix fixe selections. I'm a big fan of tasting menus but the one at The Modern doesn't seem very exciting (the Spring Menu as posted on menupages.com). We want to try the Dining Room but it seems that the Bar Room menu looks more appealing. Should we switch rooms?

That's a great tip - exactly what I was looking for! I'll try it this weekend. Thanks.

My mom claimed that I would only have butter with toast, never margarine. To this day, I cannot stand the taste of the offensive fake stuff.

Ketchup has its place among condiments. I like it mixed with mustard and/or mayonnaise on the standard ketchup related items: french fries, burgers and hot dogs. Don't like it with scrambled eggs. My best friend is a ketchup maniac and from her, I am now also hooked on ketchup on ketchup chips!

Mango and papaya. I don't like their texture and there is this weird aftertaste that is soooo strong, especially the mango. And the papaya is too sweet for my tastebuds.

Eggplant, ginger and anchovies. Now, I can't imagine life without these items, especially grilled eggplant. I'm still not a big fan of cilantro but can live with it in a dish.

Cream of leek soup. Prime rib roast. Ground beef congee. Beef and tomato on rice. Campbell's cream of mushroom soup (whenever I was sick).

Thanks for your tip in freezing the soup but unfortunately I have a tiny freezer - no room for "soup for a rainy day"! I was hoping for some easy metric to remember - something like: for two bowls, have X amount of ingredients and X amount of water and boil for X hours straight and then simmer for X hours. I guess it just takes practice.