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2014-03-11
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The weather has been awful the past 2 weeks that it was all gloomy and humid and drizzling at all times almost every day (that I almost thought I was in London). To cheer ourselves up, we ventured to areas where we seldom visited and made a reservation for brunch at Green, in Hotel Icon at the edge of Tsim Sha Tsui East.We were quite aggressive to have the booking at 11:30am. But haha, it was a dim Sunday... so... FAIL... we postponed it to 12pm but it seemed we were still quite early. Green was
We were quite aggressive to have the booking at 11:30am. But haha, it was a dim Sunday... so... FAIL... we postponed it to 12pm but it seemed we were still quite early. Green was quite empty when we arrived and we were seated against the wall of leaves (the vertical garden), next to the huge French Window. I loved the setting of the restaurant. Super high ceilings with light-colored (mostly white and light green) decor, that alleviated the stress built up along the week and set our mood right for Sunday Brunch.
They offered a la carte dishes as well as a set brunch menu of 4 courses which cost HKD 288 along with your choice of juice and coffee & tea at the end. If you fancied a glass of Moet et Chandon, that would cost you an extra HKD 50. Both of us avoided alcohol or else we would have fallen into a coma even before we started eating (yes we were dead tired).
Bread basket was served after we made our order. There were 2 kinds - Italian Cheese stick and a short baguette that come with butter and olive oil. Well, the cheese stick was of my preference, crispy with a strong cheese flavor while the bagette was less attractive. It tasted quite bland that I put it aside after a bite or two.
For juice, they had a choice of orange, grapefruit and melon. Both of us picked grapefruit, hopefully refreshing enough to 'wake us up'!
The first course did not give any options but only served Caviar Egg Benedict with Serrano Ham. The egg was below average to be frank, the egg yolk was rather lukewarm and stale and did not flow out smoothly when I cut it up. Part of the yolk was actually overcooked. Credits were given to smooth egg white and the croissant. I could hear faint sounds of crispy surface breaking apart that recalled fond memories of croissants in Paris.
For appetizer, there were three choices. My friend chose Thermidor Boston Lobster. Indeed a good pick! Just by the look of it, it was creamy with cheese, egg yolk and lobster meat. I had a tiny bite near the end of the lobster. The crusty cheesy surface blended perfectly with the fresh lobster meat. Glad the portion was not too filling.
Mine was Caesar Salad with Tomato & Mozarella. The combination of tomato & mozarella has always been my all-time favorite; however, if I had to be picky, I reckoned the dressing tasted more like store bought than homemade. It was slightly too creamy and lacked the aroma from anchovies.
My main was Pan-seared Garoupa with Sauteed Vegetables and Unagi Sauce. Well, this dish was rather Chinese or Asian. A little weird that I have been thinking this was a western meal. The garoupa was overcooked. The meat was not tender which the sauce could not penetrate into, leaving it rather bland. There were two fillets and I only worked on one. (Actually one portion of fillet was already enough for the course)
My friend definitely made a wiser choice and had Slow-braised Australian Beef Cheek with Truffle Mashed Potato. I did not check out the mashed potatoes, but did have a bit of the cheek. It was very tender and shreds were separated easily from the main piece. Juice texture and matched well with the vege and sides when they were eaten together.
For the last course of dessert, they had a display of cakes and tartes to choose from. We both went out and tried to spot our favorite. There were cupcakes, mousse, cheesecakes.
We finally settled on Green Tea Chocolate Cake and Jasmine Chocolate Dome. We tried the green tea one first. Different layers of the cake and mousse were distinct but did not seem to blend too well. I personally prefer the dome more. Even though it was quite sweet. Every bite was of rich chocolate mousse that gave you a pleasant scent from Jasmine!
Tea was served at the end of the meal. Despite awful weather when we looked outside of the window, I was smiling. There are a lot of brunch places in Hong Kong, while some were noisy and crowded, Green enshrouded us in a relaxing space with high ceiling with lots of natural lights coming in. I guess some of the noises were somehow absorbed by the wall of leaves. Would love to come back again.
Other Info. :
Just one thing to note. I noticed a few leaves were on the sofa when I arrived and when I left, there were a few more. Hm... I wonder how often the leaves on the wall are replaced. If they somehow fall on to drinks or food, it did not seem too hygienic...
(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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