Blue Smoke Bar-B-Que (Closed)

Thanksgiving is American and new to me as I have never heard about it in the UK. I found about the Thanksgiving dinner at Bluesmoke when I read about it last year just after Thanksgiving had passed, so I had to wait another year to be able to try this Thanksgiving dinner at Bluesmoke!I was really attracted to this thanksgiving dinner because it is similar to the Christmas Dinners with roast turkey and stuffing.Finally a year had nearly past and I kept calling Blue smoke in early November to see if they were doing the Thanksgiving dinner this year but they were not really good at calling people back because they did not return my call.A few weeks later I checked their website and it had been updated with the coming thanks giving dinner so I booked it.The thanksgiving menu for ths year is:Chicharron (Crispy pork skins)Veggie sticks and ranch dressingRoasted butternut squash soup with chestnut and sageSmoked turkey breastSage-giblet dressingcinnamon cranberry sauceBasket of biscuitsCandied yams with toasted marshmallowRosemary roasted carrotsRoasted garlic mashed potato Ham and pea macaroni and cheese Stewed cinnamon and spiced apples Green bean casserole with crispy onionsDessert: Pumpkin pie/apple pie/peacan chocolate chip pie.The menu seemed quite reasonable because it had turkey and pumpkin pie which were Thanksgiving items.Some other places in Hong Kong modified the menu slightly by serving lobster bisque which I thought defeated the purpose of Thanksgiving and more of a gimmick for business.★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★Chicharron (Crispy pork skins):Basically this was deep fried pork skins with cumin and paprika powder on it.It did not have that foul taste but they had been left out in the air for two long because they were not crispy and you need to rip it with your teeth.Apart from being too chewy, the taste was actually ok.Veggie sticks and ranch dressing:It was a basket of cucumber, carrots and spring onion sticks to dip with ranch dressing.I only liked the cucumbers so I had the cucumber which was nice and refreshing with the ranch dressing.★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★Roasted butternut squash soup with chestnut and sage:The soup was slightly sour and there were alot of spices, the sage taste was quite strong, and the sweet pieces of chestnut balanced out the sourness of the soup.★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★Smoked turkey breastn the menu it said turkey breast but it also came with a turkey drumstick!Although turkey is the main star of the show, I actually tried this Thanksgiving dinner because of the fascinating sides which I have not tried before such as the biscuits, candied yams and the all American pumpkin pie!I took a bite of turkey assuming it would be dry but it was so amazingly soft and tender.The turkey was so delicious with the stuffing and sage-giblet dressing (the yellowish sauce).The turkey drumstick was slightly hard and tasted like an over roasted duck leg with crispy skin.Stuffing:This was the best Stuffing I have had in my life! It was a generous portion too which I did not have to eat sparingly.It was a mix of bread, livers, sage and whatever it had in it!★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★Sage-giblet dressing:The appearance of this dressing looks like French dressing but it was similar to gravy.Again the taste was absolutely delicious, you could taste the giblets even there were no solid giblet parts in the gravy.The taste of sage was prominent as well!★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★Basket of biscuits:These looked like four mini scones, which were really different to the British biscuits which are hard.The same goes with US and English cookies which are totally different.Anyway they tasted like unsweetened scones.★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★Rosemary roasted carrots:The carrots were delicious was a nice hint of rosemary.Candied yams with toasted marshmallow:I found this side dish really fun, I never imagined having marshmallows with dinner.The candied yams were quite sweet and delicious.Roasted garlic mashed potato:The mashed potato was quite heavy but it was packed with garlic and mustard flavours.★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★Ham and pea macaroni and cheese:This was REAL cheese and macaroni, although it was quite fattening but it was delicious!The melted cheese had a nice puree texture.★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★Stewed cinnamon and spiced apples:The stewed apples were quite nice.Cinnamon cranberry sauce:This was the usual cranberry sauce but there was a hint of cinnamon which was a bonus and made it different from the usual cranberry sauce.★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★Green bean casserole with crispy onions:This was delicious however the beans were a bit too hard, the sauce was really nice and the crispy onions on top were delicious.★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★Dessert: Pumpkin pie/apple pie/peacan chocolate chip pien the menu it said a choice of pies but all three were given which was great.The pumpkin pie and peacan chocolate were the best.The pumpkin had been mixed up so it was no longer orange, it was a bit like toffee puree.The peacan chocolate pie was lovely and gooey with thick but not cloyingly sweet chocolate!It was also chewy too.★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★To summarise, it was a great dinner and they let you have seconds.The portions were huge and most people could not finish it all, but they give you decent sturdy plastic boxes so you can take the rest home!! They even help you to put the food in the boxes.I don't usually like eating leftovers but these were delicious and I was actually looking forward to eating the leftovers.Our waitress was really nice and smart. I dont know her name but she was the pretty one with stylish glasses. continue reading

We ordered take out from Blue Smoke as our favorite rib house Tony Roma is now closed.The rib arrived to our house on time (great for the delivery guys) and we were anxious to try this so called "smoke rib" a la Americana. The rib looked so overcooked that it actually reminded us of a marble slab we saw on Lockhart Road. We tried and it was as dry as the sole of our tennis shoes.We spent $200 for a piece of card board which did not even come with French fries or any side dish.Very disappointing. continue reading

I found the entrance to the actual restaurant a bit confusing as once you exit the lift, you're in a small yet Willy Wonka-esque corridor that leads to the restaurant itself as well as the toilets, staircase and other miscellaneous areas. Once I found my way in, the ambience was not too bad and had a rustic American feel to it (albeit, it was a bit dark and the glow from the neon lights inside was overpowering). For starters we ordered macaroni and cheese and nachos with pulled pork. I couldn't help but feel a little repulsed eating the macaroni and cheese as the cheese used resembled what a gas station in the US would use, or what you would find on nachos when at a cinema. There were kidney beans in the macaroni too which was a nice touch but I think this was overshadowed by the cheese issue. The fact that I could also see the chef ladling the cheese out of a big pan didn't help matters either. The nachos were soggy and incredibly salty, although the pulled pork was very tasty and tender. The jalapeno seasoning was a bit too much for me as I can't tolerate much spice.Next, we had ribs, pulled pork and an assortment of chicken wings (honey mustard dressing, buffalo and blue cheese). The ribs looked much better than they tasted. Again, I was apprehensive to fully dig into the meal as the meat was pink. Considering they were pork ribs, I didn't want to wake up at 3am with a stomach ache because of eating what looked like under cooked ribs. The sauce was on the side of the ribs, which I found to be a bit strange as ribs usually have the sauce smothered on them. The pulled pork was very good. I'd say this was the best dish of the night. Extremely tender, tasty and enjoyable to eat. The chicken wings weren't anything to write home about. The honey mustard wings were the most tasty of the lot. However, I found that because the inside of the restaurant was quite dim, it was hard to identify which wing had which sauce on it.Once the restaurant filled up (it was only half full for the whole night), it became incredibly noisy. I could hardly hear the person next to me let alone hear what someone opposite me had to say. This isn't really the restaurant's fault but if you're looking for a nice, quiet place to have a relaxing dinner, this is not the place to go. Imagine how crazy it would be if it were full!The dessert menu looked quite enticing yet when we actually saw the desserts in the fridge near where we were sitting, they looked a bit sad. I'm not sure if this was due to the uncomplimentary lighting or whether they were in fact pre-packaged pies that they just heated up. We decided to stay away from the pies but someone from our party ordered some ice cream which they said was quite nice but I am not sure of what flavours they had. A waitress walked past us with an ice cream sundae which looked really good but we didn't order that. As for the wait staff, I can't really tell you much about them as none of them seem interested in interacting let alone opening their mouths when food came to the table or when greeting customers. There was one waiter in particular who was very friendly and talkative but that was about it; quite surprising as this place is an American restaurant, I'd expect the waiters and waitresses to be outgoing and confident. I left the restaurant looking for more food as I didn't enjoy my experience there. Paying close to $400 and still feeling hungry at the end is definitely not a good sign. Being apprehensive and not knowing what item was what due to the lack of light was uncomfortable and I just couldn't relax and enjoy the food we ordered. Other American restaurants such as Ruby Tuesdays, Dan Ryans and BLT Burger trump this restaurant any day. I don't have any intention of giving this restaurant a second go or recommending it to friends. It wasn't worth the money, especially considering the amount of food I ate. continue reading

I did not enjoy my experience here, the buffalo wings were nothing special with little taste. We had to order a pitcher of beer 3 times before we got it (took 20 minutes). The Macaroni & cheese was actually pretty tasty, and nice texture to it with nice flavours. When we got the ribs they looked undercooked but I decided to try them anyway, there was absolutely no taste in the ribs as well as them being dry, when I order ribs I don't want the taste to rely on the barbecue sauce. When I decided to mention it to the waitress that they were unsatisfactory she said that they were always cooked like this and this is how they do it here but would try to get something sorted. She then came back with who I can only assume was the manager as she was dressed differently. She then decided to try and "educate" us on how they prepare their ribs at this restaurant with no apologies. Honestly I don't care how it's cooked I care about how it tastes. The turkey burger was ok in taste but kinda dry, I would say that I would order it again though... The Jambalaya was was tasted like chilli sauce with rice. Overall the attitude of the staff was not good, the male staff were actually quite fun and friendly but the female staff had quite a bad attitude in general. The manager was not friendly either, criticism is a big part in helping restraunts grow and they did not take it with an understanding attitude. I will NOT be going back again. continue reading

Last night I went out with a bunch of friends. We are all from the States and wanted something to remind us of home. I've been to Blue Smoke in the past and wasn't that impressed. This time We were blown away. We ordered Nachos, Chili Mac, poppers to start and all three were awesome, especially the chili mac. For dinner we shared a full slab, more chili mac, collard greens, brisket, and a couple Burgers. Burgers where off the charts! perfectly cooked and juicy as hell! The brisket had a perfect smoke ring and bark (which if your from anywhere in the southern U.S. is the 1st thing you look for in good q). It was smokey and tender. The ribs fell off the bone and the collards reminded me of home. All in all.... Awesome! Cant wait top come bak continue reading