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2014-05-14
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As the rainy season starts in HK, what’s better than sleeping in on the weekend and having a late brunch? B and I did exactly that on Buddha’s birthday.We had a strong crave for English breakfasts that morning…er…noon, and though the sky was gloomy, it wasn’t raining, so we decided to head down to BRICK LANE in Admiralty for a big feast. Arriving at around 2pm, the place was still packed with brunch-lovers! It’s hard enough to get a table, let alone an alfresco one. Luckily, we were there just i
We had a strong crave for English breakfasts that morning…er…noon, and though the sky was gloomy, it wasn’t raining, so we decided to head down to BRICK LANE in Admiralty for a big feast. Arriving at around 2pm, the place was still packed with brunch-lovers! It’s hard enough to get a table, let alone an alfresco one. Luckily, we were there just in time to take up an indoor high table which had its occupiers just settled the bill. Otherwise a long wait for sure as a queue had just started forming at the doorway as soon as we sat down.
First time I visit BRICK LANE at CITIC Tower. I had been to their TST outlet some time ago. While the rustic decor is pretty consistent with their iconic white bike mounted on the wall, the former is more spacious than the latter, and carry a different ambience. I couldn’t help but took a stroll around - love the huge terrace with the harbour view, the hand painted walls all around, the island bar, and the retro VIP corner.
Back to the food. I was on a vegetarian diet on the day, and was surprised to find that BRICK LANE offers a wide range of vegetarian choices (I found out from the server with barely a prompt that one of their owners is a vegetarian, and therefore has taken considerable note of vegetarians’ diet needs when designing the menu ). Here’s what we went for:Me:
Mango, avocado, and rockets salad (with the scallop skipped) - a wise combination of ingredients with the sweet and sour-ness of the mangoes balancing off the creaminess of avocado. I love the spiciness of rockets anyway, which goes well with the salad dressing.
Poached egg on rosti (with the bacon on the side which I skipped) - egg cooked to perfection, with a knifepoint cut, the yolk started flowing out like lava over the potato rosti that was crispy on the outside and juicy inside. In combination with the heavenly hollandaise sauce, it's finger-licking good. The feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and pistachio added some good texture and taste to the whole dish.
Hot chocolate (with a shot of espresso added) - latte art applies here as to all hot drinks with a milk base anywhere nowadays. The drinking chocolate was rich and creamy on the palate, with smell and taste of the espresso creeping through at each sip - can tell the coffee beans they use have a bit of strength. It also comes with 2 grilled marhmallows on the side, divine! The server brought me a jar of sugar cubes to add sweetness although the drink itself already tasted pretty sweet to me. On that note, I must make a special mention about their sugar cubes as they have little sugar flowers piped on them. To me, this gesture is very thoughtful as I am pretty sure a lot of diners, like me and a lot of my friends, have been nicely surprised by these little creation, they could really make your day.
B (who is really, and I mean REALLY, having a feast!):Black pudding on toast - B loves black pudding since her days in the UK. Reported to be very authentic and tasty. Everything on the plate was literally wolfed down as soon as it hit the table.
Egg Benedict with parma ham - eggs again were cooked just like how they should be, the parma ham tender not tough, muffin warm, and watercress not overcooked, so I was told. The hollandaise sauce was, (verbatim) “oh my God!”
Fish and chips - we think cod is being used for the dish, deep fried in a beer batter to golden crisp yet meat was still juicy. Glad they use fat chips for the dish as they are best companions to the fish.
Latte - good work on the latte art and coffee a good blend of tastes from different kinds of beans. We were told that they use 3 kinds for the house blend with beans freshly roasted every week.For sharing:
Molecular bacon & egg ice cream - this is a famous dessert at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck in London, only that it is made with liquid nitrogen there. I lived in and have travelled to London a thousand times, but never in my life have I been able to make it to a table at the Fat Duck, and so I was really thrilled to find that BRICK LANE here in Hong Kong makes this ice cream! This copy cat version is pretty cool, being served in mini cones placed in shooter glasses (comes in a set of 4 per order). I like the ice cream very much although B doesn’t seem to share the same thought that much. It’s a very different kind of ice-cream, only for those who are adventurous with taste of food - it combines the saltiness of bacon and sweetness of ice-cream, almost like nibbling pork jerky with a cream spread.
It was an excellent total dinning experience considering the food, atmosphere and price. We spent a good 2 hours there (leisurely working off our laptops at the same time), only had we been able to fetch a table in the outdoor area, we would have surely stayed longer.
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