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2018-03-20
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Growing up with numerous American dramas from ER, Lizzie Mcguire, Gilmore Girls to Gossip Girls (Oooops revealing my generation ), I have always had an unaccountable American dream. This dream was realized few years ago, and I am still mesmerized from time to time. Marking the start of March, I decided to check Alvy’s out, a joint styling itself as a NYC bar and centering on the art of New York style pizzas and craft beers by a local brand, Young Master Brewery, in Kennedy Town. It was destined
Marking the start of March, I decided to check Alvy’s out, a joint styling itself as a NYC bar and centering on the art of New York style pizzas and craft beers by a local brand, Young Master Brewery, in Kennedy Town. It was destined to be a night to remind myself of my childish dream after surviving the rather “hit-and-miss” February.
Bringing my half-dead soul to the frontage of the restaurant at 7 pm on a Friday night, the crimson signage “Alvy’s” and the red brick wall discharged the best of its ability to bring lively vibes. A push on the door traveled me back to a NYC bar right away – the scene was set in an earthy wooden tone with checkered floors, amber lighting and 90s rock, where the lazy boozy souls wafting in air.
First greeting me was a long wooden bar table with a wall of colourful whisky bottles staking up.
Turning right from the long table revealed a spacious dining area lined with wooden tables. The décor was unassuming but moderation was all we need after a week of hustle and bustle.
My friends arrived a bit earlier to catch the Happy Hour deals - half-priced pizza upon order of 1.8 L beer. Since pizza-hot-wings-beer is my forever favourite combo to wind up an exhausting week, there was no doubt to start our night with Summer of 1842 (1.8 L beer), Bak Gwei (pizza), A La Vodka (pizza), Yu Kwen Yick (hot wings) and meat balls.
Summer of 1842 $246 [rated 8.2/10]
This Summer of 1842 brewed by Young Master Brewery definitely took my eyes to the glory of craft beer – intense hop flavours intermingled with fruity and floral notes. It tasted more refreshing than bitter. It was just right on point for a girls’ Friday night.
Summer of 1842
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Bak Gwei $128 [rated 7.4/10]
The pizza – Bak Gwei – was swiftly served to our table few minutes after our order. Centering itself on a New York pub, they stuck with New York-style pizza, which was, quite authentic.
Bak Gwei
$128
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Very typical American style to play strong and intense flavours. The base, slathered with overflowing lactic gravure béchamel and mozzarella, was super thin, soft and pliable to be folded for eating; Crust along the edge was well charred with blisters, thick yet crispy.Despite their emphasis on making the sourdough with beer yeast, I was dismayed that the sourdough could not showcase its distinguishing “slightly sour, chewy and creamy” crumb.
Bak Gwei
$128
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Toppings of Bak Gwei were the acid test on the ever melting pot of fusion, but fell short of my expectation. Featuring Hong Kong’s most acclaimed food char siu and sauce geung yeong as the toppings, the pizza failed to step up the punchy flavours.
Bak Gwei
$128
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To be qualified as good cha siu, the pork should be well roasted to retain a charred and crispy skin glazed with honey while the meat inside should be succulent and tender. However, char siu was chopped into too tiny cubes that these grubs were with no hint of char siu. As for geung yeong, ginger and scallions is the key. To my dismay, despite chunks of green scallions, they were not tasteable.
Bak Gwei
$128
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A La Vodka $128 [rated 7.6/10]
Compared with the previous Bak Gwei, A La Vodka was more scrumptious stung with overloading of bocconcini mozzarella.
A La Vodka
$128
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These springy savory nobs contrasted nicely with the tarty tomato base that definitely brought me into a dilemma of indulgence or self-control. Well, as a shameless foodie, I, with no hesitation, opted for indulgence munching on 3 slices of it!
A La Vodka
$128
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Yu Kwen Yick Fried Chicken $88 [rated 7.9/10]
However mediocre the pizzas seemed to be, our excitement was spurred again with the hot wings. It was not uncommon to see Buffalo wings on menus in Hong Kong, but Alvy’s was one of few that resembled American Buffalo wings well – unbreaded and deep-fried to golden brown , followed with a blanket of hot sauce.
Instead of Buffalo sauce, they used Yu Kwen Yick, one of the oldest, locally-produced chili sauce. Alvy’s had a good smash in this round of fusion war. The chili sauce was unexpectedly tongue-numbing yet flavourful, basically second to none to intensify the crunchy chicken wings. Luckily, the dish was complemented with celeries and blue cheese to counter the heft of heat.
Meatball $168 [rated 8/10]
Meatballs were completely to my liking as Alvy’s played hard to stay American. Meats were minced to be ragu like and churned into fist-sized balls. Seared to deep golden brown, the rather loose and soft globes were able to stay in shape and retain the super tangy and succulent inside.
Meatball
$168
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The dish was further accented with Sunday sauce and hefts of Parmesan drizzled on top. Tarty chunks of tomatoes and savory cheese brought the already perfect meatballs more lift that made them a compulsory item of the night!
Meatball
$168
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Going home with a big belly of calories from American food was a satisfaction beyond words. Such satisfaction was two-fold: courage and love from my friends and the sense of determination from my good old memories. I will definitely come back to Alvy’s again!
Bak Gwei
$128
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