A 3 Michelin Star Italian Restaurant in Hong Kong? That's 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana!

Moo, the male human and
Chef Umberto Bombana

After having practically nothing other than Chinese food or a bad facsimile of Western food for over two weeks, the humans and I were dying for some quality Italian food. We had found out about 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana through the Top 100 Restaurants in the World list, sitting at number 39 in 2013, and hoped that a dinner there would finally satiate us. Reservations turned out to be harder to get than we thought via our usual means, the Visa Concierge service. However, a quick in person trip to the restaurant proved fruitful, as we were told that dining after 9:30pm any night of the week would be possible. Given that it's the only 3 1/2 Michelin Star Italian restaurant located outside of Italy, it's no wonder it was so popular! Plus they were running their special alba white truffle menu, which the staff informed us was incredibly popular.

Mr. Moo's Whisky Explorations: Whisky Tasting

Scotch!

Similar to wine and coffee, there are steps to tasting scotch. Although some things are familiar, including smelling and tasting, the jargon tends to differ, as does how you perform each step (For example: You don’t slurp the whisky like you would slurp coffee during a tasting).

If you want a more eloquently written version of how to go about tasting scotch, try the Master of Malt’s How to Taste Whisky Guide. This is my very basic understanding of tasting scotch.

Five Star Lunch without Five Star Prices at Le Salon de The de Joel Robuchon

Best bread ever!

After having a lovely afternoon tea experience at Le Salon de The de Joel Robuchon, we decided to try out their location at The Landmark for lunch. Oddly enough on a weekend afternoon, it was fairly easy to get a table just by walking in. Unlike their location at the IFC Mall, The Landmark location was semi enclosed allowing them to serve liquor so I was able to order a glass of bubbly to enjoy with lunch. The restaurant itself also seems more like a restaurant with the majority of their tables inside a semi enclosed area, while they had a few tables down the hallway overlooking the atrium in the middle of The Landmark.

North 53 - When Tasting Menus go Awry

Witch's Fizz

I had heard and read so many good things about North 53, a restaurant whose concept is to elevate Canadian cuisine using exclusively Canadian ingredients. They also happen to be one of the few restaurants that I have come across in Edmonton that actually has a tasting menu option on their regular menu, something that I rarely found here, but often found and enjoyed abroad such as in London, Paris, and even Hong Kong.

The space itself was long and narrow, with a very impressive looking bar that dominated one side of the restaurant. The furniture was modern, feature mostly metal bar stools and chairs, not the most comfortable furniture as we found out but thankfully I was seated on the soft, comfortable banquette.

Go Vietnamese with Lemongrass Grill

I love Vietnamese food, particularly spring rolls and Vietnamese Iced Coffee, so I knew that I had to check out Lemongrass Grill at some point. They have a fairly extensive menu ranging from smaller items such as spring rolls and skewers to heartier fare such as Vietnamese Grilled Subs, otherwise known as banh mi.

I wound up ordering the pork spring rolls, a bahn mi and a Vietnamese iced coffee. The pork spring rolls were a bit dry inside and could have used a bit more seasoning, but I quite enjoyed the banh mi. There was a nice amount of pate spread on the bun, lots of crisp vegetables, topped with well-seasoned and moist chicken. Their banh mi can be served with a variety of proteins including chicken, pork, feeb *eek!* and tofu.