Wednesday 30 November 2011

Brunch & Co on holiday!


A very quick little post to let you know what we've been up to during November.  The Brunch & Co kitchen was rather quiet as we had a steady stream of family & friends visiting us during the month.  It was great to catch up and spend quality time with our guests.  An exciting highlight of our time off was our very first trip to The Great Wall in China - that's a picture of us at the Wall up above.  What an amazing place...  We even managed to experience the oven mitt being in someone else's hand for a change when the Brunch & Co team plus Brunch & Co's parents' in laws visited a private kitchen in Hong Kong called Ta Pantry.  Here they are preparing our lunch in their tiny kitchen.


Private kitchens are all the rage in Hong Kong so we were keen to try one out in between the obligatory Peak tram ride, double decker tram ride from Causeway Bay to Kennedy Town and a Star Ferry trip across the harbor... ok and perhaps a bit of shopping!  You can learn more about this foodie destination here http://tapantry.wordpress.com/.
Finding the place took a little bit of sleuth work but we managed to find the entrance, squeeze our pre-lunch selves into the teeniest lift for the short ride up to the hidden restaurant.  The four of us were treated by Chef, Esther Sham, to a delightful five course lunch plus an amuse bouche.  Each course was deliciously crafted and beautifully & thoughtfully presented.  We especially enjoyed the scallops with a green mango curry tian sprinkled with pomelo & served in cocktail glasses.  Rather decadent and very yummy.  My photo doesn't really do it justice....


The citrusy crabmeat ravioli was also delicate and delicious and floated in an amazing broth.  I loved the tiny little green broad beans perched so perfectly on the top.


The restaurant doubles as a warehouse/showroom for Esther's brother's huge wine collection so we were surrounded by hundreds of very tempting bottles, most from California.  Even the shower cubicle in the guest bathroom was full of wine crates!  If you do decide to go, bring a jumper as the apartment has to be kept cool for the wine!

Well that's our month off over, we're looking forward to our next brunch on the 11th December - it promises to be merry & full of festive treats!  Brunch dates for the new year to be published shortly, we hope to see you all soon, in the meantime happy brunching to one and all!