North Carolina Grill (Hong Kong) - Preview Dinner
Black rice
The baby calamari looks raw in the picture ... well, there is a reason for it. It was almost RAW! The eyes, ink sac and all are still in tact. But because they are so small and fresh, it does not taste chewy at all.
The risotto is cooked in squid ink. Cut into the skinned heirloom cherry tomato & blend it's juices with the risotto and fava beans - the combination is gorgeous!
Haaahaa ... I heard an older gentlemen guest ask the GM Joan Lopez why the baby calamari's eyes are still intact!
This is an easy disk to frame ... the colors and combination of the ingredients easily compliment each other not only in taste but also visually
Best view as a set: 21 of 42
A dash of the freshly grated Wasabi, a sprig of green onion, a few fried onion chips, top grade Wagyu and Maitake ... dip all into the delicate Citrus soy.
The Wagyu just melts in your mouth
If I frame this shot 0.5" lower, it would be perfect ... Now the only flaw is the Citrus Soy bowl is slightly cut off.
The same location in LKF Hotel has undergone some changes in it's naming, but this time around there has also been a major shift into a new ownership structure - and the same can probably be said about the food in focus. Although the New Menu has been updated and retains some of the past popular items as the restaurant name suggests, this North Carolina Grill restaurant (N.C. Grill) is trying to focus more on pork dishes. And fellow foodies explained, that North Carolina cuisine revolves around roasted or slow-cooked BBQ pork dishes and seafood. The updated restaurant also uses some apple wood to grill food here, which is a novelty to find in itself and we were keen to explore..
Decanting service is very professional here..
A rarer to find French Mineral Water
Perrier Jouet Grand Brut Champagne to start off the evening..
2004 Vintage Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque -
falling into good drinking window
Minestrone Soup -
Came with the right ingredients, but probably prefer it to be more stew like, and with more aromatic components, say from celery and herbs.
Lobster Bisque with lobster knuckle -
very rich in lobster flavour. I liked this but it's quite powerful, just a tad bitter but acceptable.
Bread Basket -
Apparently they might improve this bread. Stay put.
Grilled Imported American Asparagus with parmesan cheese -
quite decent
Alaskan King Crab Cake -
The meat was tasty, but a little too minced up. Getting there..
Chicken Caesar Salad -
This seemed a bit basic, the sauce missing some oomph factor such as a cheesiness or anchovies base, or with a bit more bacon. The chicken meat was surprisingly tender enough.
Manila Clams Linguine alle Vongole -
The pasta was cooked decent, probably needed more clams juice flavour. The Manila Clams were a special grade one and really good quality. Probably could do with more white wine reduction too.. Nice Manila clams though!
Braised Beef Risotto with Red Wine -
Flavour was really beefy and winey, nice.
Risotto a little soft this time.
A lot of wines we drank on the night -
From 2 Champagnes, 1 Sauvignon, 1 Riesling, 1 Chardonnay, then to some Cabernet Merlot, Zinfandel and Pinot Nero, to a Lagarde 'Henry Gran Guarda No.1' brought in by foodie friend Eddie which is like a Bordeaux claret but also blended with Malbec.
Applewood Grilled Alaskan Kings Crab Platter, with Boston Lobster,
Sole Fish and Grilled Scallops and Zucchini -
This is a hot seafood platter. Everyone focused on the Crab legs which were of good quality, although these cam! e too ea rly and were returned to the kitchen to keep warm so became dryer than usual by their 2nd return.
Quality French Cutlery -
Expecting some meat to come..
Roasted Iberico Pork Belly (allegedly from the US),
on vegetables & cranberry mustard sauce -
The skin wasn't perfect this time as it was a bit hard to cut through,
but the slow cooked meat quality is there. Sauce is good.
Grilled Pineapple should go with the pork -
yummy!
Apple Wood Oven Grilled Ribeye, Australian Wagyu -
The grilling imparted a slight wood smokiness, but not as much as say a hardcore smoker grill or apple-smoked bacon for comparison. A bit rare to find in Hong Kong. Bistecca and A La Maison or Ippei-An also creates a similar effect. Steak was cooked well. Meat wasn't too Wagyu like in taste but more meaty like. I suggest ordering the Flannery! Reserve steaks instead, as they have Exclusive Rights to them from Opus Grill days..
Truffled Macaroni and Cheese -
Quite fragrant with a real truffle like, not a champignon-mixed truffle paste. Quite enjoyable and at only $ 68. There might be better ones in town but the one here was more than acceptable.
Highlight - Oven Baked Pork loin with Spinach, Salsa and Honey Pineapple jus -
This was really better than the above Pork belly. Very juicy, and has real pork taste.
We had two plates of this and both were juicy but with one carrying more charred taste, the 2nd one was more porky in a good way.
Aglio e Olio Pasta -
Decent, but not as good as Piccolo Pizzeria yet.
Needed more white wine and browned garlic aroma,
perhaps a bit more chili as well?
Alsace Pinot Gris 'dessert' wine -
! Just off dry and nice for ending the evening.
Good suggestion by their Sommelier
Dessert Platter - $ 128.
The lemon tart was quite good, but it was the fruit tart and chocolate cake which stole the show. Great value for money, the quality is higher than some 5-6 star hotel afternoon teas..
Pineapple Bun with Gelato -
This is the dessert chef's invention. I had the Maccha one and it had the right flavours. The pineapple bun was more like a choux pastry but it was fun!
I want to snack on this regularly..
Wine Storage -
The wine selection here is based on either well known French wines or they also carry a few more interesting boutique winery wines with quality matching a class above. The food ingredients here were of superb quality relative to the peers, despite charging less. If anything did let it down it is in the cooking consistency which obviously takes time to acquaint yourself then fine tune.
Price: HKD $ 100
Ease of Access: 3.5/5 (5 mins walk from Central Wan MTR station, in Lan Kwai Fong)
Food: ♕♕♕♕ - ♕♕♕♕ 1/2
Opening Hours:
Mon to Sun - 11am to 23pm.
Address: 中環蘭桂坊雲咸街33號LKF Tower7樓
7/F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central
Ph: 2526 3822
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