Watch Out For…

Last week, after receiving a promotional flyer from new brother-and-sister-owned enterprise Honey Pie (www.honeypiehk.com), which delivers homemade American-style cookies and muffins to offices and homes around the Central and Sheung Wan area, I decided to order a couple batches for an imminent dinner party and also for our always-ravenous colleagues at the office. Altogether, there are five types of cookies to choose from: oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, peanut butter, sugar and J-Bo’s Mess (a combo of chocolate chips, oats and coconut). I ordered all the flavors except for oatmeal raisin—blame that on a childhood binge gone wrong—and the cookies were delivered personally by Will (the brother in the duo) in simple cardboard boxes tied shut with a bright yellow ribbon. Justine (the sister) is the lady behind the recipes, and she boasts extensive baking experience in Houston and Chicago before making Hong Kong her home. Judging by how fast the cookies disappeared that night, I’d say they were pretty well-received, with people raving about the moist peanut butter ones as I fell in love with the dry and crunchy sugar variety. Some of the tasters thought the cookies were flatter than expected—well, what can I say, people think BIG when it comes to anything American. But taste-wise, there were no complaints. Honey Pie also delivers muffins in banana and blueberry flavors, in case cookies aren’t your thing. Remember to place your order at least a day in advance. Check out their website for more details!

Talk of the Town

Highly prized Japanese Kobe beef is available for the first time in Hong Kong! Now, before you get confused about this news, let me clarify that the term Kobe is actually not protected by non-Japanese law, so for all you know, any restaurant outside of Japan can get away with calling their beef Kobe beef—even when it’s not actually from the Hyogo prefecture of Japan, which is where all Kobe cows are born. In actual fact, Japan had never exported any Kobe beef outside its own country until last year, and even then it’s only been shipping the good stuff to our sister city Macau. (Boo.) But that’s all about to change as Hong Kong restaurants and supermarkets gear up to serve and stock this prestigious brand of meat for the very first time. Nobu (2/F, InterContinental Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui, 2721-1211), Honjin (G/F, Imperial Terrace, 356 Queen’s Rd. West, Sai Ying Pun, 2540-0880) and GyuJin (various branches) are among the first official restaurants carrying authentic Kobe, while you’ll also be able to find select cuts at ParknShop. I’ve also been receiving a whole bunch of press releases from other restaurants and venues that claim to be carrying Kobe since the official announcement was made, but since I’ve yet to verify those claims, I won’t add them to the list just yet. But that shouldn’t stop you from being happy over the fact we’re finally able to have this melt-in-mouth (and extremely expensive) delicacy without having to hop on the next flight to Tokyo.

The Langham group will be organizing a ginormous first-of-its-kind F&B fest from September 13 to 23. The Langham Food & Wine Festival 2012 (www.langhamfoodandwine.com) is essentially an 11-day long party featuring an endless series of lunches, teas, dinners and tastings served by chefs from all over the world that start pretty much from 10am each morning and last till dinner wraps up each night. Both The Langham in TST and Langham Place in Mong Kok will be hosting the events. France, New Zealand, Canada, Norway, Spain, Japan, England and our very own Hong Kong are all participating regions, and although I’m not too acquainted with the credentials of the overseas restaurants/chefs that are involved (except for Canada’s Susur Lee, who I know has quite a solid reputation in Toronto), most of the establishments represented by the chefs boast Michelin-star status or are otherwise renowned in their home cities. Of course, you’ll also be sampling the cuisines of Langham’s own star chefs, too. Tickets to each event start at around $200 and go into the thousands. The comprehensive program can be found on the website, where you’ll also be able to make your bookings.

Email me at awong@asia-city.com.hk or follow me on Twitter: @adele_hklife.