Tag Archives: Apple Martini

Breakfast at Blue Bar

Posted on by

0

Buffet breakfasts are usually reserved for holidays – that sort of indulgence is just too tempting for a regular day. When I was younger, I could never seem to help myself when standing in front of a vast selection of food, where everything just looks so good, and you say to yourself, “well, I’ll just try a little bit of everything…”.

I’ve gotten a little better since then. I’ve learned to appreciate quality over quantity of course, but also always try to employ a method to control myself …

Wear a tight dress.

One can never eat too much when wearing a tight dress!

DSC00378

As a birthday treat for a friend who loves breakfast, I took her to the Blue Bar at the Four Seasons Hotel today for their breakfast buffet. As I live in Hong Kong, I have not had the opportunity to try many breakfast buffets here, and thus cannot testify that it is better than any other. What I can say is that they have a limited but tasteful choice of hot and cold options, as well as a choice of freshly cooked eggs (scrambled, fried, boiled, poached, or an omelette), and coffee/tea is included.

DSC00383

You can choose from a selection of Asian and Western foods –  a self-serve congee station, prawn dumplings, and fried udon noodles. Or blueberry pancakes with vanilla cream and jam, crispy bacon and pork sausages (the cooked ham had a very funny taste and texture – not my cup of tea).  Some cold cuts and smoked salmon with toast, baguette or English muffins. A selection of cereals, muesli and fruit. And the most glorious selection of pastries – I have never had such a carb-laden buffet breakfast!

DSC00381 DSC00379 DSC00380

They were all so beautiful and I couldn’t help myself! The almond croissant was not as fluffy as I would have liked. It was not filled with frangipane as they sometimes are (and those are always my favorite), but it was covered in slivered almonds and dusted with icing sugar, making it a nice treat! I only had half of it to make room for the pear tart – the most beautiful pear tart I have tasted (which did have frangipane in it, yay!), moist, not too sweet, with a crumbly pastry. Also on offer was a Gugelhopf – a bundt shaped yeast cake traditionally containing raisins, almonds and cherry brandy, and usually enjoyed with coffee. One day, I’ll try to make it with this recipe.

Continue reading →

The best martini in town – Blue Bar’s Apple Martini

Posted on by

3

I know it’s a bold statement, but I think this may be the best martini in this little town called Hong Kong, and certainly one of my favorites. In fact, the rest of the drinks menu may as well not exist at The Four Season’s Blue Bar. Every time the bring over the menu, I politely wave it away, give the server a big smile and very proudly say “I know what I want….”

The Apple Martini at the Blue Bar is perfectly balanced, sweet (but I like it that way), flavourful, and fresh. It’s not too strong, which actually works in your favour, because it’s so morish you want to have at least 3 of them if you can. Made with vodka and fresh apple puree, then topped with a very thin slice of dehydrated apple, one could almost deem it healthy! The puree gives it dimension, and I almost feel like I’m having a snack at the same time!

And for one more special touch, it’s served on a barman’s tray, together with the cocktail shaker. They pour it into the glass at your table, then leave the shaker with you, which contains almost another full glass of the martini mixture. Talk about two for the price of one!

Please, do me a favour, go have one, and tell me you love it just as much as I do!

P.S. I apologise for the poor quality photo. I forgot my camera at home, and the Iphone 3 picture quality leaves much to be desired!