Another week.... this one's
flown by. In fact, this year seems to be flying by, how is it already
almost the end of June???
And on a similar note, how is it already Midsummer?!? And if
we've really hit Midsummer we feel seriously robbed. So far both Hong
Kong and London seem to have been complete wash outs. Here's to the rest
of summer being a proper old-school one with sunshine, picnics, daisy chains,
ice-lollies and paddling pools...
Aside from summer dreaming, this week's been pretty action packed.
Lots of work but actually just as much play! So as I limp a little
hungover into the weekend, a round-up of the week just gone. This week
the Mice have mostly been....
Trying out new Hong Kong hot spots. I
blogged this week about a few new(ish)
Hong Kong restaurants that
I've tried out over the last couple of months and the flurry of new openings
shows no signs of abating. This week I tried out two new bars, The Quinary and Brickhouse.
Seeking to apply El Bulli style food science to engage all five
senses with its cocktails, The Quinary shakes up some pretty impressive
concoctions. Located on Hollywood Road, right in the middle of Central,
this brand new cocktail spot blends comfy leather sofas with a never-ending,
sleek, black bar and padlocked, mesh-fronted shelving units crammed with a
menagerie of trophies, books and knick knacks. Mixologist magician,
Antonio Lai, whips up his sensory drinks using an arsenal of high-tech kit
including a rotary evaporator and a centrifuge which are proudly displayed in a
Science lab area at the end of the bar. I highly recommend the Earl Grey
Caviar Martini which comes topped with a swirl of bubble bath like foam and
laden with petit pois sized spheres of Earl Grey infused 'caviar'. The
Touch of Rose and the Oolong Tea Collins are also delicious - my memory of
everything after that gets a little bit hazy though. The truffle fries
are apparently incredible, maybe an order of those next time will help to make
my head less hurty the morning after...
The Quinary
G/F 56-58 Hollywood Road
Central, Hong Kong,
+(852) 2851 3223
The Quinary
Image via: www.timeout.com.hk
For cocktails with a more South American flavour, head to the Mexico-City inspired, Brickhouse. Hidden down an alley in the middle of Lang Kwai Fong, the graffitied concrete, mish-mash furniture and laidback favela-style decor is a breath of fresh air in a city filled with sleek, minimalist copycat bars. Service is very friendly if a little erratic (while the boys sat with empty glasses for ten minutes us girls were brought cocktails we hadn't ordered before we'd finished the ones that we were drinking... the sort of sexism I definitely won't ever complain about...). The drinks taste dangerously non-alcoholic - the raspberry and chili Diabla is as deadly delicious as it sounds and the pineappley Brickhouse Margarita is a great twist on a classic. We soaked up the alcohol with a few snacks. The chips with five salsas were a total winner - super salty, crunchy tortilla chips with killer guacamole and an array of other more unusual dips. The tacos weren't bad either - the pulled pork one was definitely the best. My only real complaint would be the prices. After hard days in the office, we did get through a fair few cocktails but a bill of HK$2,400 between four of us for casual drinks and a couple of snacks seemed a little excessive....
Brickhouse
G/F, 20A D’Aguilar Street,
Lan Kwai Fong,
Central, Hong Kong,
+(852) 2810 0560
Brickhouse
Image via: http://www.facebook.com/brickhousehk
Dusting off my glasses and planning a bookwormish couple of months in a bid to get through mammoth literary masterpiece, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, before the film release this autumn. Having watched and re-watched the breathtakingly beautiful trailer (released earlier this week) I'm determined to read the book this summer. But at 864 pages, to avoid making my Mary Poppins handbag even more wincingly heavy than it currently is, I'm going to be downloading it onto my Kindle. So if you see me reading my Kindle on the MTR, it's Tolstoy that I'm reading and definitely not Jilly Cooper... If you haven't seen the trailer yet, here's a little peek at what promises to be a total cinematic gem.
Mourning the demise of 'Y', as Yves Saint Laurent announces that it will change its name to Saint Laurent Paris from spring next year. New creative director of the brand, Heidi Slimane will be making the change as part of a rebranding exercise designed to take the brand in a fresh, modern new direction. We're just not sure that SLP has quite the same glam ring as YSL... A great excuse to stock up on anything YSL with a 'Y' on it immediately before the 'Y' becomes extinct.
£1,308.33
Image via: www.net-a-porter.com
£377
Image via: www.net-a-porter.com
£350
Image via: www.net-a-porter.com
Happy Friday!
x
The Mice
