thank god it's DIRTY DAY (1)

2020的第一個月如疾風匆匆吹過，未知大家過得可好？

在這寒冷而充滿恐懼和不安的時代，希望大家也能身心安康，生活開心快活．

最近留家時間多了，心想也是合適的時間去整理一下雜亂的咖啡日誌．雖然在instagram上以扮有深度的相片配以慵懶的三言兩語，簡單快捷也滿爽的（這正正是不少新生代KOL / 作家經營社交平台的玩法不是嗎），但畢竟，咳，我還是希望能認認真真寫一下寫實而非矯情的文字，所以還是回歸本業，好好經營一下blog．



好，言歸正傳．差不多十年前我曾寫過一系列關於Latte的文章（可惜不少優秀的cafe都已關閉了，例如Cafe Deadend）．既然最近四出品嚐了不少cafe的dirty，就讓我也寫寫’thank god its dirty day’系列作為後續吧．

德國．腸仔和豬手以外

說起德國，大家想到的有甚麼？世界盃，足球名星或是benz？如果說’德國菜’，浮現的應該不外烤腸仔，燒豬手和大杯啤酒．德國菜在很多人心目中都是份量又大又膩又肉淋淋的almost primitive cuisine，但事實並不如想像般單調．

英國。不只下午的Afternoon tea， Tiny Tim's Tearoom

回想起來，住在英國大半年，其實自己煮多，外出吃少．

說英國是美食沙漠一點沒誇張，卻於離開前才發覺自己原來未曾Afternoon tea -
喂，說的是英式鬆餅，三文治，是英國食品中比較正常的食物喎，難得來到這邊生活，連一次下午茶也沒喝過，怎過得去？

倫敦。我的能量補給站，Milk Bar/Nordic Bakery/Monmouth Coffee

我是個咖啡癮君子，每天不喝一杯，總覺精神痿糜．加上難得到咖啡文化豐富的歐洲，不多喝實在說不下去！

（The BEST Cappuccino @Pandenus，米蘭，意大利）

所以無論行程多緊密，我都盡量每天找間不同的cafe，喝一杯cappuccino，吃一件麵包，為接下來的異國旅途展開序幕，又或者在無盡的行行行中喘息一刻．更何況不少cafe提供免費wifi，又有地方充電？所以對我或我的gadget來說，cafe都是極重要的補給站．

先和大家分享在倫敦到過的三間cafe．

一路向隅 - Corner Cafe

最近，香港的咖啡小館熱好像突然回溫，而且最為大家津津樂道的，更是數間設於老區的茶館。屋子，松鼠，我愛你，以及最新的牧羊少年，都跟身處的社區顯得格格不入，強烈的反差卻令他們的特色更加吸引。

奶黃萬歲 - 奇華至尊月餅

因某酒店的奶黃月餅一炮而紅，甚至有千金難買一奶黃的熾熱炒賣，其他月餅廠商近年亦積極推出奶黃月餅系列，希望能分一口熨手的大餅．不過， 出色的其實不多．

這天就有機會品嚐到由老字號奇華餅家推出的迷你蛋黃奶皇月餅和另一新口味，品質並沒讓我失望了。

變色龍 - Simplylife Foodplace + The Petit Café

常說美心集團像隻巨型的變色龍：身為全港數一數二的飲食集團，它卻不只以單一形態出現．

美心快餐或美心粵菜先不說，其實不少外省菜館並屬美心所有，走年青路線的八月糸列並分屬其下。

愛,由i(我)開始 - iBakery

西環在變天：隨著老店的黯然退出，進駐的不是連鎖食肆，就是最投機的地產商．但沿大街直入，在超級市場的旁邊，有間毫不起眼，卻洋溢愛的小小咖啡麵包店．

這，叫iBakery：名字改得妙，i讀音近’愛’，也是’我’的意思．一字雙義，是指愛是從個人出發，從而感染他人的意義嗎？

單買比較好 - Cova Pasticceria & Confetteria

才吃過豐富的自助餐，這天又吃甜品自助餐，除了玩命以外，我也想不到另一個更貼切的詞語來形容我這兩天的行為。

不過難得一年，偶爾為之也就算了。

你當我是浮誇吧 - Sevva

在文華廳吃過非常滿意的午餐，覺得意猶未盡的我們想找個地方來個下場，喝杯東西．

在中環走來走去，最終還是去了位於太子大廈的sevva，一嘗做闊太的滋味！

老師的咖啡 - The Garden Cafe

前天很「早」才上床，第二天又晨早爬起來工作，自知頭腦不清醒會影響表現，所以盤算在上「學」途上的咖啡室停停，買杯咖啡，叉叉電好上路。

名叫The Garden Cafe 的咖啡店不是第一次來了-不久前還在附近讀書，間中也會來這裡開飯；也因為有兩位很敬重的老師習慣來這裡偷啡，總覺得這間她們喜愛的小店頭上戴着個美麗光環。今早未能像兩位良師般悠閒地嘆咖啡，只能匆匆而去，實在可惜。

步進小店，友善的咖啡師迎來打個招呼；急忙點了杯skimmed latte外賣，他動作也跟著快，淘好錢那刻咖啡就準備好；多得他，我也順利準時上「學」去。

西環的後花園 - The Village

雖然不算西環人，卻因樓下有小巴一路向西，所以經常落西環嘆點心飲奶茶。

西區出名舊樓多，是老人區，環境不好；誰不知原來在食店林立的厚和街尾，也藏有一間清幽脫俗的咖啡店...

 步過港味濃郁的街頭，經過茶樓、泰國菜、串燒店後，就能看見門口佈滿花草的The village；其綠化的門口和兩邊的唐樓互不搭弦，店內的悠閒氣氛好像並不屬於這個老區..

Oh my GOD! - May's Cookies

Trying out cakes that only come in a whole can be really hard if you were born into a family without a sweet tooth. Except me, of course. While eating sugared stuff is literally a piece of cake to me, my parents aren't as fond of them as I do. While its okay buying mini cakes which they push away after taking a really small forkful, saying 'you take the rest' (and I am reluctant to), I am handicapped in having cakes that dont come in slices. Like, I never get to try the chocolate cake from Awfully Chocolate. Most importantly, many mini cakes dont actually taste the same as their big brother. Trust me - I have tried.
The crunch cake from May's cookies has always been on my the-cake-i-want-to-have wishlist, however I cant as it doesnt come in a mini. I was thrilled when i learn it would come in a 4-inch, for a limited period in June. It wasnt exactly cheap (i thought, not until i found out how much Maxim's charged for their 3/4 angel cake), but I ordered one online straightaway.
In a gloomy afternoon with my phone running out of battery, I picked up the cake at May's Cookies in Wanchai,somewhere near Hopewell Centre. I nearly got lost, having no access to the map app on my phone - that's how modern electric gadgets have induced backward evolution in mankind. :(

The mini cake was really, really small. It came with a pack of caramel crunch, which was slightly out-of-proportionally big and generous.

We cut the cake after our dinner, and I deliberately ate less to save some room for the cake I had always wanted to try. Even the box was tiny - more like a tiny milk carton than a carrier for a cake meant to be shared among four adults.

Ta-teh! The cake looked really nice. White and pure, the appearance resonates with the beautiful name of the cake. Its literally an angel, and a beautiful one, too. There was no decor but the little fluffs of cream, spurring outward, were enough.

The only decor it needed were the caramel crunches, perhaps. The bag of crunches had enough to cover the whole cake actually, and the photo showed only 2/3 of it. Maybe they did not have a 'mini' bag of that and just gave away crunches meant for the cakes in regular sizes.

Cutting carefully into the light and fluffy cake I quartered it, exposing the layered sponge cakes. It looked lighter in reality than in the photo but was equally light and sporous. With thick layers of cream in between too. They felt denser and stiffer than what I tasted from Ginger Bakery (which had been whisked really light) and Clover Cake and Coffee (which was much thinner). O was it because I chilled the cake?

And finally - I got to taste it. A cake is no good no matter how fancy it looked if it tasted awful. I savored and could taste nothing like cake but the cream and even sweeter crunch. I thought it was the problem with my tastebuds as i quickly sampled a forkful of pure spongecake, but it tasted bland. Like really bland. And I did not mean 'light' or 'healthy' or 'sugar-free' but BLAND. The cake disappointingly tasted as if the chef had forgotten to put sugar or eggs into it. I know Angel's cake should be made with minimum amount of sugar, no butter but mainly egg white, but there is much difference between a TASTELESS cake and a LIGHT AND FLUFFY cake. There was just no taste in it, not even the slightest hint of sweetness. Or whatever.

The stiff cream was also weird as there was a faint hint of...oil that had gone off in it. I could not explain why that was so. It was just WEIRD, tasting stale oil in an Angel's cake that was supposed to be really light and oil-free. The only thing I like about the cake were the caramel crunches, surely very fresh since they were crunchy, and not TOO sweet, but it was not enough to save the cake. In short, it was a huge disappointment, and I could not understand why others like it so much.

I do not mean to be offensive, but i really think even the one from Maxims' was much better than this, not to mention Ginger's or Clover's.

But I am still glad that i bought and tried it - you never know what's good without knowing what's bad. Sadly, this from May's Cookies was on the 'bad' side while the lemonish crunch cake from Ginger was the 'good' one.

Now i know where I should go for a good slice of Angel's cake after comparing among different bakerys - Ginger Bakery@Wanchai. :D Best in town (so far)!

May's Cookies
香港灣仔進教圍6號地下
http://www.mayscookies.com.hk

幸福的味道? - 幸福餅店

生日沒有蛋糕始終不像樣，當日剛好身左東區，就去最近在公仔箱節目有提及的北角幸福餅店買個脆脆蛋糕，自己順便可以試試它的出品。

幸好預先打了去問蛋糕存貨，想買的脆脆蛋糕只有一千零一塊，剛好買到了，真幸運！原來也不算很貴，這樣迷你的只是廿五元，感覺比其他店便宜。

在餐廳吃完主菜，本來只拜託店員將點了蠟燭的小蛋糕端上來就可，但想不到他們居然特別拿了隻凍碟來放置，還在碟上用朱古力醬抹了花紋裝飾，蛋糕也弄得漂漂亮亮的，真是有心思又令人驚喜！

白色的忌廉薄薄一層包裹住海綿蛋糕，加上吃時才添的焦糖脆脆，外形滿分。切開時覺得蛋糕回彈力很強，也真的很鬆。不過吃下去就會覺得它只是鬆而不軟，甚至有點乾和粗，有overbake的感覺，不過味道是對板的充滿蛋香和甜，和不太漏的忌廉很夾。脆脆就也ok，和ginger bakery的差不多。但因為蛋糕本身太乾，比起後者的濕潤質感，個人比較偏好ginger的，更喜歡它的檸檬清香。

不過，生日蛋糕味道是其次，背後的訊息和祝福才是最重要。

來年大家也要努力！生日快樂！

幸福餅店 Clover Cake & Coffee House
126 Wharf Road, North Point
http://www.clover-cakecoffeehouse.com

Cafe O-kay - Cafe O

I usually avoid going to the Cafe O along Caine Road for a good reason, but since it is one of the only two cafes open for breakfast along Caine Road (the other being Starbucks), I was left with no choice the other morning but to eat there.
After placing order at the counter we walked upstairs and sat at the table with an amazing aerial view of the water bar, so we could watch the servers made the juice, smoothies and of course, our coffee.

The second floor of the cafe had a disturbing reddish lighting and the temperature was not very consistent. There was also a stale smell from the sofas too, and the tables felt unclean. Luckily it was quite quiet as it was early in the morning.

We ordered two flat whites, a banana slice cake and a granola bar, my second favourite breakfast food after the breakfast trifle.

Minutes later the servers gave us our breakfast. I was quite disappointed by the flat white tho, as the frothed (or foamed?) milk was really very, very thin and weak. The coffee was too sour and the texture was watery. It was awful and I struggled to finish it only for the sake of staying awake in the afternoon.

My granola bar was quite huge in portion, perfect for brunch if you plan not to have any food in the afternoon. It was eaten cold but was not crumble to touch, and the flakes of granola, muesli, fruits and nuts still stuck very well to each other. It tasted sweet but not over-sweetened, and I liked how the texture and flavour were rich and varied. There were flakes of shredded coconuts that gave the granola bar a mushy and chewy texture above everything - lovely!

The banana loaf slice tasted authentically banana-ish but it was really stomach-filling - not a bad brunch food if you have a small appetite and plan not to have lunch.

Not a bad place to have a leisure brunch or lunch, but you have to be careful with what you order - ALWAYS order the pizzas or pockets as they will be freshly prepared only when you order, while the salads and pastas and cakes are always mixed and cooked in advance, only reheated in the microwave.

Cafe O
G/F, 61 Caine Road, Mid-Levels

沒有薑的Ginger Bakery

在灣仔拿了新鏡頭，肚子咕咕叫，便想吃點賣相漂亮的東西，滿足自己之餘也可以試玩新玩具。在灣仔值得吃的餐廳有很多，但大部份都是吃中式或港式食物的，其賣相,好極有限。本來想去華星冰室吃個奶醬豬，但正是放lunch的時間，華星想必會很逼，坐得不舒服也沒法慢慢試機。所以想了想，就把心一橫，去一間想吃了很久的小餅店！

沿軒尼詩道走不遠,就能看見Ginger bakery,天藍色的門面和簡約的logo很是搶眼.看來lunch一族並未將之攻陷，小小的店子只有一枱客人在吃意粉。午餐套餐的意粉和三文治都不吸引,份量又太大,就決定來件蛋糕吧！

時間還早,還是滿滿的蛋糕櫃裡有好幾款都很吸引，有lemon meringue pie,chocolate cashew tart,banofee pie,還有最愛的apple crumble!但問過不會附上雪糕或雲尼拿汁，還是下次外賣回家自己再加工更合心意! 於是在同樣吸引的crunch cake,banana chiffon cake和carrot cake之間,選擇了前者,再加一杯latte,就是很滿足的lunch了.

坐下等了一會,咖啡和蛋糕很快就送到面前,都是漂漂亮亮的,正好!

先嘗latte($30),用上白色高身瓷杯盛載,和普遍用的闊身杯有別,感覺雖不太..正宗,但比較homey!杯面窄,表面也有縮小的心形拉花,相信難道更高!欣賞完畢再輕嘗一口,覺得奶泡溫太高,也不厚,但打得很幼滑,表面沒有甚麼多餘的氣泡,喝來質感細膩又舒服.咖啡的味道濃郁而不單薄,又不會偏酸,很是討好.
不過一杯高身的咖啡要喝完也不容易,最終喝剩了三分一 - 如果有細杯份量可以點,就不用浪費了.

輕嘗過咖啡,再來就是小店很著名的crunch cake($30).乍看切得薄薄的蛋糕很其實高很厚,裡面的海綿蛋糕與兩朕忌廉梅花間竹地黃白黃白的很是吸引!

灑在表面和碟邊的caramel crunch給得慷慨,真是老套點也要說句:真是開心死!
味道呢,是intense的甜,但並不膩,一吃之下就會覺得美心的脆脆味道又淡又假.強烈的焦糖味和海綿蛋糕的蛋香,一脆一軟,正是絕配!

海綿蛋糕並未像預期般乾錚錚,也不是美心那種輕盈得像在吃空氣,反而偏濕潤,但最底層的蛋糕明顯比頂兩層的更重身和濕,是因為cake mixture先沉澱再烘焙的關係?如果質地更一致就更好了!
但味道很不錯,濃郁得來除了蛋香,還有陣陣清新檸檬香,是用檸檬皮的原故吧!個人幾欣賞這種做法,清新的淡酸能中和了忌廉無可避免的甜膩 - 雖然和ready-to-use的whipping cream相比,這homemade的明顯輕盈得多,也帶天然又濃郁的奶香.但從四方八面地包圍住蛋糕的忌廉,份量可是一點也不少,雖這天午餐就只吃這件,但吃著吃著,還是覺得太肥膩:覺得殘忍又浪費,也要飛掉點才敢繼續吃!

話說回來,這件crunch cake雖然非盡善盡美,但已算是吃過當中最好的!相信舌頭嘗過這件高水準之作,以後再也接受不了美心的同類型出品-這一吃,真的無回頭!

下次-會有下次的-這小店舒服又homey的感覺很討好,除了crunch cake以外的蛋糕和pie也很吸引,所以希望可以逐一品嚐,當然包括最愛的apple crumble! 在臨走時也詢問了whole cake的詳情,這裡6寸的mini cake($170)聽起來很合適又吸引,希望不久的將來會有機會訂一個來嘗嘗吧!

Ginger Bakery
G/F, 55 Johnston Road, Wan Chai
Mon - Fri: 10:00 am-8:00 pm
Sat - Sun: 11:00 am-8:00 pm
28611100
http://www.gingerbakery.hk

魔鬼與你同慶賀

有友人生日,思前想後,最終在美心買來一個朱古力味的魔鬼蛋糕同慶賀.

戚風形的蛋糕表面有一朕厚厚的朱古力忌廉,裡面的雪芳蛋糕也是朱古力味道的,加上灑在表面的可可脆脆,總共有三重可可,味道和質感都很豐富.如果將其熱量亦一併計算在內,這蛋糕是名符其實的'魔鬼'....不過濃郁的蛋糕併著醇厚的忌廉,加上能與友人一同慶祝生日,齊齊分享其美味,魔鬼也抵擋不了!

這魔鬼蛋糕並未用上法國麵粉意大利雞蛋,用最高濃度的瑞士可可,也不是由五星級甜品大師鑒製,甚至只是連鎖出品,但相信這生日蛋糕背後醞含的意義,和壽星及一班友人同享,才是這蛋糕吃來更覺味美的原因.

再一次希望,生日的都會好快樂!

魔鬼蛋糕
http://www.maxims.com.hk/tc/main.asp

Homey, Homei and Hearty@Homei, Soho

I am not sure about how the name should be read- is it 'homey' or 'ho-mei' ? Which is the message the owner of the cafe wishes to tell via the name, a cosy, home-like atmosphere of the cafe, or tasty food and coffee it serves? However the name should be read and interpreted, the small cafe - one of the smallest in HK, according to CNNgo - is literally both homey and ho-mei.

We were there at nine something in the morning. The cafe was within walking distance from my place, at a exceptionally quiet corner along the street. I had walked pass the street for countless times but, shamefully, i had never walked along the section the cafe is on. Behind the smelly and smokey temple, I would not set foot on that particular sector along the street had i not know about the cafe.

Homei is small - at less than 150 sq. feet, the cafe can only carry two small tables and four petite chairs plus the bar. The door was kept opened so that light, cool breezes could blow into the little cafe. Worry not about noise and dust from traffic: the road is for exclusive use of pedestrians. Looking to the outside from the cafe, the view and the atmosphere looked awfully un-Hong Kong like. The cafe is like a time machine: a step into the place brings you somewhere else, and the cost of the 'trip' overseas? A reasonable fare for a nice cup of coffee. The menu is not extensive, and only simple foods and coffee are served. But mind you that most of them are home-made by the owners of the cafe. Even the muffins are homemade! It instantly reminded me of the cafe i previously worked at as temp where they charge way too much for muffins and croissants, which were not baked by the cafe but bought somewhere else. In contrast, this little cafe bakes and serves its customers with a heart.

We did not want to overload our stomach in the morning, so we shared a muffin set and ordered another cup of coffee. A large variety of flavoured lattes were available and we had a ginger latte and roasted hazelnut latte, both with skimmed milk. Only pineapple muffin were available so we had one on that.

The food and drinks came slowly, and i was happy that the pineapple muffin had been reheated. It smelt really nice! The texture was different from that I had at Dan Ryan's two days ago, and this was more moist, less crumbly and softer in texture. It was also modestly sweet and tasted very pineapple-ish. Chunks of pineapple flesh could be found in the muffin and their crispy texture contrasted well with the soft and moist dough of the muffin. The surface of the muffin was baked till crispy and i enjoyed eating the crust a lot - it was literally ho-mei!

I watched how the owner-cum-barista carefully poured the foamed milk over to form a delicate latte art on our drinks - it took longer than usual for the coffees to be served, but we were not in a hurry so we did not mind. The milk foam was very dense, fine, despite thin; it tasted sweet however, and was it because of the Pura milk they were using? I kinda regretted ordering a flavoured latte for myself as it was really too sweet for me. Should have asked for a latte with reduced syrup. Anyhow, hazelnut lovers should not miss the coffee here as it was very, very aromatic and sweet. Not quite my cup of tea however, but I like how mild the espresso shot was. It was not very strong and sour, but i should not have ordered a flavoured one so that i could better taste the espresso.

M's ginger latte (not photographed) had pieces of ginger in it but i heard it was not as spicy as that at robuchon. The large chunks of ginger at the bottom of the cup were pretty stunning tho as they appeared to be really strong and spicy.

Homey, homei and hearty-what more can you ask for from this little, humble cafe in Sheung Wan? I would definitely go again for the homemade sandwich, freshly baked cakes and of course, the coffee. But no flavoured syrup next time - i might have a sweet tooth but definitely not for the coffee please!

Homei
Shop B, G/F, 22-24A Tai Ping San Street, Sheung Wan