HONG KONG FOOD TRIP day 2

Day 2 was an easy day. We went walking in Ocean Terminal. We had to get a watch there so we ended hanging out there checking out the different stores. Again, we found a City Super that sold the good belgian waffles that look like hotdogs so we bought 1 each for our snack before going for our late lunch.

We saw a long line at Crystal Jade. We didn't know how long it would take us to get a table but we signed up nevertheless. We could've eaten somewhere with less people but I think that day wanted to be part of the chaos. We waited for about 30 minutes to an hour to get a table.

Here's what we ordered...

Seafood soup with green vegetables

Crispy tofu skin with mushroom filling,

Pork spareribs with some red sauce...I forgot the name but it was sticky, sweet and yummy.

the best seller, Crispy eel

Stir fried noodles with pork and mushrooms.

We didn't have room for dessert anymore so we decided to walk around for a few hours before heading to Cova. Here's what we tried there...

Cafe Latte,

Chestnut tart,

Chocolate banana cake

Mango Napoleon,

Cappuccino,

Ok, here's the verdict...the coffee was good but the cakes were not that great. The good thing about it was the place. the ambiance was really nice. I felt like I was in Europe. The price too felt like I was in Europe as well. We spent about HK$600 for 3 cakes and 3 coffee drinks. If you ask me though if I will go back there again, I think I would. I just won't eat there everyday but it would be a nice place to have a treat.

Next stop was Spring Deer over at Mody Road for dinner. Since we still full from our late afternoon snack, we just wanted to try the Peking Duck to see if it was still any good. We had it 2 ways. The second way was deep fried with garlic and chillies, salt and pepper

When this came to the table, everyone beside us looked and checked what it was. I don't think it was common to have this as the second way here but we usually do it this way even in Manila. I loved it with black vinegar. Of course, we didn't finish our food. We just loved it that we got to taste the Peking duck. It was still good but I think I've tasted better. For the price, it was very reasonable.

Day 3 is up next...

BARISTA CLASS IN PORTLAND

My week in Portland was hectic so I waited until I got back to San Jose to load all these pictures.

I went on a 5 day barista class to brush up on my skills at the American Barista and Coffee School.

For day 1, we had lecture and introduction about the business side on opening a cafe, business plan, financials and floor plan.

We were lucky that during the time we were there, we were able to see them roast some coffee.

This is the roasting machine that they use. Here in the photo, they're already cooling the beans, using a mechanical blower to cool them quickly.

It takes a few minutes to cool the beans completely.

Once the beans have cooled, they are now placed in a container and then prepared for repacking in 1 pound bags.

In the school, we are provided with several espresso machines that we can use to make sure that we are able to operate each one with confidence. This one here is my favorite... Victoria Arduino. I've been told that it's like the Ferrari of the espresso machines.

We also have an Astoria,

La Cimbali,

La Spaziale,

Nuova Simonelli - a simple machine and very easy to use too,

A lever type Victoria Arduino,

Rancillo,

La Marzocco - another favorite of mine,

and a Della Corte.

Each machine has its own strengths and weaknesses and it's really up to the user which one fits best. So rule of thumb, test the machines first before buying one.

Here I am with Tom, one of the trainors. He's watching me step by step, making sure that I get the right kind of grind,

get my dose right,

tamp my grinds right,

and extract my shot at the right time, with the right temperature, texture, color and flavor.

Here's a class for free pour which is becoming popular in cafe concepts.

To prepare the free pour, the selected roasted beans are ground.

A paper filter is place on the coffee dripper. Hot water is allowed to drip on the paper filter to preheat the dripper and the glass pitcher.

This is the ground coffee. The grinds are more coarse than the grinds for the espresso machine.

Pour the grinds and make a well in the center using your pointer. Then gradually pour the hot water...slowly. The ready coffee drips in the pitcher and is then poured over a mug or a cup.

Here's the coffee from the dripper. The coffee tasted really good.

Here's a class for cupping in the tasting room.

First, the selected green beans from a specific area are roasted then ground. .

They lined up about 5 kinds of coffees. Each kind had three cups with the ground coffee. We tried the Cost Rica,

Coffee from Bolivia,

Coffee from Rwanda,

Another coffee from Rwanda roasted by another roasting company,

and Sumatra coffee.

First, we smelled the 3 cups with the grinds, taking note of the scent from the roasts, which was more fragrant, and which one smelled stronger.

After smelling the grinds, hot water was poured over the grinds.

We allowed the coffee to steep for about 5 minutes.

Using two spoons, the cloudy film is scraped off from the surface.

Then, we smelled the coffee again with the poured hot water.

Costa Rica remained consistent. Still fragrant and had a bold flavor.

The coffee from Bolivia tasted weaker compared to the coffee from Costa Rica and was less aromatic.

This one, I liked the best. It was aromatic and had a balanced flavor.

This one was ok but I found to be slightly acidic.

This one, coffee from Sumatra had an earthy flavor. Not a lot of people liked the flavor nor the smell.

These are my classmates in the course. Cherry and Eric Cruz of Equilibrium Intertrade.

This is me, with my certificate of completion of the the course.

Here we are with the whole class and the instructors.

Here I am with Bruce Milletto, Cherry Cruz, Eric Cruz, Susan Edilo and Matt Milletto.