Efren Gloria, Cebu, Philippines

For this entry in the greater Hong Kong region we are in Cebu, Philippines. It is still in the Pacific rim so within the boundaries of LQ:HK. My wife and I visited this floating restaurant when on a quick trip to Cebu last Sunday (16th Oct) and arrived there by boat from our hotel. The journey probably took 40 minutes.

Entrance Signboard

Technically it's not floating as it's supported off wooden stilts that suspend it above the water. It's well ventilated meaning there are no windows but the sea views are pleasant and calming. Tables and chairs are plastic but you're not here for the furniture. The kitchen is at the back, which is where they catch and store the main ingredients i.e. seafood.

The catching nets

Choosing what to eat

There were over twenty guests and we were treated so a seafood feast. The following food that is listed is in some kind of order and might not be all I ate.

Conch: the word always reminds me of 'Lord of the Flies'. The mollusc was fairly large but a bit bland so it could have come with a dip to give more flavour.

Conch (with rice to the side)

Abalone: fairly chewy (I've eaten chewier) that was cooked and served in a flavoursome black bean sauce.

Abalone (which was cooked before it was served and not straight from the boy's hands)

Crab: meaty if you can get to the meat. I'm quite lazy/impatient when eating crab, so it's very nice when the shell has already been removed and nice if you've got to do it yourself!

Crab

Fish soup: very refreshing with chillies to give it a slight kick.

Fish Soup

Squid. Stir fried with onions & chillies making this a nice dish.

Garoupa: excellently steamed so that the meat was lovely and tender, in a Chinese style soy sauce & oil dressing.

Steamed Fish

There was also a couple of guys with guitars who played a few songs at our request to entertain us.

The bill was taken care of by our very hospitable hosts, Richard and Yan, who got married that weekend so a big thanks and congratulations to them both!

Overall Efren Gloria is an unassuming restaurant where the food is caught fresh and service is friendly.

Ratings:
Food: 4/5
Presentation: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Setting: 3/5

Overall: 13/20

I ate: a bit of everything noted above, maybe a bit more that I have forgotten to mention.

I drank: San Miguel, Pepsi

I wore: swimming shorts, tee shirt, flip flops

Felix, The Peninsula

This a special entry as it's a 'late' lunchquest that would actually constitute as the evening meal. It's also my first proper meal as a married man.

We (that's my wife and I) were at Felix on Thursday night, a restaurant in the Peninsula Hotel. This hotel is probably Hong Kong's most famous and the restaurant sits on the 28th floor overlooking the harbour towards the HK island side. There's a lift from the hotel ground floor that takes you all the way up to the restaurant, which gives it that exclusivity.

We received a glass of champagne compliments of the restaurant. However in order to get it we had to remind staff that we had just got married.


For the starter I chose a sashimi dish that consisted of red snapper slices, accompanied with winter melon and foie gras. The melon was a bit bland but there was a chilli sauce that overall made it a pleasant appetiser.

Red snapper, winter melon & foie gras

For the main course I had roast pigeon that was rich but a touch too salty. It came on a bed of aubergine and duck liver, which was very nice and better than the bird itself, I thought.

Roast Pigeon main course

My wife had Tuna that was cooked to a medium grade that was moist and tasty.

Tuna main course

Only my wife ordered dessert and she chose a cookie type dish with fresh strawberries and cream, which she said was yummy. It came with a nice message incorrectly written on a white chocolate board; it's the thought that counts I suppose.

Grammatically challenged dessert

I had a glass of Australian merlot, which was easy to drink, quite fruity and had no aftertaste.

Their menus are not the traditional bound paper version but on iPads, which would have made the late Steve Jobs proud. Your order is not sent to the kitchen though and a waiter still takes it down with pen and paper.

I'm going to be a bit generous and give this place slightly better marks that it deserves due to the occasion. It is a very nice place but for a fine dining experience, Caprice is way ahead.

Food: 4/5
Presentation: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Setting: 5/5

Overall: 17/20

I ate: Red snapper slices, winter melon, foie gras; roasted French pigeon with sauteed aubergine & duck liver.

My wife ate: Seared tuna steaks; cookies & fresh strawberry.

We drank: Sparkling water, merlot; Dom Perignon champagne.

I wore: navy dress shirt, grey pin-striped trousers, Cartier wedding ring:
She wore: Peach evening dress, Cartier wedding ring.

Felix, The Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong
http://www.peninsula.com/Hong_Kong/en/Dining/Felix/default.aspx

Ambassador Lounge, Singapore

Today I'm in the Ambassador Lounge, which is situated in Terminal 2 of Changi airport in Singapore, awaiting the second-leg flight of my journey to Abu Dhabi.

Now I know Singapore is about 2500kms away from Hong Kong but it's lunchtime here and too early in the morning to ask LQ Editor in Chief BKR how to write in the Roving Reporters site.

Back to the lunch. It's a buffet selection and I chose roast chicken, vegetable curry and chicken rice for my hot dish; and a green salad for my cold dish.

The three items I chose were the total that was on offer today. The chicken could have been a bit more tender but it came with a nice gravy. The vegetables were not that spicy but not that flavoursome either. Chicken rice is a popular southeast Asian dish where the rice is cooked with a chicken flavoured oil / sauce that makes it less bland than plain rice and the best of the three hot items i chose today.

The garden salad was lettuce and cherry tomatoes and a placed some pepper slices that were on offer and topped it off with a thousand island dressing. The ingredients tasted fresh so I got a decent portion of rabbit-food goodness.

All this was washed down with a glass of cold lemon tea from the drinks dispenser machine.

Once you enter the lounge everything is complimentary bar alcohol. I get free access to airport lounges as a perk from one of my credit cards so the total bill came to Free, a Scotsman's favourite price.

The setting is quiet, clean and nice as you're separated from the main departure lounge so a good place to stay when waiting for your flight. As it's a buffet a mark for the service is not applicable and I suppose presentation is governed by how I plated the food so I could unfairly give myself top marks.

So I'd give this place a C+ overall. Now onwards to Abu Dhabi!

Ps. As a brief breakfast quest review the morning meal on the plane from HK to SG was a pleasant enough dish of scrambled egg, chicken sausage, baked beans and tomato served with tea and UHT milk and a screening of Transformers 3.

Lunch of Roast Chicken, Vegetable Curry, Chicken Rice, Garden Salad & Lemon Tea