The Chop House: Old-fashioned American burgerplace!

23:51 7 Emptyplates , Burgers , Western 0 Comments

Loved the laid-back atmosphere, cozy space and sunlight glazing through the windows for a Wednesday evening, mid-week – means time for a break! The gang brings you to this chill out corner in Causeway bay which is yet to be discovered for its juicy burgers, fabulous homemade sauce, and old-fashioned American style tater tots! It would be a great hangout place for group of 6 or more just that the place is absolutely spacious and relaxing.
銅鑼灣ChopHouse—— 好鍾意這裡的氣氛，非常舒服，有種美國式的自由和慵懶感，非常適合朋友聚餐。


 
Deep Fried Squid with mesclun salad and balsamic vinaigrette
Average salad with vinegar dressing and mixed greens, the squid was well-seasoned and deep fried, even though I would very much hoped that the outer crust will be crispier, the overall quality was moderate.
看到這道菜時，我突然想起在意大利Positano海岸吃的雜錦炸海鮮拼盤。炸物和蔬菜我不建議擺在同一個碟子裡，因為蔬菜的水汽會使得本身酥脆的表皮變軟，炸物變涼。所以這道菜還是沒有給我 太大的驚喜。但蔬菜沙拉是很新鮮的，咬下去那種水水，清脆的感覺完全表現了它的鮮度。

Pumpkin Soup with deep fried tortilla strip
Relatively bland taste soup, guess I would fancy more of a pea bean paste kind of taste when it comes to veggie soup, more creamy as well. Have higher expectations for my fav food like pumpkin, need to do the veggie justice.
最近越來越覺得韓國燒烤店的南瓜湯比較出色。用南瓜做湯最重要是選料，南瓜好的話不需要如何特別的烹調。日本的小南瓜一直都是很貴很出眾的，粉嫩甜糯，可惜這裡的南瓜湯明顯不及。

Tater tots! *V*
Super surprised when the golden fried tater tots were served with the sandwich and burgers! I think I cried a bit (almost!) when I finally had tater tots after they disappeared from Hong Kong since Hardees were all closed down when I was a kid. I WILL BE BACK! Just for the crispness and mouthful of potatoes/hash brown bits as you pop them one by one, the grated potatoes seem to be happily dancing on your mouth palette.
這個味道是驚艷的！其實它就是簡單的炸薯仔粒，沒什麼花巧的地方，但用料，油溫，時間的配合缺一不可。一口一個，咬下薄薄的脆皮後，裡面薯仔在舌上均勻地散開，配上酸甜的茄醬，那種享受很難形容，因為口感很飽滿，很富足。原來好味是很簡單的。

 
Beef, Bacon & Cheddar Burger with chop house bbq sauce
Juicy meat patty with bacon crisp is always the best combination for a burger and this is one of the best dishes offered by the Chop House. They serve the burgers with their homemade sauce like chili mustard and sweet onions – liked them more than the regular bbq sauce on the burger and it added extra flavors to the juicy meat patty. The juice kept drizzled onto the plate as you take bites into it.

這裡額外提供了三種特製醬：Beetroot chutney(紅菜頭辣醬), Chili mustard(辣味黃芥末), caramelized onion(洋蔥醬)給這個牛肉煙肉漢堡。漢堡可以再厚D，肉汁再豐富D，煙肉煎得相當香口，加辣味黃芥末獲得我們四個一致認可，絲絲的辣意滲進舌尖，加上牛肉汁，脆煙肉…呵呵呵，星期三的午餐，我們似乎太懂得慰勞自己了。我們的漢堡專家Lorling一語中的，中環花旗銀行大廈的SimplyLife出的漢堡最好味，但水準時時變化，無辦法維持。

 Gobay Food knowledge:
“Chutney”: 就是把某種蔬果磨碎或切粒加香料做成酸辣醬。源自印度，本來是在南亞流行的，但是西方餐飲一直都很喜愛創作各式各樣的chutney。個人覺得Apply chutney真的很美味！


Slow-smoked BBQ Pork with OOO-EEE sauce
OOO-EEE sauce had its unique sharp taste to it – strong vinegar flavor to the bbq-based sauce. The pull pork was ok but then crispy baguette was not crispy at all. Would just go for another type of sandwich next time. 
百吉包的口感一D都唔脆，豬肉絲的肉味還可以，既漢堡之後食有點失望，但餐廳自製的“OOO-EEE”醬真的十分獨特，帶有強烈的醋香味，和燒烤醬混合一起，只能說口味方面見仁見智了。

Pork Ragout Rigatoni with cherry tomato and parmesan cheese
Rigatoni texture was al dente (cooked just right), the only one thing that I would complain about this dish is that it lacks a bit of parmesan cheese (which was mentioned on the menu) and too much olive oil. The pork bits, eggplant, cherry tomatoes were fresh and well-seasoned to meet the expectations of a restaurant week lunch menu main dish.
口感剛好的Rigatoni, 是意大利地道的標準。香港人應該會希望再軟化一D。過多的橄欖油和過少的Parmesan芝士令人感覺到這間確實只是一間“非意大利餐廳”但若以這個角度出發，作為香港餐廳週主題午餐單的主食，它也算是不過不失。
                             

 Walnut Brownie with almond flakes and chopped mint
“Dry” is all I have to say for this dessert. Brownies are supposed to be moist. There were only walnut tiny pieces in there, I gave up after one spoon.
這個甜品三個字可概括：乾錚錚，它的精髓本應是濕潤而有咬勁。而且核桃少得可憐，我們的Carly至愛甜品，但依然只吃了一口。

                      


 
Restaurant week menu was average quality but the a la carte burgers are definitely some of the finer quality ones in town, combined with the decent setting of the space – the Gang will return for the tater tots, burgers and happy hour!