[Review 602] Patties have changed @ Toppings

Toppings 30/12/2009
北角炮台山宏安道18號威德閣14號舖
18 Victor Court, 14 Wang On Road, North Point
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/patties-have-changed-e2053178

On my last visit I had the cuttlefish burger, which is not the usual beef or chicken I had before, this time I came back for the chicken and beef.

Both the chicken and beef have changed, they used to be thin, especially the chicken, it used to be the Vietnamese sausage texture, but size of a burger patty.

This time, the chicken patty was made of chicken mince, also saltier than before, the beef patty was roughly the same as before but thicker, both still as juicy.

The only thing that let it down was the fries, slightly over cooked and the gravy tasted a bit oily.
Overall the new restaurant is better than the old place, much more spacious, with friendly and handsome staff

[Review 601] Wing Fat egg tarts @ 永發茶餐廳 Wing Fat Restaurant

永發茶餐廳 Wing Fat Restaurant
30/12/2009
灣仔軒尼詩道117號地下
G/F, 117 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/wing-fat-egg-tarts-e2053176

Was bought afternoon snacks by friends, surprisingly the Chinese toast was ok, it didnt taste very eggy, and the butter was separated.

As for the egg tart, it tasted of egg tart mixed with Portuguese tarts.
The egg filling was firmer than usual tarts.

[Review 600] New Apple Pie packaging and new taste? @ 麥當勞 McDonald's

麥當勞 McDonald's 30/12/2009
九龍灣偉業街33號德福廣場一期F9-12號舖
Shop No.F9-12, Telford Plaza I, 33 Wai Yip Street, Kowloon Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/new-packaging-and-new-taste-e2053175

I haven’t had an apple for ages, so got one, instead of the red packaging it is now green, and gives off quite a refreshing feel too./
Anyway, it reminds me of sour apple sweets, the apple pie had a slight sour tinge to it, which is what you would expect for non McDonalds apple pies which are not sweetened.

The apple pies I had at McDonalds before are usually sweetened, perhaps this is a new healthy version, and it still tastes good.

[Review 599] New FLAVA roast chicken @ Kentucky Fried Chicken 肯德基家鄉雞 (KFC)

肯德基家鄉雞 (KFC) Kentucky Fried Chicken
29/12/2009
九龍灣牛頭角道77 號淘大商場一期地下G106-108號舖
Shop G106-108, Amoy Plaza I, 77 Ngau Tau Kok Road, Kowloon Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/new-flava-roast-chicken-e2052811

Tried the roasted chicken, however the taste was more like grilled chicken with the oil grilled tasted, other than that it was ok, the rices were clumpy and coarse as usual, but the chicken ala king tasted good, reminded me of school dinners.

In comparison the new Flava roasted chicken doesn't taste as good as the roasted chicken wings.

The egg-tart was totally burnt, had to peel off the black skin on top of the tart.

[Review 598] Burger King Breakfasts @ 漢堡王 Burger King

漢堡王 Burger King 27/12/2009
油麻地彌敦道546-548號地舖
G/F, 546-548 Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/burger-king-breakfasts-e2052222

Just couldnt resist another BK breakfast, especially the croissant with egg, cheese and mushroom.
The ham and egg was also good too, wafer thin ham with egg and cheese, however if I ordered the one with croissant, it would have tasted perfect, so I guess there will be a next visit.

[Review 597] Big portions @ 泰地道 Hot Basil Thai Cuisine

泰地道 Hot Basil Thai Cuisine 27/12/2009
九龍城啟德道31號地下
G/F 31 Kai Tak Rd,, Kowloon City
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/big-portions-e2052220

I was rather surprised this placed was fully booked, anyway ordered fish stomach soup, stir-fried vermicelli with baby oysters, prawn pot with glass noodles, and prawn paste water spinach.
The fish stomach soup was rather peppery and hot in temperature, so it was very hard to taste the soup, until it cooled down, but the pepper taste in the soup stood out the most.

The vermicelli was good, silver thread vermicelli, although it could be slightly saltier as there was not much taste to it.

The prawn pot was ok, there was alot of glass noodles and again very distinctive in black pepper, also there were pieces of pork fat in it too~!

The vegetables tasted how it should nothing spectacular about it.

[Review 596] cheap and delicious curry @ 銀座二丁目咖喱 Ginza Nichome Curry

銀座二丁目咖喱 Ginza Nichome Curry
27/12/2009
九龍城賈炳達道128號九龍城廣場3樓327號舖
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/cheap-and-delicious-curry-e2052219

It appears that this restaurant was opened by a Japanese guy who started selling cheap curry at $15 dollars, just plain curry and rice, which is quite a good deal anyway considering it is Japanese curry, there are slight pieces of mince and vegetable, so the curry isnt that plain.

Anyway, it was quite likable for me, because I do not like meat much, I got the one with cheese, and also the seafood one.
It was literally curry with the chosen item topped on top of the curry.

The cheese curry was quite a good combination, the curry went well with the creaminess of processed cheese, the seafood one was also good, the seafood was not frozen, but seafood in brine containing octopuses, clams and prawns.

The curry comes with rice, with the option of adding extra for salad, potato wedges and drink.

Next time, I should try the German set with potato wedges and frankfurter, the potato wedges should go nicely with curry sauce.

[Review 595] Best Thai noodles in Kowloon City @ 昌發泰國粉麵屋 Cheong Fat Thai Food

昌發泰國粉麵屋  Cheong Fat Thai Food
27/12/2009
九龍城城南道25-27號地下
G/F, 25-27 South Wall Road, Kowloon City
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/best-thai-noodles-in-kowloon-city-e2052215

Ever since I saw the noodles posted here, I have been wanting to try this place for ages.

The rich and dark soup broth was tempting.

After trying it, these are the best noodles in Kowloon city, ordered the boat noodles, and the duck noodles, the duck noodles contain juicy duck and gourmet blood curds.
The broth for the boat noodles were good for any one with a vampire blood thirst.

The Cambodian noodles here are slightly thinner and sweeter than the noodles in other thai places, and also slightly translucent too.
The rice vermicelli are also my favourite too, they are the silver thread ones that soak up the broth.

As for the Chiang Mai noodles, it is very spicy, not for those who cannot eat spicy foods.

[Review 594] Vegetarian dimsum for fun @ 觀自在素食 Bodhisattva Vegetarian Restaurant

27/12/2009 觀自在素食 Bodhisattva Vegetarian Restaurant
九龍城賈炳達道128號九龍城廣場B1層B107-108號舖
Shop B107-108, Basement, Kowloon City Plaza, 128 Carpenter Road, Kowloon City
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/vegetarian-dimsum-for-fun-e2052212

Just felt like having vegetarian dimsum for fun, so came here, just fun to have the usual items in vegetarian form such as prawn dumplings, dace fish balls, curried cuttlefish.

Originally I was going to mention how dirty the table was, but I was told the waiter served us first so we got a seat, rather than cleaning the table first then allocating the seats.
If we had not been seated, we probably would have been still waiting outside.

Overall, everything tasted quite good, with the juicyness from the diced vegetables in it, however it wasnt filling at all, after finishing the items, it felt like we had not eaten anything, the only thing that didnt taste right was the siu mai, there was a strong oil odour it.

The prawn dumplings tasted a bit like the chiu chow fun gwore.

As for the cuttlefish, it was steamed properly here, so it was nice and soft, in other vegetarian places, some of the foods can taste like hard jelly which cant be digested and comes out exactly how you consume it!!

The price range is slightly expensive and matches that of non vegetarian dimsums.

[Review 593] Cheap lunch sets @ 太極 Tai Ji

太極 Tai Ji 27/12/2009
灣仔盧押道23號4樓
4/F The Phoenix, 23 Luard Road,, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/cheap-lunch-sets-e2052209

This Shanghai place has never motivated me to go there, especially on the top floor, after trying Rockschool, I finally made an effort to try this place.

I was served by a waiter who used to work at "five stars" down the road, if he had not been there, I probably would have had a negative impression of this place.
Firstly it was very chaotic, and everything seemed rushed.

He gave us complimentary soft drinks, as well as the tea which is compulsory provided, he made sure we were well served.

Ordered two sets, noodles with vegetable dumplings and dessert, and rice with beef and a soup as a starter.

The spoon was very cute, it was so tiny compared with the chopsticks and bowl.
All the dishes tastes how it should, however the vegetable dumplings tasted better than I expected, I assumed there wouldn't be much flavour, but it was flavoured quite nicely.
The beef just tasted like plain beef sliced stir-fried with onions.

[Review 592] Middle Eastern delicacies @ 阿里吧吧 Ali Baba

阿里吧吧 Ali Baba
2/12/2009
九龍城獅子石道55B安捷樓地下舖
Shop 55B, G/F, Lion Rock Road,, Kowloon City
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/middle-eastern-delicacies-e2052202

At first, I didn't realise this little shop sold delicacies of dried fruit and chocolate.

When I went it, I was amazed at the selection, very rare and exotic choices of dried cactus fruit, dried figs, dried dates, dried apricots, dried apple, dried aubergine and various nougats.

One of the pistachio nougat I tried was interesting, it was pistachio in grape jelly, the grape taste was real grape extract too, rather than the fake grape essence or the wine flavour type.

My favourite nougat was the pistachio nougat sandwiched between the apricot, the nuttiness and sweetness of the nougat infused with the sour fruitiness of the apricot.

The candied fruits tasted quite the same for most of them, except for strong tasting fruits such as dates, or strawberries, the candied cactus fruit had a waxy skin, just like the dates, and many rock hard seeds in it too.

The candied aubergine tasted starchy.
For most middle eastern delicacies you will find a lot of them contain figs, dates, and apricots.

[Review 591] Singmalay 19 Noodles in thick soup @ 蝦麵店 Prawn Noodle Shop

蝦麵店 Prawn Noodle Shop
27/12/2009
灣仔蘭杜街2號麗都大廈4號地舖
Shop 4, G/F, Rialto Building, No. 2 LanDale St, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/singmalay-part-18-e2052198

I have been here many times before, the prawn noodle soup is very rich, however I still havent tried their noodles in thick soup, so I finally tried it.

The thick soup looked like crab meat soup with egg, and it actually tasted like that, it tasted quite strong and salty, not the ordinary saltiness, but the prawn saltiness like that of prawn bisque.

Overall the noodles are good, the owner has a patient telephone manner and does not rush to end the call.

[Review 590] Been there, done that! @ 潮州合成甜品 Chiu Chow Hop Shing Dessert

潮州合成甜品  Chiu Chow Hop Shing Dessert 27/12/2009
九龍城龍崗道9號地下
G/F, 9 Lung Kong Road, Kowloon City
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/been-there-done-that-e2052193

Not my usual place for dessert, especially chinese style, everything on the menu basically contains lotus seeds, a chinese ingredient that I do not like, a bit starchy.

Anyway I got the chiu chow style dessert with split green beans, water chestnuts and the compulsory lotus seeds, it was totally different to the one I had at this other chiu chow joint, it is totally watery here, and has lots of bubble on the surface!

Luckily I ordered the cold version with ice, it helped cool down the dessert and diluting the sweetness of it, also the shop had no air con, so it got a bit hot and stuffy.

As for the other dessert, another weird mix of ice-cream, lotus seeds, and other stuff.

[Review 589] Fried prawn dumplings @ 龍的傳人

龍的傳人 27/12/2009
將軍澳重華路8號東港城1樓188號舖
Shop 188, 1/F, East Point City Shopping Arcade, 8 Chung Wa Road, Tseung Kwan Ohttps://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/fried-prawn-dumplings-e2052188

My regular place for dimsum was full, so I came here for lunch, I really didnt have any expectations from it, the price in general is slightly cheaper than other restaurants, but not as cheap as 'Tao Heung 88.

It serves mainly chiu chow food, same as Star of Canton, but Star of Canton is more relaxed and orderly, this place is more down to earth and noisy being located on the ground floor.
Their tea cups are big stainless steel mugs same with the tea pot, a bit like being prison cutlery.

There were not much traditional dimsums, so ordered Steamed prawn dumplings, steamed shanghai little dragon buns, clams in salted water and stir-fried beef ho fun.

The shanghai buns were a combo set with some chinese herb soup for $28 so I go that.
The soup contained fish, whelk, chicken feet and ginseng, it just tasted ordinary, and the little shanghai buns were a bit shrivelled up and I forgot to take picture.

The beef ho fun was tasteless and greasy, so I got a box to have them taken home which cost an extra $2 dollars.
I think they probably taste better after I re-cooked it and added some extra soy sauce.

The clams didnt taste that fresh, and strong in black pepper, also plenty of sand it in too.
Most of the clams had already come off their shells too.

Finally the steamed prawn dumplings were visually perfect, but the taste was average, however the fried prawn dumplings were the highlight of the whole lunch. They were perfectly fried, non oily, and the the crispiness was interesting, because of the fried hargau skin was crisp and chewy and firmly attached to the hargau rather than ripping off in the steamed versions.

As for the service, it was ok, but I felt the waiters should listen to what the customers want before answering automated answers like the automated telephone.
I asked for a another pair of chopsticks because one of the chopsticks was on the floor, and the waiter answer "NONE" so I said what do you mean none, I only wanted a pair of chopsticks, and he said "sorry i misheard I thought you wanted a pot of rice"

Me: Do you have a spare pair of chopsticks?
[lei yau mo dui SPARE fai ji?]
WAITER: MO AR
[None]
Me: What do you mean none, I only want a spare chopsticks because it fell on the floor
[meah giu mo ar, ngor jing hai yiu yat dui fai ji yan wai deet joh lok day ha]WAITOR: DUI UM JU, NGOR TENG CHOR JOR, NGOR YI WAI LEI WAH JUNG TAU FAAN
[Sorry I thought I heard you wanted a pot of rice]

[Review 588] Upcoming branch to open in CWB @ 聰嫂私房甜品 (將軍澳) Cong Sao Star Dessert

聰嫂私房甜品 (將軍澳) 27/12/2009 Cong Sao Star Dessert
將軍澳貿業路8號新都城中心1期地下G28號舖
Shop 28, G/F, MCP I, 8 Mau Yip Road, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/upcoming-branch-to-open-in-cwb-e2052183

I really like Chung's dessert, but I need to come all the way to the outskirts of town, I did it again today, hopefully this will be the last time, as I heard they will open a new store in Causeway Bay soon! YAY!~

As usual I ordered the peach angels, condensed milk with peaches, mango, mango puree, banana pudding.
Luckily the mango puree was frozen, I was able to scoop out the mango puree and the mango pieces, I dislike mango. Frankly just simple peaches and cream are the best.

The other dessert ordered was the Happy playground, which contains various fruits and jellies in condensed milk.

[Review 587] Ranchero breakfast @ The Flying Pan

23/12/2009 The Flying Pan
灣仔駱克道81-85號霸田商業中心3 樓
3/F Empireland Commercial Centre Lockhart Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/ranchero-breakfast-e2051479

I don't think I can find an item on their menu I do not like.

My usual item is the eggs benedict.

However this time, I felt like trying the Ranchero eggs mexican style with refried beans, cheese, sour cream, tomato salsa.

The whole thing was good, the cheese that was on it was cheddar cheese, and there was lots of potato slices on it too, each taste was sensational packed with sour cream, salsa, cheese, refried beans etc.

I also ordered extra black pudding too, and luckily the oil today was fresh, so the black pudding was just right, not to over cooked, and it didnt have an oil odour taste either.

[Review 586] Spaghetti House style Christmas dinner @ The Spaghetti House

意粉屋 The Spaghetti House 23/12/2009
灣仔軒尼詩道68-76號新禧大樓1樓
1/F, Sun Hey Mansion, 68-76 Hennessy Road,, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/sh-style-christmas-dinner-e2051476

Wanted to eat at Pizza Hut, but there were many people, so went to Spaghetti house.

Frankly I prefer Spaghetti House, they are good for their risotto’s.

I was surprised they had special dishes for Christmas, so I ordered items from their seasonal menu.
Most of the items on the list were truffle related.

Ordered the Risotto in squid ink sauce with lamb and the turkey lasagne with truffle sauce.

The risotto is always consistent, however the lasagne was slightly different to how I imagined it to be, I was expecting the turkey to be finely chopped or at least shredded, and the lasagne served in a dish rather than a plate.
However it was slices of pasta sheets, and huge turkey slices (a bit like roast dinners with meat slices) and topped with cranberry diced jelly.
The truffle sauce wasn’t that strong, and there wasn’t much cheese either.

[Review 585] 2nd buffet in the day @ 再臨閣 The Salisbury

再臨閣 The Salisbury 20/12/2009
尖沙咀梳士巴利道41號香港基督教青年會南座4樓
4/F, South Tower YMCA, 41 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/2nd-round-of-buffet-in-a-day-e2050890

Already had buffet for lunch, but didnt know what to eat at TST for dinner, being a Saturday, all the good places would be packed.

Anyway chose YMCA on the basis that everyone would be having fun and eating out on a saturday, rather than coming here.
I liked it here because it was relatively quiet in the sense that there was not many people, but for noise levels, it was quite noisy.
There was need to snatch food either, as the people here were quite orderly.

On a first visit, the food was impressive, but if I came here next time I would know what to expect.
With other places, the reviews will be applicable at the time it was written, however with this place, I felt the old reviews were still reasonable because after looking at the photos from 2008, the food selection remains the same,
However its day time food and evening food may be different.

For the seafood selection there was various sashimi's, the salmon was a bit oily, the tuna tasted better. The artic surf clam was nice and juicy with a hint of sweetness.
I never had artic clams before because the ones I tried were not fresh and tough.

In general the food here is nicely catered for westerners, especially the terrines, there was ham terrine, beans terrine, liver terrine. The liver terrine was the best, nice and smooth, however I didnt like the bits of meat in it. The tea was not Hong Kong milk tea either which was good.

There was a good selection of cheeses too, monterey and stilton.
The stilton was rather strong, reminded me of chinese fermented beancurd paste (fu yu) and the monterey was firm and crumbly, but had a slightly bitter taste.

The sharks fin soup was clear with lots of bamboo piths, few strands of sharksfin and shreds of chicken. It tasted fresh without the smelly meat smell in it.

The choices of dessert was ok too, one of the desserts had brandied cherries.

[Review 584] New items on the menu @ 利寶閣 Star of Canton Restaurant

利寶閣 Star of Canton Restaurant 20/12/2009
將軍澳重華路8號東港城2樓235號舖
East Point City
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/new-items-on-the-menu-e2050882

After weeks and weeks of the same menu, I got really bored of the selection.

There was nothing I wanted to eat, but then some new items caught my eye, so I was relieved they finally put more new items in.

Ordered the fried oysters, and braised lotus roots with baby ducks.
Both the Chinese names were misleading.

FRIED OYSTER:
totally not fried at all, i was expecting it to be covered in batter, but there was none, it was an oyster wrapped in beancurd sheet dipped in Teriyaki sauce and grilled.
It was nice and crispy, the oyster was too firm to be fresh, it tasted like those half dried oysters.
As well as the oysters there was crispy fish as garnishing too, very crispy and well flavoured.

Lotus roots with baby duck:
It was definitely not a baby duck at all, the name "lin au mun ap jai" is a bit misleading, it sounds more like a baby duck, so I was expecting a baby duck, like pigeon meat.
Anyway I asked the waitress, and she didn't confirm it was baby duck or not, she just said chopped up duck pieces.
When it arrived, there was generous sauce, same with all their braised dishes.
The first bite of the duck tasted like the over boiled pork from Chinese soups, then it started tasting like duck.
This dish was quite impressive as there was real chunks of duck meat attached to the bones unlike other places where they give you mainly bones with not much meat at all.
Overall, it tasted really good, rich sauce.

[Review 583] Playful waiter @ ROCKSCHOOL

ROCKSCHOOL20/12/2009
灣仔盧押道23號2樓
2/F, 23 Luard Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/playful-waitor-e2050869

Came for lunch, there was not many people as expected, the price was suspiciously cheaper than other pub foods.
The restaurant was half empty when we arrived, so sat down on a four people table, but we were told to sit on a two persons table.
Anyway, ordered two sets: pork chop with apple and mash, and fish with wasabi sauce.
First came the bread with olive oil and vinegar, an Italian starter which is quite a bonus because not many pubs serve it or occasionally serve it.
After finishing the bread, there were some crumbs in front of me, and the waiter cleaned it for me using my napkin, I was impressed he remembered I didn't have a napkin and gave me an extra one.

Then came the salad and soup, and the waiter kept insisting ladies first, so placed my soup down first,
Same with the mains, he always laid my plate down first, as well as trying to mesmerize me with his eyes!
Back to the food, the carrot and coriander soup had lots of chopped coriander in it, and quite watery, but strong in coriander taste, as for the salad it contained yummy feta cheese.

As for the mains the wasabi sauce did not taste of wasabi at all, it tasted of mint, and the pork chop was over cooked, but the mash was nice and buttery.

Finally the dessert was the best, tasted as good as the banana muffin at banyan tree, but firmer and dense.

The drinks were refillable too, however service can be slow sometimes, and the portions were a bit small too, even with soup, bread, mains, dessert and drink, I was JUST full.