[Review 3067] I Do Like Fish & Chick Beside The Seaside @ Fish & Chick

02/01/2014
Fish & Chick 
西環堅尼地城新海旁街25號地下6號舖
Shop 6, 25 New Praya, Kennedy Town, Western District
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/i-do-like-fish-chick-beside-the-seaside-e2338608


Ever since The Chippy closed down in the heart of Central, I have been looking for a good place for Fish and Chips.

When I heard about this new chippy I had to go there ASAP~
This place is called Fish & Chick serving my beloved roast chicken too!

Located in Kennedy town and facing the sea, it was the best location to ever be in Hong Kong!
A real decent seafront without anything in the sea such as the Hongkish ferry harbour or those small smelly boats in Sai Kung which pollute the seafront with the smell of petrol.

Kennedy Town has the best sea view in my opinion, you can see and smell sea air which reminds me of the seaside town I was born in.

Luckily I was born in the scenic Victorian town of Eaxtbxurxe down the south east by the sea, so I could take a stroll anytime along the seafront, the pier and at the other neighbouring seaside towns.

I fell in love with Fish and Chips one day when my grandma took me to Qualisea.

During the summer people would flock there to get some tan on the pebble beaches.

Just for fun I have changed the lyrics to the song:

[I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside - A song composed at a time when the yearly visits of the British working-class to the seaside were booming]

Oh I do like Fish & Chick beside the seaside
Oh I do like Fish & Chips beside the sea
Oh I do like to walk along the prom prom prom
Where the brass band plays tiddly-om-pom-pom
Just let me have Fish & Chips beside the seaside
I’ll be beside myself with glee
There are lots of fish
That I’d like Fish & Chick besides
Beside the seaside, beside the sea

Anyway when I got there, it was the Chippy I had in mind!
Decorated in sea blue with cartoon fonts.

[Note! The people dining at the front and the stools happen to match the decor!!]

On the walls they had oars and a boat wheel which really reminded me of seaside towns.

At the far end, I loved the neon letterings of the name.
 0 讚好

When you dine there, there is an amazing view of the sea!
There is a lovely fish and chip shop smell too.
 0 讚好

The menu had fish and chips and there were quite a few choices for fish such as Cod, Ling, Red snapper, Barramundi etc.

It was like a combined menu from ChipIn (Sai Kung) and SeaSalt (Mosque Street) because it features the fishermans basket (squid, prawn and fish) and the use of canola oil just like ChipIn.
The choice of fish on the menu and the price reminds me of Seasalt.

I came here a few times because I had to try the different fishes as well as roasted chicken on the rotisserie which they marinate there.
 0 讚好

 0 讚好

They have nice designed boxes for takeaways too.
 0 讚好

Here was what I had!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
COD and chips:
 0 讚好

The cod was divine! It was flakey and chunky.

The best thing was that cod skin was attached which added to the flavour just like the ones in the UK.
On the side there was tartar sauce, salt flakes and vinegar, the salt flakes were amazing with the fish because it enhanced it without being too salty.
It was good that it came with a side of vinegar because vinegar is a must with Fish and Chips but I would prefer shaking it out of a bottle because it gives an even distribution of vinegar and I can put as much as I want.
It kills the fun not being able to shake it from the bottle.
As for the chips, they tasted nice with the fish but they were not the chips I was looking for.
The fish was a bit watery which you can see from the picture.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Roast chicken with mash:

The chicken was tender and amazing and it had lovely stuffing rubbed on the other side.
I loved the crispy chicken skin!!
It was good that they put effort and sliced the chicken into smaller chunks before serving.
However the gravy tasted a bit like coffee and the mash tasted like instant mash mix which was a bit dry but saying that instant mash mix tastes good.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ling and chips:
Compared to the COD, the texture of the Ling fish was dense and slightly dry.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Anyway! I will be back and I do like to be beside the seaside!

[Review 3052]Parfait! @ La Grande Bouffe

27/12/2013
La Grande Bouffe (
中環蘇豪荷李活道66號地下
G/F., 66 Hollywood Road, Soho, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/parfait-e2337726

At first I was meant to go to this snotty place for a quick lunch which is a Chinese restaurant pretending to be French, but luckily they closed earlier than their normal hours so I was so FORTUNATE not to eat that crap and stumbled on this amazing place!!!!!

There has been a recent surge of French restaurants opening in Central such as La Vache, La Port Parfume and more.

Located near the cane juice store is this really nice French bar/restaurant called La Grande Bouffe.
If you google this name, you will find a French/Italian film with the same name which is about scatological humour and comic depictions of sex and over-eating.

The decor of the restaurant is really nice.
 0 讚好

 0 讚好

 0 讚好

 0 讚好

The French decor is interestingly contrasted by the Chinese old green tiles.
 0 讚好

For lunch, you can choose a two course or three course meal for ($98 and $108 respectively).

Here was what I had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Baguette:
 0 讚好

The baguette was really nice, crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside.
It tasted nice with the salads and the main dishes and the guy was really nice and gave me an extra basket which most restaurants do not normally do.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Beef Stroganoff:
 0 讚好

Tried the rice on its own and it was so delicious, it was fully flavoured with vegetables and herbs and each grain of rice was plump and long.
I loved the chunky vegetable pieces in it.

The beef stroganoff was rich crammed with loads of beef, the sauce was really good for dipping the baguette and after I had some of the beef, I put the rice in the bowl of beef and the taste was so good, it was so satisfying, but if there was more rice, I would be more satisfied because I was still very hungry!!!.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pork loin with French wine sauce:

The pork was a little tough, but I can't complain because the pork chop I had at La Cantoche was also tough.
Again it was on a bed of delicious pan fried rice with vegetables and the sauce on top was tangy with pureed tomatoes and herbs.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Apple tart A la normande:
Lastly for desserts, there is a choice of lemon tart, apple tart and chocolate cake.
As I have tried the lemon tart and chocolate cake at French most places, I opted for the apple tart which was a great tart to finish off with.


The apple tart was served with some "English cream" according to the waitor!
Anyway, the apple tart was divine, it had slices of apple embedded in rich custard filling and you could see there were zillions of vanilla seeds in it giving it a delicious vanilla custard touch.
As well as the tart, the cream also had lots of vanilla seeds in it and it complemented the tart so well because it balanced the sweetness of the tart.
The tart crust which is usually tasteless was good too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

I would love to dine here again because it includes dessert and the price is really affordable!

[Review 3046] Lovely French food @ La Cantoche

26/12/2013
La Cantoche
上環華里5號地下/荷李活道227號
G/F, 5 Wa Lane/227 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/lovely-french-food-e2337309

Lovely French food
2013-12-26  5671 瀏覽
I dined here ages ago but since there were lots of tasting reviews earlier on this restaurant, I decided to write it up later.
+++++++++++++++
Before dining at this place, most of the French food I had in Hong Kong were from La Creperie and La Rotisserie.

After dining here, I was craving more for French food because at this restaurant they do lots of different dishes for lunch.
 0 讚好

For dinner, they have lots of other dishes with a Vietnamese twist to it.
 0 讚好

Inside the restaurant, it is fun and youthful with a white brick walls and colourful grafitti.
 0 讚好


Came here for lunch and dinner so some of the dishes are from lunch and some are a la carte dishes that I had in the evening.
The lunch deal is quite good and less than $100 for a two course.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Duck shepherds pie:

This was a hearty dish of duck confit with mashed velvety potatoes on top.

I really liked this dish because the duck was so much nicer than the usual minced beef.
I was surprised the French have shepherds pie as well but at this other French restaurant I dined at, they also had it too.
The duck was slightly too salty but otherwise the dish was amazing, piping hot Shepherds pie complemented with cooling mesclan leaves.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pork chop with rice:

This dish was a little on the Asian side because of the rice but not bad and the pork was a little bit tough.
Again at this other French restaurant, they also served rice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lemon tart:

The lemon tart was amazing because the lemon curd was really refreshing.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Brandy bread pudding:

Again I was surprised with Bread pudding because it was quite British but the taste was slightly different from the usual bread puddings because it had dessicated coconut and almond on top with delicious pieces of young coconut in it too giving it a lovely chewy texture and a nutty taste contrasted by the Brandy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rice Krispies:

This was from the A la Carte menu and I ordered it because the Rice Krispies reminded me of the cereal and I was curious if they were the same.
It was grounded pork with coconut, crispy pieces but the rice krispy pieces were not as crispy as I hoped and there was too much lemongrass in it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Nougat glace:

A colourful icecream mixed with grounded M&Ms which tasted a bit like frozen heavy whipped sweet cream with pieces of chocolate in it.
The plate was colourfully decorated with red and yellow syrup which matched their grafitti design.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cordon blue with potato balls:

The cordon bleu was really crispy on the outside and the chicken was tender.
The star of the dish was actually the potato balls because they are fluffy inside with a delicious crispy potatoey crust.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3036] Singapore's Cedele now in Hong Kong @ Cedele

22/12/2013
Cedele
上環德輔道中199號無限極廣場地下G08號舖
Shop G08, Infinitus Plaza, 199 Des Voeux Rd, Sheung Wan

https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/singapores-cedele-now-in-hong-kong-e2336982

I discovered this by chance because I was early in the area for a tasting.
At first it looked like a modern cafe with salads and sandwiches at the entrance, and cakes on the other side of the cabinet.

As I had a tasting, I decided to go for something light so tried the cakes.

I was delighted to see lots of pandan flavoured cakes, which made me realize it was Singaporean.
A nice addition to the market because Toast box and BreadTalk are getting boring.

The dining area was quite nice.

The staff there were really nice and spoke American English and you would expect a truly Singaporean brand to speak fluent English or at least Singlish because this is their native language.
It surprises me that Singapore has better English speakers and Western brands than Hong Kong because Hong Kong is more internationally well known but lacks good fluent English speakers.
The GDP of Singapore is overtaking Hong Kong over these few years.

Back to the delicious cakes!!

I ordered the Pandan cake and the Pistachio and chocolate cake.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pandan cake $40/slice:

Description from the label:
natural pandan sponge cake sandwiched between own made egg custard, pandan frosting finished with fragrant coconut shreds. Unrefined sugar and grapeseed oil used.

This was the first pandan cake I have tried, the ones I have tried before were the chiffon ones which were not as fancy as this.
The cake had a lovely strong taste and smell of pandan.
In the middle the kaya paste and the coconut shreds topping on top made it more coconutty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chocolate pistachio cake:

Description from the label:
Chocolate truffle layered with soft pandan cake, topped with pistachios.

This cake was too heavy for my liking because the chocolate truffle layers were strong and dense so it felt like eating a bar of dark chocolate.
Although it was too strong, it was nice that it was not too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
After trying the cakes, I went back for the Christmas Pandan logcake and the cheese scallion scone to take away.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Christmas Pandan logcake:

Description from the label:
Soft and moist pandan logcake.

The box for the cake was really nice and sturdy.

Compared to the Pandan cake above, there was more proportion of pandan buttercream in the middle and less of the cake.
Overall, I felt that the pandan cake tasted better because it was more satisfying.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cheese scallion scone:

Description from the label:
Savory scone filled with spring onions and cheddar cheese, recommended with soup.

Although I did not have it reheated, it tasted amazing.
It would have been divine if it had been warm because the abundance of spring onions in it made it moist and flavoursome and the cheddar cheese was lovely and cheesy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2998] Creative food jamming with Jam @ 一起果醬 let's Jam

01/12/2013
一起果醬 let's Jam
西貢市場街9號地下
G/F, 9 See Cheung Street, Sai Kung, Kowloon, Sai Kung
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/creative-food-jamming-with-jam-e2333672

Previously tried to dine here but the owner was ill so it was closed that day.
Came here a few weeks later when the weather was lovely and cool.
As expected, the place stood out because the decor was nice.
It was sort of vintage English but also American.
Something that you would expect in a little town.

++++++++++++++++
Lovely rustic picnic hamper

++++++++++++++++
Stylish sink and mirror

++++++++++++++++
Cute pastel straws that are made of paper and not plastic

++++++++++++++++
The name let's Jam reminded me of the recent trend of art jamming and music jamming but they are actually called that because they produce many homemade jams.

For every dish, it is paired with a choice of jam, even their beef burgers have jam in it to balance the beefy taste.

Here was what I ordered:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Double cheese omelette:
The omelette was surprisingly fluffy with delicious cheese inside, there were two different cheeses inside, I think one was mozzarella and the other was cheddar.
Also on the plate were some delicious earthy mushrooms and some bacon, but the bacon was different to the ones I usually have because it was harder and had a smokier taste.
The thickness of the toast was thick!!!
It was great with the jam which I had last because it was sweet.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Apple and rose jam:

I wanted to try apple and cinnamon jam but it was sold out so tried the apple and rose. Luckily the rose was not that strong so it was quite nice and not too sweet with a tangy apple flavour.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pear in red wine jam:

The pear jam was sweeter than the apple.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
cheesecake with blueberry jam:

Had the cheesecake as well because the jam made me hungrier.
It was a Japanese style soft and moist cheesecake with a light texture.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
apple and rose soda:

The soda was really nice and it was nice having a cold drink on a cold day.
Again, the rose flavouring was not that prominent which was great because I don't like rose.
It was great drinking from the vintage paper straw.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Overall, the food here is affordable but it takes a while for the food to come.
Their plates are really cute because they have cute fancy cut outs.