[Review 895] Another froyo joint in TST @ Orangi Yo

28/10/2010

Orangi Yo
尖沙咀加連威老道41C-D號嘉威大廈地下3號舖
Shop 3, G/F, Granville House, 41C-D Granville Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/another-froyo-joint-in-tst-e2126750

Another self service Froyo joint in TST, when I went in, it reminded me of Myogurt in Wan Chai, both featuring green and orange on the logo.

There were so many flavours, but they didn’t have Candyfloss froyo, it probably doesn’t taste good as commented by others, but I still wanted to try it.

The flavours that day were:
Chocolate, Vanilla, Banana, Pistachio, Cookies and Cream, Red velvet cake, Coconut, Green Tea, Mango, Taro, Original, Green apple, Pineapple, Orange and Lychee.
In the end, I chose Pistachio, Banana, Red velvet cake and Taro.

To be honest, they all tasted roughly the same, except for the Red velvet cake, which had the strongest taste, and that one flavoured by Cranberries.
The texture of the yogurts were icy, and not creamy, more like a milky sorbet.
The toppings were basically the same as everywhere else, fresh fruit, cereals etc, so I didn’t really pick much.

[Review 894] Hooray Hiro's @ Uncle Hiro's

26/10/2010

Uncle Hiro's
灣仔駱克道89號灣仔中匯大廈地下5號舖
Shop 5, G/F, Wanchai Central Building, 89 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/hooray-hiros-e2126363

Thanks to Mandalay, found out about this yummy joint.
Previously Cul De Sac, it is now a fast food joint serving items similar items, however I miss those chips with mayonnaise, gravy, vinegar and various of sauces.
The interior is relatively the same, hence it was hard to notice they had been replaced by another shop, and the name Uncle Hiro’s sound Japanese.

The new joint offers Tacos, pizzas, hotdogs, burgers and some interesting items.
It is run and possibly owned by Indians, the takeaway bag and tissues were from Ebeeneezers too.
Ordered the beef Tacos with chilli con carne sauce, Chapli burger and chicken drumstucks as stated on the menu.
Tacos with chili con carne:
These were rather expensive for $34, only two tacos per portion, and there was not much filling inside.
Despite that, it tasted so yummy, there was lots of starchy kidney beans, and the meat was ground finely.
The lettuce was shredded finely too rather that a big piece of lettuce.
The spicy sauce on the lettuce was very fiery so beware.
MAGIC CARPET (Chapli burger):
This was also expensive too for $34, I was expecting a gigantic patty but was it was the size of the patty served at McD’s.
Nevertheless, the patty was spicy and delicious, however being an indian burger, I would have preferred more authentic Indian toppings eg mango chutney, yogurt or mint sauce rather than tomato, mustard and mayonnaise.
The bun was good though, there wasn’t much sesame seeds.
Chapli is a patty made from beef mince, it is one of the popular barbecue meals in Pakistan. It is prepared flat and round and served with yoghurt sauce (raita), salad and naan bread. The dish originates from Mardan (Takhtbhai) and Mansehra (Qalanderabad) regions of Pakistan.in mansehra shinkiari and ichrean are very famous for chapal kabab.peaples of shinkiari serve chapal kabab as the special dish to the guests.nima kababi is one of the famous chapal kabab maker in mansehra(shinkiari).

Chicken drumsticks:
These were priced at $32 so I asked how many drumsticks were in a portion, and they answered 3, which sounds reasonable, however when I got it, there were four.
They turned out to be CHICKEN drumettes not drumsticks.
Anyway, they tasted good, so it didn’t matter. The coating of the drumettes were so crunchy, it made a crunchy sound was like biting into thick Pringle crisps.
Whilst waiting for the food to be prepared, I saw a lot of food being taken out from cardboard boxes and reheated, but I couldn’t see what brand they were.
For my next visit, I will probably try the potato skins, chicken fingers and poutine.

[Review 893] Surprisingly good @ 北京拉麵店 Peking Handmade Noodles Restaurant

26/10/2010

北京拉麵店 Peking Handmade Noodles Restaurant
將軍澳唐德街9號將軍澳中心G27舖
Shop No.G27, Park Central, 9 Tong Tak Street, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/surprisingly-good-e2126330

This restaurant has been around for a while, but it dosnt look tempting to go in, the outside isnt appealing to me, especially the type of dishes they do, I assumed they were the ordinary chinese noodles.
Before you go in, there is a manager pacing back and forth at the entrance smilng to himself I think, and not many customers inside, so i assumed the food probably isnt that good.
Anyway I decided to go in without expectations, I was attracted because they had purple rice noodles.
On my way to be seated I noticed some bottled rice drinks at the counter that are sold at QQ Rice, so I suspected they had some partnership with QQ Rice, especially since they offer purple rice noodles.
After checking them out on the web, I found that they had a website:
http://www.pekingnoodles.com.hk
and QQ Rice (http://www.qqrice.com.hk/address28.php) is one of their subsidaries, and the other two are
1- slim noodles http://www.slimtaste.com.hk
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=23359
unfortunately this has now gone out of business
2- 39 degrees bakery http://www.39cbakery.com/
All their websites are pretty cool and has English as well! So well done!!
The sofa seats were worn off and flakey, so I had the impression that they had great customer flow, so it changed my expectations, I was now beginning to think the food would taste better than expected if there was such a big turnover in customers.
The dinner set ranged from $58 - $62, it consists of a choice of starter, noodles, drink and a dessert.
For the starters there is a choice of chicken in sesame sauce and mung bean sheet noodles, black fungas and burdock, and preserved egg and peppers.
The dessert was sweet potato sprinkled with coconut.
As for the drinks it was honey with green tea, peach tea or milk tea..
For all the noodles there was a choice of handmade ramen, purple rice noodles and the normal noodles.
In the end picked the preserved egg and mung bean sheet noodles as starters, then purple rice noodles with spring onion and noodles in pork broth and pork chops.
The dessert was the first to arrive, it was pieces of sweet potato slightly glazed with coconut sprinkled on top.
I have never tried this before, so I didnt know what to expect, but it was quite nice.
The sweet potato was quite firm and sweet due to the flavouring, and the coconut shreds
Drink was a bit too sweet, so I diluted it with the water provided.
For extra desserts I ordered black sugar mochi for $8, there were six pieces, other flavours were taro, green tea, and grapefruit.



Preserved egg with peppers
This tasted how it should, and the sauce beneath the preserved eggs made it more appetizing, although the sauce was fiery and made of chili, the cucumber shreds made it quite refreshing.


Sesame chicken and mung bean sheets
The noodles were covered in lots of rich thick sesame sauce and sprinkled with lots of sesame seeds.
I didnt really like the chicken as it wasnt that fresh, but the mung bean sheets were lovely.


Pork chop with spring onion and noodles
The soup base was very strong, hence the noodles were fully flavoured.


Noodles with spring onions
Although this was the cheapest set, it tasted the best, for the choice of noodles I chose the purple rice noodles, but they were not that purple when served.
The purple rice noodles before being cooked were reddish brown, hence they dont look purple after the sauce was mixed added.
The noodles tasted very nice with the dried shrimps and crunchy spring onions.


Sweet potato topped with coconut
This dessert tasted like candied sweet potato rather than fresh sweet potato, it was slightly hard, but tasted ok, slightly too sweet.



black sugar mochi
This was ordered as an extra for $8, but it would have been great if you could choose a combination of two flavours rather than one flavour.
It was very chewy but tasted ok.


Ordered honey green tea and peach tea, the honey one was very strong in jasmine and honey.
The peach tea was slightly lighter but had a fake taste.
In addition to that, they have a kid's set which looks really cute on the menu, and a marshmallow chocolate drink too!!!
Pity I forget to take a picture of it.

[Review 892] Superb meal @ 樂意扒房 Louis' Steak House

26/10/2010

樂意扒房 Louis' Steak House
灣仔告士打道50號馬來西亞大廈1樓
1/F, Malaysia Building, 50 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/superb-meal-e2126326

 I have always wanted to dine at Louis Steak house because of the yummy pictures of Fish Maw.
This restaurant is rather interesting because the Chinese run it and they serve proper western dishes apart from the Fish Maw. The restaurant is rather historic to me, especially inside the restaurant, it feels like the Beefeater restaurant in UK.
The staff looked like they’ve work there all their life too, and most of them are all middle aged.
I was very impressed by their diverse menu too, ranging from Asparagus with hollandaise sauce to Crepes Suzette.
For my first visit, I decided to sample their food, so chose the set meal for two, which includes oysters and boiled prawns, basket of bread, mushroom and crab soup with cheese, fish maw, steak, apple pie and a drink.

The table was laid with red and white chequered tablecloth and formal cutlery, vase of carnations, and a small candlelight.

French Gillardeau Oysters and Prawns:
The prawns were fresh, and the oyster was fairly big compared to the restaurants.
The oyster was Ok, and the sauce complimented it well.

Louis Steak home made fish maw with special Chinese sauce:
After reading Jason’s review, I used the bread on the sticky fish maw sauce, and it was wonderful.
The fish maw itself was quite thick. When I used the knife on it, the fish maw texture felt dense.
I would have preferred the fish maw to be slightly softer.

Fresh crabmeat mushroom soup au Gratin:
This was baked, so it was very hot, there was thinly sliced mushrooms on the top with melted cheese.
The crabmeat was nice and fresh, but as for the taste, I only remember the cheese and burning my mouth!!

U.S prime rib eye steak:
Had this cooked to medium, it was served with a jacket potato with a choice of sour cream, bacon bits and chives.
I had my potato served with plain butter.
The steak was good, the only complaint was the fatty rind on the edges.

Apple pie:It looked like an ordinary apple pie, but the pastry was so light, buttery and crumbly.
I think it’s the best pie pastry I have had in Hong Kong so far.
The apple pie was nice and warm too.

Drinks:
Ordered tea, and I was surprised they knew the tea I wanted and brought the appropriate items such as milk and sugar.





I will definitely come again and their food is healthy, and everything served is edible rather than useless garnishing.

[Review 891] Saizeriya success in Hong Kong @ 薩莉亞意式餐廳 Saizeriya Italian Restaurant

26/10/2010
薩莉亞意式餐廳 Saizeriya Italian Restaurant
將軍澳坑口培成路8號南豐廣場1樓R1B號舖
Shop R1B, 1/F, Nan Fung Plaza, 8 Pui Shing Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/saizeriya-success-in-hong-kong-e2126319

Saizeriya is a success in HK since it opened, but it never drew my attention before.
Being located in Nan Fung plaza in TKO, I just assumed it was a local chinese-italian restaurant.

After seeing all those positive reviews on Saizeriya, I decided to try it someday, but the strange thing was, HK Epicurius hasnt reviewed it yet. After consulting HKE, it turns out he had a better deal trying it in China, it is nearly 40% cheaper than the already cheap prices in HK.

HKE’s review in China:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2051443

When I sat down and looked at the menu I realised it was a Japanese branch. It was established in Japan in 1968 and then opened their first overseas branch in China in 2007.
Other branches in HK are located in Tsz Wan San and Tsuen Wan.
The restaurant has been in the news in Japan for serving pizza with melamine-tainted dough from China in October 2008.
Saizeriya is not limited to Italian food; gratin and Hamburg steaks were also added to the menu

From the pictures posted by others, it didn’t really stand out against the other Italian places such as Pizza express or Amaroni’s so I was totally sceptical about the food there.
I also heard the food was ridiculously cheap too so I didn’t have the expectation it would taste good, the total bill for ordering starters and mains etc was under $100.

Ordered squid ink risotto, Chicken demi-glace, Prawn cocktail.

Squid ink risotto:The rice was nice and soft, although slightly bland.

Prawn cocktail:This salad tasted the best, especially the sauce, it wasn’t too sweet and the sauce may be slightly savoury for others.

Chicken with Demi-glace sauce:This was the highlight of the meal, tender and juicy chicken thigh with crisp chicken skin.
The sauce was interesting, it tasted like yellow bean sauce, however demi-glace is meant to be a rich brown sauce in French cuisine traditionally made by combining equal parts of veal stock and sauce espagnole.

Apart from the food served to your table, the rest is self-service, which enables the staff to primarily take orders and bring food faster to people.
The drinks are available at the drinks bar, which is self service, same with the condiments.
To pay for the bill, you need to bring the bill outside to pay.

[Review 890] Appalling food!! @ 香格格酸辣米線

26/10/2010
香格格酸辣米線
將軍澳常寧路2號TKO Gateway東翼1樓E169-E170號舖
Shop 169-170, 1/F, East Wing, TKO Gateway, 2 Sheung Ning Street, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/appalling-food-e2126285

The food here was appalling, ordered vermicelli in soup and vinegar ribs with rice.

Vermicelli:
The taste of the soup was weird, it was not spicy, but there was a weird sensation on my tongue and lips.
It was almost like eating bowl of stinging nettles.
The whole dish just tasted W+E+I+R+D!!!!


Vinegar ribs and rice:
This was so amateur, it was basically fried pork chops with vinegar sauce put on the top!
The rice was ok, it had bits of chopped up vegetables.

Barley lemon drink:
Just tasted like syrup, as you can see the drink was crystal clear, the barley was not even boiled in the drink, it was just water added with syrup and barley pearls added to the drink separately.

[Review 889] Dining at Typhoon in hope of a super Typhoon~!~ @ Typhoon

24/10/2010
Typhoon
灣仔駱克道37-39號地下
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/dining-typhoon-in-hope-of-a-super-typhoon-e2125684

Since my last visit, this restaurant has improved tremendously.
Big Ernies next door has been replaced by The Blue Goose, and they both serve the same food as Typhoon so you can choose to sit at the Typhoon or at The Blue Goose.
Anyway the lunch sets range from $58-$62, no service charge included but a $1 compulsory charity donation per person.
They have the set lunches on display, so you can see before you order, rice seems to be their speciality.
Last week when I walked past, they had some purple risotto that I found interesting.
I went the Typhoon in the mood hoping the super typhoon would be a ferocious but unfortunately it turned out to be a crappy typhoon!
There were 4 lunch sets: spaghetti puttanesca, fish, pork chop with risotto and mozzarella mushroom bun and chips.
All the set lunches come with soup/salad and a drink.
Ordered the pork chop with risotto and the mozzarella mushroom bun and chips.
I was attracted to both those sets, especially the risotto with peas and herbs, and the pure white mozzarella in the bun with grilled mushrooms.
The soup and salad arrived, the tomato and potato soup came first, the soup tasted a bit sweet but ok.
 0 讚好


The risotto was as good as imagined and nicely flavoured with the herbs in the rice and peas, although it could have been slightly softer.
 0 讚好


As for the bun, the mushrooms were grilled keeping the earthy taste of the mushrooms, and the mozzarella was placed in the bun and not grilled.
The bun was slightly old and dry, especially since it was a dusted bun.
The chips were the flat cut types, so I got some vinegar to go with it.
The mozzarella was how it should be, pure white, not melted to tasteless stringy cheese.
 0 讚好


 0 讚好



To end the perfect lunch, there was a perfect cuppa in a pretty dark clear blue mug.