[Review 1039] TakoKatsu burger @ MOS Burger

30/03/2011
MOS Burger:
將軍澳唐俊街9號君薈坊地下33-34號舖
Shop 33-34, G/F, The Edge, 9 Tong Chun Street, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/takokatsu-burger-mos-e2158686

The TakoKatsu burger was launched on the 14th. Tako means Octopus, hence an Octopus burger.

This was my first time trying an Octopus burger, the closest thing I have had to it was a cuttlefish burger from Toppings.

Cuttlefish burger@Toppings:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2010566

Basically it looks like a normal burger with a patty inside, there was finely shredded lettuce and cabbage and dressing.
The Octopus patty contained pieces of chopped tentacles in it, and it wasn’t too dry, the patty contained prawns as well, the taste was similar to eating a prawn burger at McDonalds.
The patty was slightly gel like inside, same as the prawn burger from McDs, I felt that they have cleverly used this in the patty so the Octopus doesn’t taste dry and tough.

Overall it was worth trying, but the sauce was slightly too strong and I couldn’t really taste the octopus.

[Review 1038] Frasier @ Sift Patisserie

29/03/2011
Sift desserts
灣仔皇后大道東51號地下
G/F, 51 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/fraisier-sift-e2158262

Sift has always been on my list to visit, but whenever I attempted to go, it was either closed, booked by press or in the blazing hot summer.
The cakes there are takeaway only, so a definite no-no in heavy rain or heat.
Anyway finally went on a fine spring day, there were two cabinets of cakes, one end was cupcakes and the other side was macaroons and pastries.

I bought three macarons, Jasmine, Pistachio and Caramel.
For the pastries I couldn’t decide between the Frasier and the Pistache, but in the end I got the Frasier because it looked better.
The Frasier was made of a layer of almond joconde, then a layer of pistachio crème mousseline with fresh halved strawberries and topped with Italian meringue. The Joconde is an almond sponge cake, containing almonds, it differs from other sponge cakes by having whole eggs (rather than just yolks) beaten with sugar and ground almonds before the meringue is folded in. Joconde is baked in thin layers on baking sheets. Joconde is used to make linings for the outsides of charlottes, a traditional French raspberry mousse cake, and other Bavarian mousse cakes.

The Pistache was Pistachio mousse, raspberry cream, pistachio joconde and pistachio dacquoise.
The dacquoise is the nut meringue layer.

The Frasier tasted much better than expected, the strawberries were ripe and fresh, and the pistachio crème mousseline gave it some nutty taste, the texture of the pistachio crème mousseline was like the silky praline filling and not too sweet, then the final sweetness came from the Italian meringue which was smooth and creamy. The strawberries mellowed out the heaviness of the whole cake by its natural berry taste.

I like to cut my Frasier so that there are equal amounts of crème mousse, strawberry, sponge and Italian meringue.
The strawberries have been placed appropriately so that the cake can be cut into three parts equally then cutting it in the middle.

Jasmine Macaron:
This was the first one I tried; the texture was sugary and then melted in the mouth.
There was no jasmine taste at all, but a slight aftertaste.

Caramel Macaron:
This was slightly bitter and salty, but tasted quite nice.

Pistachio Macaron:
This one was the best, light and nutty.

Overall all the macarons were good and not too sweet. The cakes tasted as good as it looked.

[Review 1037]Tao O Beadlet Anemones @ 隱姑茶果

28/03/2011
隱姑茶果
大澳永安街11號A
11A Wing On Street, Tai O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/beadlet-anemones-tai-o-e2158083

When you enter Tai O village, this stall is near the entrance and hard to miss, selling those traditional Chinese sweet/savoury teacakes.

The popular white ones with peanut and coconut filling are usually sold out first, they are similar to mochi but not dusted with flour.
Anyway, the ones I got were the dark coloured ones that people do not find appetising, but I thought it was OK, actually I thought they looked a bit like the black Chinese mushrooms hence the name 隱姑茶果 but actually then I realised 隱姑茶果 was the name of the shop.

After reading the reviews on OpenRice, I found out they were called 雞屎籐 teacakes, made from a herb called 雞屎籐 (Paederia scandens).
For me, they tasted Ok, slightly chewy, and sweet, the size was bite-sized.
It costs $4 for 4.

Apart from looking like Chinese mushrooms, they reminded me of Beadlet Anemones found in rocky shores around all coasts of the UK

[Review 1036] HK style Saucy garlic chicken soft roll @ 肯德基家鄉雞 (KFC) Kentucky Fried Chicken

28/03/2011

肯德基家鄉雞 (KFC) Kentucky Fried Chicken
鰂魚涌華蘭路12A-C號惠安苑地下
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/hk-style-saucy-garlic-chicken-soft-roll-kfc-e2158019

Whilst trying out their Hong Kong style series, this is the burger version of the "saucy garlic roasted chicken" in a soft roll.
It is grilled chicken thigh with garlic sauce sandwiched with mayonnaise, cheese and lettuce in a soft dusted roll.
Overall the chicken was very dry and was grilled for too long.
Out of the KFC HK style series the baked rice was the best.

RELATED REVIEWS- KFC HK style series:

Tomato and chicken baked rice:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2158015

Saucy garlic roasted chicken:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2158016

[Review 1035] HK style Saucy garlic roast chicken @ 肯德基家鄉雞 (KFC) Kentucky Fried Chicken

28/03/2011
肯德基家鄉雞 (KFC) Kentucky Fried Chicken
尖沙咀金馬倫道2-4號地下及1樓A舖
G/F & Shop A, 1/F, 2-4 Cameron Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/hk-style-saucy-garlic-roast-chicken-kfc-e2158016

Tried the saucy garlic roasted chicken, which was part of the KFC HK style series.
Overall, the roasted chicken tasted ok, but there was not as much sauce and garlic as shown on the product picture.
It tasted like the flava crava roasted chicken and also the grilled honey chicken wings.
Out of the KFC HK series, the tomato and chicken baked rice was the best.

RELATED REVIEWS:

Saucy garlic chicken soft roll:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2158019

Tomato and chicken baked rice:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2158015

[Review 1034] KFC HK style Tomato and Chicken baked rice @ 肯德基家鄉雞 (KFC) Kentucky Fried Chicken

28/03/2011

肯德基家鄉雞 (KFC) Kentucky Fried Chicken
將軍澳貿業路8號新都城中心2期2樓2057-2059號舖
Shop 2057-59, 2/F, MCP Central, 8 Mau Yip Road, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/kfc-hk-style-tomato-and-chicken-baked-rice-e2158015

I never was a fan of baked rice at KFC, but this one really surprised me.

The ones that I have had at KFC were the usual mushroom rice and chicken a la king, they just tasted like airplane meals, the rice would be too soft, and for the mushroom rice, it was just strongly flavoured with black pepper and served with canned mushrooms.

The chicken a la king tasted slightly better, but it tasted like frozen ready meals.

Anyway, this time I tried the Tomato and Chicken baked rice. IT WAS AMAZING!!

I would never order baked rice from Chinese Cafes because I hate the bed of egg fried rice beneath it.
I find the egg fried rice rather sickening, especially since the rice is stir fried and then baked.
The baked rice at Chinese cafes usually has cheese on top which makes it weird, not Chinesey or Western.

Back to the KFC baked rice:

The portion was quite big, presented in a foil dish, and the tomato sauce was thick and rich containing tomatoes, pineapples, and a de-boned chicken thigh filet.

The sauce was generous; I had sufficient sauce throughout to last till the last spoonful of rice. The tomato sauce was rich and heavy, it was perhaps slightly too strong, but it tasted good, the rice matched very well, it was not too soft like their usual rice dishes.
Although the bed of rice tried to be egg fried rice like the chinesey cafes, it was actually pieces of egg mixed in with the rice, which I felt the rice was very healthy and not oily.

Interestingly, the garlic chicken, which is on promotion, is meant to be the Chinesey style, but I felt that this baked rice was more Chinesy, and tasted the best out of them.

To finish the meal, I had a cup of tea from KFC, which was the Chinesey HK style tea. Although it is not my cup tea, in this case, it matched the Chinesey mood I got from the baked rice.
This is the first time I enjoyed a delicious baked rice, coming from KFC!!!!!!

IMPROVEMENTS:For improvement, I think the chicken should be sliced, because the cutlery at KFC is plastic and hard to use.

Out of the KFC HK style series the baked rice was the best.

RELATED REVIEWS- KFC HK style series:

Saucy garlic chicken soft roll:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2158019

Saucy garlic roasted chicken:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2158016

[Review 1033] Yellow curry vermicelli @ 泰妃雞 Thai

26/03/2011 泰妃雞 Thai
灣仔三角街3號地下
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/yellow-curry-vermicelli-e2157999

I felt that this Thai joint was interesting, especially the pricing, you could say it was expensive because the usual dishes such as sliced chicken with rice, pork knuckle and rice cost around $43.
In most places it costs around $30-$40 including a soup and drink.

Anyway, on their menu for slightly more at $50+ they were serving fish maw thick soup and stir-fried fish maw.
I think on my next visit, these are worth trying rather than the ordinary dishes.

The pork knuckle and rice was ok, and the Yellow curry vermicelli which I thought was interesting was just plain Singapore fried vermicelli, but slightly sweeter being yellow curry.