[Review 1240] Ja Ja jambalaya rice is delicious @ Blue Smoke Bar-B-Que

10/08/2011

Blue Smoke Bar-B-Que
中環蘭桂坊15-16號協興大廈3樓
3/F, Grand Progress Building, 15-16 Lan Kwai Fong, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/ja-ja-jambalaya-rice-is-delicious-e2188223

Finally paid the Blue Smoke Bar-B-Que a visit, which is conveniently located in LKF.

It is part of the Dining concepts group, which features their menu online.

I was attracted to this place because the starters looked really good, especially the Mac and Cheese which are fried balls with macaroni and cheese inside.
It is south American/Mexican cuisine.

I tried the Chicken Jamabalaya and the chilli beef burger.
The chicken Jamabalaya was the best, every part and every grain of rice was flavourful.
Anyway next time I will be back for the Mac and cheese.
The burger was good too, but I would have preferred a western bun rather than a sweet local Chinese bun.

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Price: quite reasonable.
English menu: yes
Service: Brilliant
Yummy factor: very.
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[Review 1239] Aug 2011 New mini Kami bucket with camo design @ 肯德基家鄉雞 (KFC) Kentucky Fried Chicken

06/08/2011
肯德基家鄉雞 (KFC) Kentucky Fried Chicken
將軍澳重華路8號東港城1樓185號舖
Shop No.185, 1/F, East Point City, 8 Chung Wa Road, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/new-mini-kami-bucket-with-camo-design-kfc-aug2011-e2187132


Went to try the mini kami bucket just because of the potato sticks.
The mini kami bucket meal consists of two pieces of chicken, potato sticks, kami pudding and a drink for $39.

In Hong Kong they only serve the waffle cut fries which are boring, I prefer them served with fries just like the UK, and they also have gravy as well.

Anyway, I was excited when they had potato sticks, an alternative to waffle fries.

From the product shot, the shape and size of the potato sticks looked like fish fingers.
On closer inspection, they were just hash browns made into that shape.
The chicken tasted how it should however the potato sticks were overdone, it was too crispy and not fluffy inside lacking potato taste and smell.
It looked slightly different to the product shot, because the real thing looked evidently like a hash brown, but the one in the product shot had a smooth surface looking like breadcrumbs or a long croquette.

The Kami pudding had two flavours: strawberry and caramel.
I opted for the caramel, which has a layer of caramel at the bottom.
The kami pudding is actually made by epoch desserteries.
The taste of the pudding was ok, slightly creamy sweetened by the caramel at the bottom.

caramel kami pudding
Overall, the design of the bucket was really nice, it was the camo pattern incorporated with the KFC design resulting in red camouflage design.
A nice concept using the camo pattern as a packaging design for the kami dessert.

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Price: $39 slightly expensive.
English menu: yes
Service: OK
Yummy factor: potato was dissappointing.
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[Review 1238] Nitrous oxide strawberry soda @ SohoWay

05/08/2011
SohoWay
中環擺花街8號地下2號舖
Shop 2, G/F, 8 Lyndhurst Street, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/nitrous-oxide-strawberry-soda-e2186972

Came back especially for the strawberry soda and oolong tea with grass jelly.

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Oolong tea with grass jelly:
This was visually interesting and stunning, the grass jelly floated on top of the tea instead of sinking below!
I never thought the density of grass jelly could be lighter than tea.

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Strawberry soda:
This tasted nice, however it was slightly disappointing because it was dead flat!

Isnt soda meant to be fizzy?
It was dead FLAT! So I told them it was flat, they re-did it again, and it was still flat!
I asked them if it was meant to be like that and they said it gets flat easily.
It is amazing how it can lose its fizzyiness within seconds of leaving the kitchen to the customer that is only a few steps away?

Anyway, I researched other drinks that contained nitrous oxide on the net, but the comments on it were fizzy just like other carbonated drinks.
I ordered this drink because Nitrous oxide is said to make people in an intense state of transcendent happiness combined with an overwhelming sense of contentment.
From one of the reviews, they said they were happy after drinking it without realising it contained Nitrous oxide.
I think this is one of their drinks to highlight, but I cant understand why they don't promote this drink or have information that this drink contains Nitrous oxide rather than ordinary soda on the menu.
They can't expect everyone that comes to Sohoway to have read that article in the newspaper.
If I hadn't read some article in the media about this place I wouldn't have found out about this drink.
After I drank it, I just felt soothed and calm, not as happy as one of the reviewers said.
It was probably because I was disappointed with the flatness of the drink, so the drink just brought me back to normal levels!
I wondered if I had been in a normal state, would I have been hyped up.

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Price: $3x with 10% on top.
English menu: yes, some have pictures!
Service: OK
Yummy factor: OK
Sweetness levels: light
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[Review 1237] Froyo made high end and artistic @ Smile Yogurt & Dessert Bar

03/08/2011
Smile Yogurt & Dessert Bar (已結業)
九龍城獅子石道65號地下
G/F, 65 Lion Rock Road, Kowloon City
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/froyo-made-high-end-and-artistic-e2186364

There are so many places selling Froyo these days that competition is fierce.

I was attracted to this place because their froyo was artistic.
Instead of plain froyo with toppings, they looked like artisan sundaes with attractive names.

Some of the toppings were interesting such as the vanilla crisp, which were thinly baked vanilla biscuit/cookies shaped into long curls.

They also had these pretty biscuit sticks similar to the Japanese coated biscuit sticks.
One of the toppings was weird, it was called "fruit salad" but at least they used greek yogurt instead of Heinz salad cream.

I wanted to try the froyo, so I just got plain froyo with green tea mochi.
The mochi was very different to the other places, it was thin pieces of powdered mochi squares!
As for the froyo, it was boring but too sweet.

The decoration of this place was quite modern and upscale.

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Price: Cant remember, went a while ago.
English menu: yes, and they have pictures!
Service: OK
Yummy factor: OK
Sweetness levels: but too sweet
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[Review 1236] The perfect balance @ La Balance Ginza

03/082011
La Balance Ginza
銅鑼灣軒尼斯道555號崇光百貨地庫
Basement, Sogo, 555 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/the-perfect-balance-at-la-balance-ginza-e2186314

I am not a fan of Japanese cheesecake, or soft serve ice-cream unless it is the soft-serve ice-cream from Kasho Chaya.

But anyway tried it.

It costs $35 per cup and the standard items are ice-cream, a piece of cheesecake, and a choice of sauce which are mango, custard or chocolate.

I chose custard sauce and the colour of it was pale yellow.

I do not really eat these items separately, but it all tasted nice together, the cheesecake which is usually a bit dry and tasteless was moistened by the lovely cold ice-cream, but it was quite bland because both the cheesecake and icecream were not that sweet.

The custard sauce made the ice-cream and cheesecake come alive.

This dessert is perfect for those who don't like overly sweet things.

It reminded me of having scones with clotted cream with custard sauce!

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Price: $35 per cup, about the same as other places.
English menu: yes, and they have pictures!
Service: OK
Yummy factor: OK
Sweetness levels: very light
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[Review 1235] Garden magic @ Fru:yo Factory

01/08/2011
Fru:yo Factory
將軍澳調景嶺都會駅商場L2008B舖
Shop L2008B, Metro Town, Tiu Keng Leng, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/garden-magic-at-fru-yo-factory-e2186001

I was attracted by its name: Fru:yo factory, I was expecting there would be lots of yogurt dispensers just like Tutti-melon and Tutti-Frutti.
I was expecting the experience to be fun like visiting Charlie's chocolate factory such as getting toppings from turning carousels, or cute containers on a conveyor belt just like a real factory.

There are two branches, one in Causeway Bay and this one, two extreme places, one in city side of Hong Kong and the other in the urban side of Hong Kong.
Usually, shops will open either in the city or in the urban areas to see how it goes, and then expand to the other areas.

Anyway, the interior was indeed fun, there was a fountain in the middle where you could sit around it, however the fountain was not flowing.

I liked the tiling on the floor the most, it was printed with flowers in between the lines which looked quite realistic.
The main theme of the yogurt was the elephant, I couldnt quite understand why this was chosen as a mascot, I felt that ladybirds or fairies would suit it better, but then these are the type of western styles I have been brought up with.

Its wooden approach and earth colours made it down to earth and naturistic, whilst the fonts and names of the drinks made it feel American.
The spoon matched the joint as well; it was matt material and light beige in colour.

For the froyo there were only two flavours, original and chocolate.
I tried the chocolate first and it was too strong and floury, so I chose the original.
The original was very thick, but quite sweet. They were very generous with the toppings!
I chose the caramel kanten, which was clear and glistened in gold.

After from froyo they had drinks too with attractive names such as: Sunshine in love, blue breeze, gold coast.
The gold coast was interesting because it was kiwi based
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Price: For the smallest size (cute) it cost $24 which is relatively cheap.
English menu: yes!
Service: friendly
Yummy factor: OK
Sweetness levels:slightly too sweet
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[Review 1234] There has been an improvement @ Roast Sai Kung Takeaway

30/07/2011

Roast Sai Kung Takeaway
西貢福民路42-56號西貢大廈地下16號舖
Shop16, G/F, Sai Kung Mansion, 42-56 Fuk Man Road, Sai Kung
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/theres-been-an-improvement-e2185635

On my last visit, I felt that this shop was in its teething stages, since then it has improved.
The rude waitress is not there anymore and you are served by Star studded crew which I shall explain later.

There is more items on the menu that were not previously there such as the fried chicken, burritos, quesadilla, kebabs and burgers.
I ordered a lamb kebab, fried chicken, and roast chicken.
The fried chicken was good because there were two versions spicy and non spicy.

It was also interesting that they had a beverage called Halo Halo which is Flipino!
It would be good if they also offered fries with chicken salt that is served in Australia, because one of the owners is also from Oz.

I really liked the aluminium boxes that they used to serve the food, the exact same ones used in the English takeaways.
On my previous visit it was the white CFC boxes.

Roast chicken:
This was very spicy, it was like chicken roasted and then dipped in chili oil and grilled.
The texture of the chicken was so juicy, and it has definately improved since my last visit.
On my last visit, the skin was ripped and falling off, this time it was intact and grease free!
Interestingly on the chicken it had grill marks on it resembling the alphabet, the one on the drummette resembles an "N" and the one of the thigh resembles an "O".
So when it was served together it looked like the word "NO"!

Fried chicken:
I was expecting just ordinary fried chicken, but it was amazing, it is a delicious version of the fried chicken served at the Green Waffle in Central.
The difference is that the one here has taste!!
It was loaded with spices such as caraway seeds which you could visually see, the chicken was meaty and juicy.
It is close to the divine ones I had at PFC in London.

Spicy fried chicken:
The spicy version was also good too, same as the fried chicken, also big and juicy, both the coating was light.
However this one was spicy but not as spicy as the grilled chicken, it had cumin powder on it, which really made it taste nice.

Lamb Kebab:
It is not the English kebab I was expecting served in pita bread, but tasted better than the Hongkie ones, there was less sauce dripping from the kebab but it was still flavourful.
The lamb was thinly sliced and accompanied by sweet purple onions with spices too.

Price: slightly more expensive than your average fast food joint but the drinks are fairly priced at $6 per can unlike other places where they charge you $15-$20 per can, and there is a convenience store in close range.
English menu: yes, and they speak English too!
Service: very friendly
Yummy factor: very
MSG levels: did feel thristy afterwards

Anyway just for fun, the star studded couple (owners) are from the filming industry, lets hope to see more of their productions.

Irina Hadjieva - known as Irina Clarkson or Irina Hadzhieva-Clarkson was an art department director for various films and also an assistant direction.
2009 The Fourth Kind (art department coordinator - as Irina Clarkson)
2006 The Black Dahlia (art department coordinator: Bulgaria - as Irra Clarckson)
2004 Air Strike (video) (art department coordinator - as Irina Hadjieva)
2003 Air Marshal (art department coordinator)
2003 Alien Hunter (art department coordinator - as Irina Hadjieva)
2003 In Hell (art department coordinator - as Irina Hadjieva)
2003 Disaster (art department coordinator - as Irina Hadjieva)
2003 Rats (art department coordinator)
2003 Marines (video) (art department coordinator - as Irina Hadzieva)
2003 Submarines (video) (art department coordinator)
2003 In Hell (second second assistant director - as Irina Hadzhieva-Clarkson)
2002 Derailed (third assistant director)
2002 Run for the Money (art department coordinator - as Irina Hadjieva)
2002 Panic (art department coordinator)
2001 The Order (art department coordinator: Bulgaria - as Irina Hadjieva)

Ross W. Clarkson, well known for cinematography in various films and even appeared as an actor too.2011 Conan the Barbarian (cinematographer: second unit)
2010 The Eagle Path (camera operator)
2010 Undisputed III: Redemption (camera operator)
2009 Ninja (camera operator)
2009 Direct Contact (camera operator)
2009 Push (camera operator)
2008 Shark in Venice (camera operator)
2008 Jin ping mei (camera operator)
2008 The Shepherd: Border Patrol (video) (camera operator)
2007 The Hills Have Eyes II (camera operator)
2006 The Black Dahlia (camera operator)
2006 Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (Steadicam operator, camera operator)
2006 Making of 'The Mechanik' (actor as himself)
2005 The Mechanik (Steadicam operator, camera operator)
2004 Unstoppable (Steadicam operator - uncredited, additional photographer, camera operator, cinematographer: second unit)
2004 Skeleton Man (TV movie) (camera operator)
2003 Belly of the Beast (video) (camera operator)
2003 Out for a Kill (video) (cinematographer: second unit)
2003 In Hell (camera operator)
2003 Alien Hunter (Falkland Man #1 actor as Ross Clarkson)
2002 Greenmail (video) (Steadicam operator, camera operator)
2002 Derailed (Steadicam operator, camera operator)
2002 Dead Heat (camera operator)
2001 The Order (Steadicam operator, camera operator)
2001 Replicant (camera operator: "a" camera / second unit, cinematographer: second unit)
1997 Full Alert (underwater cinematographer)
1995 Guardian Angels (camera operator: second unit, Hong Kong)
1995 Ma ma fan fan (underwater cinematographer)