[Review 1347] Stirring Belgium chocolate that causes a stir @ 許留山 Hui Lau Shan

19/11/2011
許留山 Hui Lau Shan
將軍澳坑口培成路15號連理街103-104號
Shop 103-104, the Lane, 15 Pui Shing Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/stirring-belgium-chocolate-that-causes-a-stir-e2206287

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To warm up for winter, lets play a game of spot the difference!
If you have read my HLS reviews before, you will know what I am talking about.

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The last drink I had at HLS was the chocolate fruit drink, it was extremely nice, but it depends which branch you go because I found it inconsistent.
I really like the way HLS is slowly changing its image by serving almost Western drinks with some Chinese elements to it.
The design of the cup is similar to the Western brands of coffee with a slight Taiwanese touch to it.
It is quite interesting their recent products such as the choco fruit drink and this drink do not feature their corporate image.

HLS design VS Pacific coffee:

Anyway, I tried to order this drink when I dined there, but I didnt realise it was Takeaway only!!

The fine print: Take away only

I felt that it killed the fun because as a Takeaway drink, the solid chocolate on the spoon was already in the cup of hot milk with the lid firmly on.
It took away all the magic of visually stirring it and seeing it turn from milk into chocolate and virtually impossible whilst walking through packed streets with the lid on.
But with a lid clasped firmly on, and for takeaway, it takes the fun and magic away.
Anyway it totally defeats the purpose being called Stirring Belgium Chocolate.

It should be served A la Carte with the spoon of solid chocolate and the drink served separately so you can have the fun of putting the chocolate into the hot milk and stirring it until it magically turns into hot chocolate, after all their poster is conveying stirring belgium chocoate.

However the magic could still be saved if they used a clear plastic cup, but the cup would be too hot to hold as a takeaway drink.
The weather is not helping too, because I love sipping hot chocolate in the cold, and frankly it is still summer to me.

I do not like milk but since this one had Belgian chocolate I decided to try it.
It was basically a cup of hot milk with a choice of Belgian chocolate, Strawberry chocolate or Mocha.
You also get a free condiment to put in the drink which is similar to the Taiwanese drinks, the choices are wheatgerm, purple rice or mini glutinous rice balls.

The service at this branch was poor, the staff didn’t seem to have any knowledge of the drink or perhaps it was new and no one had ordered it yet, the staff did not ask me which chocolate I wanted or which condiment I wanted. I had to tell her I wanted the mini glutinous rice dumplings.

I ordered the Belgian chocolate but when I opened the lid I saw bits of pink floating!!

They gave me the Strawberry chocolate and not the Belgian chocolate, but luckily I chose the glutinous rice balls because I don’t like the combination of wheat germ or purple rice with strawberry.

Fully melted chocolate mixed with milk
Luckily I found a quiet spot to stir the chocolate before it melted and it turned out quite nice.
However there was SYRUP in it which made it too sweet and totally ruined it, but the scent of strawberry was really nice with the chocolate and not that fake.
The mini glutinous rice dumplings matched ok with chocolate and strawberry.
Next time I will request it without syrup

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Price: $18-23 depends which branch you go!
Service: Depends when you go
Yummy factor: Ok
Sweetness levels: Chocolate is sweet, and they added syrup too!!
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[Review 1346] The wisdom of seeing and not seeing @ 黑暗中對話體驗館 Dialogue in the Dark Exhibition Centre

18/11/2011
黑暗中對話體驗館 Dialogue in the Dark Exhibition Centre
美孚景荔徑8號盈暉家居城2樓215號
Shop 215, 2/F, Household Centre, 8 King Lai Path, Mei Foo
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/the-wisdom-of-seeing-and-not-seeing-e2206211

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Sometimes we see things we do not want to see.
Sometimes we want to see things that we can't see!
Sometimes when we close our eyes the unforgettable images are still there.
Sometimes no matter how hard we try, we can’t remember the images we want to see.
A quote from the Three wise monkeys: See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil.
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I got a call from OR and I wasn’t sure if I heard what I heard, which was eating in the dark!
Later I got an email, which confirmed it, and it was similar to the one I wanted to try back in UK.

It seemed great because I am quite shy meeting lots of people for the first time and the darkness broke down my shyness barrier because there wouldn't be any eye contact in the darkness!
Even with darkness as a comfort barrier, I was still slightly timid to talk.
Secondly I am quite clumsy, so I didn’t have to worry about others seeing the mess I made.

Before I was invited to Dialogue in the Dark event, I found out about a similar concept in the UK called
Dans Le Noir with restaurants located in London, Spain, New York and Paris.
As well as restaurants they have Spa massage bars with the same theme in Russia and France!
I was intrigued about it then and would have given it a try if I were in UK. It is basically dining in pitch-black darkness.

I had vaguely heard about Dialogue in the Dark, because they had an event before called “Concert in the dark 2011”.
I assumed this dinner was a kick-start to the moonwalker event held by Orbis, but they were independent events.

Anyway, got to the location by MTR and quite a few OR members had already arrived.
We were split into tables of six.
Before we went in, we were briefed that it would be pitch-black inside and a guide would guide us to our tables.
We were each supplied with a white cane to help us as well.

I knew it was going to be pitch-black, but when you are actually in pitch-black darkness it really is quite shocking, similar to being in the middle of the ocean when your feet can't touch the floor.
But after a while, you get accustomed to it and begin to relax.

In pitch-black, you cannot see and it is down to the rest of your senses such as touch, smell and verbal communication, it was then that I realised how important it was to be able to convey concisely.
Our guide gave us a tip: she said if we remained silent, we did not exist to the people around us.

After the food arrived, it was more comforting, but there were a few challenges ahead such as how to pick up or cut the food. The most challenging part was pouring hot tea and cutting the meat attached to the bone!
Basically it was the same as having normal dinner but in darkness, and the usual items you would expect could be found on the table such as Salt, Pepper, Sugar and toothpicks!!!!

The guides were amazing because in the darkness they could guide us to our tables, serve the food, and collect the plates.
The menu and sample dishes were kept secret and revealed when we all finished our meals and made it back to the briefing lounge.
The food was delicious, however the portions could have been bigger because I was still hungry.
I think I must have eaten most of it because referring to the sample dishes at the end they looked quite small.

Starter/Main revealed at the end

Dessert that tasted Great.
It would be really fun if they switched the lights on after finishing the dinner, so we could see our plates and the mess we made on the table if there was any, and the real distance from the entrance to our seats.
It was probably only a few steps to the table, but being blind for the first time, every step was small and you were not sure if you were going to walk into something.
The duration of dinner was two hours, but it went so quickly.
The food was prepared by Gingko House, a restaurant that only employs pensioners.

It would be so cool if we all had a badge with our names in BRAILLE as a souvenir from DID or the task of finding our seats labelled in BRAILLE with our names!!!
After the experience, it gave us an insight into the world of being blind and the obstacles to overcome, and how fortunate we are with 20/20 vision.
If there was more time, I would love to hear them talk about blind people in the society, and how facilities are incorporated to make their lives easier such as special tiles with raised patterns and the BRAILLE alphabet.

Thanks to Openrice again, I finally got to try this experience which I shall compare to the UK one later and I love my personalised chopsticks.

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Service: brilliant
Yummy factor: delicious
MSG levels: none
Cost: Free of charge
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[Review 1345] Never ending moment and choices to come @ 無休站 Moments.hk Food Station

16/11/2011

無休站 Moments.hk Food Station
美孚美孚新邨四期商場1樓7號舖
Shop 7, 1/F Stage 4 Shopping Mall, Mei Foo Sun Chuen, Mei Foo
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/never-ending-moment-and-choices-to-come-e2205624

Was invited to the Dialogue in the dark dinner at Mei Foo so I checked my list to see if there was anything I had bookmarked to eat in Mei Foo.
On my list I found this shop and Dessert Forest.

Since Dessert Forest was closer to the dinner location, I went to this place first, then Dessert Forest would be my second stop before reaching the final destination.

It was residential buildings once you come out from the MTR.
There were so many stalls for food and the place was interesting, it was similar to Tsuen Wan, but it was felt like I was in Stratford, London because there were Westerners and the British type of Africans.

Anyway, after passing many stalls and residential buildings, I was just about to give up!
Then after standing there for a moment I saw pillars with their posters, so I realized the shop was nearby.
I never would have guessed it was located on the second floor.
But luckily, they had really clear instructions and in ENGLISH too that specified the exact SPIRAL staircase!!

After going up those rare spiral staircases in Hong Kong, I finally saw the shop!
There were so many choices, but I couldn’t order too much because there was dinner to come.
I really really really wanted to try the popcorn chicken, it looked really nice with the crispy coating.

Popcorn chicken
In the end, I ordered the noodles that come with sauce and toppings in clear plastic bags.
I only picked one ingredient because I just wanted to try the noodles and sauce.

For the sauces there were four sauces available: seafood, teriyaki, Malaysian satay and sesame.
They also put fresh garlic on top as well.

Ingredients and sauces
The noodles cost me $5 because each ingredient costs $2.5 and the noodles cost $2.5, so if you were to pick three ingredients and a noodle, it would only cost you $10.

After I had started eating the noodles, I noticed they had rolled chicken with cheese, which I will order next time with the popcorn chicken! BUT I don’t know when I visit will MeiFoo again!

The noodles were delicious, and you can choose original, spinach or rice noodles.
The sauce was just right, it was thick and clung to the noodles, and without it the crushed garlic and ingredients would not have come together.
There were many ingredients to choose from, but I just chose the shredded abalone.

Choices and choices
The portion size was quite reasonable too.
These noodles used to be quite popular, but no doubt this place was better and cleaner than the place I tried before.

Overall MF was quite a nice place, tried to go to Dessert Forest to get some Pandan cake but it was Tuesday that day, so it was closed, and I was really surprised because the guy at the newspaper stand spoke English really well!~

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Price: $5
English menu: yes, and clear instructions
Service: brilliant
Yummy factor: delicious
MSG levels: none
Variety:Brilliant
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[Review 1344] "Black sugar" and wintermelon drink @ 南城北市

14/11/2011

南城北市
將軍澳重華路8號東港城1樓Food Point K4號舖
Shop K4, Food Point, 1/F, East Point City, 8 Chung Wa Road, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/black-sugar-and-wintermelon-drink-e2205430

Saw this on promotion for $6 so gave it a try.
Overall it was quite nice after I diluted it because it was too sweet.
There was some jelly at the bottom.

After searching for "black sugar" on the internet, I couldn't find any official information on it, all the search results came up with brown sugar.
The only sites that had it was Taiwanese and Japanese sites.

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Price: $6
English menu: Nope!
Service: OK
Sweetness levels: too sweet
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[Review 1343] Brilliant underworld for Curry buffet on weekdays @ 雙城吧 Dickens Bar

10/11/2011

雙城吧 Dickens Bar
銅鑼灣告士打道281號香港怡東酒店地庫
UG, The Excelsior Hong Kong, 281 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/brilliant-underworld-for-curry-buffet-on-weekdays-e2204851


Dicken’s bar reminded me of The Canny Man when I went down the stairs.
I came to this place especially for the Indian curry buffet, which is sadly only available on weekdays.
Surprisingly even on a Monday there were many reservations.
Set out like the typical gastropubs in Hong Kong, they also had carriage seating similar to the Canny Man, but I felt the carriage seating at the Canny Man was done up nicer.

The staffs there were very attentive and the patrons were well dressed.
The lunch buffet costs $168 per person including a soft drink.
It has the usual salads and breads.

The soup of the day was Beef Goulash.
Similar to Delaney’s they had a carvery there with roast potatoes.
As well as curry I was there for the Fish and Chips, the chips need to be specially requested.
The chips were not bad, crisp and golden on the outside and liquid in the middle.
The curry was good as expected with the accompanying naan breads, raita, cucumber sauce and yogurt.
There was my favourite tandoori chicken and pakora.
The beef goulash soup was really good too, it tasted like chili con carne with juicy beef cubes in it.
The Indian tomato soup was nice with a hint of spice.

Dessert was also good too. I wish I had tried everything.
I ended up trying the carrot cake, which was moist and not too sweet.
 Then I tried the pudding, which was rich and creamy and tasted better than I expected.

The pudding had a physalis berry which I have never tried before and that tasted good too, it was similar to a tomato but with a slight bitterness and many tiny seeds inside.

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Price: $168
Service: brilliant
Yummy factor: Very
MSG levels: none
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[Review 1342] When did they become Cheese noodles specialists @ 富泰家 Fu Tai House Delicious

10/11/2011

富泰家 Fu Tai House Delicious
旺角通菜街1A-1L威達商業大廈地下B-C舖
Shop B-C, G/F, Witty Commercail Building, 1A-1L Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/when-did-they-become-cheese-noodles-specialists-e2204848

It has been ages since I have dined here.
Their food must be OK because this place has been here for quite sometime, a lot of other places just open and go out of business.

In general I prefer to try new restaurants rather than dine at the same restaurant again unless there is something I want to try or it is really good.
Last time I came, they did not have noodles in cheese sauce, but now they claim to be specialists in noodles in cheese sauce.

When did they change their status to cheese specialist!?!

Anyway, I ordered the noodles in cheese sauce with pork.

As the menu was confusing I did not know the noodle could be ordered A la Carte, so I ended up ordering the set for $48, which I felt was slightly expensive.

The set included a few wedges of fresh orange and low sugar green tea.
The orange came first, so I just treated it as an appetiser.
 Anuway, how odd of them to give you orange when you are having cheese noodles because citrus and dairy together hmmm!!!\

Then the noodles came, it was the typical Chinese cheese sauce!
As with all Chinese cheese products, they believe by adding milk will make it cheesey.
All I could smell was MILK, which was quite sickening.
The cheese sauce was slightly opaque and had lots of starch mixed into it because it was like runny snot/slime!
Chinese description of the sauce:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2161592

The taste of the sauce was not cheesy at all, it was just milky with chicken powder added or some sort of meat essence.
The pork was nice, but slightly tough and difficult to remove from the bones.
The green tea was the powdered version like the ones served at Taiwanese beverages shops.

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Price: $48
Service: OK
Yummy factor: OK
MSG levels: none
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[Review 1341] Plain Japanese salmon fried rice @ 東京便當 Tokyo Bento

10/11/2011

東京便當 Tokyo Bento
將軍澳坑口培成路15號連理街商場110B號舖
Shop 110B, The Lane Shopping Centre, 1/F, 15 Pui Shing Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/plain-japanese-salmon-fried-rice-e2204847

Previously tried the bento boxes which were not very exciting.

This time I tried the Japanese fried rice, it was nice when it was hot, however after it cooled down, the fish started to smell.
There was no egg in the fried rice, and it was plain salmon and Japanese pearl rice.
It was slightly dry and bland, but good for the elderly because salmon has omega-3 and it was not salty at all.
The rice was not oily which was good.


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Price: $12
English menu: yes, and they have pictures!
Service: OK
Yummy factor: OK
MSG levels: none
Healthiness: Good for the elderly
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