[Review 1361] Hazelnut Cake @ Ginger Bakery

25/11/2011
Ginger Bakery
灣仔莊士敦道55號地下
G/F, 55 Johnston Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/hazelnut-cake-e2207298
Haven’t been to Ginger bakery for ages, so decided to give it a visit.
Tried the hazelnut cake which had lots of whole hazelnuts.
As well as hazelnuts, it seemed to contain hazelnut essence in the cake mixture as well.
Overall it was quite nice, but I would have preferred the cake to be slightly softer.

[Review 1360] 2011 McDonald's Honey BBQ shake shake seasoning @ 麥當勞 McDonald's

25/11/2011
麥當勞  McDonald's
荃灣荃灣街市街10-16號地下及1樓
G/F-1/F, 10-16 Tsuen Wan Market Street, Tsuen Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/2011-mcdonalds-honey-bbq-shake-shake-seasoning-e2207294

I have already tried this last year, but decided to try it again, however this year you need to pay $2 for it or upgrade your meal from regular size to Large to get it free.
The Honey BBQ seasoning has a strong smokey flavouring with some sweetness.
Hope there will be more interesting flavours next year, but so far my favourite are: curry (UK's McD's), seaweed, and salt and pepper crab.

[Review 1359] Cinnamon melts are finally in Hong Kong @ McCafe

25/11/2011
McCafe
中環港景街1號國際金融中心商場1樓1026-1028號舖
Shop 1026-1028, IFC Mall,No.1 Harbour View Street, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/cinnamon-melts-are-finally-in-hong-kong-e2207277

I have always wanted to try the Cinnamon melts after seeing them available in the US.

They are basically pieces of baked dough with cinnamon and cream cheese on top.
Before it is heated up, you can see the solid white icing on top.
However I forgot to take a picture of it when it was in the glass cabinet.

After it is heated, the sauce on top is liquid, but slightly like translucent melted butter because it contains cream cheese and there is thick cinnamon powder mixed in the sauce.

It was really nice, however if you do not like it that sweet, you can remove some of the sauce.

The cream cheese sauce was slightly gritty with crystallised sugar particles in it.
I can’t remember the name of that shop in the UK, but it tasted exactly the same, however that shop solely sold that snack but the name of the snack was nothing similar to Cinnamon melts, thats why I cant remember the name.

[Review 1358] Part 1: Champagne without its sparkle @ 尚賓樓 Champagne House

24/11/2011
尚賓樓 Champagne House
將軍澳尚德商場3樓
3/F, Sheung Tak Shopping Centre, Sheung Tak Estate, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/part-1-champagne-without-its-sparkle-e2207135

Went to this restaurant which was located in the urban areas of Hong Kong, I had no expectations due to its location and the other branches they have which are located in Kwai Chung and Kwai Fong.

The restaurant was spacious and not busy, probably due location and it being a weekday.

Ended up ordering: tofu and meat patty, spinach with salted egg and preserved egg, raw prawns and bittermelon pot, pork and lotus patty, and steamed fish.

The food was terrible BUT the menu was hilarious, fit for terrorists with fury such as exploding items, madder soup and dam soup!

Pork and lotus patty:
The meat patty was too dry, salty and so oily which you could visually see.

[Review 1357] Part 2: Champagne without its sparkle @ 尚賓樓 Champagne House

24/11/2011
尚賓樓 Champagne House
將軍澳尚德商場3樓
3/F, Sheung Tak Shopping Centre, Sheung Tak Estate, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/part-2-champagne-without-its-sparkle-e2207132

Continued from Part 1:

Tofu and meat patty:
It was literally quite orange in colour, I was expecting it to taste good, but it smelt of custard.
The patty was sweet as well.

Spinach with salted and preserved egg
The spinach was tasteless and the salted egg and preserved egg were on the top.

Raw prawns and bittermelon pot
This dish was heated above a burner, and the lid was made of metal.
There should have been a warning because the handle on the lid was really hot.
Basically it was raw prawns boiled in bittermelon soup.
I don’t know why but they put too much black pepper in it and ruined it.

Steamed fish:
The fish was nice on its own, but the old oil that was poured on top ruined it.

Now the most entertaining part of the review for furious people:

[Review 1356] Tai Hing roast everyday, but not for me @ 太興 Tai Hing

24/11/2011
太興 Tai Hing
將軍澳坑口重華路8號東港城2樓217A舖
Shop 217A, 2/F, East Point City, 8 Chung Wa Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/tai-hing-roast-everyday-but-not-for-me-e2207067

Before the mass advertisements and commercials THE used to be an average place for Chinese food serving Chinese roasts.
To me, they still fare average despite the amount of TVC’s campaigns featuring how you can go there for breakfast, tea, dinner, anytime, any day theme.

Ordered the crunchy roast pork belly in wasabi sauce, which includes soup.

Although the food was not impressive, their customer service was really good, there was a fly in the soup and the waitress apologized and exchanged the soup.
{It was probably the same soup brought back with the fly removed, but at least they said Sorry and offered to exchange it, which is better than other restaurants.}


I did not like the food much, because the rice beneath the meat was fried rice and baked again with the pork on top, it made the rice dry and greasy.
The pork was chewy and not fresh, and there was a strong overnight pork odour to it.

I would have preferred it if it was plain rice and Roast BBQ pork in wasabi as opposed to pork belly.

Although I did not like it, but it would be a good source of calories for those who need it, especially with the combination of fried rice and roast pork belly for the cold winter.

[Review 1355] The ramen wind is moving directions @ 一風堂 Ippudo HK

23/11/2011

一風堂 Ippudo HK
尖沙咀廣東道30號新港中心210號舖
Shop 210, Silvercord Tower, 30 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/the-ramen-wind-is-moving-directions-e2206924

Ever since Ippudo opened I have always wanted to try it because I like the thin Hakata style noodles.

I tried to go to the CWB branch but it was packed, there is not much waiting space outside.
The waiting space is just the lobby area when you come out from the elevators.
The reservation/registration system at CWB is slightly different, you can use their touchscreen system to enter the number of people and get notified via mobile.

Anyway, with the new crowd at Butao in CWB and Ippudo, I decided to go to the TST branch.
I went just before dinner so I did not have to queue.

Similar to Hide-Chan there were more items on offer and drinks too, however there are service charges as well.
I wanted to try the Wasabi Tonkatsu but this was only available at CWB according to their FB page.
After browsing the menu, I realised that some were Hakata noodles and some were the thicker type noodles.
I also wanted to try the Deep-fried Squid Tentacles with Seaweed Flavour but I only found out about it after I had dined there.

In the end I chose the Akamaru Shinaji which I thought was not spicy according to its English description, however it turned out to be spicy.
On top of that I ordered an egg as well.

The noodles came quite fast, and the broth was thick like Hide-Chan.

There were lots of viscous cloudy white bits floating in the broth which tasted like collagen.

I was hoping for more spring onions because the previous reviews seemed to show there were lots in the bowl.

Overall, I really liked it, the flavouring was stronger and better than Hide-chan, however Butao has this uniqueness about it which is moreish.

I think with Ippudo, it was expected to be good, and it turned out to how I expected it to be, hence there was no surprise in it.
The egg was slightly different to other Japanese eggs with a runny centre.
It was literally an egg cooked just right, whereas the other eggs I have tried have a denser runny yoke.
The yolk served here was extremely runny, so caution must be taken when eating it.

does not exist on the menu
On one of the pages there was an attractive item which looked like sorbet cased in half a lemon, but when I tried to order it, they said it was for illustration purposes only.