[Review 1452] Utopia in Bentopia @ 便當工房 Bentopia

21/02/2012

便當工房 Bentopia
金鐘遠東金融中心地下D舖
Shop D, G/F, Far East Finance Centre, Admiralty
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/utopia-in-bentopia-e2220438

Found out about this Bento place on OpenRice and checked out their website.
They serve Japanese and Taiwanese food in a cute Bento box.
The name Bentopia sounded really interesting and reminded me of Utopia.

The only problem getting there was crossing so many roads and there were no traffic lights about.
Next time I will just come by MTR as it is located opposite one of the exits, but still there is an annoying dual carriageway to cross.

Anyway, before I came I had already decided to get the Taiwanese style minced meat bento with salad and Taiwanese style trotters.
I could have chosen the baked oyster instead of the trotters, but I ordered the oyster separately so that in came in a separate little box.

For the salad, I chose the Japanese lime vinegar salad.
Although the salad portion was small, there were four choices, Japanese sesame dressing, Chinese vinegar, Lime vinegar and Pomelo dressing.

I was quite curious about the Chinese vinegar salad because in Chinese it was translated as something else.

Anyway, after ordering, I was given a loyalty card.

When it arrived, my bento lunch was really cute, it was in a clear plastic bag, with the bento box at the bottom, and the other side dishes on top.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Taiwanese style minced meat:
The minced meat was a bit disappointing because I was expecting minced meat and not cubes of meat with fat on it.
However, I do not know what the Chinese meant, so there could be a translation error on the menu.
Although I did not like the meat, the sauce was nice and gelatinous.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lime vinegar Salad
This was my favourite, the lime dressing was really refreshing, and the salad had sweetcorn, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and lettuce.
FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE AS IT WAS TOO DELICIOUS

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Taiwanese style trotters
The trotters could have been softer, but they tasted better than I expected because they were not sweet.
I found these round balls which are supposed to be some kind of spices but I do not know what they are.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Baked Oyster
The baked oyster was quite nice, but there were pieces of broken oyster shell in it, so you have to be careful. The sauce on top was made of chopped egg white and mayonnaise sauce.

[Review 1451] Maxim's $10 cakes @ 美心西餅 Maxim's Cake Shop

美心西餅 Maxim's Cake Shop
將軍澳港鐵坑口站HAH 3號舖
Kiosk HAH 3, Hang Hau MTR Station, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/maxims-10-cakes-e2220277

The cakes in the cabinet looked inviting and they cost $10 per slice.
I bought three different cakes to try: blackforest, red bean and taro and dark chocolate.
Left: Black Forest, Middle: Red bean and taro, Right: Dark Chocolate
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Black forest cake slice
This was quite disappointing, the cake was made the Chinese way, with Chinese cream in the middle.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Dark chocolate cake slice:
The taste of this one was not bad, at least it did not have Chinese chocolate cream that tastes like salted butter cream.
It actually tasted like Sara Lee’s double layer chocolate cake.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Red bean and taro cake slice:
I did not think I would like it because I don’t like red beans anyway.
But the cake was made of two layers, red bean cake on top and taro cake on the bottom.
The sweetness was too sweet which ruined it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 1450] Extremely tiny swiss rolls @ Mazazu Crepe

20/02/2012

Mazazu Crepe
銅鑼灣軒尼詩道555號崇光百貨地庫B2/F
B2/F, Basement, Sogo, 555 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/extremely-tiny-swiss-rolls-e2220273


Saw these cute mini Swiss rolls for $5.5, there were two flavours Vanilla and Black forest.
I chose the black forest Swiss roll

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Black forest Swiss roll:
The Swiss roll was so tiny measuring about 3cm x 4cm.
There was not much jam inside the roll which was disappointing.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 1449] Not just for beef lovers only @ 大婆牛肉麵 Big Wife Noodle

20/02/2012

大婆牛肉麵 Big Wife Noodle
灣仔灣仔道188號廣生行大廈C-D座地下
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/not-just-for-beef-lovers-only-e2220230

I am not a fan of beef or beef noodles but this place offers noodles with prawns, so for people who do not eat beef, they can order this dish.

I have not tried Taiwanese style prawn noodles before, so I was not sure what to expect.

When it came, the broth was red, and the noodles were topped with lemongrass, prawns and tomato and there was a layer of oil on top.

I am not sure if they have this in Taiwan, but it reminds me of Tom Yum Kung which is Thai.

The noodles were yellow and thinner than the ones served in the beef noodles, they were not soft enough, so I left it for a while to absorb the soup.

The soup was not as spicy as it looked and it was strong in lemongrass and prawn taste.

The tomatoes were nice and soft, the skin came off easily and it was nicely flavoured by the broth.

The noodles came with a choice of soybean milk or grosvenor momordica with honey drink.

I chose the grosvenor momordica drink which was slightly too sweet, but as there was water given I diluted the drink with it.

[Review 1448] McD's Golden Caramel Toffee dessert series @ 麥當勞 McDonald's

16/02/2012
麥當勞 McDonald's
灣仔柯布連道2號地下B, C及D4舖
Shop B-C & D4, 2 O'Brien Road,, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/mcds-golden-caramel-toffee-dessert-series-e2219484

I do not like McD's soft serve ice-cream but they had the golden caramel toffee sundae so I decided to  give it a try.
There were three to choose from: McFlurry with Oreo and Toffee sauce, Toffee and Oreo sundae or the Toffee sundae.
The size of the crushed nuts on top was quite big and the nuts were luckily fresh and not rancid.
The toffee sauce was not too sweet, and together with the creaminess of the ice-cream, it tasted quite nice.

[Review 1447] Tortillas and Fried chicken at Pizzahut @ 必勝客 Pizza Hut

11/02/2012

必勝客 Pizza Hut
灣仔太源街8號海源中心1樓
1/F, Yanville, 8 Tai Yuen Street, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/tortillas-and-fried-chicken-at-pizzahut-e2218737

Last year they had the pizza with six different cheeses called cheesy 6 and this year they have come up with the 7-cheese pizza with added Provolone.

Anyway, I was meant to try this pizza, but then I saw other stuff on the menu and ended up trying those.

The items were similar to the ones served at Spaghetti house.
It was interesting that they have created a dish similar to poutine and American fries with the use of different sauces on top.

In the end ordered: Crispy Chicken Strips with French Fries, Prawns Tomato Tortilla, Squid Ink Risotto with Shrimp in Lobster Sauce and Baked Cinnamon Apple Crispy Bread bites with Vanilla Ice-cream.

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crispy Chicken Strips with French Fries
It reminded me of chicken at Spaghetti house, so I ordered it.
When they arrived, the chips were overdone. The chips and chicken was too salty that it stung and the chips tasted like they were soaked in salted water before they were fried.
Apart from that, it took a long time for the fries and chicken to cool down.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Product shot: Prawns Tomato Tortilla
Prawns Tomato Tortilla:
Just wanted to eat something similar to a pizza, and this was basically a tortilla covered with cheese and prawns similar to the 7-cheese one, so I ordered that.
Anyway I liked the way they used the tortilla base because it was extremely thin and crispier than the thin crust one.
The texture was similar to filo pastry at the edges.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Squid Ink Risotto with Shrimp in Lobster Sauce
The lobster sauce was too salty, but overall the dish was delicious, especially the pieces of octopus and the rice.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Baked Cinnamon Apple Crispy Bread bites with Vanila Ice-cream
Although the dessert arrived along with the food, it came at a good timing because I liked the way the dessert had time to cool down and the ice-cream melted, so the crispy bread bites were equally covered in ice-cream.
It would have been nice if the apples could taste more tart.

[Review 1446] Winton World of Wonton treasures for everyone @ 吞食本色 Winton World

10/02/2012
吞食本色 Winton World
筲箕灣筲箕灣東大街2號麗東海景豪苑2期12號舖
Shop 12, Newton Harbour View Block 2, 2 Shau Kei Wan Main Street East, Shau Kei Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/winton-world-of-wonton-treasures-for-everyone-e2218595


I have always wanted to try Winton world because there are over twenty different types of wontons.

Winton world is located in Shau Kei Wan far from the city.

The street that it is located on has so many eateries and Winton World is right at the end of that road that you need to resist trying other restaurants before you reach it.

The restaurant is quite small with about four tables.
As this place was serving local food I did not expect there was English on the menu, but there was an English menu, and not bad translated either.

There were so many types of Wontons that I have never imagined of because it is usually pork with prawns or chives/spring onions.
It was interesting because they have combined clams and oysters with pork in the wonton.
They even have one made with intestines and liver.

Winton World was quite flexible with their orders, they let you choose two different types of Wontons in a portion and charge you the more expensive price if the two that you chose cost different.
When the Wontons arrived, they were quite small and cute.
The sizes of the Wontons were about 2.5cm in diameter.
They were all uniform in size and uniformly wrapped.

Since there were more than twenty types, I chose the ones that I thought were interesting.
There were wontons with abalone but it was cheaper than the ones with clams. Judging by the price, they probably used mock abalone shreds in it.
In the end I ordered: egg, tomato and pork, preserved egg and coriander, egg yolk, clams, oyster, crab and pork and Jellyfish.

I do not recommend dipping the wontons in Chilli sauce because you won’t be able to taste the different elements in the Wonton, and if you order the egg and tomato one, to try that one first.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Egg, tomato and pork
This one has the lightest flavour compared to the rest I have chosen, so I ate this one first.
I really liked the tomato and egg with the pork. There is a similar one served at Wang Fu, but it is the dumpling version.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Preserved egg and coriander:
The preserved egg was slightly hard, and it was tasteless compared to the rest.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Egg yolk and pork:
I really liked this one as well, it reminded me of the Chinese meat patties with salted egg yolk.
The egg yolk was nice and salty giving the pork flavour, and the texture of the yolk was starchy.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Clams and pork
I have never imagined clams with pork, but the clams they used have been salted so there was a strong brine taste.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Oyster and pork
Again this was similar to the clam and pork wonton, the oysters were fresh, and this had the strongest taste.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Jellyfish and pork
I didn’t expect the Jellyfish to have significant taste, but the Jellyfish wontons were too salty, and the Jellyfish was very hard and chewy.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crab and pork
This was the most expensive wonton, but there was real pieces of crab meat in it. I was not sure if there was meant to be any crab roe, but the Chinese name seem to imply there are some inside.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★