[Review 1639] Girls night out at The Live House Bar @ The Live House

06/07/2012
The Live House
旺角彌敦道731號地庫
Basement, 731 Nathan Road, Mong Kok
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/girls-night-out-at-the-live-house-bar-e2243988

Although I do not drink, there are some times when your friends drink and you need to share the bill.
Luckily the alcoholic drinks are on promotion here after 9.30 which is a good time for unlucky buggers who have to OT until eight or nineish.

Fortunately time is timeless for me.

Anyway, met up with some babes and the place had a nice atmosphere.
On the day I went there was a band playing there which plays on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

[Posted this picture because the girls said they were handsome!]

Since some of them just finished work, food was ordered.
To start off with there were chicken wings and fried mushrooms.
The last time I had fried mushrooms was at this other pub selling burgers in CWB also on the basement floor.

The chicken wings were nice and had blue cheese dressing, there were three flavours Yuzu, honey and buffalo.

The deep fried mushrooms were the best, the mushroom inside remained juicy, and they were so nice it tasted nice with or without the sauce.

As a potato lover I loved the fish with mashed potato, the mashed potato was dense but silky which went well with the creamy sauce.

Next on was the pasta and I loved the seafood especially the clams and squid, the squid was cooked just right and it was tender and not rubbery.

Also tried the breaded lambchops however I was quite full from the pasta and mash.
The lamb was not gamey but I felt that the coating could have been lighter.

Even though I was full, I still tried the dessert.

The apple pie was apple and raisins enclosed in puff pastry but I felt that there were too many raisins in it.
However the other dessert was really nice, it was piping hot chocolate brownie and cold ice-cream on the outside. The cream that was heated up from the hot chocolate cake had this really nice heated milk aroma.


While the girls were drinking, I played digital darts. The tips of the darts are made of hard plastic, which has less chance of injuring people if it flew elsewhere!

Just realised I had forgotten to write about my drink which was non-alcoholic LATIN, a mix of pineapple juice, grapefruit and lemonade which was visually stunnng!

I don’t know when I’ll come again, but this place is well-equipped for budding young bands.
It would be cool if Fred Cheng 鄭俊弘's HOME band played here and I’ll be back definitely!

[Review 1638] Belgian chocolate trio cake set @ 聖安娜餅屋 Saint Honore Cake Shop

06/07/2012

聖安娜餅屋 Saint Honore Cake Shop
將軍澳貿業路8號新都城中心1期2樓259-260號舖
Shops 259-260, 2/F, MCP l, 8 Mau Yip Road, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/belgian-chocolate-trio-cake-set-saint-honore-e2243913

Walked past the Wan Chai branch and saw these Belgian Trio cakes which were not labelled, so I had to go in the shop and ask what each of them were.

Later I went past a branch in Central and they were all labelled and it had the price as a set or individually.
They can be bought individually for hkd25 or the whole set for $68.


All the flavours were unique in their own way so I decided to get the whole set.

The cakes were appealing and visually attractive but not appetizing because it just looked like dense heavy chocolate!

++++++++++++++++++++++


Chocolate honey mousse
This cake was the shape of an inverted cone with two layers. The taste of honey was faint and it was similar to tiramisu but with more proportion of sponge and dense chocolate mousse.
++++++++++++++++++++++

Chocolate and cherry
The lilac drop on top which had fallen off was a piece of marshmallow.
On top of the cake was a piece of cherry, and some cherry sauce beneath it with real pieces of cherry.
The cake was slightly similar to a black forest cake with a layer of cherry in the middle but not much.
++++++++++++++++++++++

Chocolate and banana cup
I was expecting this one to taste the worst because I don't really like banana but it was actually quite nice.
It had a real piece of banana in the middle and some pudding like layer.
I havent tried the Saint Honore's banana and chocolate cake but I reckon it tastes similar.
++++++++++++++++++++++

[Review 1637] French Baguette Kingdom at Manhattan Avenue @ Chez Meli Melo

06/07/2012

Chez Meli Melo
上環皇后大道中255號Manhattan Avenue地下
G/F, Manhattan Avenue, 225 Queen's Road Central, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/french-baguette-kingdom-at-manhattan-avenue-e2243912

While the English staple food is a good sarnie, the French have baguettes.

Same with the Chinese they can’t understand the love of bread and potatoes while we cant understand why they love rice everyday!

In France there will always be someone around carrying a baguette in a long paper bag.
If you’ve been to France there are so many food varieties and not just crepes and macarons.

To me there is nothing like a good crispy baguette with a moist soft chewy centre with nice fillings.
In Hong Kong there are not many French baguette joints so I have always wanted to try their baguettes.
Delifrance has recently started serving some "French" baguettes which are quite a rip off for around $60 when you can get the real thing here and there are more choices.

pic I took recntly outside Delifrance Wan Chai
There are lots of joints for Vietnamese baguettes because of the French colonisation in Vietnam but I prefer the French Baguettes.

Anyway this shop is located at the end of Hillier Street on Manhattan Avenue, it is a nice spot to be located, away from the hustle and bustle of the other shops.
When you are on Hillier Street, keep walking until you see a building at the end of the road which saids "WRONG DESIGN" then you are heading to the right place. Chez Meli Melo is located before that.

Inside the shop were lots of down to earth decorations and the owner Joyce was really nice.

She was really passionate about food and doesn’t mind sharing the restaurants she has been to because some restauranteurs are always afraid of referring people to other eateries.

OK, so I was there especially for the baguettes, there were so many choices and I wanted to try the taboule as well, so I ordered half a baguette and the taboule instead of the salad. She was really nice and did not charge me the few extra dollars for changing to the taboule.

I ate the baguette there and she was so kind to offer me some water as well.
It was nice sitting on the bench forgetting that I was in Sheung Wan, but since I am not familiar with Sheung Wan the unfamiliarity was fun and my imagination could go wild and imagine I was in LA.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Taboule:
This was the best Taboule I have ever had, it was soft and fluffy. Every bit was flavoured and all the ingredients used in the taboule was delicate and light such as mint, lemon juice and tomato.
The mint leaves used in the Taboule was fresh which does not have that strange artificial mint taste.
All the tomatoes, mint leaves were chopped up finely.
It was so delicious I regretted I did not order the big box of salad with the carrots after reading IVYCWK's review because the carrots were vinegared.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Gruyere cheese and ham baguette
The one I chose just had plain simple cheese and ham. The cheese used was Gruyere the ones with holes in it, and the ham was soft tender and not too salty.
The best thing was that as well as ham and cheese I could taste the melted butter on the baguette and the amount of butter was just right.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On my next visit I hope to try the Baguette with Brie, full salad and their desserts.

The bill HKD48

[Review 1636] Ein netter Kuchen mit einer rührenden Geschichte @ 尤海姆年輪蛋糕 Juchheim

05/07/2012

尤海姆年輪蛋糕 Juchheim
銅鑼灣軒尼詩道555號崇光百貨B2樓46號舖
Shop 46, B2/F, Sogo, 555 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/ein-netter-kuchen-mit-einer-ruhrenden-geschichte-e2243801

I came here because of the recent craze for Juchheim’s Baumkuchen rolls.
I hesitated trying them because there is another brand called 森の卷 Gâteau Roulé sold at TASTE which were hard and extremely sweet.

The ones here fared slightly better, they were softer and less sweet and had some crisp coating on the outside.
It was nice but failed to impress me to get it a second time, however I will try the Gâteau Roulé again to see if they taste different since it was a long time since I last tried it.

Although the name Juchheim is German I was rather intrigued why these Baumkuchen rolls originated from Japan.
It turns out that Karl Juchheim was a Prisoner of War in Japan. Before he was sent to Japan, he was surprisingly based at Jiaozhou Bay in the Shandong Province of China.
Jiaozhou is known to the Germans as Kiautschou.
After World War 1 started, Tsingtao was sieged and Karl was sent to interment camps in Okinawa thus starting his Juchheim business there!

The bill HKd28 for four pieces.

[Review 1635] Crunchy Munchy Black Pepper chicken @ 肯德基家鄉雞 (KFC) Kentucky Fried Chicken

04/07/2012

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/crunchy-munchy-black-pepper-chicken-kfc-e2243752

Got the Crunchy-Munchy Black Pepper chicken and I was surprised it tasted better than I expected.
I was expecting fried chicken with plain spicy black pepper taste but the black pepper was not that strong and there was basil flavouring it in as well which made it really nice.
Visually it looks similar to the usual fried chicken but there are lots of black pepper on the coating.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
With the set, I had Chicken A La King and I had that first before eating the chicken.
It is similar to chicken royale but nothing as nice compared to it and there is not meant to be black pepper in the chicken royale.
It ruined the fried chicken for me because the black pepper taste in the Chicken A La King was much stronger than the black pepper in the fried chicken.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O.MO Pudding (Purin) - yogurt flavour
On the lid it saids PURIN.
Custard Pudding which is creamy and smooth is generally called purin in Japan.
There were two flavours sesame and yoghurt, I got the yoghurt because not many custard desserts are yoghurt flavoured and the taste was quite interesting.
However, the yogurt taste was faint because the chicken before had strong taste but if you tasted the purin before anything else it would have tasted normal.
It is hard to refresh your palette with soft drinks such as coke unless you have plain water.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Red bean ice drink
Not my cup of tea, but it is red beans, condensed milked and syrup!
A Chinese favourite!

The Bill HKD88

[Review 1634] Soy Bean Pontikege @ Das Gute

04/072012

Das Gute
上環德輔道中323號西港城地下1-3號舖
G/F, Western Market, 323 Des Voeux Road Central, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/soy-bean-pontikege-das-gute-e2243404

Usually the Pontikeges I have seen come in flavours like black sesame, green tea, cheese, cranberry or original.
This one was soy bean so that was why I got it.
The taste was quite interesting as well as the soy bean taste, it had slightly starchy pieces of soy bean in it.
It was slightly sweet as well because it was not savory.

[Review 1633] Lana's delicious magical Italian home-cooking Part 1 @ UNO DUO TRIO - Lana's Italian Home-cooking

04/07/2012

UNO DUO TRIO - Lana's Italian Home-cooking
銅鑼灣耀華街3號百樂中心19樓
19/F, Bartlock Centre, 3 Yiu Wa Street, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/lanas-delicious-magical-italian-home-cooking-e2243388

If you have read my previous reviews I often criticize food if it does not taste right so I believe this may be the reason not many restaurants have dared to ask me try their foods or it was wrong timing and I could not make it.

This was my first formal food tasting session not organised by OpenRice.

This restaurant was on my wish list so I was really happy when Lana invited me to try her dishes.

I arrived there and was seated by their waiters who recommended some dishes to me.
The restaurant was really nice and there was lots of glass elements and some water filled glass elements hanging by the window.
Although it was an Italian restaurant, it also felt mystical and rustic because of the decor.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It was really good there was sparkling water to start off with to refresh my palette and taste the food properly.

The first item that was served was bread and accompanying it was basil and olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tomato sauce and a roasted garlic clove.
All the condiments were nice especially the balsamic vinegar which was slightly sweet, and I mixed some of the vinegar with the roasted garlic and it ended up tasting like black garlic (fermented garlic).
The garlic was lovely and soft and came out of the clove easily.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Insalata di Burrata - Homemade Burrata cheese with Heirloom tomatoes
I was really surprised the Burrata was made by themselves and I loved it.
It was lovely and soft inside with creamy burrata cheese in the middle oozing out, I liked the way it was unsalted because the basil oil complimented it really well.
The Heirloom tomatoes were not only decorative, there were five different types of tomatoes there!
There was the green zebra, purple-black tomato, yellow tomato, red tomato and the orange cherry tomato.
My favourite had to be the green zebra and the yellow tomato.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++