[Review 1878] Tuscani pizza series Part 1: BBQ Sausage bonanza @ 必勝客 Pizza Hut

15/10/2012
必勝客 Pizza Hut
將軍澳貿業路8號新都城中心2期2樓2071-72號舖
Shop 2071-72, 2/F, MCP Central, 8 Mau Yip Road, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/tuscani-pizza-series-part-1-bbq-sausage-bonanza-e2263708

Recently saw the promo for the new Tuscani pizzas, there are three pizzas in the range that have a different cheese in each one.
As I like all the cheeses I have decided to try all of them.

The three pizzas in this range are: BBQ Sausage Bonanza, Portobello passion and Feta n Ocean.
BBQ Sausage Bonanza is pizza with meat sausage, rocket leaf, creamy cheese and BBQ sauce.
Portabello passion is pizza with camembert cheese, portobello mushrooms, grilled chicken and pesto sauce.
Feta n Ocean is pizza with feta cheese, prawns, spinach and tomato sauce.

The Tuscani series is much better than the six cheese pizza because the cheeses are paired to different ingredients and you sample the different cheeses more clearly.

Ordered the TUSCANI COMBO which includes soup, salad, pizza, rice/pasta and drinks for $268.

The soup and salad arrived at appropriate times, when I nearly finished them the mains and the pizza was brought over.


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mushroom soup:

The soup tasted milky and the same as Campbell's soup.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Vegetable soup:

Strong tomato taste with generous pieces of cabbage and onion.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Caesar salad:

The salad has improved, and I liked the way the caesar sauce is separate so for those on a diet they can put less sauce.
On top of the lettuce there was parmesan cheese and fine bacon bits.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mushroom risotto:

There were lots of mushrooms in it, however I found the taste too milky.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
BBQ sausage bonanza:


Out of the three pizzas, I tried this one first because the other two seemed nicer and I wanted to try them last.
I found this pizza too sweet because of the BBQ sauce and pineapple, but apart from that the chunky pieces of sausage were good.
The creamy cheese was extremely thick and tasted like dairylea cheese triangles but not as salty as that.
Although this one was too sweet, I will still try the feta and portabello passion because I like feta and camembert.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hot lemon drink:

I was surprised that you pour the water yourself which was fun.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 1877] Japanese tomato curry @ 吉野家 Yoshinoya

15/10/2012
吉野家 Yoshinoya
紅磡黃埔天地聚寶坊(第11期)地下G35號舖
Shop G35, G/F, Treasure World (Site 11), The Whampoa, Hung Hom
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/japanese-tomato-curry-yoshinoya-e2263690

These days I go to any branch of Yoshinoya except for the upstairs branch in Mong Kok because they do not let you take photos.
Anyway on this visit I tried the Japanese curry with tomato sauce.
Apart from beef, you can also order chicken to go with the curry and tomato sauce.

They also give you a coupon which has 10% off when you buy tickets to the Halloween bash at Ocean Park.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Japanese curry with tomato sauce HKD38.5:

The curry sauce was the usual Japanese sweet and together with the tomato puree it was really appetizing.
There was a generous amount of curry sauce too.
Since the beef at Yoshinoya is sliced thinly it makes it really tasty as well because there is more sauce on the surface.
The vegetables given were the usual carrots, cauliflower and beans.

[Review 1876] Love mint mocha series at Stanley plaza @ 麥當勞 McDonald's

15/10/2012
麥當勞  McDonald's
赤柱佳美道23號赤柱廣場地下G02及G03號舖
Shop G02&G03, G/F, Stanley Plaza, 23 Carmel Road, Stanley
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/love-mint-mocha-series-stanley-plaza-e2263689

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mint ice mocha frappe:


The mint mocha was nice with oreo crumbs on top, however the drink was not smooth because the ice was not blended properly and they were so big that it kept clogging up the straw.

But overall it tasted quite nice because it was minty, chocolately with a hint of coffee bitterness.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Iced mocha frappe:

As I do not like coffee, this did not taste as good as the mint mocha because the coffee taste was stronger.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Other photos:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 1875] Cute burgers but grouchy over a cocktail stick !@ Cafe Grouchos

15/10/2012
Cafe Grouchos
赤柱海濱小賣亭4號店
Shop No.4, Stanley Waterfront Mart, 20 Stanley Market Road, Stanley
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/cute-burgers-but-grouchy-over-a-cocktail-stick-e2263688

Apart from this restaurant I wanted to dine at the one next to it to.
It was hard getting to the middle restaurant because you were shoved the menu before you could even walk to the other restaurant.
Since I was going to dine here for the mini burgers it was forgivable.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fries with meat sauce:
The meat sauce tasted like the filling in the shepherds pie, it had carrots, minced beef in tomato sauce sprinkled with spring onions and finely grated cheese.
I felt that forks should have been given because it was extremely difficult trying to eat the chips with skewers and there was still plenty of meat sauce which I couldnt eat with a skewer!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mini turkey burgers:
The patty was grilled on a surface that previously had beef on it so there was strong beef juices on it as well.
The pickles and sauces were really refreshing but the mini burgers did not have those cute cocktail sticks as shown on the previous reviews that Foodcraver and LawrenceLau posted.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 1874] Golden crab delights at dazzling SRC @ 會所1號 博藝會 ClubONE Spotlight

15/10/2012
會所1號 博藝會  ClubONE Spotlight
紅磡黃埔天地螢幕圈(第8期)4樓
4/F, Screen World (Site 8), The Whampoa, Hung Hom
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/golden-crab-delights-at-dazzling-src-e2263548

I was delighted to be invited to a crab roe tasting session at Spotlight recreation club, not only is the food is good but the facilities there are grand.

Below is what I tried:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Shanghai style pork dumplings with crab meat:
When I removed the lid, the dumpling colour was golden and the smell was lovely.
There was lots of juice inside the dumpling.
There was so much crabmeat inside the dumpling that it had extremely rich crab taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Yangcheng lake hairy crab:

I haven't had this for ages so I was really missing the taste. We were given two male crabs because the current crab season is male crabs.
The crab shell was so easy to open and once it was open, there was rich orange roe.
The roe was extremely delicious, similar to egg yolk.
There was some white bits in it which tasted delicious too, it was thick and sticky as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Snake soup:

The snake soup had too much ginger.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
After the snake soup, my mouth still tasted spicy hence the fish taste was slightly affected.

steamed cod filet with XO sauce:
The fish was nice and tender and the tofu was really smooth.
deep fried cod filet with salt and pepper:
This was quite nice, especially with the salt and pepper seasoning, however the batter was slightly too thick.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Deep fried roll:
Inside this fried roll was sliced bamboo shoots, Chinese radish and taro.
The filling was lovely and creamy.
Sauteed shrimps with vegetables:
This was covered in crab roe sauce, and between the vegetable were a piece of Chinese ham and ginger.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cabbage and meatball soup:

I liked this soup and it was chicken soup with meatballs, the meatballs had mushrooms in it.
The cabbage was full of chicken soup flavouring but they could have been cut into smaller pieces.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crab meat udon:

The udon here was slightly different, it was flatter similar to Tagliatelle, which made is softer and absorbed the rich crab roe sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ginger tea dumplings:

These were deliciously filled dumplings with sesame and the ginger tea was pleasant to drink.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Aloe and purple rice pudding:

I really liked this dessert, the aloe on top looked really nice and the aloe and purple rice tasted good together.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 1873] Picking the brainiest goose to indulge on @ 強記飯店 Keung Kee Restaurant

14/10/2012
強記飯店 Keung Kee Restaurant
北角書局街15-17號地下
G/F, 15-17 Shu Kuk Street, North Point
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/picking-the-brainiest-goose-to-indulge-on-e2263329

Before trying the goose head, I did not know that Chinese geese where different to geese.

The Chinese geese have a visual bump on their heads!

Anyway, I suddenly had this craving for food that tasted like goose liver and crab roe and that weird texture that is similar to sea urchin so I thought goose brain would be similar to that.

I picked this place because the geese heads looked big, so they probably were brainer here than in other shops, but not brainy enough to escape being butchered!


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
roast pork:


I basically ordered this as a filler. I felt that the roast here was quite expensive.
The bbq sauce was slightly too salty but it was good that they gave a few pieces of long beans instead of cheap Chinese vegetables.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Goose brain:
It was quite difficult using chopsticks with the goose head!
I was expecting it to be quite a small portion but after it was chopped, it was a plateful of a head chopped in half and quite a few pieces of neck.

Anyway, I think I wasted quite a lot as I only ate the brain and the neck!
I attempted to eat the skin but it still had some feather roots on it.
As expected the brain was delicious, it melts in your mouth! If only this goose was brainier !
The goose neck was quite interesting, the bone was pure white and the bone was really hard and sharp, however their bones seem to be extremely porous with air so that they can float.

The neck meat was nice and delicate but hard to eat.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Restaurant photos:




★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The bill : 51

[Review 1872] Tiramisu @ La Pizzetta

13/10/2012

意家 La Pizzetta
天后留仙街1A號金殿大廈地下42號舖
Shop 42, G/F, Golden Court, 1A Lau Sin Street, Tin Hau
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/tiramisu-la-pizzetta-e2263328

Walked past and saw this new shop so had a look at what they were selling.

They had Deep fried cheese risotto balls which reminded me of this shop called La Pizzetteria
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=31588

As the name of this shop and the food is really similar to the one in Wan Chai I thought it was the same owner.

On this visit I only tried the Tiramisu.
Luckily I took it out for a photo as there was a hole at the bottom of the bag because the cup was wet so after I saw the hole I held it another way in case the bag ripped.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tiramisu HKD28:


The Tiramisu was layers of sponge soaked in alcohol and cream.
The sponge was heavily soaked and extremely soggy and soft.
As for the cream I found it too heavy and sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★