[Review 1916] Dining in a man made Hokkaido alcove @ 北海道雪洞洞 Hokkaido Kamakura Dining

25/10/2012
北海道雪洞洞 Hokkaido Kamakura Dining
旺角奶路臣街11號MPM文華廣場5樓
5/F, MPM Plaza, 11 Nelson Street, Mong Kok
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/dining-in-a-man-made-hokkaido-alcove-e2265772

I was attracted to this place because of the sitting arrangements in the cozy alcoves, while it gave privacy it was not that private because some of the alcoves where directly facing each other.

The alcoves had three sizes: alcoves for one person, alcoves for two people and alcoves for groups of four to six people.

The alcoves were nice but they could have been more extravagant with the design because they just looked like partitioned rooms.

Anyway the menu and style is similar to Watami and you order by pressing the button and someone will come over to take your order.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Bean curd cream cheese salad:

The cream cheese cubes reminded me of feta cheese and the beancurd and cream cheese were quite nice together, however the texture of the tofu were really soft compared to the cream cheese.

The salad came with a generous bowl of soy sauce which was sufficient for the salad.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Minced chicken meat skewer:


For the skewers you can choose grilled with salt or cheese, so chose the cheese.
The minced chicken was quite nice but not hot enough and the cheese on top was not really melted.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Baked potato with wasabi octopus:
 0 讚好

The potato they used was a hard potato and not a starchy one. The skin was not hard on the outside.
The wasabi filling was very strong and salty and the octopus pieces were chopped up finely.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hokkaido Takikomi Gohan in Pot - Tonkotsu Miso pork roast:

The rice was boiled in front of you with a timer. Slightly scary with that portable stove in the tiny alcove because the person at the inner seat would have difficulty getting out if it caught fire and there were no sprinklers inside the alcove.
However they did put metal casing around the fire to prevent this.


The miso pork rice was quite nice but not flavoured enough, the occasional pieces of pickled ginger made the rice taste nice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sweet potato and black sugar ice cream:

I tried this because of the sweet potato croquettes. If you do not like ice-cream, the sweet potato croquettes can be ordered a la carte as a tempura.
The ice-cream was really icy and not creamy, but the sweetness was just right and the black sugar syrup balanced out the flavourless icecream.
The sweet potato croquettes were also nice too and not too sweet, the croquettes were not too starchy either.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The receipt they give you was quite useful because it states the average cost per person so if you are going in a group the cost per person is worked out on the receipt and you do not need to work it out.

[Review 1915] Häagen-Dazs Crispy sandwich and green tea icecream @ Häagen-Dazs

25/10/2012
Häagen-Dazs
將軍澳坑口重華路8號東港城2樓A區
Area A, 2/F, East Point City, 8 Chung Wa Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/haagen-dazs-crispy-sandwich-and-green-tea-icecream-e2265770

Before winning the openrice cash coupons and the going to the Haagaz Dazs tasting event I did not know that the HD specialist shops also sold the secret sensations and crispy sandwiches.

I used to get them from convenience stores.

On this visit got the crispy sandwich, secret sensations and the miniature shop model.


This branch at East Point City has been opened for quite a while but was not listed here so decided to update OpenRice with it.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Green tea ice-cream scoop:

Usually I will pick macadamia, baileys, rum and raisin but this time I opted for green tea because this is an Asian flavour and not available in the UK.
In UK we have Green tea and hibiscus.
The green tea tasted like milk tea at first with a grassy taste, when it melted there was more bitterness and it was slightly sweeter.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Häagen-Dazs Secret Sensations meringue & raspberry fondant

Previously tried the Häagen-Dazs Secret Sensations creme brulee and the Häagen-Dazs Secret Sensations chocolate fondant.
This time they had Häagen-Dazs Secret Sensations meringue & raspberry fondant so tried it as well.
Basically it is vanilla ice-cream with pieces of meringue in it and the centre is filled with liquid raspberry jam/syrup.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Haagen Daz Summer Berries and Cream crispy sandwich


It was surprisingly nice, the wafer was extremely crispy and the icecream was coated with berry flavoured chocolate which was also crispy.
In the cabinet I also saw Double chocolate which I want to try too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Haagen-Dazs World's First Shop Miniature


Total time used to complete the shop miniature: 1.5 hours
Diffuculty: Easy Peasy, I did not look at the instructions
Info: This model represents Haagen-Dazs first retail store in Brooklyn, New York, on November 15, 1976

When I saw this model I just had to get it from Haagen Dazs because I love playing with these sorts of things.

Anyway I was really lucky and got it and I just couldn't wait to build it.

The model was made of coated foam and the pieces were easy to punch out from the frame.

The smaller holes needed something sharp and small to punch out, hence I used the tip of a metal nail filer.

When I was putting the pieces of together, they fitted easily and all the pieces were pre-cut to the precise position and everything snapped into place.

The hardest part was the the table at the front of the shop, the umbrella at the top was the hardest to complete.

It looked so cute when it was finished.


You can get yours if you spend over HKD$100 on Haagen-Dazs Crispy Sandwich and pay $25 by presenting the valid receipt at the participating supermarkets, convenience stores and Haagen-Dazs stores in Hong Kong subject to availabity.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 1914] Da ultimate fun flavoured limited edition eggettes @ 古法烘焙 Gu Fah Bakery

古法烘焙 Gu Fah Bakery
荃灣楊屋道1號荃新天地一期地下G31號舖
Shop G31, G/F, Citywalk 1, 1 Yeung Uk Road, Tsuen Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/da-ultimate-fun-flavoured-limited-edition-eggettes-e2265764

I rarely go to Tsuen Wan because it is really far but it was definitely worth the trek for the eggettes.

Last time I tried their delicious mint chips eggettes, however it was in the summer so the eggettes were a little too hot to handle, but now the weather is nice and cool which is perfect to eat freshly made eggettes.
Found out from Facebook that there were some new limited off menu flavours which I had to try, but some were upcoming flavours so I will have to try next time.
This week there was meatballs and Chinese BBQ pork and duck, as these were savoury flavours I decided to have them for dinner.
The upcoming flavour is Tuna which I really want to try as well because the owner said there is chopped celery in it too which would give it some crunch.
They are also going to do curry which I really want to try because I went to Maria's who were supposed to have curry but it turned out to be peanut when I got there.

While the eggettes were being made, there was a lovely smell in the air.

Since my last visit, there are so many people buying soeuvenirs from this place that there are stocks of their products ready to sell.
While I was waiting for the eggettes I took photos of the awards which I did not take last time and the opening hours notice.

When they were finished, the eggettes were moulded into shape.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Eggettes filled with meatballs:
I tried this one first and my first impression was pizza. I love the meat sauce inside because it had a rich meat sauce taste. The owner said he created this meat taste by using the broth from boiling beef bones.
There were also pieces of onions and mushrooms too which balanced it out.
Overall both flavours were amazing and because they were really delicious I forgot to take pictures of the cross section.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Eggettes filled with Chinese BBQ pork and duck:
This one was my favourite, the taste was intense, there were pieces of carrot and cucumber.
The carrot was slightly too hard.
It was really fun eating this one because sometimes it would taste like a Chinese BBQ bun but better because of the eggettes crispyness and sometimes it would taste like the duck in pancakes with Hoi Sin sauce from China Town as there was strong cucumber taste in it as well.
The smokiness flavour in this eggette was made from boiling turkey bones.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

I will be back for the other savoury flavours asap if it wasnt so far away........Both of these eggettes reminded me of obanyaki's but I prefer eating eggettes because it is fun breaking the pieces off and eating it..

[Review 1913] planet studio popcorn exclusive from Taiwan @ 星球工坊 Planet popcorn

24/10/2012
星球工坊 Planet popcorn
荃灣青山公路264-298號南豐中心商場1樓A150號舖
Shop A150, 1/F, Nan Fung Centre, 264-298 Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/planet-studio-popcorn-exclusive-from-taiwan-e2265614

Usually popcorn comes is irregular shapes but the popcorn from planet studio are like spheres and are just like mini planets. Hence the name planet studio!

The last time I came across Taiwanese popcorn was from Chansii but I never got round to trying it so I was really lucky this time to get some popcorn from planet studio.

The packs of popcorn were HUGE, enough for four people to share.

I was so amazed they have 14 flavours and each one has a creative name which is hard to translate into English.

========================================

The 14 flavours are:

Original diamond, Caramel, Hazelnut and caramel, Chocolate, Cheese, Chowder, Seaweed, Wasabi, Kimchi, Coffee, Spring onion and chicken, Honey, Coconut and milk, and Sweet corn soup!!

I think the most interesting flavours are the Spring onion and chicken, Coconut and milk and the sweetcorn soup and the seaweed flavour would be a popular choice for Asians.

========================================

Anyway, I tried the Original and the Caramel.

The popcorn comes in huge resealable packs, tubs or snack packs great to share at the cinema.

========================================

Original:

The colour was lighter than the caramel one but the taste was really nice and buttery.

It is made with mediterranean sea salt to bring out the full flavour.

Each popcorn was nice and spherical.

========================================

Caramel:

This was much sweeter than the original but not that buttery, but very moreish after you have started eating it!!

========================================

planet popcorn is available in Taiwan, Malaysia and China!!

For English details there is more information at the Malaysian site and in Malaysia they have curry which is an exclusive flavour there!!

========================================

As well as buying the popcorn locally, they can be mailed over by contacting them on service@twplanetpop.com or you can buy them in Taiwan directly from the stores listed below.

l      若要吃的到星球工坊產品，僅能使用宅配空運寄送，可以來信至客服信箱諮詢service@twplanetpop.com

l      或是加入臉書fan page，得知第一手優惠資訊http://www.facebook.com/planetpopcorn.hk

l      目前在台灣有兩個據點可以買到，有機會去台灣玩的時候再來看看吧！

l      士林店：台北市士林區基河路106號

l      饒河店：台北市松山區饒河街39號

[Review 1912] Ham and oyster omelette @ 新城日式拉麵茶餐廳 Sunshine Restaurant

24/10/2012
新城日式拉麵茶餐廳 Sunshine Restaurant
灣仔軒尼詩道 115 號地下
G/F,115 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/ham-and-oyster-omelette-sunshine-restaurant-e2265544

Walked past and noticed the Ham and oyster omelette so decided to order that.
Personally I would have preferred just oysters in the omelette.
It came with Wolfberry and whelk soup.
Apart from that, there was another choice that I wanted to order which had four items with rice.
The four items were: fried egg, pork chop, barbeque pork and luncheon meat!

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Phonetic menu:

One of the menus was quite interesting because it had Chinese phonics in English.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Wolfberry and whelk soup:

The soup was quite light and the whelk taste was not strong enough, there was hints of ginger in the soup.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ham and oyster omelette:

I was taking a gamble ordering this one because there might be sand in the oysters, but I was was quite impressed because the oysters were clean.

The oysters were slightly bigger than baby oysters and there were about 4-5 oysters in that omelette.
There was also plenty of spring onions and some coriander too.
The omelette was quite delicious especially with the oysters and spring onions but it was slightly too salty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Other photos


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 1911] Braised radish in soup and runny egg in wine @ 壹碗麵 Yat Woon Min

24/10/2012
壹碗麵 Yat Woon Min
北角和富道93號銀輝大廈地下
G/F, Ngan Fai Building, 93 Wharf Road, North Point
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/braised-radish-in-soup-and-runny-egg-in-wine-e2265517

Last time when I tried the runny egg in wine I forgot to order the Chinese radish in soup so this time I came back for it and ordered the egg as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Braised radish in soup:


The braised radish was cut in big chunks.
The radish was sweet but there was a slight bitter taste but the accompanying broth was really natural and sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Runny egg in wine:

The egg I got this time had a runny yolk as claimed, however the wine tasted really different to my last visit.
I was given more wine on the last visit and this time there was less.
The clarity of the wine was clearer and the taste of the wine this time was strong and alcoholic with no savouryness it had last time.
Overall the egg was nice this time because the yolk was runny as claimed but the wine was not as good as last time.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★