[Review 2167] Scammed 魚目混珠 珍珍假假食店 @ 珍珍食店 Chin Chin Kitchen

29/12/2012
珍珍食店  Chin Chin Kitchen
大澳大澳街市街13號地下
G/F, 13 Tai O Market Street, Tai O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/%E9%AD%9A%E7%9B%AE%E6%B7%B7%E7%8F%A0-%E7%8F%8D%E7%8F%8D%E5%81%87%E5%81%87%E9%A3%9F%E5%BA%97-e2276635

Finally this shop is listed, this used to be a shop just serving silky tofu and now they have changed their name to janjansikdim as they are selling other snacks.
Stopped by for some curried fish gas bladder (fish maw) for $20 because not many places offer curried fish gas bladder.

After I ordered, they took a skewer of fish gas bladder and removed the skewer and put the fish gas bladder pieces into the curry broth.
When it was ready, she put the pieces in the white bowl and I did not see her do that.

The pieces on the top were fish gas bladder but beneath it were at least three pieces of pigs skin!
I just felt they insulted my tastebuds if they thought I could not taste the difference!

But honestly, some people have said they could not tell the difference between the two but they should not use this to their advantage to profit!

I WAS NOT EXPECTING THEM TO PUT PIGS SKIN IN IT, WHICH WAS SO DISHONEST!
This place is definitely not HALAL and you should be careful and see what you eat if you cannot eat pork.

If she put the pigs skin there by accident, then it really shows they are not professional ie they are fish gas bladder specialists and they cant tell the difference between pigs skin and fish gas bladder.

There is a slight visual difference between them, the pigs skin is more translucent and the fish gas bladder is more cloudy and you cannot see through it.

The fish gas bladder has a slight fish taste to it and the pigs skins does not.
The fish maw is softer and has a gelatinous texture in the middle whereas the pigs skin is springy and tastes different.
The colour of the pigs skin was darker because it was more porous and absorbed the curry sauce.
The curry taste was extremely strong and spicy because they probably hope you cannot tell the difference between pork skin and fish gas bladder.

I really regret not taking photos of the pig's skin and going back to tell them.

[Review 2166] Afternoon tea sets @ 糙米家 Papa Deli

28/12/2012
糙米家  Papa Deli
灣仔機利臣街4號地下
G/F, 4 Gresson Street, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/afternoon-tea-sets-chomega-e2276445

Went there for afternoon tea because it is packed at lunchtimes.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Salmon salad:


The portion of the salad was quite small and there were two small pieces of smoked salmon.
It was dressed in sesame sauce.
Overall the salad was quite refreshing and the sesame sauce was not too creamy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Baked potato:
This came with the salad but I forgot to take a picture of it.
It was a tiny foil dish with baked mashed potato.
The potato had cheese and bacon on top.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
green tea pudding:

The green tea pudding was nice, the sweetness was just right.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chocolate drink:

The chocolate drink also tasted nice too because it was not floury or milky.
It tasted like Nesquik's chocolate milkshake.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2165] Supersupergirl gets Bing'd wiv Bing'nam crepes @

28/12/2012
老金煎餅 Mr. Bing
中環威靈頓街83號地下及地庫
LG & G/F, 83 Wellington Street, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/supersupergirl-gets-bingd-wiv-bingnam-crepes-e2276439

I was really excited when I saw this place due to open because of the vibrant bright yellow and orange theme.

This place used to be the Leaf Tea boutique which did not do as well as Teavers or SinMei.

After googling it I found out that they were Beijng style pancakes which I then considered whether to try it or not because it was Chinese food, but after watching the video of the pancakes by Mr.Bing in Beijing, they reminded me of the pancakes at Tai O because they also contain a piece of crispy cracker in it.

I have never been to Beijing before so I wouldnt know what the Beijng style street pancakes taste like.
I can only compare it to the one I tried at Tai O.

When it finally opened, I was compelled to try most of their pancakes because they had sweet and savoury style pancakes.

The savoury ones were jazzed up containing duck and cucumber like the China town ones and for the Sweet one Singa-bing they had my favourite Kaya and dessicated coconut.
There is a Sweet Hongkie crepe which has peanut butter and condensed milk which is not really my cup of tea but after trying the Singa-bing, the Hongkie style pancake may turn out good.

For the pancakes, there are a choice of different flour bases which are: green bean flour, millet flour and buckwheat.
The piece of crispy cracker in the pancake works wonders, not only does it add crunch to the pancake, it makes the pancake rigid and easier to eat especially if you are out and about or walking.

Every pancake is freshly made to order.

There is a dine in area downstairs as well as the bar tables upstairs.

The kitchen is manned by some friendly Nepalese people but for some reason the locals think they are Philipinos.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
It was a rare sight too that day too, because there was an officer at Mr Bing getting binged and chatting up Mr Goldberg!


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mr Goldberg is the founder of Mr Bing and he was inspired by street food in Beijing when he studied there.
He is also fond of the pop culture and local brands there.


In the end I tried two savoury pancakes and one sweet pancake.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Original Jianbing (SAVOURY):
Menu description:house sauce, chili paste, tofu sauce, cilantro, pickled turnips, black sesame seeds, leek, egg, crisp.

This was a vegetarian pancake but it was packed with flavours.
It had my favourite tofu sauce (red beancurd sauce) and the lovely crispyness of the pancake along with cilantro and leek was delicious.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Peking duck Bing (SAVOURY):
Menu description:roast duck, cucumber, leek, pickled ginger, duck sauce, egg, crisp.

This was also nice too because of the cucumber, duck and duck sauce which taste as good as the pancakes with duck and cucumber in China town.
I did not think I would like the pickled ginger in the pancakes but they were better than anticipated because they were not the usual sweet ones, they were slightly sour and refreshing.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Singa-bing (SWEET):
Menu description: kaya, shredded coconut, egg, crisp.

It was fun eating this because of the crunch in the middle. The taste was a good mix of kaya spread and dessicated coconut.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Overall, I loved the pancakes here because there were so many flavours and the crisp in the pancake made the floppy pancake rigid and easier to eat.
Compared to the Tai O pancakes, the Tai O one is softer and has more egg and cumin in the taste.
The only factor I did not like was the paper bag they used because it gave off a waxy smell.

[Review 2164] Winter drink special: Green Tea latte @ Deli-O

28/12/2012
Deli-O
上環干諾道中168-200號信德中心2樓268A號舖
Shop 268A, 2/F, Shun Tak Centre, 168-200 Connaught Road Central, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/deli-o-winter-drink-special-green-tea-latte-e2276377

Saw the poster for the winter drinks special which were the green tea latte and the chocolate and peppermint drink.

Went in for the green tea latte and had a pasta set.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pasta and scrambled egg set:

The pasta set comes with scrambled egg, ham and toast.
As usual the scrambled egg was tasteless but if you eat it with the salty broth from the pasta it tastes nice.
The buttered toasted was nice because it was real butter.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Green tea latte:
The presentation of the green tea latte was rather disappointing because it was not served in a cup as shown on the picture but in a disposable paper cup.
The taste of the latte was quite nice because the latte was not too milky and the green taste taste was light.
The cream on top was sweet whipped cream.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2163] Shanghai & Szechuan Delights @ 大食代 Food Republic

28/12/2012
大食代 Food Republic
鑽石山荷里活廣場 3 樓
3/F, Plaza Hollywood, Diamond Hill
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/shanghai-szechuan-delights-food-republic-e2276308

Tried the Shanghai & Szechuan joint at Food Republic.
 Ordered the noodles with chicken in wine and steamed Shanghai style dumplings.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
noodles:


Tasteless.
There was a strong taste of flour in the broth.
The tasteless noodles were saved by dipping it into the wine sauce from the chicken.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
steamed Shanghai style dumplings:

Oily and the dumpling skin was thick.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
chicken in wine:

This was the only item that tasted nice.
The wine was strong and salty and the chicken was fully flavoured by the wine.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2162] Super Jolly and Jollier with Jollibee food @ 快樂蜂 Jollibee

27/12/2012
快樂蜂 Jollibee
中環干諾道中13號歐陸貿易中心地下
Shop z4, G/F, Eurotrade Centre, 13 Connaught Rd., Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/super-jolly-and-jollier-with-jollibee-food-e2276301

I was here again for my favourite fried chicken and palabok.
The lovely fried chicken comes with gravy so I always order extra fries to go with gravy.
The service is really efficient and after you order most of the food is ready on your tray in an instant which is so much quicker than KFC.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fried chicken:

The chicken was fried just right, it tasted nice with or without gravy much better than KFC.
Although it smells of horrible oil fumes outside, the chicken does not taste rancid, nor does the restaurant smell inside.
The chicken that they serve here is always chicken drumstick or the chicken thigh!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fries and gravy:

The fries were perfect, just the way I like them because they are pale and not over done.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
palabok:

The palabok was a bit too heavy this time, there was too much lard in it despite using the lemon to balance it out.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lemon Tea:

It was interesting they actually put a slice of lemon despite it was lemon tea from the dispenser.
The lemon tea was way too sweet and syrupy for me.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Came here again for more food.
As well as the food and great packaging, it is interesting they are quite hygienic and concerned about health because on the paper it tells you not to place your food directly on the trayliner.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hotdog:

The hot dog was nice and soft but the sausage tasted quite beefy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crispy bangus:

This turned out to be amazing. As well as the fried chicken, this is also delicious.
I have been eating this all the time at Quezon in Wan Chai, but I did not realise Jolibee also offered this.
Basically it is deep fried peppered fish with vinegar. The one at Quezon is half of a whole fish because it is a smaller fish and it still has bones but the one here is a bigger piece of BONELESS fish!!!
The vinegar is given separately here and the fish tastes good with or without vinegar!

I thought I had to wait, but the fish and other meals were already boxed and ready to serve!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Peach and mango pie:

I do not like mango but I tried it anyway! The filling was slightly different to the product shot because the mango and peach had already been mashed up, but the taste was amazing, usually Pinoy food is too sweet however the sweetness was just right and the peach was strong that I could not taste the mango.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Coconut and pineapple:

I tried this because in the Pinoy cuisine they use young coconut and this pie was also delicious because there was more proportion of young coconut and the sweetness was just right too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Wonton noodles and Taro pearl cooler drink at Jollibee:
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=1969041

[Review 2161] Multi grain bun with Okinawa salt @ 東海堂 Arome Bakery

27/12/2012
東海堂 Arome Bakery
上環干諾道中168-200號信德中心2樓232號舖
Shop 232, 2/F, Shuk Tak Centre, 168-200 Connaught Road Central, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/multi-grain-bun-with-okinawa-salt-arome-bakery-e2276263

I have not really tried their bakery products apart from the sweet cakes at Arome Bakery room, so decided to get a savory bun this time.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Multi grain bun with Okinawa salt

This bun had multi grains and Okinawa salt on the top of the bun so decided to try it.
It reminded me of wholegrain bread with the pieces of grains in it that gave it extra texture.
The salt was nice as it gave the grains and bread some flavour.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

There is a $2 discount after a certain time for certain breads at this branch only!