[Review 2196] 饗 = Enjoy and Eat @ 饗kyo日本料理 Kyo Japanese Restaurant

10/01/2013
饗kyo日本料理 Kyo Japanese Restaurant
銅鑼灣登龍街28號永光中心11樓
11/F, Circle Tower, 28 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/%E9%A5%97-enjoy-and-eat-e2278484

Thanks to Gary and the team for the wonderful Japanese meal.

Kyo is an upstairs restaurant located near Butao and their chef has been awarded numerous awards.
The decor is relaxing and they even have a private dining area too for guests who want privacy but booking in advance is advised.

Without further ado, here is what I tried.
PLEASE NOTE: Some portions are half portions.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crispy cod crackers:

When this arrived they looked similar to the dried fish snacks, however when I took a bite, I was really surprised how crispy they were with a delicate fish taste.
There was Japanese mayonnaise to go with it which enhanced the flavour further more.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Grilled scallops wrapped in bacon:

The scallops were still tender after they were grilled and the smokey bacon that was wrapped around it gave it a lovely smoky taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crab roe salad:

The salad was really nice and refreshing.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Assorted sashimi (HALF PORTION):
The sashimi was really fresh and it was served on a bed of crushed ice.
As well as the sashimi, they had seaweed/kelp as garnishing which I found delicious as well.
The sashimi in the basket was the best because it had grated ginger puree.

The prawn was sweet and it came with the attached head which was also delicous.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Assorted sushi:

In general the sushi was good and there was more proportion of the sushi to the rice beneath it which did not make it feel too heavy and the rice held together.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crab tempura roll:

The rolls were surprising too because the crab tempura was still crispy and it was also spicy balanced by the soothing avocado.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Grilled silver cod:

I loved the fish because it was natural and the sauce was just right and did not over power the fish.
As well as the fish, I ate the pink thing which I initially thought was spring onion but it was ginger!
It was pickled by the restaurant.
As well as the ginger I also tried the pickled radish and cucumbers pickled by them and that was nice too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Clams in sake:

I liked this dish however the sake flavour could have been stronger because the overall taste was too light.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Grilled beef with spring onions:

As a non beef lover, I loved this, and the spring onions and herbs inside were still fresh and aromatic.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tempura:

The prawn in the tempura was nice and fresh, however the tempura batter was slightly too thick.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sukiyaki kobe beef stew - Half Portion:

Sukiyaki is a Japanese dish consists of high quality meat (usually thinly sliced beef) which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin.
Generally sukiyaki is a winter dish and it is commonly found at bōnenkai, Japanese year-end parties.
The Sukiyaki was cooked at our table and the beef they used was Kobe beef.
I thought it was perfect end to the meal because the broth base was really nice.
It was slightly sweet which brought out the flavours in the beef and vegetables.
The thinly sliced beef was tender and sweet, and the rest of the vegetables absorbed the broth so were quite tasty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2195] Marmite loaded Dynamite pizza @ Oolaa

07/01/213
Oolaa
上環必列者士街1號地舖
G/F, 1 Bridges Street, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/marmite-loaded-dynamite-pizza-oolaa-e2278018

I went to Oolaa because it was one of the restaurants that offered Vegemite on the menu.
As well as Oolaa, Wagyu in Lan Kwai Fong also offers it.

Not many places in Hong Kong offer Vegemite and in some countries it is banned and I would love to know why!

Anyway, both Oolaa and Wagyu serve cheese and vegemite spread pizza.

It was a case of Wagyu's Dinki Di’s Aussie Vegemite with volcano bubbly grilled Cheddar cheese on a crispy pizza base for $95 versus Oolaa's Dynamite Pizza with molten Cheddar cheese & Vegemite for $100.

In the end I chose Oolaa because I prefer molten Cheddar cheese and not bubbly grilled cheddar cheese.
Oolaa is located on Bridges street with a nice bar.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Dynamite Pizza with molten Cheddar cheese & Vegemite:
I was slightly disappointed when the pizza arrived, the cheese was not molten, it was baked for too long that it was hard.

Although the cheese was over cooked and disappointing it tasted quite nice.
The Vegemite was really salty but that was expected.
The pizza here was what I would have expected if I dined at Wagyu because the cheese here turned out to be bubbly grilled cheddar cheese.
The pizza base and the grilled cheese was very chewy that it gave you tired jaws.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2194] Big sago pearls in Mathy's Taro and sago dessert @ 麥菲茶餐廳 Mathy Cafe

07/01/2013
麥菲茶餐廳 Mathy Cafe
將軍澳毓雅里7號富麗花園地下3號舖
Shop 3, G/F, Finery Park, 7 Yuk Nga Lane, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/big-sago-pearls-in-mathys-taro-and-sago-dessert-e2278017

Usually I will frown when Chinese restaurants serve me sweet soup because I find it disgusting and too sweet.

However, this restaurant has never served sweet soup before or any other desserts, but due to the competition around they have started to offer sweet soup.
When they asked me if I wanted any, I initially said No, but then I then I changed my mind because the food here is good in general and they have never served desserts before so I might as well try it.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Taro and sago sweet soup:
When it came, it looked like a bowl of greyish milk, and I poked my spoon in it unwillingly.
To my delight I saw these massive sago pearls which were visually pleasing.

Usually, the sago pearls in these sweet soups are tiny, but these ones are about 5mm in diameter.
The taste of the taro and sago sweet soup was ok so I had a half a bowl which is a record for me.
I usually taste a drop of the sweet soup and leave it because it is too sweet and because I just do not like Hong Kong style sweet soups because I do not like red beans or sweet potatoes.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2193] Toast with honey and whipped cream @ Hero Sandwich

07/01/2013
Hero Sandwich (已結業)

After my first visit to the Sheung Wan branch of Hero I have been craving for another visit.
I have been to Central about four times attempting to dine here but I could not find it because it is actually located on Wellington street and not Lyndhurst terrace.


I liked this branch because it had a fun and hip atmosphere compared to the Shenug Wan Branch, the SW branch has a more serious atmosphere for entrepreneurs and people wearing suits, whereas this branch is run by ABCs and caucasians.

I ordered the toast with whipped cream and honey with an iced coffee.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Toast with honey and whipped cream:
They served the honey separate because I requested it separate so that I could control the sweetness myself.
The toast was thicker than I imagined and it was cut into four pretty square cubes each with cream on top.
It looked slightly different to the product shot which was not cut into four pieces but the way they served it looked nice.
I did not use the honey because the cream was sweet and the crispy toast tasted really nice with the airy light whipped cream.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Iced coffee:


The coffee tasted nice but it was too milky for my liking.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2192] Sticky toffee pudding @ Ocio

07/01/2013
Ocio
銅鑼灣登龍街36-48號登輝大廈D2舖
Shop D2, Tang Fai Building, 36 - 48 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/sticky-toffee-pudding-ocio-e2277965


Before this place opened, there was a branch at Mong Kok which purely did waffles, however there was no dine in area so I never went there.

Although this place is for famous for Waffles, I came here for the sticky toffee pudding dessert which was my favourite at school served with hot custard.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sticky toffee pudding:
Sticky toffee pudding is a British steamed dessert consisting of a very moist sponge cake, made with finely chopped dates or prunes, covered in a toffee sauce and often served with a vanilla custard or vanilla ice-cream. A modern British ‘classic’, alongside Jam Roly-Poly and Spotted Dick puddings.
==============================
I requested for the sticky toffee pudding to be served with cream instead of ice-cream because the pudding is quite sweet itself and I did not want to have ice-cream making it even sweeter.

Some Toffee puddings are plain moist sponge cakes covered in toffee sauce and some toffee puddings are made with finely chopped dates or prunes.
I prefer the ones without dates or prunes available in the canned version from Heinz.
Anyway when it came, the dessert was nice and hot and the smell of the cream on top as a result of the hot sponge was delicious.

The version of the sticky toffee pudding here had dates in it, but they tasted ok and there was toffee sauce on the side of the pudding.
The sticky toffee pudding was really sweet but that was expected.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
All was well and they even provided a glass of water which was essential especially when you are having sweet stuff, however I had to request another spoon because there was some stains on it.

[Review 2191] The Hero from Tai Kok Tsui to Hong Kong @ Hero Sandwich

07/01/2013
Hero Sandwich
上環皇后大道中181號新紀元廣場101A號舖
Shop 101A, Grand Millennium Plaza, 181 Queens Road, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/the-hero-from-tai-kok-tsui-to-hong-kong-e2277949

Thanks to Ivy for telling me about this new HERO branch which was opened before Christmas.

I was thrilled when they opened this first Hong Kong branch in Sheung Wan followed by another branch in Central.

They still have the first branch in Tai Kok Tsui which I have always wanted to go but it was too far away and I did not know how to get there!
It just shows how good the food at HERO is because Tai Kok Tsui is out of bounds for quite a lot of people and there are not many westerners that live there and yet it has been around for ages.

I have always thought Hero was a bit out of place in Tai Kok Tsui because it should have always been on the Hong Kong island, but it has survived in a place where the cuisines and locals around it are mostly Chinese which really shows their food is great.

The location in Sheung Wan is great, it is near the MTR station and also near Central.

I ordered the rib eye sandwich set with fries, a jacket potato and extra gravy for the chips.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rib eye sandwich:

Took one bite and fell in love with it even though I do not like beef.
The slices of beef were lean and fatless and the sauce they used was similar to the sauce used in McD's big mac,
However there was no cheese as shown on the product shot but it still tasted nice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Jacket potato with corned beef:

I finally got a properly baked jacket potato because the potato skin was crispy and edible too.
The texture of the potato was good too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fries:

The fries were perfect too with just the right amount of salt.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Gravy:

The gravy was delicious and complimented the steak sandwich and fries perfectly.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Coffee:

The coffee was quite nice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

I will visit the Central branch too.