[Review 2208] Nougats of treasure from ABC Bakery @ ABC餅屋 ABC Bakery

16/01/2013
ABC餅屋 ABC Bakery
中環結志街1號地下
G/F, 1 Gage Street, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/nougats-of-treasure-from-abc-bakery-e2279539


~Thanks to Mjqueen7e for these yummy scrummy nougats~

On my previous visit to ABC Bakery, I did not notice these because I was attracted by their Western style cakes, but the nougats at ABC bakery are actually their most famous items along with the walnut cookies.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Nougat:

The nougats were so nice and addictive that I could not stop eating them. I did not know that at other places the softness of the nougat was different until Mjqueen7e told me.
For fun I put a piece of nougat in the fridge and it also tasted nice chewier and cold too.
The peanuts in the nougat were a perfect balance.
The sweetness was just right and it tastes like a satisfying SNICKERs bar without the chocolate and caramel.
Each nougat is wrapped in edible rice paper.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2207] Gooday mate with a Gooday macaron @ Gooday Cafe

16/01/2013
Gooday Cafe
中環皇后大道中118號5樓
5/F, 118 Queen's Road Central, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/gooday-mate-with-a-gooday-macaron-e2279538

~Thanks to Ivycwk for these yummy scrummy macarons~
The macarons came in a nice paper bag with a butterfly.
Overall their Macarons were really nice and the macaron shells were hard outside and soft and chewy in the centre.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lemon and caramel:

The combination of lemon and caramel was nice because the lemon flavouring gave it nice citrus tones balanced by the caramel.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Apricot:

The apricot macaron was nice and fruity with hints of almond.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2206] Macau's Tai Lei Loi Kei in Hong Kong @ 澳門大利來記豬扒包 (中環)

16/01/2013
澳門大利來記豬扒包 Tai Lei Loi Kei
中環擺花街52-60號地下
G/F, 52-60 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/macaus-tai-lei-loi-kei-in-hong-kong-e2279532

In Central, you can now order pork chop buns with this new branch of Tai Kei Loi Kei from Macau.

I remember seeing this in Macau but I did not try it.
The prices seem cheaper in Hong Kong compared to the one in Macau.
However the branch in Macau had a really nice smell of pork chops coming out from the shop.

On my first visit, they did not have all the items available so I tried it another day in one go.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Supreme pork chop bun:

All their pork chops have a bone attached because they claim the meat is more tender and juicy.
The pork chop tasted ok but the baguette bun could have been fresher.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Portugese style Spicy fish baguette:

Same as the pork chop bun, the baguette could have been fresher because the texture was not that springy.
The spicy fish was a mix of fish and onions in curry powder which I found too spicy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Bacalhau mashed potato balls:

It was weird that they came with thai sweet chili sauce, I would have preferred ketchup or lemon.
I did not use the sauce anyway.


The mashed potato balls were really nice and the fish taste was really strong and the potato was nice and fluffy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Drinks:
The usual pork chop bun comes with soft drinks or tea, but they had other interesting drinks from Santa Vittoria too.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2205] Golden Nutty Delights 2013 @ McCafe 麥當勞 McDonald's

16/01/2013
麥當勞 McDonald's
將軍澳貿業路8號新都城中心2期1樓1017號舖
Shop 1017, 1/F, MCP Central, 8 Mau Yip Road, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/golden-nutty-delights-2013-mccafe-e2279531

I was excited when I saw the new Golden Nutty delights at McCafe because I love hazelnuts and the souffle coffee seemed the best because of the souffle top even though I do not drink coffee.

There are three drinks in that series which are all hot: Golden Nutty Tea (red tea, chocolate and hazelnut), Golden Nutty mocha (coffee, chocolate and hazelnut), and Golden Nutty souffle coffee (hazelnut coffee with a souffle top).

I chose the Golden Nutty Tea and the Golden Nutty souffle coffee because I wanted to try the souffle.
When it was done it came in a paper cup and I never said that I was not dining there, especially for a delicate drink with foam, why would I want it served in a paper cup!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Golden Nutty Tea:


The top of this drink was frothier than the souffle.
The froth was nice and sweet with a strong hazelnut taste.
The tea beneath it was not that sweet but was balanced with the sweetness of the froth.
However the drink was not hot enough.
Overall the taste was nice with hints of hazelnut, chocolate and tea!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Golden Nutty souffle coffee:

Compared to the tea, this drink was much hotter and it had steam coming off it.
The souffle top was really nice and the bubbles were fine and dense which was a pity that it was served in a paper cup with the lid on because half the souffle was gone.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2204] The song of Yuen Long @ 爽爽麵店

16/01/2013
爽爽麵店
元朗鳳攸北街5號順豐大廈地下5號舖
Shop 5, G/F, Shun Fung Building, 5 Fung Yau Street North, Yuen Long
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/the-song-of-yuen-long-e2279527

Ever since I saw their interesting shop name I have always wanted to dine here.
The characters of the Chinese name looks like a curly L and a £ (pound sign)!

This joint is famous for pork chops and chicken in wine.

For the pork chops you can choose lean pork chops or the normal ones.
As for drinks they have Chrysanthemum and Lemon but since I do not like chrysanthemum I did not order any drinks as the rest were Chinese style drinks.

The restaurant was full, so I was led to another room nearby.
(It reminded me of dining at God's Kitchen in Tai Kok Tsui before they moved to the new shop.

In that room, all the food was served in plastic tubs and containers probably because it is private property so if any legal problem arises then they can say that it was a gathering and people brought the food there themselves.
After you have finished eating, you have to go back to the shop and pay because you cannot pay there.

Anyway, I ordered the chicken in wine with noodles.
I asked for the tossed noodles because I did not want the soup.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chicken in wine with noodles:
When it came I transferred all the chicken to the plastic container and then put the noodles in the remaining wine so the noodles would soak up the wine.


The noodles were really nice and the wine flavour was at its max.
However the chicken and noodles were rather salty and on my next visit I will request for plain noodles because the oyster sauce that was on the noodles made it extra salty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2203] Macau's 金隆 Restaurant in Hong Kong @ 澳門金隆雲南米綫

16/01/2013
澳門金隆雲南米綫
銅鑼灣渣甸街49號地下
G/F, 49 Jardine's Bazaar, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/macaus-%E9%87%91%E9%9A%86-restaurant-in-hong-kong-e2279524

Came here especially for the dessert and the chicken looked good so decided to try that too.
Although the food served here is not Macanese, this restaurant is from Macau where they have more than one branch.
The menu was interesting and there was a pictoral Chinese character.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fragrant chicken:
According to the product shot, the chicken is pale, but when it is served, it looks more like chicken in soya sauce.
The chicken was really tender and soft, the sauce that it was in was really nice, however after eating one piece, the chicken beneath it was chicken wings!
I was a bit annoyed that I got two chicken wings because there is no meat at all, just bone and skin!
Luckily, there was ginger sauce and spicy pickles to finish off my rice!
☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Jelly:

The jelly is made from papaya seeds according to the menu and it is served with rose syrup.
Luckily the syrup was slightly sweet and the rose flavouring was faint.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2202] Maxim's 45th anniversary celebration @ 美心西餅 Maxim's Cake Shop

12/01/2013
美心西餅 Maxim's Cake Shop
上環港鐵上環站SHW 6號舖
Shop SHW 6, Sheung Wan MTR Station, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/maxims-45th-anniversary-celebration-e2278796

A while ago, Maxim's launched their Happy Rainbow cake as a kick off to their 45th anniversary.

In addition to that, they have now launched the Baby cakes which represent the cakes sold at those different decades.

There are four cakes:
1960s - German black forest cake
1970s - Chestnut and cream cake
1980s - Fruit and cream cake
2000s - Crispy mango cake

The cakes look really cute on display and are about 4 inches in diameter.
Visually all of them looked really good and scaled to the right proportion especially the chestnut cake and the fruit cake.

They can be bought in twos or the complete set.

There were only two that I thought were going to taste nice so I just got the Black forest and the fruit and cream cake.

It would also be interesting to try these cakes as they were not around in my time nor was I brought up with Maxim's.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rainbow cake:

More photos and the full review please read:
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2276752
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
German black forest cake:
This was surprisingly nice because the cream was light and not too sweet, and between the layers there was jelly and cherries.
The jelly had a nostalgic taste which was quite artificial and it was nice with the cream and chocolate shavings.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fruit and cream cake:
The fruit cake tasted really nice and I forgot to take a picture.
I really liked it because there were less fruit in the layers which I do not like and the cream tasted normal for once (ie not salted).
The roasted almond slices tasted really nice with the cake and cream and gave it so much more depth.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
To be honest, I have never liked Maxim's cakes because it is Hong Kong style, but their vintage cakes actually taste like Western cakes.
I have not tried the chestnut cake so at the moment I do not know whether I like it or hate it.
The Happy Rainbow also tasted Ok but it is a copycat of Mrs B's and apart from the colouring, the Maxim's version just tastes like an ordinary cake.