[Review 2272] Get addicted to Soupaholic's buk kut teh @ 迷湯肉骨茶專門店 The Soupaholic

17/02/2013
迷湯肉骨茶專門店 The Soupaholic
鰂魚涌海堤街18號地下D5號舖
Shop D5, G/F, 18 Hoi Tai Street, Quarry Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/get-addicted-to-soupaholics-buk-kut-teh-e2283790

After dining at Flames I was still hungry so had this place in mind, luckily they had a flyer nearby otherwise I would have forgotten about it.
It is tucked away in an alleyway at Hoi Tai Street.
The little joint can only seat six people, a table for two and a table for four.

They specialise in Buk Kut Teh which claims to be MSG free with herbal properties.

There is an introductory about those herbs and their medicinal properties.
Basically the main item they serve is Buk Kut Teh in their cute kitchen!

You can order the Buk Kut Teh a la carte, or the set and they have the family size Buk Kut Teh too.
The menu is really cute, it shows how many ribs you get with the number of bones denoted by the dish!

Anyway I ordered the set for one which includes: buk kut teh soup, a bowl of buk kut teh which has two ribs, tofu puffs, rice, fried dough stick slices and sauce (chili, crushed garlic and soy sauce)

As this shop is new they are still in their teething stages, so you might have to wait for a while.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Buk kut teh soup:

This was my favourite and the main item I came here for.
When you order, they will ask you which version you want, the first version is super strong which has more herbs and the other one is not so strong on herbs but stronger on pepper.
I ordered the strong one.
The taste was really strong and I liked it, however I felt the pepper was slightly too strong because I preferred the herb taste more and it made me feel thirsty.
The taste of dongwai was quite prominent too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Dough sticks and sauce:

The dough sticks were not oily which was great but they were slightly too hard.
The sauce that they provided was really good because they did not use the thick dark sweet soya sauce.
The spicyness of the sauce was quite strong but it made everything else taste nice especially when I dipped the ribs in it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Buk kut teh ribs:

The meat from the ribs was tender and not too dry.
As well as the ribs, there were tofu puffs and lettuce beneath it and when they were dipped in the soy sauce, everything just came together nicely.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2271] Flames of chicken in East Soho @ Flames Charcoal Chicken

17/02/2013
Flames Charcoal Chicken
鰂魚涌海灣街25號海灣大廈地下A2號舖
Shop A2, G/F, Hoi Wan Building, 25 Hoi Wan Street, Quarry Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/flames-of-chicken-in-east-soho-e2283789

While there is FLAME in Wan Chai, there is now FLAMES in Chai Wan.
Initially I thought they were similar because the logos are both light blue (according to the cover photo on their FB page, however the FLAMES here is in lower case Italics.)

The red and black on the menu and the chairs reminded me of Kramp house, and the logo on the black menu reminded me of La Rotisserie in Sheung Wan.
It was a must try for me because they serve CHICKEN SALT AND CHIPS.
Chicken salt is an Australian product which I never heard of in the UK, but found out after meeting some Australians!
I suppose this is the only reason I like Hong Kong because food from other countries will suddenly appear and since HK is a small place you do not have to travel far to try it.
It is good that rotisserie equipment is getting cheaper these days so there will be more rotisseries around when potential business seekers see that roast chicken is not that difficult to serve!
Anyway, Hong Kong is also a good place for trend setters and followers because news travels fast!
Flames is located in the nice end of Quarry bay behind some Western bars with alfresco dining.

There was a large counter of roast chickens, sides and sauces where people can see before they order.

Salads and side dishes
Chicken
Chips and grilled vegetables

There are basically two types of chicken: Charcoal chicken with stuffing or Charcoal flat chicken.

The Charcoal chicken with stuffing is a whole chicken stuffed with stuffing and roasted.

The charcoal flat chicken is a whole chicken cut in the middle and flattened before roasting and this one is slightly spicy.

There were various of sets, which was chicken served with a choice of rice, chips, or salad.
The chicken comes in halves or quarters.

As I wanted to try the couscous and chips, I ordered both of the chickens with each as a set.
The set does not include a drink, but you can add a drink for a few dollars.
For the daily special drinks they had chrysanthemum tea or Lemon tea.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Charcoal chicken with stuffing, Mexican couscous and pumpkin, baby spinach and cheese salad:

The chicken was succulent and juicy and beneath the chicken was generous stuffing.

There was sweet gravy as well which gave the chicken more moisture and the lovely stuffing beneath the chicken was packed with herbs and during the roasting, it had absorbed the chicken juices so it was very flavourful.
For stuffing lovers, you don't have to wait till Christmas!
The couscous was slightly bland because I thought it was going to be spicy but it was not. The couscous and the salad were nice and light and complemented the chicken, but for chicken lovers I suggest that one person could probably eat half a chicken because a quarter is not that big.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
charcoal flat chicken with chicken salt and chips:

I was really looking forward to this because it was my first encounter with chicken salt, however the chicken salt was not that strong and I could not taste any chicken powder although you can visually see it on the chips.
As for the chicken, it was slightly spicy and it seemed to have paprika powder on it, there was a side of creamy sauce which was very spicy too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Overall, I really enjoyed the chicken and I will be back because the atmosphere and location is great.
As they have just opened, there is a 20% discount from the bill.
They are also giving away 20% discount cards selectively to selected people, so obviously I did not get one

[Review 2270] The serenity of Piccolos in Sai Kung @ Piccolos

16/02/2013
Piccolos
西貢灣景街20號地下
G/F, 20 Wan King Path, Sai Kung
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/the-serenity-of-piccolos-in-sai-kung-e2283730

Since I have given up with Chinese food in Sai Kung, I decided to get some Western food at the square.

I was choosing between Piccolos and Occo which are right next to each other but the ambiance at Piccolos seemed better so I went there.
After I sat down, I saw that the tiles on the floor looked similar to the ones at Harringtons and Oolaa.

I was later told by the waiter that this restaurant and a few others in Sai Kung are also under Castelo concepts.
It never occurred to me to dine in their Sai Kung branches because the menu on their website was not up to date.
However, the prices are slightly cheaper than the other restaurants in the city and the portions are bigger too.
I ordered the all day breakfast burrito and while I was waiting, they gave me a local magazine to read, featuring the annoying Hiram's Highway that is famous for congestion and accidents.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
breakfast burrito:
The burrito arrived and the size was huge!

It was served with a side of rocket in vinaigrette dressing.
The burrito was filled with scrambled egg that had a vibrant yellow to it, and it also had tomatoes, bacon and sausage.
The burrito was really nice because the egg was just done right and there was a lovely egg aroma to it and the sausage slices made it meatier.

There was mango salsa in it too which I found a bit too sweet.
I would have liked it if there was more Mexican with refried beans or guacamole.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The breakfast came with a drink too which was not bad for around $1XX.

Customer service was quite good too, they provided a glass of water and they also have a heater if the locals feel cold!

[Review 2269] Valentines sweetheart buns from Hot Shot! @ 熱賣點 Hot Shot

16/02/2013
熱賣點 Hot Shot
柴灣漁灣村漁豐樓地下3-4 號舖
Shop 3-4, G/F, Yue Fung House, Yue Wan Estate, Chai Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/valentines-sweetheart-buns-from-hot-shot-e2283722

I was surprised that the local convenient store had a special edition bun for Valentines day.
(They were still selling them on the 16th of February, the day I got them)
It was basically two heart shaped buns filled with chocolate paste.
There was a set that includes the hot chocolate drink and two buns for $13.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sweetheart buns HKD10:
The appearance of these buns were the same as Chinese steamed buns, but they were pink and heart shaped.

Part of the bun was slightly dry and hard.
If it was not dry and hard then the bun would have been perfect.

I suspect it was dry because they did not manage to sell all the buns on Valentines days, so they are selling the remaining stock.

The filling in the middle was thick chocolate paste that was not too sweet.


The poster did not mention whether the filling was runny or not, so I did not have any expectations.
Anyway, I really liked it because it was a modernized Chinese bun filled with chocolate!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2268] Veggie patty subway in Sai Kung @ Subway

15/02/2013
Subway
西貢福民路58-72號高富樓地下8號舖
Shop 8, G/F, Ko Fu House, 58-72 Fuk Man Road, Sai Kung
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/veggie-patty-subway-in-sai-kung-e2283720

It is really good there is another choice for Western food in Sai Kung.
Located on Fuk Man Road, it is a few steps away from Bibini.
The staff at this branch are super friendly and the prices seem different to the ones in the city.
I chose the Veggie patty which I have always wanted to try.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Veggie patty subway:
The bun was quite chewy and not as soft as the other branches, and it had the usual dose of MSG in it because I felt thirsty after eating it.

Anyway, the veggie patty is made of soybeans and herbs and the patty had some crunch to it as well.


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2267] Apple brown Betty, The American dream @ euro go go

15/02/2013
euro go go
油塘高超道38號大本型MTR層M10號舖
Shop M10, Level MTR, Domain, 38 Ko Chiu Road, Yau Tong
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/apple-brown-betty-the-american-dream-e2283708


Originally I thought this was just an Apple crumble but after googling, it turns out to be an American dessert.

I went to a another branch before but the Apple brown Betty was sold out.

There is a choice of the creme brulee or the Apple brown betty, but interestingly on the flyer it states that it is served cold.
The branch that I went to before said it was also served cold.
As it looked similar to an Apple crumble I felt that it would taste better hot.

Luckily at this branch, they had this dessert and offered to serve it hot without me asking so other people must have requested hot before.

There was also dark chocolate mousse which was tempting as well.

The Yau Tong branch is more spacious and the staff were more efficient compared to the Hang Hau Branch.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Apple brown Betty:
When it came there was a generous splodge of  artificial cream.

Assuming it was an apple crumble I was expecting chunks of apple or apple puree beneath the crispy layer.

But to my surprise it was lots of thin slices of apple, and the taste was amazing because they used unsweetened apple so it was really tart, but the lovely crispy layer on top was sweet which balanced it out.

The generous cream on top was nice and thick too otherwise it would have melted quickly on the piping hot dessert.
The overall combination of tart apples, sweet crumble and cream was delicious.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Creme brulee:


The creme brulee was nice if you did not treat it as a creme brulee. It tasted exactly like a caramel egg pudding and it was really smooth and silky with strong caramel taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

I would strongly advise having it baked because it tastes so much better.

A Brown Betty is a traditional American dessert made from fruit and sweetened crumbs.
It consists of a baked pudding made with layers of sweetened and spiced fruit and buttered bread crumbs served with lemon sauce or whipped cream.

[Review 2266] Juicy cute apple bites @ Juicy J's

15/02/2013
Juicy J's
西貢福民路58-72號高富樓37號地舖
No.37, G/F, Block A, Ko Fu Building, 58-72 Fuk Man Road, Sai Kung
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/juicy-cute-apple-bites-e2283677

Saw these new cute apple pies so had to try them, on my earlier visit they were sold out, so I got them on a later visit.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mini apple pie HKD15:
The shape of these apple pies were like wedges of deep fried apple.
Initially I thought they were literally wedges of apple coated in flour and deep fried, but it was diced apple in cinnamon sauce inside.

The taste of these apple bites were quite nice, however it was weird they were sprinkled with salt, or perhaps they had mistaken the salt for sugar.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cute menu:


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★