[Review 2274] New dessert shop that has pickles as well @ 車仔糖水 Trolley Dessert

20/02/2013
車仔糖水 Trolley Dessert
北角和富道84-94號銀輝大廈地下2A號舖
Shop 2A, G/F, Ngan Fai Building, 84-94 Wharf Road, North Point
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/new-dessert-shop-that-has-pickles-as-well-e2284135

To be honest, I only noticed this dessert shop because I was curious to see what the new shop would be after Yat Woon Min closed down.

I was even more intrigued when I saw two jars of pickles on the counter because I have never seen a dessert shop do pickles as well.


Anyway, decided to go in and try some desserts, in the kitchen area, there was lots of containers.
The tables were really nice with flower patterns which reminded me of Fruyo factory.
While I was waiting for the desserts, the staff was really nice to let me try their pickles.
They were really hygienic too because they wore gloves.


It was pickled Chinese radish and papaya.
I liked the Chinese radish because it was sour but the papaya was not pickled long enough so it did not taste that sour, and they used lots of sugar in it so it tasted quite sweet as well.

There was lots of desserts to choose from, however the font was quite small and there was no English.


They even had hokkaido ice-cream.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ginger soup with flour balls:
When this came, I was surprised to see they put those black pearls that are found in Taiwanese teas because I thought they were going to be mini dumplings.

I asked what the difference was the between dumplings and black pearls on the menu and they said the black pearls are actually Thai basil seeds. (item 1100 and 1098).

Anyway, the dessert was interesting, it was like having ginger flavoured pearl tea!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ginger soup with sesame filled dumpling:

The ginger soup tasted the same as the previous one and the ginger was very spicy.
As for the dumplings, the menu claims the filling is liquid but it is not and on the receipt it does not say it is liquid.
(see menu above : item 1069)
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
In conclusion both desserts were nice but slightly too sweet, and I will be back for more pickled Chinese radish.

[Review 2273] Get your Taiwanese fare from Tin Hau @ 小倆口台式漢堡蛋餅專賣店

17/02/2013
小倆口台式漢堡蛋餅專賣店
天后電氣道96號地下清風街橋底
G/F, 96 Electric Road,, Tin Hau
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/get-your-taiwanese-fare-from-tin-hau-e2283793

I was thrilled when I saw this new shop in Tin Hau because I have always wanted to go to their Tsuen Wan branch.
Luckily I was too lazy to make the trip to Tsuen Wan because at that time they had closed down to relocate to Tin Hau.

After looking at the menu, it appears the choices food range has been compacted to the most popular items which reduced my headache for choosing what to eat, but it was still a headache because most of the items were the ones I wanted to try.

However they do not serve the lemon chicken burger or the purple potato sandwich which used to be served at the TW branch.

On the first week that they opened, it seems that the new shop was manned by a group of young guys which look different to the people shown on the reviews for the TW branch.

They seemed to be Chinese expats possibly from the US.

The decor is similar to the Tsuen wan Branch with bright logos and decor.
Basically, there is a bar table and there are six stalls available.
All the food ordered is freshly prepared and made to serve.
As well as the food I was looking forward to their cute and unique packaging, which was how I noticed their Tsuen Wan Branch.


In the end, after struggling to decide what to order, I ordered the veggie egg wrap, sweet potato pancake and a burger.
They also had vegetarian options too which was thoughtful of them!

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Veggie egg wrap:

The wrap pastry for this was interesting, it was slightly elastic and similar the Vietnamese white pancakes (Bánh cuốn), however the taste was amazing.
It had a strong pepper taste and the egg inside it was well cooked without any oily taste and the sauce that they gave complemented the wrap well.
The sauce was garlic and soy sauce which actually looked like a clear sweet syrup but it was not.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Taiwanese ham burger (Sage's ham):

I am quite puzzled why this is called Sage's ham as I could not taste any sage in it.
Anyway the appearance of the ham was interesting, it was similar to a slice of luncheon ham, but the taste was far better.
The best thing about the burgers here is the bun, it is a wheat bun, and the whole bun was delicious because it was toasted well that it was crispy on the outside and the soft on the inside.

The sesame which I usually hate was delicious as well because it was toasted golden and you can actually taste the sesame aroma.
In the burger there was a delicious concoction so sauces that was really delicious.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sweet potato pancake:

I thought this was going to be similar to an Indian Roti, but it was not, however it had so many layers like a roti.
The pancake had lots of sweet potato in it and it was nice and chewy too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Since this shop was opened since 2009 and made their way from Tsuen Wan to the city, I was expecting their food to be good, otherwise they would not have made it this far, but the food tasted far better than I expected and I hope to try their other burgers ASAP~

Usually I avoid Taiwanese food because the HongKongised version is alway sweet but the food here was not really sweet and it was savoury as you would expect it to be.

It fun was dining here because it was directly under a bridge/highway, usually I don't notice it because I walk directly into the restaurant on this road!

Hopefully once their operations are smooth, they will add back the choices they previously had.
At the moment, there is a slight wait for the food, so don't all flock here at once, but the food is irresistible so I don't think anyone can resist!

[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!