[Review 2304] Hakata Ippudo now at Kowloon Bay @ 一風堂 Ippudo HK

11/03/2013
一風堂  Ippudo HK
九龍灣偉業街33號德福廣場一期G54A1號舖
Shop G54A1. Phase 1, Telford Plaza, 33 Wai Yip Street, Kowloon Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/hakata-ippudo-now-at-kowloon-bay-e2287008

Thanks to Ippudo and the communications team for inviting me to their Blogger's party.

IPPUDO (HK) has extended its footprint to the Kowloon East area. Located really close to the MTR exit at Kowloon Bay station.

They have just launched two more specialty ramens from different Japanese prefectures – Sapporo and Tokyo.

That night they had their guest chef talk about their new ramens.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Appetizer:


This was an appetizing medley of spicy beanshoots and pork.
The saltiness of the pork tasted really nice with the beanshoots.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sapporo Miso - $68:


Immersed in a rich chicken broth infused with flavorful Sapporo miso, these curly noodles make for a solid meal. Topped with lean slices of pork, minced pork, butter and bamboo shoots, each and every bite is filled with seasoning and substance.
These noodles were great to have on a cold day, the noodles are kept really hot underneath the layer of oil.
The soup adheres to these curly noodles giving it maximum taste and the butter gives it a nice salted taste with smoothness.
 0 讚好

The rich soup and spring onion elements make it really addictive.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tokyo Seafood Tonkotsu - $88:


The Tokyo special includes a fish broth made from a combination of skipjack and scad fish, combining IPPUDO’s homemade signature Tonkotsu with soft-boiled egg, lean slices of pork, bamboo shoots, spinach making Tokyo Seafood Tonkotsu a supreme ramen. Due to anticipated popularity, the ramen is now available at IPPUDO in Kowloon Bay, Admiralty, Central and Causeway Bay.


The seafood soup was delightful too especially for people who would prefer a lighter option. The taste of fish in the broth was stronger than I expected but goes well with the pork broth.
The fish broth is added at the last minute so that it keeps it strong taste in the soup.
The soft boiled egg was delicious and the yolk was thick.
There was spinach in the ramen too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Ippudo pork bun:

This was two pieces of thinly sliced pork and lettuce sandwiched in a white bun, the sauce that they used was really nice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pumpkin and cinnamon brulee:

I really liked this brulee because it had pumpkin and it was not too sweet.
There were hints of cinnamon in it too and the texture of brulee was smooth and velvety.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Currently they are doing a ramen promotion which is a bit like a ramen trail, you eat the six designated noodles and collect a sticker each time and get a ramen free when you have completed the collection card.
Promotion period: Feb 18- Mar 31, 2013
Stamp card valid until April 14, 2013
* Available Only at IPPUDO Kowloon Bay, Admiralty, Central and Causeway Bay*

[Review 2303] Let's go party!! Rave or Crave for food at MIX @ Mix - Food & Bar (已結業)

11/03/2013
Mix - Food & Bar (已結業)
仔軒尼詩道68-76號新禧大樓地下
G/F, Sun Hey Mansion, 68-76 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/lets-go-party-rave-or-crave-for-food-at-mix-e2287006

A few months ago I saw this interesting black logo across the road from HSBC and it reminded me of rave parties and designs.

As it was not a ground floor restaurant I soon forgot about it and was reminded of it when I saw the new restaurant listings on OpenRice.

Anyway finally went there for lunch.

The entrance is black, and inside the restaurant it is decorated with lots of neon lights and pretty chandeliers.
Inside the restaurant, they have a huge seating capacity, there are two sides to the restaurant with a bar for alcoholic drinks.
The staff have T-shirts printed with the logo, and there was one that had bling bling crystals on the back which was extremely sparkling.
I think the sparkling logo looks better on the front!
I wouldn't mind having a T-shirt studded with crystals like this because I really love the wings on the logo!

Basically they serve sets at $48 which include bread, soup, mains, and a drink.

The choices were the typical choices you find at Cha Chaan Tengs, there were four choices that day:
Chicken with sausage
Russian fish
Hungarian Beef
Pork in breadcrumbs
 0 讚好

I didn't know what the Russian fish was so I just ordered the chicken and beef.

After ordering, I was surprised that the food came really quick because new restaurants are quite slow and disorganized.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Bread:
The bread was heated, it was fresh and soft.
It came with Lurpack butter too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Spinach soup:
The soup tasted quite nice with generous pieces of spinach in it, however the flour taste in the soup was a bit too strong.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Vegetable soup:
This was the typical vegetable soup served at Chinese restaurants with cabbage, tomatoes and peppers.
The taste was appetizing.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★


Chicken leg with sausage and chips:
The chicken leg was huge and I loved the rich gravy that was on top of it.
The texture of the chicken was quite firm and hard so it may have been frozen chicken, but the seasoning and the skin of the chicken was roasted nicely.
The chips were fried just right and they were the crinkle cut type of chips.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
 0 讚好

Hungarian beef with rice:
This tasted similar to the vegetable soup but with a thicker and stronger tasting sauce.
There were lots of celery and vegetables in the dish to balance it out.
This is always served in Chinese style western restaurants which I do not know why but it is slightly different to the real ghoulash.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

For $48 it is certainly a great deal for the locals, I hope to see them have an English menu in the future and hope to try their other dishes.

[Review 2302] Wong Kee desserts not Wong Kee noodles @ 王記糖水 Wong Kei Tong Shui

08/0/2013
王記糖水 Wong Kei Tong Shui
角書局街5號地下
5 Shu Kuk Street, North Point
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/wong-kee-desserts-not-wong-kee-noodles-e2286455

This dessert shop is really famous in North Point and there are always queues of people there for dessert or takeaways.

As I am not a fan of Chinese desserts, I never went because they only serve red beans, green beans, and the choice there is very basic and traditional.

Anyway, finally tried it and I tried the dumplings.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sesame dumplings in sweet potato soup:

This was a small portion so there were five dumplings and very big too.
The dumpling skin was very thick and hot, the sesame filling inside oozed out when you bit into it.
The sweet potato soup was better than my expectation because it was not that sweet and it tasted savoury.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
In UK, there is also a Wong Kee but they are famous for Wonton noodles and Hor fun.
Basically this is where all the Chinese expats go when they get homesick for Chinese noodles in London.
I did not go to Wong Kee's much in UK because I do not really like that type of food and it has a reminiscence of Hong Kong's restaurant, ie impatient staff.
However the restaurant is slightly cleaner now after it was renovated because there was a fire a few years ago.

[Review 2301] Strawberry cake at McCafe @ 麥當勞 McDonald's

08/03/2013
麥當勞 McDonald's
北角英皇道460-470號樂嘉中心地下5A號舖及地庫
Shop 5A, G/F&B/F, Roca Centre, 460-470 King's Road, North Point
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/strawberry-cake-at-mccafe-e2286441

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Strawberry cake HKD26:

Out of all the cakes I have seen at McCafe, this must have been the simplest cake with just cream, sponge cake, strawberry jam and garnished with half a strawberry on top.

The taste of this one was quite nice, it was soft sponge with cream and a hint of strawberry from the jam filling in the middle.

This cake is nice and simple for the afternoon with a cup of tea.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Trainer or Trainee?:
When I ordered, the guy in the black shirt was being trained and I gave him a difficult task while he was on training because I wanted the outermost cake because the strawberry was more ripe.
He was instructed to take the whole plate of cakes out because he was not sure how to get it.
It was then that I noticed his badge said "Trainer" when it should have been "Trainee".

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Food studio and McDonalds employment centre:
After eating the cake, I was on my way out when I noticed that their Food studio and McD's recruitment centre are located here.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2300] Double scoop of Mint leaves & chocolate ice cream @ Häagen-Dazs

07/03/2013
Häagen-Dazs 
太古太古城道18號太古城中心一期5樓503號舖
Shop No.503, 5/F, Cityplaza, Phase 1, 18 Taikoo Shing Road, Tai Koo
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/double-scoop-of-mint-leaves-chocolate-ice-cream-e2286387

I was craving for HD's Mint leaves & chocolate ice cream and luckily I had a $50 coupon from OpenRice, so I got two scoops.

For both scoops I chose Mint leaves & chocolate because it is now my favourite flavour.


The price has slightly gone up because it used to be $52 for two scoops and now it costs $54.

The ice cream tasted really nice and minty with pieces of dark chocolate every now and then.
It was good that they did not use artificial colouring to make it green like the other brands.

[Review 2299] Six good friendsの六樓后座 @ 六座雲吞店 6座雲吞麵 Six Noodle

07/03/2013
6座雲吞麵 Six Noodle
佐敦白加士街1-11號康寧大廈9號F舖
Shop F, 9 Parkes Mansion, 1-11 Parkes Street, Jordan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/six-good-friends%E3%81%AE%E5%85%AD%E6%A8%93%E5%90%8E%E5%BA%A7-%E5%85%AD%E5%BA%A7%E9%9B%B2%E5%90%9E%E5%BA%97-e2286385

I do not usually go for Wonton noodles but went here with some friends.

While we were going to order, they asked the waitor so many questions and he was surprisingly patient and willing to answer us which is rare in Hong Kong.

Apart from that, I loved the simplicity at this joint, the Chinese characters were really cute, they were all designed to look like SMILES.


The other handwritten menu was nice and simple too.


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Wonton noodles:


The noodles were quite nice and the portion was big for $2X.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Satay sauce:

The satay sauce was the best.
It does not taste like the usual sweet satay sauces.
It was strong and tasted a little bit like curry and it was really nice adding it to the noodles.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Single boned chicken wings:

These chicken wings were impressive because the larger bone had been removed making it easier to eat.
The chicken wings were dusted with desiccated coconut.
While we halfway through the food, the owner found out that one of our friend's friend knows them, and they gave us more chicken wings.


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

The experience eating here was fun and there were six of us as well which reminded me of the film Sixth floor rear flat (六樓后座).

[Review 2298] Stingray! Stingray! Stingray! Stingray! @ 薄荷葉泰國菜 Mint Thai House

07/03/2013
薄荷葉泰國菜 Mint Thai House
元朗安康路怡康大廈地下12-13號舖
Shop 12-13, G/F, Yee Hong Building, On Hong Road, Yuen Long
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/stingray-stingray-stingray-stingray-e2286381

Tagged along with some friends to this restaurant because I wanted to try Sense Dessert nearby.

The portions at this place were big.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Salt and pepper stingray:


This was the highlight of the meal because I have never tried it before.
The texture of the stingray and its bones are similar to SKATE!
It was really worth trying and I loved the salt and pepper seasoning.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Grilled pork neck:

The salad that came with it was big and there was so much meat on the plate.
The pork tasted nice with the refreshing sauce and it was not too dry or fatty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Clethra Loosestrife Herb soup with tofu:

I loved this soup because the taste was strong and slightly bitter.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★