[Review 2492] Top notch Filipino Kamayan Cuisine @ 夠鑊氣 Kawali Filipino Kamayan Cuisine

09/05/2013
夠鑊氣 Kawali Filipino Kamayan Cuisine
灣仔廈門街百旺都中心7-17號2樓
2/F, 7-17 Amoy Street Hundred City Centre, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/top-notch-filipino-kamayan-cuisine-e2296155

When I saw this place listed on Openrice, I really wanted to go, it is interesting that this place has a Chinese name too!
Compared to my usual Flipino fare, the prices at this place are quite expensive.

In Wan Chai, there are now three places where you can get Flipino food.
Cinta J which is quite Chinese during lunch, while the new Cinta J Express was more authentic but only open during the evenings and Quezon which provides really cheap authentic Flipino food.

The decor of this place is green and vibrant.
After browsing the menu, they had steak sets and chicken but I wanted some real native dishes.
The a la carte menu seemed a better choice.
The good thing about this place is that the rice is unlimited and the food was so delicious that I had two plates of rice!

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chicken adobo:
Adobo is basically a vinegary sauce.
On first sight, it looked quite Chinese, it had lots of cracked black pepper.
The vinegar was quite strong but it made the chicken extremely appetizing.
Beneath the pieces of chicken, there were four chicken wings.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Dinuguan:

This is basically pork and offal cooked in spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili, and vinegar.
There were pieces of beef stomach as well.
I really liked it and expected it to taste good, the porks blood was fresh and the sauce did not have a rancid smell or taste.
The pork in this dish was lean so there was not much oil compared to other Dinuguan dishes from other restaurants.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Luckily the rice is refillable so you can have as much as rice as you want!

[Review 2491] Heart shaped Pandan cake @ 豪華餅店 Hoover Cake Shop

07/05/2013
豪華餅店 Hoover Cake Shop
九龍城衙前圍道136號
136 Nga Tsin Wai Road, Kowloon City
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/heart-shaped-pandan-cake-e2295764

After a dinner gathering, someone brought out a Heart shaped Pandan cake for dessert.
The Heart shaped Pandan cake was from Kowloon City's Hoover cake shop.
I have tried their pandan cakes before so I expected this to taste good.
The cake has two layers, there is no filling in between so the top and bottom layer can be eaten separately.
The taste of this cake was delicious, it was soft and eggy just like the Chinese paper wrapped cakes with a strong hint of pandan.

[Review 2490] Royal Tea and Creme brulee cheesecake @ McCafe

05/05/2013
McCafe
北角七姊妹道194號健康村第一期地下C舖
Shop C, G/F, Phase 1, 194 Healthy Village, North Point
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/royal-tea-and-creme-brulee-cheesecake-e2295190

Tried McCafe's new Royal tea and Creme brulee cheesecake because the poster was captivating.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Royal Tea:
Basically it was tea with a lovely frothy top dusted with a crown pattern and the Chinese character tea.
As for the taste, it was a milkier version of Hong Kong style tea without the bitterness.
The sweetness was quite sweet but after you have had the creme brulee cheesecake the tea is no longer sweet because the cheesecake is much sweeter!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Creme brulee cheesecake:
The creme brulee cheesecake looked really nice, it had a glazed top with different layers.
I found the cheesecake really heavy and it was too sweet as well.
It had a really strong sweet smell of caramel.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2489] Bonjour Sai Kung @ Le Bonbon de Paris

05/05/2013
Le Bonbon de Paris
西貢敬民街9號高勝樓地下1號舖
Shop 1, G/F, Ko Shing Building, 9 King Man Street, Sai Kung
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/bonjour-sai-kung-e2295188

Hooray! There is finally good food in Sai Kung with more International restaurants replacing Chinese Food and Seafood!
This lovely Parisien Cafe is opened by a guy from Versaille.

The decor is nice especially the clock on the wall.

Even late at night when people have fled Sai Kung, this cafe is still packed with diners which proves to be a winner as they have only been open for a month.

They make their pastas themselves but they currently offer one type of pasta.
The food here is quite cheap too and they have a range of desserts and cheeses for sale in the cabinet at the front.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Croque Madame:
They had the croque Monsieur as well which I have tried before so I tried the Madame which is basically the same but with an egg in the middle.
The real thing differed from the photo because the hole for the egg was heart shaped but here it was round.

The croque Madame was delicious and it cheesy in the middle with thinly sliced ham, the edges of the toast were perfect for dipping the yolk.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pasta with peas and chicken:

The pasta was a bit too soft for my liking and it was bland, but after adding salt, it was perfect.
The chicken was meaty and tasted fresh.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Green tea with lemon:

The colour of this was interesting, it was quite vibrant.
The taste was refreshing and not too sweet which was great.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Red Fruit tiramisu:


If you like Trifles, you will love this because it tastes similar and the spongecake pieces were heavily soaked with sweet alcohol and the stewed strawberry and custard like cream in the middle was simply delicious.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2488] African paradise at Lan Kwai Fong @ Makumba Africa Bar Lounge

05/05/2013
Makumba Africa Bar Lounge
中環蘭桂坊德己立街38-44號好利商業大廈2樓
2/F, Ho Lee Commercial Building, 38-44 D'Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/african-paradise-at-lan-kwai-fong-e2295187

I have always wanted to go to Makumba but it was too much effort going to Peel Street.
Now it is brilliant that they have moved to LKF because I can finally try African food!
I tried to go during the day but it was not open so I went one evening myself because I could not wait!
The interior of this place is fascinating for someone new to the African culture.
I loved area on the corner.
The local TV series When Heaven Burns (Tinyueday) was filmed at their old location on Peel Street.
There is an area for live band performances too.
It was hard deciding what to eat because I wanted to eat EVERYTHING on the menu for one person!!

In the end I had the Fish Fricassee and the Okra soup.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fish Fricassee:

This was a delicious fish filet marinated in lemon juice, cooked in lime leaves, tomatoes and onions.
Served with vegetables and rice.

The fish was lovely and soft but the lemon juice was not that prominent.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Okra soup:

This was okra with ox tail and I loved the sliminess of the okra which was delicious with the rice and fish.
It was spicy too but the spicyness was gentle.
There were two pieces of fried banana plantains which were delicious, I thought they were going to be sweet but they were slightly sour and appetizing.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ginger drink:

Thanks to Amina for this amazing drink.
The ginger and pineapple juice were great together and the ginger was not too spicy and the tangyness of the pineapple was really appetizing.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
While I was there, I met some people who were having the platter so I took a photo of it.
I really wanted to try that too especially the dip.
African platter:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I will definitely come back and try the rest and I cant wait till the operations are running smooth and try their lunches.

[Review 2487] My first Canelé @ Monsieur Chatte

04/05/2013
Monsieur Chatte
上環文咸東街121號地下
121 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/my-first-canele-e2295027

Thank you Connie for getting me a Canelé and the tube of candies from Monsieur Chatte.
I have always wanted to try them.
The only two places that I know have them are this shop and this private one which I don't quite understand how to order from them so I have not bothered.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Canelé :

This was exciting because I have never tried it before so I did not know how the texture and taste would be.
When I bit into Canelé, the exterior was hard and crispy and the inside was amazingly moist and soft!

It reminded me of a sweet yorkshire pudding with custard flavouring.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
candies:

These candies were really cute, they reminded me of fruit pips in the UK but slightly bigger.
There are three flavours which are different in colour, the orange one is orange and the darkest one is honey, the light brown one tasted like ginger/aniseed with a minty cooling tone to it.

I liked the honey one the best.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2486] A lovely jar of almond and wheat cookies @ 大班麵包西餅 Taipan Bread & Cakes

04/05/2013
大班麵包西餅 Taipan Bread & Cakes
中環皇后大道中99號中環中心1樓5A舖
Shop 5A, 1/F, The Center, 99 Queen's Road, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/a-lovely-jar-of-almond-and-wheat-cookies-e2295026

Thank you Mjqueen7e for getting me these cookies.
The packaging is really nice and the plastic jar can be reused.
It reminded me of countryside honey/jam jars with a chequered cloth on top with an elastic band holding it in place.
After you remove that, there is a resealable lid and beneath that, there is a ring pull lid.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Almond and wheat cookies:

The coconut taste was quite strong and there were lots of crushed almonds in it giving it crunch.
They tasted like HOBNOBs a brand of biscuits I had in the UK but the texture was crumblier and had a nice buttery taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★