[Review 2655] Lucky people at the Revenue Tower @ 華御結 Hana-Musubi

15/07/2013
華御結 Hana-Musubi
灣仔告士打道5號稅務大樓地下2號店
Shop 2, G/F., Revenue Tower, 5 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/lucky-people-at-the-revenue-tower-e2308119

At the Revenue Tower, there is a newly opened branch of Hana-musubi.
I have never been to the Revenue Tower before but went there to get some musubis.
It is just building and buildings on that side of town so getting food is difficult which explains why there were so many people at Hana-musubi.

As it just opened, there was a Japanese man promoting it which annoyed me a bit because his voice was a bit loud and what he said was repetitive (luckily I did not understand Japanese).
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Konbu:


The Konbu was really nice, it was musubi with sea kelp, the taste was light and slightly sweet, a good choice for vegetarians.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tazukuri:


These were dried baby sardines which was why they were slightly hard and it was slightly sweet too.
Another healthy option if people do not want to choose meat.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Octopus salad:

The sauce that came with this was really nice, it was ginger oil that had grounded ginger in it.
When it was mixed with the salad, it gave the seaweed and octopus a heaty taste because of the ginger puree.
The seaweed was really nice because it has a natrual unami taste.
Although it was a tiny box, it was very filling.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2654 ] Lab Made's first anniversary @ Lab Made 分子雪糕專門店 (已結業)

15/07/2013
Lab Made 分子雪糕專門店 (已結業)
Lab Made Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Laboratory
大坑布朗街6號地下
G/F, 6 Brown Street, Tai Hang
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/lab-mades-first-anniversary-e2308118

It's been a year since Lab Made has opened........................

I havent been recently because the weather is too hot.

This time I went to try the new Birthday cake flavour.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Birthday Cake:

It didnt really say what flavour it was on their FB page, but when I got there I realised it was my favourite PANDAN!! way to go!!!!
As usual it is mixed with other goodies, it had crispy bits, M&Ms/Smarties, rainbow sprinkles and a star shaped shortbread on top.
I requested it without the sprinkles because I do not really like them.
Other than that, the pandan flavour was really nice and it tasted buttery too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Previous flavours I have tried:
Green apple cheesecake, Blueberry yogurt breakfast:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2300898&con=rvw
Mint chocolate chip with baileys
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2297130&tc=review
Green Tea & Easter Chocolate Garden
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2290943
Hong Kong custard bun and Black Forest
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2282646
Earl Grey
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2274438
HK Crispy Toast & Mooncake flavour:
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2260639
Sticky toffee:
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2267203
Lemon Meringue, apple crumble, strawberry yoghurt, purple rice:
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2254991

[Review 2653] Japanese style coffee house in Sai Kung @ 米珈琲 Bei Coffee

14/07/2013
米珈琲  Bei Coffee
西貢西貢大街3號地下
G/F., 3 Sai Kung Tai Street, Sai Kung
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/japanese-style-coffee-house-in-sai-kung-e2308100

To be honest I hate Sai Kung, but only went into SK to try this new Japanese Coffee house.

I do not drink coffee but I was attracted to their other items such as strawberry milkshake, Japanese style coffee and the red tea souffle.

Arrived in Sai Kung and found this brightly lit clean coffee shop in the lanes.

The logo for this place was nice because it was not the usual local designs it had a fox and this Japanese structure on it.


The coffee house is reasonably spacious and big with about 4-6 tables.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Strawberry milkshake:

The strawberry milkshake was shaken in a cocktail shaker, manually shaken by the guy and it had a thick layer of foam on top which was really creamy.
(would have taken photo if I was fast enough).
It was made with their homemade strawberry syrup which has real pieces of strawberries in it and it was not too sweet.

They also use this for their toasts.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Japanese Chicken curry with fusilli:

This was meant to come with rice but they did not have enough Japanese pearl rice so replaced it with fusilli which was even better.
The fusilli they used was smaller than the usual ones you can buy and it was al-dente and more sauce hung to the spiral parts of the pasta.

The curry sauce was slightly bitter and tasted like coffee later confirmed by Bei Coffee.
In the curry sauce I liked the baby carrots which were really cute because you could see how young they were by their diameters.
The colour of the curry was also quite dark probably due to the coffee.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Red Tea souffle:

I loved this souffle because you could see they put so much tea leaves in the souffle and the tea aroma was really strong and you could taste it.

The sweetness was just right and it was my favourite Earl Grey flavour (confirmed by Bei coffee) which I could immediately taste right away.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The menu:
The menu was simple but it would be good if there were prices on it because some Hong Kongers are quite .......

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Apart from Coffee they also have a good range of teas which you can smell at the counter contained in the labelled jars.

[Review 2652] Summer with horse mackerel @ 千両 sen-ryo

14/07/2013
千両 sen-ryo
銅鑼灣軒尼詩道500號希慎廣場13樓1304-05號舖
Shop 1304-05, 13/F, Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/summer-with-horse-mackerel-e2307861

Thanks to the communications team for inviting me to the tasting at Sen-ryo.

The theme was Horse Mackerel.

Here was what we tried:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Appetizer Skipjack tuna salad:


The skipjack tuna was interesting because you could see the lovely dark black skin.
It had a quite a strong taste for sashimi which was complimented by the delicious tangy dressing on the salad and crushed hazelnuts.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sashimi: Striped horse mackerel selection:

There were three cuts, thinly sliced, belly cut and back cut.
Personally I felt that the taste of this was lighter than the tuna above, and I liked the thinly sliced one because it was light, and the other two cuts were slighty fattier in texture but when it was complimented with wasabi and soy sauce, it was perfect.
The thinly sliced cut also had delicious grated radish puree on top.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Horse mackerel trio:
This was fun for the tastebuds too especially the spoon with diced horse mackerel and ginger, the ginger and horse mackerel worked well together.

My second favourite was the thinly sliced horse mackerel with yuzu jelly and garlic which worked wonders.

The last one with the criss cross patterns it tasted nicer than it looked because there was a  strong taste.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Grilled salted horse mackerel:


The horse mackerel was grilled to perfection with delicious soft silky fish meat inside.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sushi:
There was so much sea urchin on this sushi and it was just fabulous and creamy.

The seared flounder fish edge was also delicious because the texture of it was light.

As for the the horse mackerel and striped horse mackerel, the mackerel itself was fresh so it only needed light soy sauce to complement it.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Deep fried items:
There was oyster cutlet, squidcake and conger eel tempura.
The oyster was the best and the oyster inside was huge and juicy!!!!
The eel was soft as cotton and melts in your mouth with a delicious taste.
As for the squidcake I wish it had stronger squid taste.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Miso soup:

I loved the clams in the miso soup because it had a really strong taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2651] Culinary adventure with Arron Rhodes @ Dot Cod Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar

13/07/2013
Dot Cod Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar
中環遮打道10號太子大廈地庫B4
Basement, B4, Prince Building, 10 Chater Road, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/culinary-adventure-with-arron-rhodes-e2307786

Thanks to Dot Cod for inviting me.
Dot Cod is now headed by Executive Chef Arron Rhodes.
Prior to joining DotCod, Chef Arron worked with Michelin Star, Rosettes, and San Pellegrino world-ranked restaurants internationally.
“I am passionate about cooking and like to surprise guests”  said Chef Rhodes.
At this tasting we own had our very special menu and here was mine.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Seabream tartare with caviar and flying fish roe:
To start off with we all had Seabream tartare which was contained in a beautiful tin served on a bed of dry ice.
If there were no maximum photo limits I would upload that picture here.
The tartare was gorgeous complimented by the deliciously fresh and classy caviar and flying fish roe on top.
The caviar gave it a saltier taste and it was finished within seconds because it was so delicious and the seabream had a texture similar to lobster sashimi but even more delicate.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Maine lobster:
(vanilla, poached red beets, ice radish, pickled air loom carrots)
Visually it was stunning, I loved the colourful balance of orange, green and browns.
The fresh springy lobster was paired nicely with the crunchy medley of vegetables and the seeds gave it an even more lively crunch.
The sauces here were minimalistic which was brilliant because it was extremely natrual and light that you could taste each element such as the beets, lobster and salad leaves.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chilean sea bass:
(charred bass, fresh peas, feves, poached grelot onions , black garlic cream)

The black garlic foam on top was mysterious and captivating because beneath the dreamy foam laid a big chunk of delicate Chilean sea bass.

Underneath the tender sea bass, there were freshly plucked peas bursting with natrual sweetness.
Although it was a simple dish, the fish and peas were just delicious flavoured by the delicious foam on top.
The delicate twines on top made it into an elegant fairytale.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lollipop teaser:
Before dessert, we were brought out these frozen lollipops to see if we could taste what they were.


I just loved that moment, it was like seeing some new invention coming out of the laboratory and watching Heston's show.
The taste of this lollipop was sensational it had a hint of savouriness from the tuna but it was sweet followed by popping candy and tastes of green tea and wasabi.
I was really glad that we got to try this because I have always wanted to try the savoury icecream at Ice Cream Gallery which is now closed and used to serve lobster icecream.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chocolate garden:
(yuzu, Venezuela chocolate , toffee , pomelo and grapefruit)
The dessert was too pretty too eat, it had a cute mini marzipan carrot and tomato with a real stalk!
The yellow piece in the middle was delicious white chocolate and peanut butter, and the dreamy light chocolate and the crispy bits were heaven with the occaisional burst of yuzu.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Petit fours:

Delicious chocolates
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
After the meal and experience at Dot Cod, I certainly was surprised just as Arron promised.
I loved his creativity and suspense because each dish came as a surprise.
I felt that it was like a Heston experience which was fun and full of surprises.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
When we left these cute jars were brought out for us to take home, the experience did not end there...

It was like a mini biosphere with prized Romanesco broccoli pieces that look like fractals and other marine plants.

The clear tagliatelle was Crab soup jelly tagliatelle made with the stock of Crab.

Usually I would indulge on it asap but it was so nice I put the contents on a plate which I would usually avoid because of the washing up, but I felt that the tagliatelle really deserved to be put on a dish and photographed!!
The taste of the tagliatelle was delicious and it had a slightly smokey taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2650] Guava season @ Come Buy

12/07/2013
Come Buy
灣仔柯布連道3號地下B舖
Shop B, G/F, 3 O'brien Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/guava-season-e2307588


I rarely get drinks from Come buy but when I saw the poster of the new Guava drinks I decided to give it a try.
 There are two flavours: guava with yakult or guava with plum.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Guava drinks with yakult:

Requested it unsweetened because Yakult is already sweet.
The sweetness was just right but quite sweet.
Anyway the yakult taste was light and the guava taste was light too but you could feel the grounded guava pips in the drink.
The drink itself was slightly viscous.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2649] Nice rice rolls with fried dough sticks @ 新華粥品

12/07/2013
新華粥品
灣仔軒尼詩道254號地下
G/F, 254 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/nice-rice-rolls-with-fried-dough-sticks-e2307585

I did not realise this was a new shop.
Vaguely in my mind, there was a congee shop in this area and they had interesting things such as sweetcorn and egg in the ricerolls according to IVYCWK’s review which was why I wanted to try it.
When I got there, they did not have it on the menu so I thought they stopped it.


Anyway, I tried the rice rolls and there were two types, one was freshly made to order and the others were fresh but made some time ago.
The freshly made ones were more expensive and the other ones such as BBQ pork rice rolls were also cheap at $13 per dish.
The congee also is also freshly cooked!

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rice rolls with dough sticks:

The big plate of rice rolls were extremely cheap, they were only $10 and if you order it with a meal it only costs $6.
The fried dough inside WAS EXTREMELY delicious.
I was not sure if I was lucky the oil was fresh or whether it will be this good next time.
The fried dough inside was soft and the centre of it was clearly white indicating fresh oil and that it was not fried twice.
The rice roll wrap was nice and thin and the it was so delicious you could taste the natrual dough stick taste which is usually covered by the oil taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Freshly made rice rolls with dried shrimp and spring onions:





The rice roll sheets were nice and thin, and the spring onions on top were sliced finely and fresh because they were still green and not dehydrated.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★