[Review 2796] Scrumptious pies any day any time @ Tai Tai Pie Pies

02/09/2013
Tai Tai Pie Pies
金鐘金鐘道88號太古廣場二期LG1樓Great Food Hall
Great Food Hall, LG1/F, Two Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/scrumptious-pies-any-day-any-time-e2317933


I have always wanted to get pies from TaiTaiPiePies but never made it to their popup stalls at the markets.
Previously I tried their pecan pies when they did a joint venture with Secret Ingredients and Blue Smoke for Thanksgiving.
I was so glad to see them at Great supermarket and try other flavours which I could not get my hands on before.
However, there are still some flavours I would like to see such as: Spinach Pignoli Nut Quiche, Asparagus Cheddary Quiche, Cheese & Onion Quiche, B3P (Big British Breakfast Pie), Country Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie, Coconut Dreams Cream Pie, Prosciutto Wrapped Figilicious Pie.
Their online ordering did not work for me because they only did the family sized pies but here you can get bite sized ones.
The pies here are all cold and refrigerated when you buy them so you need to reheat them when you get home.
All the pies are cooked right through so theoretically if you don't heat it up properly you will not get food poisoning.
They have an oven to reheat the pies if you should need it.
Basically they had savoury pies and sweet pies.
I was surprised to see Asian flavours: Three Cup Chicken Pie, The Hong Kong Beef Curry Pie, The Hong Kong Chicken Curry Pie, P10, Perfect 10 Vegetarian Hong Kong Curry Pie.

Although I do not like Chinese food, the tastes of the Asian Flavours probably taste good because TTPP pies are delicious.


After placing my order, they packed the pies in the bag and all I had to do was take them to the counter and pay.

It shows that they trust their customers and make life easy for them!!!

Most retail stalls will not give you your goods until you present the receipt.
Let's hope no one abuses this system by running away with some delicious TTPP's!!

In the box, there are some clear heating instructions.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The Ultimate Cottage Beef Pie:

I was really glad I got the cottage beef pie, it had chunks of sweet suede in it and the mash on top was delicious and dreamy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Drunken Apple Crumble:

The alcoholic taste wasn't very strong but still a decent apple crumble.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Wholly Heavens Chocolate Sin Pecan:

The pecan chocolate pie was lovely and gooey with thick but not cloyingly sweet chocolate!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Wholly Heavens Pecan:

The pecan pie was also delicious and I am sure anyone would like it, the sweetness was just right with lovely pecan nuts and chewy filling on a delicious butter shortcrust.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fishalicious Pie:


The pepper taste was a bit too strong for my liking because it was stronger than the fish.
But I liked the peas and carrots in it giving a balance to the spicy pepper taste and the pieces of fish.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tart Cherry Sweet Crumble Pie:


This was my favourite, deliciously buttery crumbs on top with tart cherries on the bottom.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2795] My moment for food @ 無休站 Moments.hk Food Station

02/09/2013
無休站 Moments.hk Food Station
美孚美孚新邨四期商場1樓7號舖
Shop 7, 1/F Stage 4 Shpoing Mall, Mei Foo Sun Chuen, Mei Foo
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/my-moment-for-food-e2317923

After my unsuccessful visit to 滄浪亭 Tsong long ting nearby I decided to go to Moments.hk Food Station 無休站 because there was still food I have not tried yet.

The shopping mall is currently undergoing renovations hence there is a lot of drilling and dusty air about.

I think it is fates idea that I can't dine at Tsong Long Ting because when I went to their Tsuen Wan branch it was closed, then at the Mei Foo branch, they decided to temporarily stop the air con at the mall on the day way I went so Tsong Long Ting was closed.

Since my last visit, they have more choice of sauces for their noodles and they have crispy noodles as well!

I regretted not getting the noodles because I won't be in Mei Foo again.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
(new sauces: vinaigrette, spicy stirfry)

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crispy noodles


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I was quite impressed with their fried items because I was expecting oily food but none of them were oily because they were cooked in an AirFryer.

The items are not submerged in oil, but are laid on a metal pan and the top will occaisionally light up red.
The AirFryer looks a bit like a UFO when it is in operation.

Saw some attractive posters for macaroni cheese, chicken kiev with ham and cheese and the Shanghai pie which I got!

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Deep fried macaroni cheese:


The product shot and the real thing looks quite different but the real thing looks the same as the macaroni and cheese I had before.
The taste was much nicer because it was not that oily with soft macaroni inside.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chicken kiev with chicken and ham:


The chicken kiev was neatly held in a paper bag.
It tasted quite nice with melted cheese in the middle but the chicken that was used in this kiev was processed chicken.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Shanghai pie:

Again it looked different to the product shot which shows a puff pastry.

The pie was actually a piece of Taiwanese roti/pancake with cheese spread in the middle and heated up.

It was delicious and non oily.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2794] Back for my favourite pasta in tomato sauce @ 奇香冰室 Kei Heung Cafe

02/09/2013
奇香冰室 Kei Heung Cafe
何文田勝利道26號地下B舖
Shop B, G/F, 26 Victory Avenue, Ho Man Tin
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/back-for-my-favourite-pasta-in-tomato-sauce-e2317918

Made my way here after having crappy food nearby.

Since my last visit, they have redecorated the cafe, it still has its retro style but the rusty mirrors have now been replaced by new shiny mirrors.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
pasta in tomato sauce with luncheon meat:
Ordered the pasta in tomato sauce with luncheon meat.

It is slightly different to the "saam bo" which has chicken, egg and ham tossed in the spaghetti.
The luncheon meat was not tossed in put on top of the pasta.
Nevertheless, the taste was amazing because the tomato sauce was tangy and rich.
The pasta was delicious because the sauce was evenly tossed on every strand.
The tomato sauce was so moreish and the taste was not too tangy or sweet with rich tomato taste.
Each strand of spaghetti was firm and the texture was similar to freshly made pasta with a doughy texture. The chicken, ham and egg added more taste and chew to it balancing out the thick tomato sauce.
Anyway, on my next visit, I must remember to order the macaroni in tomato sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2793] Ondogdogless cafe @ Ondogdogcafe

02/09/2013
Ondogdogcafe
何文田梭椏道3號1樓
1/F, 3 Soares Avenue, Ho Man Tin
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/ondogdogless-cafe-e2317910

Came here obviously to see the huskies, ie Ar B, SASA and SHABI.

All three of them were not there, however there were other dogs owned by the customers so it was pointless to take photos of them and post them here.

As for the food it was boring and the drinks were the worst because you could only take one sip because it is highly recommended for people who would like to get diabetes or want to put on weight.

The drinks selection was rather limited, it was just milkshakes, sodas and iced smoothies, you could tell they were going to sweet without ordering them which was why I opted for the hot water with lemon thinking the sugar would be separate.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
hot water with lemon:

Usually this is served with sugar separately but here they have put half a cup of syrup in this!
It was too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mash:
watery potato mash made with potato mash powder.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

This was not my first time going to a cafe with dogs or cats because Purple Mind cafe does really good pastas and they have friendly dogs there too.
At purple cafe, the dogs were well trained and do not piss or defecate in the cafe.

It was very boring because Ar B, SASA and SHABI were not there but it was entertaining to watch other dogs piss and defecate there.

The female staff were ok, but the guy was not that friendly.

[Review 2792] The Cronut craze that brought me here

30/08/2013
Swissbeck
中環蘇豪荷李活道23號地下
G/F, 23 Hollywood Road, Soho, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/the-cronut-craze-that-brought-me-here-e2317630

If it were not for the Cronuts I would not have come here~
Currently there are only three places in Hong Kong that sell them: The Mandarin Cake Shop's Kronut for $26, Petite Amanda's cronut for $16, and Swissbeck's cronut for $30 in six flavours.
Invented in May 2013 by chef Dominique Ansel for Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City, cronuts are a croissant-doughnut hybrid.

I just expected the Cronut to taste like a light chewy puff pastry hence I chose the fresh fruit one which is basically filled with cream and diced strawberries.
I devoured my cronut there so there is only one side shot of it.

As this is the only cronut I have ever tried I cannot compare it to the original one in New York or the other ones in HK, but I have read a review on the Mandarin one which seems to have a strong oily aftertaste.

They remind me of yum yum's (twisted donuts) with a icing sugar coating.
On my next visit, I will probably get the Berliner donuts.
They also sell other pastries and cookies too.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fresh fruit cronut:

The cronut was basically two halves with cream and strawberry in the middle sandwiched together.
Each half had so many layers just like puff pastry but they were not that brittle which kept it in one piece.
The cronut was slightly sugared and was seriously delicious with the cream and strawberries in the middle which was sightly sweetened.
I felt like I was eating a strawberry turnover with cream but with more proportion of pastry.
Luckily it was not that oily and did not have a strong aftertaste like the one at the Mandarin which I read from Fungry and Fabulous's review.
It was great the cronuts were not sold out that day because I rang them a few times before going and no one answered.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2791] Creative mooncakes @ 麵包新語 BreadTalk

01/09/2013
麵包新語 BreadTalk
將軍澳唐賢街9號PopCorn商場地下G25號舖
Shop G25, G/F, PopCorn, 9 Tong Yin Street, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/creative-mooncakes-e2317591

Went to BreadTalk for some sweet items.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Green tea cheesecake:
This was the Japanese style mooncake, it was flavoured with Green Tea.
The texture was disappointing because it was meant to be soft, but it was dense and dry.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Strawberry pot:
The strawberry sauce was really sweet and the cream in the middle tasted really artificial.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chocolate mooncake with a macaron inside:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Interesting mooncake flavours:
pandan with single yolk, charcoal bamboo with hazelnut

Cute box

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2790] Happy Bingers: New Menu! Prices gone DOWN~ @ 老金煎餅 Mr. Bing

31/08/0213
老金煎餅 Mr. Bing
灣仔莊士敦道113號修頓中心6C舖
Shop 6C, Southorn Centre, 113 Johnston Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/happy-bingers-new-menu-prices-gone-down-e2317578

Usually with new menus, prices go up, but here it went down!
So I went there to check it out and see if it was really true.
Technically, the prices are cheaper achieved in a very smart way because they now have two shops, a good economy of scale, and good supply chain management as they have a mastermind equity sales trader behind it!

A while ago, they were already testing market with Baby sized Bings at cheaper prices because the standard sizes were probably too big for the small appetite of Hong Kong people.
So anyway, the new default size (baby size) is cheaper which is GOOD NEWS.

If you want a bigger size, then you can order the Standard size which costs $10 more which is ALSO cheaper.
[For example, the Peking Duck standard size bing used to be $48 -- now it is $45 ($35 + 10). The Original is the same ($30 = $20 +10). Char Siu is also cheaper (standard size used to be $42, but is now $40 .. $30 + 10).]

On the wall there is a new graffiti artwork which was done recently!

Ordered the original bing for $20.

As usual it was delicious with tofu paste, chili bean sauce and grassy Chinese parsley!