[Review 2896] Delicious spinach noodles in spinach soup @ 蟹麵膳 Crab Noodle

17/10/2013
蟹麵膳 Crab Noodle
中環租庇利街1號喜訊大廈地下A號舖
Shop A, G/F, Haleson Building, 1 Jubilee Street, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/delicious-spinach-noodles-in-spinach-soup-e2326192

I was attracted to this newly opened place because of the spinach noodles so went there.

It was located on the ground floor of Haleson Building which I have never even heard of.
When I got there, the building was kind of old so it was surprising there was a noodle restaurant in there.
There were quite a few customers there already.

I recognised one of the staff which happens to be from Pung Pung noodles in MK.

It just shows that the same creativity attracts the same people who admired it before.

Now, with a similar shop in Central, it allows more creativity because people are willing to pay more and expect more creative food.

For each of the choices there are five types of noodles to choose from: spinach, tomato, soba, egg or Yunnan thick rice noodles.
I chose the fresh crab in spinach soup with spinach noodles and soba noodles with crab wontons.

The drinks selection was good too, it was hard to choose because you can't try them elsewhere.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
crab in spinach soup with spinach noodles:

The spinach noodles that I had were different to the previous review because they changed it that day.
Judging by the photos, the previous ones were probably more al-dente.
The noodles were garnished with crabmeat, sweetcorn, fish roe and fried beancurd skin.
The soup was lovely and green with blended spinach in it, at first it was thick but towards the end, it went runny.

I would advise eating the crabmeat first before it disappears in the broth and you can't see it.

The the spinach soup was delicious, it was similar to cream of spinach soup but without the cream with finely grounded spinach.
The spinach noodles were also good too because it hung more soup to it as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
soba noodles with crab wontons:

The crab wontons were also nice but I preferred the spinach soup above.
The broth was good with a strong crab taste and the wontons had some fresh crabmeat inside.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sweetcorn drink:


The sweetcorn drink was boiled with sweetcorn and sweetcorn tassels to give it an intense sweetcorn flavour.
At the bottom of the drink, there were sweetcorn pieces too.
It was a little bit too sweet at first but after the ice melted the sweetness was just right.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
While I was there, they were already being interviewed, so this place is going to be pretty busy!


The sesame oil they have here is really strong!!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2895] Two thirds but 100% natural @ 2/3 Dolci

2/3 Dolci
Shop K, G/F., 2E Starstreet, Wan Chai


Ever since I saw photos of the tiny decorative edible macaron on one of the cakes, I have always wanted to try it but when I came it was closed.
I was quite curious why this place was called 2/3 Dolci because there was something mathematical on Star Street because just down the road there is 1/5 Nuevo!

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

On my first visit, I was already full so I only bought the baby chiffon cakes which are shaped like mini Bundt cakes.

Baby chiffon cakes:


I got six for $32.
(see how cute the size is compared to a USB tip).
Raspberry (pink)
Maccha (green)
Hazelnut (beige)
All of these chiffon cakes were soft and delicious, the hazelnut one was the best followed by the raspberry.

Coincidentally when I got home, I realised I had received an invitation from 2/3 Dolci which is why I am writing this as a combined review.

A week later went to the tasting

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Why is it called two thirds (2/3)?
This place is called 2/3 because 2/3 of their products are sweets with a touch of Italian and their products are 2/3 in size and sweetness of the original Italian recipe.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Gelato:
Their gelato is made using an old fashioned slow churning process which reduces air in the gelato thus requiring less articial flavours and heavy sugars to balance that.

Here are the flavours I tried:
Earl Grey (Left), Pistachio (Right)
There were grounded earl grey leaves in the gelato which gave it an extra depth of flavouring and the Pistachio gelato was just as nice as the cake version because the pistachio taste was strong.
The pistachio gelato was made with Sicilian pistachio nuts.
 0 讚好

Peanut butter:
beneath the pistachio and earl grey, there was a scoop of peanut butter icecream.
I dislike peanut butter as a spread but as a gelato, the taste was gorgeous.
It was creamy with strong peanut butter taste without the sickly sweet taste that the spread has.
 0 讚好

Guava (top), Chocolate (Bottom left)
 0 讚好

The guava has a texture similar to sorbet and it was slightly gritty because of the grounded guava pips and the chocolate had a lovely rich cocao taste without being too sweet.
Overall, the gelatos were impressive because they were not too sweet.
Earl grey and pistachio are good picks.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
La Via del Tè tea:
 0 讚好

The tea that they serve here is from Italy available in 6 different flavours exclusively at 2/3 Dolci.
I had the Breakfast tea which went well with the gelato and cakes.
There is also coffee and Hot chocolate too.
The hot chocolate is called 1/3 Dolci and 2/3 Dolci Hot Chocolate – Made from French 56% and 64% chocolate chunks, two options of sweet and bitterness.
If you get a chance to see the chocolate chunks, the bigger ones look like Cadbury's chocolate buttons.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Guaiava
An 8-layered Guava cake alternating sponge cake, guava jelly, guava ganache, and guava mousse to create a very light and fresh cake. ($46)
 0 讚好

As well as the guava gelato, the Guaiava cake was also made with real guava.
You can literally taste it in the guava paste laya.
It was slighly sweet for me, but they said they are currently modifying it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
“nocciola” – Triple Hazelnut Crunch Cake ($42)
 0 讚好

You can just see how adorable the macaron is next to the hazelnut, it is just merely bigger than the radius of the hazelnut!!!
 0 讚好

The stick in the middle attaching the macaron to the cake is made of edible chocolate too.
As well as the adorable appearance, the taste was delicious with intense hazelnut paste in the middle followed by a crunchy base surrounded by hazelnut mousse and sponge cake.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
“Pistacchio”
Apart from the hazelnut cake above, this was another striking cake.
I liked the surface constructed from 100% Italian pistachio cream huge cream droplets.
 0 讚好

Inside the cake there is caramel cream within while the tart base is layered with pistachio sponge cake, custard cream and pistachio paste and chocolate film.
 0 讚好

I enjoyed every bit of this cake because the pistachio taste is really intense without any other artificial flavours that you can taste the natural savouryness of the pistachio.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
“rossoneri” – Raspberry Chocolate Cake ($42)
The name represents “red” and “black” as the raspberry and chocolate excite the palate with sweet and sour, fruity freshness and nutty bitterness.


I really appreciated the fresh raspberries on top, a rare luxury in Asia because most of the time they are frozen and the texture and taste is not as good as the fresh one.
They were sweet too.
I loved the dark chocolate base because it had a strong cocoa taste which tasted great with raspberry.
This cake is going to be popular with European tastebuds and berry lovers!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

I can't wait to come back for more cakes because they are not too sweet and the size is just right so I can indulge more cakes in one go!
My favourite cakes so far are the Pistachio, raspberry and hazelnut.

[Review 2894] Quick cuppa at Spade by Lassana @ Spade by Lassana

16/10/2013
Spade by Lassana
旺角登打士街56號家樂坊地庫B02號舖
Shop B02, B/F, Gala Place, 56 Dundas Street, Mong Kok
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/quick-cuppa-at-spade-by-lassana-e2326051

Had a tasting nearby, so came to Lassana's for a quick drink.

Had my favourite Breakfast tea.

After I sat down, I was gutted when I saw the menu!
There were some NEW items that I really wanted to try but couldn't because I was just about to go to a tasting!
I really wanted to try the macaroni in lobster sauce and the black and white burgers with beef and crab patties respectively.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Breakfast tea:

Compared to my last visit, the milk is now served separately which is good.
When I first tried this particular brand of breakfast tea, I thought my tastesbuds were going funny because it tasted a bit like oyster, but this time it still had that oyster taste which was interesting.
At a recent tasting, I was really lucky to try this Oyster leaf which tastes exactly like an oyster so after trying that, the tea did not taste so weird.
Basically, the tea was better this time as the milk was served separately.
I just felt that the tea was not hot enough.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2893]Light buffet at Pinevino @ Pane Vino

16/10/2013
Pane Vino
半山羅便臣道30-32號地下
G/F, 30-32 Robinson Road, Mid-Levels
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/light-buffet-at-pinevino-e2326019

There are two branches of Panevino in Hong Kong, one in Tai Hang and one at the Mid Levels.
At the Mid Levels branch, they have the antipasti buffet brunch so I went there.

It costs $198 with free flow of bubbly or soda.
The restaurant decor was quite nice.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
There were probably about ten items in total for the buffet.
Overall the selection was ok, but some cheese would have been nice and some melon too to go with the cold cuts.
My favourite was the baked mushrooms, probably the first restaurant in HK I have come accross that serves this (the garlic mushroom served UK's Pizzahut).

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pastries:

The pastries were really good, they were flakey with a soft centre.
They taste like the ones from La Rose Noire bakery.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Soda water:

It was good that they provided plain soda water because it is nice having a non-sweetened drink with carbonation.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2892] Godiva chocolate @ Godiva Chocolatier

16/10/2013
Godiva Chocolatier
尖沙咀廣東道3-27號海港城3樓3222號舖
Shop 3222, 3/F, Gateway Arcade, Harbour City, 3-27 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/godiva-chocolate-e2326018

Thanks to LT for these Godiva chocolates.
To be honest, I have never bought any Godiva chocolates before and I still havent tried the famous softserve icecream.

The only Godiva item I did try a while ago was the chocolate frappe with raspberry.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Godiva chocolate:
It was smooth and velvety.
The sweetness was just right without any unpleasant aftertaste because some other brands use vegetable oils and not cocoa butter.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2891] Taiwanese black pudding @ 金牌小龍 King's Dumpling

15/10/2013
金牌小龍 King's Dumpling
灣仔駱克道128號麗駿酒店地下及一樓
G-1/F., Brighton Hotel, 128 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/taiwanese-black-pudding-e2325840

For some reason my earlier review was deleted so I will make this review as short as it can be.
It either offended the Brighton hotel management or it offended King's Dumplings as they went at great lengths to contact OR to get it deleted with a trivial reason.

Anyway, the tables here in the centre are about 2mm apart so you can listen in on other conversations.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Taiwanese black pudding:

This was one of the side dishes at King's dumpling.
It is basically similar to black pudding made with blood but the taste of the Taiwanese version is not as good as the Scottish version because it was sweet and contains lots of glutinous rice so it was quite chewy and sticky.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2890] Breaking news! Great souvenir snacks to bring home @ 古法烘焙 Gu Fah Bakery

15/10/2013
古法烘焙 Gu Fah Bakery
尖沙咀彌敦道63號iSQUARE國際廣場7樓704號舖 (IMAX UA戲院旁)
Shop 704, (right next to IMAX UA), 7/F, iSQUARE, 63 Nathon Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/breaking-news-great-souvenir-snacks-to-bring-home-e2325834


Whether your from UK, America, Canada, China or wherever, Gu Fah has just the snacks to bring back because they represent traditional Chinese pastries which are beautifully boxed with English and Chinese and individually wrapped.

Their first branch was set up in Tsuen Wan and now the second branch is located next to the cinema at the iSquare mall which connects to the MTR.

On the left, there is a special tasting counter where everyone can try each available product before buying.
Thanks to Eric I got an assortment tin (Almond Pies, White Sesame Pies, Black Sesame Pies and Roast Pork Pies), Phoenix rolls, Wife cakes, Husband cakes, Almond pies, Low sugar sachimas, Brown sugar sachimas.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Assortment tin:
Almond Pies

This is a really nice snack that everyone is bound to like because it is flakey layers of pastry coated with a meringue like icing on top that is not too sweet.
White Sesame Pies

The white sesame is similar to the above but has a strong toasted taste because the sesame seeds are easily toasted.
Black Sesame Pies

Compared to the white sesame, I preferred the black sesame because the colour contrast was nicer and black sesame has a better taste.
Roast Pork Pies

This is made with oyster sauce by Lee Kam Kee and and the savouryness was really strong which was why I liked it and it was buttery as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Phoenix rolls:

These Phoenix rolls are made with crispy wafer thin egg pastry filled with shredded coconut and roasted sesame seeds.
I loved the coconut in these phoenix rolls and they are individually wrapped which is really handy.
The design of this box is much better than those boring tins with a stupid round lid and opening which makes it difficult to get them out.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
brown sugar sachima:

This has become one of my favourite snacks because I love its chewy and soft texture and it is not sweet at all!
For improvements, I would like to see smaller pieces individually wrapped.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
low sugar sachima:
Again, it was good because it was not sweet but does not have the fragrant touch of the brown sugar sachima.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Husband (black sesame):

This had savoury beef and stewed sweet wintermelon inside which was delicious.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Wife Cakes:

The Wife Cake tastes sweeter than the above and contains red beans.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★