[Review 2939] Puddings at Wine and Dine 2013 @ 花月庭 La Scala

05/11/2013
花月庭  La Scala
旺角太子道西193號帝京酒店2樓
2/F, Royal Plaza Hotel, 193 Prince Edward Road West, Mong Kok

https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/puddings-at-wine-and-dine-2013-e2329388

After trying the abalone, we tried the desserts from this stall.
There were lots of desserts and pastries.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Milk pudding with bird's nest:
The pudding was lovely and creamy, and the taste was light and not too sweet.
It tasted a bit like a Milky bar chocolate and panna cotta in pudding form.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mango pudding
There were big chunks of mango in this pudding, but personally I liked the milk pudding because it was a bit too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2938] Abalone at Wine and Dine 2013 @ 綠茵閣 Garden Cafe

04/11/2013
綠茵閣  Garden Cafe
北角城市花園道9號城市花園酒店1樓
1/F, City Garden Hotel, 9 City Garden Road, North Point
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/abalone-at-wine-and-dine-2013-e2329370

This was the first stall I tried at the Wine and Dine festival.
We tried a huge South African abalone which was cut into smaller pieces.
The abalone was served chilled and it was not covered in thick gravy.
It was soft with a nice springy texture and the light sauces and spices were perfect because it did not over power the natrual abalone taste.
Definitely worth trying and I regretted not going back for more using those Food coupons.

[Review 2937] Disappointing breakfast @ the News room diner

04/11/2013
the News room diner
鰂魚涌糖廠街33號地舖
G/F, 33 Tong Chong Street, Quarry Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/disappointing-breakfast-e2329235

Before my visit to The News Room, I have always thought of it as a place for quality food.
Came here randomly for breakfast and regretted not taking photos of the menu.
The description for Newsroom breakfast was: tomato, egg, Toulouse sausage, Baguette, Bacon, Black pudding, potato rosti, mushroom and baked beans.
The baguette was the tiniest baguette I have seen in my life, it was merely bigger than the sausage!
The potato rosti was a stupid cold hash brown!
(potato rosti is basically grated potatoes fried into a round or irregular shape).

As for the black pudding, it was the thinnest sliced black pudding you could ever get.

The baked beans were not the Heinz brand and the Toulouse sausage was not my cup of tea.

[Review 2936] 2013 EBI burger is back @ 麥當勞 McDonald's

03/11/2013
麥當勞 McDonald's
灣仔莊士敦道74-80號地下及地庫
G/F&B/F, 74-80 Johnston Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/ebi-burger-is-back-e2329015

My favourite EBI burger is back!~
There are now two options, one with egg and one without.

Went to the McDs on Johnsons Road for the first time and the queuing area was so small that the queue overflows to the stairs entrance coming down to McDonalds!
 The queuing area is so small that I don't know why they bother having a McCafe right next to the food counter adding to the congestion.
Anyway tried both versions of the EBI burger and as usual the Shake Shake powder comes free if you order the extra large meal.

If you choose hot tea for the extra large meal then you are actually losing out because the cup is actually the same size as the cup in the regular meal!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ebi burger with egg:


This burger comes in a box and the one without egg is just wrapped in paper.
The egg in this burger was a bit too much and made the prawn patty tasteless.
I know McDs won't have this but if was omelette or scrambled egg with prawn instead of egg and prawn patty, it would taste much nicer.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ebi burger:

At first glance, there is not much sauce in the middle.
The frying oil was a bit old, so the delicate prawn patty was ruined by the rancid oil, luckily the sauce was strong and tart enough to save it.
The prawn patty was really nice, it was soft and jelly like inside.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Japanese curry shake shake powder:


Basically it tastes the same as the curry powder launched a while ago but it has a hint of sweetness because it is Japanese style curry.
After eating the fries, you will find that your fingers and fingernails are stained yellow!!
Food colouring...................Nice!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Other new items:
Taro pie and Sweetcorn and mushroom soup

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2935] Toast that was too hard @ 檀島咖啡餅店 Honolulu Coffee Shop

02/11/2013
檀島咖啡餅店 Honolulu Coffee Shop
中環士丹利街33號地下
G/F, 33 Stanley St,, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/toast-that-was-too-hard-e2329000

Came here again because the noodles looked good at their other branch.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rice vermicelli tossed in satay beef:
This was the only thing that tasted ok, but a bit pricey.
The rice vermicelli was nicely flavoured by the rich satay sauce which had a hint of sweetness.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
cheese and ham toast:

The bread was not fresh and dehydrated so by the time it was toasted, the texture was hard and dry.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Napkins:
Although the food was crap, I was surprised they had real napkins and not waxy tracing paper that other restaurants provide!!!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2934] Foie gras and Char Siu combo! @ 來佬餐館 Loyal Dining

02/11/2013
來佬餐館 Loyal Dining
中環威靈頓街66號
66 Wellington Street, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/foie-gras-and-char-siu-combo-e2328994

Went here because some of the dishes were quite Western and some were quite local to satisfy someone requiring some Chinese food!

Heres what we had
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Toast with fermented beancurd and white sugar:
Chose this because it was weird, but not that weird because I used to spread fermented beancurd on bread.
The fermented beancurd they used was quite good because there was no weird aftertaste and it was pleasant.
I would prefer it without the sugar because savoury and sweet tastes are weird together.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Foie gras with Char Siu and a fried egg:
It was interesting having roast pork and foie gras together so thats why we ordered it.
The foie gras was how it should be, not overly exciting but the roast pork was good, not too salty or sweet.
I was impressed because it came with spring onion sauce which usually comes with chicken.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Beef Wellington:
威靈頓 66 伴薯菜

This dish was surprised me too because it was properly Western with gravy and even a BAKED potato with sour cream and bacon bits.
The beef in the middle was tender and juicy complimented by the light puff pastry on the outside.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2933]La Parole @ Wine and Dine 2013

01/11/2013
La Parole 
上環文咸東街22-26號柏廷坊3樓
3/F, The Pemberton, 22-26 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/la-parole-wine-and-dine-2013-e2328713


It was my first time going to a Wine and Dine event Thanks to Openrice’s Wine and Dine guest passes.

Before you go in, you are given a starter bag which contains a wine glass and a booklet of coupons for free wine and food tasting.

There are two types of food coupons depending on your pass, the ones I got were VIP coupons which entitles you to full portions of food according to the information and the normal ones are worth $10 per coupon.

It was confusing at first because I have not attended this before and some booths were mind boggled by these coupons, some treated these VIP coupons for half portions, and some treated them as being worth $10 so I did not the coupons on these booths.

It was good seeing La Parole at Wine and Dine because I have yet to try their restaurant.

At this booth I used TWO VIP coupons for two half portion dishes.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Savoury beef stew with mashed potato:

Not keen on beef but just felt like trying it.
The mash with the beef was really nice, it was dense and silky with a strong potato taste and the beef sauce was rich.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Foie gras with caramelized apple:

The foie gras was nicely done, it was gently cooked leaving it soft and silky on the inside with a firm texture while the tart caramelized apples complimented it nicely balancing the heavyiness of the foie gras.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★