[Review 2946] Get your dose of Chinese homely food here @ 愛吃家常便飯 Home-made Cuisine

08/11/2013
愛吃家常便飯 Home-made Cuisine
灣仔謝斐道379號地下6-7號舖
Shop 6-7, G/F, 379 Jaffe Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/get-your-dose-of-chinese-homely-food-here-e2329907

Before this tasting, I have dined here a year ago and just discovered that Red Seasons is associated to this restaurant as well.
Thanks to their marketing department for inviting me to this tasting.

Here was what I tried:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tender duck sauteed with preserved red bean curd, hoi sin sauce and broccoli
florets topped with Guinness beer:
Tried this before and it was delicious so I wanted to see if the standards were the same.
Everything tasted as good as before and the duck was in rich sauce with a good mix of fermented red beancurd and the hoisin sauce was great with the rice.
The broccoli was nice and soft this time.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tea:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lamb chops marinaded in dry rosemary herbs and garlic served with Thai chili’s and coriander lemon grass sauce:

The lamb chops were slightly different to ones I have tried before, perhaps it was a little over cooked because the lamb was not soft enough but it tasted nice with the green sauce which was a mix of coriander and lemon grass.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rice:

They had red rice or white rice to choose from.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Prawns stir fry with dry garlic and chili’s served in a stone hot pot:

Beneath the prawns, there was so much fried garlic, peppercorns and chili.

It would be good if the prawns were gutted but they were lovely and springy.
I was hoping for more explosive tastes from the garlic and peppercorns but somehow it did not penetrate through the prawn shell.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Minced fish patty and prawns boiled in white radish & fish stock:

The seafood soup was a great way of finishing off the meal because the taste with light with plenty of white radish chunks and glass vermicelli in the dish.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2945] Warming sweet potato drink with French cakes @

07/11/2013
許留山 Hui Lau Shan Healthy Dessert
將軍澳唐德街1號將軍澳廣場1樓1-8號舖
Shop 1-8, 1/F, Tseung Kwan O Plaza, Tong Tak Street, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/warming-sweet-potato-drink-with-french-cakes-e2329810

I never dine at Hui Lau Shan unless there is something new because the usual choices are too local and it is just mangoes and coconut which I do not like.
Bravo! they now serve some French tarts by Boncolac.
The new baby white peach cheesecake was interesting because the peach was green.
There was blueberry cheesecake as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hokkaido sweet potato drink:
I wasn't impressed at first because I got my hands sticky when I held the glass cup!
Anyway, apart from sweet potato, there were lots of other goodies in the drink such as purple sweetcorn and you can really taste the sweet potato infused in the drink.
The only disappointment was that it was way too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Strawberry tart:
The strawberry tart was really nice, it had plump mushed strawberries on top with a thin layer of custard between the tart and the fruit.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The bill:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2944] New flavour : Sea Salt King @ 豚王 Butao Ramen

07/11/2013
豚王 Butao Ramen
銅鑼灣登龍街40號地下
G/F, 40 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/new-flavour-sea-salt-king-e2329799

Been here quite a few times and every time I have the Green King because it tastes the best.

They have other special flavours such as Prawn, Curry etc but they are always sold out when I get there.

On this visit, they had Sea Salt King which is limited to 30 bowls per day so I tried that.

I was so lucky I did not have to queue that day.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sea Salt King:

The broth was really nice because it was not that salty despite being mainly salt flavoured.
However the noodles were a bit too soft and stuck to each other and there was a heavy floury taste which was infused into the broth.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fruit Vinegar:

There was fruit vinegar on the table which had pieces of apple in it.
After putting some on the noodles it became more appetizing and the vinegar had a nice apple taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2943] Back for quiche and pates @ La Rotisserie

07/11/2013
La Rotisserie
灣仔廈門街19號地下
G/F, 19 Amoy Street, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/back-for-quiche-and-pates-e2329787

Since my last visit, they now have some tables and chairs outside which is lovely for dining in the cool weather.

Came back for the quiche and pates.
They only sell pates at this branch and the one at Sai Ying Pun.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Zucchini and tomato quiche with mustard:

I havent tried the tomato and potato tart yet at Vanilla but the tart there has mustard too just like this one.
The quiche had my favourite yellow zucchini in it which had a lovely sweet taste and the French mustard and tomato slices gives it a tangy kick complemented by the delicious cheesy eggy filling.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Terrine de cerf:

The deer pate was really coarse and the texture and taste was like hard boiled liver.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Creme de foie de Volaille aux champignons:


The mushroom pate was much nicer and the texture was like dense foam with pieces of mushroom in it here and there.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The jars of pate were really big and cheap, definately worth buying.

[Review 2942] Another old restaurant @ 旺豐美食

06/11/2013
旺豐美食
灣仔春園街45號地下
G/F, 45 Spring Garden Lane, Wan Chai

Came here randomly and felt that the decor of this place was really old and the food was quite expensive too!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Braised pork belly in preserved vegetables:

The preserved vegetables were really delicious with the rice because it was slightly sweet but unfortunately it contained sand!
The pork was soft with lots of fatty layers which is not my cup of tea but I ordered it because of the muddy preserved vegetables.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cute plastic cup:

Cute plastic cup with fruits on it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2941] Reasonable bakery @ 磨菇麵包店 Mushroom Bakery

05/11/2013
磨菇麵包店  Mushroom Bakery
西貢普通道56號地舖
G/F, 56 Po Tung Road, Sai Kung
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/reasonable-bakery-e2329415

Only came here because it was the last non Chinese bakery to close.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Spinach and dried tomato bread:

The bread was surprisingly nice with pieces of spinach and dried tomatoes in it.
There was so much flavour in the bun that I was not sure if it was MSG or unami from the sun dried tomatoes.
The pumpkin bread version was not so good.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Quiches:
The quiches were quite decent and the filling was cheesy but the pastry was rock hard and thick.
From their quiche selection I did not like the mushroom quiche because it was a mixture of Asian mushrooms but the spinach one was really good.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 2940] Fêtez Noël a agnès b. le pain grillé @ agnès b. le pain grillé

05/11/2013
agnès b. le pain grillé
銅鑼灣開平道1號Cubus 15樓
15/F, Cubus, 1 Hoi Ping Road, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/fetez-noel-a-agnes-b-le-pain-grille-e2329391

Thanks to agnès b. le pain grillé, Dragonsiuyeah and KelvinYFL for inviting me to an early Christmas preview which will be served on the 24th and 25th of December.

For $688 per person with 10% service charge on top, this is what your going to get.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Bread:


Assorted crusty yeasty bread.
The one I tried had walnuts and raisins which was nutty and sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Amuse bouche


Creamy avocado and crabmeat on crispy toast and a blob of grape jelly.
Initially I thought it was filled with liquid but it was a cute blob of jelly that was not too strong tasting to start off with.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Seared us scallop with roasted beetroot and foam, parmesan crisp and Cured salmon in french yellow wine beetroot jelly and acquitine caviar


The scallop was seared nicely and flavoured by the crispy fried parmesan cheese netting, while the beetroot jelly melts in your mouth.
The cured salmon had a nice smokey taste with a hint of bitterness.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Smoked beef consomme, wild mushroom and foie gras tortellini, paysanne of assorted vegetables


The soup tasted really strong with a moderate smokey taste and the tortellini was filled with delicious foie gras.
It was delicately presented with paysanne cut vegetables but when you are consuming the soup, it was difficult to spoon these vegetables.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Red fruit sorbet and rose champagne

Not only was the presentation classy, it tasted lovely as well.
I loved the scoop of fruit sorbet served on light pink sparkling champagne, it was just like a classy float.
The sweet sorbet and the bitter tasting champagne were a lovely paring.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Atlantic cod fillet cider shellfish ragout and vegetables fettuccini


The chefs at this restaurant were highly talented from Paysanne cut vegetables to vegetable fettuccini.
Different vegetables were sliced into fettuccini shaped strips which were soft enough to take the form of fettuccini.
The cod fillet was extremely soft and melts in your mouth and the fresh mussels were a treat too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Roasted wagyu beef striploin, Jerusalem artichoke and smoked pork belly mousse, roasted pumpkin, carrot, Brussels sprout and truffle jus

The arrangement of this dish is supposed to resemble a Christmas tree.
Two chunks of soft and juicy beef with truffle slices on top with colourful carrots on brussel sprout leaves.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chocolate and pistachio mousse, cranberry jelly raspberry coulis with rum and raisin icecream


The icecream was really nice, I loved the strong rum and vanilla taste.
To finish off I had the mousse which was equally as good especially the pistachio layer.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lychee and strawberry mocktail

For people who do not drink alcohol, there was the Lychee and strawberry mocktail (not included in the Christmas dinner).
I was surprised how good lychee and strawberry tasted together and I loved the blended pieces of real lychee fruit at the bottom of the drink.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
To end the meal, there was tea or coffee.
After that Christmas dinner, you should be revved up and ready to party!