[Review 3074] Budget Private function with buffet @ Joe Bananas

05/01/2014
Joe Bananas
灣仔盧押道23號地下
G/F, 23 Luard Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/budget-private-function-with-buffet-e2339284

It was a friends birthday so they booked Joe Banana's AGAIN which included the buffet!!
The selection this time was matched to the budget.
I tried the fish which was ok, but slightly dry but what can you expect with a budget like that.
The pasta was a bit oily but edible, again you can't complain with that budget.

The seating was slightly uncomfortable because there were not many tables and most were high tables with stools.

[Review 3073] My black star @ The Blackstar Kitchen And Cockails

05/01/2014
The Blackstar Kitchen And Cockails
上環永樂街81號地舖
G/F, 81 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/my-black-star-e2339280

I thought I was going to like this place but after dining there I did not like it because of the customer service.
Arrived for lunch, when the tables were empty either side.

Ordered my lunch.
Shortly after that, people arrived and sat BOTH sideS BESIDE of me.

THE THING THAT PISSED ME OFF WAS THAT AFTER I ORDERED THEY DID NOT EVEN SERVE ME THE BREAD WHICH WAS ON THE MENU, IE SOUP WITH BREAD.
HOWEVER THEY SERVED BREAD TO THE PEOPLE EITHER SIDE OF ME WHO HAD NOT EVEN ORDERED YET.
I REALLY REGRETTED NOT WALKING OUT AT THIS POINT BECAUSE THERE ARE LOADS OF EATERIES NEARBY WHICH I HAVE YET TO TRY SO IT'S NOT LIKE I HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS CRAP.

AFTER ASKING THE WAITER WHETHER BREAD COMES WITH MY LUNCH SET, THEY SAID IT WAS COMING!
THEN AFTER QUITE A WHILE, I WAS SERVED THE BREAD.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
ACCORDING TO THE DUMB MENU, THE APPETIZER SAYS:
SOUP OF THE DAY, FRESH BREAD WITH HOUSE SALAD & AVOCADO PRAWN.

THE APPETIZER THEY GAVE OUT WAS PRETTY DAMN RANDOM TOO.
I WAS SERVED A PIECE OF FRITTATA/QUICHE WHILE THE OTHER TABLE WAS SERVED PROSCIUTTO.

THE TABLE BESIDE ME ALSO ORDERED THE REGULAR LUNCH SO THE APPETIZER SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE SAME BECAUSE IT WAS NOT THE CHRISTMAS SET LUNCH WHICH HAD THE SALMON FOR THE APPETIZER.

THE NOSY WAITERS WERE ALSO CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT PICTURES I WAS TAKING BECAUSE THEY WERE BEHIND ME PEEKING AT MY SCREEN.

........ENOUGH SAID......
THE FOOD WAS NOT IMPRESSIVE.

[Review 3072] Record breaking all day breakfast! @ 麥當勞 McDonald's

05/01/2014
麥當勞 McDonald's
中環港景街1號國際金融中心商場1樓1026-28號舖
Shop 1026-28, 1/F, IFC Mall,No.1 Harbour View Street, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/record-breaking-all-day-breakfast-e2339267

To be honest I skip breakfast especially when you have to dine there because I don't have time or ANY time at all to grab breakfast for takeaway too.
The main task is finishing breakfast and leaving ASAP and not about enjoying it.
I do remember trying this breakfast ages ago and it was TASTELESS and reminded me of breakfasts on flights.
Anyway, McDonald's did a really cool event and served breakfast all day on 1/1/2014.

Admittedly I had this for dinner and one was not enough so I had TWO~!
I found GRAPE JAM to go with the muffins.

This is probably a regional thing because in the UK it would be damn weird having jam with muffins.
I also thought it was odd that the jam was grape jam when the norm is Strawberry but then it is probably a regional thing again.
Mango is the norm in Asia but elsewhere it would probably be other fruits.

The breakfast was served with Soy milk which was fair enough because it is the Far East.

Surprisingly, the breakfast tasted good because I had time to really TASTE it and enjoy it.

I had all the time in the world to put ketchup on the muffin, then adding pieces of scrambled egg on top then sprinkling black pepper and salt which enhanced the flavour.

Previously the egg was tasteless because I had no time to put salt and pepper on the egg.
I also tried some grape jam with the muffin which tasted ok but I still prefer egg with muffins and I think the grape jam would probably go better with their sweet pancakes.

[Review 3071] Jamtastic soda @ 一起果醬 let's Jam

04/01/2014
一起果醬  let's Jam
西貢市場街9號地下
G/F, 9 See Cheung Street, Sai Kung, Kowloon, Sai Kung
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/jamtastic-soda-e2339225

After eating nearby, I needed to get a drink, so went to let's Jam because I like their sodas.
Basically their sodas are made with a choice of homemade jam, soda water and syrup.

There were so many jams to choose from:
Pear and wine
apple and rose
apple and cinnamon
blueberry
and many more.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Apple and cinnamon:

Previously tried the apple and rose soda, so this time chose the apple and cinnamon.
I requested the soda to be less sweet so they put less syrup in it.
Next time I will request for jam and soda only.
Although it was not too sweet, I loved the puree pieces of apple in the drink and it would be great if they put some whipped cream on top to enhance the taste just like some other places where they serve hot apple beverages with whipped cream on top!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3070] Cheap and delicious noodles @ 金發車仔麵

04/01/2014
金發車仔麵
彩虹牛池灣富池徑3號
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/cheap-and-delicious-noodles-e2339223

This noodle joint is great but the location is only beneficial to the people who live or work there.

The noodles are CHEAP, it only costs $18 for a bowl of noodles and two items of your choice.
I was tempted to try their pumpkin sago too.

On my first visit, I had instant noodles with fried chicken cutlet and braised beef.

In the summer you are probably going to get food poisoning because they do not heat up the pre-fried chicken cutlet which is just put in that bowl with the hot soup poured over it, same with the other items.

On the second visit, I had instant noodles in sauce without the soup!
But saying that, she puts a whole ladle of sauce in the bowl, so the noodles tastes so much better than the soup one.
This time I chose ox tripe because it is one of the items that are in a heated pot.


The noodles on the second visit were great because the noodles tasted really good in that thick braised beef sauce.
The lady was also quite nice to ask if I wanted to use the sesame oil and broth powder that came with it. {ie Nissin Instant noodles!!!}
To be on the safe side, the braised beef and beef tendons are safe to pick because they are heated but the rest rely on the hot soup to warm it up!
I wonder if I will get food poisoning in the summer!~

[Review 3069] Hot and Spicy, perfect for spicy thrills @ 辛安東元祖奶奶雞 Spicy Andong

03/01/2014
辛安東元祖奶奶雞 Spicy Andong
銅鑼灣駱克道491-499號京都廣場七樓
7/F., Kyoto Plaza, 491-499 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/hot-and-spicy-perfect-for-spicy-thrills-e2338968

Hot and Spicy, perfect for spicy thrills
2014-01-03  55 瀏覽
Thanks to Gary for bringing me along to this tasting.

This is a new branch of Spicy Andong because they have another branch in Mong Kok where the interior is really cool. They have padlocks hung on the walls and cute message cards attached.

At the Causeway bay branch, they also have these message cards and colourful interior.
 0 讚好

Anyway here was what we had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Basically for Spicy Andong chicken there is one with oyster and one without.

Spicy Andong Chicken:
Tasted quite similar to the one below but the taste was less fancy without the oysters but the spiciness was still there.
Spicy Andong chicken with oyster:
 0 讚好

To be honest I prefer the one with oyster because there are more flavours in the dish and the oysters were plump and huge!
To begin with the oysters were quite spicy, but after a while they get even spicier after absorbing the sauce.
Luckily they offer a non spicy version.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Collagen salad

This salad is called a collagen salad because it has slices of pork trotters which are rich in collagen.
I liked the cool crunchy lettuce leaves tossed in tangy sesame sauce which is perfect for soothing the palatte after some spicy food.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Curry Toppokki with cheese
 0 讚好

The curry toppokki was really cool because the usual sauce is spicy and not many places serve it in curry sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Steamed pork with spicy garlic sauce

The sauce looked innocently refreshing but it was devilishly hot!!!!!!
So beware!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Grilled beef on lettuce

Nice chunks of beef paired with spicy kimchi.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cheese and spicy minced pork pizza

The English menu does not indicate how spicy it was but this was another super spicy one!!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Clams steamed in jinro

I loved the golden metal teapot because you can pour soup out from the spout without the contents coming out.
It would be good if the alcohol taste was stronger.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pan grilled eel

A lovely plain grilled eel which lets you taste it in its most natural form.
The suggested way of eating it is putting the eel on the lettuces leaves with the sauce provided.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pan grilled ribs

Nicely pan grilled ribs which were thinly sliced.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
To To Bibimbap with onions and egg

This was my favourite because most bibimbaps come with kimchi and meat, but this was plain rice, egg, onion and seaweed.
After mixing it, the rice and onions were really fragrant. There is an extra side of finely chopped onions which had strong sesame oil in it which I added as well and it tasted so much more nicer.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Brown rice milk

The rice milk was lovely and not too sweet with a delicious roasted rice taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
On each table, there was a pair of scissors for the noodles which came in handy for cutting other pieces of food too.

[Review 3068] 功夫's White radish cake for CNY @ 功夫點心 Kung Fu Dim Sum

'03/01/2014
功夫點心 Kung Fu Dim Sum
尖沙咀廣東道33號中港城2座平台4號舖
Shop 4, Promenade Level of Tower 2, China Hong Kong City, 33 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/%E5%8A%9F%E5%A4%ABs-white-radish-cake-for-cny-e2338872

Got these from Kung Fu Dim Sum.

Tried the White radish cake immediately.
I liked the chunky white radish pieces in the middle with the dried shrimp and preserved wax sausages on top.

It was not too salty which was great and I look forward to trying the coconut milk CNY pudding because I need to pan fried it before eating.