[Review 3088]New kid J on da block @ J's Bar & Restaurant

11/01/2014
J's Bar & Restaurant
灣仔晏頓街2號A地下
Shop A, G/F, 2 Anton Street, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/new-kid-j-on-da-block-e2340688

I was browsing OpenRice for new restaurants and found this one so decided to go.

It was a neat little restaurant bar tucked away on Anton Road near Queen Road East.
When I got there, there was a bright menu by the door.

Before going in, I made up my mind on the sandwich.

After I sat down, the girl came to take my orders, there was no lunch menu, but luckily I took a photo of the menu outside which I referred to.
After a while, I realized SHxT, there was no price on the board so I was a little worried that it might be one of those over priced places, but luckily it was only $89 after asking.
The set lunch was a four course meal.

The decor was quite pleasant with a bar facing the door.

There was a quiet dining area left of the bar.

The evening menu was difficult to see but then I realised that you don't read the white writing but the shadow behind it!

The toilet signs were cute.


Here was what I had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tomato soup:

It was really creative how they put the drops of cream forming a circle pattern.
After trying a spoonful I realized to was extremely spicy so I could not finish it.
The soup would have tasted really good because I loved the sourness but the spicyness was just too strong for me.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Apple and avocado salad:

The salad on the other hand was great, it was simple with an effective dressing.
As you can see, it had baby spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes, walnuts, avocado and thinly sliced red and green apples.
It was really nice because everything was tossed and flavoured well with a sauce that tasted like orange juice that was really tangy.
I liked this dressing because it was not oily, heavy or creamy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Looney tuna sandwich:

I did not like the beans because they were a bit raw, but the creamy tuna filling was good with the crispy soft baguette bun.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tea:

The tea was disappointing even though it was Liptons because it was the Hong Kong style RED tea which has a bitter taste.
It would be great if they had Earl grey or the breakfast blend.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3087] Cook and dine at Donna Dolce Kitchen Studio @ Donna Dolce Kitchen Studio

11/01/2014
Donna Dolce Kitchen Studio
觀塘駿業里6號富利工業大廈8樓B室
Rm B, 8/F., Fully Industrial Building, 6 Tsun Yip Lane, Kwun Tong
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/cook-and-dine-at-donna-dolce-kitchen-studio-e2340687

This event was actually held in March 2013 last year but since I just saw it listed on OpenRice, I decided to write about it.

Donna Dolce is a cooking studio where you can learn to cook as well as dine there.
At Donna Dolce Kitchen, they hold regular events and classes for people to join.

The event I attended was a joint event between Donna Dolce Kitchen and 7-11 promoting their ready to eat onsen spring eggs and how it can be paired with food.

That day, we were shown how to make pasta and experience making it ourselves too.

After the pasta was made, we were shown how to make carbonara sauce.
I was surprised quite alot of egg yolk and butter was used to make the sauce.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tagliolini Carbonara with Egg Yolks, Pancetta, Cheese & Black Pepper:

It was an interesting experience eating the pasta because it is different seeing it cooked infront of you and the ingredients involved to make it.
I have always found carbonara to be creamy but the black pepper balanced it out, the onsen egg and pancetta made it substantial while the cheese gave it an extra depth of flavour.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3086] Improvement needed @ Agave Wan Chai

08/01/2014
Agave Wan Chai
灣仔駱克道93號地下C&D舖
ShopC &D,93 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/improvement-needed-e2340293

Came here for a casual lunch because I have not had their lunches for a long time.

After ordering the food took ages to arrive.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Soup:

The soup which was sweetcorn soup did not look like sweetcorn soup and the taste was very bland.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
MOLE VERDE DE POLLO:

Grilled chicken leg in a green mole sauce made with pumpkin seeds and spices.
Served with steamed rice/Mexican rice and Vegetables/refried beans.
I was a bit annoyed because it took ages to come and I had to chase for it.
What was more annoying was that I ordered Mexican rice and they ran out and didi not tell me.
The chicken and mole sauce just lacked taste and was not as tasty as before.
The portions were slightly small and now they serve the food on square plates and not the rectangular ones they used before.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3085] Apple cinnamon croissaint @ Le Salon Restaurant et Croissanterie

08/01/2014
Le Salon Restaurant et Croissanterie 此店已改名為Moments Lifestyle Café銅鑼灣軒尼詩道500號希慎廣場13樓1302號舖
Shop 1302, 13/F, Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/apple-cinnamon-croissaint-e2340269

Although lots of people have said the apple croissant was not that good, I still wanted to try it.

I ordered one to dine there and this time the guy at the counter ran out of plates!
GREAT!

So in the end, I got their napkins and formed a small tablecloth because I did not want to make a mess because their croissants are extremely flakey.

The croissant reminded me of apple crumble because it had icing and buttery crumble on top.

Inside it was filled with apple and cinnamon filling.

The taste was not as exciting as I imagined because the apple just tasted sweet, there were no sour notes to it and the cinnamon was not strong enough.
Anyway, at least I have tried it.
Although I am not a fan of peanut butter but the peanut butter one tastes better.

[Review 3084] Fish and chips at an American Diner @ Al's Diner

07/01/2014
Al's Diner
中環蘭桂坊德己立街27-30號地舖
G/F, 27-30 D'Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/fish-and-chips-at-an-american-diner-e2340263

I have walked past this place so many times and did not notice it.
Came here one late afternoon because the restaurant I wanted to go was closed so came here randomly.

The decor reminded me of Ed's Diner in the UK with duke boxes and American fixtures.


It seemed like it was an old restaurant.

I probably should have ordered milkshake or a burger but I chose Fish and Chips instead.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fish and chips:

Honestly, the fish did not look appetizing, the batter looked so shiny and oily.

There were also holes in the batter too!

The batter was really weird and almost like a poppadum cracker wrapped round the fish.
It was not even stuck to the fish which was good.
Basically it was just like breaking off a shell on the fish and the batter was just a piece of thin tasty cracker!
As for the fish, I really liked it because it was firm cod that was really flakey.

Finally the chips were disappointing because according to the menu they were meant to be fat chips and these were just potato wedges.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3083] 功夫's Chinese New Year pudding @ 功夫點心 Kung Fu Dim Sum

07/01/2014
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-chinese-new-year-pudding-e2340109

Thanks to 功夫 for Chinese New Year pudding.
There is also a Chinese white radish cake too which I reviewed earlier.
After slicing and shallow frying it, the pudding was ready to eat.

You can either shallow fry it directly or dip the cake in egg before frying.
The pudding was similar to mochi but the texture was much denser and stickier and not too sweet with a hint of coconut milk.

[Review 3082] The ideal and perfect place for pasta @ The Pasta Place

07/01/2014
The Pasta Place
上環禧利街8號地舖
G/F., 8 Hillier Street, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/the-ideal-and-perfect-place-for-pasta-e2340021

I love pasta but at most restaurants they make simple pastas complicated and expensive.
At The Pasta Place I was attracted to their down to earth homely decor.
The menu was simple and straightforward and I liked the manual typewriter font.

At The Pasta Place, the decor was most impressive.

On the walls they have lovely homely wallpaper and they had dado rails known as chair rails on the walls just like the houses in the UK.
They might have them in the US too but I have never been to the US to comment.

On each table there is a lovely red rose and hooks to hang your coats or bags.

In the middle of the restaurant, there is a really nice alcove that hides a toilet!
It looks like a tiny room underneath a staircase but the toilet is quite spacious.


There is sink and mirror outside the toilet in the alcove!

Cute taps!

I would have tried the Lasagne and Mac and Cheese but there were too many choices too choose from.

Anyway, here was what I had:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Rich beef ragu on Tagliatelle pasta $110:

I knew this was going to be good and tasty, each strand was covered uniformly in rich beef ragu sauce.
The beef was minced finely and mixed in well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tomato and sweet basil sauce on fresh potato gnocchi:

The portion was huge! I think out of all the gnocchi dishes I have ordered in various restaurants, this plate had the most!
The gnocchi was quite chewy and the tomato sauce was lovely and acidic but lacked the taste of basil.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Roasted pumpkin and sage sauce on fresh spinach and ricotta ravioli:

This was beautifully presented but the sauce lacked connection with the sage because I could only taste pumpkin which was also quite light.
Four sage leaves had been fried and placed on top as decoration.
Other than that, it was a lovely light pasta dish and the ravioli was filled with soft clotted ricotta in the middle contrasted by the gentle sweet pumpkin puree sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

I am definitely coming back to try Lasagne and MacNCheese