[Review 3090] I love this little teaser @ 水月 Shui Yue

15/01/2014
水月 Shui Yue
銅鑼灣信德街17號地下
G/F., 17 Shelter Street, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/i-love-this-little-teaser-e2341659

Just a quick teaser for Shui Yue.
This was an off menu item that they prepared for me.

It was so sweet that they remembered these little crabs.
They were fried to perfection and because they were freshly done, the taste was not rancid.
Although the crabs did not have a strong taste, they were sprinkled with seaweed powder which gave it that extra freshly caught from the sea feeling.

The crabs were too cute to eat and they all looked alive on the plate.

[Review 3089] Sooooooooo Veganlicious @ 素食主意 Sooo Vegi

11/01/2014
素食主意  Sooo Vegi
北角電氣道254-280號華凱大廈A座6號舖
Shop A6, Wah Hoi Mansion, 254-280 Electric Road, North Point
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/sooooooooo-veganlicious-e2340705

Walked past and saw this new shop serving vegetarian food, so stopped by for dinner.
For some reason it reminded me of Veggie Spinner at Tai Hang because they were both decorated with green.
When I looked at the menu, they had Turkish rolls just like Veggie Spinner which was why I got confused.
As well as rolls, they had pastas and Chinese dishes.

I opted for Chinese food and came back another day for the Western choices.
The Chinese choice was really good because they were popular dishes such as spicy tofu with minced meat and aubergines with salted fish but in vegetarian form.
I love these dishes but I rarely have them because real meat stinks!

The prices were really affordable, just the same as the prices at Chinese cha chaan tengs and the wraps were only $28 each.

Here was what I had over two visits:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Stewed Aubergines and salted fish with rice (VEGAN):

The aubergines were paired with healthy mixed grain rice.
I really enjoyed this dish because it was meat free and healthy, the dish is not as oily as the meat version and the aubergines were nice and soft with the taste as good as the meat version.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Soup:

This was soup with Lion's Mane Mushroom, walnuts and black eye beans.
I wish the taste was stronger because it lacked the taste of mushroom but the bean taste was strong enough.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fried three treasures:

This appetizer was really cool because I have never seen a vegetarian version.
There were aubergines, mushrooms and green peppers.
My favourites were the mushrooms and green peppers which tasted meaty with the vegetarian meat substitute.
It was a bit oily for my liking but if they had the sweet sauces, I could have been fooled to think I was eating the meat version.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mexican wrap:

The roll was wrapped with avocado, vegetarian meat sauce, kidney beans, purple onions, sour cream and tomato sauce.
The roll was not spicy which was good and it was so delicious because it had kidney beans in rich sauce and creamy avocado along with crunchy vegetables.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Buffulo wrap:

The roll was wrapped with vegetarian chicken, sweetcorn, purple cabbage, celery, mixed veg, buffulo spicy sauce and ranch dressing.
This roll was also delicious, it had a nice sour tone to it which makes you even more hungry but the sweetcorn in it gives it a burst of sweetness while the carrots gives it a crunch.
Both rolls were beautifully wrapped.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Next time I am going to try the sausage wrap and other Chinese dishes which are guaranteed to be less oily than meat dishes.

[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.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★