[Review 3118] Hooray! The GREAT Tea Sale! @ Shortbread Teas

24/01/2014
Shortbread Teas
中環威靈頓街55號
55 Wellington Street, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/hooray-the-great-tea-sale-e2343787

Basically I get my dose of home food here~

I am glad there is a tea sale going on because I have been so busy I havent been here for ages.
I got my favourite Christmas Pudding tea which comes in a FOOD GRADE resealable packet!

(See the meaning of FOOD GRADE at the end of this review)

Anyway, it was fun making tea at home because I could pick out the pieces of orange peel that I don't like.

I just wish that my cups were as pretty as their cups.

On my previous visits, I have been having sandwiches and salads.

Here is what I had

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ham Salad:

I love this salad because it was light and it had a bit of everything from potato salad, cheese, pickles, cucumber, lettuce and olives dressed in BASIL OLIVE oil.
I absolutely adore the ham because it is not too salty and tender, and the potato salad in mayonnaise is just perfect.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Apple and ham sandwich:


This is another one of my favourites, but its called something else on the menu which I can't remember.
I loved the soft ham paired with cheese and thinly sliced green apples which is the perfect combination sandwiched in between a crusty soft baguette.
The thinly sliced apple works wonders because it is subtle and does not overpower the cheese and ham giving it a nice crisp crunch.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
All day breakfast:

When I am hungry, this is my one of the choices.
Ultimately because of the black pudding and the gorgeous bacon.
As you can see, the eggs are done so perfectly.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Scrambled egg, black pudding and bacon sandwich:


My favourite sandwich combination tasted perfect this time because I asked for the back bacon instead of the rasher bacon.
The scrambled egg was perfect, just like pieces of co-joined droplets of fluffly egg jpined together.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Egg and bacon sandwich:


Another simple sandwich with fried egg and bacon.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

FOOD GRADE metal or plastic means that it can be readily used to prepare or store food safely without releasing any chemicals from the plastic.
This is why it is important that in hospitals, some items should be MEDICAL GRADE because of biocompatibility issues.
Although it is not that serious for food, you just end up with food poisoning.
I BET THE HONG KONGERS are not even AWARE of this issue and buy any bags or containers and niavely plonk food into it.
A few months ago I bought a dessert in a nice glass jar because I wanted to keep the jar, however after I finished the dessert I wiped the inside of the lid with tissue and was mortified to see that it was BLACK!.

[Review 3117] Flipino congee @ 金蒂小店 Cinta J Express

26/01/2014
金蒂小店 Cinta J Express
灣仔柯布連道2A號C2號舖
Shop C2,2A O'Brien Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/flipino-congee-e2343765

I like getting takeaways from here because there isnt a queue.
At lunch, there is a MAKE YOUR OWN MEAL where you can choose the sauce and the meat you want to go with rice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
MAKE YOUR OWN MEAL:

For sauces there were:
Tomato curry
carbonara
mushroom
bolognaise

For meat you can choose:
fish
chicken
cervelat sausage
pork chop
or mixed vegetables

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fish with tomato curry sauce:
The rice was a bit too soft and mushy but the fish was good because it was succulent and not dry.
The sauce was really good because the tomato is really strong and tangy with a hint of curry that is not spicy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Flipino congee:

I was surprised they had congee in the Flipino cuisine but there are a lot Chinese items that they serve such as char siu baos and other dishes.
The only difference is that the congee is served with a wedge of lemon.
I tried it without the lemon and found the congee slightly oily with a really strong chicken taste.
It turns out that there are pieces of chicken in the congee which look like they have been fried/pan fried, hence this is why they give you lemon to balance out the oilyness and it makes the congee much more appetizing.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3116] Une grande marché dans une petit boutique @ Flavour

26/01/2014
Flavour
上環水坑口街18號地下
G/F, 18 Possession Street, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/une-grande-marche-dans-une-petit-boutique-e2343452

I have always wanted to come here but couldn't find it.
Fate brought me here again after spate of French meals recently.

On New's year eve I did not want to dine at restaurants where they had obviously pumped up the prices because it was NYE.
I had a place in mind where you would not expect their prices to go up but as I was wandering I noticed this yellow shop which I did not notice before.
I have walked past it so many times and missed it.

Anyway went in and discovered it was a mini French grocery shop selling cheeses, baguettes and you can even order food and dine there.
The chewing gum that you can buy in France can be bought here!!
Huge selection of quiches, cheeses, hams, drinks and desserts~

Quiches galore!!

For food, the meals not including drinks or soups were about $55-65 which is an amazingly deal compared to other French dos.

While I sat there, there were so many French expats coming and going for French groceries.
The hot seller were the baguettes and cheeses which is their staple food!

NOW YOU SEE IT

NOW YOU DON'T!! Gone within 10 minutes!~

The owner is really NICE and GOOD LOOKING just as the review says~~

Here was what I had!!

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fish in creamy white sauce:

The fish was succulent and flakey covered in creamy sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Spinach and feta quiche:

The quiche selection was annoying because there were too many to choose from and the size of each quiche was HUGE!! About the size of a brick!!
It was loaded with spinach and flavoured by the cheesy crumbly feta.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fries:

The fries were a bit disappointing because they were not French. The ones I had in France are much thinner and freshly cut to be fried.
These were just the usual chips!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Moule frites:

The mussels were meant to be paired with fries but I had them with a baguette.
It was a huge portion and the sauce was generous too.
Although the mussels tasted like they were frozen ones, the way it was cooked made it taste like it was half fresh and the sauce was really nice because there was white wine, finely diced onions and herbs.
After finishing the mussels, the sauce was just amazing with the baguette.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
chicken leg in red wine sauce:

The chicken in red wine sauce was also good, it was well marinated that the chicken skin and chicken beneath it was full of flavour.
The sauce was lovely and rich, perfect with the rice they served.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Nougat glace:

The nougat icecream tasted like frozen whipped cream with nuts in it.
It was really affordable too compared to other French restaurants.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3115] $10 for an unusual experience @ Initial Ice Cream Store

25/01/2014
Initial Ice Cream Store
尖沙咀金馬倫道48號地下2號舖
Shop 2, G/F, 48 Cameron Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/10-for-an-unusual-experience-e2343160

After reading the reviews I was curious about their softserve icecreams.
Currently there are two flavours:
-Usual experience - 3.6 hokkaido milk
-Unusual experience - I dig leather
There is some speculation that there will be a new flavour to come called "tears".
(I wonder if it is going to be savoury!)

The softserve costs $10.
It was hard deciding which one to get, so I asked the guy about the Unusual experience and he said it tastes like tea.
I was silly to have thought that he meant Western milk tea coming from a Chinese guy because for milk tea they only have one kind which is the one I hate.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I dig leather :

Unfortunately I did not like it because it tasted just like Hong Kong Style tea.
I really regretted not getting the Usual experience because it tastes like white rabbit sweets according to the reviews.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Maintenance!
Yeah right!
I was so annoyed they stopped serving softserve because no one eats froyo/icecream during the winter except me because the temperature of winter here is probably autumn in the UK.
COME ON...  ITS NOT COLD!!!


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3114] Clean chestnuts @ 中國龍 China Dragon Arts

25/01/2014
中國龍  China Dragon Arts
上環皇后大道中283號聯威商業中心地下A舖
Shop A, G/F, Unionway Commercial Centre, 283 Queen's Road Central, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/clean-chestnuts-e2343141

Walked past this shop after trying Man Mo Cafe, these small chestnuts that were merely bigger than hazelnuts in their shells caught my attention.
These chestnuts are from Tianjin and I was compelled to get them because they were contained in a wooden tub.
 I never buy roasted Chestnuts in HK because they are always roasted on the street surrounded in black coal. It STINKS when they do that and I wonder if the person who roasts them gets cancer cos its seriously toxic!
The smell is so bad that it makes me choke and throw up.

The chestnuts were only $36 per pound and you get quite a lot in the bag and they still feel warm.
They are easy to eat as well because the chestnut lining does not stick to it and they taste sweet and not starchy.

I am definitely coming back for more.

Mandarin hotel also does chestnuts but I have never seen that stall.

[Review 3113] Love bites with the apple of love @ Jam Bakery

24/01/2014
Jam Bakery
北角炮台山蜆殼街4號宇宙商業大廈3號舖地下
Shop 3, G/F, Universal Commercial House, 4 Shell Street, Fortress Hill, North Point
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/love-bites-with-the-apple-of-love-e2343087

According to my reviews, it has been four years since I last visited Jam Bakery.
They used to be located in Tai Hang and closed down for a while until they reopened here recently.
Jam Bakery is on the corner and the shop is quite see through.

This branch is much bigger than the previous place with a cake cabinet, cookie shelf and a reasonable dining area.
I decided to go to Jam Bakery because of the apple cheesecake which is also being sold at Sogo branded with Hello Kitty.

There was a green one and a red one.

To be honest, the green one was not appealing because the shade of green looked a bit like gunge and slime so I got the red.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Apple Cheesecake (RED):
I do not like the colour red, but red was more appealing than green in this case.
The apple looked so realistic I was tempted to bite it just like can apple, but in the end I dug in with a fork.
As a cheesecake, it tasted nothing like a cheesecake, but it was delicious if you treat it as a apple cream cake.
Fresh apple and cream with light sponge cake in the middle that was not too sweet with a hint of cinnamon.
However it was weird it had raisins in it.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Apple Cheesecake (GREEN) HKD42:
Came here again for the cheesecake because it was really nice.
The service was much better this time because this time I got a glass of water.

The green one had an extra piece of chocolate on top which was not there before shown on the first photo.
According to the earlier reviews, both the red and green should have a piece of chocolate on top.
I was expecting the RED and GREEN to taste the same, but as you can see there is much more apple filling in it.
The green one was much sweeter too, so in conclusion, I prefer the red one that I tried before.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
As well as the cakes, I was hoping to try Froyo because they had a unique cactus topping that you could choose.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Previous visit:
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2056396&tc=sr2&con=rvw

[Review 3112] Perfect Bangers and Chips @ 精伶吧 The Canny Man

24/01/2014
精伶吧 The Canny Man
灣仔駱克道57-73號香港華美粵海酒店地庫
Basement, Wharney Guang Dong Hotel Hong Kong, 57-73 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/perfect-bangers-and-chips-e2343086

I was browsing The Canny Man Fanpage when I saw BANGERS and CHIPS which I had to have immediately!!
So went there ASAP!!!
Normally it is Bangers and Mash but the manager likes Bangers and Chips so he posted a photo of it on FB.
He also had it with vinegar too which is how I would have it.

Got there and ordered BANGERS and CHIPS!!!

When it arrived, C gave me the vinegar too which was really good~!

QV used to be my favourite for Bangers and mash, but not anymore!!!!!
However QV has a cheaper price tag.
The chips are better at Canny Man because they are not over fried.
Anyway, it was just heaven having perfectly done chips that were crispy on the outside and starchy in the centre with proper British golden brown pork sausages and tangy vinegar and ketchup.
The sausages also taste better than QV because they were not that salty.

Although it costs almost double the price at QV, it was well worth paying for that.
On some days they serve Bangers n Mash for lunch which is around $8X so watch out for that and come on those days.