[Review 3211] The Skies the limit @ The Sky Bar

06/03/2014
The Sky Bar
銅鑼灣波斯富街99號利舞臺廣場8樓8A舖
8/F., Lee Theatre Plaza, 99 Percival Street, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/the-skies-the-limit-e2350158

The Sky bar belongs to the Mr Steak group so the quality of seafood and beef is assured because I love the buffets at Mr Steak.

The decor here was really nice, I loved the lighting at the entrance with the flowers on the table which looked gothic in the evening but the inside is not gothic and looks like a really nice place for dining and having drinks.
We dined in the VIP room which had board games, digital darts and cushion sofas.

Here was what we had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Perfect 10:
This was a non alcoholic mixture of Lychee and apple.

It was simple and nice because lychee is very fragrant but can be quite sweet but it was balanced by the sourness of the apple juice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The Sky Bar Cold Seafood Platter $228:
Canadian Champagne Crab Leg, Canadian Jade Sea Whelk, U.S.A. Mussels, Local Fresh Shrimps, U.S.A. Cherry Stone Clam.

All the seafood was fresh just like the ones at Mr Steak buffet, but don't miss out on the Cherry Stone clam because it was sweet and fresh and you don't often see it in restaurants.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tapas $128:
Seared Duck Foie Gras with Apple Marmalade on baguette, Smoked Salmon & Truffle Roulade on baguette, Caesar Shrimp on baguette, Crab Meat Louis on baguette, Crumbed Oyster with Tartar Sauce on baguette, Lamb Kofta with Mint Yogurt on baguette

A delight of tapas on baguette slices perfect for sharing.
I tried the lamb which was paired nicely by the mint yoghurt just like the ones you get in Kebab places.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Armagnac Shellfish Bisque with Fresh Seafood $168 for two:

Although the soup says for two, I felt the portion was good for FOUR!!!
It was loaded with so much seafood in it just like bouillabaisse soups.
In the soup there were cherrystone clams, huges prawns, fresh mussels and more.
The taste of the soup really packed a punch because the seafood taste was really rich and the Armagnac was really strong with a bitterness kick.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Atlantic Lobster Tail Linguine with Crabmeat in Pesto Cream $188:

Fresh lobster tail that was springy and gently flavoured with pesto, however the pasta was a little heavy for because we had steak coming up.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Seared Alaskan Cod Fillet, sea Scallop & King Prawn with Saffron Cream Sauce $188

Another seafood feast for seafood lovers.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Aged Grain Fed 400 days Aberdeen Prime Sirloin Steak (10oz.) with Herbs Butter $ 298

This was my favourite steak because it was soft and tender paired with deliciously soft roasted potatoes.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
「Creekstone Farm」Premium Rib Eye Steak (10oz.) with Herbs Butter $248

The rib eye was meatier and juicier compared to the above.
Again paired with delicious vegetables.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Baked Puff Pastry Apple Dumpling with Vanilla Ice-cream $88

There was a whole apple inside the puff pastry.

It was delicious paired with the vanilla icecream and on the sides of the plate there was lovely wine jelly which had gold glitter in it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fresh Mango Pancake $68

I love the presentation of this, huge pancakes with fresh mango in between drizzled with creamy condensed milk.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Stylish tea pot:

To end dinner I had tea which was really stylish because the teapot sits on top of the cup.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I will be back soon and try their lunch buffet because Mr Steak is getting crowded

[Review 3210] Yue's XO sauce @ 粵 YUÈ

06/03/2014
粵 YUÈ
北角城市花園道9號城市花園酒店1樓
1/F, City Garden Hotel, 9 City Garden Road, North Point
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/yues-xo-sauce-e2350148

I was given this XO sauce ages ago at the "OR be my guest event" but forgot about it.
Found it when I was tidying my desk, so decided to get some Stir fried soy sauce noodles to go with it.
The XO sauce came in a pretty Chinese silk bag.
The amount in the jar was just right and I used it all in one go.
Strangely the sauce tasted really nice and there were lots of dried scallops and prawn roe in it which was different to when I tried it at tasting.
The taste was great, it was not too spicy and prawn roe smell was strong.

XO SAUCE TASTING EVENT:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/article/detail.htm?articleid=1869&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=&utm_source=&utm_content=&utm_term=

[Review 3209] It's Banana time @ 太平洋咖啡 Pacific Coffee

06/03/2014
太平洋咖啡  Pacific Coffee
灣仔駱克道41號東城大廈UG4-5號舖
UG 4-5, 41 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/its-banana-time-e2350145

Found out that there was a new Banana and chocolate drink so tried it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Banana chocolate:

On first sip, it was too sweet!
There was a nice banana smell and the chocolate did not have a sour aftertaste, but the main problem was that the drink was too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎
Price: $19

[Review 3208] Tornado potato skewers whizzing in cheung chau @ 潮食坊

05/03/2014
潮食坊
長洲新興海傍街77號地下
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/tornado-potato-skewers-whizzing-in-cheung-chau-e2349891

As soon as you arrive at Cheung Chau Island you will see people holding sticks of Tornado potato skewers / spiral potato skewers.

Basically, they are whole potatoes cut into a spiral and put on a skewer and fried.
I tried this place because they were fried to order and the skewers coming from this joint were not that brown because most Hong Kong people like to deep fried their snacks to a brown colour.
I would have ordered the frozen fruits on a stick but they were sold out.

The tornado potato skewers cost $27 a la carte or you can get it with drinks or fried icecream for $30.

After ordering, she takes a potato and puts it on a skewer and spreads it out on the stick.
Then she puts it in the fryer.


When it is ready, you can eat it unseasoned or you can season it with powders on the table.

There are eight seasonings to choose from:

Chicken and lemongrass
Salt
Cheese
Plum
Sichuan seasoning
BBQ
Spice salt
curry

Anyway, I liked mine plain so that I could taste the potato.
It tasted like freshly fried unsalted crisps and parts of it were soft as well which is why I liked it to be gently fried.


Basically it was one of those been there, tried that experiences.
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎
Price: $30

[Review 3207] Maxims rainbow cake @ 美心西餅 Maxim's Cake Shop

04/03/2014
美心西餅 Maxim's Cake Shop
尖沙咀港鐵尖沙咀站TST 1號舖
Shop TST 1, Tsim Sha Tsiu MTR Station, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/maxims-rainbow-cake-e2349811

Tried this cake a year ago but forgot to write about it so here it is!!!!
I tried each of the coloured layers but they all taste the same.

Overall the cake was fun to eat and tasted better than their traditional cream cakes with canned fruit!
Basically it was sweet soft crumbly cake layers paired with cream.

If the cake layers had more distinctive flavours then it would not feel so artificial because of the colours.
Compared to the same rainbow cake I tried from Maxims a while ago, there were less fruit in this one such as sliced strawberries and kiwis.

Review 3206] Lucky students at HKU @ 一念素食 Bijas Vegetarian Restaurant

04/03/2014
一念素食 Bijas Vegetarian Restaurant
咀香港大學百周年校園逸夫教學樓地下
G/F Run Run Shaw Tower, Central Podium, Centennial Campus, University of Hong Kong, Shek Tong Tsui, Pok Fu Lam
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/lucky-students-at-hku-e2349810

I was quite surprised that at HKU they had a Vegetarian restaurant because most educational facilities don't have one.
In London, I was expecting universities in East London to have Halal restaurants to cater for Muslims but there wasn't.

At Bijas Vegetarian Restaurant, they have self service lunches which are priced by weight similar to Harvester.
Rice and soup are unlimited.
We arrived there quite late so missed out on the potato and olives.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
My lunch:
Here was what I picked.
My favourite was the bun because it had tasty salted vegetables in it.
The rest of the food was ok but not hot enough.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
mushroom noodles in buk kut teh broth:
These noodles were made with shiitake mushrooms which was interesting but I found the broth rather bland and couldn't taste the buk kut teh.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3205] Queen's Konditorei nougats @ 皇后飯店 Queen's Cafe

04/03/2014
皇后飯店  Queen's Cafe
灣仔茂蘿街1-11號1樓
1/F., 1-11 Mallory Street, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/queens-konditorei-nougats-e2349808

When branches of Queen's Konditorei 皇后餅店 went extinct in Hong Kong, I thought I saw the last of those nougats, but now they are selling them at Queen's Cafe 皇后飯店.
Thanks to wanttoeat for getting me them.

She got me two flavours:
peanut
chocolate

Both were packaged in these cute cardboard packets which look like Russian dolls.
The chocolate one was really nice and chewy with crispy bits of rice and the peanut one tasted nutty, milky and not too sweet.