[Review 3343] Great food trashed by the box @ 新一派 味道 New Taste

05/05/2014
新一派 味道 New Taste
將軍澳常寧路2號TKO Gateway西翼地下W001-W002號舖
Shop W001-W002, G/F, West Wing, TKO Gateway, 2 Sheung Ning Street, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/great-food-trashed-by-the-box-e2361434

On my previous visit, the food was disgusting but decided to come back for the rice in lotus leaf.
I was expecting the rice to be wrapped in lotus leaves served in a steamer as shown but it when it came it was placed in an old wooden box.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lovely hygienic wooden box:
I wonder how much bacteria was on the box!!
From the colour it seems that the box is really old.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Steamed rice in lotus leaf with minced pork and preserved vegetables:
Anyway, I just spooned the rice in the middle.

Each grain of rice was coated evenly in sauce and it was slightly oily.

There were lots of dried squid in it which made it delicious.
However the rice could have tasted better because the box had this unpleasant odour.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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Price: $51

[Review 3342] Pat Chun -MOULDED- Foods @ 八珍醬園 Pat Chun Fine Foods

05/05/2014
八珍醬園  Pat Chun Fine Foods
中環威靈頓街75號地下
G/F, 75 Wellington Street, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/pat-chun-moulded-foods-e2361433

Walked past and saw some interesting Venison tendon dessert which is made with their famous sweetened vinegar.
 The attitude of the staff were not that friendly when I went in to purchase it.
Luckily I took photos before I ate otherwise I would not have spotted the mould on the edges.

Took it back and told them about the mould but they didn't really give a shxt.
They were nice enough to give a refund without saying anything or bothering to inspect the mould because ironically there is a 7-day guaranteed goods exchange printed on the receipt.

There was another case of mould in January, 2012 reviewed by 瞟客
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2217279

八珍糕品QC不夠認真
13-Jan 以＄120買了一底紅豆糕，盒上註明期限至 20-Jan（=七天）。
回家即放雪櫃，隔一天拿出來吃，見糕面已出現白點（=發霉）。shocked
抹去白點後試吃，酸的！mad 家人都說是裡面的奶份變了質。
紅豆糕賣這價錢不便宜，應該做好些品檢啊！ huffy
發誓今後不再買八珍紅豆糕！
不過他們售＄155 的蘿蔔糕依然很好味。
之前也試過一次（幸好祇一次），買了很硬很深色的蘿蔔糕，極難吃！
證明他們QC不夠認真，顧客要睹運氣！
祝大家好運！

[Review 3341] My favourite soybean soup @ 上海真美豆漿大王

05/05/2014
上海真美豆漿大王
將軍澳貿業路8號新都城中心3期地下G22號舖
Shop G22, G/F, MCP Discovery, 8 Mau Yip Road, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/my-favourite-soybean-soup-e2361416

This restaurant is quite good for quick Shanghainese snacks such as tofu, soymilk, rice with spare ribs etc.
However it is easily forgotten because it is located on a back street of some unpopular mall and the restaurant itself is quite grubby.

Anyway here was what I had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Soymilk:
Lightly sweetened soymilk with a mild soybean taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Savoury soymilk:
 2 讚好

This was item that I came for and it did not let me down.
There were generous amounts of tiny dried shrimps, preserved vegetables (jaa-choi), spring onions and fried dough sticks in the soymilk.
It reminded me of Western soup because it was thick and wholesome yet tasty because of all the tasty elements especially the preserved vegetables and fried dough sticks.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fried tofu:
 1 讚好

The tofu blocks were fried just right with a golden colour.
Inside it was soft and silky which tasted great with the chili bean sauce condiment on the table.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sweet soymilk with dumplings:
 1 讚好

I was disappointed with the dumplings because they used to taste really good.
The dumplings were too soft this time with holes and the fillings came out.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3340] Great tempura again @ 丸亀製麵 Marugame Seimen

05/05/2014
丸亀製麵  Marugame Seimen
尖沙咀彌敦道63號iSQUARE國際廣場6樓609號舖
Shop 609, 6/F, iSQUARE, 63 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/great-tempura-again-e2361415

I was so glad I had a tasting nearby or I would not have gone in for some tempura.
On this visit, they had huge long strips of squid which was not there last time and the quality of the tempura was good because they were freshly fried for the busy session to come.
I only had the squid and the egg because I don't like their udon.
Soy sauce with grated ginger and spring onions was self service from the condiments counter.

They also have forks and spoons for children.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tempura egg:
Again, another perfect egg with a runny yolk centre!!


It was simply delicous with the soy sauce complimented by the light crispy tempura coating.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Squid:



The squid was so satisfying because it was such a big piece and the coating was light and the squid inside was soft.
I should have dipped it in the egg yolk above and it would have tasted amazing.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

I would love to come here more often but the design of this mall is really crap because the escalators are randomly located.

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Price: $24

[Review 3339] Purple sweet potato icecream @ 甜品工房 The Dessert Kitchen

04/05/2014
甜品工房 The Dessert Kitchen
尖沙咀厚福街12-12A號地下
G/F, 12-12A Hau Fook Street, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/purple-sweet-potato-icecream-e2361345

TRIED THIS BEFORE THE GROUP BUY DEAL WHICH WAS WHY I COULD DINE IN.

To be honest, this desserterie has been opened for a long time but non of their desserts captivated me until now.

Currently in HK, there are about 10 shops that do nitrogen icecream.

The most successful one is Lab Made which was later copied by Tutti melon, and now this dessert place has it too.
The others ones are served in high end restarants such as AVA Splash.

Previously I have attempted to try Tutti melon but they ran out of nitrogen which was such a joke.

Anyway, at Dessert Expert, I was lucky because they had two flavours I wanted to try which are rotated fortnightly.
[Flavours that they had: black sesame and tofu, caramel pudding, white peach, dark chocolate, Okinawa brown sugar, purple sweet potato, cherry tomato and yoghurt and sweetcorn with lava salt.]

[at the time I dined, I did not know there was a special offer on Yahoo which was $20 for two scoops making nitrogen icecream DIRT CHEAP.
http://hk.deals.yahoo.com/hong-kong/offer/148353

I paid $70 for two scoops on this visit.
Compared to Labmade, it is so much cheaper so lets find out about the quality.

As with all nitrogen foods there is a risk of oesophagus burns like the teen girl who loses stomach after drinking liquid nitrogen cocktail in the UK.
So far there are no reported cases in Hong Kong yet.

It appears that they were using Nitrogen to make the icecream before the group buying offer but when I went during the group buying redemption period they just scooped the icecream from somewhere!!
 0 讚好

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
purple sweet potato:

It was really nice with a piece of dried sweet potato and sweet potato puree on top.
The sweet potato cracker was chewy and not crispy and the sweet potato puree was velvety but tasted artificial.
Anyway, the icecream was good because it was not too sweet but I did not like the artificial sweet potato taste which ruined it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
cherry tomato and yoghurt:

Surprisingly this was delicious by Hong Kong Standards because most places make savoury items taste sweet.
I went to Ice Cream Gallery for their savoury icecreams but they turned out to be sweet and disappointing.
This flavour was really nice and tasted how I expected it to be.
It was garnished with sundried tomatoes and croutons which reminded me of tomato flavoured icecream soup.
I loved the taste, it was savoury with a hint of tangyness from the tomato which matched perfectly with the yoghurt.
The croutons and sundried tomatoes went well with this flavour because they were related and you could associate it with Italian food or even tomato soup.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Photos of the desserterie:

Bird's eye custard
 0 讚好

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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Price: $70

[Review 3338] Sweet potato icecream @ Lab Made 分子雪糕專門店

04/05/2014
Lab Made 分子雪糕專門店 (已結業)
Lab Made Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Laboratory
尖沙咀彌敦道132號美麗華商場地下G42號舖
Shop G42, G/F., Miramar Shopping Centre, 132 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/sweet-potato-icecream-e2361292

Went to the TST branch to get the Anna Sui flavour and the shop was plastered all over with Anna Sui.
The aprons and icecream machinery were also plastered with Anna Sui too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Anna sui:

I was surprised it did not taste as good as I expected because I had a crappy Sweet potato nitrogen icecream at Dessert Kitchen and it had a stronger sweet potato flavour with real sweet potato puree in it.
In got a bit too sweet towards the end and I did not like the pieces of savoury potato crisps in the icecream.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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Price: $44

[Review 3337] Common Room reunion @ Common Room

04/05/2014
Common Room
中環和安里8-13號和安樓1樓
1/F, Wo On Building, 8-13 Wo On Lane, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/common-room-reunion-e2361290

At school, I have always been curious of the Teachers room, the only room that pupils could not enter so when we got our common room it felt really special.
It was a place just for 5th year pupils at secondary school.
Whilst it was exciting progressing on to the 5th year, at the same time I was dreading it because it was the last year of school before heading off to college and not everyone attends college so you don't see them anymore.
Thanks to Mjqueen7e for inviting me to The Common Room which reminded me of school.
It was a lovely gathering environment for drinks and food.
The small twisting flight of stairs at the entrance was interesting.
Anyway, here was what we tried:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pulled pork poutine:
 0 讚好

Melted chedder cheese and bbq sauce.
Addictive fries topped with delicious gravy and bbq sauce with melted cheese, and the pulled pork makes it satisfying.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chicken lollipops:
 0 讚好

Coated with maple syrup.
Irresistible chicken lollipops with a crispy coating enhanced by the maple syrup and sweet sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Charred sweet corn salad:
 0 讚好

This was simple and delicious, nachos topped with corn, purple onions and diced tomatoes flavoured with spices.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Flatbread:

caramelized onions, wild mushrooms, goats cheese and truffle.
This was a bit like pizza and a bit like crackers topped with delicious goats cheese on top with fragrant truffle and sweet caramelized onions and earthy mushrooms.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Portobello mushroom sliders:
 0 讚好

gruyere, caramelized onions and avocado.
These sliders were cute and I loved the way the mushroom was bigger than the bun.
It was really satisfying and meaty but not heavy because it was just a juicy mushroom in the middle with melted gruyere cheese and guacamole.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
WAGYU FOIE GRAS SLIDERS:
Caramelized onions, arugula and balsamic reduction.
 0 讚好

These cute burgers were meaty and paired nicely with the balsamic reduction which made it more appetizing.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Classic mac and cheese:
Buffalo mozzarella, gruyere, parmesan, gouda topped with breadcrumbs.

The macaroni was a little too heavy for my liking.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lobster linguine:
Spicy fresh half lobster in tomato sauce.

The pasta was al-dente but the tomato sauce was too spicy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lobster Risotto:
Lobster chunks, cream, garlic and white sauce

This was similar to the above but with delicious creamy risotto beneath it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
For drinks I had the LEMON LIME BITTER which was quite acidic at first but after the ice melted it was really refreshing with the food.