[Review 3501] Texas at Tin Hau @ Texas Burger

13/07/2014
Texas Burger
天后電氣道109號地舖
G/F, 109 Electric Road, Tin Hau
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/texas-at-tin-hau-e2376462

I was really excited with this new burger joint in Tin Hau because there are hardly any proper Western restaurants in that area.
It is now a popular place for expats and XBCs.
The menu is quite good and there are some interesting milkshakes and burgers.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Mexican Prawn burger:

The prawn burger and the vegetarian burger are the only two on the menu which are served in a poppy bun.
Unfortunately the bun was hard and stale, but I believe it may have been there for a while due to the lack of people ordering prawn burgers (the most expensive item) and not many people will go for the vegetarian burgers.

The prawn patty could have had more prawns because the patty texture was a bit rubbery compared to other prawn burgers.
Other than that, I loved the guacamole salsa and horseradish mayonnaise which gave it a nice medley of flavours.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

I believe the food will improve because they are constantly listening to peoples suggestions.
But I will return for the vegetarian burger and the curry.

◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎
Price: $8X

[Review 3500] Taiwanese and Spanish flair @ Espuma

13/07/2014
Espuma
尖沙咀厚福街8號H8 2樓
2/F, H8, 8 Hau Fook Street, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/taiwanese-and-spanish-flair-e2376456

Espuma is an interesting place to relax, the food and drinks have a nice Taiwanese touch with waffles and fruit teas yet they serve Spanish Tapas as well.

Unfortunately I was having dinner elsewhere that night so I settled for Jasmine orange tea and the Japanese mochi waffles.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Japon:

I had to try this because it was made with a mochi base which is why the waffle is white and pretty.
It was served with so many sides: red bean sauce, icecream, custard paste and syrup.
The waffles tasted nice on its own and I loved the chewy texture due to the mochi.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fresh orange juice with Jasmine tea:


This is the best fruit tea because you can actually taste the fresh orange juice as well as the Jasmine.
I am definitely coming back for this drink because it is not too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Coming back soon for Tapas!!!

[Review 3499] Venturing into Shamshuipo for food @ 大中華飯店 Tai Chung Wah Restaurant

13/07/2014
大中華飯店  Tai Chung Wah Restaurant
長沙灣福榮街539號地下
G/F, 539 Fuk Wing Street, Cheung Sha Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/venturing-into-shamshuipo-for-food-e2376396
Whenever people go to Shamshuipo, all they have is rice rolls, noodles with liver and tossed noodles.
Shamshuipo is also famous at night and there are many places to go if you know where.
On this visit, I joined a group of locals because I would not know how to get there and what to order.
The restaurant is quite secluded which explains why there are often celebrities dining there.
On the menu, there is a wide variety including retro dishes and new dishes with pictures.
Here was what we had.

Started off with a light but filling soup filled with wholesome goodies such as mustard greens, tofu and meat.
I loved the tofu and greens which were nourishing and the broth was nice with a hint of mustard green and soya bean taste.
 0 讚好

Then came the claypot of glutinous rice with preserved meats.
Usually preserved meats give off a strange waxy smell but this did not so I really enjoyed it and each grain of rice was distinct and al-dente.
 0 讚好

Then we tried chicken served in three different styles.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
1.「白切雞」
Steamed plain chicken
 0 讚好

The plain chicken was great because you could taste the natrual taste of the chicken and chicken skin.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
2.「沙彊雞」
Steamed chicken with ginger puree
 0 讚好

This was similar to the first but the sauce gave it an extra kick because there was some chili in it as well as ginger so the chicken was really tasty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
3.「土匪雞」
Bandit chicken (roast chicken)
 0 讚好

As a Westerner, this was my favourite.
It was perfectly roasted chicken with crispy skin.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Overall, the chicken had the texture and taste that chickens should have because they have been frozen at -65 degrees during the crucial 48 hours as soon as they have been slaughtered which preserves the taste and texture.
According to the staff, the chickens come from a town called Humen in Dong Guan and are selected for consumption when they are 3 months old and weigh 1.25kg (2.5catty).
They are corn fed and have not been administered antiobiotics.

[Review 3498] Gweilos unite @ Gweilo Bar & Grill

12/07/2014
Gweilo Bar & Grill
中環奧卑利街28 號
28 Old Bailey Steet, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/gweilos-unite-e2376022

I have always wanted to try this place for food but never got round to  it.
Finally went with a buy one get one free dinner given at the escalators.
The decor is nice.

The dinner menu.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Salad:
 0 讚好

A simple caesar salad.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Steak pie and chips:

The chips were stacked so nicely like jenga bricks.

It was served with a side of Branstons pickle and a pickled onion so I was quite happy that I did not have to visit a chippy for the pickled onion.


The chips were surprisingly good because they were not too crispy with a soft fluffy centre.
As expected the steak pie was amazing with a lovely puff pastry and delicious beef gravy inside with chunks of beef.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Typhoo Tea:

To finish off I was delighted with tea because they used Typhoo Teabags which is British.
It was strong and aromatic!

[Review 3497] MINI CLUB holds a lot of fun! @ Mini Club

12/07/2014
Mini Club
尖沙咀山林道29-31號地下A舖
Shop A, G/F., 29-31 Hillwood Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/mini-club-holds-a-lot-of-fun-e2376021

I don't drink so I don't go pubbing, but for British food I will go to pubs for my pub grub which is normally filled with expats.
At MINI CLUB, it is more of a Hong Kong style Western pub which is obviously filled with locals with one expat that night.
The food is slightly different and offers seafood platters and hams for sharing.
That night the expat who was sitting next to our table was not quite satisfied with the "BREAD" aka French Toast.
[The crispy crunchy toast that you can buy in British supermarkets]

As a BBC myself I could understand why because it was not Bread, but anyway, maybe he thought the food was going to be British style.
But as my general rule, I see if there are many expats there before judging on the food, however you shouldn't use this rule if there are special events such as LIVE football where people just flock for that reason regardless of the food.

Tried the abalone slices which were juicy and springy with a natrual sweet taste that did not require the sauce.
For the fish and chips I was quite impressed because the fish fillets reminded me of BIRD's eye fish fillets.
The only thing that let it down was the frying oil which had become slightly stale.
The fried eggs which I thought were going to be Scotch eggs were Thai style preserved eggs in a delicious golden prawn patty.

[Review 3496] Just the usual fare @ Common Grounds

12/07/2014
Common Grounds
上環永和街33號地下
G/F., 33 Wing Wo Street, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/just-the-usual-fare-e2376020

Common Grounds is not to be confused with Common Ground because they serve very different styles of dishes and both happen to be in the Central/Sheungwan area.
Honestly I was expecting a bit more because it was located in the Sheung Wan area.
The food served was the general Chinese style Western dishes that you can find elsewhere such as pasta, steaks and fish.
The salad was ok but the greens could have been more crisp.
The soup was ok but them cream on top made it a bit too creamy.
Out of the whole menu, the roast pork knuckle was the one I liked but the wasabi could not be tasted because it was meant to be honey and wasabi roasted pork knuckle.
The hot chocolate was quite nice but unfortunately it had rose in it which ruined it.
The lemon panna cotta was nice because the taste and texture was nothing like real panna cotta.
I actually liked the curd texture of the dessert and it was not too creamy like proper panna cotta.

[Review 3495] Go under the bridge for CRAB delights @ 橋底辣蟹 Under Bridge Spicy Crab

10/07/2014
橋底辣蟹 Under Bridge Spicy Crab
灣仔駱克道421-425號雅閣大廈地下至3樓
G/F-3/F, Ascot Mansion, 421-425 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/go-under-the-bridge-for-crab-delights-e2375571

Eating here was memorable and an invaluable experience as I have never officially had crab from a restaurant that specializes in crab.
While we were there, we filmed this food show called 食得招積.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
We started off with steamed crab in HuaDiao wine.

The steamed egg white was amazing because it was silky and full of wine flavour, while the crab was springy with a fermented wine taste.

Then we had the congee which was loaded with baby oysters, rice and thinly shredded ginger in a delicious sweet fish broth.

To finish off, we had the stir fried noodles in crab oil.
Each strand of noodle was evenly coated with fragrant crab oil balanced by the yellow chives.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
https://youtu.be/8tII68aUSjs
To watch this episode of 食得招積EP01 橋底辣蟹 hosted by 周中師傅, Miki and Supersupergirl and other shows by Aplus YUS, please visit the link below.
http://www.aplus510.com.hk/%E6%A9%8B%E5%BA%95%E8%BE%A3%E8%9F%B9-3/
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★