[Review 3782] Great place to enjoy food with friends @ Barg

27/10/2014
Barg
銅鑼灣耀華街3號百樂中心1樓
1/F, Bartlock Centre, 3 Yiu Wa Street, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/great-place-to-enjoy-food-with-friends-e2401517

Just behind Times Square is this great restaurant for gatherings because they offer a good range of Western food with reasonable portions!!
Started off with warm and delicious bread with roasted garlic that was so soft and fragrant that you spread on the bread.
As well as garlic, there was a delicious herb butter to complement it.
Then we had the appetizers and mains which really satisfied our hunger as well as being delicious.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fresh tua tua clams in white wine sauce
These fresh Australian clams were sweet with fragrant basil and thyme which really brought out the sweetness of the clams.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
French style crabmeat and Tiger King Prawn toasts
This was stunning, a huge King prawn on top of the toast, it was loaded with crabmeat too with a crispy herb crusted surface.
The crabmeat had a delicious herb taste with chunks of springy prawns.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Caesar salad with smoked salmon

The salad was light with chunky pieces of smoked salmon.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
grilled beef salad with japanese horseradish in sesame dressing

I loved this salad because the grilled beef was lean and it was paired with enoki mushrooms which brings out the best flavour of beef while the horseradish made it more flavourful.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
S Pizza (seafood with homemade spicy sauce)

I loved the thin pizza base but I found the sauce too spicy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
penne with arugula in pesto sauce
 0 讚好

The pasta is green with grassy arugula, a great option for vegetarians.
I would have liked the penne to be softer.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
king crab leg risotto

I loved the risotto, the rice was al-dente in rich tomato sauce with delicious pieces of shaved parmesan.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
crispy pork knuckle

The pork knuckle was amazing because the skin was crispy and the underside was gelatinous and chewy while the meat was soft and supple without being too salty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
char grilled natrual beef Tomahawk with grilled organic veg and french fries

The beef on bone was huge and it was served with the giant rib for a more dramatic presentation!!! The steak was a little tough, but it was flavourful, complex and well marbled.
It was juicy yet there was a nice charred taste on the surface however I would have liked it more bloody and softer.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
molten chocolate pudding, creme brulee

I only tried the creme brulee which was velvety with an eggy taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pina colada mocktail

The mocktail was so nice and cooling because the sharpness of the pineapple and coconut milk went well together.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I can't wait to come here again for gathering and share the pork knuckle and the huge Tomahawk beef!

[Review 3781] enjoy Appolo's new range of icecreams @ 阿波羅 enjoy Appolo

23/10/2014
阿波羅  enjoy Appolo
將軍澳坑口培成路15號連理街1樓131號舖
Shop 131, 1/F, the Lane, 15 Pui Shing Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/enjoy-appolos-new-range-of-icecreams-e2401427


Appolo is the oldest branch of froyo in Hong Kong where you choose the fruit of your choice to be blended with the yoghurt.
You used to find Appolo located in old malls, but since most malls have been rennovated, Appolo has also enhanced their brand with enjoy Appolo which is part of the Appolo Ice-cream Group.

enjoy Appolo makes ice cream cakes and rolls for selected Appolo retail stores in their new bakery located in Kwai Chung.

The shop decor of enjoy Appolo is girly with lots of pastel colours.
 0 讚好

Their cakes and desserts reflect the girly theme too.

They still serve traditional froyo as well for people who just want froyo.

I got the hami-melon froyo because I really like their fruit blended froyos.
 0 讚好

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
hami-melon froyo:
 0 讚好

 0 讚好

As always, the froyo tasted natrual with blended bits of hami-melon which had a icy sweet and savoury taste mixed with the gently sweet yoghurt.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎
The bill: $28

[Review 3780] Hydrating golden drink @ 渝酸辣粉 Yu

25/10/2014
渝酸辣粉  Yu
銅鑼灣耀華街4號
4 Yiu Wa Street, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/hydrating-golden-drink-e2401010

Came here especially for a drink and nothing else, so before I sat down I asked them if it was ok to just order a drink and they said yes so I sat down.
On the drinks menu, there were two drinks that I wanted to get:
-Cucumber soy milk
-Jasmine tea with bean jelly

As I was having dinner afterwards, I chose the tea.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Jasmine bean jelly tea:

There were longan berries in it.

I have tried this before and this time it was so much better because it was just slightly sweet with a strong Jasmine taste.
There was lots of jelly at the bottom which was refreshing and cooling.



★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
My previous visit:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2097860&con=rvw

◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎
The bill: $31
Service: OK

[Review 3779] Modern style roast suckling pig at BJ-Roaster! @ 正東胡同烤豬 BJ Roaster

25/10/2014
正東胡同烤豬 BJ Roaster
將軍澳貿業路8號新都城中心2期UG樓089-94號舖
Shop 089-94, UG/F, MCP Central, 8 Mau Yip Road, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/modern-style-roast-suckling-pig-at-bj-roaster-e2401009

I would have tried this earlier but there were so many dishes I wanted to try so went with more people.
There is an open kitchen where you can see the Chefs preparing the roast duck.
The roast suckling pig can also be seen being roasted through the window and you can feel the heat from it too.


Video of the the suckling pig being roasted.
The menu was good because the food was modernized which attracts people like me who are not keen on traditional Chinese food.

Here was what we had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hutong style crispy roasted pig:
It was a delight to order this because it was presented nicely on a wooden board, everything was neatly sliced and cut.
As well as cucumber, there was melon too to accompany the crispy roasted pig.
This is basically a Hutong suckling pig eaten in a Beijing style way wrapped in a pancake.
They give you honey mustard sauce as well as the traditional BBQ sauce with a side of salad in sesame dressing.

 1 讚好

Personally I liked traditional BBQ sauce but jam, English mustard or Dijon mustard would also taste great with it.
Anyway the pork was amazingly crispy and the fat was burnt off leaving deliciously crispy skin and tender pork which tasted so good with the sweetness of the melon, cucumber and the smokey BBQ sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sliced crispy pig with osmanthus pudding:
 1 讚好

This was the winner of all dishes!!!
The presentation was amazing with golden jelly in the middle.
I liked the layers of cracker, jelly, cucumber and pork but the only problem was that it was a bit fiddly to eat which I resolved by biting into two layers at a time.
The savouriness of the pork paired with crisp cucumber slices and sweet osmanthus pudding was just bliss and the crunch of the cracker on the bottom gave it more mouthfeel.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Barbecued peking duck:

The duck skin was glistening and crispy with duck meat as well which made it satisying to eat.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
green salad with sesame dressing

The salad in the modern metallic bowl was delicious because the sauce was strong and you could taste quite a bit of peanut butter which strangely tasted nice in the salad.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
beancurd rolls with minced wild vegetables

This was pretty and delicious, there was a fragrant sesame oil taste contrasted by the grassy vegetables and a slight hint of coriander.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Vegetarian beancurd duck:

This was diced mushrooms and vegetables in a beancurd roll which I found impressive because the beancurd was delicious and crispy with moist juicy vegetable filling.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
marinated chicken in Chinese wine

The chicken was a bit bony but the texture of the chicken was really good because it was firm and meaty infused with fragrant Chinese wine.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
supreme soup with bamboo shoots

Soup is always a must in a Chinese meal, I enjoyed it because it had nice flavours coming from the pork and beancurd pieces.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
deep fried prawns with salted egg yolk

The prawns were huge, coated in delicious salty and crispy egg yolk, but it would be great if the shell was removed to make it easier to eat.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
fish fillets in hot chili oil:

To be honest the fish was too spicy because I tried it with the tip of my tongue and it was just too spicy for me.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
pork ribs in plum sauce

The ribs are sweet and sticky which would make a great dish for children.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
shredded peking vegetable:

A must for any meal, plain stir fried vegetables which are crisp and sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Shanghai style dumplings

The dumplings were bursting with meat broth which was delicious with the addition of vinegar to balance the heaviness.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
pan fried pork bun

These buns are interesting because they are soft on the top with a crispy pan fried base filled with juicy minced pork.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
signature fried rice

The fried rice was full of goodness because there was quite a bit of ginger in it giving it a delicious fiery kick.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
peking style hand made pastry

The hand made pastry was similar to roti but flakier which would be great with curry sauce or sweet and sour sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
jasmine dragon pearls

Their tea selection was huge with some teas from Africa and Taiwan.
Mine was Jasmine which was fragrant and got stronger as it stood.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Deep fried souffle ball stuffed with mochi

These souffle balls were a treat because they had mochi inside which gives it an interesting chewy filling with sweet icecream inside the mochi.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Overall the whole experience was good and I loved the modern presentation and the use of Western ingredients to enhance the taste.