[Review 3788] Surprisingly good seafood dishes @ 龍圖閣海鮮飯店 Fresh Seafood Restaurant

29/10/2014
龍圖閣海鮮飯店  Fresh Seafood Restaurant
尖沙咀漆咸道南17-19號帝后廣場1樓
1/F, Empress Plaza, 17-19 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/surprisingly-good-seafood-dishes-e2401764

Not really a fan of Chinese food but the food here impressed me and there were expats dining here which was reassuring.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chinese soup:
1. 龍圖老火湯

Soup is a must in every Chinese meal.
It was not oily with a nice meaty taste, however the soup temperature could have been hotter.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Salted vegetables and clams:
2. 咸菜胡椒浸花甲

The clams were fresh and they were cooked in a broth with preserved salted vegetables which flavoured the clams nicely.
At the bottom, there were delicious glass noodles which absorbed the broth.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
3. 籠仔荷葉蒸花蚧糯米飯

Glutinous rice steamed with crab.
The glutinous rice was the highlight of the dinner because it was chewy but the grains of rice were distinct mixed with delicious sweet soy sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
4. 百花馬友蝦膠煎肉餅

These meat patties were delicious because they were crispy and salty mixed with minced prawns, fish and pork.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
5. 咕嚕肉
Sweet and sour pork

A classic dish that is served in China town that everybody likes.
The crispy pork was coated in sweet and sour sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
6. 法式焗元貝

The smell at first was very overpowering but the taste was really good because the sauce was creamy with mushrooms and bacon in it
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
7. 椒鹽白飯魚

These fried crispy whitebaits were extremely crunchy and crispy with a delicate fish taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
8. 生炒蠔鬆生菜包

This dish was creative because it was stir fried diced dried oysters and diced mushrooms which were great with lettuce wraps or rice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
9. 招牌鴛鴦雞一隻
Chicken in two ways:

I liked the plain chicken because the texture was springy and it had a natrual and strong chicken taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
10. 魚湯浸蕃薯苗

The vegetables were deliciously drenched in fish soup.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
11. 臘味煲仔飯

The wax smell was not too overpowering but this was not my cup of tea because I can't get used to the smell of the ceramic pot.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3787] Sweet Hazelnut ring @ Chubby Chummy

29/10/2014
Chubby Chummy
將軍澳港鐵將軍澳站22號舖
Shop 22, Tseung Kwan O Station, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/sweet-hazelnut-ring-chubby-chummy-e2401726

This shop has been here for ages but nothing looked good.
The rings looked like a possibly good sweet treat so I got the Hazelnut one.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hazelnut ring:
The ring texture was just like a moist cake made with lots of oil and the hazelnut smell was too artificial.
The taste was ok and not too sweet with a strong hazelnut paste that tasted like nutella.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎
The bill: $12

[Review 3786] Marks & Spencer's Earl Grey Tea @ Marks & Spencer Food Store

29/10/2014
Marks & Spencer 食品專門店  休息中
Marks & Spencer Food Store
中環蘇豪荷李活道32號建業榮基中心1樓
1/F, Kinwick Centre, 32 Hollywood Road, Soho, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/marks-spencers-earl-grey-tea-e2401725


Starbucks and Pacific Coffee were full so came here for tea.
 0 讚好

There was a good choice and it was only $20 per cup.

Since I have already bought their Jasmine teabags I decided to get the Earl Grey.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Earl Grey tea:
It was really good that they put the cup in an extra cup so that you won't burn your fingers.

The teabag contains good quality leaves which you can see.

The tea had an earthy earl grey taste and it was not as flowery as I would have liked.
The bergamot was not strong enough so next time I will stick with the Jasmine.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎
The bill: $20

[Review 3785] Tea at CUCINA @ Cucina

29/10/2014
Cucina
尖沙咀廣東道3號海港城馬哥孛羅香港酒店6樓
6/F, Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel, Harbour City, 3 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/tea-at-cucina-e2401724

I was a bit early for an event so went here for a quick cuppa.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Earl grey tea by Ronnefeldt:
The tea was really hot so had to let it cool down first.
It was a flavoured black tea with bergamot that had a delicate flowery taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎
The bill: $6x

[Review 3784] Bubbling hot pot!! @ 美心香港地 Maxim's Hong Kong Day

29/10/2014
美心香港地 Maxim's Hong Kong Day
將軍澳唐德街9號將軍澳中心地庫一樓B03b號舖
Shop B03b,Basement, 1/F,Park Central, 9 Tong Tak Street, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/bubbling-hot-pot-e2401721

I was in the area so went there for dinner because the environment was comfortable and clean.
Tried the two new hotpots with my friend.


+++++
胡椒豬肚雞煲
Chicken & pork belly with pepper in casserole

My friend had this and said the broth was creamy and nourishing with a hint of black pepper.
It was loaded with delicious preserved vegetables, chicken and pork belly.
The pork belly was surprisingly good because the texture was similar to abalone.
+++++
麻辣花膠雞煲
Chicken & fish maw with spicy sauce in casserole

This was my favourite because it was spicy with fragrant Sichuan peppercorns and tender pieces of chicken.
I left the fish maw in the pot for a longer time so that it would become softer.
When it was ready to eat, it was soft, gelatinous and intensely flavoured with spices.
+++++
凍蜜糖山楂雪梨茶
Pear, Chinese Hawthorn & honey tea

To finish off, the drink was soothing and cooling.
+++++

[Review 3783] Luxurious Hairy Crab Roe Set Menu @ 上海佬蟹莊 上海佬餐館 Shanghai Lo

29/10/2014


此店已改名為上海佬蟹莊
灣仔杜老誌道5號1樓
1/F, 5 Tonnochy Road, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/luxurious-hairy-crab-roe-set-menu-e2401642


Luxurious Hairy Crab Roe Set Menu
2014-10-29  4053 瀏覽
This is one of the best Hairy crab meals I have tasted this year and the price was affordable too!
It was Shanghainese food with crab roe without the fuss of eating the hairy crab itself.
It costs $498 per person which includes a starter, main course, dim sum, dessert and ginger soup.

After having this meal, you are definitely going to feel guilty because the photos will reveal why.
You will see that it is pure crab roe and crabmeat and generous amounts of it too with vibrant glistening crab oil surrounding it!

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Starters:
 0 讚好

To begin with we had Crispy bean curd sheet rolled with mushrooms, tea leaf smoked egg, garlic cucumber.
All of them were delectable especially the bean curd sheet roll and the creamy thick molten yolk from the egg which I used to dip the bean curd sheet in.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sauteed bean sheets with hairy crab roe:
To begin with, there was my favourite bean sheets which tasted so nice with crab roe, they were hot and springy and the hot crab roe was fragrant with golden orange crab oil coming from it.
 0 讚好

Crispy rice with hairy crab roe:
 0 讚好

It was interesting to see rice crackers in an Oriental dish, but these crackers were light and crispy with a roasted rice taste which went well with the savoury crab roe.
The crackers were rather filling.
Braised beancurd with hairy crab roe:
 0 讚好

More crab roe and this time it was paired with protein rich tofu which was silky and smooth.
Lasagne with hairy crab roe:
 0 讚好

This was the final dish and my favourite because it was a fusion of Italian pasta sheets with crabmeat and crabroe.
I loved the texture of the pasta sheets which were firm and neatly layered.
When I used chopsticks to break it into smaller pieces the lasagne did not collapse.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Steamed pork dumpling with hairy crab roe:
 0 讚好

The set finished with a plump pork dumpling oozing with pork and crab roe broth in the middle.
It was a satisfying meal because there were lots of carbohydates and proteins to satisfy your hunger.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Dessert was black sesame dumpling in ginger soup which I didn't try.
 0 讚好

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ginger tea:
 0 讚好

Ginger tea is always paired with hairy crab meal.
The ginger tea had a nice fiery kick to it and it was sweet which made it less spicy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The environment at this place is really classy and modern.



At the entrance on the ground floor, there is a really cheerful guy who I used to see working at the Causeway Bay branch of SASA cosmetics.
That guy has so much energy and charisma that he should be offered roles in movies or MTVs.
If it was not for him, I would have walked past Shanghai Lo without knowing it!!
Anyway, I will be back for the dim sum soon.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[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!