[Review 3818] Great Steaks @ Shelter Lounge

08/11/2014
Shelter Lounge
上環新街5-13號環球大廈地下A舖及1樓
Shop A,G/F.&1/F., Universal Building, 5-13 New Street, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/great-steaks-e2403821

Went here again because of the reviews.
The evening ambience was much better and the food was different.

Here was what we had:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Oysters $40/pc
Bourriche,  La Perle De Quehan, L'emeraude.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Seafood Ceviche $128
 0 讚好

This was refreshing, delicious pieces of seafood soaked in refreshing lime juice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Heirloom Tomato $108
 0 讚好

This was my favourite, sweet and crisp tomatoes in three different colours with creamy soft buffalo cheese.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tagliatelle with prawn $198
 0 讚好

The pasta tasted like egg pasta because they were quite soft and the sauce was a bit too sweet for my liking.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Miso Salmon $148
Wasabi mash, japanese pickle and ginger
 0 讚好

The salmon was glistening and silky brushed with sweet teriyaki sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Truffle and Mushroom risotto $188
Italian black truffle, mixed mushroom, parmesan
 0 讚好

The texture of the risotto was really good but I found it too creamy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Beef Entrecote (portion for 2) $568
30oz rib eye in bone and seasonal vegetables
 0 讚好

This was my favourite, the beef was soft and supple.
 0 讚好

It was sweet with a juicy beef taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Panna Cotta with white peach and coconut ice cream $68
 0 讚好

 0 讚好

This dessert was amazing espeically the coconut icecream which had a refreshing fragrant pandan taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tiramisu $49
 0 讚好

The tiramisu was surprisingly good because it had a strong alcoholic taste and it was extremely light.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chocolate Tart $49
 0 讚好

The tart was really dense and rich with a bitter aftertaste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ice cream puffs
 0 讚好

I was too full to try this but expresso icecream was gorgeous with a really strong bitter kick.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

To summarize I would recommended the Heirloom tomatoes, steak and desserts.

[Review 3817] Undiscovered spot for great gatherings @ Casa Pennington

08/11/2014
Casa Pennington
銅鑼灣邊寧頓街13-15號隆堡柏寧頓酒店三樓
3/F, Hotel Pennington by Rhombus, 13-15 Pennington Street, Causeway Bay, H.K., Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/undiscovered-spot-for-great-gatherings-e2403819

This place is located on the 3rd floor of the Pennington hotel but easily missed despite its grand hotel entrance which is often blocked by hoards of people lining up for the bus on a NARROW pavement which is only wide enough for one person.

After battling my way past the people, I arrived at a nice tranquil restaurant with a seafood bar.
We had quite a feast that night.

Here was what we had:

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Oysters:
Started with oysters from France.
We had La Boite a Bijoux and the Gillardeau.


One had a sweeter note at the end while the other one was strong and salty.
Every night, there are six different oysters that are on a buy one get one free promotion.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crabe Tourteau:
 0 讚好

To be honest, I just enjoyed the crab roe part and the grey matter which had a rich and strong crab taste with a seawater taste.
 0 讚好

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Scampi from South Africa:
 0 讚好

It was visually stunning to see the whole scampi in its beautiful coral pink shells.
 0 讚好

The scampi was sweet and springy that it did not require any seasoning.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Razor Clam & Crab Meat Salad:
 0 讚好

This was ok, I liked the crab and shimeji mushrooms but razor clams are not my cup of tea.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Beef Carpaccio:
 0 讚好

The beef was thinly sliced and the olive oil pearls gave it some flavour.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hokkaido Scallop Carpaccio:
 0 讚好

The scallops were sweet flavoured by the salmon roe which gave bursts of saltiness.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crispy French Foie gras with balsamic and lime sorbet:
 0 讚好

The foie gras had wonton pastry wrapped on the outside which made it crispier.
It was silky and velvety paired with a lime sorbet to refresh the palate.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sea Urchin Linguini:
 0 讚好

Sea urchin lovers are going to love this, each strand of linguini was thickly covered in creamy sea urchin sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Duck Foie Gras Linguini:
 0 讚好

This was my favourite, I loved the al-dente linguine tossed in the oil from the foie gras.
On top, there were so many pieces of foie gras.
I think it would taste nicer if there was a hint of black pepper or some chili flakes.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crab Risotto - Alaskan King Crab Leg, Spinach Cream Sauce:
 0 讚好

The risotto was quite chalky, I would have preferred it to be softer but the lovely spinach sauce and crab meat made up for it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Vol-au-vent - Stuffed with Escargot, herb butter:
 0 讚好

These were delicious vol au vents filled with aromatic herb butter with a juicy plump escargot in the middle.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lobster Thermidor:
 0 讚好

The lobster was stunning, beneath it was a thick concoction of cheese and lobster that was amazing with bread.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Daily special - Coq au Vin:
 0 讚好

The chicken was tender with a strong wine taste paired with creamy mash beneath it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Souffle Grand Marnier - fresh fruits, grand marnier:
 0 讚好

The texture of the souffle is a bit different from the usual ones, it was icy and cake like with a strong orange taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pear Tarte Tatin - caramelized pastry, cream:
 0 讚好

This was huge tart with four halves of a pear on each quarter, the tart was extremely buttery with juicy hot pears on top.
The middle of the tart was a bit dense and could have risen more.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lemon Tartufo - lemon custard, fresh fruits:
 1 讚好

This was the best dessert in terms of presentation and taste.
It was light and airy with a refreshing zesty taste.
 0 讚好

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
black chocolate fondant:
 0 讚好

Loved this rich gooey dessert with chocolate oozing from the middle.
 0 讚好

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 3816] Crispy wings @ hot & in Bakery

06/11/2014
hot & in Bakery 
鰂魚涌海光街13-15號海光苑地下16號舖 (位於 Circle K 便利店內)
Shop16, G/F., Hoi Kwong Court, 13-15 Hoi Kwong Street (Inside Circle K), Quarry Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/crispy-wings-e2403423
Crispy wings
2014-11-06  624 瀏覽
 0 讚好

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Crispy wings:

These wings were surprisingly good, they were crispy and hot.
The chicken was tender and tasty and the coating really good because it was light and crispy without being too salty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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The bill: $1x

[Review 3815] Okinawa brown sugar bun @ 熱賣點 Hot Shot

06/11/2014
熱賣點 Hot Shot
葵涌賢麗苑商場1號舖
Shop 1, Yin Lai Court Shopping Centre, Kwai Chung
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/okinawa-brown-sugar-bun-e2403422


Okinawa brown sugar bun
2014-11-06  740 瀏覽
The Okinawa brown sugar bun looked good so decided to try it.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Okinawa brown sugar bun:

It was soft and fluffy but a little dry for my liking.
The brown sugar taste was light and it was not too sweet.


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎
The bill: $1x

[Review 3814] SAMA's bear vs the tiger!! @ SAMA HK

06/11/2014
SAMA HK  營業中
中環歌賦街51A地舖
G/F., 51A Gough Street, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/samas-bear-vs-the-tiger-e2403418

Decided to try this place because they offer soup curry from Sapporo.
Currently, there are a Jungle of curries in Hong Kong with nearly every beast including Tiger Curry, Cat's eye curry, insect world's bee curry and now the BEAR!~!!!
The mascot at SAMA is a hungry bear which reminded me of the tiger at Tiger Curry when I saw this bright yellow logistics van on the way there.


It is a compact shop on Gough Road.



The menu has a golden cover with the hungry bear at the front.

Inside the menu, it shows an introductory about the soup curry.

There are three different bases for the curry soup:
tomato, coconut and prawn.

After choosing the broth you select the level of spiciness.

They had green tea salad on the menu which I am going to try next time.

There are two portion sizes: regular/half.
You then choose rice or udon to go with the curry.
It would have been helpful if they told me the rice was unlimited because the rice that went with the half portion was actually quite tiny so I ordered gyozas because I was still hungry.
The only difference between the regular and half is the curry portion, the rice portions are the same.
I felt that the half portion was very sufficient because it was quite salty so more rice was preferable.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Natto curry with prawn broth:
The natto curry with prawn broth was amazing because the soup was very viscous but you could not eat much of it because it was really salty which was why I need more rice.
There was lots of Rosemary in it and aromatic green peppers as well as okra which made it taste like Western casseroles.
The minced meat in the curry was good too because it was fresh and didn't have any weird taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tomato broth curry with chicken:


The tomato broth curry was disappointing because it was very sweet and tasted like Chinese style Western onion soup with pureed onions and not much tomato taste to it.
The chicken leg was smaller than my expectation but it was lovely and soft.
For this one I chose the udon which I did not like because it was chewy and sweet.
It would be great if they had ramen or soba as a choice or proper inaniwa udon which has a thinner strand.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Gyozas:

The gyozas had too much garlic puree and it was like eating a crispy gyoza filled with garlic puree.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎
The bill: $1xx