[Review 4275] Thai dinner by the harbour @ Namo Avant Thai Restaurant

24/04/2015
Namo Avant Thai Restaurant
尖沙咀麼地道68號帝國中心G18號舖
Shop G18, Empire Centre, 68 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/thai-dinner-by-the-harbour-e2444258

Thai dinner by the harbour
2015-04-24  3911 瀏覽
I don’t normally dine in Kowloon but tried this place because of the lovely harbour view and vibes.
It is a popular spot for people nearby to have drink afterwork.
Anyway, we sat inside and tried some items on the spring menu.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pink basil:
 0 讚好

This was made with a sweet concoction of pomegranate, Thai basil, guava syrup, lime juice and egg white.
The drink was sweet with a lovely basil in the taste to give it more dimension.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tuna tower:
 0 讚好

This was a nice starter with tuna tartare and creamy avocado dressed in tangy lime dressing that made it moresh.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Coffin bay oysters:
 0 讚好

The oysters were big and fresh.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chicken charms:
 0 讚好

I loved these pieces of fried chicken because they were crispy and coated in mild spicy sauce that was slightly creamy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lobsters in two ways:


The lobster was served in two ways, one was made into Tom Yum Kung soup but unfortunately it was too salty.
The other was served in a egg cream curry which was delicious with rice because the lobster was springy and the curry sauce was just perfect with the rice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Banana-mundi:

This was barramundi wrapped in banana leaf hence the name banana-mundi,
The fish was delicate and silky surrounded in aromatic herbs and fragrant sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
chiang mai ribs:

As well as the fish, the ribs were good because the curry sauce was really tasty and there was also light pumpkin puree that gave it some sweetness.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ticky-lice:
 0 讚好


I ordered this because of the tri coloured layers of sticky rice, there was a layer of purple glutinous rice, then coconut glutinous rice and pandan glutinous rice which was sweet and satisified my dessert cravings.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

[Review 4274] Eat like an official! @ 禮賓傅 Lai Bun Fu

24/04/2015
禮賓傅 Lai Bun Fu
中環安蘭街18號5樓
5/F, 18 On Lan Street, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/eat-like-an-official-e2444257

When I first heard of this restaurant, I really fell for it because the pronunciation is the same as the Government house 禮賓府 so I was a bit surprised that the public could go in for food.
Anyway, it turns out the name of the restaurant is 禮賓傅 which is still pronounced the same but the last word means Master.
Although the name is slightly different, it is still related to the ‘Government House’ because this place serves dishes that were served to officials at the ‘Government House’ because Chef Chung previously catered for government officials there.
Chef Chung has previously prepared dishes for world leaders such as President of PRC Xi Jinping, Premier of PRC Li Keqiang, Prime Minister of Russian Dmitry Medvedev, and former President of PRC Hu Jintao, former President of the United States George Bush and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher.
Lai Bun Fu is themed with elements from colonial days with Chinese antiques and British bits and pieces.

I was really lucky to try their Saturday brunch, which is a 4-course brunch costing HK$368 which has dishes that were served to the government officials.
For a more luxurious experience, diners can choose Free-flowing Prosecco, Italian Bellavista NV Cuvee Brut priced at HK$518, or French Jacques Picard Brut Champagne at HK$618, and unlimited juices and soft drinks at HK$398.

 0 讚好

The SATURDAY four course brunch includes three gourmet appetisers, main course, rice or noodles, and dessert.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Among the three appetisers to choose from are Sesame Prawn Cutlets on Toast, Deep-fried Breaded Crab Claw, Sautéed Minced Pigeon with Lettuce Cup, Peking-style Roasted Chicken, Deep-fried Prawn Mousse Stuffed with Shunde Milk Chips, and Deep-fried or Steamed Egg White Dumpling with Fungus and Mushroom.
 0 讚好


From the six above I liked the prawn toasts because you will be surprised to find a layer of foie gras in between!
My second favourite was the dumpling filled with diced mushrooms and fungus and another good one to choose is the minced pigeon.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Soup (a la carte item):

The soup that day was preserved vegetables with eel which had an interesting strong white peppery taste and it was my first time having eel soup.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
The main dish is a choice from the following:
Stir-fried Vegetarian Shark Fins with Shredded Abalone and Scrambled Egg,
 0 讚好

Fresh Crabmeat Stir-fried with Egg White and Milk,

Deep-fried Crispy Angus Beef Brisket with Curry Sauce,

Scrambled Egg with Prawns,
Sautéed Spring Beans with Diced A4 Japanese Wagyu Beef,

Stir-fried Fish Maw Shallot (for an extra HK$90),

half portion of Sifu’s Crispy Chicken with 5 Flavour Condiments (for every 2 diners).


All the dishes above were damn good! So it would be hard to decide hence I suggest going with more people especially the chicken because the five sauces are modern and fruity with roselle, blueberry, red beancurd, green tea salt and lemon!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
For the main course it is a choice of Fried Rice or E-fu Noodles with Abalone Sauce.

Both were good but I preferred the rice because it was tastier and had quite a lot of ingredients in it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lastly, brunch ended with dessert which was a light coconut sago that was not too sweet.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
As well as the brunch menu, the a la carte is also served.

At the end, we were given a lovely crystal filled pen which will go in my crystal filled pens collection!

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[Review 4273] CHEF on stage at CHEF STAGE @ CHEF STAGE de Eddy Chu

24/04/2015
CHEF STAGE de Eddy Chu
尖沙咀亞士厘道17-19號19樓
19/F, 17-19 Ashley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/chef-on-stage-at-chef-stage-e2444255

I am not quite sure what to make of this restaurant but the head Chef Eddy Chu is an aspiring restaurant consultant, who has been a consultant for one of the French restaurants I have been to.
The menu here is interesting, it is not purely Western food because the Chef hopes to cater for locals which is why they have items like the crispy bun (ju jai bao) and roti with curry sauce that is out of the blue!

Here was what I had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Japanese new year cake with truffle sauce:

I didn’t realize I had picked a popular dish but it was interesting because you could imagine it like Asian chewy gnocchi. It would be great if there was cheese in the sauce as well.
I found the sauce really creamy which is very palatable and suited for local tastes.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
US short rib beef with honey gravy:

The meat was soft but it was quite bony.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Grilled beef, linguini in tomato sauce:


It was a bargain because it had beef slices on top but I found the tomato sauce too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
After trying the food I felt that Chef Chu has succeeded in catering for local tastes because locals tend to go for creamy and sweet dishes!
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[Review 4272] Sweet potato latte @ 夏雪 Summer Ice

23/04/2015
夏雪 Summer Ice
西環堅尼地城厚和街6-18號滿發大廈地下D舖
Shop D, G/F, Full Harvest Building, 6-18 Hau Wo Street, Kennedy Town, Western District
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/sweet-potato-latte-e2443952

There were still items that I wanted to try so went back for them.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Purple potato affogato:

The icecream just tasted like the usual softserve which was quite sweet and the purple potato sauce just made it sweeter.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hot purple potato latte:
 0 讚好

Compared to the one at Gaba concept, this one tasted quite artificial because of the purple potato syrup.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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The bill: $70

[Review 4271] DK Cuppa expands! @ DK Cuppa Tea

21/04/2015
DK Cuppa Tea
上環新街市街19號地舖
G/F, 19 New Market Street, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/dk-cuppa-expands-e2443469


Previously tried the other branch but this new branch is much better because they serve salads, drinks and cakes.
As I was having dinner I only had the greek yoghurt cheese cake.

There were five flavours:
Rose
Lavender
Lemongrass
Lemon and ginger
Bergamot and grapefruit
Truffle chocolate
Peppermint chocolate
 1 讚好

I could only choose the bergamot and grapefruit because I get dizzy with floral scents.
There was a truffle cream lavender latte which looked delicious but again lavender makes me queasy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
bergamot and grapefruit greek yoghurt cheese cake:

It looked slightly different to the product shot because there was no biscuit base but just as well because I don't like the biscuit base.
Anyway the pairing of citrus flavours and bergamot went nicely and the texture was thick and creamy but it was slightly icy.
The lady was really nice and gave me extra fruits on the side
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I was also given an earl grey tea cookie which was really fragrant and crumbly.

I will definitely come back to this secret garden soon!
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The bill: $1xx
Service: good

[Review 4270] Roasted chicken leg at IKEA @ 宜家家居美食站 IKEA Bistro

21/04/2015
宜家家居美食站  IKEA Bistro
銅鑼灣告士打道310號柏寧酒店地庫
Basement, The Park Lane Hong Kong, 310 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/roasted-chicken-leg-at-ikea-e2443451

On my last visit I didn't know that there were chicken legs because it was not on the menu.
I only saw them behind the counter when I collected my food.
Anyway, on this visit, there was a small sign near the counter which is really useless because by the time you are at the till, you have already ordered or made up your mind.

I got the set for $16 because they don't sell the chicken leg a la carte.
It comes with fizzy drinks which I don't drink.
The chicken leg was really good, I loved the skin because it was roasted to the point that it was moist and thin while the chicken inside was soft and juicy with chicken oil and juice dripping from it.

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The bill: $16