[Review 4514] Lunch is better @ Ilis

07/08/2015
Ilis
尖沙咀山林道13-15號地下A1-A2號舖
Shop A1-A2, G/F, 13-15 Hillwood Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/lunch-is-better-e24766954

Lunch is a better deal because the food and portions are the same as dinner but cheaper.
Salted duck for dinner which was the same size as lunch but costing more.
See earler review for lunch experience.
Tried the beef tendons, which were a bit disappointing, because they were served chilled which makes them chewy and not gelatinous.
The sauce was nice with a strong sesame oil taste and spices.

[Review 4513] Pandan softserve @ 摩豆 Modos

04/08/2015
摩豆 Modos
旺角花園街174號A1舖
Shop A1, 174 Fa Yuen Street, Mong Kok, Mong Kok
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/pandan-softserve-e2475557

I have been meaning to try the tofu puddings at this place but couldn’t find it on the first attempt because I was in the wrong part of MK.
I managed to stumble across it when I was not looking for it and ended up trying the softserve because I love pandan flavoured things.
The joint was nice but out of place in MK because it would probably do better on the HK side.
Anyway, the annoying loudspeaker at the counter was pumping out music which made it hard to order and ask about stuff.
 1 讚好

There is a loyalty card given to you when you buy desserts but it is kind of confusing because you get a stamp for spending over a certain amount which is not mentioned on the terms and conditions on the card.

There were quite a few options for the softserve but I went for the plain pandan because I wanted to see how it tastes.

There are two fancy ones, one has red beans and mochi and the other one has softserve and tofu pudding with a molecular ball of pandan syrup to release sweetness when you eat the tofu pudding.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Pandan softserve:

The pandan softserve was really nice with a fragrant pandan taste but it didn’t need that extra syrup because it made it a bit too sweet for my liking.
It is meant to light green but the photo does not show.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Pandaniac (normal):

The drink was amazing because I love water infused with fresh pandan leaves but the pandan syrup made it a bit too sweet for my liking.
The colour of natrual pandan and mint is not green when the flavour is extracted but green colouring is used to make it look more attractive.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Pandaniac (without syrup):

Tried it without the syrup and it tastes like water with a fragrant pandan aftertaste.
The pandan flavour is not as strong as the above because the pandan syrup is a pandan concentrate which maximizes the pandan taste.
Anyway, it was nice having a sweet free one because it tastes the same as the pandan water given at this Thai restaurant in Wan Chai.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
I can't wait to go back and try the tofu pudding and one of the fancy dessert cups.
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The bill: $65

[Review 4512] A-list icelollies @ 英王麵包店 A-1 Bakery

04/08/2015
英王麵包店  A-1 Bakery
將軍澳貿業路8號新都城中心1期2樓259-260號舖
Shop 259-260, 2/F, MCP l, 8 Mau Yip Road, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/a-list-icelollies-e2475554

I was surprised to discover that A-1 bakery sold icelollies.
There are four flavours with dummy icelollies to show what it looks like inside.
Green tea and red beans, rum and raisin, dark chocolate and strawberry, banana and chocolate.

All of them are coated with chocolate.
The only one I wanted to try was the rum and raisin.

The candies on the icelolly stuck to the wrapper when you took it out so the design wasn’t that good.

Anyway, the rum icecream was gorgeous with juicy sweet raisins in every bite but the only thing that spoilt it was the cheap chocolate coating that was soft and horrible and I hate white chocolate.
Decent chocolate should be crisp and not like soft plastic.

The other flavours were tempting but I didn’t try it because it strawberry and banana might taste artificial.
I would have tried green tea but it had red beans which I don't like.
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The bill: $22

[Review 4511] Chinese style pasta @ 意粉屋 The Spaghetti House

03/08/2015
意粉屋 The Spaghetti House
將軍澳坑口重華路8號東港城160舖
Shop 160, East Point City, 8 Chung Wa Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/chinese-style-pasta-e2475473

After seeing lots of promotion on the spaghetti with scallops and dill in lemon sauce, I decided to check it out.
Unfortunately, it was Honked Chinese style pasta.

Firstly there was black pepper and flying fish roe in it which was not shown on the product shot, then the star of the show DILL was missing!

The worst fxxk up was the lemon sauce, they did not use fresh lemon but some stupid lemon syrup that tasted sweet and the pasta was laced in oil.
 1 讚好

It is so sad that Spaghetti house and Pizza Hut serve Chinese style Western dishes!
This dish would probably pass the taste test of a local HKer because they probably don't know what dill is and localized lemon sauce is sweet anyway.
NOT TASTY AND NOT FUNNY, the opposite of their menu motto.
 2 讚好

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The bill: $1xx

[Review 4510] Dimsum at Gold Medal Seafood Hot Pot @ 金牌海鮮火鍋 Gold Medal Seafood Hot Pot

03/8/2015
金牌海鮮火鍋 Gold Medal Seafood Hot Pot
佐敦吳松街182號榮國中心1樓
1/F, Wing Kwok Centre, 182 Woosung Street, Jordan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/dimsum-at-gold-medal-seafood-hot-pot-e2475454

My friend took me here so I assumed we were having hotpot but it turns out that they do dim sum during the day.
My favourite was the beef shaomai because it had a strong orange peel taste.
The roast pork buns were also good because the pastry was crisp with sweet pork inside.
The next best were the truffle and mushroom dumplings which had a fragrant truffle taste.
We also had shaomai's which were springy because they had whole prawns inside.
As this place is famous for hotpots, I'll be back for hotpots.

[Review 4509] Green Monday with new dishes @ 素食主意 Sooo Vegi

03/08/2015
素食主意 Sooo Vegi
北角蜆殼街4號宇宙商業大廈3號舖地下
Shop 3, G/F, Universal Commercial House, 4 Shell Street, North Point
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/green-monday-with-new-dishes-e2475453

Found out from the other branch of Soo Vegi that there were new dishes at this joint so went here.
It was packed with people as usual.
Here was what I had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Lemonade:

This was basically lemon squash which was refreshing and not too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Mushroom soup:

Started off with a mushroom soup which was hearty and earthy with a dash of cream.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Chilled Shredded Veg. Chicken with Bean Pasta in Sesame paste $30
Veg. Curry Puff $30:

I ordered this and it was nice on a hot day.
Cool sheets of bean pasta in this savoury sesame paste that was not too sweet complemented by fresh cucumber.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Veg. Ham, mushrooms, preserved Veg with bean Sprout and Rice $40:


This was a nice dish because beanshoots have a high water content hence it was light and thirst quenching!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Braised eggplant with Preserved Vegetables and Rice $40:


This was a creative dish because they used preserved vegetables instead of salted fish which also makes it tasty.
I would have liked the aubergines to be cut into smaller chunks so that the aubergines would be tastier.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

[Review 4508] Sijie Sichuan Restaurant from Wanchai to CWB @ 四姐川菜 Sijie Sichuan Restaurant

03/08/2015
四姐川菜 Sijie Sichuan Restaurant
銅鑼灣耀華街3號百樂中心10樓
10/F, Bartlock Centre, 3 Yiu Wa Street, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/sijie-sichuan-restaurant-from-wanchai-to-cwb-e2475127

Sijie is a new restaurant in CWB but not new because they used to have a restaurant in Wan Chai.
They open at 6:30pm but customers were already there at 6pm and the tables were fully booked.
I liked the menu there because it works out to $300 per person and you get to choose two appetizers and 3-4 main dishes and when there is more people you can choose more and they adjust the portions and it still costs $300 per head.

Here was what I had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sichuan cold noodles:

Came here for this and it did not disappoint, each strand was tossed in this fragrant Sichuan sauce that was not too spicy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chongxing style steamed chicken with chili sauce:

A nice start to the meal with spicy chilled chicken.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cucumber and century egg soup:

Tried this because the pairing of cucumber and century egg was interesting.
It was soothing but the soup was quite salty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Smothered chicken with chestnuts:

Surprisingly, this was the spiciest dish out of the whole meal when I was least expecting it and the chicken was very bony.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sauteed frog with red chili:

The frog meat was very tasty but a bit too salty and dry.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Poached fish in chongxing style:

As expected, the fish is not as spicy as it looks and the slices of fish were big and silky, great with rice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I would dine here more often but the elevators suck.