[Review 4526] Great condiments and broths for hotpots @ 龍閣極上火鍋料理 Dragon Court Premium HotPot Cuisine

12/08/2015
龍閣極上火鍋料理  Dragon Court Premium HotPot Cuisine
旺角西洋菜南街51號友誠商業中心2至3樓
2/F-3/F, Yau Shing Commercial Centre, 51 Sai Yeung Choi Street South, Mong Kok
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/great-condiments-and-broths-for-hotpots-e2478814

Hotpots can be boring when the broth and condiments are just the typical items.
I liked it here because there are some unique dipping sauces for the hotpot

There were other options as well as hotpots such as the roast suckling pig, plump meaty goose and sashimi.

Here was what we had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Fresh Chinese yam with blueberry sauce:
 0 讚好

Started off with fresh boiled Chinese yam which has a starchy texture complimented by the sweet blueberry sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Crispy pork belly:
 0 讚好

Next we had the crispy pork belly which were cut neatly into cubes.
The pork skin was crispy and the layers of fat and pork were even that it gave it a soft and meaty texture.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Roasted goose:
 0 讚好

The goose was served in a glass dish and it the goose meat was velvety.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Roasted suckling pig:
 0 讚好

The suckling pig was served sizzling on black pebbles which kept it hot.

The pork was soft and tender that it almost melted in your mouth.


★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Double boiled whelk and peach tree gum soup:


I liked this clear soup because there was a strong whelk taste and there were bits of glistening peach tree gum which is resin from peach trees.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Sashimi:

This was a fresh platter of assorted sashimi.
My favourites were the salmon and scallop.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
After we finished the starters, it was time for hotpot and the first thing you do is mix your sauce.
 0 讚好

They have minced dried prawn paste which is different.

There is also grated galangal (sand ginger) and crispy XO sauce.
I definitely recommend lots of galangal because it has an aromatic taste and makes everything in the hotpot taste good.

Chinese drunken chicken broth:

For the broth we had the drunken chicken which had a strong Chinese herb taste.
It got sweeter because of the red dates.

Here were the items we put in our hotpot.
Deluxe marble beef slices:

Sea cucumber with prawn roe dumplings:

Assorted minced platter:

Black and white cuttlefish balls:

Vegetables:

Fish:

The fish was great because they gave you the WHOLE FISH.
Personally I think the head, fins and the tail taste the best.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎

[Review 4525] Memories of school canteen @ Pati by Lassana

12/08/2015
Pati by Lassana
荔枝角青山道688-690號嘉名工廠大廈地下VeryFood Court 11-12號舖
Shop 11-12, VeryFood Court, G/F, Kaming Factory Building, 688-690 Castle Road, Lai Chi Kok
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/memories-of-school-canteen-e2478505

If you live or work in Lai Chi Kok, you will know that there are not many food options.
There are two sides in Lai Chi Kok, the industrial side which branches to Cheung Sha Wan and the residential side.
The residential side has slightly more food options thanks to D2 and the Industrial side is just getting better with Pati by Lassana.
Pati by Lassana is located in a food court, which did not exist a few years ago, the food choices were impressive and reminded me of the canteen at school and university.

There were all my favourites such as salads, baked potatoes, chicken and even fried fish.
With all these delicious items in front of me, I had to pig out so I had the set, which comes with a drink and ordered an extra chicken drumstick.


The fish was really good because the breadcrumb coating was crisp with no rancid oil taste and the fish was flakey. Next time I will stop them from putting the weird Chinese salad cream because its sweet and weird.
As for the chicken drumsticks, it was also satisfying because it was meaty and moist but again I didn’t like that Korean sauce.
To conclude, the food is fit for expats if they don’t put Chinese sauces on it.
For drinks I was glad there was Earl Grey tea because HK style tea is just not on.

[Review 4524] Light lunch at M & S Cafe @ 馬莎Café M&S Café

11/08/2015
馬莎Café  M&S Café
太古太古城道18號太古城中心2期1樓130號舖
Shop 130, 1/F, Cityplaza 2, 18 Taikoo Shing Road, Tai Koo
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/light-lunch-at-m-s-cafe-e2478476

Light lunch at M & S Cafe
2015-08-11  386 瀏覽
I have always wanted to try the Jacket potatoes here but they are always sold out because they are the cheapest items on the menu as well as the paninis and baguettes.
They still had them when I got there so I had the jacket and the cheese and ham ploughman panini.
++++++++++++++++
cheese and ham ploughman panini:
 1 讚好

 2 讚好

This was delicious because of the cheese, so next time I am going to get the cheese and tomato with pesto sauce panini.
++++++++++++++++
Jacket potatoes with cheese and butter:
 2 讚好

 2 讚好

It was small potato served with mixed salad leaves.
The potato was lovely with melted cheddar cheese on top but it was weird there was some mashed potato in the middle which made it tastier.
The potato itself was actually a bit too hard for my liking the potato skin was not brown and how normal baked potatoes are meant to be.
++++++++++++++++

[Review 4523] Wonton noodles that look Singaporean @ 英記麵家 Ying Kee Noodles

10/08/2015
英記麵家 Ying Kee Noodles
西環西營盤高街32號地下
G/F, 32 High Street, Sai Ying Pun, Western District
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/wonton-noodles-that-look-singaporean-e2478328

Discovered this joint when I was going to High Street Cart Noodles.
Out of curiosity I looked at the reviews on this place and the roast pork looked good so I went there.
If it had not been photos of the roast pork I would not have considered going there because I am not fond of wonton noodles.
The décor was old as expected with interesting lights and the staff were much nicer than anticipated.

There is no English menu and it doesn’t really tell you there are other noodle choices apart from wonton noodles.

Anyway ordered the roast pork and fried wonton noodles.
When it came, they looked like Singaporean style Chinese wonton noodles.

The pork was the most disappointing because it was fatty pork neck meat in the form of roast pork with a coloured edge.
As well as the pork I didn’t like the soapy tasting noodles and the crispy wontons were cold but still crispy!

[Review 4522] Third culture and new age dining @ 漁牧 Fisher & Farmer

10/08/2015
漁牧 Fisher & Farmer
此餐廳前身為南燒北鍋
尖沙咀加拿分道20號加拿芬廣場2樓
2/F, Carnarvon Plaza, 20 Carnarvon Road‎, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/third-culture-and-new-age-dining-e2478303

I wasn't sure what to expect coming here because the name Fisher & Farmer sounded interesting and when I got there I was surprised.
As an expat, my perception was these archaeological artefacts and these characters which looked like they were from sci fi movies and Aztec symbols yet it had a Chinese element to it.
At the entrance, it looked like a Western kitchen with Chinese roasting going on.
Looking at the menu (which can also be seen on openrice's desktop version), they do Sichuan dishes and the menu is really nicely designed and funky.
The food is served in a fancy way too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Chinese cabbage salad:

I liked this cabbage salad because it was a change from juicy lettuce.
The cabbage was also juicy but it was had a firm crisp sweet taste complemented by the sesame sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Beancurd drizzled in chili oil with black garlic:

This was delicate beancurd in a spicy chili oil which warms up your stomach for the coming spicy dishes.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Roast fish: Sour hot fish:

Fish lovers will love this.
A massive fish surrounded in amazing sauce rich in spices and herbs.

The lime in it made the fish really refreshing.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Peking duck:

I love this Peking duck because duck, cucumber, spring onions and pancakes never fail and the duck was not that fat.
The pancakes were separated by a piece of grease paper which you can put on your hand without getting your hands dirty.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Pepper salt duck:

When you order the Peking duck you can have this add on where they cook the remaining bones in salt and pepper.
There are other choices you can choose from but salt and pepper was nice because it was crispy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Suckling pig:

This was a suckling pig stuffed with glutinous rice served with three sauces: mustard, matcha and mustard.
The pork skin was crisp and the pork was soft and lean.
It was nice dipping it with the green matcha sauce because it was delicate and sweet which did not over power the pork.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Dancing fish :

This is basically fish poached in oil and we were told the oil is only used once.

The fish is quite spicy and silky but the tasty potato noodles in the bowl were even more spicy.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
clay pot chicken with lobster:

The chicken was silky covered in flavourful gravy that was not spicy with a hint of sweetness.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Iwate pork:

This was slices of Iwate pork which were blanched in the pot after we finished the lobster and chicken clay pot.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
bean flour cake with purple yam:

For desserts we had these pretty bean flour rolls which were soft and starchy filled with my favourite purple yam that was not too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆