[Review 5092] Finally tried grilled cactus @ Verde MAR

04/03/2016
Verde MAR
灣仔大王東街24號地下
G/F, 24 Tai Wong Street East, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/finally-tried-grilled-cactus-e2550266

Finally tried grilled cactus
2016-03-04  476 瀏覽
I have always wanted to try grilled cactus and they have it here.
When I got there I discovered that the people behind this restaurant are the same ones as Taco Truck.

Here was what we had:
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Oaxaca cheese fundido:
 0 讚好

This was melted Mexican cheese with a choice of chorizo or mushroom.
The one we had was chorizo which was salty.
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Refried beans:
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Refried beans are a bit like creamy mashed taro which goes well with tacos and rice.
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Ceviche: Agua chile snapper
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I love ceviche because of the lime juice and chili which always tastes good together.
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Fish chicharon:

Crispy strips of white fish with a refreshing dip.
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Shrimp ceviche al pesto:

I couldn't quite taste the pesto because the garlic was quite strong.
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Seafood paella:

Previously tried this at the Taco Truck and it still tastes as good with a strong seafood flavour in every grain of rice.
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Garlic halibut with white mushrooms olive oil:

The fish had a delicious crispy skin and beneath it was silky fish.
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Mexican rice:

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Steak Arrachera carne asada:

The smell of beef was really strong and the beef taste was highly concentrated, perhaps a bit too strong for some people.
It was served with guacamole and fresh salsa but the beef was so flavourful it didn't really need it.
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Whole chargrilled chicken:

Basically a soft and silky chicken that was grilled just right.
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Cactus:

This was the highlight for me.
The texture is a bit like slimy okra and it tastes like Chinese pickled vegetables with a slight saltiness and sour flavour to it.
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Horchata:

My favourite drink which is made with rice and cinammon.
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Abuelita Hot chocolate:

As well as the horchata, this was a great drink because the chocolate has a cinammon touch as well.
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Michelada:
I don't drink beer but the Michelada is worth trying because it is Mexican beer mixed with tomato and seafood juice.
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I was really full but here were the desserts we had:

Plaintain with sweetcorn icecream:

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Churros:

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Sweetcorn icecream:

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Caramel flan

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[Review 5091] New Musubi flavours again @ 華御結 Hana-Musubi

03/03/2016
華御結  Hana-Musubi
觀塘海濱道83號One Bay East宏利大樓地下W1號舖
Shop W1, G/F, Manulife Tower, One Bay East, 83 Hoi Bun Road, Kwun Tong
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/new-musubi-flavours-again-e2549650


New Musubi flavours again
2016-03-03  433 瀏覽
I  love Musubis and they had new flavours again.
There was curry chicken and Hijiki seaweed and plum.

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curry chicken:
The curry chicken was quite nice but the curry wasn't strong enough and the chicken was quite dry.
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Hijiki seaweed and plum:
I was expecting the plum to be sweet but it wasn't so I really liked it.
It tastes quite bland so don't expect strong flavours coming from the plum.
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[Review 5090] Silver Jubilee Perrier-Jouët Afternoon Tea @ 港島香格里拉酒店大堂酒廊 Lobby Lounge

03/03/2016
港島香格里拉酒店大堂酒廊  Lobby Lounge
金鐘金鐘道88號太古廣場二座港島香格里拉酒店6樓
6/F, Island Shangri-La Hong Kong, Phase 2, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/silver-jubilee-perrier-jouet-afternoon-tea-e2549579

After one sip of Perrier Jouët champagne I was hooked.
Went to the Lobby Lounge for the Silver Jubilee Perrier-Jouët Afternoon Tea which is served until the end of this month.
 0 讚好

There are three tiers, the bottom tier is the savory selection which I always start off with followed by scones.

There was:
-Cornish crab, smoked paprika, saffron cream
-Organic chicken, grain mustard, silver pickles and seed bread
-Foie gras au torchon, Perrier-Jouët Champagne jelly, country bread
-Sockeye river wild salmon sushi, wasabi cream, “silver dust”
-Organic egg mayonnaise, black truffle, watercress
The foie gras was silky and smooth and I loved the egg mayonnaise bites with fragrant black truffle.
 0 讚好

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Then I had scones with lashings of clotted cream which went perfectly well with the crumbly scones.

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The second and third tiers had:
-Signature passion fruit and Guanaja chocolate stick, silver coating
-Truffle chocolate mousse with lemon cremeux, silver dust
-Perrier-Jouët Champagne mousse, peach cake, silver pearls
-Strawberry cheese tart, silver leaves
-Lemon flavoured silver macaron
-Tahitian vanilla rolls with mandarin and silver
-Raspberry cake with silver almonds
It was such a delight having all these sweet treats with champagne and my faovurite one was the champagne mousse peach cake and the raspberry cake.

The set comes with a glass of bubbly with a choice of Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut NV Champagne or Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Rose 2006.
Both are really good so it was really hard to decide.

The champagnes are served in sexy coupes which is supposed to be the shape of a woman's breast
The prices are:
HK$388 for one person with one glass of Perrier-Jouët Champagne
HK$678 for two people with two glasses of Perrier-Jouët Champagne
HK$988 for two people with a bottle of Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut NV Champagne
HK$1,988 for two people with a bottle of Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Rose 2006

[Review 5089] My first Ukrainian meal @ Dacha Restaurant & Bar

03/03/2016
Dacha Restaurant & Bar
中環蘇豪荷李活道38-40號地舖
G/F, 38-40 Hollywood Road, Soho, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/my-first-ukrainian-meal-e2549513

My first Ukrainian meal
2016-03-03  806 瀏覽
I have always wanted to try Russian/Ukrainian food but there are not many in Hong Kong.
The only one I knew was Ivan da Kozak which has been in HK for a while.
I have attempted to dine at Ivans but the menu is too complicated if you have menu dyslexia.

Noticed Dacha a few weeks ago because of the lovely mysterious European decor.

Even though it was under soft opening I still had to try it.

They were serving lunch sets all day so I was really lucky because I don't work in Central.
The soup was beetroot borscht which was loaded with cabbages and carrots with a refreshing taste.
The dumplings tasted exactly the same as Chinese war teeps but better because they were neat and not so oily.

The apple pie (bread) was a bit disappointing because the texture was like Chinese bread with a yolk glazed top but the locals should love it.

[Review 5088] More chocolates @ 菲爾斯曲奇專賣店 Mrs. Fields Cookies

02/03/2016
菲爾斯曲奇專賣店  Mrs. Fields Cookies
中環港鐵中環站W8號舖
Shop W8, Central MTR Station, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/more-chocolates-e2548978

I have a craving for chocolate recently so I got some different ones from Mrs Fields.
Luckily they didn't taste good or I would have eaten them all.
The mints were way too sweet and the dark chocolate covered pistachios didn't taste good because the chocolate was too bitter and overpowered the pistachio nuts.

[Review 5087] New dishes, new location and new look @ 沙嗲軒 Satay Inn

01/03/2016
沙嗲軒 Satay Inn
3號中港城平台1座3號舖
Shop 3, Tower 1, Podium Level, China Hong Kong City, 33 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/new-dishes-new-location-and-new-look-e2548922


New dishes, new location and new look
2016-03-01  657 瀏覽
Since my last visit, Satay Inn has moved to TST and Singaporean chef Kelvin Wong at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore have create some new dishes with the Satay Inn team inspired by Singaporean street food.
Here was what we had:
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Chwee Kueh:
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The chwee kueh was really nice, it looked like the red bean bowl puddings but it was savoury topped with delicious pickles which gave it flavour.
People in Singapore have them for breakfast.
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Satays:

The satays were quite sweet with a strong lemongrass taste.
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Deep fried shrimp cakes with water chestnuts:

A spring shrimp cake with a crispy coating.
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Cereal butter prawns:
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There was a very sweet smell when it was brought over, because it was dipped in condensed milk before it was coated in cereal.
A springy prawn that was sweet and delicious.
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Wok-fried sole fillets with okra and sambal:

According to the others they said it was not spicy enough, but I really liked it because it wasn't spicy.
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Garoupa fillets with beancurd and basil in clay pot:

The fish and beancurd were covered in delicious basil gravy.
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Signature Hainanese chicken rice:
The Jasmine rice was fragrant and the chicken was silky.


The ginger sauce is green because they grounded it with pandan leaves.

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Fried carrot cake:

The carrot cake was soft and sweet.
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Kaya toast:

The toast was quite thick with delicious kaya in the middle.
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Durian pudding:

If you like durian, this is a must because it has a lovely custard taste and better than the name suggests because the texture is creamy like thick custard not like gelatine.
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Barley water:

A very sweet drink with barley in it.
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