[Review 5527] Great corner for gatherings @ Shack Tapazaka

28/10/2016
Shack Tapazaka
銅鑼灣耀華街1-1A號地下
G/F, 1-1A Yiu Wa Street, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/great-corner-for-gatherings-e2669121
When you walk past you will be drawn in by the huge functional metal wheel behind the bar which stores beer kegs.
Much to my surprise they also have a specialized Robata area to grill skewers which I didn't notice because it was behind glass and there was no smoky smell.
There is a good variety too on the menu because they have my favourite black pudding incorporated in fried rice, something expats will probably order and the Quinoa black bean sliders.Started with a lovely mocktail infused with juices and topped with egg white foam that was so good I ended up having two.
To start, we had grilled veggies: purple sweet potato, taro and mushrooms.
Then we had Venus clams in sake which are always good.
The pork belly cocido lento was another favourite of mine, the dark rich sauce was sweet and salty.
For seafood, we had catch of the day which was a fish grilled to perfection.
There was squid and eel as well and the squid was surprisingly tender.
The octopus carpaccio was fresh and tender.
The chicken is a must order because the skin is perfectly crispy and the chicken was juicy especially the white meat which is normally dry.
For carbs, we had seafood fried rice and scallop fregola.
The fregola was really tasty and it is good to see that it is getting more popular these days.
Dessert was Pina Al carbon, an unsuspecting piece of pineapple covered in charcoal which was a nice sweet ending.

[Review 5526] Pokiritto @ Pokéworld

23/10/2016
Pokéworld
上環禧利街8號地舖
G/F, 8 Hillier Street, Sheung Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/pokiritto-e2667303

At Pokéworld, they serve Pokirittos or bowls.
As I have already tried the bowls at ALOHA, I decided to try the Pokiritto.
The bowls would be more filling if your hungry.
Anyway, I chose tuna and tofu as proteins and the veggie section was really good because you can choose lots of veggies and I love veggies.
My Pokiritto was really delicious because the ingredients were fresh and the crisp veggies made a difference complimented by the soft silky tofu.
ALOHA has serious competition now, the only thing POKEWORLD doesn't have is the Spam Musubi!
More photos can be found my FB, IG and blog.

[Review 5525] I was expecting more @ 功德林上海素食 Kung Tak Lam Shanghai Vegetarian Cuisine

21/10/2016
功德林上海素食 Kung Tak Lam Shanghai Vegetarian Cuisine
銅鑼灣告士打道280號世貿中心10樓
10/F, World Trade Centre, 280 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/i-was-expecting-more-e2665824

Kung Tak Lam seems famous so I was expecting the food to be better.
Ordered the fried rice with seaweed and pinenuts.
I wasn't impressed because they used Japanese Pearl rice and the fried rice was a bit too moist but the worst thing was the charred wok taste because it overpowered the taste of the fried rice, seaweed and pinenuts.
The taro pot in red fermented beancurd sauce was not fragrant and you couldn't taste any red beancurd.
The noodles were over priced because it was just plain noodles and sauces but what annoyed me was the sesame sauce and red beancurd sauce tasted the same except the colour was different.
For soup, I had the vegetarian shark fin soup but there was too much shitaake in it so it tasted a bit too sweet for my liking.
The restaurant was 80% women so you can imagine when there is more than two ladies together it can get a bit too noisy!!
To finish, we had steamed date pudding.

[Review 5524] Did not fail to impress @ 老川皇

21/10/2016
老川皇
佐敦吳松街45號地下
G/F, 45 Woosung Street, Jordan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/did-not-fail-to-impress-e2665795

Did not fail to impress
2016-10-21  422 瀏覽
There are three branches of 老川皇 in Kowloon. The one on the first floor was good so I didn't hesitate to try this branch, however the menu is slightly different which is good because I had to choose other dishes.
Tried the salted duck which was really good, it was not too salty so you could taste the duck as well.
The cauliflower was very tasty but not as spicy as it looks.
The liver dish was also good but the quality of the liver could be better because it was too rubbery.
The receipt is funny because the currency is not in HK$.

[Review 5523] Singaporean x Chiuchow dishes @ 潮庭 Chiuchow Garden Restaurant

21/10/2016
潮庭  Chiuchow Garden Restaurant
尖沙咀梳士巴利道3號星光行東翼2樓
2/F, Star House, 3 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/singaporean-x-chiuchow-dishes-e2665681

I love Singaporean dishes so every time I try it I can add it to my Singmalay series.
Here they are doing Singaporean x Chiuchow dish highlights including the famous black pepper crab.
I love Maxim's group because they always have knives and forks at the table so I don't have to ask for it!
Started with Deep fried minced pork and prawn roll wrapped in beancurd skin.
It was nice and meaty without being too fatty complimented well by the sweet and appetizing sauce.
The Deep fried beancurd rolls stuffed with shrimp paste served with lettuce wrap were also good because I love prawns.
Next was the Coffee and almond ribs which were sweet and sticky contrasted by the lovely fragrant bitterness of the coffee.
We had both the black pepper crab and the chili crab.
The black pepper was more fiery in my opinion but the chili one was tantalizing and it came with roti so you could dip it in the eggy sweet chili sauce.
Black pepper crab:
Chili crab with roti:
We also had Sliced garoupa in yellow bean sauce which I liked because Yellow bean sauce had a sweet and salty kick to it.
The cereal prawn is another famous Singaporean dish.
Finished with a classic Chiuchow style Fish dumplings, meatballs and cabbage soup.
Dessert was amazing because the durian egg tarts were filled with fresh musang durian.
I also downed the coconut dessert in a flash because it was made with coconut water and almond extract which both have a delicate and fragrant taste.