[Review 6262] Modern Chinese dishes in a pleasing environment @ 魚塘鴨子 The Pond

25/10/2017
魚塘鴨子  The Pond
尖沙咀柯士甸道西1號ELEMENTS圓方演薈廣場(頂層)R002-003號舖
Shop R002-003 (Roof Level), Civic Square, ELEMENTS, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/modern-chinese-dishes-in-a-pleasing-environment-e2899797

This is a great place to go for Chinese food because the vibes and environment is modern and chic yet on the menu you can still find Peking duck and other goodies.
By the stairs, there are fresh fish on ice which you can order and choose the way you want it cooked.
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The price of the fish includes the cooking.
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We had the Kinmedai which is a prized Japanese fish served as fish soup.
As expected it was fantastic because the fish was delicate and the broth was full of fish sweetness.
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For starters, we had Sichuan translucent beef slices, drunken chicken, Sweet and sour spare ribs, diced beef with goose liver and mustard sauce, chilled sea blubber.
The translucent beef slice was wonderful with a sweet and spicy kick.

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Diced chicken with dried chili (laat ji gai):
I love spicy food and this was divine because it was crispy pieces of chicken that was evenly spicy and the chicken was tender.

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The steamed assorted dumplings (pork, duck and prawn) were colourful and delicious and the duck was special for me because you rarely get duck dumplings and the green one was also good because the dumpling wrap was made of fragrant pandan.

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The Peking minced pork pastries reminded me of flat sausage rolls but the meat was very moist while the pastry was chunkier and flaky.

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Barbecued Peking duck:
The crispy duck skin was served with sugar which gives it a sweet twist while there was a colourful side of vegetables including watermelon radish which tastes like carrot.
The pancakes with duck, vegetables and sauce put together was flawless.

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[Review 6261] Cakey muffins @ Marks & Spencer 食品專門店 休息中 Marks & Spencer Food Store

24/10/2017
Marks & Spencer 食品專門店  休息中
Marks & Spencer Food Store
中環蘇豪荷李活道32號建業榮基中心1樓
1/F, Kinwick Centre, 32 Hollywood Road, Soho, Central
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/cakey-muffins-e2899495

Cakey muffins
2017-10-24  933 瀏覽
Went here a while ago but they now have my favourite cakes turned into muffins.
There were three flavours: Lemon, Victoria sponge and Blackforest.
Each of the muffins are filled inside.
The Victoria one was simply delicious with smooth buttercream on top and sweet strawberry jam in the middle.
The blackforest one was disappointing because it was too sugary sweet and fudge like.

[Review 6260] 24 hour Guizhou Lamb noodles in the heart of MK @ 貴州遵義黔營羊肉粉

21/10/2017
貴州遵義黔營羊肉粉
旺角通菜街86號利群大廈地下E號舖
Shop E, G/F, Lee Kwan Building, 86 Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/24-hour-guizhou-lamb-noodles-in-the-heart-of-mk-e2896991

24 hour Guizhou Lamb noodles in the heart of MK
I went here because they specialize in Lamb from Guizhou.
The name of this place is called 貴州遵義黔營羊肉粉 but the English name SIMPLEJOY [on Instagram and also printed on the napkins] is rather random and has nothing associated to Guizhou.

Anyway, it is hidden behind the stalls of Ladies Market so there is some sense of privacy when dining there
It is open 24 hours so a convenient place for early breakfast or midnight dinners!!

They have an English menu.
In Hong Kong, the items on the menu would be deemed as Hardcore but it is pretty common and they seem to eat anything over there!!
Not for the faint hearted because they have BRAINS, PLACENTA, PAIR OF EYES, TESTICLES, PENIS, you name it!
I tried the toothpick lamb which somehow wasn't served on toothpicks.
They were small juicy tender cubes of lamb seasoned with chili and spicy.
Each piece of lamb was scrumptious and not too spicy.
Next were the eyes! A pair of lamb eyes.
It was a surprise because I hadn't a clue how it was going to be served.
In my mind it was two eyes rolling about on a plate but it turned out to be eyes in the soup but they were not floating around.
I was also disappointed that the eyes were cut in half as I couldn't find the lens or vitreous humor.
There wasn't much taste to it but the texture was like springy chewy chicken cartilage.

Optional cumin and chili on the table.
Anyway, next time I will be back for the noodles!!!

[Review 6259] Hairy crab season is here @ 上海姥姥 Shanghai Lao Lao

20/10/2017
上海姥姥  Shanghai Lao Lao
銅鑼灣百德新街22-36號翡翠明珠廣場1樓Festiva 7號舖
Shop 7, 1/F, Festiva, JP Plaza, 22-36 Paterson Street, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/hairy-crab-season-is-here-e2896910

Hairy crab season is here
2017-10-20  340 瀏覽
Hairy crab season this year started off for me with Hairy Crab Roe dishes from 上海姥姥 Shanghai Lao Lao.
There are so many branches in Hong Kong.

I was captivated by their Hairy Crab roe poster at Wong Tai Sin and all over the MTR stations.
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As I was in Causeway Bay the other day, I went there with friends and we had other dishes as well.
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Sliced Pork Terrine:
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Started with this classic terrine where the jelly melts in your mouth while the pork bits are really tasty.
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Mung Bean Noodles with Shredded Chicken:
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This one was my favourite, springy mung bean noodles in a thick peanut and sesame dressing complimented by refreshing julienne cucumber.
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Smoked Fish with Mixed Spices:

The fish was crisp and sweet with a play of spices that were not spicy.
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Noodles with Hairy Crab Roe:

I love noodles and these have to be eaten asap while it is hot and delicious.
There was so much crab roe to cover every strand of noodle.
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Assorted Mushrooms wrapped in Crispy Bean Curd Sheet with Hairy Crab Roe:

This had to be the star of the show, the dish that was advertised on the poster, it was crispy with juicy mushrooms in the middle served with a generous pile of crab roe to compliment it.
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Scrambled Egg White with Hairy Crab Roe:

Another classic dish was the scrambled egg white covered in an abundance of crab roe, great with rice.
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Steamed Pork Dumplings with Hairy Crab Roe:

The pork dumplings are a must in Shanghai cuisine and these were bursting with rich crab roe and pork in the middle.
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Mini Glutinous Rice Balls in Fermented Rice Wine Soup:

Dessert ended with a sweet touch of soft chewy glutinous rice balls in sweet fragrant Osmanthus flowers and rice wine soup.
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Finished with the warming Fresh Lemonade with Ginger and Honey and the Chrysanthemum tea with Wolfberries and Honey.

[Review 6258] Gourmet pasta in Prince Edward @ Hami Harmony

20/10/2017
Hami Harmony
太子西洋菜北街161號地下A舖
Shop A, G/F, 161 Sai Yeung Choi Street North, Prince Edward
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/gourmet-pasta-in-prince-edward-e2896692

Gourmet pasta in Prince Edward
2017-10-20  118 瀏覽
Went here because Hami Harmony had this relaxed environment serving pasta dishes.
Looking at the menu, there were two interesting pastas on the menu with a Chinese twist.
蝦米粉 Hami Pasta is basically pasta made with 蝦米 (Chinese dried prawns pronounced har mae) the stuff you find in radish puddings.
The other was duck breast fettucine with salted egg yolk.
The fettucine was good and the lovely bits of salted egg yolk gave it a salty kick without being too strong while it was balanced with pieces of mushrooms, green and yellow courgettes.
It was good that the duck breast wasn't smoked because sometimes the smokey flavour can overpower the delicate flavours.
Finished with this heavenly Baileys Trifle.
On the bottom layer was this silky Bailey's flavoured mousse with a layer of thin pudding on top.
It was decorated with cream, rose petals and meringue pieces and a small shot of Baileys in the pipette.
All the layers blended together in harmony and I liked the way they balanced the sweetness with the meringue pieces.
Will return for tea.

[Review 6257] Pon de Rings at Antoshimo Cafe & Bakery @ Antoshimo Cafe & Bakery (鑽石山)

20/10/2017
Antoshimo Cafe & Bakery
鑽石山龍蟠街3號荷里活廣場1樓182號舖
Shop 182, 1/F, Plaza Hollywood, 3 Lung Poon Street, Diamond Hill
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/pon-de-rings-at-antoshimo-cafe-bakery-e2896647

Antoshimo Cafe & Bakery is famous for Okinawan donuts but now they have pon da rings as well.
It would seem that the purple potato is the best because the rest is iced with lame icing and toppings.
Anyway, I am not a fan of purple potato so I got the hazelnut and salted caramel.
Unfortunately their frying oil wasn't that fresh so the donuts had this unpleasant oily odour and taste it didn't matter what flavour you got, the taste of the oil is stronger than all those fancy toppings.
It was four for $60. I was so glad I am only got two to try but even two was too much because it didn't taste right.
The texture was how it should be ie crispy and chewy in the middle but it oozed out with that lovely oil NOT!

[Review 6256] The best gyoza in Hong Kong @ 餃餃餃子 Chao Chao Gyoza

19/10/2017
餃餃餃子  Chao Chao Gyoza
灣仔廈門街31號地下
G/F, 31 Amoy Street, Wan Chai
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/the-best-gyoza-in-hong-kong-e2896561


I haven't had such delicious gyozas for a long time.
The gyozas here have perfectly thin dumpling skin and there are so many different dumplings to choose from.
Panfried, Shaken in seasoning and much more.
Being greedy, I went for the assorted dumplings with four flavours:

There were two each, one of them tasted like a Chinese hargau prawn dumpling because it was filled with prawns.
The mochi mushroom one had an elastic skin.
We also had the onion ones covered with my favourite mountain yam.
It was crispy with a viscous touch to it.

The prawn and crab was a long one paired with mayonnaise but it wasn't needed because it was tasty enough.

Last but not least, the mentaiko and silky potato were the best, the mentaiko gave it so much flavour and the silky potato mash was delicious.