[Review 7157] Converted Chinese Medicine joint @ 大和堂咖啡店 Tai Wo Tang Cafe

25/01/2019
大和堂咖啡店  Tai Wo Tang Cafe
九龍城衙前塱道24號地舖
G/F, 24 Nga Tsin Long Road, Kowloon City
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/converted-chinese-medicine-joint-e3287709

Tai Wo Tang was once a Chinese Medicine Clinic and now it has converted into a coffee shop so you will see those typical wooden drawers etc.
I liked the modern and historic contrast as you are sitting in this Chinese Med Clinic eating modern fusion dishes.
As I was late, I was joining some friends who had ordered some food because I secretly had some satay skewers at Lan Ying nearby as they are closing down.


They were tucking in this American inspired chicken waffle but with a Hong Kong twist as the waffle was replaced with an eggette.
The fried chicken was quite dark and Hongkie style, a mix of sweet and savoury flavours in play if that's your thing.

Also had the chocolate bavarois which was beautifully presented in this Chinese tea cup.
The chocolate was rich, strong and decadent.

Finished with a cup off coffee which was the best because it was aromatic with a thick foam cap.

Friends had the signature floral tea which too rosy for my liking as I just hate roses.

 On the contrary I think they should gang up with this restaurant nearby which serves this meat patty that contains grounded Chinese medicine and gojiberries served in a wooden bucket and the menus are hand written Chinese calligraphy which would really suit this place.
However, it won't attract the young hippy crowd as people are just looking for instaworthy food more than something delicious.

[Review 7156] Lunch at Kwun Tong @ i kitchen

25/01/2019
i kitchen 
觀塘巧明街106號冠力工業大廈201室
Shop 201, Crown Industrial Building, 106 How Ming Street, Kwun Tong
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/lunch-at-kwun-tong-e3287689

Lunch at Kwun Tong
2019-01-25  57 瀏覽
I was captivated here by their lunch menus posted on Insta but sadly the menu was different on my visit.They had stuff like avocado risotto, Taro risotto, orecchiette and ravioli before.
Anyway, here was the menu on my visit.
Luckily they had the Risotto with XO Sauce which turned out quite tasty but a tad salty.
Also had the ribs which were plated nicely and they were soft and juicy.
All lunches are served with soup or salad, tea and dessert.
Will keep checking their online menu to see when  what dishes will lure me again but it is all about fate and the right timing.

[Review 7155] Healthy drinks with yoghurt @ 輕時光 Take Your Time

25/01/2019
輕時光 Take Your Time
天后電氣道83號利景閣地下1號舖
Shop 1, G/F, Lee King Mansion, 83 Electric Road, Tin Hau
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/healthy-drinks-with-yoghurt-e3287683

I have always wanted to try this joint because not many places offer drinks with yoghurt.
The menu was confusing so I ended up ordering the wrong drink.
There are two different yoghurts so you have to choose your drinks carefully.
The selection at the bottom is made with the stuff that tastes like yakult the stuff I don't like because to me that isn't yoghurt but just stuff with lactobacillus and flavouring.
Ended choosing the strawberry milkshake which was blended with fresh strawberries so I really liked it.
For me the star of the show was the hot taro milk which was made with freshly mashed taro and not many places serve Taro anymore with the rising popularity of purple potato.
The good thing is that both are served on the menu as so many people getting them confused.
TARO and Purple Potato taste very different.

[Review 7154] Taiwanese inspired hotpot ! @ 阿里山台式美人鍋

21/01/2019
阿里山台式美人鍋
油麻地上海街55號海景閣1樓A鋪
Shop A, 1/F, Seaview Court, 55 Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/taiwanese-inspired-hotpot-e3287679

Went here because friends wanted to try it.
All I can say it that it is Taiwanese inspired as they have bits and bobs in the broth just like the Taiwanese ones but not as strong.
They have had the Taiwanese sunjook rice vermicelli but after it was cooked, it looked more like glass vermicelli.
The kale was a good option, but the ones they had were very old and woody.
Someone ordered the duck which we thought looked like pork when it arrived.

We had the Taiwanese beauty broth so I was happy because there was silkie chicken in it which was tender and silky and there was lots of peach tree gum at the bottom.

There was bamboo pith as well and they were obviously natural and unbleached because you could see that it wasn't pure white with bits attached.
There was abalone too but personally I'm not a fan so didn't try them as they looked hmmmmmmmmmm.
Finished with the guava which was served with plastic forks interestingly served in water so I used the toothpicks instead in case they were recycled as they are meant to be for one time use.
They guava pieces were sprinkled with plum seasoning which accentuates the taste of the guava.
Last but not least are the pickles and peanuts which are given and charged.

[Review 7153] Not just coffee but fine dishes as well @ Lex Coffee

25/01/2019
Lex Coffee 
西環堅尼地城卑路乍街100號地舖
G/F, 100 Belcher's Street, Kennedy Town, Western District
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/not-just-coffee-but-fine-dishes-as-well-e3287669

Lex Coffee has been around for ages but I thought it was just coffee back then.
It was ones of the joints that stood out when I first came to Kennedy Town before the other restaurants started appearing.
Inside, it is spacious with ceiling and classy lights.
Near the entrance, it is like an art exhibition with so many pieces from different artists.
The menu was not just coffee!!!!!
My friend started with the LEX Benedict which had a fruity twist to it because the benedict sauce had a touch of mango that makes everything appetizing.

I had the salmon which was served with spinach potato mash.
It was really difficult to decide as they had seabass as well but it was served with pumpkin mash and salmon roe and I seriously love salmon roe.
In the end I chose the spinach mash because pumpkin is a little sweet for my liking.
Both the pairing looked colorfully contrasted and the silky mash complemented the flaky salmon nicely.

For dessert had the Waffle which was to my liking as I don't really eat waffles.

The best thing was the Cheesecake, I've been bored of cheesecake recently and this was silky and not heavy and I loved the the cherry that was embedded in the cheesecake.


Will certainly come back for the peach cheesecake which looks captivating.

[Review 7152] Starbucks at the ground floor of the Maxim's Building @ 星巴克咖啡 Starbucks Coffee

24/01/2019
星巴克咖啡  Starbucks Coffee
長沙灣長順街17號美心集團中心地舖
G/F, Maxim’s Centre, 17 Cheung Shun Street, Cheung Sha Wan
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/starbucks-at-ground-floor-of-the-maxims-building-e3286913

As I was in the area, I discovered that this whole building belonged to the Maxims group so went in there out of curiosity and discovered a Starbucks.
There is another restaurant on the 1st floor but it is only for Maxim's staff.
As it was lunch had the meatball and potato pie, pancakes and Chocolate red tea latte.
The meatball and potato pie was held in a flakey tart base and it was filled with rich tangy tomato sauce which was also quite sweet at the same time.
The meatballs in the pie were quite nice as it had lots of herbs and tasted more like sausage meat.
You could tell the pancakes were pre made and taken from a stack and heated as they were neatly stuck together in a pile.
They were a bit dry and sweet but dipping it in the drink made it more palatable.
Finished with the Chocolate red tea which was rather sweet and the chocolate was more prominent than the tea so I didn't really like it.

[Review 7151] Not just wonton noodles @ 協盛大排檔

23/01/2019
協盛大排檔 (已結業)
北角炮台山電氣道130號地下
G/F, 130 Electric Road, Fortress Hill, North Point
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/not-just-wonton-noodles-e3285239

Not just wonton noodles
2019-01-23  1917 瀏覽
I was expecting this place to just serve wonton noodles but you get to choose other noodles which is really good.I ordered the five spice offal because I  was hoping it would be very flavourful thus making the noodles very tasty.
The broth was much clearer than expected and it was good that it was not oily  and the noodles didn't have an alkaline taste.
Will probably try it again as you can experiment with instant noodles for an extra HKD5