[Review 7436] Deja Vu @ Irina

22/05/2019
Irina
銅鑼灣勿地臣街1號時代廣場B1樓 cookedDeli by city'super
cookedDeli by city'super, B1/F, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay

https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/deja-vu-e3411995

I am not sure if there was another brand in Hong Kong similar to irina sweets but I seem to remember a similar thing being sold at a shop at Sino Plaza a few years ago.

Anyway, these dinky rolls come in many flavours.

You can buy them in 1s, 2s or 5s or towered like a cake.

HKD28 is pretty expensive so I only got two.

Unfortunately they sold out of the Cherry and Raspberry.

It was hard deciding so I reduced my choices to one that I should like and one unusual flavour which was SOY SAUCE!!!

The pistachio one was good as expected with a fluffy pistachio filling which was complemented by tart raspberry sauce.

Imagine a sweet swiss roll tasting like sushi, well this was exactly how the SOY SAUCE tasted and it had mochi in it too!!!

[Review 7435] Delicious Okinawan Purple Potato cake @ '東海堂 Arome Bakery

19/05/2019
'東海堂  Arome Bakery
彩虹港鐵彩虹站CHH20號舖
Shop CCH20, Choi Hung MTR Station, Choi Hung
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/delicious-okinawan-purple-potato-cake-e3410516

Delicious Okinawan Purple Potato cake
2019-05-19  124 瀏覽
I know it has been a while since I had this cake but I really loved this cake.
It is basically a purple sweet potato cake with layers of cake, cream, purple sweet potato mash and mousse.
It was soft and delicious, the best thing was that it was not too sweet.
Overall, a very satisfying cake as there was chocolate sponge cake as well.

[Review 7434] Toronto approved Lanzhou noodles @ 東方宮蘭州牛肉拉麵 (已結業)Dong Fang Gong LanZhou Beef Noodle

18/05/2019
東方宮蘭州牛肉拉麵 (已結業)Dong Fang Gong LanZhou Beef Noodle
銅鑼灣謝斐道477-481號肇明大廈地下C舖
Shop C, G/F, Shining Building, 477-481 Jaffe Road, Causeway Bay
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/toronto-approved-lanzhou-noodles-e3410076

Toronto approved Lanzhou noodles

Spotted this restaurant a while ago when I was having cart noodles opposite.
Omni Palace specializes in Lanzhou Noodles and they have a branch in Toronto!
The noodles are hand pulled by the Noodle master and there are various types ranging from thin to thick.
It would be great if they had a FULL English menu like Toronto.
Ordered the lamb skewers, Traditional Lanzhou Beef Noodles and the Lanzhou noodles in Sauce.
Compared to Canada, I felt that there are regional differences as the Hong Kong version was a bit localized or had a strange Hong Kong twist to it with the egg since there are no eggs in Canada.
Canada serves  daikon with the noodles and does not have egg!

Just like McDonalds, the New York inspired Burger has egg whereas the UK New York Inspired burger seemed more New York as they served bagel while HK weirdly used Hollandaise sauce.


Started with the lamb skewers which were tender and juicy laced with my favourite cumin.

There is a rack of spices at the back which is reassuring.

The Beef Noodles were more than delicious because the broth had so many spices like cumin, coriander and chili that give you that authentic twist.
It was just lacking DAIKON! If you google the recipe, it will have daikon.

The noodles were the best I have had because they were firm , yet silky with a chew.

The noodles in soy bean paste were good but I thought it just tasted like an adaptation of dan dan noodles and this is not on the Canadian menu!
Overall, impressed so I will be back.
FOR MORE INFO IN ENGLISH, I strongly recommend the Canadian Website as it has a lot so information about Lanzhou noodles and history etc.

[Review 7433] Thai food with a twist using Binchotan charcoal @ 爐炭燒 Ginger Grill

1/05/2019
爐炭燒  Ginger Grill
黃竹坑海洋公園海濱樂園夢幻水都
Aqua City, Waterfront, Ocean Park, Wong Chuk Hang
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/thai-food-with-a-twist-using-binchotan-charcoal-e3410062

There are so many food options at Ocean Park with the new hotels nearby.
Ocean Park has now revved up with the new Ginger Grill Restaurant that offers modern Thai food grilled with Binchotan charcoal which takes grilled food to the next level.With the use of Binchotan charcoal, excess oils are forced out leaving the meat moist and crispy.
They use eco friendly oil brushes made from lemongrass sticks to add spices which is natural and also adds a herbal aroma to it.
Started with the Tropical passion which was refreshing with is good fizz.

We started with the Thai appetizer platter which was presented in a stylish stand.
My favourite was the crispy chicken nuggets.


They had so many sauces on the table  which made everything tasty.
As a fish lover, the deep fried Jade Perch with green mango salad was appetizing as the green mango was tangy and the fish had been filleted into pieces which made it easy to eat.

The Massaman curry braised lamb shank is a must if you like lamb because it was simply soft and comes off the bone in this flavourful curry.

As they use Binchotan charcoal, how could we not try their grilled items like Beef and Satay Skewers.
They were all to my liking and you can see that they were perfectly grilled.
I am not sure why this is called the Sunflower chicken but it is stuffed with pandan  leaves, green pepper and lemongrass which are set alight and releases a lovely aroma that smokes the chicken.



The skin was lovely and crispy and the chicken had a fragrant smokey flavour.

Dessert was a wonderful surprise for non dessert fans because the creme brulee has chunky crisp sweet pieces of ginger in it which made it addictive.
The size is slightly bigger than your average creme brulee so it is definitely a satisfying end to dinner.
Fans of crystalline ginger (Candied ginger) will love this as the ginger pieces are soft with a crisp sweetness without the heat.


Will definitely be back soon.
I am secretly hoping that they will offer brunch or a semi brunch during the weekends so you can try a bit of everything.

[Review 7432] Hong Kong style golden cuppa @ 茶王冰室 Tea Master

20/05/2019
茶王冰室  Tea Master
旺角洗衣街113號號地下
G/F, 113 Sai Yee Street, Mong Kok
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/hong-kong-style-golden-cuppa-e3409670

Hong Kong style golden cuppa
2019-05-20  245 瀏覽
A while ago I met Tea Master at the Eggette event in CWB so found out about this cafe in MK that serves a golden cuppa for HKD88.
As an expat, you either hate or love it as it is very different to English tea.
Anyway, Hong Kongers are serious tea drinkers just like us!

The menu offers Hong Kong style food as well as tea.
Since I was here, the golden cuppa was a must, and the grapefruit tea which was to my liking as I love grapefruit.
The recommended tea was served exactly like the picture.
The glass shot contains the stocking tea which lets you compare the taste difference between that and the golden cuppa.
After trying the shot, it is best to drink some water to cleanse your palette before you move on to the golden cuppa.
The golden cuppa definitely had a lot going on in terms of smoothness when you drink it.
Hong Kong milk tea has never been my expertise so lets move on to the grapefruit tea which was more refreshing.
The tea is sweet which balances the acidity of the grapefruit and the grapefruit skin.
By far grapefruit tea is much nicer than boring lemon tea as grapefruit has a lovely fragrance.
Moving on to the food, I had the Sichuan wings which definitely had a fiery punch.
They taste like the marinated loshui ones infused with Sichuan spices.
Also had the charsiu sandwich which was covered with scrambled egg as I found the concept quite intriguing.
Basically, it is your usual charsiu scrambled egg sandwich with the egg outside!

[Review 7431] Let's spill the beans at Doctor Beans @ 哈豆 Doctor Beans

20/05/2019
哈豆 Doctor Beans
觀塘駿業里6號富利工業大廈3樓A室
Room A, 3/F, Fully Industrial Building, 6 Tsun Yip Lane, Kwun Tong
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/lets-spill-the-beans-at-doctor-beans-e3409652

Let's spill the beans at Doctor Beans
2019-05-20  45 瀏覽
Doctor Bean's is famous in Kwun Tong and now they have a second branch.
The factory converted restaurant is spacious and the decor is inspired by Taiwan.
In terms of food, I would say it is Taiwanese inspired as well as the noodles were pretty sweet.
The Taiwanese Sun Chuk Rice Vermicelli wasn't as thin as the ones I have come across before.
The Sichuan noodles fared slightly better and you could see it was clearly a plain broth made Sichuan by adding Sichuan paste to it which tasted like essence oil.

For appetizers, tried the pork trotters, gluten and cucumbers that were great for sharing.
The soup was nice and peppery.

For drinks, the soy bean green tea was interesting so ordered that and a normal green tea.
Might return to try the other branch.