Gum "Jeng" X! 御前上茶

Hi guys! I know it's been more than a month since I've updated, but August has been a really busy month and I apologise for that! With registration, orientation days and camps, it's been really hectic! 

Anyway, I'm back with a new post! (yay) The tofu ice cream has hit Hong Kong about a month ago and I'm finally going to give a detailed review on it (I'll try my best)! :) 

Situated in Causeway Bay, this place is actually quite hidden. You'd think that all of the best foods are snuggled tightly in the womb of Causeway Bay, but this isn't the case. You have to walk past Fashion Walk, and then walk about two more streets down, and turn left if I'm not mistaken. Walk to the very end of the street, until you see a park, and there you have it. Gum "Jeng" is on your right, and it's shared with a store called GUMGUMGUM which sells pretty cool stuff. 

Review:

I have to say, the portion is large! For HKD $32, it's not a bad price, but of course I can get cheaper ones in Taiwan. The ice cream had a good balance between icy and creamy - which made it rather refreshing! 

The tofu flavour was very pronounced, and it tasted more like fresh soya mixed with tofu! It's basically a tofu tornado in your mouth once you bite into this ice cream. 

Tofu Ice Cream 豆腐雪糕

Price: 
HKD $32 for cone.

Ratings:
Taste: ★★★☆☆
Value for Money: ★★★★☆
Presentation: ★★★★☆
Environment: ★★★★☆
Overall: ★★★★☆

Address:
中文: 銅鑼灣名店坊加寧街8-10號地下
English: G/F, 8-10 Cleveland Street, Causeway Bay 

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Tamashii 魂

Yay! I'm back with another new post!!! :)

Hi guys! Might as well write another post since I have so much time on my hands right now. Really trying to stick to the "post once a week" schedule - I think I'm succeeding this time! :P 

Tamashii, probably one of the BEST Japanese ramen in Hong Kong! I have tried many ramen chains in Hong Kong, but this one is simply delectable - the BEST of the best. I thought Butao was great too, but Tamashii beats it by about 1 point! (Butao: 8/10, Tamashii: 9/10)

Getting to this place is a little bit annoying. You have to get to the other side of Causeway Bay by walking through the bus terminus! Otherwise, you can just take the bus to South Pacific Hotel and walk for about a minute before getting there. I definitely prefer the latter form of transportation, instead of getting off at the Times Square MTR because that's just annoying as hell! :(

Anyway, I hope you will enjoy my review on Tamashii! I think there's another branch in Jordan, but the one in Causeway Bay is the original branch, and I do think original is better! 

Review:

Tamashii has about 4 different kinds of ramen: original, spicy, squid ink and spinach! Since this is my first time trying Tamashii's ramen, I've decided to go for the original. The original ramen (Tamashii) came with a half-boiled egg, fish cake, a huge piece of char siu, large seaweed and spring onions! Really impressed with the ingredients used because in other restaurant chains, you have to pay EXTRA for the half-boiled egg. :/

For the noodles, they were AMAZING. Springy, bouncy, al dente ramen noodles! We're talking about REAL RAMEN, not those Hakata style ramen that's super thin! Moreover, the tonkotsu broth was so thick and flavourful, and it was just a great asset to this ramen dish! I really love thick ramen soups, especially those bursting with flavour! Some people like thin and light soups, but of course, personal preference! :)

Tamashii (original) Ramen

Price: 
HKD $89 for Tamashii (original)

Ratings:
Taste: ★★★★★
Value for Money: ★★★★☆
Presentation: ★★★★★
Environment: ★★★☆☆
Overall: ★★★★☆

Address:
中文: 銅鑼灣霎西街18C號地下
English: G/F, 18C Sharp Street West, Causeway Bay

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À La Umai

Hi everyone!

It's almost been a month since I've posted... I always say I'll post more often but it's quite hard when you're posting on BOTH Instagram and Blogger... You just don't know what to post on here. Nevertheless, I am back with a long review!

So recently, I was invited by a friend to join her at À La Umai, a fancy restaurant in Tin Hau overlooking Victoria Harbour! She got an invitation to try out the dinner sets; I'm very lucky she invited me to go with her! 

I was not disappointed with À La Umai. The view, the food, the ambience... It was all amazing! I loved it so much! Pity it's a bit pricey, I would definitely go back. This restaurant would be a nice place for a birthday or romantic dinner, maybe you could bring your significant other here on your anniversary! All in all, REALLY LOVED THIS PLACE - I hope you'll enjoy it too when you do visit. 

Review:

This Starter is quite simple. It's just melon with Iberico ham. Melons were sweet and juicy, and the ham was quite thin and salty. However, they balanced each other out in terms of taste! 

Starter: Iberico Ham with Sweet Melon Rocket

Next we have the Appetizer. the Appetizer changes daily I'm guessing, since on the menu, it says "Daily Appetizer". Nonetheless, it was a delicious appetizer! Can't exactly pinpoint what it is, but I know it's a bunch of vegetables and crabmeat put together, with a huge and peeled cherry tomato at the top! I wish I knew what ingredients were in this thing, but it was quite hard to tell... It tasted delicious though! I certainly enjoyed this more than the starter!

Appetizer: Daily Appetizer

TIME FOR SOME SOUP. You can choose between Crab-Meat Lobser Bisque or Ginger & Pumpkin Creamy Soup. I went with the Lobster Bisque! It was very flavourful, with lots of strayed crab meat and very thick lobster soup. The soup was simply bursting with flavour! Love it very much! It is a pity that the portion is quite small though. 

Soup: Crab-Meat Lobster Bisque

Finally, the Main Course! My friend and I ordered two different main courses and sampled them both. This is the ribeye with red wine sauce. It was delectable - bursting with flavour! Ribeye was cooked medium-well, very juicy and tender! It also wasn't very oily, which is a great bonus. The sauce that they provided was great for dipping, really adds on the flavour as well. Moreover, the ribeye was quite thick compared to what you can get outside, so I was quite pleased. 

Main Course: Roasted U.S. Angus Rib Eye 200g Served with Red Wine Sauce

The second Main Course we chose was the lamb rack. I personally enjoyed this one better because I'm a sucker for lamb, and also because of other reasons which I shall mention soon. The lamb rack came with French mustard creamy sauce, with a little pot of mint jelly. The lamb was very juicy, very easy to cut aka tender, and it was so delicious with the sauce! The most decadent lamb chop/rack I've had in my life! I recommend you to add the mint jelly and spread it on top of your lamb, it makes a great difference - for the better! Really really really enjoyed this! 

Main Course: Roasted Australian Lamb Rack with French Mustard Seed Creamy Sauce

Who has the tummy for Dessert?! DEFINITELY ME!!! Dessert was chocolate lava cake, with strawberries and vanilla ice cream! I love chocolate, so this lava cake was a surprise and a great ending for dinner. I've eaten many chocolate lava cakes throughout my years, but I think this is the BEST chocolate lava cake I've tasted in Hong Kong! The lava flowed out yes, but it wasn't too runny or watery - it was quite thick! Moreover, the lava and cake did not taste too sweet or bitter, and was a right balance between the two! Absolutely delicious and decadent. 

Dessert: Chocolate Lava Cake with Strawberries & Vanilla Ice Cream

So that's the end of my fancy and lovely meal at À La Umai! I'm really glad I got the chance to try and sample the dishes. The quality of the dishes is outstanding, really worth the money! Perhaps one day, I'll be able to bring my friends and family here when I have saved up enough money! 

Price: 
HKD $488 for Rib Eye Steak Set Dinner
HKD $498 for Lamb Rack Set Dinner

Ratings:
Taste: ★★★★★
Value for Money: ★★★★☆
Presentation: ★★★★★
Environment: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★★

Address:
中文: 天后電氣道108號冠貿商業大廈25樓
English: 25/F, Morecrown Comm. Bldg, 108 Electric Road, Tin Hau 

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Tokyo Secret 味之藝術

Hi guys!

So so so sorry for the late upload/post. I've been super busy at work, and I've been going on many food hunting adventures that it's quite hard to catch a breath! I know I said I'll try uploading a new post once a week, but I guess it has almost been a month... Oops. Nevertheless, I'm really happy I can finally squeeze some time in to blog!

Anyway, you guys have probably heard the new matcha soft serve in town called Tokyo Secret! I know, I know what you're thinking - another soft serve place with the name "Tokyo" in place. But what can I say, perhaps the materials and ingredients really did come from Tokyo!

I heard some mixed reviews about this matcha soft serve. Some said it was good, some said it was bad. Being a curious person, I hopped my way down to Tsim Sha Tsui one rainy night, and gave this a shot... And boy was I glad I tried this! Luckily I didn't listen to my friends, who didn't enjoy this as much. There are reasons why I enjoyed it and they didn't, so STAY TUNED. :)

Review:

I ordered the Matcha Affogato, which came with a free topping of your choice: rose jelly, red beans or tea leaves (not entirely sure what it is). Rich, creamy and refreshing, with a slight hint of bitterness, this matcha soft serve won my heart over! Topped with crumbs, chocolate and coffee sauce (is it coffee? it's brown in colour!), this is definitely a dessert to remember.

People have said that their soft serve wasn't as good as mine, and that's because theirs was very bitter. Tokyo Secret has explained that they served customers the STRONG VERSION of the matcha soft serve. I was lucky to have gotten the LIGHT version of it, so do indicate your preference when you order!

Regardless of the bitterness, I do think that at its soft opening, it's already quite good. Of course, there are areas in need of improvement, such as the fact that the matcha ice cream melts so quickly! By the time they finished sprinkling the toppings and served it to me, the ice cream was already melting. Not exactly impressed when I always take a few shots before I start eating! Despite the melting, which is probably the only issue I found with it, I found this dessert very delectable, and I am definitely coming back to try their new products that they have described to me!

By the way, shoutout to Tokyo Secret for letting me stand inside their store when it started raining cats and dogs! Also, it's very nice how they listen to customers' feedback, and are not offended when people give them developmental comments! A very good way to interact with customers, and it shows that they're willing to improve! Really admire Tokyo Secret for that!

With all of that said, it's a wrap! Get down to Tokyo Secret perhaps, it really is something special. :)

Matcha Affogato with Rose Toppings

Price:
$32 (soft opening price) for Matcha Affogato 

$42 is the original price.

Ratings:
Taste: ★★★★☆

Value for Money: ★★★★☆

Presentation: ★★★★☆
Environment: ★★★☆☆
Overall: ★★★★☆

Address:
中文: 尖沙咀加連威老道52號地下C鋪 

English: Shop C, G/F, 52 Granville Road, Tsim Sha Tsui 

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Via Tokyo

Hi guys! I know I haven't been too consistent with my postings! With the end of the semester, and starting a full-time job, I haven't really gotten much time to breathe! But now it's the weekend and I figured I should post something, and I will definitely try my best to post more often, because I have a ton of food photos and reviews in store!

After what seems like forever, I have FINALLY visited Via Tokyo! When I reached there, a long queue has already formed, and mind you, it was raining that day! The queue was actually for people who wanted to sit in the tiny shop and consume their matcha goodies. However, my friends and I shoved past the crowd so we could order take away. 

We had a hard time picking. Should we try the Uji Matcha cone? Or should we try the Matcha sundaes with mochi balls? With so many choices, and the staff waiting for us to pick our desserts, it was a very tough time for us, as we were placed under the heat and pressure! Finally, we decided to go for the Uji Matcha Smoothie, a summer favourite of many Hong Kongers. Also, this smoothie is only released during the summer, so why not try it before it's gone for the winter right?

Review:

The Uji Matcha Smoothie looked good. It's aesthetic, it looks like a bundle of goodness piled together in a cup. For those matcha monsters out there, I can already see your eyes forming hearts, I mean this is heaven for your eyes right?! 

However, the taste... My expectations were set a bit too high. I have to admit, the smoothie itself was good. With rich matcha taste, very prominent and strong, I really did enjoy the smoothie. Although it was icy, and quite difficult to suck from the straw, you just had to dig your straw really deep, almost to the bottom of the cup, before you can suck anything out. The smoothie was great, and I will reiterate that a million times if I had to.

The soft serve plunked on top of the smoothie, was a bit of a disappointment. Maybe it was our fault for not eating the ice cream first before enjoying the smoothie, or maybe the ice cream just didn't taste that great already. We all ignored the ice cream and just dove right into the smoothie, trying to suck the life out of it. However, by the time we have finished about three quarters of the smoothie, the ice cream melted, and it looked... Disgusting with the smoothie. Most of us didn't have the appetite to finish it because it just looked THAT bad. 

I took a bite of the soft serve, and it was bitter. I expected it to be more rich, creamy and sweeter but turns out it wasn't the case. I have heard people say that the Houjicha flavoured ice cream was better, and perhaps they're right. Maybe the Via Tokyo Matcha soft serve was a bit too overhyped, and my bar was set way too high since often, people had raving reviews about this soft serve. 

I would definitely come back to Via Tokyo. Perhaps, I should try the matcha soft serve on its own and see how that tastes. The Uji Matcha Smoothie was great, just better off without the ice cream. If they could scrape off the ice cream, it would be perfect! 

So from my experience, here is one tip for you if you decide to try the Uji Matcha Smoothie:
1) EAT THE ICE CREAM/SOFT SERVE FIRST.

Yup, that's my only tip. Hope to see some of you guys around various food joints in the future, I'm always down to trying out new foods around Hong Kong! 

Uji Matcha Smoothie

Close up of Uji Matcha Smoothie

Price:
$42 for Uji Matcha Smoothie

Ratings:
Taste: ★★★☆☆
Value for Money: ★★★☆☆
Presentation: ★★★★★
Environment: ★★★☆☆
Overall: ★★★☆☆

Address:
中文: 銅鑼灣禮頓道106-126號禮信大廈地下1A-1B號舖
English: Shop nos. 1A-1B, G/F., Leishun Court, 106-126 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay 

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Butao Ramen 豚王

EXAMS ARE OVER!!! Can someone throw confetti into the air because it's really time for a celebration! Finally Year 1 is over and I can take a break before starting work!

So due to this wonderful moment, I have decided to introduce Butao to you guys! Perhaps some of you already know about this ramen chain, and can we all agree that this is one of the best ramen chain stores in Hong Kong?!

If you don't know about Butao, no worries, let me introduce it to you. ;)

Review: 

So first of all, Butao is a ramen store that allows you to customise your ramen however you like. There are different soup bases and toppings to choose from, but of course, the more you load on, the more expensive it will be!

At Butao, there are 5 different soup base:

1) Butao King - tonkotsu pork bone broth 

2) Black King - tonkotsu squid ink broth

3) Red King - spicy, miso broth

4) Green King - basil, pesto and parmesan cheese broth

5) Limited Edition/Special - it changes from time to time

After choosing your soup base, you can decide what toppings you want to include, such as vegetables, pork (belly or butt), etc. You can also decide how much infused oil you want in your ramen, and how hard you want your ramen to be! I really like Butao because you can really do whatever you want to your ramen, it's entirely up to you!

However, for me, I like things simple. I went for the Butao King soup base, with little infused oil, pork belly, vegetables (both cabbage and fungus), and I chose my noodles to be cooked as normal - not too hard, not too soft. 

The thing about Butao is that their pork belly is very succulent and bursting with flavour. Although there's some fat on it, which can make it hard to chew, I have always enjoyed their pork belly because of its flavour. It's something that I have not seen before in other restaurants or ramen stores, so this one caught me a little by surprise.

The broth that Butao offers is also very unique. Their broth is thick, quite thick compared to other stores where it's just watery soup. However, despite it being thick, it did have a lovely fragrance and the taste was very strong. I definitely enjoyed the broth here at Butao, I usually finish the soup after polishing all the toppings and noodles. :)

All in all, I feel that Butao is a great ramen chain, and everyone should definitely try this at least once. Each time I go to Butao, there seems to be a big crowd of people waiting, otherwise if there's no queue, the restaurant is usually jam packed. Of course, this is all based on my personal preference, but I have been to Butao with a couple of my friends, and we did enjoy the ramen so... I hope you will too! 

Customised Butao King

Price:

$85 for Butao King, other broths or soup bases may cost more depending on what you pick. Don't forget that toppings do cost quite a bit, so watch it!

Ratings:

Taste: ★★★★★

Value for Money: ★★★★☆

Presentation: ★★★★★

Envrionment: ★★★★☆

Overall: ★★★★★

Address:

中文: 沙田沙田正街18號新城市廣場一期1樓167號舖

English: Shop 167, 1/F., New Town Plaza, 18 Sha Tin Centre Street, Sha Tin 

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Lamb Rack 羊鞍餐廳

Hi, I'm back with another post! :)

This time, I'm going to be talking about Lamb Rack in Kowloon City. Apparently, it's a French restaurant but I can't seem to make out how it's French so I'll just assume that it's Western.

I decided to try the lunch sets because they're relatively cheap compared to the dinner sets. I have to say that their portions are relatively big compared to other stores, so I was quite pleased when the food arrived and I felt it was worth the $50-$60 that I have spent.

The amount of lunch set choices is very wide, as I believe there are about 20 sets to choose from! Usually, restaurants give you about 3-5 lunch sets to choose from the menu, so I was surprised when I was presented with 20! *laughcry*

Review:

The first time I tried this restaurant, I decided to give this set a go. I forgot which set it was on the menu, but it has pictures for your reference. This lunch set included soup (either vegetable or cream soup), bread, the main course and a drink. I decided to go for the pork chop (you can choose either chicken steak, pork chop, beef fillet, or chicken wings), with the spaghetti in Russian Borsch. 

I have to say that I was so full after eating! I swear my stomach was about to burst from the amount of food in my stomach. I really enjoyed the pork chop because it was quite big and it was grilled/pan-fried (my favourite), and the seasoning was just on point! Moreover, the pork chop was tender and juicy, which totally won over my heart. 

I felt that the spaghetti in Russian Borsch was just normal, nothing special. The spaghetti was tasteless, so I'm guessing they cooked the soup and spaghetti separately instead of together...

Overall, this was a pretty good meal! I wouldn't mind eating this lunch set again, if only it wasn't so much. In addition, this is the cheapest meal on the menu and they gave quite a lot so... You can only imagine how much better (or worse maybe) the other meals are! 

Pork Chop with Spaghetti in Russian Borsch

The second time I came to Lamb Rack, I decided to try the grilled Brazilian BBQ pork chop with mashed potatoes. At first glance, it looked really good, the BBQ sauce glazed over the pork chop, and it's grilled very nicely.

The first bite was good too, and the BBQ sauce filled my taste buds and I really did like it. However, as you keep eating it, you will soon realise it gets quite sickening, that the BBQ sauce doesn't actually taste that good after a while, and it will lose its appeal after a few bites. Yes, the pork chop was still tender, but it wasn't that juicy because the BBQ sauce and glaze took all the attention and I was quite sick of it after finishing it off. 

The mashed potatoes were alright, they're quite tasteless, so you have to add in a dash of salt and pepper to spice it up a bit. Actually, eating the mashed potatoes tasted better after finishing the BBQ pork chop because for me, I was just so sick of it, the mashed potatoes was my escape from the BBQ taste. 

Needless to say, I don't think I will be trying this lunch set again...

Brazilian BBQ Pork Chop with Mashed Potatoes

Price: 
Lunch: $50-$100
Grilled Pork Chop with Spaghetti in Russian Borsch: $50
Brazilian BBQ Pork Chop with Mashed Potatoes: $60

Ratings:
Taste: ★★★★☆
Value for Money: ★★★★★
Presentation: ★★★★☆
Environment: ★★★★☆
Overall: ★★★★☆

Address:
中文: 九龍城福佬村道22號地舖
English: G/F, 22 Fuk Lo Tsun Road, Kowloon City 

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