Hakata Ippudo 一風堂香港

Hi! I'm back again after 5 days woohoo! :)

Lets face it, assignments can be a huge bore. So I'm taking a break and decided to blog about food because, food is definitely more important! 

This post will be shorter than my other posts, but I think I'll do be doing more short posts in the future since I don't always have a huge course meal. Blogging about food and introducing restaurants to you guys is definitely better than nothing right?

Ippudo. I have been dying to try out this Japanese ramen shop since the beginning of time and I finally did! Yay! I have yet to try Ichiran, which I have also heard is good. I'll be making my way there sometime soon. :)

Review:

I ordered the "Tokyo Shoyu", which is basically pork slices in fish and chicken soup, served with thick noodles (aka ramen). I love the soup base, probably the highlight of this dish! Yes, the pork slices were good - tender and soft - but they only gave me two slices!!! They also added in some vegetables and one small fishcake. The noodles were good too, chewy with a fine texture. You know how some noodles are really limp? Ippudo's ramen isn't like that, which I'm really pleased about! 

100% going to eat at Ippudo again in the future, can't wait to try out all their ramen dishes. I'm terribly satisfied with the quality and service of this restaurant!

Tokyo Shoyu 東京醬油

Price:
$68 for Tokyo Shoyu
$88 for Special Tokyo Shoyu (basically more toppings, such as wontons and seaweed)

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

Address:
中文: 九龍灣偉業街33號德福廣場1期G54A1號舖
English: Shop G54A1. Phase 1, Telford Plaza, 33 Wai Yip Street, Kowloon Bay 

Read More

Frites Belgium On Tap

Sooo, hello again! I know it's been a super long while since I've posted. Since classes today were cancelled, that means more time for me to blog (while catching up on unfinished assignments and studying for the upcoming exams)! 

Recently, I visited this restaurant called "Frites" in Wan Chai. It's a Belgian restaurant, and I only know Belgium is famous for their chocolates... 

But nevertheless, this place is actually quite nice! The interior design of this restaurant is so cute, making me feel like I've stepped into the 1800s, or the early 1900s! Also, as "frites" is fries in French, that means that their fries must be famous as well!

Anyways, if you're ever in Wan Chai and wondering where to eat, do find your way to this restaurant - the lunch menu is quite cheap and you won't be disappointed!

Review:

First up is the starter aka soup or salad. I decided to go for the soup, which was lentil and bacon soup. Okay, so the soup was more like a puree, or blended lentil and bacon. Not a huge fan of it, because I prefer more of a broth compared to a puree. The taste isn't bad, but it's was weird to my taste buds because I've never tried this kind of soup before! 

Lentil & Bacon Soup

Close up of Lentil & Bacon Soup

Next up, we have the Belgian fries! This wasn't part of the lunch menu, so we ordered it as a-la-carte. The fries in my opinion, ARE BOMB. They're not too oily, and they are really well seasoned. I know I know, they look like normal fries - they don't look very appealing right? Guess what, looks can be deceiving! I have to say that these fries are better than McDonald's and Burger King's fries! The mayo sauce that's included with these fries, is not like the mayo you find in Fillet-O-Fish or the ones served with your deep fried sole fillet. The mayo is much thicker, and it doesn't have much of the mayo taste and smell. Really nice combination - the fries and the mayo sauce. I really wouldn't mind coming here again just for the yummy fries!

Belgian Fries with Mayo Sauce

Close up of Belgian Fries

Main course! There were several choices to choose from, but I settled with the sea bass because it was the most healthy out of them. The sea bass was served with crispy potatoes, asparagus and a generous amount of chopped vegetables, such as tomatoes and onions. The sea bass was fresh catch, and very easy to cut. However, in my opinion, I did not like the texture of the sea bass. I personally prefer fillet because it's softer and more tender, but the sea bass' texture was basically "divided", so that when I cut the fish, it sort of disintegrated into its own mini parts... If that even makes sense. 

Nevertheless, the taste was quite good, but I didn't enjoy the sea bass as much as I had wanted to... Oh I love fish so much and this was quite disappointing because I did not like the texture of the sea bass. 

Sea Bass with Crispy Potatoes and Chopped Vegetables

Last but not least, we have dessert! You can choose either a drink or dessert, but obviously a foodie like me will go for dessert. :) This dessert is healthily unhealthy because although there's raspberry and granola, theres lots of whipped cream inside! Also, the raspberry seeds were so sour and they hurt my teeth a lot, giving me a temporary toothache! I should have chosen the drink instead because the coffee came with a cute milk mug that was shaped like a milk bottle, and well, coffee sounds a lot better than having a toothache.

Raspberry Cup

Price:

$120-$200 for lunch set, depending on main course.

Belgium Frites were $55. 

There's an Early Bird Lunch Special, if you finish your lunch by 12:45, there will be a 20% discount off your total bill. 

Ratings:

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

Address:
中文: 灣仔港灣道28號Brim 28灣景中心1樓6號舖

English: Shop 6, Brim 28, 1/F, Causeway Centre, 28 Harbour Road, Wan Chai

Read More

Noodle Lah!

So I'm back again with another post, this time on an actual restaurant instead of just snacks and dessert!

I'm quite excited to talk about this because as a Singaporean living in Hong Kong, it is extremely difficult to find a place that offers authentic Singaporean or Malaysian cuisine. However, this restaurant serves food that I deem as 70% authentic. If you thought Toast Box was authentic enough, let me tell you, you're wrong - very wrong. 

Nevertheless, if you're up for some Singaporean/Malaysian food, then try here! The environment is very nice and cozy, except if you go at night, they dim the lights and it looks very dark. Don't really know what the point of doing that was, but really, quite authentic Singaporean food! I was a very happy girl with a satisfied belly. 

Review:

Okay, Thai fish cakes. I am a huge fan of fish cakes, I'll probably cry if someone gave me a huge plate of fish cakes on Valentine's Day! All jokes aside, I do think that the fish cakes are quite oily, but nevertheless, the taste really did resemble the Thai fish cakes you can get in Thailand. The fish sauce (was it even fish sauce) that accompanied it, really complimented the fish cakes and made it even tastier! 

Thai Fish Cakes

PRAWN MEE! Oh goodness, my absolute favourite in Singapore!!! Although the colour of the soup isn't exactly accurate, the taste was quite similar to the one in Singapore. The soup base in Singapore's prawn mee is more towards a clear-yellowish colour, but in Noodle Lah! it's a dark red colour. There was a succulent amount of prawns and fish cakes, which made me really happy since fish cakes are LIFE. The noodles could be improved though; they used egg noodles but Singapore uses "oil noodles", otherwise known as 油麵. Overall, I do think this dish can be improved but other than that, it is quite accurate and resembles that of Singapore's prawn mee. Yuuuum.

Prawn Mee

Close up of Prawn Mee

Pictures of the restaurant since I thought the environment and decoration was quite nice! 

Glass bottle to hold chopsticks.

Noodle Lah!'s menu.

Reception area.

Facing the entrance/exit of the restaurant.

Sitting by the window is definitely a good choice, beautiful view!

Price:

$60 - $80 for main course.

Ratings:

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

Address:
中文: 金鐘夏愨道16號遠東金融中心閣樓A6-2舖

English: Shop A6-2, UG/F, Far East Finance Centre, 16 Harcourt Road, Admiralty

Read More

Burger Republic

Hi guys!

So sorry for the extremely late post, I know I promised updating every week but uni life is indeed very busy and stressful right now. I'll try to post more during the Easter break to make up for it, although my Easter break isn't really a break for me. :(

Anyways, I went to Burger Republic in Tseung Kwan O's Popcorn (MTR) mall a few weeks ago! They closed down New York Fries and replaced it with Burger Republic, which I think is a huge upgrade! In my experience, I didn't really enjoy New York Fries and thought it was quite overrated. However, Burger Republic is basically the same thing as Chips Republic in Elements (Kowloon Station) and their fries are THE BOMB - not even joking. I'm really happy that NYF closed down because a better shop took its place, so no point complaining right?! :)

Review:

The triple cheese fries are always my go-to dish whenever I order from this shop, be it Chips or Burger Republic. The thing is, the amount of cheese that gets poured into the containers is so generous that it's too good to be true. Normally, restaurants or shops in other places will just give you a tiny amount of cheese, but Chips/Burger Republic actually gives you so much cheese, that by the time you finish your fries, there's still leftover cheese. Their generosity makes me want to fall to my knees and cry because CHEESE IS LIFE. 

But seriously, you have piping hot, crispy fries, loaded with mozzarella, cheddar and possibly, Monterey Jack cheese (unsure about the third cheese they used). Their container of fries does also have a generous amount of fries so I ain't complaining about that. Although it can be a bit pricey, but with the amount of fries and cheese loaded into one container, I just can't say anything negative about it. It's worth it. It really is.

I tried a bit of their mozzarella & gravy fries, one of their recommended dishes. It's really good, now I can't decide which one I like better - triple cheese or mozzarella & gravy??? Ahhh fries with cheese and gravy is just too good, help me pick please!!!

Triple Cheese Fries

Close up of Triple Cheese Fries

Price:

Fries - $30 - $40

Burgers - $30 - $50

Milkshakes - $30 - $40

Ratings:

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

Address:
中文: 將軍澳唐賢街9號PopCorn商場1樓F24-F26號舖 

English: Shop F24-F26, 1/F, PopCorn, 9 Tong Yin Street, Tseung Kwan O 

Read More

He She Eat

I'll try my best to post weekly, but sometimes my schedule doesn't permit that! Stressful weeks up ahead and finally, FINALLY, I have time to blog.

So hello guys! I know it's been a while, but I've been juggling a lot of things recently. Anyways, my friend and I went to He She Eat in Causeway Bay. We've been hearing positive reviews about this restaurant so we decided to try it out after our morning lessons on a beautiful Friday. 

The food is quite pricey but what can I say? Since when are college kids never broke? Yeah, that's me right there, being very picky on what to eat so I can save money, but get the most out of the He She Eat experience. You know what I mean?

Review:

My friend and I shared the squid ink linguine, which is just, wow. It did taste a bit salty, and the squid was just a bit weird and way too salty! The squid ink really did make your lips and teeth black, so be sure to wipe your mouth before stepping out of that restaurant! Overall, I have to say this dish is really good. The linguine was chewy and the squid ink really complimented the noodles. The only problem I had with this dish was that the squid was too salty (even for me) but other than that, great dish!

Squid Ink Linguine

Dessert!!! I ate the chocolate waffle, which came with chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce and syrup! The waffle was huge and the chocolate ice cream tasted really good - didn't seem to come from Apollo or any sort of local brand. The chocolate sauce was indeed, very chocolatey and it really enhances the taste of the waffle! Ayeeeee, try this if you're a chocoholic!

Chocolate Waffle with Chocolate Ice Cream & Chocolate Syrup

Okay, I didn't try this, but it looks adorable. Green tea fondue cake with tofu ice cream! Matcha lovers have to try this! My friend is a huge matcha lover and she found this dessert "perfect". The lava cake was indeed filled with the matcha filling, and the tofu ice cream didn't have a strong tofu taste, which is good if you don't like tofu. The lava cake is topped with pistachios and matcha powder, so matcha power all the way!!! Overall, I have to say that this dessert sounds very Japanese because matcha and tofu? How much more Japanese can it get?! 

Matcha Fondue Cake with Tofu Ice Cream

Price:

Squid Ink Linguine - $95

Chocolate Waffle - $52

Matcha Fondue Cake - $59

Ratings:

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

Address:
中文: 銅鑼灣記利佐治街2-10號銅鑼灣地帶2樓201號舖
English: Shop 201, 2/F, Causeway Bay, 2-10 Great George Street, Causeway Bay

Read More

Ocio 窩夫專門店

Hi everyone!

It's been a long time since I have posted and I apologise for that. I've been super busy with university and having work thrown at me so, have to deal with priorities first!

Anyways, I recently visited Ocio again. The first time I went was with my friend in July when she came back from Canada. Last time, we ate dinner and dessert so it was a bit pricey. Recently, I visited again with one of my classmates and we just went for dessert since we were a bit too full for anything.

Nevertheless, it's a good place for desserts, not too pricey and its definitely worth it because the presentation and the taste is SO good. I can just stress on how amazing the desserts taste but of course, it's my preference and some people may find it a bit too sweet or not sweet enough, etc.

Review:

Right, so these are the chocolate crepes with strawberries, served with chocolate ice cream. Can I just say how BOMB these crepes are? The crepes are soft, but not too flimpsy that they break easily. The whole thing is so chocolatey, with chocolate sauce, stuffed with strawberries under the folds of crepes, and the chocolate ice cream? Oh what a perfect combination! In my opinion, it isn't too sweet and I would definitely eat this again because seriously, chocolate overload with strawberries is basically my idea of HEAVEN.

Chocolate Crepes with Strawberries and Chocolate Ice Cream

Next up, we have the chocolate pudding (or lava cake) with vanilla ice cream! I didn't try this one but apparently it tasted good at first, but as you get into it, it just gets too sweet. The vanilla ice cream is good though (as according to my friend), and if you eat the vanilla ice cream with the lava cake, it's basically heaven in your mouth. Seriously.

Chocolate Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream

This time I just came for dessert. Their dinner menu was quite expensive and I was short of money so... Dessert comes first! 

Ocio's Desserts

Price:
$50-$100 for desserts, the price varies for the appetizers, main course and dinner sets.

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

Address:
中文: 旺角廣華街2-20號翠園大廈二期地下5號鋪
English: Shop 5, G/F, Tsui Yuen Mansion, Phase2, 2-20 Kwong Wa Street , Mong Kok 

Read More

The Trafalgar Brewing Company

Hi y'all! I just tried sounding Texan/Southern but that obviously didn't work. 

Finally, another post of proper food instead of desserts. xD Anyways, there's a specific area in Wan Chai, near the Renaissance Harbourview Hotel, where there's a lot of Western restaurants. A lot of white people dine there and these restaurants are usually opened by foreigners (or gweilos if you will). Usually, the shop owners who orignate from their own country will of course, open a restaurant that's following their nationality - if that even makes any sense. Such as this restaurant, The Trafalgar is a British and German restaurant, so there will either be British, German or British x German mixed people running this restaurant. You get? 

I visited this restaurant yesterday with my family and to be honest, it felt more of a pub than a restaurant. There was a section with a bar counter, with lots of tall stools and tables with a window view. I feel like I'm doing a really bad job explaining the place, and I didn't take any pictures. :( But from what I remember, the corner seats were very spacious and comfortable, and the waiters/waitresses were very kind and helpful, plus they are fluent in Cantonese and English (aye). 

Review:

Okay so first up, we have the minestrone soup with bread sticks. I was actually so used to the "Russian Borsch" in cha caan teng that I felt the minestrone soup tasted funny! Even comparing the one to Pizza Hut, I felt that it just tasted... Funny. My dad told me the minestrone soup is legit and minestrone is supposed to taste like this, since this is the first time I tried minestrone made by Westerners. Fair enough dad, you win.

The minestrone was served piping hot and it wasn't thick but it wasn't too watery either. There are a lot of vegetables and spaghetti strands in the soup which altogether, complimented the whole dish.

Soup of the Day: Minestrone Soup

British fat chips! Yes these fries are too die for. They're deep-fried, seasoned perfectly and served with Thai sweet chili sauce; they're not too oily too so that's a bonus! There are actually 4 different kinds of fries served at Trafalgar, but from the top of my head, I can only remember these fat/chunky chips and potato wedges. Anyone who loves fries/chips should definitely try this dish, and if you just like it salted ONLY then perhaps not, but in my opinion, the seasoning was done very well!

British Fat/Chunky Chips

Close up of the British fat/chunky chips.

Time for the main course!

Sole fillet with ratatouille and vegetables. Yep, ratatouille. Doesn't it remind you the movie? When I found out that ratatouille was just vegetable stew, I was a bit disappointed because I expected more than vegetables just cooked in tomato sauce LOL. 

Nevertheless, the ratatouille was bearable and it did taste okay with bits of crunchy peppers and other sorts of veggies. The broccoli served as a side was huge! Definitely looking like a tree. Oh, and the sole fillet, ah the fish of the hour. Definitely good, it was 2 & 1/2 of a fish so it was pretty big! Though it felt as though there's no taste, I never really came across a restaurant that had a seasoned sole fillet (or maybe that's just me). 

Grilled Sole Fillet with Ratatouille

Close up of the main course.

Dessert, I actually don't know it was. Perhaps it's cheesecake with whipped cream, half a strawberry and chocolate sauce. I didn't particularly enjoy the dessert because it was a bit too dry - I felt my throat getting dry after eating the whole thing! 

Cheesecake

Drinks, you can choose what you want of course, but please avoid the coffee! I'm a huge coffee lover but the coffee was just too strong and bitter that even I couldn't take it! I take black coffee sometimes, but man, the coffee served there was just, wow. So please, if you cannot take strong coffee, I BEG you, please choose another drink! 

However, despite the unpleasant coffee, it did come with a really cute spoon! :)

Twisty Spoon

Sideview of the twisty spoon.

Price:
About $100 for a set lunch.You can check out the menu on their website: Trafalgar

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

Address:
中文: 灣仔駱克道54-62 號博匯大廈5樓
English: 5/F, The Broadway, 54-62 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai 

Read More