It's been a while since my last blog, and what better way to pick up where I left off than with a full tummy and complete satisfaction at a modern yakitori joint

Service
Came here on a Friday at 8pm and was told the wait would be around 2 hours, so my friends and I had a drink at a nearby restaurant down the street. Before we knew it, after about 1.5 hours, I got a call saying our table would be ready soon. Yardbird staff are all chilled out and all full of smiles. We had to call out a few times to one of the friendly servers as it was a full house, but they were quick to respond.

Food
From chicken heart to tail, you would think their best dishes are all about the chicken, but I found quite the opposite to be true!sweet corn tempura
so crispy, so sweet delicioushad to give the tail a try, but it was just too fatty for me and could take no more than one bite. The waitress saw this and took this item off our bill. It wasn't necessary but a very nice gesture. slightly sweet, loved this dish!a tasty combination of tender meat and yolkfull of flavour and not too sweet, we each had two orders Verdict
It's always loud and noisy here, but also very chilled out. I like that this place is quite small. Of course this means a longer wait, but if it had the capacity for more, it would lose the homey feeling and turn into more of a food court. I would be glad to come back

Came here for a friend's birthday celebration on a Saturday night and was surprised to see the restaurant nearly empty. Better for our group I suppose since it felt almost like a private dining room We went for the three-course set dinner...

Service
This place would not have even been an "ok" if it weren't for the friendliness of the staff. Granted there were only a few tables and thus no reason at all for them not to be attentive. The waiters also very gladly took photos for us. One even boasted about how good a photographer he was. Nice people.

Food
Too bad I was not blown away at all, even somewhat disappointed. Starter scallops - a bit on the salty side. Wasn't bad, but nothing to rave about.lobster bisque - waaaayy too salty that I had to dip bread into the soup and eat it that way. I'm normally a huge fan of the soup part of the meal, but could only finish half of this bowl.My friend described the cod as buttery, but I could not taste the buttery-ness. Instead, the cod felt "slippery." Not to say that it was raw. It did have the "melt in your mouth" kind of feeling, which I'm sure a lot of people prefer. But the fish was bland. I couldn't make out any particular taste with the sauce. Saving the best for last? The petits fours were much better, and I loved the pecan crunch! But if I'm paying almost $700 for a meal, the petits fours alone being delicious just doesn't cut it.

Verdict
The staff took a polaroid photo for our group, a nice little gift for the bday girl Apparently they are no longer giving out stuffed bears, owing to a change in management. Not sure if their dishes on the a la carte menu are worth a try, but it might take a bit of convincing for me to be back.

French cuisine in Macau. Who would've thought? And this place was truly a hidden gem. I came here with two friends for lunch last Saturday after an unsuccessful attempt at A Lorcha (we didn't book, oops).

One of my friends comes here almost weekly for lunch since she comes to Macau for work quite often. She said she stumbled upon the place randomly (not through reviews or recommendations) while wandering around in the Largo do Senado area and was very happy with their lunch sets (only available on weekdays though... I might have to come back on a weekday^^)

Tucked in one of the alleyways behind the fountain at Largo do Senado, La Bonne Heure (The Good Hour) is a truly delightful surprise. My friend tells me this place is frequented by local Portuguese. It maintains a low profile (and I think the chef likes it that way). We came for lunch to find only two other customers there, though it was apparently fully booked for dinner according to one of the waiters. (The restaurant also closes on Sunday).

Service
Not sure how the service is when there's a full house, but for an almost empty one, it was splendid. We chatted with the two waiters, who were both very friendly and attentive without being overbearing. They were also very cooperative when we asked to see the chef to give him our compliments. Now perhaps the more surprising part is that La Bonne Heure's chef is Japanese, and he used to work for Robuchon a Galera at Hotel Lisboa. His name is Koji. I asked him whether or not he cooked other types of cuisines, to which he answered no. And fair enough, because he's good at what he does.

Food
[roasted duck breast with blueberry sauce - Mop 188]
Aside from the tender meat, the best part about this dish is the seasoned skin. It's crispy and flavoured with salt and pepper. Not sure why but the blueberry sauce gave this dish a somewhat Christmas feel. The sauce was lightly sweet with blueberry bits. Even the mashed potato was buttery and delicious - perfect on its own without any need of gravy. Seriously, when even the plain mashed potato is this good, you know the chef is meticulous and serious about food. As cheesy as this sounds (sorry^^;;), I was touched because it was as though with every bite, I could taste the chef's diligence and passion for cooking. [warm smoke salmon with watercress purée - Mop 138]
Another amazing dish. The puree was so smooth, and again the flavours here are light. The smoke salmon was so soft it simply melted in my mouth. My friend was telling me how this dish must have been difficult to make (hence requiring a professional to get it right) as the salmon was warm smoked slowly at the right temperature to achieve the extremely tender effect (salmon is usually hot or cold smoked). I didn't take a picture of it, but we also ordered the spaghetti alio olio [Mop 68]. The noodles were soaked in a rather watery olive oil (it worked out fine though because the oil was less thick) and comprised a strong garlicky taste.
[fresh strawberry purée with sparkling wine - Mop 48]
While my friends found this to be a bit on the sweet side, my sweet tooth thought this was perfect. I liked the fizzy effect after the sparkling wine was added to the ice cream and purée. It tasted like a very sweet strawberry champagne with ice cream. Verdict
I would GLADLY come back anytime I'm in Macau! My other friend says she may come back just for this... it really says something I have yet to find a French place in Hong Kong with food this good, and at this price! Whyyy >.< or maybe there is but I just don't know it yet? The bill came to about $150pp, and they didn't even include a service charge or tip (we tipped them separately ~ one that I was happy giving!)

I've been told that this is the best burger joint in town. Can't believe I had never been in all my 1.5 years living in HK. It's so good that it makes packing on a few (hundred) more calories worth it.

Service
Ok the service kinda sucked. On a late Sunday afternoon, the place was packed, and there was only one waitress. The food took a little longer than expected (around 20 minutes... which I'll let slide since the burger was so good) and the trash left behind by people sitting at the table before weren't cleaned up until we asked the waitress a second time. Other than that, you pretty much self-serve everything else, and get your own drinks in the fridge.

Food
The burger hands down stole the show. Maybe it's just the tea set, but the smaller sized burger was so much easier to eat. The toppings didn't fall apart. The patty was juicy as well, and cooked just right (I'd say it was between a medium and medium well - I'm not a fan of bloody nor burnt meat patties). The sesame bun was also sweet and so delicious that I could've eaten it by itself. The potato wedges paled in comparison though. They were a bit too soft and not crunchy enough for my tastes. Next time I'll try the curly/twisted fries and mozzarella sticks - the table next to us ordered it and I couldn't stop looking over!

Verdict
I'll be baaaaccck!

Came here on a Saturday and had to wait a little while. Mou Mou Club differs from other hot pot venues in that it's cleaner and has fewer options on the menu. The buffet section had a decent selection of fish balls, veggies, tofu, sausages, tomatoes, noodles, corn, mushrooms, etc. but limited sauces. No sha cha or peanut sauce *sigh* But if memory serves me correctly, adding $20 gets you unlimited Asahi, score!!

[Service]
The waiters here are friendly but can be kinda slow (not sure if this is some sort of tactic to give us less meat as the eating session is timed).

[Food]
We had a pot with two different soup bases ~ both sides ended up overflowing and thus the flavors were all mixed anyway -_-" The flavors of the soup bases don't really stand out, especially after mixing the cooked foods with soy sauce. Did anything really stand out here though? Not really, it's just your average hot pot. We found it strange that the meat looked different every time the waiter brought us more O_O But it was okay. The dessert at the end was also just your average supermarket ice cream. Not bad, but nothing really wowed me here.

[Verdict]
It's not expensive for all-you-can-eat, but the selection is meager compared to the average Chinese restaurants serving hot pot. I don't really see how it's Japanese style though besides the fact that there's udon... which is quite often used in Chinese hot pots. Regardless, I don't mind coming back to this place, though it wouldn't be at the top of my choices.