Applegreen  

Date of visit : 15 Apr 2013 (Mon) 8:30 pm
No. of diners : 7
Average cost per head : $205
Corkage : free for first 2 bottles, $50 for each additional
Food quality : 7.8/10
Environment : 8/10
Service : 7.8/10
Value-for-money : 7.8/10
Overall rating : 7.98/10

My friends met on Monday for dinner and one of us proposed this Applegreen. Though later we realized this is not a vegetarian restaurant, we agreed to give a try. Applegreen was with a clean design both in the interior and on their menu. Having that said, they still offer a wild variety of food. The ingredients they selected were higher than Spaghetti House or Pizza Hut. It’s an eatery welcome by younger generation with a relaxed budget.

For service-wise, the staff were efficient and with no doubt that training was given, but they were a couple of staff that executed according to the required manner but one could easily sensed the urge and robotic behavior.

a) Guacamole Made-to-Order 鮮製牛油果梨醬、墨西哥脆片($88) – 8/10This typical and popular salsa is made of minced avocado and herbs. However, the so-called tortilla chips looked and tasted more like those crispy chips for the Chinese snake soup. Any, the sauce was creamy though lacking a tad of salt.

b) Ham Flatbread 美式烤薄餅 ($142) – 8.5/10I doubted I was having an American flatbread as its named. The pastry base was more like a cracker than bread or pizza. Anyway, it was a delicious savoury dish that one wouldn’t have difficulty in finish half if not the whole of it, especially with layers of parma ham, honey dew melon and parmesan cheese on it.

c) Seasonal Chef’s Selection Salad Cart 自選沙律 ($158) – 8.5/10
After we ordered the selection salad, the waitress handed us an order form with dozens of choices including meats on the list. We could select all but surely the overall size of the salad bowl would still be the same. The greens were fresh and the salad dressing was just right.

d) Grilled Sausage Platter 烤肉腸拼盤 ($138) – 8/10It was a dish with selection of 4 sausages and served with mashed potato and slow roasted garlic. I like those pork sausages filled with herbs inside.

e) Spicy Citrus Chicken Wings 甜辣柚子雞翼 ($70) – 7.5/10
This seemed to be a variant from the Japanese dish with the teriyaki sauce been replaced by sweet and spicy citrus sauce. The chicken wings were first deep fried to make their skin crispy, however, welcome by the diners.

f) Sesame Orange Chicken Salad 加州棒棒雞沙律、芝麻薑汁 ($108) – 8/10This is a mixture of sliced chicken breast, lettuce, green onion, carrot tossed with sesame ginger dressing and topped with deep fried wonton sheets and rice vermicelli. Likely it is more welcome by kids than adults.

g) Paprika Spring Chicken 乾紅椒烤春雞、燒粟米 ($148) – 8/10The chicken was oven baked and the meat was moist and tender. The seasoning of paprika could be more intense.

h) Grilled US Corn-fed Pork Chop 炭燒美國 榖飼豬排 ($242) – 8.5/10As claimed, the corn-fed pork chop was beautifully grilled to well done but still maintained the soft and moist texture. However, it was a bit over-priced to be served in a casual restaurant.

j) Spaghetti with Hakata Cod Roe 明太子意粉 ($104) – 8/10The spaghetti was cooked al dente, well mixed with cod roe and cream to create a creamy based, not too salty but had to finish quickly or the fishy smell would dominate the dish.

k) Spaghetti with Shrimp Bisque 鮮蝦濃汁 ($104) – 7.5/10
The bisque sauce was delicious but when it became cold, it lost its attraction. The shrimp was sinewy but not the fresh type.

04.2013

Apple Green has one of my favorite menus in HK. It always has new and cool dishes to choose, the food is consistently delicious and full of flavor, and the environment is clean and comfortable. The only thing that could improve is the wait staff, sometimes they are not attentive and not so friendly.

If you're aren't familiar with flatbread, it's not so well known in HK, but Apple Green is one of the few places you can find it. The flatbread was wonderful, it was light and crispy and the toppings are fresh and delicious, with plenty of healthy ingredients. I had two types, one cold one with spinach and parma ham, and a hot one with chicken. They are both worth sharing if you are with a group. I also tried the grilled salmon which was tender and lightly seasoned.

Unfortunately, I often feel hungry if I don't order enough here, but since it's mainly women and smaller-sized men in here, it doesn't matter to most customers. For me, I think the portions can be small and unsatisfying as salad is not very filling so it's not really good value-for-money.

For people with normal appetites, if you order a regular portion salad, you will likely need to order at least one other appetizer (eg., flatbread) or a full entree as none will be enough food.

Food is not really western, it's west of east but many "fusion" dishes. Food quality is poor, average at best. Lettuce was brown and wilted. Pasta dish lacked flavor and meat portions very small. Coffee is cheap and watery. Overpriced for what you get. Nice atmosphere. Clean presentation and restaurant although my stomach hurt after eating here.

Three adults with one baby went at brunch time. We ordered breakfast - Egg in the hole, and chicken salad. Egg in the hole sounded a bit funny and when it came, we realized that it was a round shaped bread with a hole cut in the middle and replaced by an egg. Interesting way to present and prepare the egg and bread for breakfast. The egg is cooked fairly raw with both egg white and yolk still running. Besides the egg and bread, there were plenty of sweet potato chips (a bit too rich for brunch for me), sausage and honey coated ham. Sausage was average, but the ham was very well proportioned. When the chicken salad came, we were surprised how BIG the salad was. It was great with lots of green vegi and chicken strips. And it was truly a green salad that the quantity of chicken was not overwhelming, unlike some other restaurants' offer. We were also surprised with ample place in the restaurant considering we were in the middle of CWB in HK, where a street front shop cost HKD3m per month in rent.

Overall, salad was fresh, and the breakfast was great value for money. Two thumbs up.

Where there early

went there in TST before. so excited knowing they have one in CWB too

wanted to order waffle but they said they never had it

anyway ordered a Benedict and egg in a hole

Benedict - OMG , use a knife to cut through , Perfect yolk is runny
Salad on the side_ right portion, tasty good and healthy
Sweet potato fires- Good

Egg in the whole _ cut thought, yolk rushing out , that's the beauty of the dish
comes with a fruit salad

Western Brunch with a very good price ! and good food !

HAPPY FRIDAY'S NIGHT! A DAY TO CHILAX!

Met up with my Buddy C and didn't know where to dine in at CWB, she suggested Apple Green.

We both ordered:
Salad with pan-fried sea bass: i'd say the texture of sea bass is a bit rough and dry inside. The skin is pan-fried into golden color which is great! but overall, it is not impressive for me. I better order other salads~~~

Carbonara: The safest pasta dish at restaurant. It served with a slice of garlic bread. The bread is great and i like carbonara with the creamy sauce! This would be the best of the night.

End up we didn't order any dessert as we both mainly chat and chat (a good place for gathering too).

Craving for some pasta, my boyfriend suggested Apple Green for brunch and so we went. Brunching at Apple Green is never lavish, but was pretty chill and relaxing.

1) Salmon Bagel with ChipsI have always love bagels, I love its shape, its texture and its taste. I personally reckon it goes best with sour cream which Apple Green had it on the side. As usual the portion in Apple Green is enormous since it served American size dishes. The portion was too huge for me, I literally had to take more than half of the salmon out of the bagel in order to enjoy it. There was simply too much salmon, if I have taken all of them, I think I will get salmon poisoned(jking). The bagel was great, very spongy and soft! The cabbage was fresh but the purple onions were pretty raw which I had taken it out. (I hope I didn't take out too much ingredients out of the bagel lol.) The coleslaw wasn't something I am fond of, first there was too much dressing in it, second I don't like its taste. The crisps were home made, I quite like them, they were extremely crispy but the crispyness was very different from the typical packaged crisps.

2) Pesto PastaThe pasta looked appealing with a slice of french baguette on top. The baguette was toasted to make the already-crunchy baguette slightly more crunchy and finished off with a spread with garlic and butter to keep the center soft. The spaghetti was in generous portion. Each and every single strand was fully covered with pesto and olive oil to give a sparkly look. The combined taste of the pesto and olive oil made the spaghetti very tasteful and refreshing. Sadly the spaghetti was rather soft in texture.

Overall, I do love dinning at Apple Green. I love the spaciousness and the relaxing ambience which I find very comfy to dine in. The only thing that I concern dinning at the restaurant is the fact that they serve American size which is too much for me, however it would be good if you are going to share with more people.

P.S. The coffee that comes with the set is bottomless

I have been to the TST branch once during lunch time. It was spacious and quiet, hardly anyone there. Since I THOUGHT it'd be nice and chill I wanted to try the cwb branch.

It's VERY crowded and VERY loud. The tables are close together and because of the design of the restaurant, basically it's like a huge room that traps all the sounds and everything's magnified. My party and I could hardly hear each other!

I quite like Applegreen's menu. Plenty of salads, I like. I also appreciate the small/big sizes that are available. Their grilled sea bass salad is quite refreshing with some sliced mandarins and light dressing on the salad. Their sauteed mushrooms and sun dried tomato salad is well done. Although the mushrooms are on the oily side, since I didn't put any dressing in, the whole dish actually worked out well. The "big" size is only $88 and it's huge!!

Their fries on the side are delicious! I think it was some sort of cajun seasoning and they were nice and crisp.

Service here is above average. Most are polite and they are pretty fast. They did however got part of my order wrong and mixed in the salad dressing even though I asked for it on the side. However once I voiced it she quickly (without black face) went back to the kitchen and 2 minutes later I have a non-dressed salad

Overall a pretty good place for salads. Although I don't appreciate them telling me to leave by a certain time as I booked a table, I understand how in the restaurant business you really need high turnovers.

As we were heading out around 8:30pm there were still plenty of people waiting! When did HK ppl start liking salads? Seemed like no one would give a dang for raw leaves a few years ago..

Great dinning place

It is so refreshing to have dinner at AppleGreen, especially in CWB branch.
Most waitresses provide good services and food are all tasty and attractive!

My boyfriend and I ordered three dishes.
(1) Appetizer(Salad) - Green Goddess: Really fresh! Both vegetable and the sauce (MUST EAT ITEM)
(2) Grid Salmon with potatoes - We always ordered this dish as it is always evocative!!!!!!!!!!!
(3) Spaghetti with Napoleon sause(tomato) - very tasty!!!!!

However, we did not have room to try desserts...But they are good as I tried before!

Overall, it is great! And, all food makes us happy in this restaurant

Date: Sunday 9th jan 2011 2.15pm

Ordered: Egg in the hole brunch set + Egg BenedictTaste: Egg in the hole - This came in a rather big plate. Looked very alluring and delicious. I could not wait to dig in. There were two egg in the hole, with a apple maple sausage and a piece of gammon ham. Also came with a pot of fruits, very refreshing,Although it looked very delicious, the taste was on the off side. The sausage was definately not my taste. Faint taste of apple and very sweet, You can surely taste the maple. Very small sausage, I prefer cumberland or real pork sausage. I myself liek gammon ham than bacon, but thsi thick salice of honey roast gammon ham was abit too sweet and not crispy enough.The bread of egg in the hole was very crispy and nicey made. With the half cooked egg in the middle. i enjoyed dipping the bread into the egg. That was yummy,the fruit pot was probably the best. so refreshing. It has oranges, pineapple, melon and apples. i loved it. Sweet.Egg Benedict - This surely was the best dish out of the two. The presentation was clearly on the highr end. Very neatly presented with some green salad on the side. The muffin was nice and warm with asparagus in the muffin. Lovely colour combination, green from the asparagus, yellow from the sauce and egg. BUT to my disappointment, the egg was slighly overcooked, When i cut through the egg, the egg did not soak through, but it was over cooked, So for the whole of the egg bendict it was slightly dry. There was not enough sauce, not enough egg yolk, was rather dry especially the muffin is very dry too.Conclusion: I liked the brunch, although the food could have been better and I expected it to be better. Epecially the presentation was superb. Maybe just improve o the seasoning and the timing of the eggs. It would have been perfect. I ahve been a fan of applegreen since their first branch couple years ago, I love their concept, atmosphere , service and food. So i have enjoyed a nice sunday brunch there, and for the price, their food could have been better. But i would come again, for everythinge lse they provide.

the brunch set comes with tea and coffee in teh end, and I even liked the tea although it taste like other tea in other restaurant. It is from their good service. They provide coffee mate for their coffee instead of normal milk which taste better I think.PS: i did ring up an d reserved a table incase it was full. As they only do the brunch between 12 - 5pm on weekends. i was late for 15 mins but the lady was still very polite. the restaurant was only 50 percent full, so no need to wory if it will be full.

PS 2: it did say "We serve American size" and i was hoping to see a LARGE portion. It was big... the plate. I really wish they did serve huge american size!!!

A few things I liked.
a) Orange Sesame Chicken Salad
b) Chicken Wings w/ Honey BBQ Sauce
c) Cheese Quesadilla
d) Hakata Cod Roe Pasta

We had a bunch of kids with us during dinner who are toddlers (1-3 years old) and like to move around. One of the waitresses with short hair got bumped by one of them and asked one of her colleagues to ask our kids to stay in the lobby area to play instead. Seems like they don't have a lot of kids who come over and this particular girl got grumpy coz of it.
This resto may have a few things that are good (and a bunch of misses as well might I add) but, if the staff are not children friendly, our group will definitely not be coming back here. You've not only lost a dozen customers all in one go, but much more for sure.

Date Dined: Monday 9th August 2010 3.30pm

Ordered: Wild mushroom salad, 1 lemon sole set with pumpkin soup

Taste Wild mushroom salad: I had this salad just 2 weeks ago. And it was excellent. So decided to order this salad again to share with my mum. When it came, it did not even look the same as 2 weeks ago. The leaves did not look as fresh, was abit yellowy and you can see the dressing isnt equally spread. Not much mushrooms. as I shared the salad I realized something was missing but could not figure out what ingredients. The taste was abit strange very different from first time I had this salad. It was meant to be bit sour- y. But instead this was super SPICEY. First few bites i thought, oh its spicey, but it got so spicey I could not bare it. Then i looked at menu and found out there was no semi dried tomato. so spoke to the waitress. Later on she came back with some tomato and expect me to just add it in. Still, the salad was wierd tasting and extremely spicey. So we decided not to finish it.

Leomon Pan fried Lemon sole with mash potato - This came after i decided to stop eating the salad. The lemon sole in bread crumb was not that hot, but the mash potato was quite hot. can tell it was freshly done. I liked the fish, as it was crispy on outside, the mash potatoe was good too. With some bacon bits inside. came with some beans which was rather tasteless.

Pumpkin soup: This was excellent. Very creamy and you can taste it is rich of pumpkin. I loved it. Not too hot, just right to drink it right now.

Services: It was average. Not as good as before. Majority of them was somewhere talking and chatting al the time. Our waitress came to ask if the food is okay. So was very honest and told her the salad was below average. Was wayyyyyy too spicey. Then she got the manager over. The manager explained that the leaves werent spicey it was the mushrooms. I know BUT she should have a try and realize it is wayyyyyyy too spicey and I HAVE HAD THIS SALAD MORE THAN ONCE i think i would know what is acceptable and NOT acceptable. if both me and mum has TRIED to eat it but find it way too spicey then it is TOO spicey. First time I had it was NOT like this. Not at all like this. wasnt even that sour or spicey. firstly forgt the tomato which is something i dt think u can forget then tell me it is this spicey???????
Anyhow she seemed to ahve made it as if i complained, but i was not going to mention about it til their waitress asked if the food is okay. Anyhow manager offered a free dessert, but i rejected. What is the point to offer free dessert? to apologize? When she wont even admit or try if the salad was wrongly prepared? I ike that salad and I am an applegreen's fan. I love that salad and just want a nice salad so why offer me a free dessert.
I DONT THINK I WILL EVER COME TO THIS BRANCH AGAIN OR TRY THIS SALAD.

Date dined : 30th July 2010 8.40pm

Food Mushroom Salad $48 Spaghetti Carbonara $88

Taste: Mushroom Salad - It tasted AMAZING!!! I requested cheese on it as I am a SUPER CHEESE LOVER!!! Which made me enjoy the salad more. It was Romaine lettuce leaves on bottom with few sorts of mushroom on top then topped up with semi dried tomato!. I love their dressing, not too heavy or filling, made me have more appetite. I love their mushroom, definately their best salad from the ones I have tried in their restaurant.
Spaghetti carbonara - This was disappointing as this is the third time we have ordered this pasta dish. The first time was 2 years ago in their 1st branch (now closed) it was DELICIOUS, creamy but not too rich, nicely mixed. But when it came today, it looked like it fell on floor and got picked back up onto plate. was all slumpy on the dish. Did not look creamy, and we realized the sauce was not well mixed in. There was small section where the pasta has no sauce. It was still good, but NOT AS GOOD.

Environment This is the 4th branch I have been to, It looks like all the other branch, simple interior, wooden furnitures. Nice simple cutlery. But this branch is smaller than TST and MK branch. Which seems to be a flaw as there were many waitresses running around making the place looks http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/write.htm?shopid=32108&IsReview=1#even more crowded. 90 percent of the diners are female which mean lots of chatting gossiping and giggling which feels very very very NOISY.

Services: I have always complimented their service since their first branch. But I have realized this branch, all their waitress has no smiles on their face. Their first branch in TST 2 years ago, their waitresses were very polite caring and happy looking. This branch they look like they have been cursed. They are still polite, very efficient, and always filling up our glass of water, but they are missing a smile. Esp one waitress, she did not even remember to ask me if I would like the banana cake with my salad which I get asked EVERY other time, the same waitress also did not reply me when I requested for extra cheese. Could improve on that.

OVERALL: I loved their salad!!!! A generous portion, but I realize their menu has changed since my 1st and 2nd time visit. Which means they are noticing what people's needs are, a very good thing. I really think they need improve on the salad tho- esp Carbonara. Was not like before

Didn't really mind the 30 mins waiting as I didn't make reservation. What was most disappointing was the food quality and portions. For this price, I would expect the 'seared tuna' to have a bit more vegetables & tuna. The portions have actually shrunk compared to the first time i went a few months back. Instead of including banana bread with your salad by default, you now have to request for it additionally.

As for the main course, spaghetti with 'slow-cooked meatballs' was the worst i had in years. Meatballs were dry, dull and tasteless. Maybe they should call it 'over-cooked meatballs' instead.

In any case, service is usuallly pretty good but at the end of the day, i would choose food quality over service any day of the week. Don't think i'll go back anytime soon.

Carbonara – creamy, the sauces were rich in taste
Grilled salmon – grilled salmon and served with zucchini & caufiflower an a bed of mashed sweet potato.
Four cheese quesadilla – Filled with Mozzarella, Cheddar, Muenster and Jack Cheese
Half-portion Sesame orange chicken salad – taste good, refreshing taste, special sesame dressing.
4 Side order: sautéed wild mushroom, macaroni & Cheese , garlic bread and cajun fries in a trash bin.
Atmosphere was causal, bright with very spacious seating arrangements.
The overall food quality is very fresh, taste delicious and in right portion.