Have walked past this place a couple of times and have always seen it pretty packed. I was pleasantly surprised with what this little cafe had to offer!

With only approximately 22 seats to offer, space is quite limited within the cafe itself. This didn't really bother me, although I found it quite hard to maneouvre my various all day breakfast dishes once everything arrived. Apart from this though, I liked the coziness it had to offer and the interior decor worked well with setting a relaxing atmosphere for customers. By about 12:30pm, most tables had been snapped up.

The menu had plenty of dishes to offer and included a variety of Western pasta and breakfast combos as well as interesting Chinese dishes too. Each dish had the option of being upgraded to a combo meal.

I ordered the all day breakfast which came with:
buttermilk waffles,
beans (which came in a separate, small bowl)
scrambled eggs
bacon
a salad with sesame dressing (which also came in a separate, small bowl)
sausage
a cup of hot milk tea

The presentation of the food was simple and elegant, and worked well with the surrounding cafe decoration. The quality of the food was good - I liked being able to eat an all day breakfast with buttermilk waffles without paying an exorbitant amount as well as enjoying what I was eating. I still felt a bit hungry after devouring the breakfast and decided to order a vanilla milkshake. That was the icing on the cake and I was fully satisfied after pigging out and indulging in some tasty and carefully cooked food.

My only complaint was the service. There were four people managing everyone and preparing everyone's orders but I did feel that the waffles should've come out at the same time as the rest of the breakfast, not to mention waiting for almost half an hour for my milkshake. I'd like to think it is down to the fact that they haven't been open for a long time and are still trying to find their feet, coupled with the fact that the cafe was quite busy. Having said that, the staff were friendly, polite and very attentive.

I have had a hankering for some more waffles so will be visiting Sam's Cook in a few days. It's definitely worth a try, especially if you have a thing for all day breakfasts! I have a feeling this is going to be one of my new favourite places

Date of visit : 21 Apr 2013 (Sun) 7:30 pm
No. of diners : 10
Average cost per head : $210
Corkage : $150 each
Food quality : 7.8/10
Environment : 8/10
Service : 8/10
Value-for-money : 8/10
Overall rating : 7.8/10

Empire City Roasted Duck “大都烤鴨” is under the Super Star Group “鴻星集團” which positions itself in the medium range of Chinese dining with good word-of-mouth in Hong Kong. In the outlet of this Peking duck specialist, there is an open kitchen at the entrance where roasted ducks are kept warm in an oven. Upon receipt of order, a duck will be taken out and sliced by a chef. To maintain the authenticity, ducks are imported from Beijing and lychee wood from Dunguang “東莞” is used for roasting.

On the night we visited, the service offered fluctuated among staff or even within individual staff throughout the dinner, which brought us a great topic for the night.

a) Marinated Shrimp with Peony牡丹蝦仁 ($68) – 8.5/10, Crystal Duck’s Tongue水晶鴨舌 ($68) – 8/10, Crystal Pork Cold Cut 鳥鎮餚肉 ($60) - 8/10The shrimps were beautifully sliced into halves and displayed with cucumber garnishing. The shrimps were with sinewy texture and fresh flavour.

The duck’s tongue was first deboned and immersed in a gelatin base with broth and Chinese yellow wine. This is a similar version with the crystal pork cold cut where Chinese cured ham was used.

b) Baked Fish Head with Green Onion雅片魚頭 ($258) – 9/10This dish tasted much better than its look. A huge fish head (species unidentified) from Russia was chopped into halves and sandwiched with abundant of spring onions for deep frying. The chef managed a perfect timing and temperature of oil as the fish head was crispy on its skin and bones while the flesh was still kept moist. A scrumptious dish but better order for a gang of 6 or more people to avoid wastage.

c) Fried Chicken with Chili 大紅辣子雞 ($98) – 7.8/10A tradition Sichuan dish with dried and fresh chili, peanuts and diced chicken. Interesting that the chicken carried a mutton smell which was not a bad thing to bring out its spiciness.

d) Roasted Peking Duck烤北京填鴨 ($338) – 8.5/10, Stir Fried Minced Duck Meat with Lettuce二鬆炒鴨末 ($78) – 7.5/10A whole duck was ordered and the waitress told us that half of the duck’s skin was presented first to as to keep its crispiness and temperature. The fat on the skin was trimmed so that it would be too oily or filling even we had a few pieces. The pancake used for the wrap was extremely thin and soft. It took us a minute or two to peel one from the pile but it’s worth the effort. On top of the usual leek and cucumber to go with the skin, rock melon and preserved turnip were also provided.

As usual, the duck has been de-skinned, it’s meat and skeleton could be cooked in a certain way such as duck soup, braised duck or our chosen minced duck meat with lettuce wrap. Pinenuts, spring onion and dried canpoy were added to give a palatable flavour and texture.

e) Stir Fried Rice Cake with Stewed Pork年糕紅燒肉 ($108) - 8/10The stewed pork was tender and the sweet sauce went well with the bland glutinous rice pastry. Better finish it before it’s getting cold with solidified fat.

f) Stewed Green Bean with Spicy Minced Pork 乾煸四季豆 ($68) – 8.5/10, Pan Fried Garland Chrysanthemum 清炒皇帝菜 ($88), Pan Fried Amaranth with Minced Garlic 蒜茸炒時蔬 ($68) - 8/10Unlike the long beans I had in many other local Chinese restaurants that were old and with a chew, the ones that I had in Empire City were young and tender. The other 2 pan fried vegetables were tasty too.

g) Steamed Pork Dumpling with Supreme Soup准揚灌湯籠包 ($50) – 7.5/10, Pan Fried Pork Dumpling 鮮肉鍋貼 ($50 for 4 pcs) – 7.5/10Empire City was average in preparing dumpling. From the pictures shown above, the pastry skin of the steamed dumplings was way too thick though the broth filling was quite pleasant. For the pan fried ones, the base of the dumplings was yet to be in a crispy and golden brown texture.

h) Stir Fried Ramen with Mixed Mushrooms 野菌炒拉麵 ($68) – 7.8/10, Duck Meat and Rice Wrapped with Lotus Leaf荷香包鴨飯 ($78) – 6.5/10The ramen was springy and with right seasoning, however, the sauce of diced duck meat for the fried rice in lotus leaf was too thick and that resembling the filling of steamed BBQ pork bun.

i) Yellow Bean Pudding 慈禧碗荳黃 ($42) – 7.5/10, Homemade Cream Pudding白寶玉 ($42) – 6.5/10, Glutinous Rice Dumplings in Pumpkin Sweet Soup 甘露丸子 ($30) – 6/10
The yellow bean pudding was quite smooth but both the cream pudding and pumpkin sweet soup were too sweet and not my liking.

r) Deep Fried Pastry Stuffed with Custard流金歲月 ($42) – 8.5/10, Sweet Potatoes with Oatmeal貝勒燕番薯 ($52) – 8.5/10
The bakery stood out of the rest of the desserts. Caution was required when eating the deep fried (as named thought I found it’s more like baked instead) pastry with molten custard and salty egg yolks. The sweet potatoes were another pleasing dessert with oatmeal dusted over the bricks.

05.2013

Finally getting together for an over-due catch up with C, J and C's sister Miss T, I was given the task of choosing where to dinner. Since the others did not seem to have any specific preferences I decided to go with Xia Fei, since it is located in quite a convenient location, the environment is comfortable, and having been a few times previously, the food has always maintained a good standard.

A welcome appetiser of pickled papaya was served while we were looking through the menu, and although the papaya used must have been extremely raw since it was quite hard and crunchy, the sweet and sour combination really helped open up the appetite.

First to arrive was our appetisers.

The drunken chicken came in quite a sizeable portion. The meat was tender, not overly fatty and thoroughly infused with the rice wine used as the marinade.The smoked eggs with roasted honeyed walnuts was good as usual, with a faint smokey aroma evident in the egg whites, while the yolk was softly set with a slow ooze to it. I love honeyed walnuts and cheekily asked the manager if he could give us a more generous serving which he readily agreed to Xiao Lung Bao. I did not end up having one, but by looks they were delicately pleated and the skin was translucent enough to see the filling of meat and soup inside.

Cause most of us spend max 30 seconds per review, here is mine in a nutshell:

+ Awesome chicken wings, saucy, tender and the right level of spiciness.
+ Smoked squid salad, not the chewy kinda substance, it's the good stuff.
+ Tater tots, potato fried goodness. Loved the bite size crunchy potato with amazing lardo aioli.
+ Ovaltine Ice Cream! And those peanut butter fudge cubes, amazing! Can I just have a whole jar of those?
+ Service, finally people who get it! All of them are super friendly, I only got one of their names so Jay; you rock!

- Choi Veggies with lilies, a Chinese vegetable is a Chinese vegetable, what can I say......
- Fat Kid Cake - Sold out.... Oh my! With next reservation I was suggested to pre-order one, oh yes I will

Wish List:
* "Chicken Fried" Tenderloin
* Crystal bay prawns with aioli negro and confit tomato
* Beef brisket buns (?)
* Fat Kid Cake

Why I will go back; great ambiance, awesome staff, yummy food and I want that Fat Kid Cake! ;)

After a quick snap for rubber-duck when it arrived HK over a week, sunflowerting , a noodle-monster rush to another side of TST looking for her 3rd noodle-meal within one day (i.e. breakfast: local cafe noodle with satay-beef, lunch: canton style noodle with fish-ball)
~ Really looking for some good place rather line-up or too small space there,

March 16 has always been a special date, and 16/03/2013, I had a rendez-vous with One Thirty-One. I have first come to hear about this restaurant through the blog of one of my favorite food blogger where he complimented this restaurant to be better than Caprice. Due to its location, it took me 3 years before I really came on this night.

At the first sight of it, I thought I had left Hong Kong. One Thirty-One was located in the middle of nowhere, housed in a 3-storey villa! Stepping through the gates and entering the villa, I found myself in a cozy dining area where there were less than 10 tables in the room. We were seated in the corner and excitedly waiting for the dinner to begin.

Date of visit : 30 Apr 2013 (Tue) 7:30 pm
No. of diners : 3
Average cost per head : $150
Food quality : 8/10
Environment : 8/10
Service : 8/10
Value-for-money : 8/10
Overall rating : 8/10

The shop used to be Xia Mian Guan”夏麵館” in Windsor House which served cuisine from Shanghai, Beijing and Sichuan. Can the new tenant Nanjing Dong Lu “南京東路” which also specializes in the same cuisine bring new customers to the shop?

I visited this new eatery on the day of its official opening and it’s having a promotion for Xiao Long Bao (Shanghainese Steamed Minced Pork Dumplings鮮肉小籠包) at $8 for 4 pieces. Generally the food was on the average side and only some minor teething problems occurred. The shop was not very large and table reservation is recommended.

a) Smoked Duck Egg w/Tea Leaves溏心燻蛋 ($22) – 5.5/10The egg yolk was slightly overcooked on its rim even after we requested for a replacement. Flavour wise was of the right smokiness.

b) Translucent Sliced Beef with Sweet & Spicy Sauce燈影牛肉 ($52) – 8.5/10Lots of preparation work are required for this dish in order to give a translucent texture. Covered by a layer of syrup, minced ginger, dried mandarin orange peel and sesame, this beef jerky in Chinese style was a nice appetizer with a slightly crispy texture.

c) Deep-fried Diced Chicken w/Crispy Red Chilis蜀子辣子雞 ($68) – 8/10Spicy and hot as expected with dried chili and oriental pepper花椒, however, the diced chicken was a bit too small.

d) Sweetened Ham Served w/Chinese Buns富貴火方 ($106) – 8/10This DIY dish was made by sandwiching preserved ham with honey sauce, deep fried bean curd sheet with steamed Chinese bun.

e) Sauteed Lettuce Stem清炒萵荀絲 ($48) – 8/10The pan fried lettuce stem was well seasoned.

f) Pan-fried Pork Dumplings 鮮肉鍋貼 ($24) - 7.5/10The filling of the pork dumplings was tasty and juicy, would be better if the dumpling base was pan fried a bit longer to give a golden brown and crispy texture.

g) Shanghainese Steamed Minced Pork Dumplings鮮肉小籠包 (promotional price $8) – 8.5/10The pastry of the dumplings was thin and soft, juicy filling. Even when this dish was charged at normal price ($28), it’s still a recommended item on the menu.

h) Pan Fried Ramen in Shanghainese Style上海粗炒 ($52) – 8.5/10Chinese egg noodle was pan fried with mushrooms, preserved radish, cabbage, mushrooms and Chinese vinegar. The noodle was stretchy and without a trace of oil on the dish.

05.2013

The philosophy of Enomod is “social dinning”. I must admit that I first found the idea of “social dinning” similar to “the sun rises in the east”. Food connects people; it is not rocket science. However, Enomod’s interpretation of this idea through painstaking attention to detail certainly justified its claim as a place where people can eat to socialize. It also won my respect. Surely even the pickiest foodies in the town will be satisfied in Enomod.

I went to RaSuperMan for the first time recently and tried their set lunch which only cost $88 (+10%) and came with an appetiser, a bowl of ramen and a daily dessert.

生滾粥底夠綿米香濃郁;
薑荵撈麵麵有蛋香;
欖菜炸鯪魚球質素不錯;
整體性價比高;
皇后分店比其他勝一籌。
推介!

Bigger, Brighter and Tastier than Des Voeux Road Branch;
Fluffy, starchy congee;
Flavourful egg noodles and wonton;
Value for money;
Recommended.



Law Fu Kee - Queen's Road:

I think this branch is much better than the othe branch at Des Voeux road. The scholar congee I had there wasn't cleaned properly. Despite that experience, the shop appears to have a lot more good comments so I decided to risk it.

It's brighter, cleaner and more spacious than the other branch.

There were two separate stalls at the door, one managed by a congee sifu and another by a noodle sifu. Congee and noodles specialists indeed.

You could see clearly that the congees were all made to order. None of the toppings were precooked. This type of congee is called "Saang Gwan Juk".

"Saang Gwan Juk" literally means raw boiled congee. This is a special Cantonese way of making congee. The toppings you choose weren't cooked until you place your order. Only then will the sifu scoop out a bowl of congee from a large pot, then transfer the smaller amount of congee to a smaller pot. The sifu will then boil the congee and the toppings quickly.

This prevents the topping from being overcooked and preserves the texture. Contrast this to chicken congee, for example, in which the chicken is boiled together with the congee until it dissolves into the congee.



Menu:

It's the same in all branches I believe. All the stock congees, egg noodles with different toppings, a limited amount of veggies, as well as their signature fried mud carp balls. We ordered the following amongst myself and my colleague:

Meatballs Congee: This time I decided to go for their signature "Meatballs Congee" instead of Scholar's congee.

The texture was extremely smooth, fluffy and starchy. It had a very nice rice taste and refreshing spring onion taste.
Similar to Wong Chi Kei but Wong's had more rice content than here (i.e. thicker). Still, it's far better than the Des Voeux Road branch.

The meatballs were made of pork. Those were essentially marinated with salt. It brought out the pork taste. To be perfectly honest with you, I'm not sure whether I'd brand this a signature item. Anyway, not bad. Worth a try.



Chopped ginger and spring onions lo mien with wonton:

I seldom order lo mien as I prefer noodles in broth. In the rare occasion that I order lo mien, I order Jaa Chang Mien (egg noodles with a sweet and spicy meat sauce placed on top.) Since I'm now on a noodles and congee crawl (), I decided to try something different.

This was my first experience with ginger and spring onions lo mien. I wasn't too sure what to expect, would it be too bland or too overpowering? The noodles were smooth. Not as springy as those in Wing Wah but it had no alkaline taste. The egg taste was pronounced. This mixed well with the fresh spring onions and ginger. It was on the light side but wasn't as bland or as overpowering as I had suspected it to be. The balanced flounder soup that came with the noodles became very important. I found adding some broth onto the noodles helped the taste significantly.

5-6 wontons were tucked under the noodles. Each wonton had one shrimp and a little bit of pork in it (7:3). The wonton had a very smooth skin, similar to Wing Wah. Mak Un's wontons faired slightly better with better umami in the prawns but the price was more reasonable here.



Fried mud carp balls: Six fried mud carp balls were fresh and tasty. It had some preserved olive leaves inside. However, not as sweet as those in Tsim Jai Kei, who really is a specialist of mud carp balls but this is also worth a try.

Choi Sum: Reasonably fresh and crunchy. No complaints. My colleague ordered a beef flank steak noodles. He though the beef flank steak was quite good. But after trying those at "Shui Kee", he thought otherwise. Well, that's another story.



Service: The obaba sounded very bossy but was actually quite nice.

Conclusion:

If I had to choose, I think Law Fu Kee is better with their congees than their noodles.
Nevertheless, their wonton and noodles are also worth a try.
The price is also reasonable.

Queen's road branch -Recommended.

Back during the MIST Rahmen days, which I actually wrote the 1st review and have subsequently visited over there and the reincarnated RaSuperMen and RaIronMen more than 20 times by now. ( *NONE of these were invited meals and all paid by myself by the way..)

This recent bowl costed a total $113 for 醤油拉麺 with 1 piece of fatty Chasyu and 1 Egg with 10%, and no longer charging me for tea!

Since I have eaten their ramens multiple times since MIST 1st started, I eon't feel the sting as much. But the Thai pork here was pretty fatty and tasteless compared to MIST days, and where is the chopped Negi spring onions, which sort of disappeared? Still loving the depth and Umami in the base Chicken and Soy Sauce soup though and noodles definitely need to be ordered as extra Hard.

RaIronMen has better pork than here, at a premium price. But RaIronMen is no longer related to MIST Rahmen (which carried with it Good Will)! As a foodie I would obviously love for the RA-xxx-Men series to survive.

But my intuition tells me RaIronMen won't be there for long unfortunately, for multiple reasons. Over there, it is trying to re-walk the MIST Rahmen path and doing fine dining food but without realizing that it is not MIST anymore and even back then they weren't doing $380 ramens. How many people are willing to pay for that, unless they go there as part of a Bloggers Event or Promotional Priced event?

I am also acutely aware of other many Top HK bloggers who are never invited to meals here due to sides and including myself, HK people have this tendency to take sides.

But ultimately, it's not the Proprietor's fault and bloggers shouldn't judge using this standard. I liked MIST - and even if RaSuperMen is missing crucial elements vs pricing point, and RaIronMen is trying too hard without the MIST 1* name sake, in my own personal agenda, I would still support it as I do like their ramens approach.

Tried McCafe's new Royal tea and Creme brulee cheesecake because the poster was captivating.

Hooray! There is finally good food in Sai Kung with more International restaurants replacing Chinese Food and Seafood!

This lovely Parisien Cafe is opened by a guy from Versaille.

I have always wanted to go to Makumba but it was too much effort going to Peel Street.

Now it is brilliant that they have moved to LKF because I can finally try African food!

I tried to go during the day but it was not open so I went one evening myself because I could not wait!

The interior of this place is fascinating for someone new to the African culture.

I loved area on the corner.