再興燒臘飯店 (灣仔)

I took my two kids with me to try Joy Hing based on Open Rice recommendations and we weren't disappointed.  We arrived at about 2:30pm so there was no wait but the place was packed!!  

The food was hot, inexpensive, and served quickly.  

All 3 of us decided on bbq pork with rice.  The BBQ pork was juicy and tender and the portion just right.  Their "secret" sauce was delicious and my one daughter was stealing rice from my plate to enjoy more because she loved the rice with their sauce.

I would say the portion size for $24 was just perfect for lunch.  For dinner, might want a bigger portion, but perfect for midday.

We decided to take an order of chicken wings to go home with us, and they were honey garlic and delicious. Not too sweet and lots of garlicy taste.  In spite of carrying them home, they were still hot and very good.  We will also return to buy those for takeaway.  

I had been a bit worried about my ability to be served in English here, but no problems at all.  Although the pace was fast, I found the servers more than willing to help me out. 

We will definitely return.

Their chicken wings are really good too!

PizzaExpress (尖沙咀)

We had a reservation so we didn't have to wait.  And true to my request, they seated us by the windows.  This is the main reason for visiting this location, after all.

There were three of us.  I ordered two pizzas and an order of dough balls.  

I ordered the thin crust Margherita pizza.  It was hot and delicious, with just the right amount of cheese (aka not too much).  The fresh basil leaves on top were a perfect touch.  The crust was thin and baked to perfection.  For me this is what makes Pizza Express special.....I love their thin crust pizza.

For the kids, I ordered the thicker crust Margherita (but not the kids size one).  Their pizza was a bit light on cheese for their liking (kids love cheese) but they ate it all, and asked for another.  The pizzas were super fresh and hot and delicious.  

The pizzas arrived and were lovely, as they always have been.  Fresh, delicious, and truly italian style.  

The dough balls (a "starter" per their menu, ironically) often come after the pizza, although I'm never sure why.  This time, though, they never came.  I had to follow up to get them.  They did eventually come, but long after the pizzas.

Once they came, the dough balls were tasty and hot.  The three dipping sauces were perfect.  The kids love the butter for dipping, and I like the tomato sauce.  

Our iced teas were only refilled once (free refills and most other locations refill them constantly).  We really received almost no service, other than putting the food onto the table.

I had to try twice to flag someone down to ask for the bill, and yet it still never came (probably visiting the dough balls??).

Finally I flagged down yet another server and did then receive the bill.

All in the all, the pizza was excellent, as it's always been (first had this in London, then over several years in HK, many locations) but the service was really bad.  Not particularly friendly (as they usually are in Pizza Express), and they didn't do even the minimum of ordering our food and then delivering the bill.

I was a VERY disappointed customer.  For sure I'll still frequent Pizza Express, but I'll give this location as pass for sure.

There seemed to be a lot of trainees, and ironically, therefore a lot of managers on hand that time. This did not provide even a reasonable service experience.

廣東燒味餐廳 (灣仔)

Wow!  Don't know how this place can stay in business.  Price is expensive and service quite rude.  Worst part was the cockroach crawling on the counter as we paid.  We had friends with us, and they were paying, so I didn't make any fuss, but the cockroach was the final part of a very bad dining experience.

They basically toss the food onto the table.  Very unfriendly service.

Paisano's Pizzeria (灣仔)

I ordered a pepperoni pizza to go and brought it home.  It was so fresh and hot I could barely carry the box.

The pizza was delicious!  Perfectly cooked and tasty!  Nice tasting sauce and crust.  Service was quick, and although they were busy, the time they told me to have the order ready was accurate.

越朝 (灣仔)

We ordered two bowls of rare beef pho, and one order of lemongrass pork vermicelli.

The pho was really good!  Another reviewer commented on the herbs/leaves in the soup and I noticed that too.  A bit disappointing to have to ask for lime and be given a tiny piece the size of a pinky nail but otherwise the pho was a good surprise.

The vermicelli definitely missed the mark though.  The pork was tender and actually had very nice taste but it was in rather large chunks.  I found it to be a bit off putting in such large chunks and would have preferred slices or even just smaller chunks (so that it stays moist).

My daughter also order spring rolls and said they were the best she's ever had!


All in all the flavours were good and service was quick.