It’s my second time ordering Chicken Factory and the service really could use some improvement. Greetings from staff isn’t welcoming to begin with and to top it off an item was missing. Luckily it wasn’t any of the add-ons, but only the ‘Seaweed soup’ from the lunch set ($49). Food-wise: portion was reasonable, Hainan chicken, tender and the oily rice so-so. The chicken coconut with jujube soup (+$28) coconutty, but lacking in chicken taste. The handcrafted coffee (+$12, with milk and sugar already mixed in) on the other hand has a rich aroma and just the right amount of sweetness.

之前在銅鑼灣已去過郵意但當時有一點失望、總是覺得差點feel。餐廳關掉了沒多久就在尖沙咀重新開了一間。 太好了！終於在八月份有機會去試新店！這次聚會我們首先叫了3道菜和3杯飲品：白酒蜆意粉，帶子蘆筍海膽意粉，all day breakfast；若如初見，香芋skim milk拿鐵，你啊你啊。 消費方式是先給現金然後再自取食物、有點像food court那樣做法。餐廳佔大約1/3樓層、除了明信片之外還有少許飾物賣。食物有驚喜參半！驚：（白酒蜆意粉）落酒重手了、實在太苦啦！喜：（帶子蘆筍海膽意粉）三個主角混合一起簡直是perfect match。 All day breakfast評價一般，可以說是個safe一點的選擇。 今次來臨正在有promo、買滿HKD300送心太軟伴Mövenpick雪糕。整體來說食物及環境都不錯。如要找到靚位就要早一點因為就算有訂位也是first come first serve的。

Visiting place: revamped old factory district. Located on the third floor of D2 Place Two, the Lai Chi Kok Hungry Korean looked grand. Unlike the branch in Tsim Sha Tsui, this one was a lot more spacious. In terms of comfort, it does a pretty good job (although the seats could be softer).  For starters, we had Dumplings ($34) and Honey Garlic Chicken Wings ($46). The dumplings were crispy and dry on the outside, and soft and moist on the inside. For more flavour, dip them in the lightly spicy soy sauce. On their own, they tasted just as great. As for the wings, expect a garlicky snack with a splash of sweet honey. If you like honey and garlic, well, this dish is meant for you.      For mains, we ordered Bi Bim Bap ($46). Rather small in size, it is the right choice if you like to try/share different types of food or if you have a small appetite. To spice things up, add as much hot sauce as your taste buds can take. A sizzling hot dish seasoned to your liking. Tips: Don't wait too long before stirring, unless you like burnt rice and raw eggs.  Next on the list, was Spicy Hungry Ramyun ($46). A small portion was enough for a rather spice-phobic such as myself. Look at that red soup! Topped with sliced fishcake, the spicy soup was served with noodles that had the right kind of chewiness, not too hard and not too soft either. Toss in an extra $15 for Ban Chan (Kimchi, Scoop of mashed potatoes & Fishcake) for a fuller "Creative. Healthy. Delicious." experience.  To test the creative part, I have yet to try the Beef Burger or Jia Jiang Fried Rice. Some improvements to look forward to on the service part.   

哇！好耐無係lunch hour食齋啦。 班同事為咗食Green Common對面嘅雪糕決定嚟呢到食中午飯。為咗杯雪糕有幾盡？答案係：極速地食然後直衝過去間雪糕店排隊。 其實Green Common嘅室內設計有啲似Ikea餐廳。 有個corner畀人買健康食品、都幾modern㗎。拿位自己黎、落order同埋卑錢唔該去具面。 呢到都幾注重環保同self service㗎、飲水自己沖啦。不過食物係唔使自己去拿會有職員帶過黎。 食物方面同服務態度都過得去啦。碟「純素芝士肉醬意粉」（＄58.7）番茄醬酸咗啲、稀咗啲但肉粒模仿得好似真一樣，似熟過頭唧肉。味道都接受到但我都係鍾意食菜多啲。 其他人叫咗意粉、「海南素雞配黃薑米」（＄69.7）、「麻醬植物雞絲粉皮」（＄64.6）、漢堡包等等。 意粉同漢堡包賣相都ok（我幾鍾意篤著漢堡包唧Beyond Meat標誌）唯獨係海南雞睇落唔太開胃而且聽食呢碟餸唧人話：『又硬又乾，食得好痛苦啊！』好彩甜品有美味雪糕食。 因為每張單超過200蚊所以得到免費杏仁水3支。我地只係開咗1支其餘2支都卑返餐廳等佢送卑第二個客。可能太健康唔識欣賞，呢啲情況底下飲水最實際。雖然唔係個個都對素食有興趣但其實食齋都可以唔太dry、最緊要揀啱自己口味。

Friday night, window seat harbour view in iSquare -- a result of months of preparation. This year, we celebrated mom's birthday at the fancy Nanhai No.1. For this big event, we made a 50% deposit and a reservation one month in advance. To satisfy our group of 16 people, we decided on Menu B with a few adjustments.  Appetisers Guava in Plum Flavor ---> Crispy Shredded Yam This first snack was the highlight of our appetisers. Displayed in a pyramid shape, the thinly shredded yam, crispy from top to bottom with a drizzle of malt syrup. The bottom yam shreds were a little too sweet -- being submerged in syrup. It still deserves two thumbs up though.  Baby Shiitake Mushroom in Sweet and Spicy Sauce ---> Crispy Pork Belly Every piece was crispy (skin), moist and soft (meat). This dish was served with mustard and white sugar.  Jelly Fish with White Pepper and Sesame Oil The jelly fish appetiser had a strong sesame aroma. I usually enjoy this kind of food, but I found it not salty enough this time.  Mains Roasted Whole Suckling Pig As you would expect good suckling pig: crispy on the outside, and tender and moist on the inside. Top with sauces for more flavour.  Simmered Grouper in Seafood Soup ---> Daily Soup (Pork Shank with Chinese Yam & Lotus Seed) What a refreshing flavour! Absolutely yummy. This was a great soup.  Sautéed Prawn in XO Sauce I did not taste this one, but I could see the prawns were big.  Grouper Brisket with Spicy Chilli ---> Steamed Leopard Coral Grouper There were two fish on the plate for this dish. It was a little undercooked I think.  Crispy Chicken with Fried Garlic Same as for the pig, the chicken skin was crispy and the meat, tender. A little salty for my taste, but still acceptable.  Simmered Vegetables with Mushroom in Soup Like what one can usually find in Chinese restaurant for "fancy" vegetable+mushroom dishes, a rather thick and gooey sauce. Personally, I like simple sautéed or slightly boiled greens. Less is more.  Fried Rice with Diced Grouper 'Fu Zhou' Style Nothing too special. I will give it a pass.  Desserts Double Boiled Aloe with Snow Fungus ---> Black Glutinous Rice Cream It smelled sweet, but may be a little heavy after all the food served.  Sweet Jujube Jello ---> Green Tea & Taro Jello For those looking for less traditional desserts, the Green Tea & Taro Jelly is modern treat. The dessert had a cool refreshing feel from aloe along with a few taro cubes to munch on. We were still not done, the restaurant offered us mini longevity buns. It is always pleasing to receive presents I suppose.   Overall, we were pretty satisfied with this whole experience. One downside was probably the rather sticky floors. Other than that, the service was good especially at the reception. Nanhai No.1 is a great place for celebrations (or perhaps more for romantic moments).   

A while back, I visited three stores in the hopes of finding THE cake for my mother's 60th birthday. I was set for the last store, but in the end came back with my father to the first one, Zoë. 

The Zoë Cake with hazelnut cream and crunchy chocolate base seemed to suit everyone's taste best. With a big dinner ahead, a moderate size such as the square 10" ($1,300) would be more than enough for 16. The only addition we asked for was the golden "壽" (longevity - $80) character. As for the rest of the design, it was entirely up to the pastry chef — a bit of suspense for us then.Surprise, surprise! The cake was a success. Everyone was talking about it. It not only looked delicious, it tasted just as good. The most impressive part of the Zoë Cake was how the cake, only about 8cm tall, had at least seven layers to it. Every bite was a mixture of sweet, crunchy, creamy, tasty and soft textures — each so distinctive. I have to say: What a wonderful cake!   

We told ourselves that Carpaccio would be our next gathering spot. The menu was tempting and the usher was extremely welcoming. When we did go, he was not as enthusiastic as he had been previously, but we were still well received. 

For our starter, we had an Eggplant lasagna ($98). At first glance, we thought the appetiser was a regular lasagna dish. As we looked closely, we realised it was not the main dish "Lasagne Bolognese". I should actually call it an "Eggplant millefuille" as it does not contain any pasta. Unlike what I had expected, a stack of thick eggplant chunks, each layer was made of slices as thin as potato chips laid side by side. A blend of melted cheese and meaty tomato sauce made for a savoury taste. This was by far the best we had all evening; the rest was not too satisfying.For the mains, we had risotto and lasagne. The risotto, unfortunately, was a complete letdown. It was so undercooked, we had to ask for it to be redone. It came back still a bit raw, but at least not each grain was hard. The  Carnaroli Risotto "Fungi" ($168) was true to its name with a strong mushroom flavour. Personally, I would have liked this dish with more salt. The Lasagne Bolognese ($148) on the other hand was alright. It was not out of the ordinary – regular ground meat, pasta and cheese – which could be a good thing sometimes if we are not ready for bad surprises. I do want to acknowledge how elegant the food was displayed with its different geometric shapes and colours for the sauces, the sliced cherry tomato and leaves circling the mount of lasagne. For dessert, we took a Tiramisú ($88) to share. It was beautifully placed on a cold slate plate. One side comprised of fresh fruits and sweet cream, and the other, the tiramisu in a jar. Beside enjoying it aesthetically, to be honest, I did not like the dessert much. It was too cold, too soft and too wet for my liking. 

喺香港邊個未食過車仔麵？相信車仔麵係好多人嘅童年回憶。咖喱魚蛋都唔另外、我細個一返香港起碼食幾串。豬紅、牛柏葉我都一定會食。

早排去咗小排檔食嘢。果度麵類、小食款式多多連汁都幾款。選擇真豐富！

今次特地來到梗係食返碗懷舊車仔麵啦。魚蛋就無打算叫反而點咗「糖心蘿蔔」同「流心芝士丸」配粗麵。蘿蔔真係好甜好入味！講真唔係度度都整到又嫩又甜、好味又無渣。我簡直覺得係我人生中食過最好味嘅蘿蔔。呢個懷舊美食非常值得試。至於芝士丸無冇特別、麵爽再嫩啲都OK、湯底清清地幾好味。

今次黎到小排檔都幾滿足因為食出驚喜。其實有心搵「平靚正」嘅嘢一定有。深水埗有好多寶藏等住被發掘，有時間真係要去探索下。

Sometimes it's hard to say 'no' to cravings. I've passed by Guschlbauer a few times and each time I was tempted by their featured product. As the name implies, "Devil Cheese Bun" is quite an 'evil food' with its' two layers of cheesy-cream. A mouthful of fluffy cream is what one will get at first bite.To my surprise, the bun was sweet. Frankly speaking, it tasted a lot like local buns (where salty buns are soft and have a strong touch of sweetness). I expected "Devil Cheese Bun" to be more of a salty kind, but it was very different from what I had in mind. Not very European-like if you ask me, but 'hey' I'm not a bread expert and I haven't been to Austria yet. I do have to praise Guschlbauer's effort in suggesting different ways of enjoying their "Signature Austrian Cheese Bun". Along with the purchased bun, one brings home a "Suggested Eating Method" card. 

Remember my quest on finding the perfect cake for my mom's 60th birthday? My last tasting outing brought me to Ms B's Cakery. As soon as I entered the shop, one of the staff greeted me. She did alright, not especially friendly but still ok: responded and asked questions. As for the display, I was more than satisfied as it had different cake sizes which gave me an idea of what to get, and plenty of taster size (TS) cakes to choose from. Like usual I picked four flavours. 'Better Than Sex' (red lips), being the best seller was included. The staff also recommended 'Melting Moments', her personal favourite. I also brought home two other TS: 'Paradise' and 'Sunshine'. 

From left to right: --- Paradise ---

Look: layers of light purple and white; fondant butterfly top

Taste: taro with hint of coconut; tiny bit on the sugary side

Texture: chiffon cake combined with creamy coconut

--- Melting Moments ---

Look: elegant red flower on bed of fresh cream

Taste: wonderful blend of strawberry and vanilla layers

Texture: layered chiffon cake with moist and fruity berries  

--- Better than Sex ---

Look: sharp red lips; golden rock-looking caramel on dark brown choco melt

Taste: salted toffee and caramel; too chocolatey and sweet for my taste

Texture: moist chocolate fudge; caramel crunch

--- Sunshine ---

Look:  elegant yellow flower on bed of lemon cream

Taste: tangy lemon flavour 

Texture: soft cream, poppy seed chiffon

My favourite: definitely 'Melting Moments'. With each new bite, I fell in love with it all over again. I would've chosen this one, but the bigger sizes don't look as grand at all. Next favourite would be 'Sunshine' because it got the right sweetness level. The only no-no would be the sourness as some of the family members can't really take it. As for the other two TS, I found them too sugary for my taste. Despite it being a bit too sweet, 'Paradise' almost came out as a winner. Not just because mom likes purple, but also because of the delicious blend of taro and coconut. Too bad regular size cakes look too different from the tasters'. It's quite hard to choose. 

Out of the three tastings I've done so far, Ms B's Cakery by far wins with looks, taste and texture. The icing flowers' petals carefully assembled together adds to the grandness of the cakes. The only thing I would reproach was that the cakes don't stick to their paper discs. The staff also didn't tape them down on the box. The cakes shifted a lot during their journey home. Other than that, I think I've made a decision.