又一棧 (九龍塘)

又一棧is recently renovated with new menu, which include Beijing cuisine with a touch of imperial dining and Mongolia, Huaiyang flavour. 又一棧 is located at one of the popular Mall – Festival Walk, and it has a rather elegant décor with western painting.

Cuisine: Chinese
Food rating: 4/10*
Service: 5/10
Ambiance:6/10
Price: HK$250pax

* Food Rating: 6/10 is equivalent to 1 Michelin star, 8/10 to two Michelin stars, and 9/10 or 10/10 to three Michelin stars

风沙鸡 (6/10)
The chicken was roasted nicely, skin was crispy and the juice was well maintained within the meat. The Chicken was fairly seasoned and it was tender.烤小羊腿 (3/10)
The lamb was roasted with not enough seasoning and the skin was not very crispy. The lamb are exactly very meaty, lacked a lot of lamb flavour. However the sauce was very decent. 杭州芳香素腐方(4/10)
The tofu was well marinated and it was spongy with great texture. The soy-sauce was tailor made to further enhance its flavour.The food is great, definitely worth Michelin recognition. But if you ask me if it worth a two Michelin star award, base on today experience definitely a – NO.

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利苑酒家 (旺角)

利苑酒家(旺角) is one of the better restaurants in Mong Kok. The spacing of the table was rather tight. The menu is simple but the down side was the services aren’t exactly great. The one in Central, Element, WanChai or Shatin are much better.
Cuisine: Chinese

Food rating: 7/10*
Service: 3/10
Ambiance: 6/10
Price: HK$250ax

* Food Rating: 6/10 is equivalent to 1 Michelin star, 8/10 to two Michelin stars, and 9/10 or 10/10 to three Michelin stars

冰镇三层肉 (7/10)
The skin was extremely crispy. The pork in general has the great balance between the fat and meat. The meat was rather tender and fat melts as soon as it enter your mouth. The tastes linger for a while. 炖雪蛤 (8/10)
The soup was outstanding, it was full of the bird’s flavour and the balance of order ingredient further enhanced the flavour. The meat was tender, definitely highly recommended. 欖菜肉未炆豆腐 (6/10)
The tofu was deep-fried and stir-fried with the minced meat. The sauce was rich and heavy, went very well with the tofu. I was eating without any rice, it was slightly too strong on its own.The food is great, definitely worth Michelin recognition. But if you ask me if it worth a two Michelin star award, base on today experience definitely a – NO.

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麥奀記 (忠記) 麵家 (中環)

麥奀記 is one of the famous wonton noodles chain in Hong Kong. Perhaps they have been in Hong Kong for a while, the services were terribly horrible. But they do have very high quality control with their food.

Cuisine: Chinese
Food rating: 4/10*
Service: 2/10
Ambiance: 3/10
Price: HK$50ax

* Food Rating: 6/10 is equivalent to 1 Michelin star, 8/10 to two Michelin stars, and 9/10 or 10/10 to three Michelin stars
細蓉 (5/10)
The broth was not alkaline at all. The wonton was small and crunchy. The wrapper was smooth. More importantly, the noodles was al dente. Chinese Kale (3/10)
The kale was fresh and sweet. Boiled in the noodles soup, personally believe that it was boiled for slightly too long. But in general the crunchiness was acceptable.The 細蓉they offer is one of the proper one. Definitely is one of the shop for wonton noodles fan to make a visit.

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餃子園 (中環)

餃子園 is another classic Beijing cuisine restaurant in Hong Kong. However, if you are comparing with the local dumplings restaurant in Beijing, indeed it is nowhere close, but at least it is north China style. More important, it serves some true local lamb dumplings that is a must try dish.

Cuisine: Chinese
Food rating: 3/10*
Service: 4/10
Ambiance: 3/10
Price: HK$70ax

* Food Rating: 6/10 is equivalent to 1 Michelin star, 8/10 to two Michelin stars, and 9/10 or 10/10 to three Michelin stars

京蔥羊肉餃 (5/10)
The leek was fresh and the lamb was full of its flavour. It was mixed well with seasoning and wrapper with north China style wrapper, which was al dente and smooth.山東手撕雞面 (4/10)
There is not different between ordering the chicken on its own. Basically, they mixed the chicken with the noodles and a much diluted broth of the chicken sauce. Hence, the flavour was not as strong, but the upside was not as oily. The chicken was tender and well marinated, and the noodles smooth and al dente (machine made though).回鍋肉酸菜飯 (2/10)
This was rather disappointed dish. It was only couple slices of pork was introduced in the bowl of rice and the pickled vegetable flavour totally dominated the pork. 餃子園 has not been maintaining its standard, the quality is going downhill. If in the same area, 王府 will be my top choice for north China cuisine without a doubt.

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Assaggio Trattoria Italiana (灣仔)

Assaggio serves Italian cuisine in a relaxed and rustic setting alone with the stunning harbour views. The interior design has received Outstanding Greater China Design Awards in 2011. However, the food is not as well as recognised comparing with its décor. The food is traditional without surprises, but personally I do think they make decent pizza.

Cuisine: Italian
Food rating: 3/10*
Service: 4/10
Ambiance: 6/10
Price: HK$250ax

* Food Rating: 6/10 is equivalent to 1 Michelin star, 8/10 to two Michelin stars, and 9/10 or 10/10 to three Michelin stars

Spinosini in fresh cherry tomato sauce and basil (3/10)
This is a very classic and basic Italian pasta. The spinosini was cooked fairly; it was al dente but lacked some seasoning. Guess the cherry tomato weren’t exactly fresh, the sweetness was rather artificial (from caster sugar).Risotto with pigeon and truffle (2/10)
The risotto was al dente and the broth used was slightly sweet, but too little parmesan cheese was used with the risotto. Frozen pigeon was use, slightly over cooked and the flavour wasn’t exactly strong. More importantly, the truffle was rather dry.Tomato, buffalo mozzarella, parma ham and spinach pizza (5/10)
This is a thin base pizza, true Italian style. Balanced proportion of tomato sauce and cheese were use to cook the pizza in the oven. And topped with Parma ham and spinach. Tiramisu (4/10)
This is more of a creamy base tiramisu. I assume the more cream were used than mascarpone, the downside was no liqueur was used within. Half of a sponge finger was use, it makes the tiramisu lacked texture and too much coffee was employed. Apple cake, apple pudding, chilled apple broth (3/10)
The apple cake was spongy and well balanced with the sweetness. The apple pudding was sweet and the apple texture wasn’t perfect, lacked some cinnamon taste. The apple broth taste like White Flower Embrocation.The arrival of Chef Stefano Masanti (2 Michelin Star Chef) at Assaggio for 7 days has not improved the food at all. We thought the arrival of Stefano would able to help Assaggio to achieve a higher level, guess we are well wrong.

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