How would you like to have your gelato? Sandwiched in between the choux pastry, why not? This shop was newly opened and located right oppposite the K11 shopping mall. There was already a line forming when I reached the shop. I could see that the owner is an ultimate owl lover because you could see there are different forms of owl at every corner of the shop. I decided to dine in, but takeaway is definitely possible because the 'gelato choux' are very well-packaged and so, you can munch your way through while walking on the street of Tsim Sha Tsui. A plus point for this place is, all the gelatos are handmade!The Red Velvet is my favourite of all. The gelato is vanilla and almond gelato, sandwiched in between the red velvet puff. The gelato feels very natural and I can even see traces of vanilla seeds in it. And that strawberry and rose syrup is very refreshing and palate-cleansing. It's definitely what I would go for even after having a heavy meal.Coffee lover like me would also never miss ordering this dessert. It has coffee and oreo gelato (love!). I love how the salted caramel sauce and the gelato come together. I can taste the complexity of this dessert, while not losing that coffee fragrance I am looking for.Malteser lovers would love this dessert. You got malteser crunch sprinkled on top of the hazelnut and crunchy praline gelato. This dessert will make you go nuts in a good way, which is, you will order a second one!This is the new addition to the choux gelato family. It's a seasonal flavour. I think you can arleady guess what flavour it is judging from the look. It's chocolate puff with chocolate gelato. And with the spongy marshmellows, they give the dessert a new texture!And you get a surprise underneath the puff - roasted marshmellow! Just want sMORE!

As the name suggests, Bilibala is a place for you to make noise, or more nicely said, chit chatting. This bar does not only serve Japanese soju, but also yakitori in all sorts of form. The exterior looks pretty funky and young. Inside there are bar table as well as normal tables and chairs for group gathering.So, I started my meal with a glass of Suntory beer. Just like most Japanese beers, it was light and easy to drink.Food from this yakitori bar was rather mediocre in my opinion. There are some good and some below average food I would say. Price tag was on the higher side too as for the portion given.

This was sliced fishball topped with wasabi. It was a pretty creative combination, but nothing really surprised me (I can make this at home too?). Next up, spring rolls in Japanese style. I like the idea of mixing the mayonnaise sauce with wasabi which gave it a kick to your nose. Nicely fried spring rolls too (but rather disappointing fillings). Here comes the yakitori. First up is the grilled fresh eel. I like the slight crust on the eel, but the eel lacked its taste that I was looking for. Chicken cartilage and chicken wing yakitori. It was pretty hard to get this wrong. They were definitely great to go with a glass of beer.The tsukune was pretty disappointing in my opinion. It was just not the Japanese tsukune. It lacked of the texture and flavour. I expected a lot from this, but ended up with disappointment.I like the grilled kuruma prawns. Huge, juicy and sweet flesh, with slight salt seasoning on the prawn shell. It was already very delicious to be eaten plain without even dipping the sauce. But of course, not cheap!So, I ended my dinner with this cheese mochi. It was really normal, but if you are craving for cheese and mochi, why not? So, my verdict for this place is that it is good for a drink together with one or two yakitoris. But for me, I would mainly focus on drinks! 

Located at Soho, this Chinese fusion restaurant has always been in my to-eat list since the day I saw the name - Ho Lee Fook. Yes, you did not read it wrongly. It is definitely a marketing strategy to attract attention. Every single decoration in the restaurant is chic, stylish and modern.The restaurant has two floors. The first floor is the kitchen, whereby you can see the chefs in action. The second floor, which is the basement, is the dining area. You would be greeted by a wall of golden prosperity cats, that will be waving their hands at you. And once you reach the basement, it would be a dimly-lit environment, with funky songs playing in the background. I didn’t really pay attention to the song selection.So, I went there for a Christmas eve dinner. And we ordered quite a number of dishes that night, but they were mostly roast dishes. I would come back for their other fusion dishes for my next visit.So first up, the soy chicken. I heard many positive reviews about their soy sauce chicken, so I went with a high expectation. To me, this dish was pretty normal for the price paid. Soy sauce tasted pretty good on its own, but it didn’t infuse much into the flesh. No doubt that the meat, even the breast, was tender.The Kurobuta pork charsiu. The charsiu was surprisingly good - sweet, fragrant and juicy meat. Enough said. Something that is pretty different from the normal Maxim’s standard, or I would say, incomparable. Next up will be roasted goose. We ordered the lower quarter, and this plate of roasted goose had crunchy skin, flavourful and tender meat and priced reasonably as compared to their competitors nearby. Everything I expected from this dish, they had it here. Of course not forgetting the sweet-sour plum dipping sauce which enhanced the flavour of the goose.We also ordered Lu Rou Fan with 5-grained rice. I ordered this dish because of the famous Taiwanese-born head chef here. So I wana see how far he can execute this simple dish. Look at that chunks of meaty goodness, very well-cooked and seasoned. But to me, a good lu rou fan, is when the sauce evenly coats each grain of rice. This bowl somehow missed it. This is no doubt a healthier version and I really like the flavour.Here comes the highlight of the night, and also the restaurant’s signature dish. The roast wagyu short ribs with jalapeno puree, green shallot, kimchi, and soy glaze. You must not leave the restaurant without ordering this dish. It had big size, big flavours. And also big bucks, but of course this dish was big enough to share among 4-5 people. The meat was really tender, and by having a spread of jalapeno sauce on it and top it with the scallion kimchi that would enhance the umami taste, bring out the heat and of course add texture to the whole dish.To me, this restaurant is great for gathering and party. The food can be shared among friends and family, because the portion is considerably big. But also keep in mind that, this place has a higher price range. To me, it lives up its expectation, and I would come back and try something different next time.

Side note: I did not get to order the Breakfast 2.0 dessert, because their fridge was broken that night. I guess that means a second visit for me in future.

Rating: 8.0/10

Price: $$$

This beatifully crafted parfait by this shop had, again, impressed me in terms of its appearance and balancing of flavours and texture. Mont Blanc - Italian low fat gelato served with crunchy meringue, candied chestnut, chestnut vanilla ice cream, butter crumbs, black currant compote, rose champagne espuma and handcrafted Christmas tree. I love the rose champagne espuma a lot. It was very airy and gave your mouth a nice fragrance. The blackcurrant and butter crumbs were sweeter than I expected though. I guessed the best way to enjoy this is to scoop all the way down to the bottom and had all the elements at one go, to balance the flavour.

I always complain to my friends that it is so difficult to find a shop that sells authentic Taiwanese food at a reasonable price. Either the food tasted a bit off, or the price is extremely expensive. But the former is always the case. There are so many mocked-up Taiwanese stores in Hong Kong and chains from Taiwan, but those are all operated by local people here and none of them taste ‘Taiwanese’ (I’m sorry). One exception is 程班長 at Lai Chi Kok, but that is way too far for me.

So, here comes a new store, located at Third Street, Sai Ying Pun. It started business not long ago, and I decided to give it a try. My shuttle bus to my campus always passed by this store, but it was always on its ‘Opening Soon‘ sign, and now it is finally here. I thought it would be another Taiwanese shop wannabe. But the food and the people there, spoke for themselves and had proven me wrong.

With the concept of night market, this shop is very small. I think it can accommodate at most 15 people. So, just be prepared to take away and eat some where else. And they have pretty odd operating hours (from 12pm till they finish selling everything which is around 7pm, off on Sunday). This is because they would want to serve their food fresh every day. Shining signboards which are eye-catching and the decorations inside are all very rustic. You would be greeted with a simple ‘歡迎光臨’ when you enter the shop. That simple greeting does make a difference to my dinner experience.Photos are a bit dark, because I thought I would be able to boost up the brightness.

So, the main thing - FOOD. My friends kept asking me whether this shop serves foods that are so good that you want to promote it like crazy. Actually, you may get this kind of quality of Taiwanese food everywhere in Taiwan. There is nothing extraordinary. However, in Hong Kong, having food quality and authenticity like this with this price, is pretty difficult. I think it is almost impossible in its category. They serve mainly street food that you can find in night markets.

This is their menu.And here comes my dinner of the night.First up, 魯肉飯 (minced pork rice). I myself prefer a more Tainan style minced pork rice which is what you see below. It tasted exactly like my first bowl of minced pork rice in Taiwan, which I fell in love with immediately. It looked fat, because you would vividly see the chunks of pork belly there, but definitely not greasy. The flavour was spot on and I could easily have 3 bowls of this. Simple food, but made good.Next up, 四神湯 (Four Spirit Soup). It is basically a herbal soup made up of four types of herbs, and had many benefits especially improving appetite (no wonder I kept on eating that night). Oh well, the soup did not have a strong herbal taste, but I love the flavour of the soup. The flavour I call ‘home’. It had a mild Chinese wine taste to it, and best of all, there were barleys and pork innards. It was that Chinese wine that made the difference!No one can leave a Taiwanese shop without ordering 蚵仔煎 (oyster omelette), at least for me. This was like the real thing, THE REAL THING. It was really just Taiwanese oyster omelette that you could get anywhere else in Taiwan night market. And now, in Hong Kong.There were a few dishes that were not up to my expectations too. And it was 鹽酥雞 (Taiwanese popcorn chicken). Probably we should have eaten it hot when it was served. To me, the biggest problem was that the chicken was dry. It would be better if the chef could retain some juices in the meat and not overfry it. But no doubt, the crust was thin with nice basil aroma.The 綜合滷味 (the braised) also stumbled. That was most probably because I had too high expectations towards this dish. I expected something heavy in flavour but in the end, what I got was just a normal and light braised dish. They were well braised, but for me, it just lacked the ‘kick’.This is a real good shop. They should maintain their standard, and I would pay countless visits to it. I know I might be biased because I am a hardcore Taiwanese food fans.

Rating: 9.0/10
Price: $
Location:
阿元來了
G/F, 73 Third Street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong

This restaurant is originated from Thailand, which serves Thai modern fusion cuisine. And it has spread its franchise to Hong Kong for quite some time. The title says it all, I was obsessed of their crepe cake. Not to say that their other foods on the menu are not good. They are decent, but I just love their crepe cake.
So for my dinner, I ordered this soft shell crab squid speghetti. To me, the speghetti was cooked al dente, but a downside of it was that the seasoning I felt was a bit off (too salty), and oily too. But my friend commented that it was totally fine for him. So, I guessed it really depend on personal preference. Not forgetting the main character in this dish - the soft shell crab! Fried perfectly with the ‘crabby’ taste that I love!Mango crepe cake!!! Can you imagine how beautifully it was plated, and placed right in front of you on the table? What I like about this was that, you can just keep scooping in without getting tired of the taste, because it is cold, creamy, and refreshing. The layers of crepe cake needless me to say, had a superb texture to it.Never miss this crepe cake when you visit this cafe. They also have other flavours too. I heard coconut was equally good. Wait for my next review!
Rating: 7.0/10

Roasted goose is always delicious, but of course pricey. It is in its own category, somehow different from chicken and duck. And this humble restaurant sells their roasted goose dishes at a very reasonable price, and it was in the Michelin recommended restaurant too. So, it is definitely worth a try. HKU students would know this place quite well, because it is so near the HKU campus.The skin was so crispy, so good. Flavour was on the spot. And this bowl of ‘laifun’ came with the broth. The broth was so fragrant and I just slurped the whole bowl down. I think it was the goose fats that did the magic.Sometimes, you just want to be barbaric, and grab the drumbstick and tear the meat off the bone!
Rating: 8.5/10
Price: $

With the festive seasons around the corner - Thanksgiving and Christmas, many restaurants around Hong Kong are offering their own version of turkey dinner for celebration. 

Blue Butcher this time, as a meat specialist, does not miss the opportunity too. They offer roasted Happy Valley free range turkey dish served with a side of homemade stuffing, whipped creamy mashed potatoes and roasted candied bacon brussels sprouts (Whole-HK$1380 / Half-HK$690). The whole turkey is definitely enough for sharing with 10 to 12 people, and you will go back with a happy tummy. My previous experience with turkey was that it is very hard to retain the juice in the meat, but the turkey here, to my surprise, was so moist that even if it was white meat, it was still very juicy and tender. It was even better than chicken breast in my opinion, although turkey is well-known to be the leanest meat among all. Eating it together with their cranberry sauce really made me feel so ‘christmasy’. I love the mashed potato served with it too. 
I would recommend Blue Butcher if you ask me where to have turkey. Best of bucks spent!Remember to order it 3 days before your dinner, because they will need to fly in the turkey, prepare and roast the turkey in house!

'Probably the best matcha cheesecake in Hong Kong, by far.'

This corner shop in Sheung Wan has been famous for its matcha cheesecake since its opening, but only till recently that I got the chance to taste it myself. And it is really good!

From the storefront, it seems like it is only a small shop with little tables and chairs, as well as a bench next to the cashier. In fact, behind this shop, they have a ‘living room’ space where you can find huge tables, pots of flowers, sofa and magazines. This is where you can spend your time, while enjoying the background music. I really like their choice of music.Back to the Matcha Cheesecake. I have not tried their other cakes or brunch menu, but I would like to say that having one best thing is already enough to attract customers to keep coming back for it.

Most of the time one would worry that the cheesecake is simply too greasy and cloyed, but this was not the case. Their fine tune on the balance of matcha and cheese was spot on! The cake was dense, and at the same time, moist. The sweetness was well adjusted. I could easily finish the whole piece by my own.

I have heard a lot about their most famous dessert - Night Wolf. Full of Hong Kong elements in it, 66% chocolate soft serve gelato + brownie and chocolate chips eggette + banana ice cream + passion fruit panna cotta + crunchy flakes. The eggette with chocolate fillings was fresh and crunchy, and was the highlight of the whole dessert. But I especially like the acidity of the passion fruit panna cotta because to me, eggette and chocolate soft serve gelato were a very heavy combination, and so the passion fruit panna cotta was able to balance out the sweetness and refresh the palate.To me, I personally did not really favor this combination a lot because I think they are all too heavy combined together. However, lots of my friends love it so much. So I guess it is up to individual's preference. Oh well, eating the hot eggettes (egg waffles) with the cold gelato was definitely a pleasure that everyone will enjoy!