I haven't caught up with F in a while, so the two of us head to Ozone on Wednesday for their Wacky Maki Wednesday menu, which offers unlimited maki rolls at $480 per person. The macki rolls are created by Brazilian-born chef Rafael Gil, and are inspired by signature ingredients from different cities around the world. Thanks to a sizeable Japanese population in Brazil, Japanese food is very popular there and the Brazilians have come up with their own version of Brazilian-inspired sushi, maki and handrolls. These maki rolls at Ozone are not typical Japanese maki rolls, but are fun, exotic and quirky - find out for yourself whether you like these new, inspiring flavours!

(1) We start off with the New York maki, with black truffle scallop, apple and bacon. The black truffle taste is perceptible and the bacon adds a nice crunch. We like the New York maki so much that we end up ordering 4 plates of these! (2) The Hong Kong maki is appetising, with deep fried soft shell crab and a sweet and sour dressing. (3) We enjoy the Tokyo maki, which is simple and tasty with tempura prawn and a sesame mayo sauce. (4) The Oslo maki, which is samlon maki covered in generous layer of gouda melted cheese, is delicious and satisfying! (5) For something lighter, you can order the Hokkaido maki, with scallops, red tuna, avocado and ikura. The sweet strawberry dipping sauce is a nice touch.  (6) Lastly, the Bahia maki is served. If you like king prawns, this is the maki for you. The moqueca sauce is rich and flavourful, and complements the king prawns very well.

I always find it incredibly comforting to have a hotpot meal in winter. Recently, there has been a lot of buzz around The Drunken Pot, a new hotpot restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui which serves a range of creative, contemporary soup bases and hotpot dishes. The restaurant is a bit tucked away on Observatory Road, but you will be impressed as soon as you enter this large space, which is in the theme of an ancient fish market and showcases beautiful carved wooden doors, dangling glass lamps and gigantic murals on its walls.(1) We start off the meal with this housemade begonia fimbristipula drink ($25), which looks adorable in a lightbulb-shaped glass. It tastes mildly sour, which is very appetising and perfect for cutting through the fatty foods at the meal.(2) The bamboo herbal drink ($25), also housemade, is sweet and soothing.(3) We are very tempted by the creative appetisers on the menu, and decide to try out a few of them. These Chinese crispy sticks stuffed with dace fish paste ($58) come highly recommended, and we are not disappointed by this tangy snack with a hint of black truffle.(4) These six-colour soup dumplings ($78) boast a nicely thin wrapper and a flavourful, juicy filling.(5) The deep fried fish skin with garlic ($48) is crispy and moreish, but makes us feel quite thirsty.(6) Two trays of sauces and condiments, neatly arranged, are brought to our table.The restaurant offers a range of enticing soup bases which all look very tempting. We wanted to try "The Drunken Pot" which features a flaming papaya, but it is already sold out that day, so we opt for “The Notorious Pot” ($248) instead, which comes with 4 soup flavours – black truffle with assorted mushrooms soup, pork bone broth soup, Sichuan-style numbingly spicy soup and pickled mustard with pork stomach and pepper soup.(7) We decide to order these seven-color cuttlefish balls ($88) simply because they are so Instagram-friendly!(8) These assorted fortune bag dumplings ($160) are adorable as well as auspicious. They come in 3 flavours - teriyaki beef, quail egg, and crabmeat and squid ink; the quail egg dumpling is my favourite.(9) Our meal is not complete without beef, so the premium sliced Angus beef chuck ($238) is ordered. Not only is its presentation thoughtful, its beefy taste is delicious and perceptible too.If you are looking for a hip, contemporary hotpot restaurant in town, you can consider making a trip to Tsim Sha Tsui to give The Drunken Pot a try. The photos will look fabulous, I promise!

I wouldn't normally use the word "quiet" to describe Bungalow, which is one of the most popular night clubs in Central, but believe it or not, it is actually a very spacious and peaceful venue for dinner with friends!

I haven't seen my girl friend C for a few months, and we decide to meet at Bungalow to catch up over an early dinner. The seating is very comfortable, and we get our own booth even though there are only 2 of us.

(1) We share the baby squid stuffed with squid-ink risotto ($178). The squid is nicely chewy, and the flavours are light and refreshing. (2) Next is the truffled grilled cheese, served with carrot soup ($108). The bread is crispy and excellently grilled, and the melted cheddar cheese is utterly decadent. The taste of black truffle can be stronger though.(3) The duck confit and foie gras ravioli ($158) is very satisyfing. The fillings are flavour-packed, and the ravioli is gorgeously al dente.(4) The truffle shrimp pasta ($178) is another great pasta dish. The portion is robust and the black truffle mousse adds an extra dimension. (5) The grilled Duroc pork chop ($228) is delicate and scrumptious. The pork chop is pink-middled, and is beautifully tender and moist.(6) For desserts, we share a banana and dulce de leche crêpe ($88). I personally find the combination of banana and dulce de leche totally irresistible! Even though the Dom Pérignons at Bungalow are definitely not cheap, the dinner menu here is surprisingly affordable! Given how expensive it is to dine in Central these days, I would say that Bungalow is a very decent option in the area, with a prime location, great selection of dishes and comfortable seating. 

My friend Z told me about Reiki Small Field, which is a new Japanese restaurant in Sai Wan Ho. This restaurant is located across the road from the rest of the restaurants at the Sai Wan Ho pier, and it is small, intimate and cosy.As soon as we enter the restaurant, we are immediately wowed by the panoramic, unobstructed seaview - we almost feel like we are eating on a boat! (1) The lunch menu is compact but enticing. We order a fatty tuna rice bowl ($130), and there is a generous amount of tuna in the serve. We notice that the rice has a brownish colour, and the chef explains to us that he has opted for red, instead of white, vinegar for the rice to make it more healthy. He also deliberately puts very little sugar so the rice is less sweet than usual.(2) The portion of the eel on rice ($105) is also robust. The sauce is well adjusted, and the eel boasts a delightful texture. (3) The best part of the meal is the custom sushi set ($280), which includes 8 pieces of sushi specially selected by the chef. The scallop is impressively smooth, the fishes are excellently fresh and the ootoro sushi is utterly mouthwatering. You can add $20 for a bowl of hot udon. (4) Each lunch set comes with an appetiser, a dessert and a coffee. For desserts, you can choose from green tea ice cream, sesame ice cream and strawberry ice cream puffs. The Japanese coffee is freshly brewed and nicely aromatic. I didn't have very high expectations for this small neighbourhood restaurant, but I end up being very pleasantly surprised by the lovely ambience, the reasonable prices and the delicious food!

I haven't caught up with my friend M for some time, so she decides to take me to DK Cuppa Tea for a girly afternoon tea on Saturday. Being a food blogger, I have tried numerous afternoon tea sets before, but this is the first time I try a rose-themed afternoon tea. 

As soon as we are seated, we are presented with an aromatic rose tea. Rose tea offers a range of health benefits, including improving blood circulation, reducing fatigue and improving skin conditions. This rose tea comes with an organic cotton candy placed over the teacup, so when the heat melts the cotton candy, sugar will slowly drip into the tea to sweeten it.The rose tea is presented to us on a wooden board, and it comes with DK Cuppa Tea's rose perfume and rose massage oil. Just drinking this tea and trying out the perfume and massage oil already makes us feel completely refreshed!After enjoying our aromatic rose tea, the food arrives. On the top tier are the chocolate rocky road made with pumpkin seed, pistachio, dried cranberry and rose petals, and the Hokkaido milk puddings with rose jam.In the middle tier are the rose and honey cupcakes, rose Italian cheesecake and rose macarons.On the bottom tier, there are scones with clotted cream and 100% rose jam from France, cold cuts and cheeses. We find these black truffle balsamic vinegar pearls very fascinating - we are meant to eat these together with the cheeses! Overall, we find this an utterly calming and stress-relieving experience. The price is $298 per head and you can add $100 for a 10ml bottle of customized perfume to take home. The price is a tad hefty as it is more expensive than some hotel tea sets, so I do hope they will offer some discounts so that more customers can come enjoy this delightful experience without breaking the bank!  

Kyoto Joe is one of the earliest Japanese restaurants to open in LKF and serves Japanese fare with a contemporary twist.

I have visited the restaurant many times over the years for lunch, but am only here for dinner for the first time. The manager tells us about a new menu for dinner so we decide to order from it.

(1) First, the seafood tamago tofu arrives. This beautiful bundle of food offers exciting flavours from the sweet shrimp, snow crab, kimchi jelly and egg tofu. It is served cold and is quite refreshing. The kimchi jelly, however, should be thinner so that its flavour is less overwhelming. (2) Next, the Wagyu beef tataki is served. The Kagoshima prime sirloin is decliately sliced and expertly seared, and the beef instantly melts in the mouth. It is served with a wafu dresshing which helps cut through the fattiness.(3) This flaming dish is called Kaki Yaki. The oysters are wrapped with potato-fed pork bacon and are served over a stone stove. The oysters are juicy, and a bit of crispy bacon can never hurt!We also order some vegetarian sushi rolls which are spicy and super delicious (unfortunately I don't have photos of them)!

I am happy with the new menu at Kyoto Joe this time. Hope they will introduce more new dishes soon! 

Lily & Bloom, a restaurant and bar inspired by the vibrant city life in the 1920s, used to be one of the hippest haunts in town when it first opened; even after some years, this operation by Buzz Concepts remain a popular venue for drinks and weekend brunches. 

To bring some excitement for its diners in this intense summer heat, Bloom has introduced a Sunday Night Pinic that costs $490 per head (and $185 only for kids).  

(1) Our indoors "picnic" starts off with a welcome drink, and we can choose between an alcoholic "Midsummer Night's Dream" or a non-alcoholic "Elderfizz". The former, with earl grey gin, aperitivos, muscat and ginger ale in the mixture, is fruity and refreshing and has a distinctive orange fragrance. The latter, a simple beverage of homemade elderflower ginger soda, is soothing and thirst quenching.  (2) In true picnic style, our food is brought to our table in these lovely bamboo baskets. We are presented with some assorted baby vegetables with homemade tartar sauce. The baby vegetables are remarkably fresh, and we love the natural sweetness of the baby carrots and the exquisite juiciness of the yellow tomatoes. (3) The fresh baked mini baguettes, warm and fluffly and served with duck mousse, are delicious too.(4) A vichyssoise and truffle cheese toast follow. The cold potato and leek soup is naturally flavourful, and the toast is rich with strings of gruyere cheese.  While we are waiting for the dishes to arrive, the waiter kindly brings us some fresh daisies, as these are the flowers of the month of the restaurant, as well as a small fact sheet about daisies. (5) The cold seafood spaghettini does not disappoint; the crab and calamari are excellently fresh, while the pesto and caviar add bright, vibrant notes. My only complaint is that we are being served two cold dishes in a row, bearing in mind that we are sitting in an air conditioned restaurant instead of sitting under the sun like a real picnic. (6) "Bloom's Make Your Own Fish Tacos" adds some fun to our meal. We assemble our own fish tacos and find the fish nicely crispy on the outside and suitably moist on the inside; the tortilla is warm and soft, and the spicy mayonnaise and mango salsa are well adjusted and delectable. (7) We definitely have had enough food, but when the oven roasted porchetta arrives, we decide to march on. The porchetta is impressively crispy and well cooked, and is served with butter lettuce cups and some chili pickled radish. It can be a tad less salty though.(8) Lastly, the desserts arrive. The young coconut mousse and the chocolate pot de creme are served in cute little glass jars and they both taste spot on. This Sunday Night Picnic is a fascinating concept and the food is delicious, creative and generously portioned. This will be a great option for Sunday night family or friends' gathering. (Also, if you can solve a crossword puzzle on the back of the menu, you get to bring home a bottle of wine!)

For those of you who don’t speak Cantonese, “Lai Bun Fu” means “Government House”, as this restaurant is helmed by Chef Chung Kin Leung, the former Head Chef of the Hong Kong Government House. During Chef Chung’s tenure, he has served traditional Chinese cuisine to numerous dignitaries, international business leaders and heads of states, including PRC President Xin Jinping, PRC Premier Li Keqiang, USA former President George Bush and UK former Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher.

Seating 52 guests, the decor of the restaurant is reminiscent of old British colonial Hong Kong, with checkered marble floors, forest green pannelled walls and refined Chinese antiques making for a nostalgic, East meets West set up. The restuarant offers tasting menus and a la carte items at lunch and dinner, and from 18 April 2015 onwards, they will be serving a 4-course Saturday brunch at $368 per head, which includes 3 gourmet appetisers, a main course, rice or noodles and a dessert. This Saturday brunch is a fantastic deal, as the prices at this restaurant are usually not cheap – in fact, this restaurant got a bit of instant fame for their ultra extravagant Lai Bun Fu Tasting Menu which costs $5,580 per head!You can add $30 to the brunch for unlimited juices and soft drinks, add $150 for free flowing Prosecco (Italian Bellavista NV Cuvee Brut) and add $250 for free flowing champagne (Delamotte or Jacques Picard Brut Champagne).(1) For appetisers, the deep fried breaded crab claw is a must-order! This item is very expensive on the a la carte menu; it is magnificently deep fried until golden and is filled with chunks of fresh, bouncy crab meat inside. The sesame prawn cutlets on toast, an old school Hong Kong snack, is marvellously executed and extremely crispy and airy. The Peking style roasted chicken, served on a small steamed bun, is deliciously fatty and moreish.The sauteed minced pigeon with lettuce cup, deep fried prawn mousse stuffed with Shunde milk chips and steamed dumpling with fungus and mushrooms are the other available options.(2) We separately order a soup of the day, which is not part of the Saturday brunch. Chef Chung has prepared a white eel and black pepper soup that day, and it boasts deeply alluring flavours. The white eel is soft and tastes exquisite, and the black pepper helps draw out the soup’s delectable flavours.(3) For mains, the deep fried crispy Angus beef brisket with curry sauce is not to be missed. The Angus beef brisket is smooth and utterly alluring, and served with a Hong Kong style yellow curry sauce, it is unbelievable.Another signature dish of Chef Chung’s is the Sifu’s Crispy Chicken with 5 flavour condiments. The chicken has a wafer-thin deep fried skin and is startlingly tender, and the 5 flavour condiments – roselle sauce, blueberry sauce, fresh lemon juice, fermented red beancurd and green tea flavoured pepper salt – are amazing in each of their own ways. My favourite is the roselle sauce, which tastes like a fruit jam.The stir-fried fish maw shallot (extra $90) is an extravagent and utterly delicious dish – the fish maw is thick, smooth andtender, and the tangy seasoning is beyond reproach.For lighter options, I would recommend the fresh crabmeat stir fried with egg white and milk. This is a very delicate Cantonese dish, and the crabmeat blends in beautifully with the soft, pillowy egg white and milk mixture. So simple, yet so comforting.(4) I am too full to eat any of the E-fu noodles with abalone sauce, and only manage to try the Hong Kong-style fried rice. The ingredients are finely diced and each grain of rice is expertly coated in a thin layer of egg – this is gorgeous.(5) Our dessert is a simple sago in coconut milk. The sago is gelatinous and the dessert is nicely cold and refreshing.The cuisine at Lai Bun Fu is simply exquisite. The service can be quite slow at times, but these delicate dishes are worth waiting for. If you find the tasting menus too pricey, do come for the Saturday brunch as it offers fantastic value for such excellently executed and upscale cuisine.

Tucked away on a quiet road in Mid-Levels is Tea Saloon by Another Fine Day, a quaint and luxurious tea room in purple and pink pastel tones, complete with Victorian-style furnishings, chandeliers and framed paintings on the walls (think Parisien tea rooms such as Ladurée).

This inconspicuous tea parlour is a venture by three Hong Kong girls with a passion for afternoon teas. Their first venture, Another Fine Day, is a smaller establishment a few streets down which resembles a cosy Victorian living room. The secluded location of this haunt makes it a wonderful oasis in the city centre of Hong Kong. The service was slow but friendly, and there was a good selection of food and beverages on the afternoon tea menu.(1) We ordered the restaurant's own invention Madame Grey, which was a variation to Earl Grey tea, and was fragrant and soothing with a hint of rose.(2) We also tried the rose soda with fresh mint, which was icy and refreshing, even though the rose syrup tasted a bit faux.(3) A Ladies' Afternoon Tea ($498 for two) was ordered and shared amongst us.On the top tier were two rose scones, served with clotted cream and homemade rose petal strawberry jam. The scones were a tad dry, but the rose petal jam was fragrant and delicious.In the middle tier were some sweet delicacies, including macarons, mini Portuguese tarts, swan-shaped cream puffs and mini cupcakes. These did not taste particularly great, but at least they looked adorable!The savoury items in this tea set fared better than the sweet ones - the egg mayo and smoked salmon tartlets, creamy forest mushroom tartlets and mini popovers filled with baclk truffle cream cheese were all tasty.There were also two small glass pots of green tea mousse with red bean, which had a decent green tea flavour but was a bit too sweet.(4) The Gentlemen's Afternoon Tea ($498 for two) was a tea set with more emphasis on savoury than sweet snacks.The top tier had some of the savoury items that were in the Ladies' Afternoon Tea Set, with the addition of some crispy rice crackers with minced pork. The seasoning of the minced pork was overly sweet, and didn't taste authentically Thai.The prosciutto & manchego cheese croissants tasted delicious, and were fluffy with a generous amount of filling.I came here with a bunch of girls who all love a good burger, so we were excited to see two burgers in the tea set, but these turned out to be a disappointment. The chicken patty in the mini chicken burger with oolong tea sauce had a refreshing herbal seasoning, but was rubbery and lacked meaty flavours - our hearts sank as we bit into it.The Gentlemen's Afternoon Tea Set also came with two rose scones, so there was certainly enough food to go around.

Even though the food was mediocre, the decor of this tea room is thoughtful and cosy. I also adore its relatively inconspicuous location, which offers some privacy. I hope the kitchen can improve over time, so that I can come back here with the girls for another afternoon tea session!

Yun Yan, a long-standing and renowned Sichuanese restaurant owned by the Mira Group (the folks behind French Window, School Food, WHISK and Tsui Hang Village), has relocated to Time Square after spending over twenty years in Miramar Mall in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The restaurant has departed from its previously traditional Chinese decor, and its revamped interior is funky and airy, with light tones, wood and bamboo surfaces and bright lightings making for a lively venue. The portions are less humongous than they were previously, and a lot less spicy (spicy items on the menu are clearly marked with a chilli next to them, so there will be no mistake). It seems that the relocated restaurant is gravitated towards catering for family meals.

The kitchen is helmed by chef Kenny Chan, who boasts over 40 years of experience and comes from a famous family of Sichuan chefs. The service can be a bit slow when the restaurant gets busy (which it quite frequently does), but the staff are overall friendly and polite. The dishes are generally reliable and tasty, the location is fantastic and the prices are always reasonable.

(1) We start with a bowl of hot and sour soup ($45), which is tangy and has all the right flavours and ingredients in it.(2) The sliced pork in spicy garlic soya sauce ($68) is always a delight - the pork is thin and flavourful, and the chopped garlic is moreish.(3) We also love the pork wontons in chili oil and garlic sauce ($42). These wontons are not very spicy at all, but the wonton wrapper is delicately thin and the ingredients inside are juicy and taste spot on.(4) Not a quintessentially Sichuanese dish, these xiao long baos are only available at lunch. The dumpling skin has a good thickness and the pork broth is tasty. We love how the vinegar is given to us in a little pump!(5) The Tan Tan noodles ($45) are a job well done - the noodles have just a superb springy texture, and the soup is thick, flavourful and expertly executed.(6) The Mapo tofu ($88) is enticingly flavourful. Some of us find it not spicy enough though!(7) The Sichuan house smoked cherry duckling ($138) is a must-try. The house smoked duck is a tad on the dry side, but the smoky flavour is deep and satisfying, and the skin is deliciously crispy. It is served with half a dozen fan-shaped Chinese steamed buns, which are a delight.(8) The restaurant serves a selection of fusion desserts which incorporate Chinese ingredients into Western style desserts. We try a few of them, including the tofu crème brûlée ($38). It is less creamy than a traditional French crème brûlée, and has a perceptible tofu flavour. Definitely enjoyable if you have nothing against the taste of tofu. However, the desserts' portions are very small, which is unexpected as the sizes of the main dishes are robust.Overall, the food at Yun Yan is delicious, authentic and enjoyable. It is a bit sad for serious Sichuanese food lovers that the food's level of spiciness has been toned down to suit the mass market, but this works very well for some of my friends who can't take hardcore spiciness. I have already been here a few times with my friends and family, and I can imagine myself coming back many more times in the future!