峇里餐廳 (佐敦)

I am I big fan of beef rendang so I was delighted to find this Indonesian restaurant in Jordan.

Ordered the beef rendang lunch set (HKD 68 plus service = 75 HKD). Not sure why it's called a set because it only consists of the actual dish.

Unfortunately this was very disappointing - a large pile of plain rice, a relatively large pile of cold, cooked cabbage (which was uneatable) and a tiny serving of the so called beef rendang containing two (!) pieces of meat. To make things worth this isn't even proper, thick, slow-cooked beef rendang - more a very average beef curry.

The food came within less then 5 minutes after ordering - so at least it is fast.

夜上海 (尖沙咀)

Ye Shanghai has two outlets in HK this one and one in Pacific Place. Both have literally identical food, but this one carries a Michelin star. Does it deserve the star? In my view clearly not.

We went for lunch on Sunday and could get a table without waiting. The restaurant is large and has a nice decor featuring dark wood.

As starter we had chicken with bean jelly in peanut sauce (55 HKD) - one of their signature dishes. Good sauce, but the texture of the bean jelly was much softer then usually in this dish which we didn't like, also I prefer this dish with more cucumber. Overall the weakest version of this Shanghai classic I have seen in a while.

As first main dish we had stir fried river shrimp (168 HK). Decent dish, but not better or worse than in any other Shanghal restaurant.

Second main dish sautéed string beans with bamboo shoots (HKD 148!!!). Very bland, but the addition of bamboo is a nice element.

Finally steamed pork belly wrapped in fragrant leave (HKD 30 a piece). Basically a singe cube of hong shao rou wrapped in a leave, came with a mini bun on top. Relatively lean for pork belly and therefore not "melt in your mouth", but with good flavor.

Overall decent food, but nothing that seems to justify a Michelin star as you get the same (or better) quality at most Shanghai restaurants in HK (including the non-stared sister restaurant in PP).

Service was friendly, fast and attentive.

劉森記麵家 (深水埗)

This is a typical HK noodle shop with a soup kitchen in the front, a few tables in the middle and someone making dumplings in the back. It's located in the first unremarkable area of Sham Sui Po, not for from the namesake MTR station.

Specialty of the house are dry noodles with shrimp roe, so that's what I get. The noodles are typical HK style - thin and very chewy. Topped with a generous serving of dried shrimp roe, which as an interesting salty and fishy taste. It's served with an extra bowl of good soup with some equally good wontons.

Overall a good, fast and cheap lunch option if one happens to be in the area

小包包 (中環)

Small restaurant opposite PMQ, always busy. We arrived at dinner opining time (6 pm) on a Sunday evening and couple just get two seats. There are only bar seats around the open kitchen and at the wall (no tables). The idea is probably fancy, contemporary burger joint – so everybody is young and hip, loud music is playing, you get the picture. But the place has a nice vibe to it. I like that you watch the chefs preparing your food.

The menu has three sections: “for sharing”, which are starters, “Baos” and “sweet ending”.

For sharing we ordered the “sesame Caesar” and the “lamb tartare”.

Sesame Caesar was made from “Indian lettuce” (which looked a lot like cabbage) with pieces of dace (which also goes mud carp, but dace sounds better) and a Caesar dressing with black beans, playing of the classical Hong Kong canned food豆豉鯪魚. Overall a good, but quite heavy salad and interesting variant, but not necessary an improvement of a Caesar.Lamb tartare tasted very much like a good beef tartare, only with light lamb aftertaste. Was served with deep fried tofu skin, which looked a lot like papadums and added a nice crunch (but not much flavor).The buns are an interesting idea. They have little to do with Chinese Baozi, what they serve is a steamed bun (basically a Mantou), which is cut open, fried in one side and then filled like a hamburger, the texture of the bun is a bit denser than a hamburger bun, I found that quite enjoyable.

All the variants have a sort of a fusion theme. The pork belly bun has two slices of fried pork belly and let’s face it: you can’t go wrong with pork belly, the pickles add a nice extra crunch and tartness – very yummy. The Sichuan fried chicken is a bit more conventional, although there are some Sichuan spices the coleslaw tips is very much towards a western style. Still good, but not as special.The starters are around 100 HKD and the bunds are 78 HKD, which is obviously not cheap for a small, fancy sandwich, but despite the casual atmosphere the food a creative and high quality, which in my view justifies the price tag.

Service was fast and friendly.

Beer & Fish (中環)

Beer and Fish is one of these hip new places on Staunton. Very small bar/restaurant, probably 10 seats – basically a fancy fish and chip shop.

Almost 20 craft beers from all over the world are offered, 4 of these on tab. We tried the two local ones: Moonzen “Jade Emperor” IPA –amber color, strong, hoppy and fruity, nice beer and the Lion Rock Oriental pearl Oatmeal stout – black color, quite light for a stout and without a decent head, but nevertheless an enjoyable beer.

We ordered a plate of shrimps, oysters and fries (which took surprisingly long to arrive), typical UK-style beer batter, shrimps quite small and therefore not much taste, oysters were great – large and juicy with a nice crispy batter, unfortunately there were only two of them; in addition very large potato wedges with the skin, more soft than crispy, but good tasting.

Staff was very friendly, beer came fast, food took a while.

Overall a nice place for a drink of good quality beer, some nibbles and some people watching.