之前在元朗排隊吃爽爽醉雞時無意經過街角有一家型格食肆開業。一看餐牌午餐三舊幾水有交易! 試過覺得"咦，三舊幾水好OK喎!~" 馬上預約另一週五跟我好姊妹賀壽!

我們一行四人，欲預訂兩個二人SET，BUT WELL，席上有人嫌法國鵝肝唔夠CIVILLIZED (唔好理佢，鵝肝不知幾好食~)，貌似視帝劉醒的經理BENGO建議將法國鵝肝改成鹿兒島黑毛豬，他說只要有額外要求預早一點可在餐點上作出改動。另外BENGO亦大膽提議我們可以鹿架代替和牛(因為席上有不吃牛的文明人)! 我覺得一家餐廳成功，一位一眼關七，細心燙貼的經理是功不可沒! 安排好餐點後，跟BENGO確認餐廳不另收切餅費，我也識趣地付上訂金。

星期五晚八時多入席，先來一客和風沙律。重口味美少女向來不是GREEN PERSON。可是這碟GREEN有很可口很可口的烘白飯魚乾脆片! 再細問一下原來紫心蕃薯片也是師傅自家創作! 令到沙律加了點自家特色!有肴，免不了有酒。慶生會當然是需要些泡泡充撐場面。在眾多選擇當中我選來一支梅SPARKLING SAKE，為壽星女添加多一點甜蜜之餘，相信跟後面濃味的餐點也不會太不突兀。生蠔杯是一口乾掉的設計，內裡除有有蠔，還有日本QUAIL EGG 及 SALMON EGG，補補之作!然後型男主廚DICKY SAN把我們的食材取出。吃鐵板燒是最期待看到師傅的即席表演!DICKY SAN先將活鮑魚煎焗及清理，尺寸也有我的掌心一般大啊! 鮑魚越大我就越怕吃到橡膠，難得鮑魚肉做得生熟度剛好，配上醬汁及開心果碎，最特別是那食用花的一口回甘!這道招牌菜是官感的衝擊! 看著DICKY SAN又燒又烘那小鍋，又煎又焗那帶子，我不禁又擔心會吃橡膠! 但鍋蓋一開，嗅到一室杭菊香，便覺得一切的擔心是多餘的。菊燻不但令帶子加香，更令帶子上了一層蜜糖色。帶子是軟嫰溏心，不負那把招牌押上之名。請看上圖，那只活海老是超級大隻! 還在掙扎的! DICKY SAN 剷起刀落，果然美女是需要遠離庖廚。海老超鮮爽，海膽忌廉汁是重埸的海膽香，好想叫DICKY SAN請我洗碟呢~CIVILIZED PERSON不吃鵝肝，不瞞大家我是有覺得超級失望! 可是DICKY SAN 卻弄出十分驚喜的黑毛豬肉! 最大的驚喜是墊底的洋蔥! 有鮮爽口感之餘只有洋蔥的甜而沒有洋蔥的辣! 我是沒有誇大啊! 唔信即管試下，唔好食問MO姐拎返錢~我覺得DICKY SAN整體上拿鍊食材的生熟度是有一手的，所以我放心把主菜的生熟度由他發版。今日吃了比較瘦的鹿肉，是剛好的MEDIUM! 切開是JUICY的，那紅酒汁又確實是一絕! 令到比較LEAN的鹿架增加了RICHNESS。我除了洗碟，更把另外3位的骨頭收歸己用~ 哈哈~因為有蛋糕的關係，我叫BENGO把所有甜點取消。可是單尾卻不能沒有炒飯! 薑末炒飯香口得來不會太乾身，赤味噌湯暖笠笠，為此盛宴作出個完整的終結。今餐雖然唔算平，可幸壽星女及眾朋友也吃得滿意! 和菊雖然是小店一間，可是不論食物味道及服務等等也足以跟市區餐廳一比高下! 最後，祝壽星女心想事成，快D搵多D錢再請我地來食多餐!~

0

Date of visit : 9 Mar 2014 (Sun) 12 noon
No. of diners : 5
Average cost per head : $650
Food quality : 8.5/10
Environment : 8.5/10
Service : 8/10
Value-for-money : 8/10
Overall rating : 8.2/10

Despite dozens of Spanish restaurants opened in the past years, Catalunya still gains its popularity in town. It took some 2 weeks in advance to book a table for the Sunday brunch. I got mixed reviews on Open Rice about the service or even food served so I had reservation to it and lowered my expectation. To my surprise, I had a very good dining experience at the end.I arrived 5 minutes before noon when the buffet should start and found my friends chatting by the entrance. The door was opened at noon sharp so don’t go too early on a rainy day or with bad weather. Having said that, one has to spare full 3 hours to relax oneself and enjoy a complete dining experience. Catalunya is successful in designing the menu, presentation and timing in delivering food. They set different corners for seafood (mainly canned or cured fish and shell fish), bread, cured meat, salad, juice, etc. Each of them was nicely presented and covered a wide variety, in particular some not to miss items :

a) Juice
They served 4 types of mixed juices – watermelon with mango, kiwi and apple, strawberry and guava, and pear and guava. I ultimately tried all 4 and found them tasty and a good mix.

b) Steak Tartar
The tartar was not as finely chopped as in most restaurants but the steak was tender and fresh.

c) Iberian Ham
Bellota ham from Iberico. Looked pretty in crimson red and with distributed fat marbles in between. The ham quality was good and not salty at all.

d) Sandwiches (made-to-order) Don’t miss the Bikini sandwich made with Iberico ham, mozzarella and black truffle paste. The bread was thinly sliced and evenly toasted that resembled the Singaporean kaya toast. You may top up your toast with extra ham from the buffet table or try the vegetarian version with zucchini instead of meat is also great.

e) Estrellados (made-to-order)These were the fried eggs with separated whites and yolks on a bed of baked potatoes. The potatoes were caramelized and yummy. The chorizo version was slightly better than the one with mushrooms.

f) Omelette (made-to-order)The pick of “Deconstruction” omelette was totally out of curiosity. It came in a cocktail glass. An “egg yolk” bathed itself in cream foam which was smooth and flavourful, however, with no relevancy to an omelette.

g) Suckling Pig “Segovian Style” (served by table)As informed by the wait staff, the four mains would be served at 1:15pm, anyway, no one would miss it because when the time came, an array of staff each carrying a tray of suckling pig marched in from kitchen to the dining hall. The DJ in the house even blew his trumpet loud to create a carnival-like atmosphere.After the parade, the piglets were placed at the centre of the hall where the staff cut them with a porcelain plate. Portions of the piglets would then be sent to individual tables. For a party of 5, we got one side of the hind limb. The skin was crispy and thin and the meat was soft and juicy. Didn’t mind to have more but would be a trade-off other dishes.

h) Salt Crusted Whole Fish (served by table)Next came were plates of whole fish buried in a bed of salt. The salt was lit with fire before serving. The fish was Amadai from Japan, fresh and with texture similar to barramundi.

i) Veal Shank (served by table)The veal was the best mains among 4. The crust on the edge gave a flavourful scent of the Asian style of pork jerky bought from Bee Cheng Hiang (美珍香). Medium rare throughout the flesh. Juicy and tender.While we were pretty full after the main, the chefs were busy preparing for our desserts. I didn’t count the variety but over dozens of sweets, cakes and pastries were packed on the kitchen top and ready to be dished out.

j) XurrosThe restaurant should have prepared enough baskets of churros as this was the hottest pick on the table, still warm and went best with the chocolate foam. I didn’t expect much on the dip from its pale colour but it had very rich chocolate flavour and smooth. In general, the chef nailed all the sweets made with chocolate.

k) Marinated FruitsNot to mention the colours of joy, the fruit cubes were soaked in juices and chilled on a bed of ice cubes. I loved the pineapple most.

I had a wonderful experience in Catalunya. The wait staff were friendly in general. We were reminded of the steps when one of them led us to the dining hall and the other staff briefed us on the buffet items and show schedule after we settled. Just that the restaurant was busy from start to end, they might have lacked of spare hands to fill up empty glasses. However, I would avoid the free flow of sangria or cava at a price tag of $280 per person to save room for food. If one prefers some wine to pair with food, simply order a bottle or by glass maybe an option too.

03.2014

In my own opinion, fusion is the best type of food, in theory. Unencumbered by historical accident and the worldwide distribution of plants and animals, fusion takes what's good from anywhere and puts it together to achieve genuine food greatness. In theory. In practice, however, it's mostly just OK.

Little Bao's concept is pretty straightforward. Take the bread of your standard bao, make it into a bun, then make little sandwiches with it. The server recommended we have 3 sharing dishes and a bao each, so that's what we decided on.The place is obviously trying to be 'rad' (or whatever the kids say nowadays). Beck was playing when we walked in. We were seated right in front of the bao preparation station, and got to watch all the magic happen.Eggplant with Minced Shiso Pork Tempura and Ume Ponzu Dip: Shiso, I just found out, is an herb. I didn't know that while I was eating these. I can't say I remember any exciting new flavor. These were fine but my wife and I thought the minced pork was a little undercooked. I'm just going to say I have no clue what ume ponzo is, but the dipping sauce was good. Good: BSlow-Braised Organic OBE Short-Rib Dumplings: I was not a fan of these dumplings. They were nicely crisped on the bottom, so there was nothing wrong with how they were cooked. But inside was very tender, almost mushy, bbq short ribs, and I think the combination just didn't work. There was a nice hot sauce to go with them, but I don't think that really rescued them. OK: C-My favorite dish of the night, "macaroni and cheese." This was actually thick rice noodles like tteok bokki, instead of macaroni. The cheese sauce was a little grainy and oddly pink in color. I thought the rice noodles and cheese sauce constituted a mediocre mac and cheese, however, the crispy stuff on top really took this dish to a new level. Flavorful and crisp without being too crisp, it's hard to describe, but I definitely recommend it. Excellent: A-Fish Tempura (w/ tamarind palm sugar glaze, pickled lemongrass fennel salad, and tartar sauce). The piece of fried fish on the bao was excellent. Hot, crisp, tasty and not too heavy, perfect for a fishburger. The bao artist put on a crazy amount of tartar sauce, and a crazy amount of the other sauce (tamarind glaze, I guess), and taking bites caused an explosion of sauces in every direction. At least this place has tons of napkins!

Too many places, in my mind, don't trust their own ingredients. They go out of their way to get quality fish, or organic beef, or whatever, and then just smother it with so much aggressive sauce that you can't taste the main ingredients. Definitely what was going on here. OK: C+Our other bao was the pork belly with sesame dressing and hoisin ketchup. Again, very aggressive on the sauce, but luckily pork can stand up much better to that sort of thing. I definitely liked the pork belly-- it wasn't just a pile of porkfat, which I've definitely gotten before after ordering "pork belly." Nicely seared, very tender. A little on the sweet side, but that's to-be-expected. Good: A-/B+We ordered one green tea ice cream bao, but the owner gave us an additional one for free. Pretty straightforward: green tea ice cream, obviusly, and the bun is made out of really sweet batter, like they use to deep fry oreos in. I lost my sweet tooth when I was about 12, so I'm turning the rating over to my wife who says: Excellent, A.Little Bao also has a decent selection of imported beer, which is another good reason to give it a try.

On the whole, I'd say that I was disappointed. The promise of the place seemed so great and the hype so high, that I almost could not have failed to be disappointed. The stuff here is good, but it's not amazing. It cost around $700 and sure, there was all sorts of fancy and exotic and organic ingredients, but the end result didn't really seem that much different from what you could do with normal ingredients. I'll probably go back to try the two other baos and the things on the sharing menu I missed, but I won't spend any time daydreaming about this place.

Good: B+

I only eat Chinese steamed buns if the quality is good but the ones you get in dim sum places are filled with fatty meat or fillings that are too sweet.

Now there is Little Bao which turns the boring steamed buns into burgers.When I first saw the logo, it reminded me of the Jolibee logo and Chipmunks merged into one.

The menu is simple, some dishes for sharing, baos and dessert.I was there for the Bao only so I tried the chicken one.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chicken Bao:
Chicken, black vinegar glaze, szechuan mayo, napa cabbage, coleslaw.It was definitely dinky and lives up to its name Little Bao. I loved the texture of the steamed but, it was soft but not too soft that it held together well as a burger bun and the filling in the middle was amazing.
The crispy chicken was delicious with the tart medley of julienne cabbage and coleslaw with a gorgeous creamy taste that got jazzed up with szechuan mayo.
The szechuan mayo did not have a fiery tone but had a slow tingling sensation that accumulated when you finished the bun and there was a fragrant taste of szechuan peppercorn.
The only flaw was that it was not hot enough and to me it felt like an appetizer.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Anyway, there will be a similar Steamed bun shop coming up soon in Wan Chai, called Bao Wao.
They will make their 1st public appearance at PEZ HKC from 1830pm - 2030pm on the 15th November (one night only, $38 per bao).
During the opening period in Wan Chai, it will be HK$58 for 2 Baos.
As well as that I will be looking forward to their Asian poutine which will be taro fries topped with cheese and Korean style beef!

I've been to Gaylord a handful of times. The first time I had their buffet and thought it was relatively good. The second time I went for dinner and it was only so-so. This time we aimed for the buffet, but apparently it's only on Sunday (we went Saturday). Here's what we had:The pappadums were pretty straightforward. I find the pickles way too pickly for me, but the mint chutney was really good, and decently spicy. I'd buy it by the gallon if they sold it that way. AOn the first page of the menu were Maharashtrian specials. I'm big into specials, and we wanted a chicken dish, so we got the Chicken Rassa. From looking around, I think 'rassa' just means 'curry.' Also, it seems that Maharashtrian curries are more watery than some other types of Indian curries, and that was certainly the case here. I didn't think the flavors were off, but there was nothing exceptional about this dish, and it arrived lukewarm, which more or less kills a curry for me. C-The Lamb Roganjosh was better. A thicker sauce with a little bit more flavor, and served at a temperature appropriate for cooked food. Again, it wasn't anything amazing or special, but I think anyone would have trouble actively disliking it. B-The garlic naan was pretty good. Nice and glistening with grease, more on the 'doughy' side, plenty of garlic. I liked it. B+

There's nothing fantastic about Gaylord, but I've never had anything there that wasn't at least average, and in general things are slightly-but-not-greatly above average. It's a "safe" place to go if you want to make sure the food won't be terrible and the service is alright, but I prefer Tandoori Nights, or the dice-game that is Chungking Mansions.

很強的魚介豚骨湯。
濃而不膩有辣勁。
麵條夠硬、配料不錯。
值得專程前往。

Very good quality Tonkotsu and Gyogai (marine products) ramen;
Aromatic chili oil;
Extremely good service. Highly motivated staff ;
Highly recommended!



Desert Storm:

This famous ramen shop had been on my "to eat" list for ages. One day, after I finished working in Tsuen Wan, I decided to try this out, nothwithstanding the heat (30-31°C!)

It was not too far away from Tsuen Wan MTR station and relatively easy to find. 
 The shop consisted essentially of a long corridor.  All the chairs were bar stools. Some were next to the open kitchen. Decent spaces between chairs and good air-conditioning.

Selections:Gyogai and tonkotsu ramen (with soup);

Tonkotsu ramen (without soup);

Tomato broth; and

the "Red Storm" (gyogai tonkotsu with special chili oil).

Needless to say, I chose Red Storm.

Red Rainstorm:Good presentation. Broth : 

Very good Gyoga and Tonkotsu with secret chili oil.  

Not as overpowering as Musashi or Hide. The gyogai taste is probably similar to Agura but mixed with very smooth Tonkotsu , almost remisant of a light version of Buta O. Very good.

The chili oil had impact and was also very aromatic. The chili taste won't last too long in your mouth though. I ordered 'big spicy'. This was manageable. I thought this was better than Red David. Completely different from Akao in ButaO (they used "spicy miso") or Ramen Kura. However, I still prefer Tatsuya when it comes to spicy ramen. Tatsuya's was not that spicy but more aromatic. Still, I was very happy with the Red Storm. 

The broth mixed well with the freshly chopped spring onions and the bean sprouts marinated in red chili and garlic.



Noodles:

Good quality wheat from Japan. Springy with pronounced wheat taste. Harder than most in HK, which should be great news for most ramen lovers.

Substantial portion!

Char Siu:

I wasn't too impressed with this pork shoulder when I first looked at it. But these two large pieces were surprisingly tender and aromatic. Σ（ﾟдﾟlll） There were also some Chopped Char Siu in the broth as well, which I thought was pretty good. 

Gyogai:

Need more gyogai? Just mix it in your broth with the fish/shellfish powder resting on a piece of nori. Good for gyogai fans.Egg: No complaints but Agura's is still more flavourful.

Bamboo shoot: Nice and crunchy. Good stuff.



Free soft drinks during tea time.

HK$83. No service charge. 

Conclusion:

One of the staff members was highly motivated and friendly. He definitely knows his products very well and seemed passionate about ramen. I had a pretty big suitcase with me at the time. He helped me move it around and looked after it. That was much appreciated. 

I live pretty far from Tsuen Wan, but I will definitely return just for Taifu.

Highly recommended.

應入香港三甲之列的
正宗自家製讃岐烏冬。
天婦羅很不錯,十分抵食!
環境舒適,服務週到.
性價比極高!
誠意推介!

Possibly the most authentic Japanese cuisine in the area
Chewy, Homemade Sanuki udon
Good tempura!
Great value, Good service.
Highly recommended !



Yomiuri Shinbun:

In our search for good Japanese restaurants around the area, we saw this udon shop many times. Strange enough, it is not on Open Rice.

However, they placed adverts in an old school Japanese newspaper, "yomiuri shinbun" 読売新聞! The equivalent of Ming Pao in HK and the Times in the UK, i.e. "serious" newspapers ！(◎_◎;)

So we decide to investigate...

Decor:

At 12:10 p.m., we were the only other table of customers in the shop. The staff and the chefs seemed quite excited to see us there! ψ(｀∇´)ψ

Now that's what I call motivation!

We were shown our tables by the friendly and smiling waitress. We sat next to the large panel windows.

It's really quite bright, clean and spacious with plenty of seats. The way the tables were arranged was good.All staff members were motivated, polite and friendly. Tea added frequently. Good marks for service.

Menu:

Udon specialist indeed:Many different types of udon sets, tempura (per piece), sashimi and sushi.

The menu is in Chinese, English and Japanese - accurate, formal Japanese *An important indicator ！(◎_◎;)

We ordered a number of tempura, a Mountain Yam Wasabi Udon (Tororo udon ) and a Onsen Tamago Udon.



Tempura:

HK$9 for one Tempura Chikuwa (a.k.a. Lion Dog Roll in Hong Kong). Σ（ﾟдﾟlll） Cut into half and dipped into nori and batter. Excellent quality! Similar to the very good one at Kichi. You can't beat the price!

Tempura Chicken Breast: Good! Wrapped in a tangy piece of Shiso leave, the chicken meat was succulent and tender. Again, value for money!The Shrimp Tempura was also good. HK$10 each. The shrimp had good shrimp taste. Good timing. Batter was the hard crunchy type but not too oily. Very good considering that it’s not a tempura specialist like Ana Gura or Inagiku.

Again, better than Marukame Seimen. My wife was very happy with her tempura sweet potato too. (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

One of the authentic ways of eating tempura, and indeed, which I suggest is the best way, is to dip it into salt. That's what was suggested in Imasuke's menu as well.



Talking about salt:Imported from Japan. Proudly made of just seawater from the Okayama area.

Flavourable. Very good with tempura indeed. Try dipping your tempura into salt instead of the tempura sauce.



Udons:

Our udons arrived shortly afterwards. Looks very authentic:

！(◎_◎;)

The tororo (yam) udon and onsen tamago udon:Generous amount of Tororo which tasted really authentic. Good quality nori. Even the grated wasabi was good quality stuff.



My Onsen Tamago Udon looked similarly authentic. A lot of Tenkasu (shreds of left over tempura batter). Not extremely crispy but acceptable. The onsen tamago was flavourful but unfortunately the yoke was almost fully cooked. The sauce used was a sweet teriyaki sauce.Udon:

Very chewy (not to be confused with hard). Great quality udon even without mixing anything else.

Irregular shape - which tends to show that those were homemade. I peered into the kitchen and seemed to see a udon making machine.
Indeed, that's what they mentioned on the wall. Homemade Shikoku Saniki udon with Japanese water with Japanese sea salt.

Definitely one of the top three udon shops in Hong Kong. ！(◎_◎;)



Bill:

Sanuki Onsentamago Udon: $50
Tororo Wasabi Udon: $52
Ebi tempura: $10
Chikuwa tempura: $9
Sweet potato tempura: $9
Shiso chicken fillet tempura: $10
Plus service: $154!

Conclusion:

Excellent value for quality udon and tempura.
Good service. Comfy.

Highly recommended! (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

中環很正宗的炸魚薯條!
裝修和英國Chip Shop 一樣。
連青豆茸都新鮮過人!
喜歡Fish & Chips 的話,
誠意推介!

Authentic Chip Shop in Central;
Great fish and chips.
Authentic Decor.
Fine mushy peas too!
Highly recommended!!



Location:

Not easy to find. Hidden amongst the stalls. Right across Shake em' buns but you'll need to pay attention. It's tucked behind stalls selling... God knows what...

Authentic decor:

The moment I stepped into this shop, I knew was at the right place. No doubt about it.

Out of the 6 customers I saw in the shop, three of them were Brits.

Chilled out Asian (Indian) Chef in the kitchen and Asian staff. (S.Asians are called Asians in the UK. Orientals are called S.E. Asians if I remember correctly, or Orientals.) Definitely a familiar sight in the UK.

Top marks for authenticity.

The oily smell, simple decor, dim lighting, large dusty tiles, old solid wooden tables and chair sets (even if newly purchased) all add to the authentic chip shop experience. Excellent! NB: The oil smell was quite strong indeed. So suitable for your Marks & Sparks machine washable suit but not your taylor made three piece! Don't wear your best dress.



Menu:

Comprehensive. Much more than just fish and chips. They also serve a number of curries, pies, onion rings, butties (Buns or bread rolls with different savory fillings like eggs, bacons or even chips!), English Breakfast (but no hash browns ), side orders like gherkins and even battered Mars Bars! Unfortunately, they don't seem to serve haggis anymore.

What was interesting was that you could choose the type of fish you want for the fish: To be honest, I haven't really compared different fishes used for fish and chips. So I went for what I felt to be the most orthodox option - Cod.

All fish and pies came with chips and mushy peas or baked beans. I ordered a coke with it.

After not too long a wait my fish and chips came:Piping hot!

After I cut open the crisp but not too oily batter, I started enjoying my fish.

The cod was great!

It's better than what I had at Jimmy's Kitchen (It's good too - they used fresh garoupa, but I like those here more), Trafalgar, and Devil's Advocate (average: the batter was bread crumbs and the fish wasn't firm enough. Chips no good.) ...etc.

It reminded me of what I had at the Borough Market and another famous one I had at Covent Garden (forgot the name now)! Is it just my imagination? Might even be better than those! Perhaps, distance makes memory grow fonder.

This fish and chip reminded me of those young, naive and slightly lonely days, when the fish and chips at the Strand, Duke of Wellington, Old Bank of England, the Wheel & Barrow, Weatherspoon, the Honest Lawyer(!) and a pub near Queen Mary...etc. provided a nice, filling meal at relatively affordable prices. Also a place to play chess and drink Guinness with friends...

(unlike many rip off "fusion" restaurants which tasted horribly bad with stuck up services - the reason why I don't really enjoy having "Western" food in Hong Kong now. It's PTSD .)

Memories all coming back to me now...

Those were the days.

Chips:

The chips were fine indeed.

Nice, fresh potatoes. Crispy outside but tender inside. Great!

I didn't really need to add much vinegar and/or salt as the fish and chips were already tasty by themselves. Just the tar tar sauce andMushy peas!

The mushy peas were the freshest I've ever had.

For those who doesn't like mushy peas (i.e. most of my friends), baked beans is an available option.



As I was about to finish my battered cod, I was thinking how nice it would be if they also serve battered sausage, something I really miss from my student years in England. Then I flipped the menu over randomly and there I saw it: At the Sausage section: Battered jumbo sausage!



Right on, mate. I'll be back for my battered sausage with chips and curry sauce!

Highly Recommended!

We visited いずみカリIzumi Curry @ Hysan Place on the first day of its soft opening (Aug 10, 2012). It was totally impromptu as the ramen shop we wanted to visit was not opened yet (as were many restaurants). This Izumi Curry was different from the self-served counter at Sogo, TST as it is a restaurant with waiters serving you. The menu was also much more extensive, closely resembling the one in Japan and with a lot of items not present at the TST branch.

The menu was actually quite complicated to read as there are so many sets, combos, and extra toppings. The 3 of use opted 3 different curry rice sets:

1.ダブルオムカリー Double soft omelet curry rice ($85)When I spotted this on the menu I knew instantly that this would be my order as I am a fanatic of anything egg. This soft omelet came out beautifully with a very glossy runny surface. When bite in the omelet was very soft and velvety, creamy with more egg flavor than the omelet at Hidden Kitchen. The inside of the egg was less runny than the surface, but still smooth. It was more like scrambled eggs than omelet but regardless I loved this omelet very much!The curry at Izumi was definitely better than most of the Japanese curry places in Hong Kong as it had more depth to the curry taste instead of just plain sweetness. I ordered medium spiciness and I could actually feel some kicks from the spices, something lacking in most Japanese curry in Hong Kong. The curry at this branch appeared to taste even better than the TST branch’s as it had a more intense meat flavor, similar to a base with demi glace sauce. It was very appetizing and went well with the rice and eggs.

I liked the egg so much that in the end I ordered an extra omelet (as topping, $20). This one also came out perfectly creamy and soft. I was a happy person! ..

2.もつ煮込みカリー ＋スコッチエッグ Stewed beef entrails curry rice ($85) with added scotch egg ($50) This was my friend’s order. This was MUCH better than the same dish we had at the TST branch, with the entrails cut in larger pieces and retained some texture of the honeycomb tripe and tendons. This darker stronger curry certainly complemented the entrails very well.My friend added a scotch egg (not available at TST branch) as topping. The egg was a bit overcooked and there wasn’t enough minced meat under the breadcrumb coating, making it a bit dry overall. The flavor itself was fine though, and eating it with a lot of curry sauce helped to give it some moisture.

3.タルタルチキンカツカリーDeep fried chicken curry with tartar sauce rice (with scallions) ($90)This was probably the worst of the 3 combo. There wasn’t anything wrong with the curry but the fried chicken cutlet was too thin. Thus it felt like eating mostly breadcrumb coating with curry sauce mixed with a bit of tartar sauce. Would avoid ordering fried chicken next time.

The rice for all set was decent. Adding soft drink to the set costs $15 extra.

Overall, I found this Izumi Curry at Hysan Place to be much better than the branch in TST in terms of food quality – the curry, the beef entrails, the omelet, all faired out to be better. I will continue to visit (as it is a 2-minute walk from my office), and I hope they will keep up with the standards without comprising the quality control when there are more customers coming in after the mall opened...

博多冷やし中華@ 一風堂
Hakata Hiyashi Chūka @ Ippudo

One of my favorite things to eat during the summer is really chilled noodles. Chilled Chinese noodles, cold soba or udon, Vietnamese vermicelli, I am all up for them. While Hiyashi Chūka (冷やし中華) chilled ramen seem like a simple-enough dish, it is surprising that I have a hard time finding a good one in restaurants locally.

I went to Ippudo today for the new “carbonara” spinach salad only to learn that it is exclusively to the TST branch. Not being very interested in their tonkotsu ramen, I ordered th new Hakata Hiyashi Chūka(博多 冷やし中華, $78). With the noodle set I also ordered the char siu bun (+$20) and iced Oolong tea (+$8)..

The bowl of chilled chewy ramen was topped with classic hiyashi chūka's ingredients: lettuce shreds, char siu strips, cucumber strips, tomato slices, a lot of fine egg crepe juliennes (my favorite), and a dollop of mentaiko. Mixed with the slightly tangy sesame sauce with a hint of bonito flavor, the whole bowl was cold and very refreshing! .

I added grounded sesame and onsen tamago (溫泉玉子, $10) midway through and it’s just another way of eating this noodles. The noodles remained al dente and cold till the end. It was not heavy yet hearty enough to fill you up. I thought it was excellent for the summer. The whole bowl was quite big and girls may not be able to finish it alone.

As for the char siu bun, the slightly grilled char siu was excellent with the fatty layers. The bun was still horrible like I had before Iced Oolong tea is normal..

I think I will come back again to Ippudo in the summer just for the博多 冷やし中華!