PHToy's Profile

I have been here for lunch twice, and both times I sat at the counter by myself where I could watch the cooks do their work.  In this place, you are literally sitting 3 feet from the cooks if you are at the counter.  This can be very entertaining if the cooks are skilled and efficient at what they are doing, but it can have the drawback of being able to see too much detail regarding what you are eating.The first time I was here I tried the steak tartar. :)  It was good and very flavorful, but the fries served with it were rather greasy and soggy.   I prefer mine to be crispy.The second time I ate here, this past Sunday, I ordered a ham and cheese omlette.  While it tasted okay, the 4 potato pieces on the bamboo skewer served with it were very good. :)  However, I was shocked to see the cook restocking his station with some pre-shredded orange colored (cheddar?) cheese from a big plastic bag!  Considering this is a French restaurant and with all of the great French cheeses that could be used in a ham and cheese omlette, I was very disappointed. Also, considering the prices, the portions I had both times I ate there were a bit small.Despite all of this, I am still interested in going back to try something more substantial for dinner. …Read More

...make for bad meals. The first time we went to the restaurant about 4-5 months ago, it was okay. So on Sunday we were in the neighborhood and decided to go again for lunch. We arrived at about 12:15 and were amongst the first customers. My wife ordered a vegetarian pasta set meal and I ordered the pork chop set. The waitress offered us a choice of soup or salad and said that the soup of the day was tomato. Since I don't like tomato soup, I ordered the salad. My wife ordered the soup. When it arrived, it seemed to be the palest tomato soup I had ever seen, and it tasted like cream soup, with no trace of tomato. Regardless of what it actually was, it was quite tasty, and probably was the best thing we had. As for the salad, i was very small and came in a cup without any dressing. When I took my first bite, it seemed very tasteless and dry. A second bite confirmed the lack of dressing. I pointed this out to the waitress and since my second bite had finished it, she took the cup away and said that she would tell the cook.On to our main courses. The pasta dish was average and but not good enough to bother taking home the unfinished half. The pork chop was breaded and over-fried to the point of being a bit dry. It was served with rice, potatoes and a spicy curry sauce. I am all for double starch, but the potatoes were devoid of salt and bland. Guess the cook forgot to season them, and since there wasn't any salt or pepper on the table, I couldn't do this myself. The bottom line is I have no desire to go back again.…Read More

We have tried to eat here several times over the past couple of years but were never able to book a table for when we wanted. This year we tried to reserve a table for our wedding anniversary dinner 3 weeks in advance - same story. Not to be deterred, we asked when the next table for 2 was available and were told about week later – FINALLY! – and we took it. Ambiance: Very rustic and cozy, but the tables are large and spread out. I walk by the Peninsula almost every day and am always amazed how they pack so many restaurants, shops and hotel facilities into such a relatively small building. Everything seems so spacious inside. Service: Extremely friendly and efficient! :)Food: (Note - We stayed away from the cheese dishes since we might be going to a fondue/raclette party in a few days) I knew we were in for some good eating as soon as the bread basket arrived! The wife had beef consommé to start and the pike/perch fish dish for her main course. :) I had the sausage salad appetizer and the beef ribs with a side of spaetzle. :) Everything was perfectly cooked, and I really enjoyed the earthiness of the spaetzle as I used it to mop up the extra sauce that came with my ribs. Such a simple dish, yet so delicious! :) For dessert we shared a chocolate mousse that was not too sweet. Some chocolates also were served with the wife’s tea.Bottom Line: Worth the wait! I highly recommend this place for a cozy, romantic dinner when you are in the mood for this type of food. There is a reason this place has received so many smiley faces and just a few frowns (173 vs. 4). Just remember to book early.…Read More

I don't make it to Shatin too often, but was glad to stumble across this branch of one of my favorite local style noodle/congee restaurants.I used to eat regularly at the old Central branch before it closed down and became a clothing shop a year or so ago.Three of us had Boxing Day lunch here that included scallop congee, frog congee and beef congee. All were steaming hot and creamy. :) I also had a pork chop bun, and we shared a plate of dry stir-fried ho fun with. Everything was as delicious as I remembered :). One thing that I found interesting is that due to the recent ban on live chickens, they have temporarily taken chicken off the menu. I guess if they can't serve the best, they prefer to serve nothing! :)This place is not cheap ($340 for the food above and 1 drink), but I think it is worth it.…Read More

Haven’t been here in a while, but I have always liked it, especially the salad with grilled octopus. Since we were in the neighbourhood and in the mood for Western food, we thought we would try it again. Two of us had dinner here on Thursday night, and the place was nearly full and very noisy at 8 pm. To start with I ordered a glass of wine. Unfortunately I had to ask a couple of times before the manager brought over the bottle to pour it for me. He literally emptied it into my glass, and didn’t bother to bring a new bottle to give me a proper pour. I ended up with only about 75% of what I would consider to be a glass of wine by the glass. A bad sign of things to come…We were rather hungry and ordered the pate, onion soup and Caesar salad to share as starters (the octopus salad is no longer on the menu ), and then fish n’ chips and angel hair pasta with tiger prawns for our main courses. Annoyingly the fish n’ chips came very soon after our appetizers. After we finished this first round of food, we waited about 10 minutes for the pasta to come before we asked a couple of waiters about it. They said they would check, but never came back. After all of the waiting, we were no longer very hungry so we called the manager over again and told him if it wasn’t ready, to cancel it. He somewhat rudely barked back that it was too late to cancel the order, and that it would be ready soon. When the manager came to clear our half-full plates, he looked rather glum and didn’t say a word. If I were the only adult in the kindergarten, I might be cranky and sad looking too. As I mentioned in the title – lousy service! As for the food:1. Caesar salad – Okay, nothing special.2. Onion soup – My wife thought it was too sweet and not oniony enough. I thought it was just okay.3. Pate – Good and creamy, but only 3 small pieces of toast to spread it on. The caramelized onions on the side probably tasted better than the onion soup. Sadly, this dish was the highlight of the meal. :) 4. Fish n’ Chips – By the time we got around to eating it, it was a bit soggy. Maybe the way it was wrapped in paper didn’t allow the steam to escape. The fish was good, but there was too much soggy breading. As for the chips, they were fried well, but were mostly broken bits and pieces. Another thing I didn’t like about this dish was the vinegar came in a ramekin, so you have to pour it on or dip your food into it. I prefer a bottle so that I can splash some on my food. At least the ketchup and tartar sauce were okay!5. Angel hair pasta with tiger prawns – The prawns were rather small and way over cooked. This dish was so unappetizing that we only ate half of it. However, by this time we were so tired of the place that we didn’t bother to complain. I had been thinking about giving the new branch of this chain, J.A.R. in Central, a try, but will probably give it a miss. If the service at such a long established restaurant is so bad, it would probably be worse at a new location.I guess my final action as we were leaving this place was a fitting conclusion to a forgettable meal – I felt compelled to delete the phone number for this place from my phone.…Read More

We have been here a couple of times in the past month and have tried 3 different dishes. The curry with tofu is a bit plain (but that is how my wife likes it, and why she ordered it twice ), the curry pork cutlet is good, and the beef omlette is also good. What I really like about this place is that is an example of democracy in action. You can choose exactly what you want, from how much rice you get to how spicy the sauce is. There is a list of toppings you can add to your basic dish, so you get to eat exactly what you like, with no surprises. :)The only thing is that there are a few strange quirks here, such as: 1. The forks are really curved and can be awkward to eat with. At first I thought my fork was just bent out of shape, but then I notieced that all of them were the same. 2. The toppings are served separately and some of them are served cold, such as the corn. Why serve something cold that is going to be put on top of hot food? If you can't be bothered to wait in line for the ramen place 1 floor below, this is a good starchy alternative.…Read More

Needed to have an early lunch and stumbled onto this place in the corner of the Jusco store. At 11:15 we were the first customers and when we left at 12:00, we were still the only customers.A large variety of ramen dishes are available, with 4 different soup bases. I had the spicy one with the "special pork" and an extra egg, and my wife had a dish of stewed potatoes and beef with some soy beans on the side. All was very good, including the service. I guess when there is a 1:1 tstaff to customer ratio it should be!If this place can manage to stay in business, I will definitely be back.…Read More

I have always liked Amaroni's in Festival Walk for their Italian American style food but have been discouraged by the long lines there. Therefore I was eager to give this new sister restaurant a try. Lucky for us, at 8 pm on a Friday evening we were able to score 2 counter seats at the bar near the entrance without waiting. The restaurant was packed and there were 10-12 people milling around outside, so I guess afraid when I first walked up to the hostess.Two us ordered:Caesar salad - when did cherry tomatoes become part of this classic? Clams in cream sauce - a bit salty, but tasty Tagliatelle with shrimp and scallops - highlight of dinner, my wife like the shrimp and thought they were well cooked Meatball pizza - decent with a chewy style crust, but no chili oil available! :(Also, the wine by the glass is reasonably priced @ ca $50 per. :)Overall, good dinner in a lively environment. One thing I like about here is that the portions are smaller than at Amaroni's, so two can have dinner and try a variety of dishes.…Read More

Sunday lunch here with my wife. We have been to several branches of the original in HMC and were excited to give this brancy a try. Unfortunately it is nothing like the original. The menu here seems much longer.We tried 2 bowls of noodles. Mine was supposed to be with raw beef, but what was served was already well done. It is possible that the beef cooked in the soup as it sat waiting to be served, but I doubt it. As for the taste - there wasn't any except for the herbs and chillies that I added myself. Usually pho is defined by the soup, but this was just weak broth. Go to Nanh Trang for the real stuff!Next we had fried shrimp cakes (not bad, but is it possible to mess these up?) and a salad that supposedly had Vietnamese pate in it. The salad was okay (think cold rice noodles with lots of herbs and minced pork), but there was hardly any of the much desired pate in it.I would give this a pass, except that people should know that the food at this place is nothing like what you get at Pho 24 in HMC.…Read More

Been here a couple of times recenly by myself for lunch.Not sure why some of the local press rank it as one of the best sandwhich shops in HK. Overall I found the food here to be adequate and maybe even good, but it is definitely not great. I have tried the deep fried spring rolls, the pork knuckle sandwhich and the pork lemongrass sandwhich. I only have 2 minor quibbles: 1. The spring rolls were a bit oily, so much so that I didn't eat the lettuce they were served on as I usually do at other places. .2. The pork knuckle meat could have been sliced smaller (but not thinner) to make the sandwhich easier to eat.I will be back next time I am in the mood for a sour, pickled vegatable laden sandwhich...…Read More

My wife and I have been there for lunch 3 or 4 times in the past few months. I always get either the beef or black pork curry udon and she varies her order.The food here is good as most of the reviews say. The black pork melts in your mouth , and the fried black sesame encrusted pork chop is excellent :).The only real problem here is the service. The staff here seem pretty casual about their jobs and the food is served whenever the cook gets around to making it. I was halfway finished with my noodles before my wife got hers. Also, I don't mind being told that we can only have the table for 1 hour, but when it takes 30 minutes to get your food, this can become a problem. This is especially so when your soup is served boiling hot in a stone bowl that takes 10 minutes to cool down enough to eat! Come here for the great food, not the service.…Read More

Went here for lunch on Sunday and the place was mostly empy at 12:15.Two of us ordered beef congee, fish ball congee, fresh shrimp cheung fun, and some steamed vegatables.Both of the congees were bland and tasteless but the shrimp cheung fun was nice and fresh :) and came with the sauce on the side. Maybe the more expensive seafood congee options are better... Was it worth $140? Absolutely not! The dai pai dong in my neighborhood has better for less than $40. In the area, the congee (and service) downstairs at Chee Kee on Lock Road is much better.…Read More

Had lunch with my wife here on Sunday. We used to eat here every few weeks or so, but haven't been here in a while. It seem that they have changed the menu and added lots of things.The udon is okay, but not as good as Mochi Cafe (Hart Ave.) or Tomikubo (Harbour City). The advantage of this place over Mochi Cafe is that you can get a table here without having to wait for 2 hours, and compared to Tomikubo this place is nice and quiet.Usually I get the curry beef udon. The is good to order if you are really hungry and want some beef. Amazingly the beef to noodle ratio is always nearly 1:1 (for only ca. $45!). Perhaps this should be classified as a beef dish with some noodles added as a condiment rather than a bowl of noodles. My wife is more adventurous here and seems to order something different every time. A sign of dissatisfaction with what she had previously?As for the non-udon items on the menue, the soft-boiled eggs are good, but most of the fried food is very, very greasy and not worth trying.All in all, not a bad place for a quick, quiet and not too expensive meal, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here.…Read More

I have had dinner with the wife here a couple of times recemtly. We tried wide a range of things from the appetizers, oden, yakitori and kushiyaki sections of the menu. Everything is reasonable, including the price. However, it seems they are always out of something we want to order. Tuesday night it was lettuce for a salad. We especially liked the fried lotus root. The grilled lamb chop was over cooked (not a trace of pink inside), but was still tender and tasty. I can’t remember exactly how much it cost, but I remember thinking that it was very cheap. All in all, good value for money. As for drinks, they have a good wine list and a range of wine by the glasses for reasonable prices.The only negative is that the parma ham they serve comes straight from a plastic package (you can seem them in the refrigerated case by the entrance) that you could buy at many upscale supermarkets. Don't expect anything sliced fresh off the bone. It seems that I have been eating a lot in the basement of Chungking Mansion in TST recently. Since I have already reviewed Okada Coffee, next I will write up my experiences at Jika Udon. Stay tuned……Read More

Went there twice for lunch recently. For the neighborhood, I think it is a nice place for a quiet and casual meal. Not sure why it gets so many negative reviews here.Dishes tried:Curry pork cutlet wtith rice :)Japanese style beef & onions with rice :)Grilled eel set lunch :)Everything was good, including the unusual mashed potato/bacon/corn/carrot mixture that they serve as an appetizer with everything. Strange, but tasty. The Italian coffee was nice and strong - as it should be.The place is not cheap, but it is not a bad value either considering the spaciosness and relatively calm atmosphere for TST.…Read More