stroggo's Profile

The energy and attentiveness of the staff at Flames (Kwun Tong) is noticeable as soon as you enter the place.On a weekday, we went in during the peak hour at around 12 noon. And the place was filling up fairly quick.After being seated, we never even had to look around for any staff because they almost always find you as soon as you are about to ask for anything. That’s quite admirable especially during the peak lunch hour .Set Lunch menu had a good number of choices amongst mains, pastas, chicken rice and salads. The PAN FRIED FISH FILLET had a generous amount of truffle mushroom sauce on it and enough vegetables on the side.The NZ RIB EYE STEAK had a nice Medium doneness and should be filling for one person given the sides (choice between fries or roast vegetables).The beer list contained some local and international Draught brands as well as couple of bottled brands.I took the Czech Draught named Kozel which had a slightly bitter taste (and I mean in a good way). For the SALAD, it was good that we were allowed to include four different choices. We went for the following mix of four choices- Peri Peri chicken fusilli pasta, Caesar, Roast broccoli and cauliflower, Tomato salsa. Good taste. . It would be worth visiting Flames again because their A-la-carte menu has many dishes that don’t feature on the Set-lunch menu. So, definitely some “unfinished business” for me as I would like to try those too …Read More

We hadn’t made any reservations so had no choice but to barge in .At around 11:55am, the place was pretty much empty but that soon changed within next 15 mins.People with reservations came pouring in and we had to settle for the table with high barstools. So I guess we better make reservations next time .Half a rack of Baby Back Pork Ribs was more than enough for one person. The meat was lean and tender, and came off the bone by just touching it!So those were some GREAT RIBS . They came with Sweet Potato Fries which is a nice accompaniment. Quite a filling meal for one person at $235.The lunch set of Striploin Steak (medium doneness) and Frites was also excellent. Nicely caramelized and brown on the outside and soft pink in the middle. Another filling meal at $255.While they have a nice selection of beers, but it seemed fitting to go for a Belgian beer given the name of this place . The Hoegaarden draught in an enormous 500ml glass came in at $90 each.They have many other great items on the menu. So based in this experience I’d have to visit them more often so that I can try those other nice items such as the mussels, Fish n Chips, and the different other steaks. And this time, hope to eat in their outside area (no chairs outside though). Very soon indeed!…Read More

Wingman claims to have the “best chicken wings in town”..... that’s quite a tall claim for anybody to make! 👑 But I tried five of their flavors....AND THE VERDICT—> Yes Sir!😋I might’ve broken my personal record for most wings eaten!🌟THIRTY WINGS (five flavors...six wings of each flavor).... and I could still down a milkshake at another joint later...👍🏻.CALIFORNIA STYLE WINGS with RAW GARLIC and PARSLEY were my favorite (pictured above). The garlic and parsley came out strong in the first bite and that’s what I loved (garlic flavor works great on any food I guess)😍. This one was the HERO of the menu.... (Metaphorically speaking....the perfect VILLAIN could be the next flavor that I tried - CAROLINA REAPER WINGS.... coz it was SOOOOOOO SPICY 🌶 🥵 ... and of course delicious too!!)CAROLINE REAPER WINGS had a spicy level of 4 out of 5...... so BEWARE .... and better be ready to wipe that sweat from your forehead 😅😅.The other three flavors were AWESOME in their own right.... but I guess they can be overshadowed by the California wings and Carolina Reaper wings. The other three flavors I tried 😋- WINGS with BBQ DRY RUB;CAJUN STYLE DRY RUB WINGS;HOISIN HONEY GLAZED AND SESAME WINGS.…Read More

The Wagyu Ramen lunch set was a pretty attractive deal..... $148 including the Kirin Ichiban beer. The beef was top quality and the ramen were not too tangled.... which is perfect for me.Not sure how long this deal is there, so I would like to have it again.... as soon as I can. The EEL RICE was also very tasty. The Eel meat had that perfect stickiness which I love.... wish there was more quantity though. GYOZA has always been my favorite so I may be biased whenever writing about it. It was nicely presented and it did not disappoint me .... as always.Overall, the lunch set above, seems like a good value for money. So definitely worth a try.…Read More

True fans of Philly Cheese Stake around the world might tell you don’t add RED/GREEN PEPPERS ..... simply because it is against the original recipe followed in Philadelphia. But I have to admit I LOVED IT when the good folks at Dan Ryan’s added a very little bit of green peppers to the steak sandwich.While I appreciate that many people want to stick to the ORIGINAL recipe from Philadelphia but honestly I’m perfectly happy to try a little bit of experiment/tinkering and in this case, it seems good to me!The Philly Cheese Stake was very scrumptious and satisfying...... and you couldn’t eat anything more after eating it. That’s surprising, coming from a hardcore foodie like me who weighs almost 250 pounds!!! Normally I could it 2 sandwiches of this size.... but this one has a lot of heaviness inside it.It must be noted that the STAFF/SERVICE at Dan Ryan is top notch. They are quite attentive and always on the move to see if you need anything else. That’s A+ in my book! We also had Onion Rings and Chicken Tenders, which played a good cameo alongside the main superstar sandwich.Overall, looking at the bill I’d say it’s good value for money and definitely worth visiting again and again.…Read More

Had booked the table for lunch buffet via OpenRice app, and when we reached there, we were told in advance that buffet will cost HK$ 69..... at first I thought I WAS HAVING A DREAM!We were also told it’s $69 for 1 hour.... but for us it was not a problem because it’s such a great price!Every FOOD item was very delicious. The Pork was the absolute best. Went for it 3 times!The Fried Chicken was also quite excellent.... it could easily give KFC a run for its money.Also loved the different types of noodles, the fried rice and the risotto rice. Anybody who eats here once, would want to visit again because after all it’s delicious food at just HK$ 69 (and book via OpenRice app).…Read More

As I’ve been ranting in a previous review of mine that after my office moved from Central to Kwun Tong.....I’ve been trying to widen my “Search for Great Eats” in Kwun Tong.Well.... that SEARCH has NARROWED DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY, after I discovered the Kwun Tong branch of BANH MI KITCHEN.I guess my only complaint is that they get Sold-Out so fast!! Perhaps next time I should arrive there at the opening time of 8:00 AM sharp.... which should be easy to do since the shop is located right inside our office building .So far I’ve tried CHAR SIU Banh Mi and BEEF BRISKET....both of which are absolute killer sandwiches! One can sense on first bite, that top quality pork and beef are used in both items.The Beef Brisket meat is so tender it almost melts in your mouth....need I say more?? These two sandwiches are perfect for a Carnivore like myselfPortion-size is good and should be sufficient for most people.... and this is coming from a guy who once finished-off 1 Large Pizza, 1 Cheeseburger and a milkshake..... all in a SINGLE MEAL (as part of a bet, which I obviously won).I guess the next order of business would be to try their two types of RICE PAPER ROLLS, and the other Banh Mi available on the menu (I had stopped reading after Char Siu and Beef Brisket the last time).... such as the Cold Cut Classic.…Read More

When my office moved from Central to Kwun Tong (mid June), it was a MASSIVE change for me and I had a tough time dealing with it during the first week there.During the second week, I was a bit better and thinking of exploring Kwun Tong.So, there I was smoking a cigar outside the office building when I bumped into a colleague (who was all about exploring the area for some food choices).I decided to dump that half-smoked cigar and we ended up at ......MG CAFE.It had a nice vibe.... it was obviously ALMOST full given that it was lunch hour. So, instead of the regular tables, we got the bar-stools and were quite happy with that.The order:1) Breakfast Fantasy (all day breakfast)2) Corned Beef & Guacamole Tortilla WrapsThe Breakfast Fantasy was basically .... a MEAT FEST .... with bacon, ham and sausages. The Grilled pineapple and some sprinkled pomegranate seeds were a nice touch.The Corned Beef & Guacamole Tortilla Wraps.....well, corned beef is always a safe bet so you can never go wrong with this one.It is definitely worth trying.MG Cafe is the first place I ate at, after my office move to Kwun Tong ..... so I consider it my gateway to this new work area.…Read More

The highlight would be the excellent roast beef station and duck station. Definitely went over there three times to get three big fat cuts.However, Missing in action was the cold seafood on ice. This was a surprise since usually cold seafood stations are available every day in most buffets (crabs, lobster, prawns, Oysters, etc.).... well, at least in the buffets I’ve been to in Hong Kong.. And I love those seafood like a Shark 🦈 does, so it certainly hits me big time when I don’t find them in a buffet . To some extent, the beef and the roast duck helped to make up for it.SUSHI was decent and Cold Cuts were also good.The Indian Station had quite a few varieties and the Yellow Fish Curry was a standout.Prawn Dumplings and Pork Dumplings were very good...but would’ve loved more varieties of dumplings/buns.Salads and Dessert (no ice cream though) were available in abundance....especially there were good varieties of the desserts.…Read More

If I said the FRIES 🍟 are the highlight of a burger place, that would sound strange! but the Fries at Five-Guys are TRULY DIFFERENT from any other fries you would’ve tried!Of course, the BACON CHEESE DOG is phenomenal! I ate the 1) Bacon Cheese Dog, the 2) BACON CHEESE BURGER.... and the 3) FRIES.... that’s quite an achievement, I would say!There are a lot of choices for sauces and additional toppings, but for SIMPLE-MINDED folks like me (or LAZY folks).... there is another option called “ALL THE WAY”...i.e. dump everything into the hotdog/burger.The Bacon Cheese Dog (with “All the way” toppings) was almost as thick as a burger !!.... every bite is just pure joy!!We also ordered the Bacon Cheese Burger and the Cheese Burger - they could stand proud with the best in the business.As seen in one of the attached photos, they give you the order in a paper bag, and the. You just tear the paper bag open like a hungry beast! Thats the tradition. Definitely want to go back .... especially for the Bacon Cheese Dog and the Fries (they have some secret recipe for the fries)…Read More

Wingman PMQ (at PMQ Taste Kitchen), claims to have the “best chicken wings in town”..... that’s quite a tall claim for anybody to make! But I tried five of their flavors....AND THE VERDICT—> Yes Sir, they are the best around here!! I might’ve broken my personal record for most wings eaten! THIRTY WINGS (five flavors...six wings of each flavor).... and I could still DOWN A MILKSHAKE at another joint later on...WOOHOO.The only SAD part is they plan to operate for a LIMITED TIME ONLY...at the moment it looks like till the end of Jan-2019. But I HOPE they receive a great response during this TRIAL RUN so that they decide to set up shop on a permanent basis.CALIFORNIA STYLE WINGS with RAW GARLIC & PARSLEY were my favorite (pictured above). The garlic and parsley came out strong in the first bite and that’s what I loved (garlic flavor works great on any food I guess). This one was the HERO of the menu.... (Metaphorically speaking....the perfect VILLAIN could be the next flavor that I tried - CAROLINA REAPER WINGS.... coz it was SOOOOOOO SPICY🌶 🥵 ... and of course delicious too!!)CAROLINE REAPER WINGS had a spicy level of 4 out of 5...... so BEWARE .... and better be ready to wipe that sweat from your forehead .The other three flavors were AWESOME in their own right.... but I guess they can be overshadowed by the California wings and Carolina Reaper wings. The other three flavors I tried - WINGS with BBQ DRY RUB;CAJUN STYLE DRY RUB WINGS;HOISIN HONEY GLAZED AND SESAME WINGS…Read More

In the past years, I always found that Mexican food in Hong Kong has slightly missed the mark (i.e. no one is able to replicate the original Mexican taste/flavor)..... or how they say in the game of baseball - A swing & a miss.That being said COMMISSARY has definitely some of the much better Mexican food in Hong Kong.It also has attentive staff, good ambience and a convenient location (right next to the taxi stand of Pacific Place).The FOOD looked and tasted good, an example of which are the SOFT SHELL CRAB 🦀 TACOS . There was generous amount of crab in it, which was fried enough to be nicely crunchy. Four tacos should be enough to make any ordinary human being feel full......But I’m no ordinary human☝️.... so in addition to the Crab Tacos, I also had the BBQ PORK RIBS.PORK RIBS were so tender, the meat came off the bone effortlessly. It had generous amounts of BBQ sauce on it. It also came with a little bit of baked beans and dill pickles. But honestly, you don’t notice these little sides when you have such tasty ribs in front of you!The JALAPEÑO POPPERS were spicy and perhaps not for everyone. They must be importing those Jalapeños from Mexico coz the canned ones you find in local supermarkets are not so spicy at all!In the near future, I would certainly like to visit Commissary again to try rest of the menu as I saw a lot more tempting items in there.…Read More

While reserving the table at Grand Hyatt, I was in a dilemma - to book the buffet at Tiffin (mezzanine floor) OR The Grill buffet (poolside at 11th floor)..... coz both seemed so enticing! .....finally, I reserved BOTH and decided to pick one at the LAST minute.After reaching the Grand Hyatt, I took a chance.....just tossed a coin and went to Tiffin. In hindsight, a great decision !!The FOUR highlights of Tiffin were:1) HIGH Quality Cocktails🍹 (and also a nice selection of the DIGESTIF liqueurs/drinks, which I indeed ordered at the end of the meal)FRENCH MARTINI was excellent and well presented. Just with the first sip, I knew that this buffet place does all of its cocktails really well!. I’ve found that many high quality buffet places are sometimes a bit lacking when it comes to their Cocktails (perhaps because the focus is entirely on food!). No such problems at Tiffin though!2) EXCELLENT SORBET - - the Madagascar Vanilla Sorbet is “to die for”. I could go back just for this one.The Coconut Sorbet is also good.3) a huge variety of FOOD CHOICES (I couldn’t even try all the choices... which is QUITE UNLIKE ME!)4) a SUPER TALENTED PIANO PLAYER- he just kept playin’ ....like he was a machine or somethingSide note- my HSBC Platinum Credit card helped me get a 10% discount. While asking for bill, I asked if any credit card offers are available....words of wisdomFOOD-There were a lot of food choices and I’m still reserving judgement on some of them coz I couldn’t try all of them. The food I loved - STEAK & KIDNEY PIE; CRAB QUICHE; Salads, a decent THAI station (loved those Thai curries); and a decent INDIAN station (Lamb curry was a clear STANDOUT).STEAK & KIDNEY PIE can have a slightly pungent flavor (which I liked), so maybe it’s not for everybody. Full marks from me though. On the INDIAN STATION- the Lamb curry was excellent as the meat would literally melt in the mouth.... not extremely spicy either. So it was perfect . The THAI fish curry was also excellent.One thing MISSING was the variety in seafood- lobster, oysters were not there, which are fast becoming a standard part of all high-end buffets these days. But I guess, ya can’t have it all in life!DIGESTIF - located at the last page of the drinks menu, these liqueurs have amazing quality of digesting your food in minutes no matter how much you ate!! I took the CALVADOS 1991 and .... it gave me a lot of relief because I was literally full with food up to my nose !!…Read More

While Aladdin is not big on ambience/seating, their food tastes so good , they should be at least in the conversation for a Michelin star. They definitely serve one of the more authentic-tasting Indian food in Hong Kong- CHICKEN JALFREZI is pretty good. FISH Pakora is a nice starter (crunchy batter with soft meat inside), but sometimes it may take a bit longer to come. The LAMB KEBAB is excellent, and so tempting as it comes in a sizzling hot plate.DAL MAKHANI (or butter lentil) is rich and awesome... after eating it, you feel satisfyingly FULL for hours... maybe for rest of the day! And their NAAN breads are so soft, it’s like eating a CLOUD! (Not sure if that made sense!). I totally LOVE the GARLIC NAAN and ONION KULCHA (which is also a kind of naan).As said before, there is nothing much in terms of ambience and some might consider the seating/tables a bit cramped ... but who cares when chomping down on such tasty fare.At these prices, this food is almost like a steal. …Read More

The RYOMA burger has a GINORMOUS beef patty weighing in at 120g !!.Is this burger really named after the famous video game character?Dunno for sure, but I love it!The burger has so many layers of food in it- starting from the top, it has:-Lettuce,-Tomato,-Fried Egg,-Minced Tuna! (What!)-Eggplant-Cheese-Bell pepper and finally.....this MONSTROUS WAGYU BEEF PATTY (weighing in at 120g).With so many layers, this is one TOWER of a burger .....so to ensure that it does not fall apart, they serve it wrapped up in a foil.Nevertheless, even with all these different ingredients, the WAGYU beef’s taste is most overpowering in every bite. Of course the rest of the ingredients can also be tasted but their taste is not as strong as the beef’s taste. This is a good thing because the main taste should always belong to the star of the dish.Even if one has a very small appetite, I would still recommend trying the RYOMA, just to experience this larger than life burger.…Read More