Wantgoodfood's Profile

We went without reservations and was happy to be seated. Originally we felt like just some Taiwan style beef noodles, but the one we wanted to go to, Da Po on Heard Street closed shop! We ordered the beef noodle, and was pleasantly surprised. The soup was good, and the beef was tasty. Unlike Da Po, where the beef was over-cooked so it no longer had flavor, the beef, from the shin, was still tasty.The chicken 大盤雞was ok, with potatoes, but not as good as the Three cups chicken. The chillies on top was just for decoration, did not impart any flavor. Stick to the Three Cups chicken!The Grandmother's Stewed Pork was well cooked, and tasty. The tofu that underlined the big pieces of pork belly were also very tasty. There are some HK restaurants that start to charge over $100 for this homey dish, they should have their consciences checked as it is only $58 here. Definitely a winner!The soy sauce cuttlefish legs were a little under-cooked as they were too chewyOne of our favorites which we did not order this time but I will recommend is the beef in whole pumpkin. We like the tender pieces of beef, but we love to scrape off the pieces of pumpkin that have soaked up the beef juices and sauce.This Maxim Group restaurant markets itself was Taiwanese themed. Some of the dishes are authentic, some are adapted for HK taste. We feel it's probably more Taiwan - Hakka than Xiamen style. It is one of our stand-by restaurants and we hope Maxim keeps the quality up, and keep the prices where they are.The service was good and attentive. We brought a child who spilled his soup, and the waiters quickly brought napkins to clean up. Things we ordered mid- meal were brought in. …Read More

This is the second time we came, celebrating Mother's day with another couple from Beijing. Our friends wanted lamb, so this is where we picked for the variety of lamb dishes that we had in north and western parts of China. We have traveled to North Africa and the Middle East, and the decor reminded more of the Middle East than Xinjiang.There is a good variety of lamb dishes and other games such as rabbit and camel hump, and of course beef and chicken for the more ordinary palate. The lamb skewers were light on spices, and very lean, as compared to the ones you get in the Moslem or Hui quarters in Beijing or Xian. A bit dry, actually, compared to what you get as kebabs in the Middle Eastern restaurants in Hong Kong such as Turkish or Lebanese. The ground cumin and chillies on the side does not compensate for under spicing. A bit too sanitized. Recommend the chef here makes visit to the Xinjiang club restaurant in Beijing to learn spicing.The boiled lamb ribs/belly were fatty and smelly as those cuts are supposed to be. The accompanying sauce can be spicier, or a bit more garlic. The air conditioning blew on the plate and the fat quickly congealed, which was not a pleasant experience. A bowl of broth was provided to warm up the meat, but that was not quite enough. In Inner Mongolia, the dish was accompanied by a big bowl with pieces of meat swimming inside.The numb-hot lamb chops were the most disappointing of the three. The chops were dipped fried and topped with chopped peppercorns and chillies. The flavours did not have a chance to get though the chops which then had no flavour. The chops should have been marinated. Bit of a waste.The rabbit stew with cous cous was delicious, not gamy, I would recommend that they more couscous dishes in addition to the rice. About the rice casserole dishes, perhaps the rice were coated with too much oil, the raisins and carrots did have a chance to really melt through and imbue their flavours. Maybe a tagine (beyond Silk Road) would help?WitH so many restaurants serving la mien in Hong Kong, the stir fried noodles here is really the best. It is really super al dente, came in irregular shapes and width, and delicious.Overall, the food was good, but a bit on the pricy side. For dinner, there is a $250 per person minimum. We thought we would not be able to spend that much, but the portions are really small, so we had to order two portions or more per person to get filled. We will still go there, but only on special occasions.…Read More

Finally getting good bread in Hong Kong. Went for lunch because we tried the bread before, and just wanted to know if they can make regular food. The lunch special was very reasonable, but the choices were similar to other outfits: ANZ steak and three pasta choices, soup, coffee/tea and dessert. The prices are about 20% below other restaurants such as the El Cid / King Parrot Group restaurants, so it is good value. But the seating is more casual and tighter.We ordered the linguine with Parma ham, peas in truffled olive oil, which was delicious and fashionably al dente, I will rate it a B+, compared to the Admiralty hotel Italian restaurants at A. The portion was about 2/3, suitable for lunch for the ladies, or a second course. We also tried a sandwich, but it came in Hong Kong style, i.e., bread flavored with whatever instead of the US style where the bread is just something to keep your fingers clean while you eat the meat. The soup was so so, typical Hong Kong pumpkin soup......watery and no character.But we really came for the bread and we weren't disappointed. The epiphomous pumpernickel was spicy, flavorful of the yeast and rye, the crust was chewy as in old Eastern Europe. The whites were a bid soft, but the walnuts and hazelnuts stood out and make you notice their distinct flavours and textures. Again, the all important crust tells you that it is part of the bread not to be cut off and thrown away like feathers on a chicken. The chocolate mouse/cake was good for the price, but it is so typically Hong Kong. But at least is not the cliche Tiramisu. The service was efficient and polite, but the waitress seemed to be in a hurry as the plates were tossed with a bang on the tables and she just turned away without looking at us. We felt like filing bins instead of diners. Hope the manager take note of this. Overall, it was a good lunch and we will definitely go back to try other dishes and buy bread there.…Read More

First time at this restaurant after reading review in paper. What a disappointment! The famous chicken came in at $218 as they charged $20 extra for the chillies! For a restaurant of this price level, $453 for lunch, they did not provide free napkins, and rudely asked for wanted extra money. Even Our local BBQ gives unlimited free napkins! What are they thinking? The restaurant is upstairs from the wet market, not where one would associate with high prices, so which market segment do they want to be in?We expected Taiwan food, but besides the chicken and hotpot items, the menu was all Chiu Chow. It suits local tastes, but the last thing Causeway Bay needs is another stealth Chiu Chow restaurant. We did not try the dishes as there must be dozens better ones under proper branding.As to the food itself, the chicken was salty, and the omelet was also very salty. This would be fine at a regular lunch place where lots of rice would be consumed with the dishes, but this is a high priced, no-starch restaurant.Overall, we would not recommend this place, for the price, the pricing shenanigans, the cooking.…Read More