BonViveur's Profile

After the first dinner at Chino, still a bit hungry, we came to Tequila on Davis for a second dinner.The tacos were probably the best I've eaten in Hong Kong to date. On the first look - the tacos looked closest to what I've eaten in HK, including the rice and beans. The taste wasn't that far off. I was elated (not because of the drinks).My vegetarian foodie buddy and I happily ate them off. I prefer the soft shell ones, she wanted the hard shell. We washed it down with another glass of margarita, though that was a bit disappointing - too sweet, and not fresh jalapenos, even though they told us they were.It was a nice evening, two vegetarian dinners, Mexican at that, chatting away and discussing the cliches about Indian men & society in general.Salud!Pictures on the blog - thevegetarianvoyager…Read More

I visited Chino during the Chinese New Year with another vegetarian foodie.We went with were tacos, tostadas and eggplant katsu.Taco - Avocado + black bean + Oaxaca cheeseTostada - Maitake+ crispy garlicEggplant katsu was served with chipotle sesame sauce.The Mexican food reflected the Japanese subtlety very well. I must say on-point execution for a Japanese Mexican fusion, but when I think of Mexican food, I'm looking for a burst of flavours.The tacos were my favourite here, followed by the eggplant katsu and then the tostada.The portions here were small, so with two drinks, one taco, one tostada each and the eggplant katsu to share, we were still a bit hungry and hopped on to the next Mexican place in the hood. Stay tuned for that post, while you enjoy the pictures here.The drinks we had were the Jabarita - Tequila Reposado, jabarashu, jarritos, kaffir lime leaves and green chili and the Cocobuch - mezcal and coconut lime kombucha.Pictures on the blog - thevegetarianvoyager…Read More

Again, an undecided wandering, albeit knowing I wanted to eat pad thai, resulted in a quick solo lunch at Thai Basil in Admiralty.The place has a modern vibe. It would be great for dates or group dining (or lunching).The pad thai was alright-not bad, not great. It could've done with more sauce. One of those rare meals where I drank water: p…Read More

Wandering around SOHO on one of the rare days in our history of being in Hong Kong, I walked and entered Jalan, a new, modern Malaysian restaurant. The flat rice noodles JALAN style, with marinated tofu, mushrooms and green onions even though said and read "fire" was far from it. Absolute lacklustre of flavours. Their spicy sambals, I checked might not have been vegetarian, I was told. The chilli oil drizzle didn't do the trick, either. My cocktail was topped with a wee bit of wine and was alright. I might come here to try their other vegetarian options, but this visit left me disappointed. An observation that I made was that it was the only restaurant I visited that week, out of five or more, where none of the staff wore masks, amidst the coronavirus hullaballoo. Pictures on the blog-thevegetarianvoyager…Read More

A solo lunch the week of Chinese New Year here at Dim Sum Library.Excellent buns and dumplings. They have quite a few options from noodles to rice, but I stuck with the dim sum, and I was so pleased with it that I'll probably return to try out their other dishes, and perhaps their buns, again .To drink, I ordered Blackened Rose Buds. With the coronavirus going around, I saw "fever" in their description saw it as a sign to order it: pKetel One vodka infused with jasmine tea, rose, lemon and Fever-Tree tonic, it was served long with dried fruit. It was light and delicate, contrary to what I'd imagined, based on the description. The table setting and decor was great, dark and chic. Pictures on the blog-thevegetarianvoyager…Read More

Motorino of Blacksheep Restaurants has been our go-to for pizzas close to home in Hong Kong.Serving Neapolitan style pizzas, these have pleased our NY tastebuds or cravings for pizzas here.Having been there multiple times, I was a bit surprised when on this recent visit is when they handed us a stamped loyalty card. I asked our sweet server if this was something new and she said no. I asked her why they didn't inform us of that on our previous visits and she, of course, didn't have an answer, but politely mentioned she's seen us before and that's why she gave it to us.The pizzas are good. They've added cocktails recently here, I reckon. Their menu keeps changing. The one time we had antipasti there – smoked eggplant, my jaw was on the floor with the price to portion size proportion, more because the taste disappointed as well. But the good news is that their pizzas don't disappoint.As with other Blacksheep Restaurants, they have the friendliest of staff.Pictures on the blog-thevegetarianvoyager…Read More

The Japanese welcome is always uplifting, which is what I got here at Fumi. I'd booked it via Eatigo. The table setting was clean and simple yet elegant, like their overall setup. Very Japanese. I ordered the pickled vegetables and assorted vegetable tempura. Pickled VegetablesThey picked vegetables were great, a good variety.Those have to be the best pickled onions I've eaten. I even doubted for a moment if they were onions or something else.Garlic was good, but raw to bite. Didn't taste raw or sharp, though. Maybe that's how it's meant to be.The pickled radish-there's nothing not to like there.The cucumbers were fresh and crisp, topped with some pickled grains and sesame in miso like paste? I couldn't tell what it was. And then you had pickled asparagus, I think?TempuraThe tempura arrived perfect, your usual thin coating, crisp exterior. Fresh vegetables + mushrooms. Not sure if they serve it with any specific salts or sauce or if I intercepted them too soon for the soy sauce.If you're coming with a super big appetite, you may want to order something else. I was feeling greedy and was tempted to order more, but knew I'd be full the moment the next thing arrived, and chose not to.For this time, I'll left feeling satiated with a very nice meal. Yay for Japanese food again.Pictures on the blog - thevegetarianvoyager…Read More

A friend here in Hong Kong recommended this place and off we went for lunch. We got to Tenkai at noon, the place opens at 11:30 and we were already in a waiting line. Though the first ones to wait. We didn't mind.Selecting was easy - the vegetarian option sans eggs. It's a tendon place. Didn't know of tendon until now. A quick pictures-and-some-reading later, figured tendon is probably the whole meal - tempura on rice. And it was a thicker glaze kind of a sauce.The other place I ate tempura at, it was served with either soy sauce or some kinds of fish sauce and different kinds of salts.This place was perfection. The proportion of the tempura to rice, the amount of sauce, the way it was seasoned. And the thing with Japanese foods or restaurants is that the portions tend to be small, or I should say right.The lunch set came with pickled radish, mushrooms and eggplant. That smokey flavour just aced the mushroom and eggplant game. The way the eggplant was sliced and presented, it almost seemed like fish, but yay for me that it wasn't. It tasted that good.The miso soup had that same smoky taste. Simple, clean, perfect.The pickled radishes taste great - with that right and subtle balance of tang, sweet and salt.I easily ate off my food, with the wasabi adding a slight kick to eat.And ever since that day, I've been thinking about that meal, every single day. Japanese food has me sold!Pictures on the blog - thevegetarianvoyager …Read More

The first time I went to Beyrouth Bistro, the taste levels of what we had were decent. The attitude levels of who's probably the owner - higher.Today, when my usual to-go falafel place in Hong Kong was closed, I walked down a few more steps and ordered a falafel wrap takeaway. And I asked him to pack me a spicy sauce on the side. The taste levels of some of what I ate today - barf! Attitude levels - well.He asked me what kind of a sauce. I said spicy, AGAIN. Without reciprocating his attitude. He asked me again, what kind - yoghurt, garlic, chilli? I should've taken a moment there and ran! I don't remember eating spicy yoghurt dips at any Middle Eastern places I've been to, but I calmly responded chilli.The lady in the kitchen just brought the wrap out, and when the owner(?) reminded her of chilli sauce, she took that plastic squeeze bottle that looked like ketchup. I consoled my self saying they must know better than to use ketchup in a falafel wrap. Especially when I've asked for a chilli sauce.A grumpy child all the way back walking home and then I open my wrap to see what looks like ketchup, no kidding. It tastes like ketchup, no kidding. Even my five years old could taste that.No lining of hummus, a very dry wrap. Pre fried cold falafels. I rarely, rarely, rarely call back. And I'd paid cash so nothing to gain there, but ketchup, for Christ's sake! Calling the place, he calmly repeated again that it's just their chilli sauce and they don't add sugar.Yeah, he could be speaking the truth. He might be adding four specks of chilli flakes in the ketchup and call it their chilli sauce, so technically, he didn't add any sugar!Argh, Hong Kong! Is it safe to say, "Hong Kong, I cannot take it anymore."Photo on the blog.…Read More

On my way to a self-grooming appointment, bought off Hokobuy, I chanced by Saigon Etoile cafe / restaurant. A quick look at the menu, one vegetarian banh mi and I were sold to give it a shot.The self-grooming service disappointed me, but the food here did not. They toasted the baguette, and it was simple yet delicious.Sauteed tofu with turmeric and onions, topped with fresh carrots, coriander and pickled radish.It was a quick and satisfying lunch! The look and feel of the place were lively and colourful too. And their butter paper on which they served the sandwich was printed - cutesy! The little joys of life!I saw them serving the condensed milk coffee, drip style.…Read More

Ciao Chow was our destination for dinner on the child's request earlier this evening.Well, he didn't request this specific place, but he requested spaghetti. Coming from Stanley, getting off at Central, this was close and convenient.The place quite a name for itself. And it's seated in the heart of LKF or Lan Kwai Fong, thereby commanding top dollar prices.And hence, I think, they have zero excuses for serving walnuts that's gone old and smelly. This was for the sweet potato gnocchi that I'd ordered. Know that oily, greasy taste and smell that says old walnuts. That was served!I don't know why I didn't say anything there, but I just didn't. I left all the walnuts on the plate. Along with the not so great cheese sauce. Thinking, wanting, hoping the server would ask how it was and I would tell the walnuts have gone bad-ish. But he didn't.The presentation was equally half-hearted on the gnocchi. But the sweet potato gnocchi mini pillows tasted great. Soft, tender, melt-in-mouth. I'd have appreciated bigger chunks of the gnocchi, but the small pieces weren't a deal-breaker.The spaghetti, with San Marzano tomatoes, was really good. The sauce was. The spaghetti - extra al dente to me - read a bit too much of a bite. How Scarpetta or the other nice Italian restaurants in NYC cook pasta is perfection to me. Not mushed, no bite, just perfection.Ciao Chow did a good job with their tomato sauce. I may or may not return to give the tiramisu a taste. Until then, back to dreaming about Scarpetta's spaghetti.Pictures on the blog - thevegetarianvoyager…Read More

Talk about food bringing people together! I went to Brickhouse with a girl who found my blog a couple of weeks back. It was so nice to meet someone who loves food as much as I do, who looked up the menu in advance and knew exactly what to order. I do that all the time! Brickhouse restored some faith that Hong Kong has some decent Mexican food to offer. New York is my yardstick for comparison. The place is quite lively, more to hangout with friends than family. Tucked in an alley in Lan Kwai Fung or LKF, it's open for dinners through later in the nights. Loud music, colourful yet rustic decor. I was disappointed with my drinks that were very watered down. I don't know what's with these places charging generously for measly spiked drinks.  I'd gotten the Carlito's Mezcal which had passionfruit, lime and smoked grapefruit. I did enjoy that smokiness. The Diabla 2.0 with vodka, raspberry, tamarind and habanero failed on the taste as well as the liquor content. It might as well have been a bland mocktail. We got the Mexican street-style corn and nachos to share. The corn was good - your usual Mexican corn on the cob with anejo butter, spiced mayo and parmesan. The nachos were corn chips topped with vegetarian chili con carne (the carrots caught my attention) and the usual fixings of guac, sour cream, cheese, onions and cilantro. While they were good, I'm not sure if that HKD 165 price tag was justified. It could've done with more toppings and bigger portion size? I don't know. I'm still to come to terms with the HK prices.Beet fries on the menu caught our attention but we saved it for another day. Photos on the blog - thevegetarianvoyager…Read More

Saturday night drinks and dinner with the hubster, one of his colleagues was Fugazi.An Asian grill in Kennedy Town - the western part of Hong Kong island, has plenty of sake, beer, spirits, wine and whisky on offer.Foods primarily include grilled skewers, but also a few other appetizers like Indian samosas and Nepalese or Tibetan momos.The momos were an absolute hit with the hubster.All was good on the food front except for the main entree - the vegetarian red curry. I'm assuming they completely forgot the salt and hence it tasted one dimensional. It was housed with okra, eggplants, tomatoes and fried tofu, served with basmati rice.We tried a couple of their sake and kept on topping it up, followed by whiskeys.…Read More

I got a very happy and cheerful Mexican welcome at Taqueria Super Macho last evening. The Japanese style that I’ve gotten, usually at ramen places.Picture pastel vibrancy and happy Mexican music. The vibe of the place couldn’t have been better.My jarrito loco was tequila, jalapeno liqueur and lots of citrus fruits. It hit the spot for me on the liquor. I had eaten small that day. On the taste – it was lopsided on the sour side, but that chilli spice mix the glass was lined with complemented the tang of the drink very well. As I got towards the end of the drink, I got that hint of sweetness.The tacos came with chopped onions & cilantro, lime wedges, a sour cream mayonnaise mix and salsa roja. The sweet server talked me into ordering the spicy habanero salsa. I rarely get talked into doing anything.The good part was that the salsas were great.The bad part was that the taco was tiny. TINY. My hand for reference.But, it delivered on the taste. And it’s one of the better Mexican places in Hong Kong that I’ve tried, yet.That chilli roasted pumpkin was perfection on the taco. It was interesting how the servers asked if I knew how to “assemble” my taco and made sure they informed me to begin with the onions-cilantro mix and a squeeze of lime before diving into the salsas or sour cream.For my small order of a taco, followed by another (because it was that small), I’m sure I left them wondering on how on earth I polished up those salsas. Hey, I’m a spciy girl 😉The taste buds were satiated, but I left hungry. Didn’t do the quesadilla because if I took out the cheese and the cream, it would’ve been high and dry.Rice / beans catering to vegetarians would’ve been appreciated, if not more.Also, the Blacksheep Restaurants sure are hiring their people right. Their service is always proactively friendly.Even though I’m still waiting for their Maison Libanaise manager to get back to me, as promised. I had not one but two back to back sloppy orders of the cauliflower bowl with undercooked and hardly seasoned cauliflower!But, cheers to a small but good Mexican meal! Then onto some serious tête-à-tête with the hubster.Pictures on the blog - thevegetarianvoyager…Read More

The husband mentioned that he'd come to Ding Dim with his colleagues and said it's supposed to be a good place. And I promptly made it to lunch the next day.They have set lunches - an assortment of dim sum, but I wasn't in a mood to stuff myself, so I just got Buddha rolls - pan-fried tofu skin, stuffed with a wee bit of vegetables and mushroom and yam dumplings.The Buddha rolls said pan-fried and I was expecting a semi-soft version, but these were crunchy, as good as deep-fried.The mushroom and yam dumplings had that translucent wrapper.Too bad they had mini-plastics of soy sauce and chilli sauces on the offer. It said sweet soy sauce and while I opened it, it tasted a bit powerful. Fishy and I'm not even sure if I intend the pun here :/I quickly downed my meal, and while not bad, I'm not sure I enjoyed it as much. They had tea jugs to go with the meal.Photos on the blog - thevegetarianvoyager…Read More