樹林管理員's Profile

After finished conducting the 5 hours seminar in Langham on a beautiful Saturday morning, I was so hungry. What the first thing came to my mind is the most afforttable Lansagna in this town, from Spaghetti House. However, my expectation failed and it was totally disappoionted this time. I ordered a Lansagna lunch set (HK$78 + 10% service charge). MinestroneThe minestrone was strong in tomato favor and thick enough but had little veggie in it. LasagnaIt took over 20 minute to have the Lasagna to arrive. It is not the normal case!!!! I guess they were running out of it and made that immediately.I am afraid that the pasta was not fully cooked and part of it was so hard and can't be eaten . The sauce was relatively salty . Thus, I gave up that after finished 3/4 of it. :(Iced CoffeeSince the lasagna was so bad, I had no expectation on their iced coffee. Thus, I simply add some syrup in it. Surprisingly, it taste pretty good. However, it can help to smooth out the loosing point during this dinning experience.My cooking experience tells me that the Lasagna usually tastes much better if it is made in advance. (just like cantonese marinated chicken wing is better to cook in advance and let it stand for a few hours). I doubt the possiblity for revisiting this brand in the near future.…Read More

After visited the library, I went to this local tea restaurant for late lunch. Since I was so hungry, I got a rice set that includes a 栗米肉粒飯, 胡蘿蔔冬瓜湯, and 港式咖啡 (@HK$32)I like the chinese soup and the rice very much. There is egg in the 栗米肉粒 sauce. The texture was smooth and it taste excellent. It seems that 港式咖啡 is not my coffee. I think I better choose lemon tea next time. …Read More

My kid bought me an afternoon tea set from Café de Coral. The set includes a small 叉燒飯, 油菜, and 港式咖啡. It costs HK$23. As a late lunch, this is absolutely a good deal. The 叉燒飯 smell so good when I open it. It was made by pork tenderloin. The sauce was nice and sweet. The portion of rice was relatively large that good to feed a female as a lunch. The choy sum was overcooked but I don't mind. The beverage was a hot HK style coffee which didn't taste good . I think I will buy it again, simply for the 叉燒飯.…Read More

I am scheduled to conduct a lunch seminar in TST every week. Although the hotel prepared a lunch set (with juice, bun, salad or soup, main course, dessert, beverage) for me, I usually refuse them since those "free lunch" are usually made from their staff kitchen and, frankly speaking, they don’t taste really good. Instead, I usually request a slice of bread and a pot of coffee that would be sufficient to provide me energy for a 60 minutes seminar. On the other hand, there is so many choice of gourmet I shouldn't miss in TST. This week I tried "浪漫館橫浜" which is a pretty good dining experience. I like Japanese style western food, especially UCC. There’s a young girl wearing traditional European maid uniform to welcome me and lead for my seat. Impressive! I read through the menu and found that deep fried pork cutlet is their signature item. Tea Set: 吉列豬柳手工夾堡 & Iced Cold Coffee (HK$61)The sandwich was made by a piece of large slice of non-grilled white toast. The filling included freshly deep fried pork cutlet, tomato, lettuce, shredded raw onion, and Japanese style mayonnaise. It served with wedged fries and ketchup. The sandwich took almost 15 minutes to do the sandwich. I am quite sure that the pork cutlet was made per order. Sandwich: The skin of pork cutlet was CRISPY and non-oily. The pork was tender and juicy. The chef has good skill on cooking Japanese deep-fried food. The cutlet sauce is just a “so-so” quality. Fries: The wedged fries was absolutely a surprise! As the pork cutlet, its skin is non-greasy and extremely crispy. I think the quality of oil is another key of success. Beverage: The iced coffee is not that surprise but I can still finish it. If you are looking for good coffee, it may not be a good idea. My original plan is to order a tea set (sandwich with beverage) and a sundae. However, I found that I was already full after finishing the sandwich and fries. Thus, I will come again with my kid for the sundae!…Read More

My son brough me a "Curry Chicken with Rice" (HK$27) back home for his late lunch. The curry has potato, finely diced onion, chicken, and lot of curry sauce. It didn't taste good! - The potato was not fully cooked or the quality of potato was poor. - The chicken was overcooked and had poor texture (i.e., you won't cosider you are eating chicken meat). - The curry sauce was not thick enough to hold on the chicken or potato. Fortunately, the rice and veggie were quite normal.According to my son, this curry chicken is a popular item in this fast food shop, jsut like their signature "baked pork chop on fried rice". However, I am afraid this is not my "curry chicken" and I don't doubt on its popularity. Also, I am surprised by my son since he succesfully got a lunch box from Cafe de Carol fast food shop! Since my son was born in the States and had attended no Chiense class before (he is studying in an internatioanl school in this town), I wonder how he can read the Chinese menu and got the food ticket from the cashier. The answer is that the friendly cashier lady translate the whole lunch menu to him. OIC., thanks for cashier lady!…Read More

I had a causal dinner here lately. We got a set that costs about HK$1,600 for 12 people. It has many items, such as Chinese BBQ platter, ribs in strawberry sauce, steamed fish, chicken pot with garlic, fried shellfish with celery, 荷葉飯, fruit platter, and dessert... etc.The food I like:1. 荷葉飯: It is funny to have a fried rice packed in a lotus leaf and have it steamed. It is full of lotus leaves fragrant. A pretty good experience. 2. 泰式西米椰汁糕: It is as good as those from Thai restaurant3. 廣式紅豆糖水: This sweet soup is thick enough and full of red bean starch. Really tasty. My friends like the following:1. Ribs in strawberry sauce because the ribs have little fat and no bone that they think is healthier. They wish they have a bowl of rice to eat with it. (!?)2. Chicken pot with garlic: They said the chicken is large enough to share by 10 of us. It has strong garlic favor and taste really good. The final bill was about HK$1600. The original set was for 12 people. However, we had only 10 people (man & female is half & half). So, we had many leftover - almost 5 doggy packs to my friend’s home. This is a good place to dine with affordable price, comfortable environment, good food, and the convenience location (MTR next to the door or inexpensive car park). If you guys thinking about a Chinese restaurant for group gathering with limited budget, this restaurant may be one of your candidate.…Read More

My Korean colleague recommended this burger house to me. It locates on the 6th floor of i Square. There is about 9 - 10 restarant on the that floor. When I arrived Kraze, a young female staff gave me two coupons, one for free fries and a 20% discount coupon. Kraze's burger is not inexpensive . Burgers from the a la carte menu cost HK$58 to HK$98+. The price is higher than Triple O's. As a first attempt, I don't know if their burger taste good. Thus, I ordered an relatively inexpensive burger (HK$68). Then, the staff gave me a dish of fries. When I almost finished the fires, the burger arrive. Since it took about 10 minutes to have the burger done, I think the burger was made as per order. Chili cheese fries (free with coupon)Using the coupon, this mini size fries was free. Since it is free, my requirement usually lowered. But this fries is still AWUFUL ! The potatoe fries are overcooked, non-crispy, and cold. The cheese and onion were too fine and tidy to eat. The Chili didn't taste good. Sorry, I don't like this chili cheese fries. NY Fries is still my french fries shop in this town. The Matiz (HK$68 + 10%)This burger taste very good but the beef patty was so thin. The lecttuce was fresh and crispy. The tomato was fresh and in thick cut. The sauteed shreddled onion was EXCELLENT that was coated by the thick house sauce :):):). Just like most of the good burger house, they usually has their own sauce, such as Triple O's. I think Kraze is trying to do the same. The burger bun was fine as well. The only complaint for this burger is the beef patty which is TOO THIN - about 0.5cm only. I was wonder, do I eating in McDonald's? Since I like thick beef patty, Kraze is still not "my burger house" :(:(:(. Hum ... I think I probably won't revisit Kraze because of the quality of fries and the thickness of the beef patty. However, I may bring my sons to this restarant because they may enjoy those burgers. …Read More

In the earlier time, I got a visa card coupon to get a bag of "Gems" series chocolate from Godiva. Since I am not a fans of chocolate, my son helped to chose the "Dark Chocolate Truffles". The package looked pretty and it seems to be a good gift idea to anyone. A few weeks ago, I found that pack of chocolate on my desk and I shared it with my husband. Its spell was surprisingly great! As a dark chocolate, it is still a little bit sweet taste than I expected. I love the package and the smell. However, I am still not be a chocolate fans at all.…Read More

It was a rainy day. After finished a seminar, I went to here for a late lunch. Since I was extremely HUNGRY , I decided either pasta or rice to fill my empty stomach. Since that was afternoon tea time, they did not serve the main menu. Thus, I can't order my favor - lasagne.... :( After reading the whole afternoon tea menu and the promotion menu, I chose a fried rice (not risotto!), namely "Italian Hot Pot - Fried Rice with Seafood" which had a beverage included (HK$50 + 10% s.c.) Italian Hot Pot - Fried Rice with Seafood with beverage Since I was so hungry, I finished the rice within 4 minutes. If ... 1. the size can be larger, just like the one shown on the sample picture, 2. have more seasoning (I added quite a lot of black pepper to get favor and taste), that would be much better and be worth at the HK$50 level, and 3. not to cut the mussel into two pieceSince this local style italian rice is not attractive to me, (hum), I think I better go to Cafe Milano (for mushroom risotto) or Grappa's (for another crab meat ristto) in this weekend. p.s. Although I have already been in this town for over 2 years, I am still not comfortable on pasta in soup. In some local restarant, including this spagheti house, pasta, such as angel hair, spaghetti, and macaroni, can be served in soup? I like fried angel hair and spaghetti, or baked macaroni with cheese more, instead. …Read More

That's a hot sunny afternoon. After finsih conducting a guest lecture in City U, I walked into this mall for some refreshment. I was so hungry and wish to grab some food. Since there was only two hours left before the dinner time, I decided to get a light refreshmnet instead. Between Queen's Cafe and COVA, I chose COVA because of their gelato. There was over 10 different favor of gelato in the ice box. But the display card was in Italian. So, I asked the shop manager to translate for me. Hum ... finally I got a scoope of CHESTNUT favor gelato at HK$38. It is not inexpensive but it is absolutely worth because of the creamy tasty chesnut favor. It really taste like eating iced chestnut processed with some kind of dairy product. Absolutely & highly recommended. Delizioso :):)…Read More

I gave my friend a ride to the airport and she bought me a late lunch. Since restaurant in airport usually charges at least 20% more than in the town, I usually eat in fast food shops, such as Burger King, Ajisen, MIX, or Starbucks. However, my friend propose Grappa's and 美心閣 for my choice. Of course, I picked Grappa's because their Italian bread is so GREAT!My friend picked a set and I got a risotto and a creme brulee and iced coffee. The final bill was HK$506. In term of the service, environment, and quality of food, I have no complaint. Bread basket (complementary with pasta or risotto): It has four slices of Italian breads, two white and two brown with multi-grains. All were soft and tasty. It came with a set of three dippings: sun dried tomato paste, olive paste, and olive oil with Balsamic vinegar. The tomato paste is quite mild but the olive paste has quite strong taste of olive. Set Menu (HK$208)1. Starter (soup or salad): I choose Caesar salad because it’s not easy to find good Caesar salad at affordable price in the town. Thanks, Grappa’s. You didn’t disappoint me! The roman lettuce was so crispy and fresh. The sauce was so creamy and thick to coat every single piece of lettuce. I use the cheese grinder provided to get freshly grinded parmesan cheese. Lovely!2. Pasta or risotto: I picked Spaghetti with Clams & Garlic. That is one of the beautiful pasta I have had in this town. The chef used olive oil, garlic slices, red pepper flakes to cook the spaghetti. The pasta was cooked at the right amount of time. To achieve such “Al Dente” level, I think the quality of pasta and control on cooking time is the key for such success. There were over 10 jumbo clams in this dish. Although they are sizable, they are not tasty. However, I believe that the main character in this dish is the spaghetti instead of clam. So, I really enjoy it. 3. Beverage: As usual, I chose coffee. It came with warm milk. Although I don’t know my European coffee, I can tell you that they serve good coffee than the other coffee shops in this airport.Crab Meat Risotto (HK$138): This is a good dish! Again, the chef has good skill on cooking time control. The risotto was cooked with right amount of time to deliver the appropriate and unique texture of Italian rice. Again, since risotto is the main character, we won’t blame Grappa’s putting only two little piece of crab meat. The cream sauce is really lovely and enhanced the rice. Creme Brulee (HK$68): It is rare to have creme brulee in a Italian restaurant, instead of French restaurant. Although it is not a good practice, I still consider this scenario is one of the beauties of restaurant in this town. It didn’t disappoint me. The pudding looks sizable but it isn’t because its thickness is about 2 cm only. The glaze was crispy and the appearance looks great and attractive. I like this creme brulee. :):)Iced Almond Cappuccino (HK$48): This is another good item in this restaurant. It contains not only almond syrup but also almond slices. The milk foam was so thick and strong enough to say over 10 minutes. The milk form texture was so smooth and creamy. I like this too.This is a good dining experience in Grappa’s. I really enjoy all items in this meal and I think I will come again. It may seem to be expensive to some people but I think Grappa’s is charging reasonable price for its location, decoration, service, and high quality of food and cooking skill. I don’t mind spending additional money to exchange good food / environment / service. …Read More

I was invited to have a buffet dinner here in the earlier time. Since I was on diet, I didn't eat the food from the buffet table. Instead, I got a cappacinno and some chocolate. I personally pretty love their cappacinno because of the coffee they use and the "S" logo they make on the foam. Besides, I highly recommend you guys to reserve some room from your stomach for their assorted chocolate. The quality is pretty good, just like those grabbed from 5-star hotel's confection shop. …Read More

My husband brought me here for a quick causal lunch. We got two sets - 霜降牛扒 ($78 + $3 egg) and 黑椒牛肉飯 with tomato soup (HK$38). It is relatively expensive in this food court. This is a funny dinning experience. The chef placed rice on the hot plate, topped with butter, sweet corn, and pepper, and surrounded by raw beef or steak. The staff suggested us to stir fry the food and add the BBQ sauce. I like the corn & pepper rice which is a good match with beef. My husband's 霜降牛扒 is not bad and quite reasonable for the $78 price. I think I will come again but not for the 霜降牛扒, simply for the ordinary black pepper beef. After finishing the food, my husband and I recall our memeory dinning in Danny's in the States. …Read More

My husband and I like swiss rolls but sick for the thick whipped cream filling. Thus, I brought my husband to Roll for swiss rolls. :):)As before, we got one mini rolls for every favor it had in the shop since we like all of their favors. However, if you ask me which one I like most, my answer is Green Tea and Maple Syrup. My husband's answer is still the 竹炭芝麻.Hum ... as a fans of Roll, I still think the pricing is an issue. However, if you are the one who 對 swiss roll 有要求, you will find that their products are fairly priced. That's so called the "premium". …Read More

Today is a statutory holiday and we arrived here at 1:30pm. We were arranged to a windown side sofa seats. After reviewed the menu, we ordered a lunch set for Two that was recommended by one of their waiter. It includes two soup, two main entrees, and two beverage. Soup: Lobster Bisque We choose the lobster bisque instead of the traditional cream soup. It actually has some lobster's favor but I can't find any lobster meat. It is not very rich but quite thick. Hum ... it doesn't hurt to try once but it's not valuable to pay additional dollars to have it. Main Dish 1: Lasagna DeluxeHonestly speaking, I am quite disappointed by this lasagna. I tried thier beef lasagna before and that was pretty good. However, this chicken a la king version lasagna was a disaster. The overall texture is GREASY and the pasta was not fully cooked. I perfer the ordinary beef and tomato paste lasagna more. Finally, we didn't finish it because it was totally unacceptable. Main Dish 2: Squid Ink Risotto with Seafood in Lobster Sauce Au GratinThis is a good dish, compare with the previous one. It has quite a lot of seafood on the risotto. Although the squid ink is just a tiny bit, it still a pretty good match with the rice and seafood. The grilled cheese on the top enhanced the favor very much. Beverage: Freshly Brewed CoffeeThe coffee is somewhat a normal beverage in this restarant and I have no special complaint on it. Except the "Lasagna Deluxe", I enjoy this lunch. …Read More